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Domain: orbworks.com

Stories and comments across the archive that link to orbworks.com.

Comments · 7

  1. 10 Resources You Can't Live Without by MiceHead · · Score: 2, Informative · on Getting Started with Game Development?
    There are, nowadays, enormous piles of resources for those starting out in game development. Some suggestions as to where to start...

    I agree with those who say that knowledge of OpenGL and/or DirectX is a must, (always know something about what goes on under the hood), but I'm also a big fan of short time-to-market once you actually start developing a concept. Here are some 2D engines that speed up development:
    • Torque2D - GarageGame's upcoming 2D tiling engine SDK. This looks promising, but is in its early-adopter release. Not yet ready for primetime, according to GarageGames.
    • Pygame - Python-based 2D engine. My feeling is that Python is a great language to start game development in.
    • Orbforms Designer - Why limit yourself to the PC? PDA games can give you a greater return on your time than Windows games do. (Per man-hour, our PDA titles bring us more revenue than our PC titles do.)
    • Game Editor - For those who want to go even higher-level than an SDK.
    So you want to write a 3D game! Try one of these:
    • 3D Gamestudio - The engine of choice for our latest games. I love it, and hope they'll extend to the Xbox 360 platform when it comes out.
    • Torque - Maybe the single most popular 3D engine among indies and hobbyists. Focuses, in part, on cross-platform compatibility (Windows/Linux/Mac).
    • OGRE - An open-source package. Frequently updated. Some nice projects using the engine.
    • DarkBASIC - A popular package among new developers and independents.
    Also check out what kind of games independents are making now:
    • Game Tunnel - Previews, articles, and reviews of indie games.
    • DIY Games - Covering the latest independent/shareware titles.
    And ignore anyone who says that you should start off by developing something simple. It's good advice, but nobody ever listens to it.
    ---
    Inago Rage - Create and fight in your own FPS arenas.
    ---
  2. Re:Handhelds by kisrael · · Score: 1 · on The Little Coder's Predicament

    PocketC for Palm and PocketPC has been a lot of fun for me...I can code, compile, and run all on the go.

  3. Palm OS Development by arberya · · Score: 2, Informative · on Handheld Programming?

    For Java: Superwaba
    For C: OnBoardC
    For Lua: Lua
    These are the environments I use and have lots of success with. There is also Pocket C, but I prefer ONBoardC as it is is free and generally works better.

  4. Palm by Daftspaniel · · Score: 1 · on Scientifically Oriented PDAs?

    Palm has a good C compiler on-board in the form of PocketC from Orbworks, used with Mathlib it is quite powerful. Easy to learn and lots of features.

  5. palm pilot / hanspring / some sort of palmos by StandardDeviant · · Score: 3, Informative · on Hackable Christmas Presents?

    I mean, there are a ton of ways to program the little guys, and it's vaguely practical too. And of course people have used them to drive robots and stuff using their onboard serial/usb port. I picked up a handspring deluxe for <$100 a week ago at Fry's.

    Here's some programming-palm linkage:
    Lisp (scheme)
    waba -- micro JVM (~71k), quite cool if you're into Java
    extra classes and tools that work with waba, really nice data storage classes for example
    a ui gen program for waba, written in waba :-)
    super waba, a bigger derivation of waba
    waba community site
    [yeah, I've been having lots of fun with waba :) ]

    All of the above is free (beer & speech). LispMe you can actually hack code ON the pda. PocketC also allows you to hack code on the pda, but it is shareware (not _that_ expensive, about $18 iirc, the runtime is free). The java stuff you compile on your machine and HotSync across onto the target. And of course both Palm and Handspring have developer sections on their sites with tool stuff and doc sets you can nab for free.

  6. Great news for Palm by apirkle · · Score: 5 · on Python Painfully Ported to Palm; Plan is "Peer-to-Peer"
    This really is great news for the Palm, if for no other reason than the fact that it carries an open source license. As anyone who owns a Palm has noticed, there is a dearth of open and/or free software developed for it.

    The mindset of Palm programmers seems to be morbidly similar to that of most Windows programmers - develop an app, release it as Shareware with a nag screen and 30-day trial period, then try to make a few bucks by selling your software on PalmGear, so any project to further open development for the Palm is a big step forward.

    On the downside, it appears that it wants a device with at least 4MB of memory (Sorry III, V and 2MB Visor owners...) and it doesn't seem to have the ability to create standalone PRC files (thats a standalone application file).

    Some of the other alternatives for developing directly on your Palm (no PC necessary; these read MemoPad or DOC files with your source):

    Quartus Forth: A standalone Forth interpreter/compiler that is quite powerful; however, the free version can't compile PRCs, and it costs $70 to register.

    LispMe is a Scheme compiler, licensed under the GPL. Yummy. Now we just need a better way to write parentheses in graffiti...

    PocketC is an onboard C compiler, distributed as shareware.

    And, one musn't forget the ever-helpful Palm OS Programmers FAQ

  7. Re:Pocket Quicken and others by beagle · · Score: 1 · on What Are Your Ten Best Palm Apps?
    These are in no particular order, and many are repeats from earlier in the discussion. I went through much of Palmgear when I first got my Visor Deluxe and thought the enclosed list of companies made some pretty cool products.