Droid and Android gaming irony
 

A year ago I predicted that Android's byte code translation layer would make it impossible for even a GBC game emulator to play smooth with sound. Based on people trying to use the SDK as designed, that turned out to be correct but, a few geniuses out there figured out how to get around some of the obstacles by using C++.

Thanks to Droid and the great 3430 chipset, as of today, Droid plays the following games systems full speed with sound with every game I have thrown at them (hundreds). Based on sampling of games tried, the emulators on Droid have no equal with game compatibility (until N900 and Pandora get rolling).

1. NES
2. SNES
3. GBA
4. Genesis
5. Sega
6. Game Gear
7. Frodo64
8. MAME (Jarcade was released today for Droid and plays all games I have tried .34 & .35b romsets full speed with sound).

Just need a GBC and Turbografx emu to complete the sweep :)

My point about this is that the 3430 chipset WITH ANDROID plays all of these platforms very well. Just imagine how well the N900 will be with Maemo, no byte code layer and an extra 50mhz will do :eek:

My guess is besides all of the platforms listed above, a PS1 emulator should be very possible as well. DOA, Raiden 2, Devil Dice, Tobal 2 and Crash Racing would be sweet :)

If Droid did not suck for video codecs and the card under the battery thing- it would be a closer competitor to the N900- not to mention the screen size and dimensions are even better than the N900. N900 does have all the other things though, so is tops for gadget nuts.

Re: Droid and Android gaming irony
 

Except for the fact that it also runs Android. CNN had an article two days ago talking about the exact thing I have been complaining about for weeks. Android is splintering - there are already at least 3 versions in the wild and at least that many customizations of them. Several devs in the article were saying that they are experiencing the same thing as me. The emulators do not reflect the device and they are having to code multiple versions, one for each device

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQTBn...layer_embedded

Oh and lets of course not forget that the wii controller can be paired with the n900 to turn it into a proper gaming rig - especially with the TV out

(repeated some of my other post here because it was relevant).

Re: Droid and Android gaming irony
 

As you said, they're using C and assembly already. No byte code layer involded...

Re: Droid and Android gaming irony
 

Completely agree! Android's premise of a higher level dev code is a failed one due to constraint of app design and only practical with a limited number of chipsets and display designs.

Droid is a huge headache for devs (you know this as fact).

I am NOT advocating Android, but the fact that with Android / Droid doing so well with gaming platforms, the N900 should be at the very least 30% more efficient.

BTW, help me with the C issue, since you could explain much better how devs are able to make cpu intensive apps like emulators semi-efficient on Android using C. Thanks ;)

My understanding is it is not a complete workaround, but enough resources are involved to offset the CPU from choking. Some of the emus play pretty good on the G1 as well, but are "perfect" on Droid- edit: would be game device level better with good d-pad.

Re: Droid and Android gaming irony
 

The real advantage of C is twofold. First memory management. In C the dev is responsible for it you do not rely on the JVM to handle garbage collection and freeing memory. By controlling the memory you gain a much better running app that is more memory efficient (if coded correctly).
Second C is a lower level language than Java it "talks" to the machine with less interpretation.

The main reason the emu's play so much better on the droid is pure hardware grunt. The droid is a considerably beefier machine.

Re: Droid and Android gaming irony
 

Haha so it's only by bypassing the byte code layer and by using C++ they can truly perform.

Google should take this as a sign to allow apps to work without an byte code layer. >.>

Re: Droid and Android gaming irony
 

THAT is the catch! The lower level the code is, the more reliant it is for resources, thus the specific chipset parameters indigenous to the device. This is the key reason iPhone is so much better with games, the SDK is lower level due to only two chipsets and displays to worry about.

This is why All the emulators had to be "refreshed" to work on Droid. There is also a great Final Burn / Neo Geo app called Android Arcade. That was heavy with C, so the dev said it will be a while to rewrite some of it. A TON of great games run on that app :)

Re: Droid and Android gaming irony
 

But the problem with that approach is you lose the cross-compatibility with other devices. But, yeah I do hope Android takes this approach. Maybe java for less resource hungry apps but have outside applications on a per-device basis.

If so then one thing that annoys me about Android goes away.

Re: Droid and Android gaming irony
 

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/11/...red/index.html

link to the article I was mentioning.

Re: Droid and Android gaming irony
 

Nails it real good!