Maybe..

Just seeing how it looks. Next up will be the UI, and early planning on how the game itself will work.

Random thoughts..

* I don't think tilting the iPad to move the tank is going to work, because your eyes are constantly readjusting to the map and one hand has to be stuck holding the device. Maybe a compass of some sort on the lower left (or right, depending on the player) side of the screen to move the tank will work better.

* iOS might have a limit on how long a app can stay open, which would limit game participation to whatever this limit is.

* ~7 packets per second, via 3G or WiFi? Networking is my weak spot..

* iPhones screen is small, which might let us tilt the device to move the tank, but can't display the same GUI as iPad bolo.

* Unsure the max number of simultaneous touch events we can process, so players might not be able to move the tank while shooting and planting a pill like one would during a regular desktop game.

* first proof of concept would be a single-player game, plus a logviewer, but can only package logs with the executable and offer updates with new logs (meaning, we can't let users download logs off wbn)

jhood wrote:

* Networking is my weak spot..

Well that's nothing to be embarrassed about. After all, it could be a lot worse: Acro's weak spot is his inability to experience any human emotions other than rage, fear, and shame. He is also unable to control the onset or intensity of these three emotions.

It made for quite a spectacle when he was working that substitute teaching gig at the elementary school.

CF

Concept 2, using the same concepts as desktop Bolo.

You can view the above concept on iPad by loading the URL as shown. Scroll the game area using your finger. CT3 loads in the middle of the map.

Stuff that isn't implemented in the concept, but we need to figure out:

Using the LGM involves pressing the LGM area on the upper right, which would draw a grid on the map area. Choosing a grid square will activate the LGM to perform whatever action it's supposed to.

Sending a message via newswire would involve clicking on that area in the bottom, which would replace it with a text input box of some sort, however this would bring up the default iPad keyboard, which covers around 70% of the screen.

Alliance requests would be issued by clicking on their player icon (the red square) and maybe this would be the way to send player to player messages.

As for tank movement.. I don't know. With the game concept up and running, those of us with iPads can load it and see what would be best. I've found that moving the iPad slightly *might* work to move the tank, as long as you're quick about it.

One thought: place some just the necessary "keys" on the screen that you need to drive, mine and shoot (and a pill/tank view toggle?). Add the option in settings to place theses "keys" in the lower left or lower right. One hand could control these funtions and always be on the screen and your other hand could scroll the other screen functions (scrolling, LGM). Pinch zoom on the tank could control the gun site range.

this seems cool if could get this working good on the ipad

Great stuff hood.

I have thought about this and you will probably need keys on the screen. I have an iPad and getting the movements right will be difficult. However, you might be able to let the user turning left and right using the tilt of the iPad with acceleration via the tilt (or vice versa), but this might cause problems if they are playing and for some reason the iPad moves (in a car eg) and the player gets moved off course during a pilltake.

I cant access the iPad version at dev.hoodmonkey. Is it still up?