Author Archive for manucorporat

Notifications in OpenGL (Like OpenFeint but without lag)

Published by manucorporat on March 25, 2010 in cocos2d, OpenFeint and source code. 9 Comments

I (manucorporat) have developed a notification system for cocos2D. It’s very useful when your game uses OpenFeint or another social network.

OpenFeint has his own notification system, and probably you wonder, Why am I going to use this new system?

The answer is easy. The new system is designed in OpenGL and the performance is higher.

No more lag, when a friend connect!!!

In addition, It has a lot of advantages.

  • You can customize the notification design. (Friendly to the rest of the interface)
  • High Performance, because it uses OpenGl instead of UIKit.
  • Personalized animations (in and out).
  • cocos2d based. (Easy integration)
  • Personalized notification position (Top and bottom)
  • Easy way to play sounds when a notification is showed.
  • Easy implementation with OpenFeint.
  • Callback when it’s pressed. (Like Openfeint)

AbstractWar 2.0 uses this system.

Are you interested?

Integrating this feature in your game/app is very easy:
In CCDirector.m::mainloop
You must add [[CCNotifications sharedManager] visit]; after [runningScene_ visit];
And #import "CCNotifications.h"

/* draw the scene */
 
[runningScene_ visit];
[[CCNotifications sharedManager] visit]; //<<<<<<<<
if( displayFPS )
[self showFPS];

Ok, now you can push a notification if you write this code:

[[CCNotifications sharedManager] addNotificationTitle:@"Game Name:" message:@"Running in 1.4 version" image:nil tag:0 animate:YES];

Openfeint integration:

Open (ProyectName)AppDelegate.m
It must implement <OpenFeintDelegate, OFNotificationDelegate, CCNotificationsDelegate> protocols.

- (void) applicationDidFinishLaunching:(UIApplication *)application {
 
//Openfeint init
NSDictionary* settings = [NSDictionary dictionaryWithObjectsAndKeys:
[NSNumber numberWithInt:UIInterfaceOrientationLandscapeRight], OpenFeintSettingDashboardOrientation,
@"Name", OpenFeintSettingShortDisplayName,
window, OpenFeintSettingPresentationWindow,
nil
];
 
OFDelegatesContainer* delegates = [OFDelegatesContainer containerWithOpenFeintDelegate:self andChallengeDelegate:nil andNotificationDelegate:self];
 
[OpenFeint initializeWithProductKey:@"yourkey"
andSecret:@"yourpassword"
andDisplayName:@"your proyect name"
andSettings:settings
andDelegates:delegates];
 
//CCNotifications delegate
[[CCNotifications sharedManager] setDelegate:self];
}
 
#pragma mark OpenFeint Delegate methods
 
- (BOOL) isOpenFeintNotificationAllowed:(OFNotificationData*)notificationData{
 
return NO;
 
}
 
- (void)handleDisallowedNotification:(OFNotificationData*)notificationData{
 
[[CCNotifications sharedManager] addNotificationTitle:@"Openfeint:" message:[notificationData notificationText] image:@"openfeintLogo.png" tag:1 animate:YES];
 
}

Delegate methods:

- (void) notificationChangeState:(char)state tag:(int)tag {
if(state == kCCNotificationStateShowing){
//Play sound
}
}
- (BOOL) touched:(int)tag{
//Example
/*
if(tag==kTagOpenfeint) {
	[OpenFeint launchDashboard];
}
*/
}

Customize:
You can customize the notification design in CCNotificationDefaultDesign class.

  • The position:
[[CCNotifications sharedManager] setPosition:kCCNotificationPositionBottom]; //kCCNotificationPositionTop
  • Animations:

Animation (In):

[[CCNotifications sharedManager] setAnimationIn:kCCNotificationAnimationMovement time:0.4f];

Animation (Out):

[[CCNotifications sharedManager] setAnimationOut:kCCNotificationAnimationMovement time:0.4f];

Both:

[[CCNotifications sharedManager] setAnimation:kCCNotificationAnimationMovement time:0.4f];
  • Time:
[[CCNotifications sharedManager] setShowingTime:3.2f];

Other usages:

  • Show app version.
  • Music now playing
  • New DLC content. (In-app purchase)

Conclusion: If you have got a game with cocos2D and it uses OpenFeint, I recommend that you implement this feature. It’s also a plus to get Openfeint Gold.

Forum discussion
Check here to download the code.

For further updates, follow me on Twitter or keep an eye on my blog.

Social Widgets powered by AB-WebLog.com.