Vertex shaders don't really do anything that you couldn't have done on the CPU (and sometimes more easily). The main purpose of vertex shaders is that the GPU can do that same work more efficiently since it has a lot of simple little vector CPUs and can save on memory bandwidth.

@letmeknow Yes, but this is in the Cocos3D subforum.

Ah, okay. I thought you were saying there's no point in developing 2D games anymore.

For 2D game, using cocos2d is much better than Unity3D.

Uh,yeah that.

Hmm. I thought that was the cool thing about even vertex shaders-- that they let you create some great 2D effects that are difficult to do otherwise. Hmm. Boo.

Reporting spammers feels like a full-time job some days. You should see my PM list. Poor @itlgames!

Hrm? You mean vertex shaders? Not really. Vertex shaders generally don't tend to be that interesting, only necessary.

I think you want:

-(void) changeDistanceTo:(float)newDistance
{
    distanceScore = newDistance;
    [hudLayer changeDistanceTo:distanceScore];
}

That way, the score is changed in the instance variable as well.

By the way, putting the code in backticks --> ` <--- makes it a lot more readable on these forums.

Why?

Hi

I managed to figure it out. After moving to landscape the ContentSize of the layer remains as in portrait mode.
When I explicitly set the layer's ContentSize based on the orientation then the scaling work as expected.

cheers

Lee

- (void) orientationChanged:(NSNotification *)notification
{
    CGSize screenSize=[CCDirector sharedDirector].winSize;

    [self setContentSize: screenSize];

    self.scale = 0.7;

}

No, the different parts do not have an effect on the gameplay. I have written a bit more about this here: http://www.box2d.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=9314

The checkpoints are not supposed to help you cheat, so they store a snapshot of your velocity, which reflects your performance/skill at that point. You can indeed get into a state where you need to restart the level completely which is unfortunate, but does not happen all that often. Other options like restoring the bike to a known safe position/velocity would have influenced the difficulty balancing a lot and in many cases the momentum lost by being reset to a 'standard' position would mean the difference between getting three stars or not. I think ideally, it would be good to be able to return back one checkpoint if you wanted to, which would get you out of that stuck state without completely restarting.

The ground mesh is 100% automatically generated from the ground line, and is stored as color and vertex arrays with baked-in lighting, ready for glDrawArrays. Right now the meshes are part of the download, but they could potentially be generated on the device after downloading (did not check how long that would take because for now, the download size is not so bad). In future that might be a better option because those meshes get quite large.

why should anyone make 2D game with Unity ? You don't need to be a project manager to work as an accountant. Once go with Unity, forget 2D games.

Ive created a blank cocos2d v2.0 game in xcode and replaced the init contents of the layer with this:

//create objects
CCSprite *hopper = [[CCSprite alloc] initWithFile:@"hopper.png"];
CCSprite *shield = [[CCSprite alloc] initWithFile:@"shield.png"];

//set position
hopper.position = ccp(50,100);
shield.position = ccp(100,300);

//add objects to layer
[self addChild:hopper];
[self addChild:shield];

I selected only Landscape Left in the Target Summary. But when I run the game, the simulator rotates left but the sprites added are facing downwards as if they were added but when the simulator rotated, they stayed facing towards the long edge of the screen.

Why wont the sprites rotate with the screen?

Hi,

@clarus Thank you! I no longer see the warning, but there is another problem. I'm not receiving any errors. The alert isn't showing the score. It'll always say "0." To make everything better another problem started to occur. The score is measured how far you go. If you go up to 100m in the game and then die. It'll reset back to 0. Not sure how though? Here is the code:

ERPlayfieldLayer.h:

'
{
...
NSInteger distanceScore;
}

@property (nonatomic, readonly) NSInteger distanceScore;

'

ERPlayfieldLayer.m"

'
...
@synthesize distanceScore;
...

-(void) gameOver {
[self unscheduleUpdate];

preventTouches = YES;
isGameOver = YES;

// Alert Message
NSString *gameAlert = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"Sorry! You're now dead. Your score is %d", distanceScore];

[hudLayer changeDistanceTo:distanceScore];

// Alert method
UIAlertView* alertview;
alertview = [[UIAlertView alloc] initWithTitle:@"Game Over"
message:gameAlert
delegate:self
cancelButtonTitle:@"OK"
otherButtonTitles:nil, nil];

[alertview show];

}

...

-(void) changeDistanceTo:(float)newDistance
{
[hudLayer changeDistanceTo:distanceScore];
}

'

There are other problems, but for now I would like to focus on one before I lose my mind.

@letmeknow, they did the same free thing with version 3.5. I was a bit confused about how this was any different from that, except a year or so later with a different version.

The one thing you'll never see is integration between cocos2d and Unity. That's an advantage that cocos3d has.

EDIT: Actually, the last time they did it was March 2012, but you only got one free add-on (iOS or Android) not all of them. And I guess another difference is that this isn't an expiring promo. I do still think you'd want the pro modules though. I know I would.

RE-EDIT: Actually the last free deal came with both iOS and Android.

...and I do still call "shenanigans" on that shirt collar.

That's disappointingly good to know. Is there a similar showcase for pixel shaders?

I downloaded it and I would love to make a unity game but you can't go wrong with cocos2d. It's just so nice.

Try them out and see which one trips your trigger.

I think the problem is that most games don't make a profit. So anyone working with you may not see a dime because you just won't make that much.

If you REALLY believe in what you are doing you should offer up some payment for work and then when you app takes off like the next Angry Birds you get to pocket it all.

I'm noticing some quality loss when using TexturePacker's Auto SD feature with my Cocos2d project, and I was curious if anyone else has noticed this? For example say I'm starting with typical 1024x1024 png game sprites and I use the Auto SD feature to have a version of the sprite sheets scaled down by a factor of 4 and on highest quality sprite settings (RGB8888, etc) I notice that the final 256x256 sprites are lower quality when compared to if I just reduced the original pngs by a factor of 4 in photoshop, apple's default Preview program, or if I just made a non sized down sprite sheet from the 256x256 png.

I know I can get around this by just sizing the sprites myself for each device and making a sprite sheet based on that, but this would totally defeat the point of the Auto SD option (which is nice). Any insight would be much appreciated; thanks.

Unity free for iOS is good. I just worry 2 things: the way they control iOS Build and tons of warnings can't be fixed by developers. Other things are good, developer can sell their stuffs on Unity, share 70-30 as Apple.

@clarus: I did not notice what he wear, maybe only if he is naked. My brother sent me the link a few days ago, I watch for some minutes to know Unity is free for iOS, which may cost me $400. Not wasting time on what he said or how he look, I just try to find the way how to get that license (no license, just download latest Unity, the build option is made available).

Hello
I am encountering a very strange issue.
I embedded a CC3Layer into a Cocos2D scene. The CC3Layer has a CC3Scene which has a single Cube.
The issue is that the WireframeBox is not located at the center of CC3Layer, and therefore the cube is not either. Two strange points are:
1) This issue happens only for retina devices of iPos, iPad, iPhone only. (iPhone 3GS has no problem).
2) The cube is located left-below the cc3Layer, and the difference between the cube and the cc3Layer changes depending on where the cc3Layer is located. In detail, when cc3layer is positioned at top right, the distance is big with the cube being located almost at the center of the screen. While cc3layer is located the bottom left, the distance is very small with the cube being almost at the center of the cc3Layer.

My codes are somehow like follows. Please give me some help. Thank you!

1. Add CC3Layer to 2D
-(void)AddCC3Layer
{
cubeLayer = [CC3Layer layerWithColor: ccc4(60, 0, 0, 0) width:50 height:50];
[self addChild:cubeLayer z:10];
cubeLayer.position=ccp(100,100);
cubeScene = [CCCubeScene scene];
cubeLayer.cc3Scene= cubeScene;
}

2. Initial CC3Scene
-(void) initializeScene {

CC3Camera* cam = [CC3Camera nodeWithName: @"Camera"];
cam.location = cc3v( 240.0, 240.0, 240.0 );

cam.forwardDirection=cc3v(-1,-1,-1);
cam.uniformScale = 4.25f;
[self addChild: cam];

CC3Light* lamp = [CC3Light nodeWithName: @"Lamp"];
lamp.location = cc3v( 0, 20.0, 0.0 );
lamp.isDirectionalOnly = NO;

[cam addChild: lamp];

[self addTexturedCube];

[self createGLBuffers];
[self releaseRedundantContent];

[self selectShaderPrograms];

}

3. Add cube
-(void) addTexturedCube:(int)index {
SpinningNode* texCube = [SpinningNode nodeWithName: @"kTexturedCubeName"];
[texCube populateAsSolidBox: CC3BoundingBoxMake(-1.0f, -1.0f, -1.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f)];
texCube.uniformScale = 1;

texCube.texture = [CC3Texture textureFromFile:@"blank_cube.png"];
texCube.textureRectangle = CGRectMake(0, 0, 1, 0.75);

texCube.location = cc3v(0, 0, 0.0);
texCube.touchEnabled = YES;

[self addChild: texCube];

texCube.uniformScale=13;
}

Oh -- this is an example of how I'm using it:

CCSprite *tileInfoBar = [CCSprite rectangleOfSize:CGSizeMake(200,200)
                                          withRed:0
                                            green:0
                                             blue:0
                                         andAlpha:200];

    tileInfoBar.anchorPoint = ccp(0,1);
    tileInfoBar.position = ccp(0,300);

    [self addChild:tileInfoBar z:2 tag:12];

For what it's worth, I turned this into a category on CCSprite:

//
//  CCSprite+GLBoxes.h
//

#import "CCSprite.h"

@interface CCSprite (GLBoxes)

// If you want a black/white/red/whatever colored box without using an external texture
// Good for UI panels

+ (CCSprite *) rectangleOfSize:(CGSize)size
                       withRed:(uint8_t)red
                         green:(uint8_t)green
                          blue:(uint8_t)blue
                      andAlpha:(uint8_t)alpha;

@end

//
//  CCSprite+GLBoxes.m
//

#import "CCSprite+GLBoxes.h"

@implementation CCSprite (GLBoxes)

+ (CCSprite *) rectangleOfSize:(CGSize)size
                       withRed:(uint8_t)red
                         green:(uint8_t)green
                          blue:(uint8_t)blue
                      andAlpha:(uint8_t)alpha
{

    CCSprite *sprite = [CCSprite node];

    GLubyte *buffer = (GLubyte *) malloc(sizeof(GLubyte)*4);

    buffer[0] = red;
    buffer[1] = green;
    buffer[2] = blue;
    buffer[3] = alpha;

    CCTexture2D *tex = [[CCTexture2D alloc] initWithData:buffer pixelFormat:kCCTexture2DPixelFormat_Default pixelsWide:1 pixelsHigh:1 contentSize:size];

    [sprite setTexture:tex];

    [sprite setTextureRect:CGRectMake(0, 0, size.width, size.height)];

    free(buffer);

    return sprite;
}

@end

Hey everyone we still need an artist to come help us out on our project. It's a great way to work part time and still earn some cash $$ and get some great experience under your belt. Artist of all levels are welcome. @Birkemose, I believe ultimately I will have to move this discussion else where to another dedicated art forum, although I have to say I am little disappointed that no one here will give us a try. Never the less I looked at the only art place I knew deviantart.com and their jobs section says paid only. Do you think I should post in another section on their site or do you know of a better art forum. Thanks again for your time and I hope someone with join us.

Just want to chime in and say I love the theme and layout of the current forum - so +1 for trying to duplicate it in the brave new world of the new forum.

I have watched - and awed - over many of the shadertoy demos, but they have absolutely nothing to do with the shaders you use in games. Not even in real 3D high end games. They are in no way useful for learning shaders. This is "gimmick" programming, like making a complete game in a single for-next statement, or whatever people have been occupied with during the years.
It still is pretty cutting edge though, but you have to be a bit autistic, to work with programming this way.

If you loaded a shader like that on your iPad, the iPad would either explode, or drain the batteries in less than 30 seconds. Probably both.

Edit:
After prof-reading, of course these shaders will be useful, but that will be tiny tiny details of doing something in a different way, that will improve performance. Not the overall shader. They are gimmick only.

I just found that some of the menus has INT_MIN+1 priority and that's why they were catching touches.

In stead of deleting your question, please share how you fixed it. Even if it was a bit embarrassing ;)

If you add backticks to you code, it will be much easier to read. I took the liberty to insert the backticks into your code to show.

Try debugging the notification about landscape / portrait change, and make sure you get the right screen coordinates back. On top of that, I actually dont know if convertToWorldSpace would work after you changed rotation. I guess not. Maybe the proper function would also be convertToWindowSpace?

Be glad you are not an Android programmer.

Cocos2d takes most of the hazzle out of it, by automatically loading artwork according to device. You will of course have to provide artwork for all devices then, and in that respect TexturePacker is the superior choice. There are many tutorials on this. Seach Bob Ueland and Ray "Tyrolerhosen" Wenderlich.
So in reality, you are only left with the aspect problem from iPhone, to iPad to iPhone5. A good idea is to make all placements relative, i.e. never to place a component at 50, 100, but to place it at 0.1 * screenSizeWidth, 0.1 * screenSizeHeight.

It looks good!

This actually looks pretty cool. Will for sure give it a spin.

Is he danish? Yikes. Helgason, that is a swedish name ... and as we all know, all swedes have really really long back hair ... which actually explains why he has the collar up.

Edit:
I actually watched the video, and while you can not argue that these guys did well, he really should fire his script writer. Should be easy, as he is probably in the process of firing his stylist.

EditEdit:
His accent reminds me of a german coast guard I once knew. He got fired from his job though, after an english sail boat radioed him, yelling:
"Help us, help us, we are sinking".
To which he replied
"Okay. What are you sinking about?"

Upgraded my game from 0.7.2 to 2.0. First impressions / questions:

1. Scenes went much darker (at least for some objects). Picture is here:. Some objects seem to have same color, some are very much darker. If I ramp up the ambientColor, then I get the scenes to look the same as before. Is there a known reason for this?

2. Textures are flipped vertically in 2.0 (in the example picture 2.0 duck's texture isn't correct). Models are made with blender and textures are applied separately with addTexture: and [CC3Texture textureFromFile:filename] calls. Is this expected behaviour? I can just flip the images vertically with image editor and after that everything is ok.

3. Graphics pipeline seems slower in 2.0. At first my game dropped from 50fps to 15-20fps in certain situations. Then I discovered that some of my meshes had more than one texture applied to it. I inserted [mesh removeAllTextures] calls before addTexture and now I'm back to 40fps. Still with version 0.7.2 I was at 50 fps, so I should probably look at the GLSL code and optimize that. GLSL programming is my main reason for upgrading to 2.0, so I'm not overly worried about this. Is there some basic configuration that can affect the performance this way?

I love the hills! Is that programmatically generated or is it just images?