Return of the Startup Flicker! « cocos2d for iPhone

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Return of the Startup Flicker!

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Started 1 year ago by eshirt
Latest reply from damiano

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eshirt
Member

All of a sudden my 0.99.5b3 game has the dreaded black frame on startup. It didn't have it yesterday. Everything has been working great since adding autorotation handled by the RootViewController.

I haven't made any changes to the RVC, but I did add the UILaunchImageFile key to Info.plist along with some device-specific Default.png files. This was to get around a problem where iOS 3.x devices would startup in Landscape Left by default, and iOS 4.x devices would start up in Landscape Right. By adding "~iphone" device modifiers, I can make sure that the right Default file is getting loaded. I don't see how this could have caused the flicker to return...

Currently, I see the flicker on the iPhone 4 w/ 4.1, iPhone 3Gs w/ 4.1, iPod touch (2G) w/ 3.1, iPhone 3G w/ 3.1.3, and all iPhone simulators. It DOES NOT happen on the iPad either on the device or simulator (except in LandscapeRight which is a separate, known bug).

I don't want to clutter up the forum by posting my entire app delegate, but if it would help, I can provide the relevant code.

Any advice for debugging, where to look, or whatever would be awesome.

I have to imagine that something with the new Default.png files or the Info.plist is conflicting with the startup. For the record, I have Default.png, Default~iphone.png, Default@2x~iphone.png, and Default-Landscape~ipad.png. Yet when I remove all the new files and revert the Info.plist file, I still get the flicker (even after cleaning all targets).

Ugh.

Posted 1 year ago #
Verisutha
Member

@eshirt

I had the exact same problem. What I had to do to correct it was use the latest template that came with 0.99.5b3. After I upgraded my appdelegate to reflect the new template the issue went away.

I no longer have the black screen.

Posted 1 year ago #
eshirt
Member

Yeah, that's the template that I used. I'll do a comparison between the two again in case something got deleted or moved.

Anything else I should look for?

Posted 1 year ago #

riq
Key Master

This is not a real fix, but try with this:

In your App delegate, replace this code:

// make the OpenGLView a child of the view controller
        [viewController setView:glView];

With this one:

// make the OpenGLView a child of the view controller
        [[viewController view] addSubview:glView];

Posted 1 year ago #

Verisutha
Member

I could always post my appdelegate if you want so you can take a look at it, if something is different..

Chances are you just missed something. Let me know if you want it.

Posted 1 year ago #

eshirt
Member

@riq - That causes a completely black screen after Default.png. :(

Here's my AppDelegate -init method:

- (void) applicationDidFinishLaunching:(UIApplication*)application
{

	// Init the window
	window = [[UIWindow alloc] initWithFrame:[[UIScreen mainScreen] bounds]];

	// Try to use CADisplayLink director
	// if it fails (SDK < 3.1) use the default director
	if( ! [CCDirector setDirectorType:kCCDirectorTypeDisplayLink] )
		[CCDirector setDirectorType:kCCDirectorTypeDefault];

	CCDirector *director = [CCDirector sharedDirector];

	// Init the View Controller
	viewController = [[RootViewController alloc] initWithNibName:nil bundle:nil];
	viewController.wantsFullScreenLayout = YES;

	//
	// Create the EAGLView manually
	//  1. Create a RGB565 format. Alternative: RGBA8
	//	2. depth format of 0 bit. Use 16 or 24 bit for 3d effects, like CCPageTurnTransition
	//
	//
	EAGLView *glView = [EAGLView viewWithFrame:[window bounds]
								   pixelFormat:kEAGLColorFormatRGB565	// kEAGLColorFormatRGBA8
								   depthFormat:0						// GL_DEPTH_COMPONENT16_OES
							preserveBackbuffer:NO];

	// attach the openglView to the director
	[director setOpenGLView:glView];

	// Enables High Res mode on iPhone 4 and maintains low res on all other devices
	// Don't add if you don't want to enable HighRes mode on iPhone4

	if([[UIScreen mainScreen] respondsToSelector:NSSelectorFromString(@"scale")])
	{
		if ([[UIScreen mainScreen] scale] == 1.0)
		{
			// sd device
			[director setContentScaleFactor:[[UIScreen mainScreen] scale]];
		}
		if ([[UIScreen mainScreen] scale] == 2.0)
		{
			if([[[UIDevice currentDevice] model] compare:@"iPad"] == NSOrderedSame)
			{
				// iPad ! no retina
				[director setContentScaleFactor:1.0];
			}
			else
			{
				// enable retina here
				[director setContentScaleFactor:[[UIScreen mainScreen] scale]];
			}
		}
	}

#if GAME_AUTOROTATION == kGameAutorotationUIViewController
	[director setDeviceOrientation:kCCDeviceOrientationPortrait];
#else
	[director setDeviceOrientation:kCCDeviceOrientationLandscapeLeft];
#endif

	[director setAnimationInterval:1.0/60];
	[director setDisplayFPS:NO];

	// Turn on multiple touches
	EAGLView *view = [director openGLView];
	[view setUserInteractionEnabled:YES];
	[view setMultipleTouchEnabled:YES];

	// make the OpenGLView a child of the view controller
	[viewController setView:glView];
	//[[viewController view] addSubview:glView];

	// make the View Controller a child of the main window
	[window addSubview: viewController.view];

	[window makeKeyAndVisible];

	// Default texture format for PNG/BMP/TIFF/JPEG/GIF images
	// It can be RGBA8888, RGBA4444, RGB5_A1, RGB565
	// You can change anytime.
	[CCTexture2D setDefaultAlphaPixelFormat:kCCTexture2DPixelFormat_RGBA8888];

	// Check file path to Documents Directory
	NSString *filePath = [self dataFilePath];
	if ([[NSFileManager defaultManager] fileExistsAtPath:filePath]) {
		// if file exists already, load it
		[GameData loadGameDataFromFile:filePath];
	} else {
		// else, init blank game data
		[[GameData sharedData] init];
	}

    // if the current version isn't 2, set it to not have a game in progress
    if ([GameData sharedData].versionNumber != 2) {
        [GameData sharedData].gameInProgress = NO;
        [GameData sharedData].versionNumber = 2;
    }

	// Get current device
	NSString *device = [[UIDevice currentDevice] model];

	// start the scenes given the device type

	if ([device isEqualToString:@"iPhone"]) {
		if ([GameData sharedData].vibrationEnabled) {
			MainMenuScene *menuScene = [MainMenuScene node];
			[[CCDirector sharedDirector] runWithScene:menuScene];
		} else {
			VibrationSettingScene *vibrationScreen = [VibrationSettingScene node];
			[[CCDirector sharedDirector] runWithScene:vibrationScreen];
		}
	} else if ([device isEqualToString:@"iPod touch"]) {
		MainMenuScene *menuScene = [MainMenuScene node];
		[[CCDirector sharedDirector] runWithScene:menuScene];
	} 

	/* Use to test Vibration screen in simulator
	else if ([device isEqualToString:@"iPhone Simulator"]) {
		if ([GameData sharedData].vibrationEnabled) {
			MainMenuScene *menuScene = [MainMenuScene node];
			[[CCDirector sharedDirector] runWithScene:menuScene];
		} else {
			VibrationSettingScene *vibrationScreen = [VibrationSettingScene node];
			[[CCDirector sharedDirector] runWithScene:vibrationScreen];
		}
	}
	 */

	else {
		MainMenuScene *menuScene = [MainMenuScene node];
		[[CCDirector sharedDirector] runWithScene:menuScene];
	}
}

Something to note - I'm not calling the first scene the same way the template handles it. I'm dealing with some older code from 0.8.1 where I had separate Scene and Layer Classes. So MainMenuScene.m has this -init method:

- (id) init
{
	// always call "super" init
	// Apple recommends to re-assign "self" with the "super" return value
	if( (self=[super init] )) {

		MainMenuLayer *menuLayer = [MainMenuLayer node];

        [self addChild:menuLayer z:0];

	}
	return self;
}

Posted 1 year ago #

eshirt
Member

For the record - I tried running HelloWorldScene from my AppDelegate exactly as it is in the 0.99.5b3 template (with +scene).

The flicker is still there.

I don't think it's an issue with MainMenuScene or even my AppDelegate. Could it be an issue caused by me adding the Default~iphone.png files? And if so, why wouldn't removing those files fix it?

Posted 1 year ago #

Verisutha
Member

Just out of curiosity what happens if you change the scene code to the following:

CCScene *useScene;

	if ([device isEqualToString:@"iPhone"]) {
		if ([GameData sharedData].vibrationEnabled) {
			useScene = [MainMenuScene node];
		} else {
			useScene = [VibrationSettingScene node];
		}
	} else if ([device isEqualToString:@"iPod touch"]) {
		useScene = [MainMenuScene node];
	} 

	/* Use to test Vibration screen in simulator
	else if ([device isEqualToString:@"iPhone Simulator"]) {
		if ([GameData sharedData].vibrationEnabled) {
			useScene = [MainMenuScene node];
		} else {
			useScene = [VibrationSettingScene node];
		}
	}
	 */
	else {
		useScene = [MainMenuScene node];
	}
	[[CCDirector sharedDirector] runWithScene:useScene];

Posted 1 year ago #

eshirt
Member

Thanks for the suggestion, but it's still flickering.

It's weird to me that the iPad isn't flickering. That makes me think it's related to the Default~iphone.png adjustments I made. I'll keep trying to revert back to see if I can get it to stop, but so far no luck.

Posted 1 year ago #
eshirt
Member

Ok, so I'm about to give up on this one.

The 0.99.5b3 template file builds fine and has no flicker. So it's NOT an inherent bug in cocos2d.

I created a brand new project, imported my classes and altered the app delegate only enough to run my first scene. I left the Default.png as the cocos2d logo. I left the RootViewController alone. Build and Go - still a flicker.

I've noticed something else with odd my project. On iOS 3.x, it launches in LandscapeLeft by default. On iOS 4.x, it always launches in LandscapeRight. But when I created a new project, tested on iOS 4.1, it launched in LandscapeLeft. Weird.

If there's someone that really thinks they can figure this out, I'd be happy to provide more complete portions of my project. It's times like these that I wish I knew more about what was going on behind the scenes with OpenGL... As it is, I can barely understand the front-end.

Posted 1 year ago #
eshirt
Member

Well, one mystery resolved.

The reason for the difference in startup orientation is coming from the UISupportedInterfaceOrientations key in Info.plist. I put it in there as recommended by the iPad Programming Guide, but I think it's optional.

Removing that keeps the startup orientation the same across all iPhones. But I still get a flicker.

Posted 1 year ago #
Steve Oldmeadow
Administrator

I created a brand new project, imported my classes and altered the app delegate only enough to run my first scene. I left the Default.png as the cocos2d logo. I left the RootViewController alone. Build and Go - still a flicker.

If that is the case then my guess would be it is something happening in the init of that scene. This is pure speculation but maybe it has something to do with the time the init takes, for example what if the init takes longer than 1 or 2 frame switches? You could test my theory by moving any expensive initialisation out of the init and into a method that you schedule to run or is fired from a scheduled selector.

Posted 1 year ago #
eshirt
Member
Thanks, Steve - I'd thought about that too, especially since I'm testing on an iPhone 4 and the assets are larger. The only thing is that it JUST started happening after using the same code for weeks. I'll still take a look at it. I'm willing to try anything at this point :)

Did you mean the AppDelegate init method or my first scene? Because my first scene "VibrationSettingScene" has a minimal init. It loads one background sprite and two small MenuItemImages. I'll trim it down further to test your theory.

I've tried to revert back to using the pre-0.99.2 trick for fixing the flicker. I've got it almost worked out, but the sprite that it loads in between Default and my first scene doesn't seem to be in the right orientation for some reason. I tried to rotate it (as the code below shows) but it didn't help.
```
CCSprite *sprite;

if (UI_USER_INTERFACE_IDIOM() == UIUserInterfaceIdiomPad) {
} else {
CC_ENABLE_DEFAULT_GL_STATES();

	if([[UIScreen mainScreen] respondsToSelector:NSSelectorFromString(@"scale")])
	{
		if ([[UIScreen mainScreen] scale] == 1.0)
		{
			// sd device
			sprite = [CCSprite spriteWithFile:@"Default.png"];
		}
		if ([[UIScreen mainScreen] scale] == 2.0)
		{
			sprite = [CCSprite spriteWithFile:@"Default@2x.png"];
		}
	}

sprite.anchorPoint = CGPointZero;
sprite.rotation = 90;
[sprite draw];
CC_DISABLE_DEFAULT_GL_STATES();
}

[[director openGLView] swapBuffers];
[[CCTextureCache sharedTextureCache] removeTexture:[sprite texture]];
```
Posted 1 year ago #
Steve Oldmeadow
Administrator

Because my first scene "VibrationSettingScene" has a minimal init. It loads one background sprite and two small MenuItemImages. I'll trim it down further to test your theory.

Oh well, can that theory then. I thought you might be starting with a heavy weight scene whereas most people start with a splash or menu type screen. Have you considered using a UIKit view for your VibrationSetting dialog?

Posted 1 year ago #

Verisutha
Member

@eshirt

What if you loaded the default background as a sprite as the first thing you do in your vibration menu? eg:

-(id) init
{
	if( (self=[super init] )) {
		CGSize winSize = [[CCDirector sharedDirector] winSize];

		LogoImage = [CCSprite spriteWithFile:@"logo.png"];
		LogoImage.position = ccp( winSize.width/2, winSize.height/2 );
		[self addChild:LogoImage z:1];
                <insert coded here>
	}
	return self;
}

Posted 1 year ago #

eshirt
Member

Thanks, Steve. Unfortunately, on iPod touch devices, my game goes right to the main menu - so I'd have to recreate that screen as well.

Verisutha - no change with that code either.

It's odd because it just started happening (seemingly) out of nowhere. I made minor changes to the Info.plist and Default.png, but even after reverting back, the flicker persists.

That being said, I've fixed the flicker. It's an ugly fix and I'm not really happy with it, but it gives me the benefit of being able to fade into my first scene. Here's what I did:

To AppDelegate.h - I added:

UIViewController *flickerFixController;
NSTimer *flickerTimer;

In AppDelegate.m -init: method, right after [window makeKeyAndVisible]:

if (UI_USER_INTERFACE_IDIOM() == UIUserInterfaceIdiomPad) {
// there's no flicker on the iPad, so skip this code
	} else {

		flickerFixController = [[UIViewController alloc] initWithNibName:@"FlickerFix" bundle:nil];
		flickerFixController.wantsFullScreenLayout = YES;
		flickerFixController.view.transform = CGAffineTransformMakeRotation(-M_PI/2);
		flickerFixController.view.center = CGPointMake(240, 160);

		[viewController.view addSubview:flickerFixController.view];	

	}

// finish up my init method here, running the first scene

// then I create a Timer to remove the frame and fade into the first scene

flickerTimer = [NSTimer scheduledTimerWithTimeInterval:0.25
								 target:self
								 selector:@selector(removeFlickerFix:)
								userInfo:nil
								repeats:NO];

	flickerFixController.view.alpha = 1;

	[UIView beginAnimations:nil context:NULL];
	[UIView setAnimationDuration:0.25f];
	flickerFixController.view.alpha = 0;
	[UIView commitAnimations];

All I did then was add a quick method to clean everything up when the timer goes off:

- (void)removeFlickerFix:(id) sender {
	NSLog(@"NSTimer has fired");

	[flickerFixController.view removeFromSuperview];
	[flickerFixController release];

	[flickerTimer invalidate];
	flickerTimer = nil;

}

And for the sake of convenience, I create a FlickerFix.xib file that is a UIView based file that just loads Default.png full screen. I'm sure you could do it all in code, too.

I'm still testing it, but it seems to work fine. Thanks everyone for your help.

Posted 1 year ago #

Verisutha
Member

Not pretty.. but it works..

In the thread I started a while back they mentioned creating a separate view controller to do it. Perhaps they had a similar issues that you had.

Grats on getting it working, thanks for sharing the solution perhaps someone else might find it useful as well.

Posted 1 year ago #
eshirt
Member

In the thread I started a while back they mentioned creating a separate view controller to do it. Perhaps they had a similar issues that you had.

I saw that earlier and it was the inspiration behind my approach. :)

perhaps someone else might find it useful as well.

That's what I hoped. If I can save someone else 2 days of agonizing over this, then I'll be happy :)

One problem is cropping up - now my iPad rotation is messed up on launch. It seems like I may need to put that UISupportedInterfaceOrientations key back in. I hope that doesn't mess up my fix...

Posted 1 year ago #
riq
Key Master
I did some research, and the problem is that the RooViewController is consuming one "tick" when it rotates the view.

So, to prevent this fix, you can add this code AFTER setting up the RootViewController, and BEFORE calling '[director runWithScene]'`
```
CC_ENABLE_DEFAULT_GL_STATES();
	CGSize size = [director winSize];
	CCSprite *sprite = [CCSprite spriteWithFile:@"Default.png"];
	sprite.position = ccp(size.width/2, size.width/2);
	sprite.rotation = -90;
	[sprite visit];
	[glView swapBuffers];
	CC_ENABLE_DEFAULT_GL_STATES();

	[[CCDirector sharedDirector] runWithScene: [HelloWorld scene]];
```
UPDATE: But this tip doesn't work all the time... :( I still don't know why
Posted 1 year ago #
luky300
Member

Could It be: :)))

CC_ENABLE_DEFAULT_GL_STATES();
CGSize size = [director winSize];
CCSprite *sprite = [CCSprite spriteWithFile:@"Default.png"];
sprite.position = ccp(size.width/2, size.height/2);
sprite.rotation = -90;
[sprite visit];
[glView swapBuffers];
CC_ENABLE_DEFAULT_GL_STATES();

[[CCDirector sharedDirector] runWithScene: [HelloWorld scene]];

Update: IT WORKS!!!!!!

Posted 1 year ago #
MikeSz
Member

Confirmed ! It works !

Posted 1 year ago #
riq
Key Master

sprite.position = ccp(size.width/2, size.height/2);

:) Thanks for the bug fix.

Posted 1 year ago #
Sdiaz6215
Member

Confirmed ! It works !

Still flashing over here. =(

Both when auto-rotating and without.

Posted 1 year ago #
riq
Key Master

@Sdiaz6215: If you are seeing a flicker without autorotation, then you are triggering another bug.

Posted 1 year ago #
riq
Key Master

fixed:
http://github.com/cocos2d/cocos2d-iphone/commit/1626546b9c7c2cd2d3af7c3efda45c3233a49508

Posted 1 year ago #
eshirt
Member

Ahhh! Of course it gets fixed two days after I submit to Apple! :)

I don't know though, I kinda like the fade into my first scene... Maybe I'll leave my fix in there for a while.

I'll test it on the iPad too and see if it fixes the iPad LandscapeRight flicker.

Thanks @Riq and everyone else for the help!

Posted 1 year ago #
eshirt
Member

Quick confirmation - the code in @luky300's post does indeed fix the startup flicker that I was experiencing (on at least one of my devices). I swear that I tried that exact code at one point and it didn't work. I guess I had it in the wrong place before.

Thanks again everyone.

Posted 1 year ago #
Questor
Member
A couple of things I noticed regarding startup flicker (and it's fix):

1) The removeStartupFlicker code in 0.99.5rc0 will not compile when uncommented. The fix is simple as it is just that the director and glView are undefined within the method. I just changed it to:
```
- (void) removeStartupFlicker:(EAGLView *) glView
{
	//
	// THIS CODE REMOVES THE STARTUP FLICKER
	//
	// Uncomment the following code if you Application only supports landscape mode
	//
#if GAME_AUTOROTATION == kGameAutorotationUIViewController
	CCDirector *director = [CCDirector sharedDirector];

	CC_ENABLE_DEFAULT_GL_STATES();
	CGSize size = [director winSize];
	CCSprite *sprite = [CCSprite spriteWithFile:@"Default.png"];
	sprite.position = ccp(size.width/2, size.height/2);
	sprite.rotation = -90;
	[sprite visit];
	[glView swapBuffers];
	CC_ENABLE_DEFAULT_GL_STATES();

#endif // GAME_AUTOROTATION == kGameAutorotationUIViewController
}
```
and I pass in the glView as a param:
```
// Removes the startup flicker
	[self removeStartupFlicker:glView];
```
2) Also, I have noticed that anytime removeStartupFlicker is called (and hence the [glView swapBuffers] method is called), I see an error in the console (in debug mode when I run on the device) that says:
```
OpenGL error 0x0500 in -[EAGLView swapBuffers]
```
This even happens in the Cocos2d/box2d template code if I call the uncommented removeStartupFlicker method. Not sure what the error means exactly, but I thought it worth mentioning.

3) If anyone is still seeing the black screen/flicker after trying the fixes above, you may want to ensure that you are not doing any sort of encryption to the Default.png file (or any of the "Default" splashscreen image files). I accidentally had mine encrypted and since it's initial appearance (I think) is generated by the App Loader, my decryption code was (of course) never being executed.

UPDATE:
Just wanted to mention that I am actually seeing the "OpenGL error 0x0500 in -[EAGLView swapBuffers]" error in the template cocos2d/box2d example even if I don't call the removeStartupFlicker method. (In Debug mode, testing on Device).
Posted 1 year ago #
riq
Key Master

I'll look at it

Posted 1 year ago #
finder39
Member

So I enabled this in the latest branch and got these errors.

Posted 1 year ago #

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