del4

Originally Posted by JonMisurda

Anyways, thanks for your help and kind words. Enjoy the game. Try to beat my 1534 high score ;) and let me know if you think of anything else. Jon

Here I thought Minesweeper was addictive the first time I played it...:arcadefre

High Score: 1583

24va

High Score: 999,999,999!!!!






























































































only through a registry hack ;)

JonMisurda

Yeah, I don't do anything clever to keep anyone from artificially raising their score. The max should be 2,147,483,647, after that, your score would be negative.

Jon

JonMisurda

Originally Posted by del4

Here I thought Minesweeper was addictive the first time I played it...:arcadefre High Score: 1583

Now mine's 1995 :rolling:

Moving target!

Jon

pesto126

nice.. can I inquire as to how you created this game? I'm interested in starting to dev games for the Pocket PC and i'm curiuos what software you used.. Thx!

JonMisurda

I used Microsoft Embedded Visual C++ to make Whirlwind 21. I initially developed it in version 4.0, since that version targets WM2003 devices and later, but upon request I also built it with eVC++ 3.0 for PocketPC 2002.

Both eVC++ 3.0 and 4.0 are free (but large!) downloads from Microsoft. A good place to start is the MSDN mobility page: http://msdn.microsoft.com/mobility.

Whirlwind 21 started off life as a Dialog based MFC (Microsoft Foundation Classes) program. It initially used buttons and text fields before moving to the all graphics version. If I were to rewrite it, I'd make it a View-Based application.

If you already know windows programming with or without MFC on the desktop, making a program for the PocketPC is fairly similar.

Most of the complex games (i.e. ones that are graphically intense...unlike Whirlwind 21) do not use MFC, but rather do their own drawing directly to video memory with the help of GAPI (the Game API) which is much faster. There are various libraries built to help you do graphics through GAPI. Visit http://www.pocketmatrix.com and their developer forums to see the various libraries (like PocketFrog and GAPIDraw) and get help.

If you're new to programming in general, you may want to take a look at starting off with a language a bit simpler than C++, perhaps C#. There is also a new programming language starting off called PPL (Pocket Programming Language) meant to simplify making games and other applications. You can read up on it at the pocketmatrix forums as well.

This is my first game, and I doubt I'll ever make any so complicated as to require GAPI, so i'm not a particularly good resource here. Games sadly are not my forte.

Jon

biohzrd

Jon, I'm currently trying to force myself into learning a language. I eventually wish to make a 3d Game for the x50v (or whatever the latest is out at the time) which uses the OpenGL 3d accelerator. My goal is to show the PSP users how much their device sucks compared to ours. :)

Anyways, I am in college and going to work full time, but wanted to find a good place to start. What language do you suggest I begin learning on? C? C++? Assembly (lol)? It's possible for me to take a Visual Basic course next semester, is it worth taking?

I already have a base knowledge of programming by doing SOME PHP and HTML. I took a beginners Java course in High school, but that used EXTENSIVE use of premade window libraries. I'm looking at building it from the ground up. Using as few libraries as possible.

Thanks for your time, and a great free game!

pesto126

Thanks very much for the info... I'll check out these links in my spare time and give it a go.. appreciate the response!

JonMisurda

Originally Posted by biohzrd

Jon, I'm currently trying to force myself into learning a language. I eventually wish to make a 3d Game for the x50v (or whatever the latest is out at the time) which uses the OpenGL 3d accelerator. My goal is to show the PSP users how much their device sucks compared to ours. :) Anyways, I am in college and going to work full time, but wanted to find a good place to start. What language do you suggest I begin learning on? C? C++? Assembly (lol)? It's possible for me to take a Visual Basic course next semester, is it worth taking? I already have a base knowledge of programming by doing SOME PHP and HTML. I took a beginners Java course in High school, but that used EXTENSIVE use of premade window libraries. I'm looking at building it from the ground up. Using as few libraries as possible. Thanks for your time, and a great free game!

Writing 3D programs takes some specialized knowledge beyond the normal program. 3D graphics require extensive math, to know how to rotate, distort, transform, and display items realistically. Most 3D programs are written on top of a library that helps do those transforms. A few programmers are working on specialized frameworks for pocket pc's, but to make them fast, in-depth knowledge of C, C++, and ARM assembler is necessary.

OpenGL is a good and popular graphics library, and is a good place to start, particularly because you can run it on the desktop too. Developing for the pocket pc can take a lot longer, since it involves a lot of transferring back and forth for extensive testing. Emulation can only go so far.

I'd suggest starting with C or C++ and doing some basic programs, until you get comfortable with the language. Then you can start to dive into OpenGL. I don't know it myself, so I don't have any good pointers for you. However, when you do want to attempt some OpenGL on the x50v, http://www.pocketmatrix.com/forums/v...ic.php?t=20065 is a good link with a lot of information on programming the 2700g.

Visual Basic is an ok language, and once you get comfortable with one language, learning others is a lot easier. However, learning it won't get you immediately closer to your goal. You'll have to decide what's best for you.

Jon

biohzrd

Thank you for your advice!

del4

Loved this game on my X50v, but when I installed it on my new PPC6700 (WM5), it doesn't work. Is this app not compatible with WM5 or is it something else?

mkss55442

Originally Posted by del4

Loved this game on my X50v, but when I installed it on my new PPC6700 (WM5), it doesn't work. Is this app not compatible with WM5 or is it something else?

Works fine on my x51v.

__________________
Nothing is never "no problem".

del4

Well, I am unable to get the v1.4.5 CAB file to install on either Device Memory, unlocked ExtROM or Storage Card, but when I copied over the v1.3 exe file directly, I found I AM able to run it.

Is this something to do with the lack of a security certificate or the CAB not being signed or something specific to my device? I'm assuming you used the CAB file to install it on your x51v?

If anyone could send me the .exe of v1.4.5, I'd be most appreciative since I can't install it using the CAB!!!