I’ve shifted my focus over the past few weeks to Nintendo DSi Browser software development. (Many of the projects also work in the older Nintendo DS Browsers.) Here’s a summary:

Twiiter Lite:
Members can now post twiits while on-the-go. Take your Nintendo DS or Nintendo DSi to any Wi-Fi hotspot, and continue twiiting like you have been from your Wii consoles!
http://twiiter.wiioperasdk.com

DS Opera SDK:
I’ve been running some tests of the Nintendo DSi Browser and posting the results at the DS Opera SDK website. Tests include canvas drawing, JavaScript object snooping, key input, UNICODE values, and more! I’ve also scaled down the old AJAX chatroom from HullBreach Online’s Wii section so that it will work on the handheld.
http://dsoperasdk.com

HullBreach Online Lite:
I’m shrinking the HullBreach Online MMO RPG to fit the dual screen resolution and changing the Wii button interface to a fully touchscreen-based control scheme. Due to the crippled support of the canvas object on the Nintendo DSi Browser, I’ve opted to use nothing but standard HTML objects conntrolled by JavaScript. Layered images with scrolling background achieve graphics of space exploration. Although combat will initially be removed from the game, chatting, trading, missions, mining, and all the other features, will be present. I will announce when the game is ready to play and add new content to both version of HB Online. All character stats and missions carry seemlessly between the versions.
http://hullbreachonline.com

All these projects use the same member accounts. You can sign up at http://hullbreachonline.com or http://twiiter.wiioperasdk.com to take advantage of twiiting, chatting, gaming, and more!

Some of the code in HullBreach has been refactored to pull some additional speed, but the big change is how graphics are displayed.  Previously, everything in the pixel range (0,0)-(500,300) was drawn to a page-flipped canvas.  It ran fine on a standard desktop computer but proved to be slow on a Wii.  Now, the starfield background has been moved from within the canvas to a displaced CSS background, greatly increasing the speed.  The overlay map used to be a section of the main canvas and was drawn as several translucent shapes.  This has been changed to a separate canvas with a CSS opacity of 0.5 and solid shapes, allowing a little extra burst of speed in the game.  Overall, I’d estimate HullBreach Online may be running as much as 50% faster. Don’t think it will stop there, though.  I may move the planets and locations from the canvas to be IMG elements inside a clipping DIV (that’s the same size as the canvas), depending no how much speed I can get.  This would leave just the ships inside the canvas, where they will permanently reside, to allow the freedom of rotation.

Mode 7 Sample

The new class for the Wii Opera SDK / HullBreach SDK that mimics the popular affine texture mapping of the SuperNES era is almost finished.  This class will give the ability to create graphical effects like those produced in Super Mario Kart, Pilotwings, F-Zero, and other games, by scaling scanlines of rotates planes on screen mode 7 of the SuperNES.  The interface will be similar to that of the Raycasting class on the homepage of http://wiioperasdk.com.

It is my hope that when this class is finished and fully-optimized that Internet Channel versions of SuperNES favorites will see their lights-of-day.

The demo image shows the functionality with a sample checkboard pattern.  Final game engines using this class will have the following abilities:

• Per landscape pixel coordinate mapping
• Default tiles for empty locations
• Variable pixel size (for speed vs. visual clarity optimization)
• Variable canvas size
• Controls for motion, turning, strafing
• Panoramic backgrounds
• Import custom tile maps
• Import custom tile images

The class will be ready in the next week with a simple demo.  Once this class is finished, I will begin work on the next project: Terrain Mapping.

I’ve begun work on the RPG infrastrcture, which is a library of JavaScript classes (later to be ported to PHP) for use in creating objects necessary in an RPG.  These classes will control all interaction between characters, items, magics/techs, weapons, armors, shops, locations.  Once finished, this library will be available alongside the existing Wii Opera SDK / HullBreach SDK files as a ZIP archive.  Proposed classes so far are as follows:

• RPG_Ailments
• RPG_Battle
• RPG_Character
• RPG_City
• RPG_Equipment
• RPG_Item
• RPG_Magic
• RPG_Shop
• RPG_Tiles
• RPG_World

More classes may come later as needed.

Continue reading…

We’ve recently begun a new year, and with new years come New Year’s resolutions. I thought I’d jump on the bandwagon and place some goals for the Wii Opera SDK / HullBreach SDK.  If these resolutions can be kept, expect to see many more features arise in the SDK this year.  Some of these depend on Opera releasing the much rumored Wii Opera 2.0 / Internet Channel 2.0 that so many believe will see the light of day after a Photoshopped image several months ago. Inevitably, a new release will come on day. It will probably not have a spinning tab-cube and big, unproportioned buttons like the Wii Opera 2.0 / Internet Channel 2.0, but there will obviously be a newer Opera built.

These resolutions will be listed in priorities and based on dependencies of a new Internet Channel build. I would also like to optimize some of the existing classes for Nintendo DSi usage.

Continue reading…