I think this app is worth developing. It plays some games well, others not so good. The screen size can be an issue. Games I have briefly tried include Pico World Race and 1.2, Breakout Hero. I’ll try a few others over the next day or two. Nice work.
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There are two issues with the screen. The first is that 4 rows of pixels are cut off at both the top and bottom, and unfortunately there’s not much I can do about that. Resizing the image would cause too much distortion.
The second issue is the fill patterns, and that’s something I can experiment with and hopefully improve.
As for performance, that’s exactly why I’m asking people to tell me which games they play. I’ll use those games to test and optimize the emulator as much as I can.
Thanks a lot for the feedback!
Quick update: I used the two games you mentioned to optimize the emulator, and 0.1.4 runs both better:
- Pico World Race: about 8 → 15 fps. It's still heavy and plays at roughly half speed, but it's much more playable. Tip: B accelerates, A brakes.
- Breakout Hero: now around 28 fps, with fewer hitches when bricks explode.
Both are built in now. Let me know how the other games you try run!
Tried the original and they’re better now. I’ve also tried the following …
Pico Tennis - too slow and screen sizing issues.
Distant Galaxy - speed okay, although top of screen missed off. Plays okay though. Space invaders type game.
Picoshoot ✔️
Putt putt ✔️
Tiny Golf Puzzles ✔️
Sally Star Racer - Too glitchy?
Terra Nova Pinball - works, sort of.
The screen for some games definitely can seem microscopic but the right game works well on it. You also have an almost an unlimited supply of games available and easily downloaded.
Thanks for testing so many games! In 0.1.5:
- Distant Galaxy is now built in, with its own optimizations, so it runs close to full speed. The top of the screen isn't cut off anymore.
- Tiny Golf Puzzles is built in now too, and it's faster.
- Pico Tennis, Sally and Terra Nova are a bit faster, but they're very heavy for the Playdate.