Andengine Emulation

[While(E)]

Not sure if this is really a feature request, or an extension altogether but I recently jumped over to LibGDX to experience myself the comparison between it and AndEngine. Although I'm just getting into it, there are a few things that I did notice immediately:


Lower Level - Meaning less abstraction of the actual java/c that is run by LibGDX/Box2D. It just feels more java to me, and probably because as they point out it's not an actual engine really, more of a framework. Yet this means more code for you to write generally.

Testing - IMHO the best part of LibGDX is it's cross-platform with PC which makes it amazingly easy to implement, test, debug, implement, test, debug... and so on. Plus, you get to see your game running at actual speed (actually faster probably because it's on PC and not mobile)... closer to the actual end result of the project on a mobile device. The fact that you could sell your game to PC users is a bonus.

Now to the point:
I think if we could make an extension, or even a third party emulator that would allow us to do something similar with regards to testing directly on the PC hardware it would be AMAZING! Allowing developers to see their programming in real-time (without an amazing device on hand) and save them a good amount of time collectively as they test more and more.

[xcyu]

Sounds like a good idea but I think it will take a very large effort. What you want is an actual engine that is abstracted enough like Andengine but also cross platform like libgdx right?

I think there is not much point of trying modify or extend Andengine to achieve that... The easiest way to do that might be just building an engine on top of libgdx like Rokon engine http://code.google.com/p/rokon/. Just my opinion of course...

[Niffy]

I can see where you're coming from. But I don't think it's going to happen! As much as it would be helpful!

I suppose it depends on how you program. Currently I'm in the thick of coding bits for my hobby game, I've not touched my dev phone for a month, and the amount of andengine code I've done is just pools!
So providing you can clearly separate out your java logic and andengine/android you should be ok for reusing large chunks of code., so try and make the most of interfaces.

After all, it must be a bigger pain making a game for Android and iOS.

[trjp]

What you're really asking for is something I've raised in the past (with little positive response) - AndEngine ported to work on the desktop (with the Android reliant bits like sensors etc. either emulated or just ignored).

I'm not suggesting you use it to make desktop games (tho why not?) - even just being able to get the bones of a game up-and-running without having to repeatedly wait for the damned thing to deploy would save a tonne of time.

As it stands tho, no-one seems to want to consider doing it and so you're kinda stuck.

[trjp]

After all, it must be a bigger pain making a game for Android and iOS.

The ONLY way to achieve that is either

a - code it from scratch for both systems (not exactly ideal)
b - use a multi-platform tool like Unity or iStencyl (Android coming soon) or Corona

Game engines like those are much much better ideas of you're targetting multiple platforms - they repay any cost in a matter of days or a few weeks at most (and they generally avoid the need to work on real devices and thus save tonnes of time and repetition).

[Niffy]

After all, it must be a bigger pain making a game for Android and iOS.

The ONLY way to achieve that is either

a - code it from scratch for both systems (not exactly ideal)
b - use a multi-platform tool like Unity or iStencyl (Android coming soon) or Corona

Game engines like those are much much better ideas of you're targetting multiple platforms - they repay any cost in a matter of days or a few weeks at most (and they generally avoid the need to work on real devices and thus save tonnes of time and repetition).

Sure, they are probably great tools if you're a small company and want to make games quickly, but for us mere small people we want cheap if not free

Nicholas on github does have a scripting extension but its currently not public, so in future we could see the possibility of moving away from being java/android centric.
We have to remember Andengine is to be used by/hopefully used by Zynga, a popular modern game company, they may very well think the best way for them to support iOS and Android is to try and be a bit closer to the native code rather then spend money on third party software, basically create their own tooling that's more suited to their needs. The cost may not be that much for them, if you've got programmers and a good design planned which can be translated to the correct language, then the costs for them may not be much.

I think it will be a few years till we see something which is a lot more mainstream, common and dominates the sector.

In the mean time Andengine is doing quite well.