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New Android User Questions
Yes, another noob questions thread :)
I am planning to play mainly on my Android Devices:
Xperia Play
Transformer Prime
Is it correct to assume that playing on an Android device will generally put me at a disadvantage in PVP?
What exactly happens when I die in PVP? Do I lose my ship and have to buy a new one?
I also have spotty 3G signal, will 2 bars of 3G service be enough to have a playable experience?
Are USB game pads supported when I play on my Transformer Prime? What about mouse-look when I connect a mouse to my tablet?
Is most of the content soloable? (My play schedule will be erratic)
Pertaining to end game, if I don't feel like PVP'ing, what are the main things I can do to keep myself busy and/or entertained?
Thanks!
I am planning to play mainly on my Android Devices:
Xperia Play
Transformer Prime
Is it correct to assume that playing on an Android device will generally put me at a disadvantage in PVP?
What exactly happens when I die in PVP? Do I lose my ship and have to buy a new one?
I also have spotty 3G signal, will 2 bars of 3G service be enough to have a playable experience?
Are USB game pads supported when I play on my Transformer Prime? What about mouse-look when I connect a mouse to my tablet?
Is most of the content soloable? (My play schedule will be erratic)
Pertaining to end game, if I don't feel like PVP'ing, what are the main things I can do to keep myself busy and/or entertained?
Thanks!
Yes, in general you will be at a disadvantage in pvp. This is largely due to the limited capabilities of the default HUD touch interface. The DroidButtons plugin helps to alleviate deficiencies in the touch interface by allowing you to create more buttons on the HUD. Keep in mind that Guild Software does not officially support plugins, so if you have a problem with one, it should be reported to the plugin author, typically in the thread already designated for it.
A good Bluetooth keyboard goes a long way to overcome the touch screen, and actually I've killed people I usually kill using just a keyboard :P.
USB game pads yes, mouse no.
Mouse is hard to deal with in 'droid. Go tell google bout it.
USB game pads yes, mouse no.
Mouse is hard to deal with in 'droid. Go tell google bout it.
USB Gamepads are supported on any Android device running an OS newer than 3.2 or thereabouts. However, you will need to plug in your gamepad before running the game. The game launcher (updater) will detect the presence of the gamepad, and offer to run the game in Java mode, as opposed to native mode (which is the default). Google, in their infinite wisdom, did not see fit to include joystick/gamepad support for native activities as of yet, so this is our workaround. Once you have started the game, you will need to configure the controller from the Settings menu. The joystick configuration menu is not the most user-friendly interface in the game, it is a strong candidate for re-working, but at the moment we have to leave it as-is and focus our time elsewhere.
The game runs well on both the Xperia PLAY and the Transformer Prime. In non-touchscreen mode with the Prime's keyboard, you should do pretty well. Our keyboard controls are well tuned.
Gameplay should be fairly resilient to occasionally reduced 3G coverage, but combat will be more dangerous in the event of packet loss or temporary dropouts. Trading and mining and other gameplay will be fine.
Most content is soloable.
PVP is the strongest aspect of VO, but mining, trading, missions, and other aspects are available. We're building out more player ownership as part of the endgame.. we currently have prototype player-owned capships; eventually player-owned stations and such will join that, with a lot of associated gameplay.
The game runs well on both the Xperia PLAY and the Transformer Prime. In non-touchscreen mode with the Prime's keyboard, you should do pretty well. Our keyboard controls are well tuned.
Gameplay should be fairly resilient to occasionally reduced 3G coverage, but combat will be more dangerous in the event of packet loss or temporary dropouts. Trading and mining and other gameplay will be fine.
Most content is soloable.
PVP is the strongest aspect of VO, but mining, trading, missions, and other aspects are available. We're building out more player ownership as part of the endgame.. we currently have prototype player-owned capships; eventually player-owned stations and such will join that, with a lot of associated gameplay.
Awesome thanks for the good info! I feel a lot better knowing what I am getting into and what to look forward to.
The game pad information sounds very interesting. Just a general Android question, will running a game in Java mode have any effect on performance?
I hope you guys can one day use something like onGenericMotionEvent to eventually support mouse look for tablets. :)
The game pad information sounds very interesting. Just a general Android question, will running a game in Java mode have any effect on performance?
I hope you guys can one day use something like onGenericMotionEvent to eventually support mouse look for tablets. :)
The game pad information sounds very interesting. Just a general Android question, will running a game in Java mode have any effect on performance?
Java mode could theoretically reduce performance, yes. In practice, it's probably not a big deal, as things are mostly still pushed through java anyway, at the OS level.
I hope you guys can one day use something like onGenericMotionEvent to eventually support mouse look for tablets. :)
We would love to be able to support mouselook on Android. Unfortunately, because of how mice are implemented as "virtual fingers", which stop at the screen edge, there's basically no way to do that as of yet. We need relative data, not absolute. Both NVIDIA and ourselves have spent a fair amount of time trying to find some kind of hack or work-around, to no avail as of yet. We've talked to Google about the issue, but we don't really know if or when they intend to address it.
Java mode could theoretically reduce performance, yes. In practice, it's probably not a big deal, as things are mostly still pushed through java anyway, at the OS level.
I hope you guys can one day use something like onGenericMotionEvent to eventually support mouse look for tablets. :)
We would love to be able to support mouselook on Android. Unfortunately, because of how mice are implemented as "virtual fingers", which stop at the screen edge, there's basically no way to do that as of yet. We need relative data, not absolute. Both NVIDIA and ourselves have spent a fair amount of time trying to find some kind of hack or work-around, to no avail as of yet. We've talked to Google about the issue, but we don't really know if or when they intend to address it.
I'm a little surprised that there is no way to get absolute mouse movement.
I'm a software developer myself, just not for Android, so I guess I made a mistake in assuming that Android supported relative mouse movement.
Maybe I'll mess around with the Zeus Arena source to see if I can figure out a clever way to implement mouse look ;)
I'm a software developer myself, just not for Android, so I guess I made a mistake in assuming that Android supported relative mouse movement.
Maybe I'll mess around with the Zeus Arena source to see if I can figure out a clever way to implement mouse look ;)
I know I'm slightly off topic here, but speaking of mouselook: I would love it if at some point VO could support a Head Mounted Display, which sensed the pilot's "looking" motions, so that you could have the visual freedom of mouselook, coupled to the tight control of a joystick or gamepad.
Already suggested over here: http://www.vendetta-online.com/x/msgboard/3/25827