New sample code posted today -- Apple "OpenGL Game Template"

http://developer.apple.com/samplecode/Op...index.html

On quick review, we, the IRC channel, have decided that this template is complete rubbish. Use it at your own risk!

But no one has a better free one online anywhere, so it rocks by default.

OverTheEdge sells an excellent "OpenGL Game Template," however. *ducks and quacks*

-Jon

<cough>http://onesadcookie.com/svn/repos/GameShell</cough>

No Xcode project, no dice.

Stick the source files in any Xcode project and you're done... it's not a library, it doesn't build anything useful.

I've not had a chance to look at the Apple stuff or the GameShell yet (not at home and MacBook dead), but do either of them use GLUT? The reason I ask is that I have seen mentioned on here numerous times that GLUT is okay but not for a commerical game.

No, both use Cocoa, as does SDL.

GLUT's unconfigurable preference dialog, lack of good screen resolution information, and limited keyboard and mouse handling really cramp it for a finished game. It's a bit easier to set up than SDL though, so it can be good early in the development cycle when quick results are more important than slick results

OneSadCookie Wrote:On quick review, we, the IRC channel, have decided that this template is complete rubbish. Use it at your own risk!

Wow, no kidding... No menus, and if you close the window it keeps running and doesn't respond to cmd-Q.

OneSadCookie Wrote:On quick review, we, the IRC channel, have decided that this template is complete rubbish. Use it at your own risk!

Wow, that is absolute rubbish. If they entered a few uDG contests before they decided to become game developers, they'd have a much better sample.

Why the heck does ESC quit the application? Just because we write games, suddenly the human interface guidelines no longer apply?

I sense that there was a deadline and they were too close to it....

KittyMac Wrote:Why the heck does ESC quit the application? Just because we right games, suddenly the human interface guidelines no longer apply?

You mean "write", right?

I have become very sceptical to Apple's official sample code. It is often beginner-level code, not speaking of audience but of code quality. Every time I learn a new Apple API, the first thing I do is to write a better demo than Apple provided.

And human interfaces, that's a BIG problem in games. Many, many games insist on using 80's-style interfaces, wading through horribly clumsy menus. And quitting by ESC without asking is an absolute nono, and still I have seen it in commercial games.

Ingemar Wrote:You mean "write", right?

Fixed, thanks!

Ingemar Wrote:And human interfaces, that's a BIG problem in games. Many, many games insist on using 80's-style interfaces, wading through horribly clumsy menus. And quitting by ESC without asking is an absolute nono, and still I have seen it in commercial games.

Which makes it all the more important that Apple provides good sample code. My point was we've had many uDG entries which display bad Mac programming practices, and that's usually the first feedback they receive.

Apple is supposedly taking a bigger stance with games at this WWDC, I hope they get it right.

OneSadCookie Wrote:On quick review, we, the IRC channel, have decided that this template is complete rubbish. Use it at your own risk!

Any particular parts which are rubbishy? "The whole thing" is not the answer I'm looking for

Well, switching to fullscreen results in a nice blank display for me. If Apple really wants to help game devs they need to do better than this. I hope yer all using those feedback links at the bottom of the page...