iTGB dev on Windows possible
by Andy Hawkins · in Technical Issues · 03/14/2009 (10:06 pm) · 15 replies
I did start a thread on developing for the iPhone and thought I might be stuck having to use a Mac - but it seems like the iTGB lets you work on a PC. Is this right? So I can develop my iPhone app in Windows then how do I compile it as an iPhone app to upload to Apple?
#2
03/15/2009 (2:53 am)
So could I run my copy of iTGB or iTGE on a friends Mac when I am ready to upload it? 
#3
03/15/2009 (7:10 am)
Yep. Get a guest account on his Mac, install and build. Tweak it till it works as expected, ship it. Cash in and afford yourself yer own Mac :)
#4
03/15/2009 (5:02 pm)
Well I spoke to a guy (prominent iPhone developer) who said they heard nothing but bad things about Torque and iPhone dev, and said use Unity instead. Why would he be saying this? Has anyone successfully shipped and iPhone app via the Torque pipeline?
#5
(It's a nice 3D engine, though!)
http://www.garagegames.com/torquepowered/console
Six released games. The engine is still new. I really, really hope iTGB 1.2 hits this week, to clear out the last few problems. But you can obviously produce a game and ship it :)
If that dev heard nothing but bad things, he was going off beta information. If he was an *experienced* dev, he'd know that is a stupid thing ;)
It's a game engine. Things improve. Now give us proper PVR tools on Mac, and I'm happy.
03/15/2009 (11:14 pm)
Unity is a 3D engine. iTGB is a 2D engine. Why torture yourself trying to use Unity as a 2D engine? ;)(It's a nice 3D engine, though!)
http://www.garagegames.com/torquepowered/console
Six released games. The engine is still new. I really, really hope iTGB 1.2 hits this week, to clear out the last few problems. But you can obviously produce a game and ship it :)
If that dev heard nothing but bad things, he was going off beta information. If he was an *experienced* dev, he'd know that is a stupid thing ;)
It's a game engine. Things improve. Now give us proper PVR tools on Mac, and I'm happy.
#6
Seriously though, if you have an existing game that was built in TGB, using iTGB to port it to the iPhone & iPod Touch is an absolute no-brainer. The alternative is to rewrite all of the programming from scratch, using another engine and a different language.
As far as writing the port goes - buy a Mac. Really. You're going to spend at least a few days getting comfortable with Xcode - and that's assuming that you're reasonably flexible about your tools. I've seen less-flexible developers carry on for years, whining about every little difference between Xcode and VS, Eclipse, or whatever their "preferred IDE" was.
Then you'll need to spend some time actually porting and testing your game. Yes, it's the same engine and programming language, but it's a different screen size and resolution, different input method, etc. - it's not just a trivial click-and-publish process. Even assuming that the game builds and runs perfectly on the first attempt, you'll still want to spend a week or two testing (and probably tweaking) each and every part of it.
Expecting to do this on a borrowed Mac in an afternoon is, quite simply and with no offense intended, not a reasonable expectation.
03/16/2009 (7:15 am)
@Andy - So, you spoke to "a guy" who said he's "heard nothing but bad things" about iTorque. That's what, third-hand information? Yeah, that's reliable... :-)Seriously though, if you have an existing game that was built in TGB, using iTGB to port it to the iPhone & iPod Touch is an absolute no-brainer. The alternative is to rewrite all of the programming from scratch, using another engine and a different language.
As far as writing the port goes - buy a Mac. Really. You're going to spend at least a few days getting comfortable with Xcode - and that's assuming that you're reasonably flexible about your tools. I've seen less-flexible developers carry on for years, whining about every little difference between Xcode and VS, Eclipse, or whatever their "preferred IDE" was.
Then you'll need to spend some time actually porting and testing your game. Yes, it's the same engine and programming language, but it's a different screen size and resolution, different input method, etc. - it's not just a trivial click-and-publish process. Even assuming that the game builds and runs perfectly on the first attempt, you'll still want to spend a week or two testing (and probably tweaking) each and every part of it.
Expecting to do this on a borrowed Mac in an afternoon is, quite simply and with no offense intended, not a reasonable expectation.
#7
Just on the iTGB/iTGE license issue - is it a $500 per inde seat per published title? Or just a one of $500 per inde seat and as many titles as you want under 250K revenue?
03/16/2009 (8:46 am)
@Sherman - sound advice, but I don't have the cash for a nice iMac right now. Will a Mac Mini do the trick? I can access a Mac for days at a time if necessary. I'm just trying to find a low cash outlay into the market without compromising the quality. It would seem Shiva might also be an alternative.Just on the iTGB/iTGE license issue - is it a $500 per inde seat per published title? Or just a one of $500 per inde seat and as many titles as you want under 250K revenue?
#8
The $500 gets one indie developer a lifetime licence for an unlimited number of titles. Should you be lucky, upgrade to commercial.
03/16/2009 (8:53 am)
Any Intel-based Mac will do the job. I suggest the cheapest Macbook, because it's so damn comfortable :)The $500 gets one indie developer a lifetime licence for an unlimited number of titles. Should you be lucky, upgrade to commercial.
#9
03/16/2009 (10:50 am)
As Ronny says, any Intel Mac will do the job. Apple's online store has the previous generation - which has an integrated Intel GMA950 GPU, instead of the current gen's GeForce 9400M - on clearance for $499. That's less than half the cost of a new iMac. Even a new Mini is only $599.
#10
store.apple.com/us/product/FB138LL/A?mco=MjE0NDk5Mw
or what about a Apple iBook (White) G4 - 1.33Ghz / Mac OS X 10.4.11 installed.
Does the "i" in Apple computers mean "intel chipset". Are G4's too old? Perhaps I need a G5?
04/08/2009 (10:57 pm)
Will this one compile games for iPhone?store.apple.com/us/product/FB138LL/A?mco=MjE0NDk5Mw
or what about a Apple iBook (White) G4 - 1.33Ghz / Mac OS X 10.4.11 installed.
Does the "i" in Apple computers mean "intel chipset". Are G4's too old? Perhaps I need a G5?
#11
The "G" models - G3, G4, and G5 - are all PowerPC chips, not Intel. None of them will run the iPhone SDK.
The "i" doesn't mean anything, it's just a brand name.
04/09/2009 (12:21 am)
The Intel-equipped mini you link to will work for iPhone development - and that's a heck of a good deal for that model.The "G" models - G3, G4, and G5 - are all PowerPC chips, not Intel. None of them will run the iPhone SDK.
The "i" doesn't mean anything, it's just a brand name.
#12
04/09/2009 (3:36 am)
Shopping for Macs is simple. NO CURRENT Mac sold by Apple is anything but Intel-based. If it's on the front page, it's usable.
#13
07/10/2009 (8:17 am)
Can I do this on MacOS I am running on vmware?
#14
07/10/2009 (11:02 pm)
Probably, but maybe not. At the end of the day if you are going commercial with your app, do the right thing and buy a Mac. Your outlay will be small, about $700 for mac mini, and $150 for an iPod and away you go. XCode is free. Use Cocos2D / Chipmunk for 2d games, and OpenGL ES for 3d - or just spend an extra $500 for iTGE. It's a tiny capital purchase really. You will make it back with your first game at least. 
#15
07/13/2009 (12:30 pm)
If you feel comfortable putting your name and company on the line supporting a product that doesn't even meet the base standards for the platform compatibility and are not worried that it may never get into the App store or be removed from the App store due to compatibility issues, you can try. I can't imagine doing that. 
Torque 3D Owner Ronny Bangsund
Torque Cheerleaders
You can create the *game* on Windows, but you need a Mac to compile the iPhone port.