[General Topics] Menneisyys:
Note that the following news items apply to both the Pocket PC (Windows Mobile 6 Pro / Classic) and MS Smartphone (Windows Mobile 6 Standard) devices!

SmartGear, updated to version 0.27, goes official and is also released for the desktop PC!

I’ve often elaborated on SmartGear, one of the best handheld and desktop gaming console emulators for both the Pocket PC and Smartphone. The author, Larry Bank, is well-known for his excellent knowledge of the assembly programming the ARM processor. Fortunately, this also means he’s making use of extensive assembly programming.

Its homepage is HERE.

Being finally formally released also means I was able to nominate it in the various Emulator categories of the Best Software Awards 2007. It certainly deserves it as it’s apart from some compatibility problems with some games, it’s easily the best emulator, CPU usage- and TI OMAP-friendliness-wise. Now, the new Emulators categories really contain the BEST emulators available today.

I’d like to also point out that Larry is working on the brand new, speed-wise much enhanced and WM5-compliant PQV version; he’s looking for feedback HERE and HERE.

FinalBurn for WinCE 0.011 released!

MasterAll, the other big name on the Windows Mobile scene that has been constantly releasing top emulators in the last few months, has just (some hours ago) released version 0.011 of his arcade machine emulator FinalBurn for WinCE.

This emulator is a MUST for anyone wanting to play modern (NOT ancient! Don’t think of simple Galaga and Asteroids games!) 2D arcade games on his or her handheld, let it be either a Pocket PC or a Smartphone.

As usual, the title is available HERE.

See THIS for a complete review & tutorial on using the emulator.

Final version of BEST Windows Mobile Real-Time Strategy game Machines at War released!

I’ve published a review (which was frontpage-mentioned no less than two times at PPCT!) of Machines at War (MaW), Isotope244’s brand new real-time strategy game right upon the release of the first beta version, 0.9.

In the meantime, also based on my remarks (for example, my asking for Attack being the default behavior for units and Move + Attack being implemented, unlike in most other Pocket PC RTS games), a lot of improvements have been made to the game and a final version has been released.

Also, VGA support has been added, which is GREAT news for all VGA users. It’s not enabled by default; you only need to rename Settings VGA.xml to Settings.xml to make it work. An example screenshot (looks GREAT, doesn’t it?):

Note that I had no speed problems on my 624 MHz HP iPAQ hx4700, not even with many units on the screen. I didn’t have memory problems either. I don’t, however, know whether you’ll find the game controllable with VGA models having a smaller screen (Toshi G900 and all the other models, except for the (old) Toshi e800/e830 and the X7500 / Athena) – the units and the buildings will be pretty small.

MaW is without doubt the best Windows Mobile (both Pocket PC and Smartphone) RTS game right now. I, however, need to admit that, on desktop Windows, it’s not really a Starcraft-killer, mostly because of the lack of multiplayer support and the complete lack of speller units like Science Vessel, Defiler, Queen, the two Templars etc. in Starcraft + Brood War; unfortunately, the lack of speller units make the game a bit shallower than RTS games with speller units. It’s still great to play, particularly if you would like to play the same game on the desktop as on your handheld, but at a much higher resolution (the max is 1280*780 – unfortunately, there’re no higher vertical resolutions) and using the keyboard / mouse shortcuts. Unfortunately, it’s highly unlikely speller units will be added to the game.

Note that the developer may implement multiplayer support if the game is sold well. This also means you WILL want to purchase this game so that you support the developer and to, later, receive a multiplayer update.

Finally, note that you will transfer the OGG files from the desktop version to your handheld so that you can listen to them in quality. Also, don’t forget you can put ANY soundtrack in there after you convert them to OGG format (with, say, the free, excellent CDex introduced for example in my SCUMMVM article – just select Convert / Re-encode Compressed Audio File(s) after setting Options / Settings / Encoder to Ogg Vorbis DLL; I used 100 kbps). I’ve, for example, converted the in-game (and title) music of Starcraft + Brood War (just leaving out the Protoss in-game music of Brood War – there are five in-game music titles in the game, named 1...5.ogg; therefore, I needed to refrain from using one of the in-game music tracks of Starcraft). It worked just GREAT! If you’re a Stracraft fan, you WILL want to convert the in-game music to be played back under MaW!

Speaking of RTS games and the Awards 2007, I’ve created a brand new RTS category for the Best Software Awards 2007 (along with a separate, new Turn-based Strategy category). With this, I’ve hit two birds with a stone: first, I’ve decreased the number of nominees in each category; second, I’ve separated the, currently, two best strategy games right now, Orions and MaW into different categories; therefore, they both have a big chance to win.

Finally, don’t forget to check out Just Another Mobile Monday’s review HERE.

Great mobility blog Just Another Mobile Monday has published several new games reviews of interest:

Boneyboy

Machines At War

3D Lawn Darts

TradeWinds 2

The Arcade: A Monthly Roundup of Freeware Games (featuring for example Retro Detonation, which I’ve just nominated for the 2007 Awards, now that I've introduced a separate Bomberman category).

As usual, they are worth reading; also, make sure you keep an eye on JAMM for other reviews!