By Terry
It’s been a while since Super Hexagon came out on iPhone – I guess people might be wondering what the hold up is with the PC and Mac ports. Well, long story short, I wasn’t happy with how the game was running on some computers, so about two weeks ago I started porting the game to C++.
What does this mean for Super Hexagon? Well, exciting things! A linux version is now possible! Leaderboard issues aren’t a hold up on Android anymore! Maybe even retina support is possible on iOS! I dunno. Right now I’m just going to focus on getting the game out on PC, but this is a good thing, overall. Wish I’d done it before launch.
I think I’m done with Flash, now. I’ve used it for about four years at this point, and gotten very comfortable with it – but I think I’ve gotten to the point where it’s holding me back. It’s time for a change!
What are you using for tweening?
I’m glad to hear something – even if it’s just a “work in progress” note. It’s especially exciting to hear there’s more possibilities for an already excellent game.
I’d say it’s good enough to be the face of a Humble Bundle, haha. I’m looking forward to the PC version!
Couple questions, if you’ve thought about these specific things yet:
What digital distribution sources are you considering? (i.e., Steam, GOG, self-released, etc.)
Will the PC version have a different price point than the iOS version’s $2.99?
Have you put a header in the source directory or is that just some weird Code::Blocks magic?
@Mark: Nothing, I don’t use Flash that way!
@MechaCrash: It’s magic! Most of the source files are in a different src directory. Dunno why, it’s just the way openFrameworks seems to work.
@Razer: Cheers! 🙂 Don’t really have answers to those questions just yet, though…
Didn’t you mention something about OF using some non-open sourced libraries that were a concern for licensing? Or is that all sorted?
It is a concern, but I think I can work around it by using SDL_Mixer instead of FMOD. If that doesn’t work out for whatever reason, an indie FMOD licence is $500, which is a lot less that I thought it was.
It sounds like you’re going with OpenFrameworks, but have you looked into Haxe? As I understand it it would be straightforward to translate AS3 to Haxe, and you could then compile down to a C build for a variety of platforms. All open-source too AFAIK.
I haven’t actually experimented with it yet but everything I’ve heard has been promising.
There’s also Cinder https://libcinder.org/features/ which is under a BSD license.
Great news to hear! I’ve been eagerly awaiting the PC version. I’m sure ditching Flash will prove to be good decision.
It’s been like 5 or 6 months since I’ve been waiting objective news about Super Hexagon being released on PC.
Seriously, I’m even able to pay 20€ for this game. Looking forward to hearing more news!
Just beat Hexagonest the other night for the first time – really looking forward to this coming out on Mac!
Now, an Xbox version is possible too and Windows phone.
I second Shay’s opinion on trying Haxe. Combined with NME it is a great way to get a game running on multiple platforms. Plus, you can always write native extensions if needed.
Love the game! I suck at it but it’s a lot of fun.
Awesome hope this fixes my lag issue on ipad 1 🙂
Also please release a version on xblig, playing it with LT, RT on a full hd tv would be the coolest thing ever.
I really wish the best of luck to you. I have played the game on my iPhone and I love it. I wanted to know if you consider making a Windows 8 version? If you do then you could easily get a lot of customers as everyone from Windows 8 tablet users to Desktop users can play it without the need for a separate Desktop app. Would love to play the game on my new Microsoft Surface….
I realize that this is probably not the right moment to ask this, since even the PC port still is work in progress, but have you thought about bringing your games to even more platforms? Specifically handhelds like the (3)DS or the Vita?
I guess the C conversion would at least make this a bit more possible to do. Not that it would be easy by any means, but still…
Maybe again with the help of the guys at Nicalis?
Anyway, enough about that.
Really looking forward to playing Super Hexagon on the PC!
I’d be interested if the version will be easier or harder to play than the iOS version. Although I feel not hindered by the touch controls of the iOS version, maybe it’s a tad easier with the physical buttons of a keyboard or gamepad. It’ll also be interesting to see if the game becomes somewhat easier/harder due to a larger display of a PC than a mobile device. For example, I have the feeling that playing the iOS version on an iPhone is a bit easier than playing it on iPad because the smaller display is visually easier to handle (e.g., seeing the upcoming obstacles quicker due to better ‘peripheral viewing’).
What are your early impressions in this regard?
How goes the coding? It’s disappointing to me that the PC version will be released before the android but in either case I may just end up picking up both! Do you have any update or idea of when you think you will be able to release it to PC? I think my friends are probably annoyed at me constantly borrowing their phones all the time to play Super Hexagon. 🙂
[…] Hyper Mode (distractionware: devlog) “It’s been a while since Super Hexagon came out on iPhone – I guess people might be wondering what the hold up is with the PC and Mac ports. Well, long story short, I wasn’t happy with how the game was running on some computers, so about two weeks ago I started porting the game to C++.” […]
If I may ask, Terry, is your game using generative graphics? Was it using the DisplayList Bitmaps (GPU or direct mode?), or were you using a Stage3D-type framework? In what ways is Flash holding you back?
As an AS3 developer, I’m always looking at the other options – I agree with others that Haxe looks interesting… but I’m still pretty fond of what AIR provides.
Love the game, keep up the good work!
Huge thanks for the C port!!
It’s silky smooth – even on an old 2.8GHz P4 w/ nv6800gt @ 1080p that I tested it out on.