Questions I keep getting

[mersox]

Hi guys... for years I have been receiving the same questions. I believe the answer for all of these are "it's not possible", but I wanted to make sure.

- Can I use my PS4/Xbox controller? (I know PS4 can be used with additional software, for Xbox I'm not sure. Would be nice if additional software wasn't needed)
- Can't use mouse when pressing Tab. A player recently explained the issue well:

I'm trying to capture footage of it using Open Broadcaster Software, but when I minimize the game window, it locks my mouse cursor in the upper left corner of the screen, and I can't do anything until I exit out of the game. I'm using Windows 10 if that helps.

- Not a question, but MANY people want a Mac version

And now, my own question:
What are the chances of a (legit) console port? To be added to their virtual marketplace. No, I'm not joking. Would be great for potential future commercial projects.

Thanks!

 

[O Ilusionista]

From what I know:

- Xbox 360 controllers will work fine but needs its adaptor. Xbox one controllers will work as a bluetooth controller
- There is no more Mac port, it was depreciated.
- There is no official plan, as far as I know, for a console port.

 

[DCurrent]

I'll answer what I can, which honestly isn't that much...

- Can I use my PS4/Xbox controller?

I don't know about PS4, but I've used Xbox controller with Windows 10 and it works great.

- Can't use mouse when pressing Tab. A player recently explained the issue well:

Never heard of this at all. I don't have Open Broadcaster, but I tried minimizing and it didn't do anything to my cursor. Would need a demonstration.

- Not a question, but MANY people want a Mac version

Sorry, but no. Use Wine.

And now, my own question:
What are the chances of a (legit) console port? To be added to their virtual marketplace. No, I'm not joking. Would be great for potential future commercial projects.

We have no control over that because OpenBOR IS legit. The illegitimate part is installing alternate operating systems to the console for OpenBOR to run on, and that's not going to change any time soon. There's just no financial upside to console makers allowing that. They want to keep their stuff more locked down, not less. It's possible (however unlikely) that a developer would notice OpenBOR and ask for permission to use it as the engine for one of their titles, but those would be one off cases that don't help you anyway.

DC

 

[mersox]

Thanks for the replies.

From what I know:

- Xbox 360 controllers will work fine but needs its adaptor. Xbox one controllers will work as a bluetooth controller

Do you know where can I find instructions for Xbox One controllers? Because if it's that easy I don't get why I'm being asked this constantly. (I don't have an XBox One controller to try myself)


The rest of the reply I'll add in RED

I'll answer what I can, which honestly isn't that much...

- Can I use my PS4/Xbox controller?

I don't know about PS4, but I've used Xbox controller with Windows 10 and it works great.

I wonder why people get confused then

- Can't use mouse when pressing Tab. A player recently explained the issue well:

Never heard of this at all. I don't have Open Broadcaster, but I tried minimizing and it didn't do anything to my cursor. Would need a demonstration.

It's weird to explain because I don't get it myself. But I have gotten complains from various people over the years about not being able to use tab. I think it's a Twitch thing. Not a priority, I was just curious if I was the only one.

- Not a question, but MANY people want a Mac version

Sorry, but no. Use Wine.

Problem is, that:
1. Suggesting to use Wine, a software we're not affiliated with, seems weird
2. Wine doesn't support gamepads. So I have to tell gamers to also install and run an additional program to map keyboard keys to their controller, while playing the game.

It's not an elegant solution.
What is the reason there's no Mac support anymore? Lack of interest?

And now, my own question:
What are the chances of a (legit) console port? To be added to their virtual marketplace. No, I'm not joking. Would be great for potential future commercial projects.

We have no control over that because OpenBOR IS legit. The illegitimate part is installing alternate operating systems to the console for OpenBOR to run on, and that's not going to change any time soon. There's just no financial upside to console makers allowing that. They want to keep their stuff more locked down, not less. It's possible (however unlikely) that a developer would notice OpenBOR and ask for permission to use it as the engine for one of their titles, but those would be one off cases that don't help you anyway.

DC

Yes of course, but I'm not interested in modded consoles, but in the possibility of getting a game in the eshops of current consoles. I guess it's not possible now in OpenBOR due to licensing.
I was checking Godot and they also, being Open source, don't offer porting to consoles. BUT, they mention a third party that could do just that. Could there be an equivalent for OpenBOR?
https://docs.godotengine.org/en/3.1/tutorials/platform/consoles.html

 

[magggas]

Do you know where can I find instructions for Xbox One controllers? Because if it's that easy I don't get why I'm being asked this constantly. (I don't have an XBox One controller to try myself)

I'm also getting a lot of complains about Xbox controllers, but when i ask the people to be more specific, it is Always about Xbox 360 controllers only. Another thing to note here is that my game is using an old OpenBOR_v3.0_Build_4153 version.
Now as about XBox One controller, i also use one without any problem on a new or an old OpenBOR engine versions. There is no need of any special instructions for XBox One controller. Just plug-in on my Win 10 PC and it works normally.

And another thing to note in the whole controllers situation, is that some people are using older Windows OSs or just not having drivers installed somehow so the controller are not working at all on their machines, and they still blame OpenBOR because it's the only thing they attempted to ever play on their PCs. So there is this possibility too but this is less common.

Edit: Oh and another thing is that if you ever have installed  any additional software in order to use a ps3 or a ps4 controller on your PC, then all Xbox controllers are not working anymore while you do so And they are not working for everything, not just OpenBOR. Which means, you cannot use an ps3/4 and an XBox controller on your PC in same time. Yet i know for certain that people are just doing such stupid things on their PCs and they still just complaining to us instead of doing any research about what the the ps3/4 software does on their machines. Well, i guess just complaining is a lot easier for them.

 

[DCurrent]

mersox, it's a little hard understand and reply the way you quote an entire post and then insert responses. You might want to try breaking it down like the rest of us.

Controller - To be fair, mine is third party wired USB controller for X-box One. I have no idea what it takes to get a native wireless X-box controller working, and don't care enough to find out.

MAC - I've explained the Mac thing in detail elsewhere and honestly get sick of repeating myself, thus the short answer here. There is not enough interest and staff time to justify it, especially when OpenBOR has been tested and verified to work perfectly well on WINE.

Console - I get what you are asking for, but that's the whole point. OpenBOR is not an operating system, it is an engine that just happens to be packaged up into a self contained application. It has to run on something... and that something is the problem. Console makers don't allow you to install software of any kind unless you pay the freight - that's how they make their money. It would be nothing for any dev studio to strip off the menu and such so they could use the core engine in their own game (and I may add, several projects out there would have greatly benefited from this), but that still requires paying the console maker so you can publish it.

You just can't do it. Only using their approved (and very limited) dev kits or paying a severe publishing fee will get you in the door.

DC

 

[O Ilusionista]

Problem is, that:
1. Suggesting to use Wine, a software we're not affiliated with, seems weird
2. Wine doesn't support gamepads. So I have to tell gamers to also install and run an additional program to map keyboard keys to their controller, while playing the game.

It's not an elegant solution.
What is the reason there's no Mac support anymore? Lack of interest?

1. It's not weird, if you think about. We can suggest other softwares ( like OpenBORstats) while we aren't affiliated officially.

2. As DC explained, Mac version was dropped. I had the interest in compiling a newer version, but the process was kinda erradic and the only dev who knows how to do it (SX) is gone.

It will make your life easier if you simple say it won't work on a Mac
You don't have, as a dev, the obligation to support a platform you never developed your game to work to begin with 

There are several topics about joystick on wine, take a look
https://boilingsteam.com/a-step-by-step-guide-to-make-controllers-work-in-wine/

About releasing games made using OpenBOR on consoles: no, you can't - in a short.

 

[haxpor]

Add on top, for console, the reason there's not much information available on how to do things, how the process will look like is you need a devkit and permission to develop on their console. They will send devkit down to you, then you port your game on top of their SDK.

OpenBOR is based on SDL2 as backend. The author of SDL2 once posted in the forum that they had support for Switch. So if you want to get OpenBOR on Switch, try to contact them on forum. As mentioned, the author just can't release the supporting code of Switch in similar way they open source the engine because it needs to adhere to license and such part of code is owned by Nintendo, so if you have devkit and permission to develop on Switch, contact SDL2 author to ask for Switch support. I guess such part won't interfere with OpenBOR's code base. Of course until test it, we never know for sure, but as far as I see OpenBOR's rendering functionality and other systems go through SDL2. This means it should be minimally to port OpenBOR code base itself to support Switch.

And again, for other consoles, things go similarly.

 

[mersox]

You just can't do it. Only using their approved (and very limited) dev kits or paying a severe publishing fee will get you in the door.

DC

Well, I never said I expected it to be free. There's a big difference between "it can't be done" and "it's expensive"

It will make your life easier if you simple say it won't work on a Mac
You don't have, as a dev, the obligation to support a platform you never developed your game to work to begin with 

Of course, and that's what I'm doing now. But not offering a Mac port for a (hypothetical) commercial game made with OpenBOR, would be basically leaving money on the table.

Add on top, for console, the reason there's not much information available on how to do things, how the process will look like is you need a devkit and permission to develop on their console. They will send devkit down to you, then you port your game on top of their SDK.

OpenBOR is based on SDL2 as backend. The author of SDL2 once posted in the forum that they had support for Switch. So if you want to get OpenBOR on Switch, try to contact them on forum. As mentioned, the author just can't release the supporting code of Switch in similar way they open source the engine because it needs to adhere to license and such part of code is owned by Nintendo, so if you have devkit and permission to develop on Switch, contact SDL2 author to ask for Switch support. I guess such part won't interfere with OpenBOR's code base. Of course until test it, we never know for sure, but as far as I see OpenBOR's rendering functionality and other systems go through SDL2. This means it should be minimally to port OpenBOR code base itself to support Switch.

And again, for other consoles, things go similarly.

This is crazy useful. Thank you so much, haxpor!