Next 4K contest should be Applet only?

[pjt33]

@trembovetski

For reference, nothing bad will happen if you don’t call Graphics.dispose() - at least in the current implementations (that I know of).

I’ll bear that in mind next year. Thanks.

[Abuse]

@Markus_Persson

Er, yes, absolutely. Applets definitely make games more accessible than webstart does, no question about it.

I don’t really understand why people are so much against making java4k applet only, as applet versions of my 4k games usually are significantly smaller, have fewer weird issues (like not having to worry about the location of the frame or the size of the frame decorations), and it would make for a really awesome looking compo site where hundreds(!) of games could be immediately played without installing anything on your machine.

The only reason I voted against Applet-only is because of the design constraints it imposes upon the type of games you can make.
Looking back at past games, if fullscreen mode/DisplayMode switching or Robot manipulation were unavailable several excellent games would not have been possible.

However, you’re argument regarding presentation of the competition as a whole is a convincing one.

So, just for the record -1 for “No!” and +1 for “Yes!”

[Ranger]

@Markus_Persson

Unfortunately, this isn’t true. The constructor is mandatory. If you don’t write one yourself, the compiler will add one for you. So putting code in the constructor is pretty much free.

Damn! …err, with Applets you don’t need a setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE) call, or a main(String[] args) method! ;D

[Markus_Persson]

@Abuse

The only reason I voted against Applet-only is because of the design constraints it imposes upon the type of games you can make.
Looking back at past games, if fullscreen mode/DisplayMode switching or Robot manipulation were unavailable several excellent games would not have been possible.

Ah, yes. Fair enough. =)

I’ve changed my opinion to “let people do whatever they wish, but make it easy to host and play applets and webstartable apps directly from the competition site”. Perhaps even with a “make applets the officially preferred method of deployment”.

[Morre]

Yeah, this seems to be the best solution right now. But I do think it’s important to keep the actual applet on a separate page (as in, after clicking a “Play!” link). If one doesn’t do that, they might have an unfair advantage over webstarted games.

[pjt33]

@Morre

Yeah, this seems to be the best solution right now. But I do think it’s important to keep the actual applet on a separate page (as in, after clicking a “Play!” link). If one doesn’t do that, they might have an unfair advantage over webstarted games.

I don’t really understand this stuff about unfair advantages. Surely it’s only relevant if the judging is based on number of people who played the game?

[irreversible_kev]

@Abuse

if fullscreen mode/DisplayMode switching or Robot manipulation were unavailable several excellent games would not have been possible.

I haven’t checked, but fullscreen and Robot use can be done in Applets can’t it? It just pops up a security dialog like WebStart would.

One restriction though, is that each Applet would really need to be of the same dimentions. I. E. 640x480 or something, so that they embed well in the site. This really isn’t that much of an issue I would bet though - especially as most of the WebStarted 4k games I have played “break” when you resize the window.

[Markus_Persson]

@Morre

Yeah, this seems to be the best solution right now. But I do think it’s important to keep the actual applet on a separate page (as in, after clicking a “Play!” link). If one doesn’t do that, they might have an unfair advantage over webstarted games.

See, I’d consider that a good incentive for people to use the preferred deployment method.

[DzzD]

Applet VS Webstart , what do you prefer as a end user ?

you should read the foolowing with a background music with bass Applet ! , Applet !, Applet ! , Applet !, Applet ! , Applet !, Appppletttt!