*Important suggestion!* Planetary Annihilation for tablets

I got an idea earlier while I was using my android phone... If the server will do most of the simulation work in PA, it should be possible for PA to be ported to tablets, and still be able to play cross platform games against desktop opponents. Tablets like the nexus 10 can play games at 60 fps, even at 2560 by 1600, meaning original game graphics could be used, without the need to scale them down. I think it would be interesting if Uber could make this, another Kickstarter, perhaps?

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It would be a massive undertaking.

While servers are doing a bit more of the busy work - clients are still doing a lot. 3d planetary rendering, ram limits from multiple planets and simultaneous unit movements would all tax it a lot.

While that mentioned tablet can do 60 fps at 2560x, it's really a broad statement, as many desktops cannot do that kind of resolution for games like Battlefield 3 - In other words the density of what's going on is the big variance.

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At the end of the day, the tablet is still drawing a 3d universe. Do they have graphics cards? I really don't even know. If they come equipped with a serious graphics card and a powerful internet connection, it might be doable.

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Just take out some of the fancy stuff, like anti aliasing, shadows, etc. the point is that, I know these devices are capable, it's like trying to play the game on an hd 3000 series GPU, it won't work great on ultra, but on low-medium, it runs fine.

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Yes, most high end ARM based tablets have GPUs, and they're almost as powerful as my HD Radeon 4850...

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So, not very powerful then.

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Perhaps it's feasible, then. At least from a hardware perspective.

You know, it'd also be pretty awesome if you could simply extend your game to your tablet. They're going to support windowed gaming mode with multiple monitors anyway; hooking up your tablet as an extra monitor sounds interesting.

If they go with making the game run on a tablet, they might as well?

I can also imagine spectating or watching replays on a tablet would be great. Not sure about actually controlling the game due to lack of keyboard, but laying on the couch watching a few games sounds like a great way to spend a lazy evening.

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Enough to play BF3 at 1680 by 1050 on ultra at 40 fps. WoT gets about 60, and I've got up to 400 on CoD (useless, as monitors can only display up to 75 fps (hz)).

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You can buy attachable keyboards(and mice) for most tablets now, so that won't be a problem

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You can connect a USB keyboard to most tablets using a USB OTG cable, which basically is a microsb to usb adapter. I don't use hotkeys much, but a perfect example of an rts on android is Rusted Warfare, I believe it's the best mobile game I've ever seen.

Re: *Important suggestion!* Planetary Annihilation for table

You're more or less turning your tablet into a laptop then, aren't you?

You'd also probably need a stand so you can see it when using a keyboard, and then a mouse because the touch interface wouldn't work properly anymore...

I saw a great comic about this, but I can't find it anymore.

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It wouldn't be as simple as you are making out, tablets use a fundamentally different architecture to desktops/laptops (ARM instead of x86 processors). RTS games tend to be quite CPU heavy and ARM are built to be power efficient, passively cooled processors, not number crunchers. They simply dont compare to a modern x86 in terms of processing power they are built with different tasks in mind. Here is a light article comparing the two architectures. On top of that there is the graphics solution, not all tablets have them, and of those that do? I find it hard to believe that a passively cooled tablet graphics solution could compete with even a HD Radeon 4850. Were they this competitive then there would be more games on the market that took advantage of this.

Aside from the architecture differences there is also the fact that Uber would then developing the game for another operating system entirely, one that has reasonably high levels of fragmentation between devices which may or may not interfere with the stability between different tablets.

Once you have that out of the way, how do you want to interact with the game? If you want to use the touch screen you need to deal with a custom interface to accommodate the touch-screen, the on screen keyboard obscures a fair part of the screen) so you are left having to redesign a vast part of the interface unless you are using an external keyboard.

Above all else there is a finite amount of time and funding available to Uber and this was not something that was budgeted into the Kickstarter. It would be a mammoth task (if not impossible) to produce the game for tablets and for that there would not be the same kind of return that they can get through their current plans for a cross OS PC game.

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As someone who develops for both computers and mobile, I can tell you that there is still a very large performance gap between the two sets of platforms. Processor speeds, GPU speeds/features, and memory are all in short supply compared to even older, low-end computers. Even if you make a game for computer first, you have to keep mobile in mind or it will be absurdly difficult to get it going on a tablet.

And that's just performance. Controls are a huge issue with most ports, and any game that makes heavy use of the keyboard is going to have serious interface issues when you try and move to a touchscreen. With the exception of left-mouse-only casual games, almost every PC control scheme suffers when you put it on a tablet. Graphics can always be made worse until they work, but controls are a serious problem that very few developers handle well in the first place.

If you really want to be convinced, though, then take a look at the RTS games available on your favourite tablet. They don't even begin to approach the scale of most RTS games from the late 1990's.

If a tablet version of PA were announced now, my interest in the PC version would probably drop to zero. Neither version would be the game we have been looking forward to since the Kickstarter video.

Re: *Important suggestion!* Planetary Annihilation for table

PA on a tablet ... I lol'ed

thanks to danielbrauer for writing down why.

Re: *Important suggestion!* Planetary Annihilation for table

Given the amount of work a CPU and GPU will have to do, even on a client/server based PA, i think running PA locally on a tablet would be a non-starter. The devs would have to perform an insane level of optimisation, and essentially rebuild much of the game form the ground up if this was ever on the table. A tablet version of PA, hamstrung by a tablet's processing power, would likely be a very different, and inferior game.

However...

Neutrino has already touched how many options will be available in terms of UI modding. One of the biggest obstacles in tablet-ports is making a UI that works well on a fundamentally different interface environment. If somebody creates a tablet friendly UI, then I see no reason why the game couldn't be playable by using a tablet to remote-desktop into a more powerful machine. If someone is really determined to play PA on a tablet, then this may be the way to do it.

Re: *Important suggestion!* Planetary Annihilation for table

As a programmer, I can say while that is often overlooked, it isn't anywhere near the biggest obstacle.

Tablet remote clients are all about simulating a dektop and it's mouse environment. They will not send back tings like gestures and multi touch commands to the desktop, making any ui adjustments useless.
Additionally, these clients are not designed to update the screen ad a video-like speed. You will end up plating the game at 1fps at best, probably with 8bit colours.

Re: *Important suggestion!* Planetary Annihilation for table

Not saying I agree that the developers should spend time on this, but to those who say it's impossible:

https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/land-ai ... 59102?mt=8

tada!

Re: *Important suggestion!* Planetary Annihilation for table

I would not want this shoehorned into the constraints of a tablet/smartphone.

There are some game types that are a good fit for those devices, but I don't believe this is one.

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If it's controls you mean, that's no issue, I'm perfectly happy with the controls of RW. I believe a touchscreen may actually be faster than a keyboard and mouse.

Re: *Important suggestion!* Planetary Annihilation for table

I received a response from the developers... here's what it says: "Hey there,

It's too early to comment on any other platforms other than that which we committed to during the Kickstarter, but it's safe to say a number of us in the office would love to get this game on various tablets that would be able to handle it, if we determine it is feasible!

Thanks for your interest in the game!

Cheers,
Marc"