iPhone 4 Performance

Discussion in 'Public Game Developers Forum' started by bcarbone, Aug 3, 2010.

  1. bcarbone

    bcarbone Well-Known Member

    Mar 19, 2010
    221
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    iPhone Developer
    Estero, FL
    Hey everyone,

    Just got my iPhone 4 last week. been doing some game development and so far things look pretty good. Performance on this phone is downright amazing! I am able to render hundreds of sprites with circular collision detection at once with a smooth 60FPS.
     
  2. Sounds great. I haven't had the oppertunity to properly test iPhone 4 yet.

    The only problem with the awesome performance on the iPhone 4 is that no other Apple device (except iPad) matches it. Creating really cool apps with the new specs in mind will be a treat, however due to the performance gap that would leave ALOT of potential customers behind.

    And that is a problem.
     
  3. ultimo

    ultimo Well-Known Member

    May 5, 2009
    3,840
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    Not really.... wait till sept.
     
  4. bcarbone

    bcarbone Well-Known Member

    Mar 19, 2010
    221
    0
    0
    iPhone Developer
    Estero, FL
    I agree. I was worried a little that my next game won't sell too much if I target just the people with iPhone 4's, but alot of people seem to be upgrading to the new iPhone. Plus, as ultimo says, in sept. there will be the new iPod touch (hopefully matching the iPhone 4 specs).
     
  5. Frand

    Frand Well-Known Member

    Have you done a comparative performance test with a 3rd gen device?
     
  6. bcarbone

    bcarbone Well-Known Member

    Mar 19, 2010
    221
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    iPhone Developer
    Estero, FL
    No, but I am comparing to a first-gen device.
     
  7. I think it is really dangerous to assume that a large portion of the Touch community will migrate to the new Touch. A part will surely, but how big will that part be and at what rate will they migrate?

    But it is very tempting for a developer to play with the performance of the iPhone4. It will hopefully create new game mechanics and add a much needed graphical boost (at least on the 3d side, I'm a part time graphics whore). ;)
     
  8. Foursaken_Media

    Foursaken_Media Well-Known Member
    Patreon Indie

    imo it has a lot to do with the type of game you're making. More hardcore games can probably get away with catering to the higher tech devices (especially when it comes to ipod touch owners -- though I personally still think its a bad idea). More casual games on the other hand definitely should be optimized for the lowest device.
     
  9. Bmamba

    Bmamba Well-Known Member

    Dec 10, 2009
    232
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    Game dev
    Canada
    We managed to put our hand on just one iphone 4. and yeah the device is really powerful...Our game brotherhood of violence run at 30fps on iphone 3gs and 60fps on the iphone 4
    [​IMG]
     
  10. bcarbone

    bcarbone Well-Known Member

    Mar 19, 2010
    221
    0
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    iPhone Developer
    Estero, FL

    Is that with or without the hi-res graphics? I am using hi-res graphics in my game and still getting 60FPS.
     
  11. Moonjump

    Moonjump Well-Known Member

    May 17, 2010
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    Game designer
    Lincoln, UK
    With the poster's name, I'm reminded of the first game I ever worked on - Forsaken in the late 90s. It was decided that we could get away with recent PC spec only as the majority of gamers likely to buy our game would have one.

    On Java / Brew games for mobile phones, buyers tended to only buy games in the first 3 months of ownership as the purchase was for the handset, so wouldn't waste money as a new purchase approached. Unfortunately you also had to develop for many older machines that you would never get sales on, or the phone networks wouldn't allow you on their portals.

    Apple changed all this as you now buy on the iTunes account that allows you to move your games to new iOS devices. People are still buying apps with the older generation machines.

    You have a much bigger market if your game can run on older devices, but you could get a higher market penetration on the iPhone 4 if your app really shows off the capabilities. If you have the skills to create that experience, then you may have a hit on your hands.

    Of course, if you are working for yourself, then it is best to work on what will interest you, as that enthusiasm should show through in a better product.
     

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