Exult for PocketPC?

[Sirlee]

Is there any Ultima7 fanatic with enough Programming skills out there to do a PocketPC port?

I love Exult on my Windows XP but on PocketPC it would be incredible.

[Colourless]

It's a 'work in progress'

I am sort of working on it, but it will take a while.

-Colourless Dragon

[esw]

I was going to try.. but I don't know any C++
However, I got sdl to compile, and also foundZlib for windows ce:

http://www.tenik.co.jp/~adachi/wince/zlibce/index.htm

I know it will be awesome though.. pocketpcs have a big enough screen, and enough processing power. Probably even enough to emulate midi

[esw]

Oh yeah, if you need a tester for a Casio e-125, I'd be happy to test for you

[Colourless]

Thanks for the link. ZLib was one of the things that I didn't yet have.

-Colourless Dragon

[Sirlee]

I want to be Tester as well!

I also own an E-125G. Colourless Dragon is that your device too?

Or do we have to buy Ipaq now? (I guess I would for Exult...)

[Dominus]

Colourless isn't actually using a PocketPC
So far he is using the development tools for Windows CE which include an emulator (very undetailed answer by me ).
I guess whenever there is something to test he will announce it and put a snapshot up

[Sirlee]

Yes I know that Emulator. I have the MS Developer Kit for Windows CE as well. Unfortunately I only know VB and no C++. But I will help Testing on a real machine as soon as something is there...

[artaxerxes]

in the meantime, if you want to play Exult on a PDA, you can always have a look at the Sharp Zaurus.

http://exult.info/screenshots_zaurus.php

I bought mine for about US$400 on jandr.com. It has a pretty long battery life, runs Linux and is awesome if you like to tinker with toys. If you are the 50+ year-old type who has a flashing 12:00 on your VCR then don't buy the zaurus... you'll be suffering.

No need to be elite either. Just if you like to tinker with your PDA.

Artaxerxes

[esw]

Hey Colourless, I might also reccomend a site for PocketPC coding help:

www.pocketmatrix.com

Go to the general development forum; it's home to many of the best PPC coders (poeple who ported Quake, ScummVM, etc..). The forum has tons of information if you search it and plus they are usually happy to answer people's questions.

[Arondylos]

Also, the current Zaurus port should work under the Compaq Ipaq, since it's ARM-based too. Haven't tested yet, though (this would be, of course, under *Linux* (QPE/Opie) running under this PDA , but after all, Linux is Free for the Ipaq).

-Arondylos

[MagicMop]

Say Colourless, around how much program memory would a PocketPC need to run Exult, hypothetically of course...

Thanks...

MM

[Colourless]

Um, ask me another time ok

Really, my answer to the question of how much memory is 'too much'. That's sort of a cop out, but I can't really say how much will be required. It 'looks' like I just noticed there could be a memory leak somewhere, which obviously isn't a good thing. It's a real small one, but it looks like it exists none the less. I'm going to try and find it, since it needs fixing.

You should be able to start up Exult and get into a game with 16 MB or free program memory. Other than that, I can not say at this stage. I would be very much disappointed if mem requirements ended up being more than 20 MB.

-Colourless

[esw]

As long as you don't need much more than 20, it's no big deal. Even on my older casio e-125 (with 32mb total ram), I can free up 16 MB program memory without moving any files to my storage card. If I wanted I could free up 20+.

For those new to pocket pcs, both program memory and storage space are in RAM, and you can adjust how much each side gets. Newer models have 64mb ram, so they might have room for say 20 to 40 mb of program memory.

[MagicMop]

Hehe... well, my pocketpc is an old Jornada 450... they only have 16Mb of RAM, so the most program memory I can squeeze out of it is about 11 or 12 meg.

Oh well... I'm not too worried. I can still play Sam'n'Max and DOTT on it, and all the old Sierra adventures... so I won't be too cut up if I can't play Exult - I'm just glad to be able to play Ultima 7 on ANY platform....

Keep up the great work guys! And thanks for the response Colourless!

MM