[Scummvm-devel] Java port of SCUMM

VGDB vgdb at consolemul.com
Fri Feb 20 06:33:06 CET 2004


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jonathan Gray" <khalek at linuxgamers.net>
To: "VGDB" <vgdb at consolemul.com>
Cc: <scummvm-devel at lists.sourceforge.net>
Sent: Friday, February 20, 2004 3:09 PM
Subject: Re: [Scummvm-devel] Java port of SCUMM


>
>
> On Fri, 20 Feb 2004, VGDB wrote:
>
> > Hi James,
> >
> > Thanks for your response.
> >
> > I originally wanted to publish the source code of the Java port/rewrite
on
> > the ScummVM official site.
> > Though most of the code is clearly the same, maybe you could consider
this
> > work like a subproject.
>
> I think hosting this on the ScummVM site would only lead to confusion,
> that and its not something we would be looking to provide support for.

Understood.

> >
> > As for the clear distinction you ask, I will rename the project as
JavaScumm
> > (or something like this)
> > and just publish the source code and says it is based on ScummVM.
> >
>
> Although currently you're looking at BASS not SCUMM?

That's right...

> Have fun coding in all the game logic...

Thank you ;-)

> > Maybe I am insane :)
>
> Been playing too much Full Throttle? (had to get the INSANE refence in...)

Too bad, I never tried this one...

> > Here are a few reasons that make me think it is still an interesting
idea:
> > - When support for Ms-Dos will completely vanish in NextGen operating
> > systems, only emulation or ScummVM-like engines will allow to play again
> > these games. If the project is java'ized, you can extend even more its
> > lifetime...
> > - Java is available on many platforms and even embedded in smartphones
and
> > the like. If you want to have a port for a new model of phone or
handheld
> > device, you need to write a dedicated port. A Java port could open new
> > horizons and make ScummVM available more easily on a lot of NextGen
> > platforms.
>
> ScummVM already runs on most platforms around, from what I gather of
> various J2ME implementations on phones they are all slightly incompatible
> with each other to some extent anyway.  Due to ScummVM being open source
> its not hard to recompile or tweak parts of it anyway.

> (random thoughts)
> How do you handle things like MIDI in java?
>Where is a JVM for dreamcasts? Why will ScummVM stop running magically at
some point in the future?

I do not want to say that a Java port will prevail over the original ScummVM
work.
I see it as an interesting side project.

If most of the applications are created only in C# or Java in several years
perhaps...
So... what about a .NET port ? Does it seem insane too ?

> > - Most of people nowadays are lazy to install a software and configure
it.
> > They often prefer web facilities like ActiveX, Flash or Java applets.
> > Playing Beneath a Steel Sky in your favorite browser in a matter of
seconds
> > does not sound interesting ?
>
> No it sounds horribly painful

why painful ?

>and a waste of bandwidth.

wether you download the BASS game or play it online, that's the same waste
of bandwith.

> Not to mention
> that most (all?) of the the technologies you mention are not standards and
> are controlled by one vendor.
> For example I'm not sure if any of them are
> available at all for LinuxPPC users (so much for the portability
argument?).

I agree.

> > - I can find bugs in the normal source code. Since Java is more
restrictive
> > than C/C++, bugs are easier to locate.
> > For example, in sky\screen.h, _seqGrid should have 20 * 12 +1 as size or
you
> > could experience an out of bounds memory access.
> > - It is better to understand code that you rewrite and debug than code
that
> > you only read...
>
> I think a cleaner approach would be to document how things work
> independant of a particular language then implement from the
> specification.  This also has the nice affect of helping the next person
> who comes along wanting to write an interpreter/understand something.

That's another interesting project...

> > - It is fun...
> > - It makes me happy... :)
>
> Well at the end of the day as ender said no one is stopping you :)

;-)

> > - People that created ScummVM are insane too...
>
> More dedicated/stubborn than insane.
>
> regards
>
> Jonathan

Regards,
Gollum





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