[Freeciv] Re: Civ

[sec@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Sean Connor)]

On Thu, Jan 18, 2001 at 05:35:03PM -0700, Nathan Lovell wrote:
> I agree that a Palm version of FreeCiv would be great, but as far as I
> know nobody has tried it.  I can think of three possible reasons:
> 
> 1) The FreeCiv code, in it's present form, would run much too slowly on
> this generation of Palm processors to be much fun.

Hmmm...  What kind of hardware are the Amiga folks using with Freeciv?  The
Dragonball processor used in the PP is simply an embedded version of the
68000-series processors used in the Amiga.

It might well be too slow, though.  Other technical problems might be:

- Memory.  The most well-endowed PP that I've seen available has only 8mb of
RAM -- for everything.  On my Linux box, the Freeciv client and server
together take 8mb of RAM alone, although I will say that I like to play on
huge maps.  Anyway, it might be a bit of a problem.

- Screen size/resolution.  Can you get a reasonable display on the PP's
screen?  It might be rather awkward.
 
> 2) There haven't been means until very lately for a real internet-based
> multiplayer game on the Palm platform, which is where much of the emphasis
> lies (multiplayer, I mean).

Civnet had a mode of play called 'hotseat'.  Basically, what it entailed was
a number of players who would take their turns, one after another, at a
single PC.  In practice, it was rather awkward, because at least two people
had to jump up or slide their chairs around every time someone ended their
turn.

With a PP-sized machine, though, this mode could be given a new lease on
life.  You'd play your turn, then simply hand the machine to the next
person, without all the bother of changing seats.  This could be good
entertainment on a long bus/train/plane ride.

> I would be interested in working on a Palm port, but have no previous
> experience in Palm OS programming, and have several other commitments
> right now...

I've heard rumblings of StrongARM based PPs being in the offing; if so, this
would solve the processor speed problems.

For the present, though, it might make more sense to target
Nano-X/Microwindows or (ugh!) Wince.  These machines still might have
screen-size problems, but the other technical problems should be solved.
 
-- 
  -Sean Connor  (sec@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx)
                (sec@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx)
                (sec@xxxxxxxxxxxx)

Half the world is composed of people who have something to say and can't,
and the other half who have nothing to say and keep on saying it.