ZC on android... again
#1
Posted 25 September 2023 - 07:41 PM
How hard would it be to write a browser wrapper than runs ZC Web and allows gamepad inputs (like from a usb/bluetooth controller, or dedicated device hardware)? And I'm not sure, but does the web player let you run quests from the local drive in addition to streaming?
- Bagu likes this
#2
Posted 25 September 2023 - 08:45 PM
For a few years now, web browsers have supported installing webapps as "Progressive Web Apps", which makes them show up as standalone apps on your mobile homescreen (or on your Windows / Mac / whatever desktops). The web version of ZC supports this today. Load it in Chrome or Safari (I believe FF removed support for PWAs), and you'll see a prompt somewhere for "Install as App" (both on desktop and mobile).
The web version supports gamepads, and when on a mobile device it even has some really basic touch controls shown on the screen (which should go away if a gamepad is detected).
Note that the web version is still pretty janky.
BTW, the new home for the web version is here.
> And I'm not sure, but does the web player let you run quests from the local drive in addition to streaming?
It does - on first run you are prompted for whether to keep all data in a browser-local storage, or somewhere on your actual filesystem. You can change this configuration in the "Settings" tab at the top of the web page. Note that only Chrome currently supports attaching to your actual filesystem. For browsers that don't support that, you can still copy over whatever files you want to the local browser storage in the same "Settings" tab, but it won't sync back to your filesystem (you can individually extract files in the "Settings" tab, though).
- Anthus and Bagu like this
#3
Posted 25 September 2023 - 09:56 PM
- Bagu likes this
#4
Posted 27 September 2023 - 06:26 AM
Hmm, annoying. Game is slow and choppy on Chrome, and Firefox doesn't recognise joystick. I'll try and find some layer that maps joystick to touch input. Thanks anyway.
This is sadly not shocking. Yes, mobile devices are far more powerful now, but compared to a laptop from ten years ago, they cannot compete. Beyond this, you are running a vre app os, with a vre browser, running an i686 piece of software wrapped by a web compiler. Ideally, you want some native port for Android and iOS, but even then you must address the basic fact that these devices are designed for touch input, not joystick (analogue!) inputs.
If you have some sort of Android gamepad I would be curious if it helps. Back in 2019 I was working on an attempt to clean up touch screen input in Windows, using tablets and external libs. This went poorly.
#5
Posted 27 September 2023 - 07:04 AM
I use a Gamesir X2 (USB) for mobile gaming (mainly N64/Dolphin emulation). It requires reverse landscape orientation since the USB connector is on the left side - I noticed when I "installed" ZC from Chrome, the app would force landscape, so it was unplayable for me anyway regardless of performance (unless this can be changed in the cfg).
#6
Posted 27 September 2023 - 12:48 PM
About a month ago an interested Android developer shared he was looking into a port. Haven't heard back since though. RIP?
The web version is still experimental, and only really works well enough on high end devices. That's not inherent to the web platform, it's just that improving performance requires more substantial architectural changes than simply getting it to compile with Emscripten. It'll be more a priority after the z3 feature lands. Until then, we'll keep framing it as experimental.
I believe I have a fix for only the primary landscape orientation being allowed.
- Timelord likes this
#7
Posted 19 October 2023 - 09:47 PM
Recent updates to the browser version doubled the FPS for me in many cases.
Also, both landscape orientations should work now.
- Anthus and Majora like this
#8
Posted 21 October 2023 - 08:08 PM
Sweet, I'll give it another go.
#9
Posted 28 October 2023 - 11:24 PM
Recent updates to the browser version doubled the FPS for me in many cases.
Also, both landscape orientations should work now.
It tanked the FPS for me. Even less playable than before. Weird.
#10
Posted 29 October 2023 - 11:16 PM
#11
Posted 30 October 2023 - 01:03 AM
0 user(s) are reading this topic
0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users