IPhone 6 & 6+ resolutions...

Thunder_Child

So Ive pretty much NOT built any projects with a template using anything larger than an ipad or 5...i have focused much on the rule of inages as actor doubled or quadrupeled for retina display. Now that the iphone 6 and 6+ are out...and I have one being delivered today...I want to update a few games I have on the App Store.

My first question is why does GS have templates for the 6&6+ that are half the scaled size of those phones?

If I start with those and still quadruple my inage sizes...when I actually put it on the device to test wont the inages get blown up and blurry...because Im taking an image that is say 1024x1024 but only want it to be an actor size of 100x100...wont it turn out to be 400x400? I suddenly feel lost on how to proceed to make an actual retina pkay compliant...very sharp image game.

Should I start with an iPhone 6 template and then immediately delete the first scene...change the Game/Scene size to the actual resolution of a 6+....then make a 1024 x1024 inage to 4000x4000 and then change that actor to 100x100? I just feel the project will be so huge in my Mac display it will be hard to place things properly without constantly scrolling around the GS interface?

Im basically wanting yo build a game...starting eith my slots game...rebuild it for retina display on the iPhone 6+.

Anyone have some advice on project set up and image sizes ?

Thanks

BBEnk

I build with iPad always, and you can take a look at my thread for some options. It's very easy to build a game to work with any device.

http://forums.gamesalad.com/discussion/72589/universal-builds-for-ios-and-android-and-anything-else-using-ipad-build-and-stretch-no-distortion/p1

Lovejoy

Start with iPad and make your images @3x the size you want them to be. Not much has changed when it comes to universal apps.

Thunder_Child

@BBEnk‌ thanks for the link to discussion.

@raycur09‌ thanks

Thunder_Child

@raycur09‌ and I assume to then publish in stretch mode?

Lovejoy

@Thunder_Child said:
raycur09‌ and I assume to then publish in stretch mode?

You can use stretch mode, @BBEnk‌ universal binary, or simply overscan as long as you build inside of the target area since it cuts either the sides or the top and bottom.

Braydon_SFX

Over scan is the easiest in my opinion. However, if you're updating an app, it may be easier to use stretch if that app wasn't built with new resolutions in mind.

pHghost

@Thunder_Child‌ @BBEnk‌

With the new iPhones, I am actually slowly abandoning the iPad template as the starting point, since the iPhone 5 one seems to serve the purpose much better, having the same aspect ratio as the new iPhones.

If it was originally built as an iPhone 5 project, the simplest way is to replace your @2x textures with @4x textures. That will make your apps beautiful again on iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

If you are updating an iPad project, @3x textures are in place instead, as recommended.

I use a variation of my UB method for Stretch for building universal apps.

organi

I need to prepare my app for iPhone 6/+, too. Another question: How can I test my app with bigger resolution now? iPhone resizable simulator does't seems work well. I can't change resolution in simulator for iPhone 6/6+ screen resolution. Or maybe I do something wrong?

http://shoprex.com/phones-and-tablets/mobiles/apple-iphone-6-16gb-mpid12679

colander

I stick to iPad 4:3 or 720p HD 16:9 they are at opposite ends of the aspect spectrum and both are big so the images at 2x it will be fine for everything. At the moment 2048x2048 is the largest image you can import. A full size image at 2x in the 720p HD will be too big to import at 2560x1440. This is easily fixed by tiling the image.

pHghost

@colander said:
I stick to iPad 4:3 or 720p HD 16:9 they are at opposite ends of the aspect spectrum and both are big so the images at 2x it will be fine for everything.

The reason I am shifting to iPhone 5 is because it is one set of dimensions (either in landscape or portrait, you just switch the dimensions around). It also conserves space more. What I do is I focus the main area of play on the crossover portion between iPad and iPhone aspect ratios, this way you need to 'cut off' less game real estate on one specific device, because you do it on both instead, but less.

iPad 4:3 with @2x images is not enough if you are targeting iPhone 6+, since the images will be upscaled to 2208 from 2048 before downscaled to 1920 pixels. As recommended by people and GS, with the iPad template you should be using @3x images.

Personally, I don't like @3x images, I like to stick to multiples of two (especially when working with pixel art), and iPhone 5 @4x gives you just enough overhead with 2272 pixels on the longer axis, so it's perfect for any device.

This is the layout I use:

The area in the middle is where all the gameplay is focused.

It is also great for UI, because you only need to nudge it a little up, down, left or right.

colander

EDITED: For portrait I use iPad only. The 2x images are used in all retina devices iPad, iPhone 5, iPhone 6, iPhone 6+, etc as they are, GS doesn't change them. For non retina devices it will resize them to 2/3 of the 2x image and for old devices like iPhone 3 it will use 1/3.

If you don't check Resolution Independence it will use the 2x images as they are in all devices no matter what the resolution is. This is what I do because my projects are not large and I am not targeting old devices and iPad 1 so I am not concerned about performance or even if they will work at all on those devices. For people who are concerned about this you should check Resolution Independence.

Lovejoy

Legacy resolution independence during publishing page is also an option to check if using @2x images

pHghost

@colander said:
The 2x images are used in all retina devices iPad, iPhone 5, iPhone 6, iPhone 6+, etc as they are, GS doesn't change them.

What I am saying is that they will get upscaled by the iPhone 6 Plus, not by GS. The 'internal' screen height of the iPhone 6 Plus is 2208 pixels, which is more than @2x iPad (2048), so you are feeding it lower resolution graphics than what it is working with.

All of my projects are with Resolution Independence unchecked, I also use just one set of graphics. When I refer to @2x, @3x, @4x, I am referring to pixel size multiples compared to actor size.

Thunder_Child

This discussion has gone way over my head. I feel at this point I do iPad builds...4x image sizes...all at least 1024x1024....use stretch. I have an iphone 6+ now to at least test and still have my 4S as well as iPad Mini. That should cover all testing devices needed to create the best build I can.

Thanks peeps..

colander

It is nothing to be concerned about, the images look just fine at around 2.1x and Apple are not insisting on 2.3x images for iPhone 6+ at this time. Eventually they will but that is a little ways off yet.

There is plenty of time for GS to address it in the new image system. At some point we will have to make our images larger or GS will have to upscale them or the best option we get to choose which one we want to use. Have to wait and see what happens.