What platform should I start with/use?

Triangularity Games

I know there are a lot of threads about universal builds and what platform to use, but I'm still confused. Is it better to use iphone 5 then stretch out? Or is it better to start with ipad and stretch in? What is the best platform to start with?

AngryBoi

Definitely iPad and overscan. I use it on every single project. You can download images here on the forums that give you the boundaries for inside the project

Triangularity Games

@tappwater Games said:
Definitely iPad and overscan. I use it on every single project. You can download images here on the forums that give you the boundaries for inside the project

But, doesnt overscan crop out parts of the scene when publishing to android? Or is it universal?

colander

The two ways that are universal out of the box are letterbox and stretch. Both have issues. Letterbox has black bars on the parts of the device screen not used and won't be accepted by some stores including Apple. Stretch fill the screen on all devices but stretches it out of shape.

Overscan works but you need to design your game with this in mind. Read the instruction in my signature it explains what it is all about. The full instructions come with my template for sale in the stores but the abbreviated version below will fill you in on the problems and what has to be done to create a UB.

BBEnk

Here's a link to my thread on Universal Builds using iPad. This uses stretch but does PC version have the stretch option now?

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

Triangularity Games

@BBEnk said:
Here's a link to my thread on Universal Builds using iPad. This uses stretch but does PC version have the stretch option now?

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

yes it does, but when I build on iPad it doesn't fit the screen and you cant zoom out (only when testing)

BBEnk

@stephenriska123 said:
yes it does, but when I build on iPad it doesn't fit the screen and you cant zoom out (only when testing)

What doesn't fit the screen and why can't you zoom out?

Armelline

People like to suggest iPad, but it really comes down to the game.

iPhone size makes conversion to Android easier.

iPad size works great with some games, but not others. I'm making a game right now (just a silly little thing when I have an hour here or there) that simply won't work with an iPad starting point. Not all games will. The iPad version, should I ever make one, will need to have every single level redesigned with the different screen dimensions in mind. Either that or put horrible borders on to cut off screen space unused on iPhone.

The reason people say to start with iPad is that all the other devices are broadly the same. iPhone, Android, Kindle Fire etc. They're all much closer to each other than any are to iPad. Because of this, iPad is a pain to convert to if you start with any of those. So, it's recommended to start with iPad as it's easier to stretch or crop edges away than it is to fill them up if they're not there to start with.

If you want to support iPad, start with iPad. If you don't care about iPad, just start with whichever device you want to be your primary supported device, and don't waste time with overscanning or stretching.

I'd say maybe 30% of my projects do I start with iPad, for the simple reason that such extensive changes will be needed to support iPad that it's pointless to try to combine the two.

AngryBoi

Just put everything you need within the boundaries that other devices won't see