More Platforms - This was very difficult to organize - Hence, my absence
... Did not want to do a release with less than everything and I kept finding small issues on Mac or Android pushing the release out a day repeatedly.
Pictured: Quake Combat+ (perhaps best DarkPlaces mod for Quake ever, maximum+ quality)
More Platforms
Zircon engine builds are now available for Mac and Android. Both the Mac and Android builds offer the highest quality experience I was able to do, so far.
Getting of all of these to offer a nice experience with zero compromises was hard. Any issue, even a small one, was dealt with. This process was repeated until the list was empty.
Both the Mac and Android version can take a command line from a "zircon_command_line.txt" in the Quake folder. (Such a file would contain "-game travail +map start").
It is likely that a future version of Zircon will let you do a command line clicking something in the menu.
Recorded: on my Android 11 phone (a 2021 model), so yeah I am walking around with the touch controls.
Android: Menu / Console Are Very Serviceable
There is no reason to do a Android version if the menu and console are hard to use. The menu is easy. The console pops up the Android keyboard, there are virtual "up" "down" buttons to go to previous command in the console history just like on Windows.
There is also a virtual "tab" button to autocomplete a map name or whatever in the console.
Needs "Minecraft" drag look and more refinement with the "jump", "attack" controls. Those will likely come. I have previously coded pixel accurate "Minecraft-like" drag look.
Some "DarkPlaces Demons" Defeated
Zircon now has a very nice 2D auto-scaling solution that is simple and flexible that the user can adjust (automatic scaling is magnification to nearest 360 pixels of height, so 720 is 2x magnification).
The bronze text color in Zircon is a full match to standard Quake. I was not sure if this was possible for DarkPlaces, it does not use the bronze Quake characters at all but has a color modulation system.
DarkPlaces also shows the console at inappropriate times during small gaps in the map loading between "loading stages". Zircon has this much curtailed.
If you need some GFX for anything... Just let me know...
There is "a sketch" of logo on my last track here:
Soundcloud.com
Maybe its a nice icon?
I've made it with Zircon in mind.
I'm slow on my mapping effort, but my completion state as of now is sort of ~60%.
I'll start posting things when I get more closer to something good, ok?!
My life is kinda of a mess right now, trying to seek paying jobs here and there while also doing some low end freelance work while also seeking some big endeavours outside the "tech" realm... So...
I was "phoneless" until 4 days ago... Life here in Brazil is kinda hard, if you let the wrong people surround you... So... There's that.
Now I can do android testing as well, I was using until today your old QuakeDroid port to play on the phone... Now we have zircon? I could test better my things while on the road? =D
I'm also doing a few things WebGL related... But its another thingy, FTEQW derived, not much to show as of now.
The updates are awesome... Zircon is sort of becoming "the LTS darkplaces"? hehehe...
That's a huge plus! Will surely hasten things here. =)
Take your time and tend to what is truly important.
This is a long-term project.
If you ever get an opportunity, I'd like your thoughts on some methods to create vegetation easily, even if I have to engine code it as new Q3 shader keyword.
If there is alpha channel for your Zircon icon, it would be helpful.
Almost "stable" here to get into this project without any issues... =)