MobilityNewAndNoteworthyM8
NewAndNoteworthy in Milestone 8 of Mobility Pack
Contents |
Game Builder
Visual editing support for MIDP 2.0 Game API including creation and editing of Sprites, TiledLayers and their arrangement into scenes. The main goal of the Game Builder module is to reduce the effort involved in creating common game components.
The following screen-shot shows the New Tiled Layer dialog which allows user to create a new tiled layer using the appropriate image resource with the correct tile size.
Once a new tiled layer is created it can be edited using the available visual editor. This allows the user to modify the contents of the tiled layer and receive instant visual feedback. The tiled layer editor also includes support for animated tiles.
Another layer type supported by the Game Builder is Sprite. In the gaming context, sprites usually serve as animated characters or objects. The screen-shot below shows the dialog used to create a new sprite.
Game Builder treats sprites as a collection of animated sequences where each sprite can be contain a number of sequences. The sprite editor allows editing and previewing of multiple animated sequences simultaneously.Below is a screen-shot showing sprite editor in action.
The scene editor is provided to organize all layers (sprites and tiled layers) together into scenes.
New custom components
Four new custom components in the Palette of new Visual Designer:
- File Browser
- SMS Composer
- Login Screen
- PIM Browser
Palette with new custom components
File Browser - File Browser custom component lets the user list files and directories. It's uses FileConnection? Optional Package (JSR 75). The FileConnection? Optional Package APIs give J2ME devices access to file systems residing on mobile devices, primarily access to removable storage media such as external memory cards.
Login Screen - The login screen custom components performs some interaction behind the scenes for validation purposes.
SMS Composer - provides an easy and convenient way to send SMS message from Java ME application.
PIM Browser - Uses PIM API which gives access to the Personal Information Management (PIM) database including to-do lists, calendars and contact data. Requires JSR 75.
Example MIDP application with new custom components
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