TGM2 Frame Procedure Question

Thread in 'Research & Development' started by DewDude26, 18 Mar 2011.

  1. I'm planning on porting over a TGM2 clone I made for iPod touch, and I was wondering if the exact order for a frame is known, like when input and gravity are taken into effect for each frame, so I could make sure it followed TGM2. And for that matter if there was even a demand for an app like this on the Android Marketplace... I'm relatively inexperienced when it comes to Tetris, I mostly made the original clone for a friend.
     
  2. I think there would be a market for it... but unless you are very, very careful or have a license from The Tetris Company you'll be cease and desisted to death.
     
  3. Poll for input > Rotation > Shift > Gravity/Drops/Lock Delay stuff

    When polling for input, make sure you have some case for priority or overriding of directions on separate axes. The actual arcade game takes horizontal inputs over vertical, but going with the latest direction pressed is way to go for non-joystick input methods if you prefer it. As far as rotations go, the game will prefer a CCW rotation over CW if both were just pressed on this frame or were both held when applying Initial Rotations.

    Processing rotation before movement is what allows Synchros (e.g. this classic I-piece autosynchro) to work.
     
  4. Zaphod77

    Zaphod77 Resident Misinformer

    The order goes likethis.

    -3 Entry delay.
    -2 IHS (if hold exists in the game)
    -1 IRS (no kick for IRS)
    0 Gravity (you cannot move for the first frame)

    After this, the order continues on.

    1 rotation
    2 movement
    3 gravity
    3a if piece drops down, reset lock delay
    3b start lock delay time, if piece is contacting ground
    4 return to step 1 until lock delay expires, or piece is manually locked

    And there's no way in heck you will be able to get a license for a TGM clone, and they WILL stop you. It would have to be an unofficial app.
    (correct me if i'm wrong)
     
  5. Oops, I knew I forgot something when composing my post. :p
     
  6. Thanks for the help on the order! Are there any ways that I could get an app out that has that gametype without having legal troubles? Would having a bunch of settings that one could set up to behave like TGM2 be considered illegal?
     
  7. Zaphod77

    Zaphod77 Resident Misinformer

    ANY tetris app is going to get noticed and pulled, TGM gameplay or not.

    There's nothing you can do about that. :(

    You can try talking to TTC or EA ( i think they have phone licenses?), but you almost certainly can't afford what they will ask for.
     
  8. I've seen plenty of Tetris games on the the Android Marketplace, so I think it is possible. They are all really basic though, like Gameboy basic... And have gimmicky touch screen controls..., so I don't know whether it's Tetris in general or just specific rotation systems and modes (like master mode) that would be illegal to put on there. That's why I'm wondering if it would be legal if you just have those variables for speed that you could set to be like TGM2, sort of like Lockjaw.

    The Apple app store is an entirely different story, which is why I never got much further than a beta on that.
     
  9. I think that the reason you only see really basic stuff on Android Marketplace is that a lot of people aren't really well-acquainted with the finer points of Tetris and just throw something out there as a test or because it has a chance of some success on the popularity of Tetris alone.

    You'll probably be fine as long as you don't call it Tetris, on account of the trademark they hold. Other than that, the most likely case is it won't get touched until EA/TTC decides they want to release an official game on the Android platform. At that point, they'll probably just try to get all tetromino games by other developers pulled from the market on copyright claims. Not that there are grounds for a copyright claim in this case, but that's probably what would end up happening anyway.
     
  10. I'll give it a shot. It'll be good for me anyway to start working with more advanced Java stuff, even if I can't put it on the marketplace. Thanks for all the help!
     
  11. Zaphod77

    Zaphod77 Resident Misinformer

    Official Tetris for Android already exists.

    Bottom line is if it doesn't suck horribly, it's gonna get pulled. But hey, you can try... :)
     
  12. Hahaha, so it does.
     
  13. SYN7HOR

    SYN7HOR Drama Queen

    Release your game in any way you like. Don't let these people scare you.
     

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