Technical Questions on Ren'Py Android and x86 Linux

[SvenTheViking]

So, I've been wondering, why are there apparently major differences in the capabilities of the Android version and the x86 version of Ren'Py? Is it simply because of a lack of support on the Android end of things (meaning a lack of required features in the Android OS itself) that seems to be limiting it? Also, does the Android version support the same keyboard input as the x86 version (would it work if I were to, say, build an adapter which let me plug a keyboard into my Android device (which will work on the OS end of things, I've been assured by many people))?

From what I know of Android and of Linux in general, it shouldn't be too terribly impossible to build a secondary package that contains a number of the features which may not exist on Android. Unfortunately, I won't be able to test this theory until I get an Android device, hopefully within the next two weeks.

I ask mostly because I'm insane (I've considered making a C# version for deploying Ren'Py games on the XNA framework, so you can play them on your Windows Phone, Zune, or Xbox 360) and want to start tinkering about with things to see what I can get working, and while I may be able to find the answers by digging through the documentation (which I'll do anyway), I'd start this thread eventually, anyway, so I'd like to get the most up-to-date answer possible.

Thanks in advance.

[DaFool]

The current state is as follows:
*Imagedissolves and some other fancy effects disabled on Android.
*AFAIK most input functionality is preserved (not sure about joystick though).
*You have a Launcher that can play any simple Ren'Py game as long as you grab the /game directory and stuff it into your SD card; however
*to make a purpose-built APK, you'll need to go through a few device certification hoops, and PyTom is working on some service that does that. Right now, all the custom Android renpy builds are made with special request.

[PyTom]

So, I've been wondering, why are there apparently major differences in the capabilities of the Android version and the x86 version of Ren'Py? Is it simply because of a lack of support on the Android end of things (meaning a lack of required features in the Android OS itself) that seems to be limiting it?

It depends on the feature.

Non-fullscreen movies will be difficult to get working. On a slow device like an Android device, we want to use hardware acceleration for movies. I don't think there's a way to get the raw video playing and combine it with the usual output, so we'll likely never have a sprite overlaying a movie. Fullscreen video is possible - I need to program it at some point.

ImageDissolve isn't possible, right now, since we're using OpenGL ES 1. OpenGL ES 1 requires only a small number of texture environments - IIRC, 2 - and we need 3 or 4 for ImageDissolve to work. We do have an OpenGL ES 2 renderer, but right now there isn't code to set up an OpenGL ES 2 environment - the environment setup code is in Java, which only has access to ES1 at the moment. ES 2 is doable, though, so imagedissolve will happen eventually.

Also, does the Android version support the same keyboard input as the x86 version (would it work if I were to, say, build an adapter which let me plug a keyboard into my Android device (which will work on the OS end of things, I've been assured by many people))?

I haven't tried it, but I think it should. If not, it would be easy to make it work.

I ask mostly because I'm insane (I've considered making a C# version for deploying Ren'Py games on the XNA framework, so you can play them on your Windows Phone, Zune, or Xbox 360) and want to start tinkering about with things to see what I can get working, and while I may be able to find the answers by digging through the documentation (which I'll do anyway), I'd start this thread eventually, anyway, so I'd like to get the most up-to-date answer possible.

A C# port would be very difficult. Android works because the NDK lets you run C code - Python is written in C, Cython code compiles to C, and Ren'Py is written in Python, Cython, and C. I don't know how to make a C# port work without rewriting everything.