Marmalade SDK 8.4 out now

The latest and greatest version of the Marmalade SDK is now available here
Highlights

  • C++11 support now available.
  • Apple Pencil pressure reading is now supported on iPad Pro in addition to existing 3D Touch support.
  • Slide Over and Split View multitasking now available to Marmalade apps on supported iPad models.
  • Compression of assets in APKs on Android is now supported.
  • Windows 10 ARM builds can now be directly deployed to any attached device without any special configuration.
  • s3eCamera can now return high quality still images on Android, rather than the viewfinder preview.
  • s3eWebView updated to use newer version of Chromium Embedded Framework on Windows Desktop.

A full list of changes is available here.

Marmalade SDK 8.2 is out now

The latest and greatest version of the Marmalade SDK is now available here.

Highlights

  • IncrediBuild support for ARM architecture
  • Improved video support for Windows Desktop
  • Updated version of ZeroBrane Studio for Quick
  • Multidex support for Android

A full list of changes is available here.

Developing games for mobile and desktop? Then why not go cross platform and try out the Marmalade SDK, its now free. Available in C++ and Lua flavours.

New to the Marmalade SDK?

So you downloaded the Marmalade SDK, but you haven’t quite got around to using it yet. Maybe you plan on developing full on native speed games? Maybe you want to develop apps that run across a large number of platforms? Or you just want to avoid XCode and Mac to develop iPhone and iPad games. Regardless of why you downloaded it, why aren’t you using it yet? Maybe it seems a little daunting at first and you just don’t know where to start? Well I have some news that may just help you.

Marmalade are running a series of Getting started with Marmalade webinars which will help you get up and running quickly. The webinars are hosted by Marmalade expert, developer and support engineer Nick Smith and will cover an overview of how Marmalade works; a number of practical demos and examples that show you how to start a project in Marmalade, or import an existing C++ project. Members of Marmalade’s support team will also be available throughout the webinar to answer questions. The webinars will last for 30-45 minutes.

Marmalade are hosting three Getting Started with Marmalade webinars on Friday 15th of August:

  • 13:30 India ST / 16:00 China ST (09:00 BST)
  • 17:00 Central European ST (16:00 BST)
  • 10:00 Pacific DT / 13:00 Eastern DT (18:00 BST)

To register use the links below:

9am BST

Audience Log-in URL: https://www.anymeeting.com/651-699-060
Registration Form URL: http://www.anymeeting.com/PIID=EA58D78189493D

4pm BST

Audience Log-in URL: https://www.anymeeting.com/386-680-255
Registration Form URL: http://www.anymeeting.com/PIID=EA58D78189493E

6pm BST

Audience Log-in URL: https://www.anymeeting.com/268-006-473
Registration Form URL: http://www.anymeeting.com/PIID=EA58D78189483B

Marmalade SDK 7.3.1 is out now, Fortumo, FBX exporter and other cool additions

Yep that’s right, Marmalade 7.3.1 is smoking hot and fresh off the press. In case you have been developing games in a cave somewhere with no internet connection the Marmalade SDK is an awesome piece of technology that enables you to create games that run across many different mobile and desktop platforms with “one single code base”. I cannot stress how wonderful that is in mere words. You can develop products in C++, Objective-C, Lua or HTML / JavaScript, test under simulation on Mac / Windows desktop, deploy to device / store and whole raft of other cool stuff.

Anyways, sales pitch aside, lets take a look at some of the recent changes:

  • Fortumo now integrated with IwBilling and Quick Billing.
  • New FBX to Marmalade converter tool, making it easy to get your 3D assets from tools such as Maya LT, 3ds Max and others that support FBX format into Marmalade.
  • ideviceinstaller now available on Windows (goodbye iTunes!).
  • IwGx now supports the ETC2 and EAC compressed texture formats.
  • IwGx PowerVR texture compression efficiency improved.
  • Initial support for PowerVR Tools (PVRTrace and PVRTune) on Windows Desktop.

I’m majorly excited about three of the new features in particular. The first is the support for Fortumo integration into IwBilling and QBilling. If you don’t know what they are then they are a single unified solution that enables you to “very easily” add in-app purchasing to your app across multiple different app stores. The addition of Fortumo means that in-app purchases can now be accepted by a vast number of different app stores (Android in particular).

Second feature is not having to install apps to an iOS device using the infinitely despised iTunes client on PC. I have never come across such a bug ridden piece of software in all my years. I will be happy to be deploying directly to device from now on!

Lastly, a new FBX converter that converts Maya LT exported FBX files into a lovely Marmalade format, yummy yummy.

By the way, did I mention that the Marmalade SDK is now available on a FREE license!

Click here to download the latest version of the Marmalade SDK

Marmalade SDK now offering FREE License!

Yes you did read that right! The Marmalade SDK can be freely downloaded and used in all its flavours including:

  • C++ – Create native games and apps in blazing pedal to the metal C++
  • Juice – Easily port existing Objective-C based iOS games and apps to Android
  • Quick – Create games and apps rapidly using Lua
  • Web – Combine the power of C++ and HTML5

Sounds too good to be true? No, not at all. There are some restrictions such as:

  • Limited extensions, but most important ones included
  • Shows advert on boot
  • Shows a splash screen on boot

But hey, you get support for the following platforms out of the box:

  • iOS
  • Android
  • Windows Phone
  • Windows Store
  • BlackBerry 10
  • Tizen

Why am I so excited about the Marmalade SDK providing a free license? As most of you are aware I’ve been developing the open source AppEasy Core SDK which is a powerful game and app engine that makes creating games and apps super simple. This move by Marmalade will help to propagate its usage within the developer community. Not only that it opens the door for other developers to create extensions, middleware and tooling based on or around Marmalade.

Exciting times ahead is all I can say! Well done Marmalade.

What next? Well go and download your free copy of the Marmalade SDK right now.

iOS developers, Marmalade Juice is here!

The clever bunnies over at Marmalade Technologies have today released an awesome new piece of open source technology called Marmalade Juice that I have no doubt many iOS developers will be thrilled to hear about. Catchy name aside, what is this Marmalade Juice technology all about and what can it do for iOS developers? Lets take a quick look at what is says on the tin.

“Marmalade Juice is a new and innovative technology which gives developers the ability to recompile their iOS projects natively for Android. And, because there is no need for laborious re-writing, you can focus on making your game the best it can be.”

So what does that mean? In essence it means that you can take your existing Objective-C XCode code base, compile and run it on the Android platform. As Marmalade Juice is an evolving technology there are a few areas that Juice does not currently fully support, but using the already existing Marmalade extensions you can still utilise them with a little code rework. Not much to ask considering that its infinitely easier than learning the Java / Android development ecosystem, oh and don’t get me started on Eclipse!

So in essence Marmalade Juice equates to easy porting from iOS to Android (that’s over 1 billion extra devices to target your games at!) for iOS developers around the world and an extra revenue stream, which is always nice for budding indie developers and the big boys alike.

All you need to get going is Marmalade Juice, XCode and the Android SDK.

Oh, even more great news. Juice will now be included in all Marmalade licenses and for a limited amount of time the yearly community license is free, so you get to play with Juice for free!

Interested? then mosey on over to the Marmalade Juice web site and grab a license whilst its free.