ZunTzu

Jerome wrote:Hi!

Here is a glimpse at the current state of ZunTzu 2.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/mYTMFMNiqt0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

If I'm not mistaken, that's one of my gameboxes (DAK2), isn't it? Glad it could be of use.

Congratulations on the new version, Jerome. I do hope you can make it run as an Android app and as a Linux program, though; are these platforms on your list?

GJK wrote:Will legacy gameboxes be supported in 2.0 or will they only run in 1.0?

Hi Gary!

Yes, most legacy boxes are supported - they are automatically converted to v2 when first launched.

The ones that are not supported are:
- boxes with encrypted graphics (on purpose)
- boxes with 'progressive' or 'interlaced' graphics (for the time being)

lclaudius wrote:If I'm not mistaken, that's one of my gameboxes (DAK2), isn't it? Glad it could be of use.

Yes, thanks! You make the largest ZunTzu boxes. Great benchmarks!

lclaudius wrote:Congratulations on the new version, Jerome. I do hope you can make it run as an Android app and as a Linux program, though; are these platforms on your list?

Sorry to disappoint you. I am afraid they are at the bottom of the list, after Windows and Mac.

Regarding Android: I hope I will support Android, but I still have a lot to understand about it. I read a few horror stories about the support of native apps.

Regarding desktop Linux: I am not considering spending time on it, seeing how the adoption of Linux on the desktop is still so low and how difficult it is to distribute a native binary targeting zillions different Linux platforms. I have hope Linux users will be able to run ZunTzu 2 through virtualization - something that was not possible with version 1.

Jerome wrote:Regarding Android: I hope I will support Android, but I still have a lot to understand about it. I read a few horror stories about the support of native apps.

Your choice of C++ plus OpenGL will make it pretty easy to support Android 3.x or later, which is pretty much all the tablets. I've written a graphics-intensive app that runs on Mac Desktop, Android and iOS and it's 90% common code.

robtsuk wrote:Your choice of C++ plus OpenGL will make it pretty easy to support Android 3.x or later, which is pretty much all the tablets. I've written a graphics-intensive app that runs on Mac Desktop, Android and iOS and it's 90% common code.

Good to know. Thanks.

Congratulations Jerome! It looks terrific.

Can you tell me if it is able to handle step-reduction counters? That would be counters that have more than one flip side: 5 to 4 to 3 etc.

Also, will it run on older platforms like XP?

Thanks.

How does a board game have counters with 3 or 4 sides to them?

GJK wrote:How does a board game have counters with 3 or 4 sides to them?

A unit can be represented by more than one counter in some games (eg, Decision in France, Operation Husky Sicile 1943).

One of the horrible limitations in older board games in particular was the absence of step losses (eg, the typical older SPI games) which led to ridiculous game play with all or nothing losses, unless the units were small enough scale relative to the game scale to allow some sense of attrition.

I personally graft on, or elaborate on, step loss systems to most games, using additional counters. ZunTzu caters brilliantly -- a counter with markings along the the left/lower sides shows up nicely under a unit when stacked.

GJK wrote:
How does a board game have counters with 3 or 4 sides to them?

dbes responded:
A unit can be represented by more than one counter in some games (eg, Decision in France, Operation Husky Sicile 1943).

Thanks dbes. I'm working on an Anzio gamebox where almost every unit requires several counters. Vassal's Italia module handles it nicely by cycling down through all the strengths and then back up again using just a single counter. I'd like to know if ZunTzu 2.0 will be able to do that.

dbes wrote:
ZunTzu caters brilliantly -- a counter with markings along the the left/lower sides shows up nicely under a unit when stacked.

I don't think that would work in my game. Stacks of 4 or more units are common in Anzio. If all of their different strength levels were included, the stack could easily be 12 counters high! Right now, under ZunTzu 1.2, I go back to the counter sheet after the second "flip". It works but it's clumsy.

Well, I was just trying to be positive about Zuntzu, and keeping with its design philosophy of duplicating the boardgame experience, and the simplicity of the set up of games. Vassal is quite a different approach, and much more time consuming to set up (as far as I can see)

I agree with you completely--which is why I'm doing Anzio for ZunTzu instead of playing Italia on Vassal.

I'd still like to know if 2.0 will be able to handle stepped counters. I guess only Jerome can answer that.

Woody8297 wrote:I'd still like to know if 2.0 will be able to handle stepped counters.

I am considering such a feature, but only for counters in unlimited supply.
Those markers will still be double-sided, but you will be able to define transition chains between them, to give the illusion that they are four- or six-sided.

Jerome wrote:
...you will be able to define transition chains between them, to give the illusion that they are four- or six-sided.

Thanks Jerome. Looking forward to it.

Jerome,

Any chance of implementing the use of other IOS devices act as a card/token holder and the Ipad being used just as the board, such as in this app?

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/portable ... mpt=uo%3D4

No1Sciguy wrote:Any chance of implementing the use of other IOS devices act as a card/token holder and the Ipad being used just as the board, such as in this app?

I know this feature, thanks. It is a great feature to implement secret hands, but the requirement is to have one iPhone/iPod for each player.
Certainly worth considering nevertheless, but not as the primary way to handle secret hands.