From the Forum — Issue #73

From the Forum — Issue #73

From the ForumWelcome to the latest installment of From the Forum. In this series, guest blogger Alex Jackson highlights outstanding threads from the Corona Forum. The goal is to bring attention to the most captivating, interesting, and thought-provoking discussions taking place in our very own backyard.

Please visit the forum to join these conversations or start your own!


1. Get that Windows Phone app out quick!

Developing and releasing apps got a lot easier when Corona Labs created the option to use CoronaCards with native Windows development. Windows Phone is a fertile platform for easy-to-use apps, and getting interesting games on those devices is a no-brainer.

If you have gone through the release procedure for Windows Phone apps, you know that obtaining the ratings needed to allow the app to be sold in all countries can be a bit confusing. How do you get the ratings, and what do you do with them once you receive them? A Corona developer wondered the same thing, and found a useful resource that can point you in the right direction. Head to the original thread below and check it out.

https://forums.coronalabs.com/topic/56591-rating-certifikates/

2. The best movies always fade out…

If you’ve been following the excellent Composer tutorial series that Corona has been making available for developers, you know that Composer can be a real time saver in regards to how you order your code, modules, and scenes to create a cohesive app that is fault-tolerant and very agile. It’s great all the way around and butters your toast in the morning, no question about it.

However, new developers will find that the existing library of transitions a bit limiting. This is mostly due to the fact that Corona can’t create every single possible permutation of transition that would be requested by developers.

Sometimes, though, one single scene transition isn’t enough. Like in the case of the below thread, sometimes you run into a situation where you need to get a few more moving pieces into play. The below forum thread discusses a similar situation. I wanted to bring this thread out because it shows a novel approach to scene transitions, and how you can overcome any obstacle with some ingenuity. Head on down now!

https://forums.coronalabs.com/topic/56831-scene-fade-in-alpha/

3. Centering groups by touch and magic

Well, not really “magic.” Sometimes I find math to be akin to a magic trick, which shows how little I paid attention in calculus. Since that’s the case, it’s good there are developers out there that did have their eyes wide open, and we can all now benefit from that knowledge!

Case in point: Recently, a developer was attempting to obtain the center point of multiple groups containing various amounts of circles. Using the object:localToContent() and object:contentToLocal() APIs, another developer came up with an interesting method of accomplishing the above. I thought it was an interesting use-case, so I wanted to make sure it got the attention it deserved. Head on through to the original thread to check it out:

https://forums.coronalabs.com/topic/56596-centre-points-of-different-groups-together-why-doesnt-this-code-work-as-expected/


About Alex

Alex Jackson is an indie developer and the founder of Panc Interactive, specializing in retro-style gaming. He has created several mobile applications, enjoys long walks on the beach, pixel art, and reading the Corona forums. Contact him by email or follow him on Twitter: @pancinteractive. Check out his new game Crosstown Smash on iOS, Android, and Amazon devices.

Brent Sorrentino
[email protected]

Brent Sorrentino is a full-time Developer Evangelist and technical writer who assists others with game development, code, and in overcoming other challenges to help them bring their app dreams to life.

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