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Updates: January 2001
Tangrams gets more puzzling
[ Wednesday, January 31 ]
Tangrams is now up to version 2, offering 15 puzzles with the freeware version rather than the previous 10. In addition, the number of puzzles in the expansion puzzle packs has been increased from 50 to 100. The price of each pack remains at $5.
New company, new games!
[ Wednesday, January 31 ]
As spotted on LudiPocket, there's a new Pocket PC games developer in town. Soft-iK are a Korean company whose website still appears to be in the early stages of development. Commercial games currently on offer include Larva Run, a Snake clone, and Gamepack version 1.0. The latter includes BBung, a strategic "cannon shooting game" and Silence of the Sea, a Battleships game.
Future product plans include the release of a game going by the name of Pocket Casino, which will apparently include "Blackjack, 7-Poker, 5-Poker and a slot machine game". In addition, two freeware games are advertised, Cupid and Love Hunter. Both look very similar judging by the screenshots, and would appear to be shoot-em-ups. However, at the time of writing, download links did not appear to be available.
PocketSNES: Your help needed for other devices!
[ Wednesday, January 31 ]
There's a request on the PocketSNES site for users to download a GAPI properties utility and report the results they get. This will help in the author's attempts to port the emulator over to other devices.
Sega to develop for Palm
[ Wednesday, January 31 ]
Rumours that Sega were to develop games for the Pocket PC have potentially been dealt a fatal blow with the news announcement that the company have "announced a strategic partnership in which Sega will bring videogame content to Palm wireless handheld computers". The news was spotted by chrism in this BrightHand thread.
MAMEBoy: EM-500 users should re-download
[ Wednesday, January 31 ]
Regarding the latest version of MAMEBoy, Marconelly wrote to say that he "made a mistake and forgot to update EM-500 version of the executable in the archive. Now it's up-to date and you should re-download it if you use Cassiopeia EM-500".
Pinball game under development
[ Wednesday, January 31 ]
Assassin has "decided to write a pinball game for Pocket PC", according to his post in this BrightHand thread. Currently working on the "core physics and gameplay engine", he's after suggestions for table themes, so check out the thread and have your say!
@migo: no button problem!
[ Wednesday, January 31 ]
It would appear that unlike the the iPAQ, the new @migo Pocket PC does not suffer from not being able to read multiple simultaneous button presses. This information comes courtesy of a post in this discussion thread by Dale Coffing who has been trying out an early version of the machine (meaning that it is still subject to change), and means that it should be a good (if not the best) device for games fans!
MAMEBoy update
[ Tuesday, January 30 ]
MAMEBoy author, Marconelly, has informed me of a new release of his emulator which, in his words, includes the following features:
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Recompiled using Darren's [Darren Finck of MAMECE-10X] latest source. This should bring better vertical centering (as far as I know all supported games are perfectly centered now).
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Normal button support for E-115 and E-125. No more twiddling with control panel and enabling / disabling buttons.
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New games added: Kangaroo, Shao Lin's Road and Xevious. Xevious is a bit too slow but on overclocked Cassiopeia it may actually be playable.
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AAAND, there's also a grand surprise! MAMEBoy / MAMECE3 / iMAME Today Screen Banner. Just copy two files from the 'Today Banner' folder to windows folder on your Pocket PC, overwrite existing files and do a soft reset. Ain't it much nicer now ;-)
New TWSFC release
[ Tuesday, January 30 ]
It's SNES all the way at the moment! Following the release of PocketSNES, new versions of TWSFC are now available. Please note that the TWSFC file names have been changed to TS followed by the device name; files named TP followed by a device name are the PC Engine emulator.
PocketSNES released!
[ Tuesday, January 30 ]
The latest Pocket PC SNES emulator, PocketSNES, has now been released for the iPAQ. Version 1.00 beta 1 is available to download, although please note that it requires GAPI 1.2 to work. If you have problems getting it to run, try increasing the amount of free Program Memory on your device. Many thanks to Marconelly and the author, Darren, for letting me know of its release.
PocketSNES out soon, skin sighted!
[ Tuesday, January 30 ]
The next news item you see could well be announcing the availability of PocketSNES, seeing as all the signs in this BrightHand thread point to an imminent release. Check out the thread's second page for a picture of the beta skin for the emulator.
Pocket PC Gaming Article
[ Tuesday, January 30 ]
Pocketnow.com have posted up an interesting article on Pocket PC gaming which looks at the Pocket PC as a game-playing device and examines the art of designing good games for it. The article is well written and well worth a read.
New Puzzle Game: Tangrams
[ Monday, January 29 ]
YanCEyWare (try typing that one quickly!) have released a new puzzle game for the Pocket PC, Tangrams. The object of the game is "to reproduce the puzzle shapes using the 7 geometric tiles. All 7 tiles must be used in every puzzle, and the tiles may not overlap". Tangrams is freeware, coming as it does with ten puzzles, although additional puzzle packs are available to purchase.
Chat Back!
[ Monday, January 29 ]
The Chat page is back up and running and is now part of the Global Pocket PC Chat Network, as featured on such sites as Pocket PC Thoughts, Diane's Pocket PC PDA Page and Unwired-I.Net, and based on programming by Philippe Majerus.
Incidentally, any webmasters wishing to add this chat channel to their site are free to extract the relevant chat-related code included in the chat pages - just imagine how great it would be if every Pocket PC site was connected to the Pocket PC Chat Network! Needless to say, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to get in touch.
Pocket Bornes
[ Sunday, January 28 ]
Micaceler have released Pocket Bornes, a version of the French car racing card game, Mille Bornes. The game is shareware, costing $15 to register.
PCEngine Emulator!
[ Sunday, January 28 ]
Sukon, the Taiwanese programmer behind the SNES emulator, TWSFC, has released a PCEngine emulator, as noticed by A. Nonymous in this BrightHand thread. Please note that when selecting the relevant file to download, the PCEngine emulator files are those names start TP followed by a device name.
New SNES emulator!
[ Saturday, January 27 ]
As spotted by the appropriately-named PocketSNES in this BrightHand thread, there would appear to be another SNES emulator on the way. The PocketSNES site states that the first release, for the iPAQ only, will be on Monday, January 29. PocketSNES would appear to be different to the currently homeless PocketSNES9X, and rumour has it that the now-legendary 999 is involved somewhere along the line!
Doom4CE is Game of 2000!
[ Saturday, January 27 ]
According to the votes, your favourite Pocket PC game of 2000 was Doom4CE, Jimmy Software's freeware port of id Software's classic. The game polled 233 votes out of the 1059 total, giving it a 22% share and making it the clear winner overall.
Not content with pole position, Jimmy Software also scooped number 2 spot, with Turjah grabbing a 14% share of the vote. Not far behind were Bubblets (10%) and ZIOGolf (9%).
The full results were as follows:
1. Doom4CE (22%)
2. Turjah (14%)
3. Bubblets (10%)
4. ZIOGolf (9%)
5= Bubble Blaster (6%)
5= Cubicle Chaos (6%)
5= iGolf (6%)
5= Pow Wow (6%)
9= J-Five (5%)
9= PocketPop (5%)
11= ICBM (3%)
11= Leo's Flight Simulator (3%)
11= Pocket Millionaire (3%)
14= QTris (1%)
14= Tankzone 2000 (1%)
Many thanks to the 1059 people who cast their vote, and please remember that this was only a little bit of fun! I wonder what the results will look like come the Best Game of 2001 poll...
Hey @migo!
[ Saturday, January 27 ]
There's a new Pocket PC in town - the @migo, a rebadged PD-600C manufactured by Palmax and sold through UR There Productions. For more information on the new machine (which apparently doesn't suffer from any button problems!), check out the BrightHand review (discussion) along with Dale Coffing's @migo diary (discussion).
Pocket Quake to get faster, better...
[ Thursday, January 25 ]
Check out this post by Pocket Quake author, Dan East, in which he discusses what to expect in the near future. The major enhancement is more speed - due to the implementation of new "fixed point routines", he hopes to be able to "at least double" frame rates. Not only this but he will soon release the source code so that others can hopefully contribute (e.g. "sound, network, MIPS build, landscape, etc...").
iPAQ: New input options
[ Thursday, January 25 ]
Frustrated by the infamous iPAQ button problem? You're not the only one, given the talk of alternatives being put forward on the BrightHand discussion boards. There's a thread discussing the possibility and interest towards an external gamepad for the machine well worth reading. Additionally, there's a discussion centring around a Tony Blair (no relation to the UK Prime Minister, presumably!) who has managed to get his hands on the iPAQ-compatible version of the upcoming Stowaway foldup keyboard - apparently it is capable of reading multiple button presses!
Pocket Millionaire reviewed, now auf Deutsch!
[ Thursday, January 25 ]
Many thanks to Robert Thayer Jr. who let me know about a review of Pocket Millionaire that he wrote for the official Microsoft Pocket PC site. Just in case you didn't know, Pocket Millionaire is freeware and, thanks to the generosity of people from around the world, there are now quite a few question sets to choose from.
Additionally, a big thank you to Bernhard G. Keller for a German translation of the game. Installation of the German version is easy; you can find all the relevant details on the Pocket Millionaire downloads page.
New iPAQ news
[ Wednesday, January 24 ]
Vincent Alzieu of Hardware.fr (French) wrote to me to let me know of some more new juicy gossip regarding the up and coming new iPAQ's. In summary:
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There will be a new model with GSM built-in, by the code-name of "Mont Blanc"; this will only offer a monochrome screen, however.
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A 400 MHz model (possibly using Intel's XScale technology) going by the code-name of "Jamaica" is set to be released in September.
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A Bluetooth-enabled model codenamed "Bimini" may see the light of day at some point (although presumably not in the near future). Although details are still sketchy, it is thought to offer an improved stylus mechanism and will use the next version of the Pocket PC OS.
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Hardware.fr has also received information that the release of the 64 MB H3660 (see the older information at Hardware.fr) might be delayed until Q3. However, Compaq have assured them that this is not the case (the original release dates were February for the US, March for Europe), and that it will be priced at 6000 FF (~$855; currency converter).
iPAQ ROM upgrade pulled
[ Wednesday, January 24 ]
As you may well have noticed by now, the iPAQ ROM update has been withdrawn due to the problems it was causing. Unfortunately, my own iPAQ was one of the ones affected... :-( For those wondering about the gory details, the machine is now stuck in 'Parrot mode', but the flash update program fails when I try and re-run it. Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated, but I fear that I may have to give Compaq a call... There's a note from Microsoft MVP, Jason Dunn, on his site, Pocket PC Thoughts, stating that he'll "have more info about the Compaq ROM up later today..."
Pocket Millionaire "Best Free Game"!
[ Wednesday, January 24 ]
Many thanks to Dan Hanttula, author of The Best Things in Life Are Free(ware)!, for letting me know of his article on Microsoft's Pocket PC site about the best freeware programs around. Better yet, in the article, Pocket Millionaire is highlighted as "Best Free Game"! :-)
Pocket Quake update
[ Wednesday, January 24 ]
As you might have noticed, the PocketMatrix.com site has been experiencing problems due to the popularity of a certain new release! As a result, the site is switching servers - so, while the DNS propagation is underway, here's a new Pocket Quake link!
In addition, there's plenty of stuff that's been updated, including built-in CF storage support, MLook support (using the touchscreen), a new skin courtesy of the talented 999, and more besides...
Metalion reviewed
[ Wednesday, January 24 ]
The PocketGamer.org review of Metalion is now up and, dare I say it, might be considered a little controversial in some quarters! And, in the interests of fairness, there's also a review at the excellent Tinytechnews well worth reading. In addition, you can also buy Metalion at PocketGear (a small percentage of the sale will go to me, so please do!).
Free Tetris game!
[ Wednesday, January 24 ]
There's a new free Tetris game available for the Pocket PC (and older CE devices) in the shape of Blockman. Thanks to the author, John Wylie, for letting me know about its release, describing it as a "Cool and very addictive variation of Tetris, make sure to check out the homepage. Extra features include Dynamite and quite possibly the first game to allow "Screen Gestures" to control the game using the stylus!"
7Colours
[ Wednesday, January 24 ]
7Colours version 1.1 is now available to download from François Pessaux's Home Page. The strategy game is free of charge and, for all you budding games programmers, the eVC++ source code is also available.
iPAQ ROM upgrade!
[ Tuesday, January 23 ]
Any iPAQ owners out there might just be interested to learn that the ROM update is now out! Thanks to Mark Jackson and Theo for pointing this out.
Metalion released
[ Monday, January 22 ]
ZIO Interactive's long-awaited Metalion is now out! A demo, along with the full version (costing $24.95), can be found on the Metalion homepage, or at this Handango page. Thanks to Kevin Gonzalez for letting me know.
PocketNow.com reviews Metalion
[ Monday, January 22 ]
PocketNow.com have a review of Metalion, the highly-anticipated robot shoot-em-up from ZIO Interactive. The review, based on a beta version of the game, is excellent - it's thorough and includes plenty of screenshots, although is slightly biased towards a Casio perspective. iPAQ owners might like to wait a little while, as I plan to review the game myself shortly, and I'll be looking at how it plays with the control disadvantages of the iPAQ.
Another Tricorder!
[ Monday, January 22 ]
Just when your Pocket PC thought it was safe, another Tricorder program comes along! This latest offering comes from ScaryBear Software.
Pocket Quake MIPS version "in several days"!
[ Monday, January 22 ]
There's a post by Pocket Quake author, Dan East, in this Pocket Quake forum thread in which he states that he "will be releasing a MIPS version [i.e. suitable for play on Casio Pocket PC's] in several days". However, he does warn that "since Pocket Quake just barely runs fast enough to be playable on an iPAQ, it probably will then not be playable on the MIPS PSPCs".
Put Pocket Quake on CF
[ Sunday, January 21 ]
For those of you wanting to free up some storage space on your iPAQ, there's an unofficial patch from Nils which allows you to move the Pocket Quake pak and config files onto a storage card. Take a look at this discussion thread in the Pocket Quake Forum for all the necessary information.
PocketGB updated
[ Sunday, January 21 ]
There's a new beta version of the Game Boy emulator, PocketGB. New features include improved sound support, automatic frame rate adjustment and better support for other (non-Pocket PC) devices. Many thanks to Rob and the author, Aaron Oneal, for letting me know.
PocketPop eGroup established
[ Sunday, January 21 ]
Neil Balharrie, author of PocketPop, wrote to me to say that the popular freeware puzzle game now has its very own discussion eGroup, "so that users may discuss the game, providing us with feedback, feature requests etc, in addition to sharing tips and tricks on the game".
Pocket Quake released!
[ Sunday, January 21 ]
Pocket Quake, the Quake port for the iPAQ, has been released! Note that you need approximately 7 MB free Program Memory in order to run the game (if in doubt, more free memory is always better!). For help, information and general Pocket Quake talk, visit the Pocket Quake Forum.
And for those of you wondering if the download is worth it... yes it is! Despite being relatively slow, this early version is (just about) playable and is an amazing feat. Hopefully, with future optimisations and updates, Pocket Quake will turn into something truly great.
For useful hints and tips as well as information on what future developments are planned, see this post from 999 on the Pocket Quake Forum.
MAMECE3 Jornada version update
[ Sunday, January 21 ]
MAMECE3 for the Jornada has been updated to fix the problem that the quit function did not work.
BTetris
[ Sunday, January 21 ]
A version of Tetris with a difference has appeared on the scene. BTetris is your average Tetris game with the only difference being that the backgrounds are most definitely on the risqué side... Discussion and screenshots can be found in this pocketPCpassion thread.
Quake Today!
[ Saturday, January 20 ]
There's an update from Dan East in this BrightHand thread, in which he says:
"I announced this port on Thursday, which is when the port was playable and stable. I had hoped to release it on Friday, but the time required to create the website and prepare minimal documentation was more that could be done in 24 hours. It will be available today (the 20th)."
So, by the time you read this, Quake could have arrived on the iPAQ!
Chess Cortex
[ Saturday, January 20 ]
Golden Crater Software have released a new puzzle game by the name of Chess Cortex, in which you have to "move the chess pieces to destroy the advancing enemy". Registration costs $10.
New MAMECE-10X
[ Saturday, January 20 ]
There's a new version of MAMECE-10X available, featuring various improvements including the automatic hiding of the taskbar when a game is started, and the fact that "the touchscreen is now usable".
Turn your Pocket PC into a Tricorder!
[ Saturday, January 20 ]
No, really! If you're a Star Trek fan, then you will no doubt be in seventh heaven thanks to Ken Mattern (of Elegant Solutions, a site with tons of free e-books), who has released a freeware Tricorder program!
Pocket PC gaming in Svensk!
[ Saturday, January 20 ]
If you do hail from Sweden, be sure to check out PocketSpel.com, for all the latest gaming news and information, all delivered in Swedish. And if, like me, you can't speak a word of the language, you can visit anyway and admire the pictures...!
PalmGB now Pocket PC compatible
[ Friday, January 19 ]
Originally only for older CE devices, the Game Boy emulator, PalmGB, now offers a Pocket PC compatible version. The emulator, which is not yet completely finished, costs $29 to register, although existing PalmGB can get it for free.
Free Lemmings for iPAQ!
[ Friday, January 19 ]
A freeware Lemmings game has been released for the iPAQ. Many thanks to the author, Jacco Bikker, along with Dominic Manley and Johan Palm for letting me know. You can discuss the game in this BrightHand thread.
Quake on iPAQ soon!
[ Friday, January 19 ]
Be sure not to miss this BrightHand discussion started by Dan East, who has apparently succeeded in porting Quake over to the iPAQ, and will release an alpha version within the next 24 hours! Many thanks to Brian Cain for pointing the thread out. This could be big...
New iPAQ TWSFC build
[ Friday, January 19 ]
There's a new version of the SNES emulator, TWSFC, created specifically for the iPAQ. Check out the downloads page, or download it directly (94 KB). The key mappings are as follows:
Many thanks to Sisco G for letting me know of this, and Krisher for his informative post in this BrightHand thread. The latter also provides details on the next page of the thread of how Sukon wants to improve the emulator, including the addition of sound support and user-definable key mapping.
New NeogeoPocott release on the way!
[ Friday, January 19 ]
As pointed out to me by the ever-alert Mark Jackson, there's an update on the NeogeoPocott site stating that a new release is "coming soon", along with a SH3 version to make Jornada owners happy. The author, Mic, wrote to me confirming that the new version should be out this weekend, and he hopes that it should be slightly faster.
New Jornada for September?
[ Thursday, January 18 ]
Another new Pocket PC rumour courtesy of French site, Ludipocket. This time, Hardware.fr have apparently posted details of a new Jornada due from Hewlett Packard in September 2001 (although I couldn't find the relevant information myself). To extract the main points of interest from the Ludipocket blurb, the new machine will supposedly offer a 400 MHz processor (at least), integrated GSM, and will run the second generation Pocket PC OS. Once again, please note that this is just a rumour!
Pocketnow.com reviews Netwalk
[ Thursday, January 18 ]
Pocketnow.com have posted a review of Netwalk, the puzzle game which recently made the transition over to the Pocket PC courtesy of Beiks.
Building pyramids beats Solitaire?
[ Thursday, January 18 ]
As reported on Dale Coffing's ever-excellent pocketPCpassion, Random Software have a neat shareware puzzle game by the name of Pyraos. Featuring "superb pre-rendered 3D graphics", the objective of the game is to place the top piece of a pyramid which you and your opponent set about building. However, "What sounds straight-forward turns complex quickly: there are devious patterns you can build within the pyramid to force your opponent to use up his pieces too quickly, and other patterns that let you save your pieces until you need them. And, of course, the computer opponent is pretty tricky itself."
The game, priced at $15, is backed up by the bold claim that "You'll never go back to Solitaire"!
SNES latest!
[ Thursday, January 18 ]
As you might have noticed, the PocketSNES9X page is now only home to a message stating:
"I have just started a new term at school and have been putting my time into my classes and projects. Thank you to everyone who has offered space for hosting. I will work out a hosting solution sometime this weekend."
Many thanks to the author, Brad, and Mark Jackson for writing to me with this news. Hopefully, a new PocketSNES9X site will be up and running in the near future!
In the meantime, I also received a mail from Krisher speaking on behalf of Sukon, author of TWSFC:
"Thank you for your concerning about TWSFC. Visualkey will be done on V1.0 . Current issue of TWSFC is 0.9c, which added transparancy, support super-fx chip and use 16-bits colors to increase speed (for CASIO). I am too busy to maintain an English website (not even a Chinese one). Still looking for s/b's help to do that. I will keep posting messages on our local wince website (www.wince.com.tw). Friends there will repost those messages to other discussion boards.
Save/load games function was coded but still have some problem, so I just disabled it. Mario kart is playable. Sound is also done, but it pull down speed to one-half. Now I'm working on this. I will post messages to local discuss board if there's any change."
If you would like to offer to help with maintaining a TWSFC website, please either get in touch with Krisher, or leave a note in this BrightHand thread.
NeogeoPocott update this weekend?
[ Wednesday, January 17 ]
Thanks to Mark Jackson for pointing out the update on the NeoPocott site, stating that "a new release could be out for the weekend. Mic [the author] ... is finishing his new gfx library which could help to improve the port of the emulator".
Pocket Adventures Beta
[ Wednesday, January 17 ]
Check out this BrightHand.thread for details on the beta release of Pocket Adventures, which includes "the parser and a sample game ('Alice in Wonderland')". Unfortunately, at the time of writing, the download site wasn't working for me - this may be down to a DNS problem mentioned by kaiton. If this is the case, then it might not affect everyone, and also should clear up after a while.
SNES emulator updated!
[ Tuesday, January 16 ]
The SNES emulator formerly known as SnesCE, now known as TWSFC, has been updated to support transparency and new key definitions:
Thanks to Mark Jackson and Sisco G for pointing this out, and krisher for link and key definitions information in this BrightHand thread. In addition, Mark Jackson also informed me that it would appear the author also has plans to release Game Boy and PCEngine emulators.
Sega situation unclear
[ Tuesday, January 16 ]
Thanks to Cyber for pointing out a post from another apparent Sega employee in this BrightHand thread, in which he states that it is unlikely that Sega are making Pocket PC games. The obvious problem is that there is no way of knowing for sure if either he or Jenny Su really work for the company or not.
Voice/text chat now available!
[ Monday, January 15 ]
It's always good to talk, and now you can exercise your vocal muscles by chatting to fellow Pocket PC enthusiasts on the brand new chat page. The chat system, which allows you to communicate in real-time via voice and/or keyboard, comes courtesy of a suggestion, and help, from Diane Dumas, who maintains Diane's Pocket PC Page. The neat thing about it is that as it uses the same channel, you can chat to people who access it from either Diane's Pocket PC Page or the other site where it currently exists, Arne Hess' Unwired-i.Net. Hopefully, more sites will add it in the future (webmasters should get in touch with Diane for more details).
As the chat page is not specific to PocketGamer.org, discussion tends to be on general Pocket PC-related topics (although there's nothing stopping you chatting about games if you want!). Previous guest stars have included Adam Field from Pocketnow.com and John Psuik of Developer One. The recommended best time to log on is around 8.00 PM Eastern Time, which works out as 1.00 AM GMT (to work out what this means in your local region/country, visit the Time Zone Converter).
In addition to the new chat page, there has been quite a lot of behind-the-scenes updating. If you do find anything that looks out of the ordinary, or something not working that should be, please let me know so that I can fix it!
KSE releases The Mill
[ Sunday, January 14 ]
KSE Software have released The Mill, "believed to belong to one of the oldest and most wildly known board games, which has been played centuries and millennia ago by the Vikings, Japanese as well as Africans". At the moment, their own product homepage isn't quite up and running, so for information, a demo download, and purchasing information, see this Handango page.
SnesCE
[ Sunday, January 14 ]
Anyone having trouble with the SnesCE download links should try downloading from this page instead, as has been pointed out by numerous people in various discussions at BrightHand. Enjoy! :-)
PocketSNES9X: Help needed!
[ Sunday, January 14 ]
The author of PocketSNES9X, Brad Snow, is seeking help in finding a new place to host his site and associated files, as his school has requested him to take it down due to the number of hits it was receiving. If you can help out in any way, please mail him!
SnesCE updated
[ Saturday, January 13 ]
There's an updated version of SnesCE (homepage in traditional Chinese only) available capable of loading games larger than 1 MB:
Thanks to betraypalm for posting this news in this BrightHand thread.
Shape Shifter
[ Saturday, January 13 ]
Thanks to Jim Koornneef of Golden Crater Software for letting me know that they have released a new game. Shape Shifter "is a simple puzzle game with no time or move limits. The game board is made up of 7 by 7 squares. Each square contains one of 3 shapes in one of four colors. You must move the squares so that three or more of the same color and shape are together. Once 3 or more are lined up, they will be removed from the board and the other squares will shuffle in to fill the gap. New shapes will be added to keep all squares filled."
Sega to join Pocket PC party?
[ Saturday, January 13 ]
It's been rumored before that Sega are to market Pocket PC games, and now those rumors are intensifying. Take a look at this BrightHand thread in which Jenny Su, who is apparently a "Sega Game Progammer", states that games will start to arrive in July, and that an official announcement will be made by Sega at the end of this month.
PocketSwap, PocketPop news
[ Friday, January 12 ]
A new version of PocketSwap has been made available which incorporates various bugfixes and improvements. Additionally, a set of free skins has been released for registered users and, just so PocketPop fans aren't feeling left out, there's some new PocketPop skins as well.
Another SNES emulator!
[ Friday, January 12 ]
It's certainly been an amazing day for SNES fans. There's another SNES emulator that's been released by the name of SNESCE - for all the details, see this BrightHand thread. Thanks to Rom, sselfless and iCARUS for letting me know of this.
PocketSNES9X Alpha Available!
[ Friday, January 12 ]
The first Alpha release of PocketSNES9X, the much-anticipated SNES emulator for the Pocket PC, is now available! PocketSNES9X features 16-bit colour support, loads .SMG, .SFG and .FIG files, automatic frame skip, and supports all Pocket PC's! At the moment, there is no sound support, and the emulator currently crashes upon exiting - in addition, it has only been tested on the iPAQ, so it is unclear whether the MIPS and SH3 versions actually work. Thanks to Rom and elomire678 for pointing this out!
N.B. If you're having problems getting it working, make sure that:
New iPAQ rumours
[ Thursday, January 11 ]
Ludipocket are certainly on a roll today! They have another reference to a Hardware.fr article (in French, I'm afraid!) detailing supposedly inside information on new iPAQ models. The new 64MB H3660 will apparently debut in February in the US, March in Europe. CeBIT 2001 will apparently see the official presentation of new monochrome model with GSM incorporated, but most interestingly of all, there will be a new 412 MHz/64 MB model expected to arrive in September.
Thanks to Mark Jackson for pointing this out to me. Of course, it should be remembered that there's a good chance that none of this is true, but if it is...
New 3D game under development
[ Thursday, January 11 ]
A new 3D game is under development courtesy of the team behind the excellent French site, Ludipocket. You can find links to a video of the game, which reminded me of a Wave Racer clone and looks certain to be a sure-fire hit, in this BrightHand thread.
Freeware game: The choice is...
[ Wednesday, January 10 ]
Rom has announced in this BrightHand thread that he will "make Scrabble first", although he is also considering creating a strategy RPG at a later date. Also check out the last post on the page, from stvangel, who says that he is "working on a turn-based strategy game rather like a cross between Civilization and the old Empire / Empire Deluxe game".
And just a few seconds after I wrote the above, Rom wrote to me himself:
"One popular request for a freeware game is scrabble. [...] So, I will be working on a version of scrabble. You will be able to save and load games, since they can last so long, use your own dictionaries, and lots of other things."
PocketSNES9X: Major status update!
[ Wednesday, January 10 ]
There's an important development update on the PocketSNES9X page - the SNES emulator can now run games! Better yet, the author writes that he will make available "an alpha version of the executable tomorrow" (although it would appear that button mapping has not yet been implemented, so games may not be playable). Thanks to Sisco G for pointing this one out.
Freeware game of your choosing!
[ Wednesday, January 10 ]
PocketWings developer, Rom, is looking to make a freeware game. However, as he says himself in this BrightHand thread, he wants "to find out what people are looking for". So, suggest away...
PocketCandy updated
[ Wednesday, January 10 ]
Thanks to Dave and PocketCandy author Daniel Strickland for letting me know that the screensaver package's install program has been updated, meaning that it should now work correctly on all devices.
Puzznix
[ Wednesday, January 10 ]
New freeware is always good, and Puzznix certainly looks very good indeed! I couldn't find a site for Patrick Hinrichs' new puzzle game, so here's a link to the relevant PocketGear.com product page.
iPAQ overclocking software released!
[ Tuesday, January 9 ]
Jimmy Software have just updated their site announcing the release of their freeware overclocking utility for the iPAQ. Spot-of-the-day award goes to THW who announced it in this BrightHand discussion.
5cross improved
[ Tuesday, January 9 ]
5cross, the Gomuku game from PocketPC.cz, has been updated to version 0.2. Improvements include faster game speed, a two-player option, and the opportunity to pit the computer against itself.
PocketPC Adventures mailing list
[ Tuesday, January 9 ]
Kaiton's freeware adventure system, PocketPC Adventures (PPCAD), now has its very own mailing list. You can either sign up by visiting the Subscribe page, or by simply sending a mail.
MPS programming contest
[ Tuesday, January 9 ]
Palmware, the company behind MPS (Multi Platform System) which allows applications to be written for more than one PDA type, are organising a programming contest. One of the categories is "Games", and among the prizes to be won is an iPAQ.
New Pocket Flight Sim demo
[ Tuesday, January 9 ]
Pocket Flight Sim have just posted issue 9 of their newsletter, and their 3D engine demo now works on all Pocket PC's.
Conduits does Nonograms!
[ Tuesday, January 9 ]
As spotted on the ever alert ce4you, Conduits have released NonoPocket, a puzzle game based on nonograms, "a new type of logic puzzle". The object is to "figure out the picture in the grid through logic on the numbers in the rows and columns". A demo is available to download; registration costs $9.95.
LenseaTacToe supports everyone!
[ Tuesday, January 9 ]
Rick, author of LenseaTacToe, the recently-released Tic-Tac-Toe game, wrote to me to say that his game now supports all three Pocket PC processor types (ARM, MIPS and SH3).
Pocketnow.com reviews Bubble Blaster
[ Monday, January 8 ]
Pocketnow.com have posted up a review of Bubble Blaster, the Bubble Bobble clone from ZIO Interactive.
Want Cassiopeia overclocking software?
[ Monday, January 8 ]
Nick asked me to point any E-115/E-125/EM-500 owners wanting a software overclocking utility for their device to post in this pocketPCpassion thread. The idea behind this is to demonstrate the potential demand for an overclocking utility, although it should be noted that this does not necessarily mean such a program can or will be written!
Cassiopeia to get new CB64
[ Sunday, January 7 ]
Cassiopeia owners worried that an updated version of Come Back 64 was not going to arrive can be reassured by the following statement which the port's author, Domenico Dato, kindly allowed me to quote:
"I'll surely produce a version for Cassiopeia. Unfortunately I don't have this device, so I can't make any test on it directly: this is the reason for the delay in the release date."
Tic-Tac-Two
[ Saturday, January 6 ]
Fans of Tic-Tac-Toe can be doubly happy with the release of two new Pocket PC versions. The first, as announced on CEWire, goes by the name of LenseaTacToe - try as I might, however, I just couldn't get this one to download.
The second offering which is freeware and comes courtesy of Little Fish Software is known as, er, Tic-Tac-Toe. I couldn't find a product homepage, so here's a link to the relevant PocketGear.com product page.
PocketAdventures website
[ Saturday, January 6 ]
The freeware adventure game system, PocketAdventures, under development by Kaiton now has a home on the web. As of right now, it's still very much under development but is eventually expected to house discussion groups, development tools, adventures and reviews, and more besides!
New PocketGB beta
[ Saturday, January 6 ]
Thanks to Dave for pointing out that a new PocketGB beta is out, which should fix "any strange pauses" and load game crashes.
Metalion release date approaches...
[ Saturday, January 6 ]
Nothing really new to report, but in case you missed it the first time round, ZIO Interactive are still on course to release their highly anticipated robot shoot-em-up, Metalion, at some point during this month. If the gameplay is anywhere near as impressive as the screenshots look, this could well be the top title of 2001!
Quick review of FishingFishing
[ Saturday, January 6 ]
There's a "quick review" of Flux's new game, FishingFishing, on pdagamer.net. Thanks to site author, Lee Zerilla, for letting me know.
PocketGB now in beta!
[ Friday, January 5 ]
Thanks to Frank for pointing out that the first beta version of PocketGB is now out, featuring better sound support, increased speed for MIPS/SH3 devices and an improved onscreen controller.
Adventure game beta in a week!
[ Friday, January 5 ]
The developer of an adventure game system, Kaiton, has posted a message worth checking out in this BrightHand thread. In it, he says that the first beta version will be out in "roughly a week", as well as listing the currently implemented features. If you're an RPG/adventure fan, this is looking good...!
Free iPAQ overclock soon!
[ Friday, January 5 ]
Inaki Castillo of Jimmy Software has posted a message in this BrightHand thread (about N64 emulation!) stating that a free overclocking utility for the iPAQ will be made available soon from Jimmy Software.
New MAMECE3 Jornada build
[ Thursday, January 4 ]
Techmaster has compiled a new MAMECE3 SH3 (Jornada) build (download - 735 KB). Details and further discussion can be found in this thread on the MAMECE3 messageboard.
FishingFishing demo for reel!
[ Thursday, January 4 ]
The download links for the FishingFishing demo are now working, so iPAQ and Casio E-100 owners can enjoy what looks to be another graphically excellent effort from Flux.
iGolf reviewed at Pocketnow.com
[ Wednesday, January 3 ]
There's a very detailed and well-written review of iGolf at Pocketnow.com, just in case you're still undecided about whether to splash the cash on CEcraft's golfing extravaganza!
New 64 MB iPAQ on way?
[ Wednesday, January 3 ]
According to French site, LudiPocket (who in turn quote Hardware.fr as their source), Compaq will release a new iPAQ in February. The only apparent known difference is that the new model 3660 will come with 64 MB of memory as opposed to the 32 MB in current models.
Pocket PC in drugs storm!
[ Wednesday, January 3 ]
A beta version of a Pocket PC version of DopeWars has been released. The game (discussion group), about as politically incorrect as you can get, puts you in the life of a New York drug dealer, with your aim being to make your fortune whilst avoiding arrest.
PuzzlePack released
[ Wednesday, January 3 ]
PDAutilities.com have released PuzzlePack, which at $8.99 includes Balls 'R' Us and BallSweeper (individually priced at $4.99 and $6.99 respectively).
Adventurous screenshot
[ Wednesday, January 3 ]
Take a look down near the bottom of this BrightHand thread for an early screenshot of the adventure game system currently under development by kaiton. Looks pretty neat to me...
New PocketGB alpha!
[ Tuesday, January 2 ]
PocketGB Alpha 3 has been released and is available to download. Major features include "much improved sound support" and an option to "save any game at any time".
Puzzle game seeks beta testers
[ Monday, January 1 ]
Take a look at this BrightHand thread if you're interested in becoming a beta tester for a new puzzle game from YanCEyWare by the name of Tangrams. The object of the game is "The premise of the game is to form specific images using 7 geometric shaped tiles".
Let's Moogie!
[ Monday, January 1 ]
You can't do a lot of typing with this new keyboard from Arnaud Cortado, but it's a lot more fun! Honolulu Moog is a freeware keyboard in the style of a Moog synthesizer, allowing you to demonstrate your music talents in the palm of your hand!
More balls!
[ Monday, January 1 ]
Do we really need another Pocket PC game involving balls? PDAutilities.com seem to think so, with the release of BallSweeper, a cross between Minesweeper and Mastermind. At the time of writing, a game homepage wasn't available, so here's a link to the Handango product page. A demo is available, with the game's price set at $6.99.
New PocketGB alpha
[ Monday, January 1 ]
Check out the PocketGB news page for a download link and information relating to the release of PocketGB 1.2 Alpha. Major new features include the addition of an on-screen controller for the iPAQ and "preliminary" sound support.
Free Reversi!
[ Monday, January 1 ]
The first freeware release of 2001 (at least in my timezone!) is appropriately titled Free Reversi. Written under the GNU General Public License, Version 2 by Ivan Davtchev, the game is a Reversi (a.k.a. Othello) clone.
Flux announce new games
[ Monday, January 1 ]
Flux have announced two new games by the names of The Mark and Space Scorch, to be released in March and February respectively. There's not too much information available yet, so stay tuned for more news as it comes in...
On a different note, the Fishing Fishing game page now has demo download links for the iPAQ and Casio E-100. Unfortunately, these links weren't working at the time of writing...
The Future of Pocket PC Gaming
[ Monday, January 1 ]
Due to technical problems preventing the normal operation of PocketMatrix.com, this site is currently hosting Darren Kitchen's article entitled The future of Pocket PC Gaming.
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