I'm working my way towards a 2d RPG that will run on an applet. A similar interface can be found here: For performance conerns, what's the best way to go about this? Right now I can only think of Java2d. Any other performance tips and tricks are welcomed! Thanks, Phil

It'll have to stay as an applet, for sure. Runescape did the same thing. I thought that was accelerated by hardware too. Anyway, thanks. I'll use Java2d.

[Edited by - dxFoo on August 30, 2005 4:14:38 PM]

I think you can use the Golden T Game Engine in an applet, and although I've never tried that particular engine myself, I hear that it's quite easy to use. That's the only other option I can think of, given your requirements. Personally, I never had any trouble with plain old Java2D, which has the added bonuses (boni? Who knows?) of being standard with every java installation and compatible with awt/Swing (whichever floats your boat) for all the fancy-pants GUI stuff you see in that screenshot. The latter is something I've missed (only slightly) while working with LWJGL... even though there's supposedly a way of getting them all to work together these days.

Just a question: Why does the game have to run in an applet? The only reason I can think of for writing a game in an applet as opposed to webstart these days is so people with only bog-standard 1.1 can run it, and 1.1 didn't even have Java2d in the first place! With webstart you can write proper full screen (or windowed) games that'll download themselves and run in just one click, so it's no more inconvenient than an applet.

One of the main reasons is that I enjoy embedded gaming on the net :) Second, one of the rewards is thousands of people playing at a time, also building a great community because they're all logged on at the same time playing. If you look at Runescape's users currently connected, you'll see it go up in the 100,000's at times. Third, marketing & advertising is fantastic. You don't get those statistics on a indie desktop game. Regarding the WebStart app, it's interesting but I prefer my games embedded.

Quote:Original post by dxFoo
It'll have to stay as an applet, for sure. Runescape did the same thing. I thought that was accelerated by hardware too. Anyway, thanks. I'll use Java2d.

That decision caused RS a world of pain. At the time, it was a major problem, but *webstart didn't exist* (in any usable form - it was still alpha software), so there was little credible alternative - yet, still, RS originally came in two flavours, applet and JAR, because the problems of applets were so great.

So, I *really* would advise not making something an applet "because RS does it". Even little things, like accidentally hitting the back button (will close the applet, which pisses players off if they were in a battle etc because your anti-cheating code kicks in and kills them)