I have been writing games lately that I ultimately want to see as an app for the iPad and other iOS touch devices. I have everything but an iOS to test the porting on.

I was going to buy a refurbished iPad1 for testing purposes only as I figured I didn't need a brand new one just to see if something runs right.

However, are there aspects I'm not thinking about that will really determine what I need to buy? (iPad, iPad2, or the newer one?)

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

The main differences that I've found matters are CPU and GPU speed and retina resolution. If you normally test on iPad2 or the new one you need to double check the performance on the original iPad. And the retina display really matters, it's amazing how fast you get used to it. Except maybe for 8-bit retro style games, you'll better design the graphics for both retina and normal resolution at the same time.

Luckily most of my projects are 8-bit styled, but can you tell me more about retina resolution? How do I "design" for that?

I couple of aspects are:
- Text is much more readable, even in small font sizes. Not only are individual characters much sharper, but the overall text layout is much better.
- Animated objects move much smoother. Even with crude graphics, the movement of game objects can be much more precise.
- With smaller pixels you have more control over the layout. Thinner lines and boxes gives you more space to work with.
- More pixels means you can add more detail. Not by cramming in more stuff in less space, but rather playing with different levels of emphasis.

Of course this is, and should be, all very subtle, and nothing that you should notice at a glance.

Some more reading:
https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/#documentation/GraphicsAnimation/Conceptual/HighResolutionOSX/Introduction/Introduction.html

I couple of aspects are:
- Text is much more readable, even in small font sizes. Not only are individual characters much sharper, but the overall text layout is much better.
- Animated objects move much smoother. Even with crude graphics, the movement of game objects can be much more precise.
- With smaller pixels you have more control over the layout. Thinner lines and boxes gives you more space to work with.
- More pixels means you can add more detail. Not by cramming in more stuff in less space, but rather playing with different levels of emphasis.

Of course this is, and should be, all very subtle, and nothing that you should notice at a glance.

Some more reading:
https://developer.ap...troduction.html

Thanks for the reading, I very much appreciate it Felix Ungman!

iPad is deprecated and iPad 2 is soon to follow. Better to get a device that is current and will be deprecated at the latest possible date. These were the reasons I got my New iPad, since I only wanted one for development of my engine.

Since then, although its purpose is only the development of my engine, I have come to appreciate the extra features it has, especially including the higher resolution.
That also turned out to be a major development point, as the machine ironically does not have the power to render 3D games in that resolution. 2D games are mostly fine, but it is still important to have the ability to switch between retina resolution and standard resolution to test your products.

New iPad is the way to go.


L. Spiro