Wii Internet Channel and Nintendo DS/DSi Browser Homebrew

I've shifted my focus over the past few weeks to Nintendo DSi Browser software development. (Many of the projects also work in the older Nintendo DS Browsers.) Here's a summary:

Twiiter Lite:
Members can now post twiits while on-the-go. Take your Nintendo DS or Nintendo DSi to any Wi-Fi hotspot, and continue twiiting like you have been from your Wii consoles!
http://twiiter.wiioperasdk.com

DS Opera SDK:
I've been running some tests of the Nintendo DSi Browser and posting the results at the DS Opera SDK website. Tests include canvas drawing, JavaScript object snooping, key input, UNICODE values, and more! I've also scaled down the old AJAX chatroom from HullBreach Online's Wii section so that it will work on the handheld.
http://dsoperasdk.com

HullBreach Online Lite:
I'm shrinking the HullBreach Online MMO RPG to fit the dual screen resolution and changing the Wii button interface to a fully touchscreen-based control scheme. Due to the crippled support of the canvas object on the Nintendo DSi Browser, I've opted to use nothing but standard HTML objects conntrolled by JavaScript. Layered images with scrolling background achieve graphics of space exploration. Although combat will initially be removed from the game, chatting, trading, missions, mining, and all the other features, will be present. I will announce when the game is ready to play and add new content to both version of HB Online. All character stats and missions carry seemlessly between the versions.
http://hullbreachonline.com

All these projects use the same member accounts. You can sign up at http://hullbreachonline.com or http://twiiter.wiioperasdk.com to take advantage of twiiting, chatting, gaming, and more!

I've been discussing Twiiter with some of the folks on My Opera in the Wii forum and in private messages and thought I'd give an update here:

Posting messages from a Wii now works, properly displaying the time of post and the name of the member who corresponds to the Wii's email address. I've started to add more features to the website, but it has some work left to do. Currently, messages can be viewed on a per-member basis, and members can log into accounts. Registration and account settings will be coming soon so that members won't need to visit http://hullbreachonline.com every time an account needs to be updated. (Any changes to Twiiter will also change account info for HullBreach Online and any other related websites.) Avatar uploads and selections as well as unwanted message deletions will come soon, also. I will post more news on the progress in this blog, at http://wiioperasdk.com/blog and in the Wii forum here at My Opera. Once the project matures more, I will contact the guys at GoNintendo, WiiNintendo, and 4ColorRebellion, since they have all been great followers of the homebrew scene for the Internet Channel.

If anyone has ideas or suggestions for additions to Twiiter, let me know. I've mainly been developing it as a stream-of-conscious project, like many of my Wii projects, so I sometimes get "writers' block" and need help being pushed in the right direction to bring ideas to fruition for the benefit of the users.

The new class for the Wii Opera SDK / HullBreach SDK that mimics the popular affine texture mapping of the SuperNES era is almost finished. This class will give the ability to create graphical effects like those produced in Super Mario Kart, Pilotwings, F-Zero, and other games, by scaling scanlines of rotates planes on screen mode 7 of the SuperNES. The interface will be similar to that of the Raycasting class on the homepage of http://wiioperasdk.com.

It is my hope that when this class is finished and fully-optimized that Internet Channel versions of SuperNES favorites will see their lights-of-day.

• The demo image shows the functionality with a sample checkboard pattern. Final game engines using this class will have the following abilities:
  
• Per landscape pixel coordinate mapping
  
• Default tiles for empty locations
  
• Variable pixel size (for speed vs. visual clarity optimization)
  
• Variable canvas size
  
• Controls for motion, turning, strafing
  
• Panoramic backgrounds
  
• Import custom tile maps
  
• Import custom tile images
  

The class will be ready in the next week with a simple demo. Once this class is finished, I will begin work on the next project: Terrain Mapping.

We’ve recently begun a new year, and with new years come New Year’s resolutions. I thought I’d jump on the bandwagon and place some goals for the Wii Opera SDK / HullBreach SDK. If these resolutions can be kept, expect to see many more features arise in the SDK this year. Some of these depend on Opera releasing the much rumored Wii Opera 2.0 / Internet Channel 2.0 that so many believe will see the light of day after a Photoshopped image several months ago. Inevitably, a new release will come on day. It will probably not have a spinning tab-cube and big, unproportioned buttons like the Wii Opera 2.0 / Internet Channel 2.0, but there will obviously be a newer Opera built.

These resolutions will be listed in priorities and based on dependencies of a new Internet Channel build. I would also like to optimize some of the existing classes for Nintendo DSi usage.


RPGStats Class (New)
Priority: Moderate
Dependency: None

This class will create RPG character and enemy objects with all their stats. There will also be another helper-class to perform calculations relating to battle damage and item usage.

Comm Class (Existing)
Priority: High
Dependency: None

This class has existed since the 1.x series of the SDK, so it’s in bad need of an update. This update will use more efficient serialized values and offer multiple asynchronous AJAX calls.

Mee Class (New)
Priority: Low
Dependency: None

This class will create an Internet Channel version of Miis so that games using the SDK can have avatar heads that will carry across any games for consistancy.

Mode7 Class (New)
Priority: High
Dependency: None

This class will reproduce the screen mode 7 effect of the Super NES where scanlines of rotated backgrounds are scaled in 3D perspective. This effect was popularized in games like F-Zero and Super Mario Kart.

Terrain Class (New)
Priority: Low
Dependency: None

This class will create height-mapped terrains by passing texture and height values to the class. It will effectively open voxel graphics for the Internet Channel.

Keyboard Class (New)
Priority: Moderate
Dependency: None

This class will allow developers to have a translucent on-screen keyboard pop-up on the screen for entering characters into textboxes and textareas without an entirely new screen appearing.

3D2 Class (New)
Priority: Moderate
Dependency: Canvas 3D

This class will wrap Opera’s 3D canvas much in the way that the Draw class currently wraps the 2D canvas. It will allow for much faster texture-mapping of 3D meshes.