Show HN: WebGL Enabler for iOS

#1

Post by daeken » Mon, May 28, 2012, 9:11 PM UTC

Show HN: WebGL Enabler for iOS
demoseen.com

Re: Show HN: WebGL Enabler for iOS

#2

Post by daeken » Mon, May 28, 2012, 9:15 PM UTC

I submitted this a couple days ago at a pretty bad time (middle of the US night) and it died pretty quickly. I figured I'd wait until v0.0.2 to throw it back up here, and that's now out. It seems to be working quite nicely on all iOS 4.2+ devices, though some of the older iPhones have performance issues it seems. Hope you guys enjoy this.

Re: Show HN: WebGL Enabler for iOS

#3

Post by infinitivium » Mon, May 28, 2012, 9:28 PM UTC

This is badass! But, once again something Apple should have already given developers.

Thanks for putting this together, hopefully it spurs them along.

Re: Show HN: WebGL Enabler for iOS

#4

Post by DanielRibeiro » Mon, May 28, 2012, 9:28 PM UTC

Former discussion: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4029365

Re: Show HN: WebGL Enabler for iOS

#5

Post by hartror » Mon, May 28, 2012, 10:01 PM UTC

So it immediately raises the question why isn't this released?

The reasons I can think of are:

* Performance isn't what they want yet.

* Implementation isn't what they want yet.

* There are security issues they still need to fix.

OR putting on my tin foil hat for a second:

* Apple sees WebGL as a possible threat to their app revenues as a soild WebGL implementation could allow developers to avoid entering their app market place and instead charge users directly. It would also allow developers to deploy to other platforms with the same code base.

Obviously the last point is a bit nutty but one can't help but wonder if it is a consideration.

Re: Show HN: WebGL Enabler for iOS

#6

Post by cccbbb » Mon, May 28, 2012, 10:02 PM UTC

You're encouraging people to pay for this internal setting toggle, that Apple didn't default to 'On' for a reason (not being finished)? Where is the value in this? You are basically charging for Apples incomplete software.

Re: Show HN: WebGL Enabler for iOS

#7

Post by wavephorm » Mon, May 28, 2012, 10:03 PM UTC

Like how Apple has sabotaged the use of HTML5 Audio, I think it is unlikely they will enable WebGL. It provides developers an open platform for developing games, which conflicts with Apple's closed system agenda.

Re: Show HN: WebGL Enabler for iOS

#8

Post by daeken » Mon, May 28, 2012, 10:04 PM UTC

hartror wrote: post #5

So it immediately raises the question why isn't this released? The reasons I can think of are: * Performance isn't what they want yet. * Implementation isn't what they want yet. * There are security issues they still need to fix. OR putting on my tin foil hat for a second: * Apple sees WebGL as a possible threat to their app revenues as a soild WebGL implementation could allow developers to avoid entering their app m…

I've spent a lot of time playing with this over the last two days, and it's absolutely the implementation not being where they want it yet. There are definite stability issues with more intensive scenes, though it generally works pretty nicely. I imagine that's why they allow it for iAds, where they can monitor the quality and test it across devices. Hopefully with iOS 6 my tweak won't be needed any longer.

Re: Show HN: WebGL Enabler for iOS

#9

Post by daeken » Mon, May 28, 2012, 10:06 PM UTC

cccbbb wrote: post #6

You're encouraging people to pay for this internal setting toggle, that Apple didn't default to 'On' for a reason (not being finished)? Where is the value in this? You are basically charging for Apples incomplete software.

The value is that people want to use WebGL now, as seen by the almost 1000 people who have downloaded the software over the last few days. However, I have no idea how one can put a price on something of this sort, which is why you could pay $0 or $500 for it if you want. I tend to believe that saving people from a couple of hours of tinkering (writing the same tweak I have, basically) is worth at least $1, but people have thrown in anywhere from $0.10 to $5.

Re: Show HN: WebGL Enabler for iOS

#10

Post by frou_dh » Mon, May 28, 2012, 10:07 PM UTC

hartror wrote: post #5

So it immediately raises the question why isn't this released? The reasons I can think of are: * Performance isn't what they want yet. * Implementation isn't what they want yet. * There are security issues they still need to fix. OR putting on my tin foil hat for a second: * Apple sees WebGL as a possible threat to their app revenues as a soild WebGL implementation could allow developers to avoid entering their app m…

It's hardly a tin foil theory. Even if it isn't the primary reason WebGL isn't enabled at the moment, higher-end games moving out of the App Store and into the browser must weigh on their mind.