From the Forum — Issue #19

09 May 2014

From the Forum — Issue #19

Welcome to the latest installment of From the Forum. In this series, guest blogger Alex Jackson highlights outstanding threads from the Corona Forum. The goal is to bring attention to the most captivating, interesting, and thought-provoking discussions taking place in our very own backyard.

Please visit the forum to join these conversations or start your own!

1. display.capture() in Graphics 2.0

Using the display.capture() API has been a breeze for many of us. However, there are some questions from the forum, including confusion over taking a “screenshot” of the entire screen. Depending on how your config.lua is set up, you might be encountering the exact same issue.

If you haven’t found your own solution, developer ubj3d.android has come up with a solution that may help. The key is in making sure that the correct resolution is set and in choosing the right display group for capture.

Snap over to the original thread to find some helpful tips:

http://forums.coronalabs.com/topic/44377-solved-capture-screen-totally-broken-in-graphics-20/

2. Android networking

Developing server request logic is always a heady enterprise. Combining Lua expertise with network administrator skills is a killer combo, but not all of us are system admins with thousands of website stand-ups under our belts. Atop that, tackling the Android side of the process gets even more complex.

Fortunately, Corona developer ksteinberg has been working through GET request logic and remote server querying. The following thread is a benefit for many of us and we should applaud the determination held therein. «spoiler alert: do not forget to include the HTTP in your URL string!»

Click through to the original thread and take a look at the interesting code snippets:

http://forums.coronalabs.com/topic/47033-android-networking-losing-my-mind-does-this-work-reliably/

3. Amazon Fire TV

If you haven’t heard, Amazon released a cool new device called the Amazon Fire TV which throws its hat into the ring with Ouya, GameStick, Nvidia SHIELD, and others who are duking it out for Android console gaming supremacy.

As a Corona developer, making apps for the Amazon Fire TV shouldn’t be much different than any of the other options listed above, since mapping functions to keys is already handled by Corona very well. The Amazon Fire TV API extends this a bit more to provide added functionality.

Zip over to the original thread and, if you have some suggestions of your own, please add them.

http://forums.coronalabs.com/topic/47068-fire-tv-owners-please-read/

About Alex

Alex Jackson is an indie developer and the founder of Panc Software, specializing in retro-style gaming. He has created several mobile applications, enjoys long walks on the beach, pixel art, and reading the Corona forums. Contact him by email or follow him on Twitter: @pancsoftware. Check out his new game Crosstown Smash on iOS, Android, and Amazon devices!