according to the company.
(Click here for larger image of Edge-generated screenshot)EI describes Edge as "the most powerful, true multi-platform game engine for mobile devices." The library was written "from scratch" in C++, to generate high-performance 2D and 3D graphics on handheld device screens. The engine incorporates DirectX hardware-supported blitting via DirectDraw, which, in turn, is supported under Windows Mobile 5.0.
Edge version 2.90 enables Bluetooth connections to be created using a service and port, according to EI. Also, connections can be made to applications sharing the same UID.
EI says the 2.90 release includes a separate library of fast, optimized blitting routines, dubbed "blitlets," for four different color depths and all possible filter combinations. With the plug-in based blitter system, developers can choose which blitting routines to compile into the target executable. When a blitlet isn't available at run-time, Edge falls back to the slower, but always available, generic blitter routine, according to the company.
Other improvements in version 2.90 touted by EI include color depth emulation, improved palette mode support, a function to retrieve device-dependent hardware key names, and an improved version of the Edge IDE (integrated development environment).
According to EI, the Edge SDK supports the development of mobile applications and games for Windows Mobile, Symbian Series 60/80/90/UIQ, the Gamepark Holdings GP2X console, and the Windows desktop.
Edge is licensed on an annual basis, according to EI, during which time licensees are entitled to create and release as many commercial games and applications as desired for all supported platforms. The license fee for the first year is $950, and subsequent years are $650, EI says. A free evaluation version, along with a number of useful tools, is available
here.
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