Stopping iOS and Android support from me.

[spacefractal]

Om steam, I'm would focus on desktop stystems first for both 32 and 64bit.  Steam is not a mobile platforms

[MrPlow]

Fully understand where SF is coming from.... but for me it has been a different story...

Most of my success and revenue came from Android mobile and admob...so I hope to continue with that. I will still do PC steam releases too.

I have stuck with older Android Extra versions and that has worked out well for me.

GLB is still very capable of putting out great mobile games with a small footprints.

The system still runs fine for me for now...

[spacefractal]

yes im tried to fix admob, but impossible, due forcing move to Android Studio by Google..... its a bigger project as excepted.

[spacefractal]

Ym have fixed a very few android issue, but im do still have to say:

Im have dedicated to leave the Mobilemarket and will also let my iOS Dev Account expire, which is somewhere in the Aug month. Im havent updated my games since iOS10, which they still working in iOS11. But you newer know about mobile market.

There is too many forcing tiresome updates and forcing too much thing.....

That include both iOS and Android.

But if there is small issues etc in Java, im do sure can fix it, but im will currectly not try to move the whole project to Android Studio. But with iOS, im do want to release the glbasic source code project im did. Because did WORKED with iOS11, just before im stopped (all required was to recompile the glbasic libs, so actuelly its was pretty simple). But im will not release it by my own and still want a permission from Gernot first.

[Ian Price]

No point in worrting about iOS any more. Apple hve fixed that for you - https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/06/04/opengl-opencl-deprecated-in-favor-of-metal-2-in-macos-1014-mojave

[spacefractal]

Im have edited this a lots and just searched around. Here is what im have checked.

By now Apple have deprecated OpenGl, its very sad move. But when that is said, OpenGL will still been included in a least 10.14 and all tools using it is still included in xCode with both a least iOS12 and Mac 10.14. By now its only deprecated, but does not removing it.

Im just not hope they remove it completly, since its will breaks a LOTS of apps, and many will consider not develop to iOS and MacOS anymore, and they have been heavy critised about that, that even they do not have touched OpenGL in years.

Here is a nice article about OpenGL on Mac:
https://www.quora.com/Why-is-OpenGL-poorly-supported-on-Mac-OS-X

What about Vulcan?
If you ask me for the best general move for glbasic. We should add a VULCAN render support. VULCAN supports by all/most system, that include even systems like Nintendo Switch. VULCAN is not supported native by Apple, but exists a nice workarounds. So hence im would perfer move it to VULCAN for best multiplatform suppot.

[spacefractal]

Also in the other side, Apple deprecated Carbon, back in 2012..... and its still works, but will howover soon remove after 10.14 throught (since no 32bit support). About 6-7 years after.

So there can still been some years, before its finally got removed (or by requirement), so there is no reason to not support it as long its works, despite deprecated.

MacOS10.14 is also the last 32bit support as well. here its a very diffrent issue. But iOS64 bit does work, so its should not really been a big issue (other we also need to move the project as a xCode project rather than using costume compilers).

Same with Android. SDK Manager got deprecated as well, but as im wrote we can relocate the path used by Android Studio and simply use from there.

Also we do use few deprecated features in glbasic, im still yet to get removed. One of them is in a Audio Driver file, that got deprecated since iOS8, but still works (me thinks). But im do have no clue what that function really does, if used at all.

[MrPlow]

Also, in case you are interested on Android API-23 (manifest declaration)...

...my admob and inapp purchase features are all still working perfectly

[spacefractal]

Its might works when compiled with api23. But the java call back diddent work with Android 7.0 last time im checked. But should recheck again a day. But currectly all those requirements is a quite annoying.

But im do still recommend to by now recolate all paths to use that one used by Android Studio (both NDK and SDK). That should also means a much much smaller download for Android in the end.

For iOS and other systems (Windows include) in far future we move it to only supports Vulcan and OpenGL and not other closed source api (Vulcan CAN been used and remapped to Metal using a wrapper).

But again: iOS12 and MacOs 10.14 can still been supported, but its uncontain with the future after that. But its will not been removed in near future anyway, but more in far future.

[hardyx]

Methal is the Apple's "DirectX", like Microsoft did some years ago deprecating OpenGL in Windows. In windows you don't have OpenGL, but the graphics card driver installs for you. Apple systems are a closed ecosystem, and they make all the hardware and the all the drivers. I think you can install OpenGL libraries when they remove them, but they are not in the system. Then your game or app must to install another package or request the user to install first.

Apple is not interested in OpenGL or OpenGL-ES, because the main responsible of OpenGL for Mac was assigned for improving Methal some years ago. Apple says that Methal improve the graphics performance and saves battery, because it's a modern and efficient API, but it's a library only for Apple hardware and it isn't available for other systems.

I think they don't remove OpenGL in next year, because many Steam and Appstore games are using, but they are saying "we can remove in any time, you are warned". Is like the "Rossetta" case, there was a transition period for old apps for some years, but they removed the support years later in Yosemite. They will remove from the system sooner or later.

[Youkaisan]

When Apple removes OpenGL, I hope there're some wrapper available as a SDK or Library available.