BUFULO's dashboard

Obviously you don't have the necessary background to understand the details of these issues, especially multi-tasking & low-level hardware & firmware issues. That's not an insult. Even few software engineers understand these things because it's simply unnecessary most of the time.

I was just taking a jab at you with the jailbreak comment but most of the top players are using jailbroken devices. Spend enough time here & you'd know that.

Is that task list before or after running whatever app (SBSettings?) you use to free memory? I assume "before" & also not after a fresh reboot. Prep your device for getting the high score, then post the task list. – bufulo, on October 15, 2009 20:48

Background tasks definitely have an effect on tap recognition. Anything that delays the creation or timestamping of a touch event will have a negative impact on "tap recognition."

Using a non-jailbroken device won't prevent you from getting pretty decent scores. I'm on a few leaderboards myself... at least until some jailbroken bastard knocks me off! :)

So post a list of tasks running on your jailbroken iPod Touch 2G. They are probably listed using the same task identifier/name in iStat & your app. – bufulo, on October 15, 2009 18:55

Background tasks DEFINITELY are "interruptions" - trust me, I've been writing firmware for embedded real-time systems for nearly 20 years. I'm pretty sure jailbreaking allows the termination of tasks that normal users cannot, but I could be wrong.

We could investigate this easily enough if you have a jailbroken 3GS or iPod Touch 2G & the iStat application (only thing I have that shows a task list).

PS. In response to your last post (after I already posted this reply), I already stated that I don't consider jailbreaking cheating. It is very likely an advantage, but no more cheating than restarting your device to get the best performance possible. The hassle of jailbreaking just isn't worth it to me, but I completely understand why people do it. It's actually a good thing because it will encourage Apple to improve the OS. – bufulo, on October 15, 2009 18:10

You need to slow down & read what I've written. I DID NOT say "more memory equals more performance!"

Again, eliminating non-essential background tasks is what improves tap recognition. This is because fewer background tasks essentially gives higher priority to the TTR tasks (including underlying OS APIs, devices, interrupts, memory, etc. used in TTR). I GUARANTEE tap recognition accuracy is effected by background tasks!

PS. I also never said I thought jailbreaking was cheating. – bufulo, on October 15, 2009 17:50

I never said that more free memory improves performance! Obviously more free memory makes very little difference since TTR runs just fine on devices with 1/4 the memory as a 3GS, for example.

Eliminating non-essential background tasks is what improves tap recognition. Getting rid of those tasks is a side-effect of freeing memory. – bufulo, on October 15, 2009 17:23

On a jailbroken device, you can disable/terminate non-essential tasks which improves tap accuracy recognition. I believe the assorted (sordid?) applications that are part of jailbreaking (or at least commonly installed as part of that process) free memory by terminating background tasks that non-jailbroken devices cannot. – bufulo, on October 15, 2009 16:24

I think the Ultra stuff is a different theme & maybe a recording label? I actually like these colors better than the green & yellow.

I've changed my mind about the 16x - I like it. I don't even mind the 10 seconds of immunity now. I can't say that I prefer it compared to how TTR2 worked (8x max), but it does add a different sort of challenge that can be fun. It can also be really annoying when you get beaten by a huge margin & can't find the right spot to activate it! I'm pretty darn sure there are some scores that are impossible on the leaderboards.

Still hate the avatars but a little less considering Tapulous is probably trying to get rid of the nasty pictures some people posted. It's too bad we all have to pay the price for a few idiots. I've been saving up my coins -maybe it's time to buy a new dress!

Regarding tap recognition: I was finally able to get my device working as good as possible (reinstalling & restoring). It definitely makes a big difference & I bet lots of people don't realize how much easier TTR can be when it's working right!

Jailbreaking probably enhances performance even more, but I'm not going to do that. I don't really consider it cheating, but I don't feel bad at all when I get beat by someone with a jailbroken device.

I've also noticed taps drop more often after a miss (real or not). I strongly suspect there is a memory management bug (leak?) in the case of a missed tap. In the case of a missed tap, I wonder if there is a path thru the code that is not returning a touch event (touch release?) related data structure?

Still HATE the online weapons & wish the non-weapons rooms had some players. Maybe I'll just sit & wait in those rooms next time. Worse case I play alone like I already do offline.

It would be nice if the UI had an index when Browsing music anywhere - just like the main song selection area. I also noticed that the songs catalog is pretty much a mess. Downloading all the free tracks doesn't get you all the free tracks, for example.

Another problem I've noticed is that there are a few songs that stutter/lag badly near the finish & it's completely repeatable - strange.

The overlapping tap target area issue is still the same as TTR2. I actually tapped a string of about 4 tappers in a row in the wrong lane the other day & they all registered! This issue causes you to lose your streak whenever there are alternating tappers (left, center, left, center, etc... for example). Maybe players with tiny fingers don't experience this though. – bufulo, on October 15, 2009 15:57

I've noticed the wavering graphics speed on another song too. I thought maybe I was just imagining it, but now I wonder. If I see it again, I'll have to note the song & report it.

I've been thinking lately that most of those who don't notice the drops, & other issues, are probably playing on devices that have been jailbroken. This allows them to terminate most of the other background tasks, eliminating sources of delay & other resource conflicts (especially competition for CPU & memory/disk/file space). The phones have even more of these background tasks than the iPod Touches, so we're far more likely to see issues that are the result of those conflicts! – bufulo, on October 10, 2009 08:36

Good luck with that request! It would have been pretty simple for TTR2, but the 16x does make it a little more difficult in TTR3. Still not a huge project, but probably not very high on the Tapulous priority list either.

I would MUCH rather see % of max score rather than % of taps! Anyone playing TTR for a few days can get 95%+ on pretty much every single song, making it a pretty meaningless statistic other than that golden 100%. Woohoo! Everybody gets an "A" - just like school these days!

That's a good one! You're AWESOME! I assume you made the leaderboard with that?

I also noticed that if a finger is touching way higher than the middle of the screen, all taps are misses! – bufulo, on October 09, 2009 06:18

I have to admit that the faster tappers in Extreme play are growing on me. I think halfway between this & the speed in TTR2 would be perfect! – bufulo, on October 09, 2009 06:15

Challenge scores also don't count for the leaderboard. :( – bufulo, on October 09, 2009 06:14

I think the accuracy color doesn't work in 1x mode? Maybe any tap in 1x is considered 100% accurate? – bufulo, on October 09, 2009 06:13

Not sure about the graphics performance on older devices, but it doesn't seem any worse than TTR2 on my original iPhone or iPod Touch 2G.

The big disappointment in my opinion is that all the same issues we discussed with TTR2 still exist. In fact, I think the drops are actually worse. It's a bit harder to tell if taps are being recognized in adjacent lanes with the new theme, but I suspect that's exactly what's happening

WHY DOES THE VALID TAP AREA OF ONE LANE EXTEND INTO THE ADJACENT LANE(S)!? THIS DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE! – bufulo, on October 08, 2009 23:41

Scores are only sent to the leaderboard if you press "Next List" & view the leaderboard! Just found out the hard way after getting a personal best (probably just short of top 10) but forgot to view the leaderboard. :( – bufulo, on October 08, 2009 23:13