moechofe 2026-01-28 13:03
I've been working on a fork of Lowres-NX targeted mobile game development for a while now. It's a long-term project and still unfinished. However, because the original project by @Timo was so well-made, my fork worked from day one, and I now use it daily.
If you're adventurous, I can provide access via Apple TestFlight in the coming weeks. Just reply to this post with your thoughts.
The main goal is to take advantage of vertical mobile screens. The app runs in portrait mode and is always fullscreen, meaning the pixel resolution varies by device. It supports iPad split-screen, safe areas (to avoid notches and home buttons), and adapts to the visual keyboard. No more gamepads; the only inputs are touch and the virtual keyboard. Technical upgrades include more addressable memory, more layers, more sprites, more CPU cycles, a non-EGA palette, a WIP particles library... Some BASIC commands have been removed, while others were added.
The most important part is the official graphics editor I've been building for years. It's a massive challenge to create an app that adapts to non-fixed resolutions. Honestly, I sometimes spend my time making games instead of finishing the editor because it's just so fun to use. I will soon share my "experiments" on the website: https://re.tro.it
What's working now:
- The iOS app.
- iCloud storage (will go live once I renew my Apple Developer Membership).
- A community website with basic interactions.
- The original graphics designer and sound composer (functional, but not practical).
- The new graphics editor includes background and palette editors.
- Complete documentation (I hope).
What's not working yet:
- The character editor.
- Better features for the editors, including undo, settings remembering, multiple background layers, advanced view mode, sprite sheet editor.
- An official sound editor (this may take years).
- An Android version (currently without sound).
- The particle system (needs a rewrite).
- Community website features like search and an online player.
- More math functions.
I've also decided to rename the app to improve App Store search visibility: currently Retro Game Creator.
Timo 2026-01-29 07:05
Cool! I won't have time to actually program something with it, but I would like to have a look and play with your graphics editor :)