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View Full Version : Using Excelsior JET for Java Games?

Evanstaul
08-05-2005, 06:59 AM
Hi, this seems like a great product although it costs a lot. I read that some people have used it but then opted not to because of some problems. I want to use it for my next 2D game. Can some one let me know what problems I'll face if I decide to plunk $750 on it? What are pros and cons?

Thanks!
Sillysoft
08-05-2005, 12:03 PM
I haven't used JET, so cannot give any experiences. You should also try asking this at the http://javagaming.org forums, where more javaheads hang out.
princec
08-05-2005, 04:11 PM
It worked great for me. I have no idea where you can find one but there may be a JET compiled exe of Alien Flux kicking around somewhere. I used to use it. It got a bit complex for me though and the build cycle got too complicated for my, er, haphazard style, so I switched to dodgy grey areas and hackery.

Cas :)
Evanstaul
08-05-2005, 08:03 PM
It seems like a great thing I don't understand why Java game developers aren't flocking to it. Cas, did you have so many problems with it that it wasn't worth doing, even with the speed increase? It must do very well with 2D games especially if you are solely doing pixel pushing and not using open GL for drawing operations?
princec
08-06-2005, 05:22 AM
The speed increase is mainly in startup time - games start up like C++ apps rather than Java apps, which I have to be honest, take 2-3 times as long as C++. Once it's running it's all much of a muchness... no tangible difference.

Developers don't flock to it because it's pretty expensive for what it is.

I stopped using it because I kept on coming across annoying issues with internationalization (missing classes etc) and then it got out of sync with my JDK and refused to compile any more. Eventually the niggles got annoying enough that I tried an experiment with a hacked 1.4 JVM and then on to Molebox to achieve more or less the same results but with no niggles and much faster release builds.

Cas :)