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Archive for May, 2010

Rocket Knight Profile

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If you’re a fan of old school side-scrolling platformers, you’ll love Rocket Knight. It’s a sequel to the Sega Genesis classic Rocket Knight Adventures, and combines the classic gameplay with a gorgeous graphics upgrade.

The keyboard controls are rather frustrating — the game was clearly designed to be played with a gamepad. And with this new profile, HippoRemote Pro fits the bill perfectly.

Rocket Knight for PC is currently available on Steam.

Grab the profile here.

Written by Albert

May 31st, 2010 at 12:09 am

Posted in App Profiles

Clicker.TV Profile

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In case you missed it, Clicker announced a TV-optimized version of their web site — Clicker.tv — at last week’s Google I/O conference.

With interface and keyboard controls implemented using HTML5, I can browse Clicker’s database of online videos Flash-free. No incessant CPU and GPU fan noise. Actually watching videos, however, inevitably kicks the fans into high gear.

Grab the profile here.

Written by Albert

May 26th, 2010 at 3:29 am

Posted in App Profiles,News

GOM Player Profile

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Thanks go to Krunoslav Labazan for creating a profile for GOM Player.

Grab it from our profile repository.

Written by Albert

May 26th, 2010 at 2:34 am

Posted in App Profiles,News

Steam Powered Redux

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HippoRemote Pro 2.2 has been approved by Apple! This means that all the Game Controller goodness we talked about in our previous post is ready to go!

We’ve got four game profiles available, and a few more still in the works. The current profiles are Braid, Trine, The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom, and Portal. Three outstanding (and inexpensive) indie games, and one of the greatest games of all time.

Get Portal For Free!

With the release of Steam for Mac last week, Portal is FREE until May 24th! So click on the link below and grab it now!

http://store.steampowered.com/freeportal/

Then grab our Portal profile and start unlocking those achievements! And keep in touch by adding HippoRemote to your Steam friends. =)

Mac HippoVNC Update

On the topic of Mac gaming, our testing with Steam uncovered some mouse control issues. We’ve fixed them, but Mac users will need to update HippoVNC. If you’re not using HippoVNC, then games like Portal will not be playable. Screen Sharing simply doesn’t support the necessary functionality.

Creating Game Profiles

Of the four available profiles, two are keyboard only games and the other two require simultaneous keyboard and mouse control. Hopefully they will serve as good starting points for your own game profiles. We’ll also be adding more instructions and documentation but we’re currently away on a semi-vacation. We’ll get right on it when we’re back in town, but until then, please be patient. Thanks!

We are answering emails, though with a little bit of a delay. So if you need help getting your game profile up and running, drop us a line.

Limitations

There are some limitations to the game controller. First, it’s not compatible with every game. In particular, really old games and emulators are not supported.

Second, as mentioned above, HippoVNC is required. Standard VNC servers don’t support the necessary control methods to make gaming possible.

Third, on the Mac, certain games that change the screen resolution when going into full screen mode may not work correctly. It’s something we’re looking into.

Written by Albert

May 20th, 2010 at 10:34 am

Posted in News

Steam Powered

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So let me get right to it: We’re adding a game controller in our next HippoRemote Pro update! Soon, you’ll be able to play your favorite PC games from the comfort of your couch. No more keyboard and mouse to tether you to your desk.

There are a number of gamepad apps available in the App Store. Virtually all of them have a directional pad on the left, a button pad on the right, and some miscellaneous buttons in between. And our controller has them as well.

HOWEVER, our gamepad has an additional mode that combines a d-pad with a multi-touch trackpad. So you’ll be able to play all those games that rely on simultaneous keyboard and mouse access, including first person shooters like Portal and Team Fortress 2.

And because our gamepad leverages App Profiles, it’s customized for each game, giving you the exact controls you need.

Now, we’re just a small indie developer and we simply don’t have the resources to make profiles for all the PC games out there today, so we’re asking for your help. We’ll be posting instructions on how to create gamepad-enabled profiles on our website and answering any questions via email.

One final thing…

You may have noticed that we mentioned Portal and Team Fortress 2 earlier — games that are available as part of Steam for Mac. Steam for Mac is a big moment for Mac gaming and we desperately want to support it. In fact, our gamepad update was already under review with Apple. But with Steam for Mac releasing today, we’ve pulled our update to do additional Mac testing with the initial set of games. With any luck, the process will be smooth and painless and we’ll ready to resubmit shortly. Regardless, know that we’re working hard so that Mac and PC gamers can play!

Written by Albert

May 12th, 2010 at 1:50 pm

Posted in News