is that gray gradient launch animation removable/configurable?

Solar2D Android
#1

Immediately after launch, and lasting only 200ms or so, while the app window animates to fill the screen, there is a “gray gradient” that I really don’t want.  Is there anything I can do about it?  Call me a nit-picker, but I’m trying to get to black as fast as possible, and that gray just doesn’t belong!

Simplest code to reproduce:

-- "None More Black" -- main.lua display.setStatusBar( display.HiddenStatusBar ) local blackRect = display.newRect( display.screenOriginX, display.screenOriginY, display.actualContentWidth, display.actualContentHeight ) blackRect:setFillColor(0,0,0)

Build it, install it, then watch the launch very quickly/closely.  (does not occur in simulator)

Ideas?

P.S. (“thanks in advance, but…”) please don’t suggest adding a launch image (Default.png) as that doesn’t work any better - it would also be displayed after the gray launch animation, just the same as the black rect used here.

#2

What device are you testing this on and what version of the OS is it running?   Most Corona apps, if you don’t have a Default.png, should flash black for a second until you load something on the screen.

#3

Thanks.  Nexus 7 (v1), 4.3.  (device is very “vanilla”, no fancy tweaks or anything)  Am building with stable 1137.  If it were black on launch I’d be delighted!, wonder what’s wrong?

#4

I did some tests on my Nexus 7 and for some apps (non-Corona), the default is to show that gradient.  Other apps seem to start up without it.  I don’t know Android well enough to determine why one app would get it and others would not.  I’ll have to ask an engineer.

#5

This appears to happen on first load only because a bunch of libraries and resources are being loaded before the first activity window gets to show.  There isn’t an easy fix for this at the moment.

#6

Thanks Rob.

>> isn’t an easy fix

Not intending to beat a dead horse, but can I?  :D  Just to restate the obvious, as a check that I “got it”.

…so it occurs during some really low-level nuts and bolts Corona internal startup stuff, right?  So it occurs before anything I’m doing has a chance to cause it.  So I can at least relax that it’s not because I’ve require()'d (or failed to require()?) some certain library that slows/speeds loading, because all the delay happens before even line 1 of main.lua executes, right?  Would it be related *at all* to the final size of the APK, like more assets ~= more load delay?  Am assuming this would be the same 200ms (or so) that seems “missing” if you were to run this no-asset one-liner (on an actual device, listening via adb), right?:

print(tostring(system.getTimer()))
#7

Even the native facebook app has a gray gradient window on first start up on my Nexus 7 running 4.3.  So it’s low level nuts-and-bolts stuff that impacts other platforms besides Corona. 

I’m not going to say that app size doesn’t have an impact on how long it’s gray , but you’re not doing anything to cause it. 

#8

Great, thanks.

And apologies if my tone came across as a bit “accusatory” - not intended.  I did notice it on other apps as well… interestingly, using “Outfit 7”'s popular talking pets as an example:  their original “Talking Tom” launches right up to pure black, while their later “Talking Ginger” has a longgggg (~0.5 seconds, which seems an eternity to me :D, again, on Nexus 7) gray gradient on launch.

#9

Are you killing the app from running completely before running it?  It seems to be once it’s running/loaded, you don’t see the gradient.

#10

Yes - only the display during “launch” is at issue, no problem with “resume”.

#11

What device are you testing this on and what version of the OS is it running?   Most Corona apps, if you don’t have a Default.png, should flash black for a second until you load something on the screen.

#12

Thanks.  Nexus 7 (v1), 4.3.  (device is very “vanilla”, no fancy tweaks or anything)  Am building with stable 1137.  If it were black on launch I’d be delighted!, wonder what’s wrong?

#13

I did some tests on my Nexus 7 and for some apps (non-Corona), the default is to show that gradient.  Other apps seem to start up without it.  I don’t know Android well enough to determine why one app would get it and others would not.  I’ll have to ask an engineer.

#14

This appears to happen on first load only because a bunch of libraries and resources are being loaded before the first activity window gets to show.  There isn’t an easy fix for this at the moment.

#15

Thanks Rob.

>> isn’t an easy fix

Not intending to beat a dead horse, but can I?  :D  Just to restate the obvious, as a check that I “got it”.

…so it occurs during some really low-level nuts and bolts Corona internal startup stuff, right?  So it occurs before anything I’m doing has a chance to cause it.  So I can at least relax that it’s not because I’ve require()'d (or failed to require()?) some certain library that slows/speeds loading, because all the delay happens before even line 1 of main.lua executes, right?  Would it be related *at all* to the final size of the APK, like more assets ~= more load delay?  Am assuming this would be the same 200ms (or so) that seems “missing” if you were to run this no-asset one-liner (on an actual device, listening via adb), right?:

print(tostring(system.getTimer()))
#16

Even the native facebook app has a gray gradient window on first start up on my Nexus 7 running 4.3.  So it’s low level nuts-and-bolts stuff that impacts other platforms besides Corona. 

I’m not going to say that app size doesn’t have an impact on how long it’s gray , but you’re not doing anything to cause it. 

#17

Great, thanks.

And apologies if my tone came across as a bit “accusatory” - not intended.  I did notice it on other apps as well… interestingly, using “Outfit 7”'s popular talking pets as an example:  their original “Talking Tom” launches right up to pure black, while their later “Talking Ginger” has a longgggg (~0.5 seconds, which seems an eternity to me :D, again, on Nexus 7) gray gradient on launch.

#18

Are you killing the app from running completely before running it?  It seems to be once it’s running/loaded, you don’t see the gradient.

#19

Yes - only the display during “launch” is at issue, no problem with “resume”.