Request for Corona Simulator to do multitouch

Solar2D General Questions/Discussion
#1

Hi Corona,

It would be very useful for the Corona Simulator to be able to simulate multitouch with the mouse like the apple iOS emulator does - for instance, a pinch-zoom gesture. It is very time consuming to have to do a remote build, uninstall the app, and install the app on a device before being able to test such inputs. 

It looks like there is already a feature request for this: http://feedback.coronalabs.com/forums/188732-corona-sdk-feature-requests-feedback/suggestions/3621250-simulator-multitouch-events-support

Please help!

Thanks

#2

You have two solutions for that now:

  1. Use CoronaViewer, that way you can debug realtime on your device without having to rebuild and install the app

  2. This code here that creates pitch zoom enables you to simulate multi touch events on the simulator. Each tap on screen it assumes that the tap continues pressing the screen (double tap to release it) so you can debug your multi touch code.

#3

Both are great solutions. If you find the code in the tutorial a bit cumbersome, be reassured that the process of creating fake touches is pretty easy because, as Renato says, all it is doing is creating circles which can be dragged and they fire touch events when moved.

The one drawback with that approach is that the fake touch events will not fall through to display objects below them, so if you really need realistic touch events use the CoronaViewer.

#4

@Renato - Thanks for the interim solutions! Unfortunately I already have custom pinch zoom code integrated into my app and changing it out would be a rather large pain. CoronaViewer can’t help me either because I develop on a PC and CoronaViewer is only for Mac so it looks like I’m still stuck :frowning:

I wish Corona would just put in basic functionality like this instead of working on fluff.

#5

I may be wrong, but I don’t think Corona Viewer is only for MAC. 

#6

Oh I think your right… I misread the blog post. It currently only supports iOS deployment (beta). So does that mean I can run my app on my iOS device, but use CoronaViewer on my PC?

#7

Well I use here on both iOS & Android.

Yes, you would work on your project code on your computer and the app on your device would refresh automatically as soon as you save the file (the same way the Simulator works)

#8

So do I. In fact, I often develop my code on an iPad and test on my iPhone.

#9

I definitely support this idea ! :slight_smile:

I mainly work on my PC, and going to my Mac to build my app and then test it on my device is definitely time consuming, especially if you’re trying to tweak your app.

And yeah, Corona Viewer seems great, but it’s for pro only (or has it changed ?). And the workaround is nice, but it’s still a workaround. I don’t think we should need to write more code to simulate something on a… simulator.

It feels a lot more important since Windows 8 has been released (which has been now for a long time…) : my laptop and my Surface Pro have both touch screens and it’s pretty frustrating to not being able to fully test your app in the simulator.

#10

I don’t see a CoronaViewer as workaround… it works really great and have saved me a lot of time.

I don’t know if it is Corona Pro only, but if it were, I think it is just one more good reason for people upgrade. Everybody loves free stuff but Corona has also to pay it bills. 

#11

+1. 

#12

CoronaViewer is for Pro and Enterprise subscribers.   I understand that there are more and more touch screen computers, but multi-touch with a mouse is pretty difficult.

I’m sure we will consider it at some point in the future when there are a higher install base of touch screens.

Rob

#13

Don’t get me wrong : I have absolutely nothing with the fact that CoronaViewer (or even Corona) has a price :wink: Especially given the fact how usefull CoronaViewer seems to be. But I think its main strenght is that you can iterate tests and debug almost directly on device, not testing “basic input”.

Because, I do believe multi touch is “basic input” for touch devices, and now that touch screens are getting more important (even if, to be honest, I don’t know how much important they actually are…), it would be a nice addition to the simulator. And i’m not speaking of getting multi-touch with mouse which seems complicated to me (more because of the user experience, which would be too different than real life experience). I’m just talking about … well, adding touch support for Windows 8 and incoming 9 :slight_smile:

That said, I do understand your points of view, or even the reality of the market :slight_smile: I’m just supporting the idea, because of my very own experience !

#14

You have two solutions for that now:

  1. Use CoronaViewer, that way you can debug realtime on your device without having to rebuild and install the app

  2. This code here that creates pitch zoom enables you to simulate multi touch events on the simulator. Each tap on screen it assumes that the tap continues pressing the screen (double tap to release it) so you can debug your multi touch code.

#15

Both are great solutions. If you find the code in the tutorial a bit cumbersome, be reassured that the process of creating fake touches is pretty easy because, as Renato says, all it is doing is creating circles which can be dragged and they fire touch events when moved.

The one drawback with that approach is that the fake touch events will not fall through to display objects below them, so if you really need realistic touch events use the CoronaViewer.

#16

@Renato - Thanks for the interim solutions! Unfortunately I already have custom pinch zoom code integrated into my app and changing it out would be a rather large pain. CoronaViewer can’t help me either because I develop on a PC and CoronaViewer is only for Mac so it looks like I’m still stuck :frowning:

I wish Corona would just put in basic functionality like this instead of working on fluff.

#17

I may be wrong, but I don’t think Corona Viewer is only for MAC. 

#18

Oh I think your right… I misread the blog post. It currently only supports iOS deployment (beta). So does that mean I can run my app on my iOS device, but use CoronaViewer on my PC?

#19

Well I use here on both iOS & Android.

Yes, you would work on your project code on your computer and the app on your device would refresh automatically as soon as you save the file (the same way the Simulator works)

#20

So do I. In fact, I often develop my code on an iPad and test on my iPhone.