Android native Splashscreen

cocos2d-x
#1

I need some help on creating a native splashscreen.

I mean the splash that use the png in drawable path.

In AndroidManifest.xml we have:

android:icon="@drawable/icon"

and it works.
But the default theme:

android:theme="@android:style/Theme.NoTitleBar.Fullscreen">

Doesn’t have the style:

<item name="android:windowBackground">@drawable/splash</item>

So what is the right way to proceed?

I have created styles.xml in res/values, with the following code:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
<style name="Theme.Splash" parent="android:Theme">
    <item name="android:windowBackground">@drawable/splash</item>
    <item name="android:windowNoTitle">true</item>
    <item name="android:windowFullscreen">true</item>
</style>
</resources>

And then in AndroidManifest.xml, my activity is:

<activity
  android:name="org.cocos2dx.cpp.AppActivity"
  android:label="@string/app_name"
  android:launchMode="singleTop" 
  android:screenOrientation="sensorPortrait"
  android:configChanges="orientation"
  android:theme="@style/Theme.Splash">
  <intent-filter>
    <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
    <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
  </intent-filter>
</activity>

The splash works, but then the activity don’t go fullscreen, it seems like a quarter of screen with the splashscreen behind, really strange.

Please help me with the right procedure to achieve this, thank you, I really don’t know what’s wrong.

Splash Screen for slow loading Android App
#2

It works for me, I’m using a theme with white background:

<color name="white">#FFFFFFFF</color>
<style name="SplashTheme" parent="android:style/Theme.NoTitleBar.Fullscreen">
  <item name="android:windowContentOverlay">@null</item>
  <item name="android:windowBackground">@color/white</item>
</style>

Please note: using a drawable in your splashscreen is not advised (Google recommends against it), because there is no way to keep the ratio using android:windowBackground. Instead, it’s better to have a dominant color (or transparent, some apps like Skype seem to do that), then show a proper splashscreen image using Java code (bonus: you can add a fade in transition).

I found the best splashscreen is to:

  • have a style on your main activity which defines the main color (white for me)
  • have an Android layout with same style and an ImageView. FadeIn the ImageView during onCreate
  • make the C++ code discard the splashscreen once your first scene is loaded (to avoid having a black screen between splashscreen and first scene). Some people use a fixed timer, but that’s bad practice in my opinion. Just enforce a minimum duration so that FadeIn transition is finished.
Change the android black screen on start?
#3

Thank you for answering me @Fradow

Ok I understand, but with Java code I’ve seen a lot of ppl doing it with a fixed timer and as you said is not good because every device has different loading speed.

The difficult thing for me is that if I do a separated Splashscreen.java activity, I don’t know how to load the main activity showing in the meantime the splash.

I come from a Cordova approach, that use the drawable folder, and for the device ratio I normally have used a splash9. (splash.9.png)

The strange thing in cocos2dx, is that the splash9 loads but the main activity of cocos2dx will display not in fullscreen, but it’s reduces to 1/6 of the screen… maybe some problem with drawable and opengl.
I’m trying to change something in Cocos2dxActivity, Cocos2dxRenderer and Cocos2dxGLSurfaceView, but no good results so far :frowning:

#4

I don’t know about splash9 way, it may work, it’s up to you to try.

What I do is that my Activity is a subclass of Cocos2dxActivity (I do not have a separate Splash activity), and add the splashscreen (a Dialoag) on top of the GLView while the C++ code loads. Once it finishes loading, a do a JNI call to tell the Java side it’s time to dismiss the splashscreen.

#5

Thank you for the hint @Fradow

Because I’m trying all the day but without success.
I’ve created a Splash Activity, but it’s always a fake Splash Screen.

If I use something like that:

  new Handler().postDelayed(new Runnable() {
   public void run() {
   finish();
   Intent mainIntent = new Intent(SplashScreen.this,org.cocos2dx.cpp.AppActivity.class);
   startActivity(mainIntent);
   }
  }, 2000);

or also without a timer:

mHandler = new Handler();
myRunnable = new Runnable() {
    @Override
    public void run() {
        Intent intent = new Intent(SplashScreen.this, org.cocos2dx.cpp.AppActivity.class);
        startActivity(intent);
        finish();
    }
};

But it doesn’t work like a real SplashScreen/LoadingScreen.

It loads the drawable (also the Splash9), but THEN it loads the cocos2dx main activity where I have all the preload data that I can’t move to other places.

Your solution seems good if the Splash is showing WHILE the code loads.
So I have to look something to create a Dialog on top of the GLView…

Just a doubt, so for loading mainactivity in background don’t you start a new Intent in the Splash Activity?

#6

That’s the whole point of a splashscreen: showing it while the code loads.

I’m not sure you can load another Activity in the background while showing another. My method does not use a splash activity. I do not have to load a new Intent.

Here is my SplashDialog class: https://github.com/FenneX/FenneX/blob/cocosV3.3/proj.android/src/com/fennex/modules/SplashDialog.java

It is instanciated and destroyed by my main activity: https://github.com/FenneX/FenneX/blob/cocosV3.3/proj.android/src/com/fennex/modules/ActivityResultNotifier.java (in my apps, the main activity is a subclass of that one, and implements methods to tell what’s the theme and splash ImageView are, so that FenneX does not have any dependency to the project resources)

#7

Thank you very much, I’ll keep updated, when I’m done!