Position elements in percentage or pixels?

cocos2d-x
#1

When positioning my sprites (not UI), such as player, world top, floor, etc… should I be positioning with percentage or pixels?

worldCeiling->setPosition(origin.x, visibleSize.height - (visibleSize.height * 0.1) + origin.y);

or

worldCeiling->setPosition(origin.x, visibleSize.height - 128 + origin.y);

My confusion about this is because I’ve got multi-resolution support as such a big focus when using cocos2d, maybe even too much. I’m still getting my head around how multi-resolution support should be handled in a game.

I’m using C++ and designing for IOS.

#2

Entirely your call. I do both in every game I make depending upon what I need.

#3

Personally I always position in pixels, but pre-calculate percentages where that is relevant, so I will use a variable which is calculated using (e.g. float topBarheight = visibleSize.height * 0.1) and use that to set or check positions.

1 Like
#4

If I use pixels and never percentage, can I still make my game look good on multiple devices with the same code? Or is that when I need to use percentage positioning?

#5

I prefer calculations with percentage. It’s kind of more readable for me.

#6

You would need to adjust your math so each device used some soft of scale factor. and then multiply your position code by that scale factor. This is a common take. Something most developers do all the time.