Surface Pro 3

Hi Guys,

Just wondering do you think a surface pro 3 would be fine for developing with Construct2 I realise its not the best option but its to use it as a portable development environment. The main reason I am concerned is the fact that it uses the Intel HD graphics and the recommendations for construct is to not use the Intel graphics as its support is lacking, is this still true? Is anyone using a Surface Pro 3? My only other option was to get a Macbook Air and bootcamp it.

Thanks

Kind Regards

Chris

If it has a keyboard and mouse option, it would probably be fine. Construct 2's UI is probably a bit finnicky to use with finger touches.

Personally, I'm really hyped on a Surface 3. Mostly because I like to draw and the wacom stylus is absolutely stunning. I am a happy owner of a Surface Pro 1 and I have c2 installed, but the screen is way too small for it to be nice developer experience. Surface 3, however, have a little bigger screen.

If your sole purpose are developing and you aren't a graphic artist, I would look for a laptop.

Im not an artist, I just want a small form factor light mobile way to do dev with construct. Plus I was thinking I could attach a full screen if needed at work. I was playing with the surface 3 in pc world today and it is very very nice and snappy. My only concern was with the Intel graphics drivers is that still an issue?

This is from the https://www.scirra.com/manual/6/system-requirements post.

"A nVidia or AMD graphics card with latest drivers. We recommend you avoid any hardware using Intel graphics chips due to their poor performance, stability, and feature set."

Dell XPS is a better option from what I've seen. Linus tech tips goes over quite a few problems with the surface pro.

Thanks for your help guys, yeah its a tricky one I don't think the things Linus Tech mentions puts me off too much (funny guy to listen to though and very good review so thanks for the heads up on that). I do like the XPS's my only thing is I would like to see one and feel one and I can't really do that without buying it

Yeah if you've already got to try one out and are happy with it then by all means go for it. I only bring it up because I was also looking to get a Surface Pro 3 so I'm not glued to my computer desk when working on games, but learned it has some 'issues'. I suppose it's a matter of preference as the specs are pretty similar. As for the integrated gpu..there aren't too many options under $1000 :T

Yeah the more and more I read the more and more I'm put off but can't help myself thinking about how nice it would be to just have it next to me have a wave of creativity boot up construct and experiment or sketch an idea out with the stylus. I'll keep the post up to date and let you know how it goes if I get a surface! Or if I've decided against it.

I use a Samsung Ativ Smart Pro (equivalent to Surface Pro 2) with an intel i5 with HD4000 graphics and it is 100% fine for C2 development. Updated drivers mean the integrated GPU can do all the WebGL effects fine and with decent performance.

Surface 2 PRO is a fine tool; I've tried it several times, and tested many types of applications on it. A solid Windows (8.1) experience.

I'd think that the major drawback for using it with Construct 2, is the small screen size vs. high resolution. This gives you an insane PPI, which can make stuff hard to see and work with.

Also worth mentioning is that Surface Pro 3 has arrived;

microsoft.com/surface/da-dk ... face-pro-3

• Even if you don't need those specs, the Surface Pro 2 price will drop signicantly, as the Pro 3 replaces the Pro 2 on the store shelves.

One major drawback on the Pro 3, is that the pen touch is made by N-Trig, whereas Pro 2 has Wacom pen touch.

I by FAR prefer Wacom; not because the precision is all that much better than N-Trig when we're talking these types of screens, but the DRIVER that N-Trig provides, is worth less than a stick in a dog shit. Photoshop, Paint Tool SAI etc. all requires a working WINTAB driver, for them to support pressure sensitive pen input; and N-Trig's Wintab driver is the worst - barely working, if at all. There's forum threads all over the internet with people having had and still having issues getting the damn thing to work; whereas Wacom always just works.

So for me, the Surface Pro 2 is the most interesting, especially because I don't need the 2160x1440 resolution of the Pro 3.

jakobdam Yeah thanks for that, I was looking into getting the Pro3. Im drawn at the moment, the Surface Pro 3 looks awesome I love the portability the Docking Station sounds awesome (having up to 5 screens connected) even though im not an artists the ability to sketch out an idea or concept is very appealing. However I then think price wise I could get an Macbook Pro 13" retina twice the ram twice the space more powerful CPU and Graphics (Intel Iris) and bootcamp it for Construct. So it almost seems stupid to go for the Surface (even though I still think I will haha not much for common sense obviously!).

Cheers

Chris

Ah yes - but in my opinion, the Macbook Pro and the Surface each have their strengths and weaknesses. I see what you're getting at though, and there's one more thing you may find appealing with the Macbook; it's a Mac - which means you can submit content to appstore from it. I'm an avid Windows user, but I love the iPhone and iPad, and I'm considering my options for a Mac right now. Money is not the issue, but getting a thing that I can stand is what I need to decide; I'm probably gonna go cheap and buy a used Mac Mini, because about the only thing I'm gonna use it for, will be submitting the damn apps & games to the AppStore. ^_^

If I were not interested in submitting to the appStore, however, I wouldn't go Mac; yeah sure, boot camp makes running Windows natively (no virtualization) possible, but having two different eco systems on one computer, will give me desaturated hairs in unwanted places. ^_^

Hehe yeah that is true, I actually own a iMac and a Mid 2010 macbook pro 13" model so I don't need it for submission to the store so its the toss up of upgrading that or the surface I think ill just have to take the plunge in the next few days and hope I make the right choice!!

Thanks again Jakobdam for your replies

Cheers

I used a Surface Pro 2 for developing my first game while I was travelling in Australia and it was a breeze. Being able to swap between drawing on Photoshop to developing on Construct without the need of any extra drawing tablets was my main requirement and it is perfect for that.

Me and my girlfriend also used it to watch movies, play most indie games (Nuclear Throne, Don't Stave -e.t.c.) as well as edit photos we took and skype home to family.

I honestly couldn't recommend it more highly, I still use mine a fair amount even though I'm back to my £3000 gaming Rig that I use to play Nuclear Throne, Don't Stave -e.t.c. and use to create 2D games.

I'm currently using a Surface Pro 3 for developing Twisted Fusion for Wii U. Allot of stuff I can do without the keyboard and just the stylus which is great for mobility. Can do dev work on the game from any location which has come in handy. Would definitely recommend if you considering and its in your budget.