Bridging The 6.5 GAPI

Some of you have already taken the leap into 6.5 and the rest of us will eventually make it there as well. But most people using 6.5 will run into some problems with games. The reason is because of GAPI. Who?

The Games API (GAPI) was a technology that allowed Windows Mobile 2003 applications to quickly draw graphics onto the device screen. It also contained functions that allowed an application to request all button press messages, even the ones that were normally intercepted by the Windows Mobile operating system.

The graphics component of GAPI was replaced by DirectDraw (which allowed hardware acceleration) in Windows Mobile 5.0. Application compatibility was maintained so that older programs would still work.

Oh…that GAPI:) That quote, from a Windows Mobile Team Blog goes on to state (emphasis added) “Although some devices may still support GAPI, there is no longer a requirement for device manufacturers or mobile operators to ship or test for compatibility with GAPI.  This means that applications that require GAPI will provide an unpredictable experience for users on Windows Mobile 6.5 devices.” Crap…so what do we do about older games? Just use this application created by aceviper2 to enable GAPI so you can play games again…man that was close:)

For my two cents, I understand that MS is trying to force the issue and that ultimately leads to a lot better game performance but it’s still hard to swallow that they would take it this far. Thanks again to aceviper2 and to Brian who pointed this out in our comments to Numpty Physics.