Browsers

[ExtraStiffy]

As I've stated elsewhere, I have utterly ZERO knowledge in programming. I can use a computer fairly well, well enough, anyway, but I don't understand the what-nots & where-fors that go into the various programming languages. I couldn't tell you the difference between C++ and a "C" cup bra. Well... I could, but only because I understand what a "C" cup is.
Having said that, I'm curious if there is a "Good, better, best" in browsers. I Have Chrome, IE (whatever version), and Firefox installed, and find, for myself anyway, that Firefox is the best platform for these types of games. Chrome is my default for general browsing, and as a rule I HATE IE (mostly because I grew tired of Microsoft deciding what newfangled crap that I absolutely HAD TO HAVE crammed into my browser). Is there a general consensus here on which is the best browser platform to use?

[tlaero]

As a developer of browser-based erotic games as well as the tool a number of us use to make said games, I'll say that no browser has held back development of the art more than Firefox. Countless times I've had to throw away techniques and advances that worked in Chrome and IE but not Firefox. Other times I've had to come up with special tricks to get Firefox to work. And, if you feel the sound effects in my later games contributed to the eroticism, you can solely blame Firefox for the early games' silence.

Chrome is nice, but you've got to start it with a special code to make local cookies, and thus the games, work. Other than that, it's never caused me any problems.

IE 9 and 10 have been solid for me. I've never had any issue with them. Prior versions are substantially inferior, though.

That said, it's a browser, not a religious battle. You should use whatever browser meets your needs. If they all do, then you should use the one that you think looks the nicest. They each have enough market share that developers are forced to make things work in all three.

Tlaero

[ExtraStiffy]

For example, on Wolfshadowe's BEW, if I try to play it in Chrome, on hard setting, I get just the bare-bones minimum of scenes - almost like I'm getting "page 1" of each of the scene sets. I can greet Emily, but not approach to pick up the papers, and so on. It just runs a very short, 100% failure scenario, from start to finish, and incorporates maybe 8 scenes altogether, terminating at the at home living room scene where you're looking at a soccer/football match on TV. When I run it through on IE or Firefox, I get all the goodies, all the way to the end, in the lounge seating at the bar.

I guess what I'm asking is, is this a problem that other users have with one browser platform or another, or is it something with my own settings, and can someone tell me how to change/modify them so that it doesn't happen again in the future?

[Rikwar]

Often it just depends on what version of the browser your using be it IE, Firefox, or Chrome !
personaly I've been using an older version of Firefox '21' and all games run just fine, audio as well

[ttant]

Is there a general consensus here on which is the best browser platform to use?

No there is not. It's like you ask what' the better brand for car. Some will answer japaneese, other american and some other french, and so one. It depends mainly of your utilisation.

In my case, i prefer to use Opera 12 then seamonkey, then ie 10 over chrome or firefox. It's my opinion, you can share it too or not.

In more common sense, developpers try to avoid old IE version due to the lack of performance and functionnality. But i can assure you that ie 10/11 is not so far behind chrome or firefox. The only bad point is no support for XP for theses versions.

In my pont of view, i prefer to use opera (dragonfly , so v12 and under) or IE debugger than the one given with mozilla (firefox/seamonkey/etc) or chrome-like.

Nevertheless, if you are develloping a web site, it's still prefereable to test it on different plateform and different webbrowser (or at least, the last version of the major browser).

[ExtraStiffy]

See... that's my problem. I don't know what it is that I don't know. To phrase it in slightly different terms: Okay, so you can drive a stick shift. But, you can't take that same knowledge of driving a stick shift, and apply it to driving a hi-lo split (non-synchronous) transmission.

Before driving - more specifically learning to drive one - I couldn't tell you what the difference was either. Because I lacked the knowledge of what it was I didn't know.

Getting back to the programming aspect, why is it that Company A makes a product that is jam-packed full of extras, while Company B makes a product that is more stable, while Company C makes one that is more user/programmer/developer-friendly?

Shouldn't the whole "free-market" aspect have created one that covers all the bases by now? Or did they, and I'm just using the wrong one/wrong version?

I can build custom cabinets, hand-carve details on any porous substrate, rewire your house, drive any land-based form of conveyance, oh, and hit a doorknob-sized target with a reliable handgun at any distance up to 40 feet (13 meters), all while using Oxonian English, diagramming sentences and conjugating verbs. Why can't I figure out programming? Actually, I think I already know the answer to that one, so it's largely rhetorical.

[ttant]

At start of the web, lots of companies try to do something. the first which was really something "huge" was mozaic.
A little after, the ie vs netscape war begin, which was more on the favor of Netscape until they stop developping it.
Then mozilla (suite at the time, firefox was not even call firefox) used the open-source of netscape (7.2 if i remember correctly) to do the 1.4 version of the mozilla suite.
Netscape dispear, chrome was not born yet, XP got more and more market share and IE 6 become the most used web-browser.
As there was no other competitor with enought market share, IE dev was almost stopped until Microsoft got a blame by the UE( because they impose IE with windows). Microsft answer it with the ballot screen.
At the same time, company like google, divx, adobe, etc. tried to push firefox with their software download "for a better web experience".
Google didn't really approve mozilla choice, and start to do their own browser using the only other good free/open source layout engine : webkit.
As google doesn't support the strategy made by apple for webkit they duplicate the code and create blink.

From my point of view :
* ie is often used as default browser by people who don't know (or care) about alternative. It works everywhere (due to the importance of Microsoft operating system)
* Firefox was the "real" first alternative since netscape and now, it's only used by the first persons who leave IE or people who don't want a chrome (or chrome like browser).
* chrome is used by most of people who doesn't want to use IE (on MS platform) because it's fast, secure and google-made.
* opera (12, not the 15+ version) is used by people who know it exists, and who succeed to adopt it (it's not easy, but the tons of native features was worth it). Now it's just a chrome like browser with no real plus (actually, maybe future versions like v25 will have something new)
* maxthon, qupzilla, ironsware, iceweasel and other are use by a minority of people, who know these alternatives and found something else from other major browser (not google, real open source, etc. )

In my case, i still use opera 12 as main browser at home, because other web-browser doesn't have its feature (multiple display interface, native adblock, dragonfly, etc.) and seamonkey/ie as backup. A t work i only use opera from dev channel (to find when i will do the switch from v12) and IE.

Now, i don't recommend one web browser more than an other, as opera 12 won't last long now.
Firefox and chrome have almost the same feature and the same extension catalog, so there is no point here. the only advantage of chrome above firefox is the editor.
As google provides a lots of web services (gmail, calendar, youtube), they will never have critical issue on chrome (if google decide to do something specific on its webservice, chrome will always be able to display it correctly. Mozilla might have issue to follow, especially if google decide to use something that mozilla can't support, like audio codec in html 5: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTML5_Audio). But using chrome can also give google full control of your web utilisation... So try different web-browser to find the one which suit you

[tlaero]

For example, on Wolfshadowe's BEW, if I try to play it in Chrome, on hard setting, I get just the bare-bones minimum of scenes - almost like I'm getting "page 1" of each of the scene sets.

Did something similar happen for you with Coffee for Keisha? Did you start Chrome with the setting that enables local cookies? The Coffee for Keisha readme explains how to do that.

I do my development in IE10 (will be IE11 soon) and test briefly in Chrome and Firefox. So for my games, IE is best, but the other two should work too.

Tlaero

[ExtraStiffy]

Hmm... I don't recall. I know I played that one through on Firefox. Now I'm curious... I'll have to go back and check.