torstai 1. marraskuuta 2012

3D Gyro Compass v. 1.1 is out (and so is 1.11 and 1.12)

We've just released our first update to our popular 3D Gyro Compass app! This update brings you graphical improvements, better compass algorithm, and some bug fixes. 

For example, in the adventure mode the compass rings are now made of pure gold - a highly appreciated feature for all the archaeologists in the jungles of Amazon looking for the great treasures of the Incas. And do not worry, Mr. Jones, despite the high price of gold the app is still FREE.

Compass algorithm has also been improved. It should now work well in areas where magnetic vector is mostly perpendicular to the surface of the Earth, i.e. the Northern and Southern parts of the planet.

More updates are planned, so stay tuned.

UPDATE:
We received our first 1-star review just after the update to version 1.1 :( This user was having texture problems with Nexus 7, and wishing for faster start-up time.

So we went back to optimizing our package. We managed to reduce .apk size 35%, and boost start-up time from 20 seconds to just 6 s. The first start where you accept the EULA is special and still somewhat slow, but after that start-up time shouldn't be a problem anymore. Texture bugs are more difficult to address, especially when we don't have Nexus 7 devices yet and all our test phones seem to draw everything just fine. We'll have to come back to this when we have a device that shows the texture bug.

2ND UPDATE:
Nexus 7 devices became available on our local gadget shop yesterday, so went and bought one right away to be able to fix the texture bug. After a few hours of tinkering it turned out that the problem wasn't in the texture after all, the compass ball just wasn't lighted - it was plainly sitting in the dark! That was easy to fix. However, we still don't know why the existing lamp in the scene didn't work in Nexus 7 while it works fine in all other devices we have... another hit of Android fragmentation. Guess we'll be buying lots of test devices.

We also noticed that colors in Nexus 7 are quite washed out when compared for example to Galaxy S2. Well, now the adventure compass is coated with 24k gold like a real thing. Back to treasure hunting, then!

Version 1.12 will be available in Google Play shortly.

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