Beta test: Complex number explorer

Project Beta
61

Nothing I can think of, break a leg!

62

I have checked your last release. Since you want to release it, and to fulfill your request, I will focus on major problems (in my opinion) for sby who starts your app first time.
1/ the startup comment is great, but it goes too fast for me. I really miss a close button on the bottom of the comment, to decide myself when to remove it. Also it doesnt come back after first start. Often i pass too fast the first explanations when starting an app, then i want to read them again. But there is no way (i think?) to bring it back. An “info” button to bring is screen back would be nice for me.

What is the first thing i would do in such an app? Run the demo! So i think:
2/ there should be a “start the demo” button on start up screen. The present demo button is quite discrete.
3/ the demo again is running too fast. And text change in parallel with animation is not good, i cant watch both. what would be pleasant and easy for me: the text is shown with a button to go to next step, which will be “animate” if you want to run the animation, or “more” if you want to continue your sentence or “next” if you want to start another chapter of the demo (only one button at bottom, but the name changes).
4/ and the character size in the demo is really too small. Use bigger characters, make more screens?

This i just my opinion, some people might think differently. I have the feeling it is very important to have a good start with an app, and to really polish the beginning sequence.

63

@Jmv38 Latest build:

  1. Startup comment now waits for you to double-tap to remove (and it says so). It is basically contentless so I haven’t obviously provided a way to get it back after the first run (though if you do customise->reset all values then it will return).

  2. Startup comment explicitly tells you how to run the demo.

  3. The demo now has lots of pauses in it and there’s a “skip” option to go to the next step.

  4. The demo text is bigger (done by removing the main menu when the demo is in force).

I know that the help text is, in general, quite small. But I want it to be on screen but not taking up screen space. I’ve been pondering how to make an iPhone version and for that then the help texts and menus would be on a separate screen. If I get that working (though that’ll be after I publish this one, I think, as it would be a fairly hefty revision) then I’d make it an option on the iPad one to run with the same setup.

64

I checked the last build. My comments:

  • good size for text on all start screen and demo.
  • good pace for the demo.
  • last demo screen has a pb: the example do not run, the buttons disappear, the app is locked in demo mode. Had to kill the app and restart, then ok.
  • the demo animation shows too many things: i am getting lost and i dont understand what is happening with addition and multiplication (while i already know the app). Just one point example could be nough maybe?
  • suggestion: double tap to ‘continue demo’?
    Good job!
65

@Jmv38 Can you test the demo again? I couldn’t reproduce that error.

66

The problem is when the tap is very quick (maybe touch and move out of button, i dont know exactly)

67

@Jmv38 Ooooh, that was subtle! Thanks for catching that one.

68

Well, that is just my 'normal tap", so that was not so difficult to find for me… :slight_smile:

69

A very minor bug - even though the precision selector allows up to 9 decimal places, the on screen values don’t ever get more precise the 5 decimal places (not that I’m after that level of precision mind you!)

70

@West I might just leave that one in - it would need a bit of work on my number spinner to limit the range more precisely than by the number of digits. I’ll put that down as a “TODO”.

71

Version 1.9 checked:

  • quIck tap: now does nothing instead of loosing menu : OK.
  • upside down: no problem. OK.
72

Version 1.11 checked: no problem.

73

@Jmv38 Thanks. How do you like the tap-to-continue on the demo?

74

It is good. But still a bit ‘unatural’ for 2 reasons:

  • when i tap on the side panel it does not respond => took me some time to understand it was ‘display panel only’.
  • at some moment, at the end of the demo (roots) there is some delay, and is is not clear if the tap has been seen or not (there is no visual feed back as a spinning wheel or so). So i tap again and this stops the demo. And i dont know it because no visual feedback. After some time i figured out what was going on.
    This is not so important, but just to let you know.
    And i still think there is a bit too much happening in the demo: people wont understand what is going on. But the really interested ones will figure it out anyway, so maybe it doesnt matter.
    When will you release it?
75

How do you sign up for testing? :smiley:

76

I’ve uploaded this to the App Store. I could go on tweaking it until the cows go imaginary, but figured it was time to draw a line in the sand.

Many, many thanks to all who commented. Further comments when it’s released are, of course, welcome.

77

Oh, and thanks to @Reefwing for his tutorials on uploading to the App Store. Very useful.

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@Andrew_Stacey - glad they were useful. Good luck with the app.

79

I wonder how many people will load it, it is so special. Please let us know!

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@Andrew_Stacey What’s the app called? I am curious of it’s looks, and I can’t find it on the App Store