Share My Creation 15Tiles Pro Edition

Edit: please find attached version 1.12; specific notes on post#35 below.

Hi all,

after much thought, I resolved to start a new thread for the Pro version of my 15Tiles game since it will evolve in a so different object from its ancestor that striving to keep them together will soon be pointless.
So, please find attached the most up-to-date release (v. 1.02) of 15Tiles Pro, a derivative of the game published for the Xmas mini-game competition.

​

New features:
2 players allowed on same device (yes, @RandomCoder this is for you )
up to 6 game modes available
new "smiley" theme
new incidental music (really incessant, you're warned )

Due to time limits and laziness (expecially the latter ) I had to cut some corners. My goal was mainly to be out as soon as possible with a version that allowed us to crown the Best 2014 player. So, although you may choose between 6 different game modes, only 3 of them at present record your score (countdown, moves and year2014).
Lastly, current release is still an off-line one, so to join the 2014 best player competition, just post your score in this thread.
We are all honest and nice people here, so I am sure no score-cheating will happen (btw, next release will automatically collect your scores so be advised..eheh).

Don't miss the opportunity to be elected Best 2014 Player. Post here your best score!

Player      Score
RandomCoder 3866 (0:29 - 94)
RandomCoder 3711 (0:52 - 134)
Spectre     3291 (1:20 - 124)
James Bond  3181 (1:21 - 104)
RandomCoder 3171 (0:28 - 86)

Competition will last until UTC midnight, January 31st.
Need more time? No problem. Compete for the Best 2015 Player!

Player     Score
udg        3164 (1.01 - 112)
sorex      3129 (1:12 - 92)

Oh, something that is surely counterintuitive: your personal score page only shows scores relating to the current game mode selected. A label reminds you about that, but it's better to know it beforehand. Yes, next release will show all the scores on a scrolling list so we will get rid off this nuisance.
For those who downloaded the Xmas edition: this is a separate project so your score is initially zero; any Xmas/winter graphics is gone, replaced by a new funny theme.

That's all for now.

Enjoy

Disclaimer: the game could lead to addiction. Use only when you're at the bus-stop or any other 5 minutes wait situation

 

[RandomCoder]

Let's start with the bugs.
1. Incorrect Splash screen on Nexus 7; now UI Cloud shows it right so it should be ok on your devices
2. Music not properly muting on game send to background selecting the Home screen button. Done.
3. Partial game mode list (at least on RC device..). Should have been fixed.
4. Score saving. It wasn't a real bug, but now it is far more clearer what goes on.

1. Splash screen confirmed fixed.
2. Thankfully confirmed fixed
3. Sorry, still no 2014 option. But 2015 mode now shows the score with a 2015 title so that bit is fixed.
4. Confirmed fixed. No lost scores yet and each mode has its own high score.

1. When playing a game, you can pause it and then start it again from where it left. Just use the first button (which changes icon accordingly to its actions). If you mean, stop a game and call for a new, different scheme..well, that was the original bahavior. I may reintroduce it but I should add a button to the command row.

Yes option to restart would be great. It's often clear that a highscore is not going to be achieved due to making a mistake and so it would be nice to stop and restart rather than have to finish the game.

Also, how about setting the game time increment to 30s increments? It's currently impossible to reduce below 1 minute and go for the ultimate highscore

Regards,
RandomCoder (Beta tester for 15 Tiles )

 

[sorex]

I had the 2014 mode since a few days ago.

what I see is that the list in your screenshot shows differently than on my phone where it is just a vertical list unlike your screenshot.

maybe the 2014 option went of the screen?

 

[RandomCoder]

I had the 2014 mode since a few days ago.

what I see is that the list in your screenshot shows differently than on my phone where it is just a vertical list unlike your screenshot.

maybe the 2014 option went of the screen?

Yes I thought that it might be out of sight, but your post gave me an idea... test in landscape!

Now the 2014 option appears but amazingly I lose the 2015 game mode

Sorry @udg

 

[RandomCoder]

2014 grid score..
Score 3711
Time 52
Moves 134

 

[udg]

@RandomCoder : you look really really addicted! Please, let your son have some fun too.. eheh

@ my beloved beta-testers (LucaMs, RandomCoder and Sorex in strict alphabetical order):
Today I'm gonna investigate about the disappearing labels mystery (ooohh).
I suspect a wrong dimensioning of the CustomListView containing the config panels, so first check will be about the Designer scripts.
The goal was to have a self-dimensioning panel based on allowed width. It's possibile that what you see (better, don't see) is simply due to faulting arithmetic, while on a narrower device everything seems ok because each radio button stays on its own row.

Late at night, when the whole family wil be asleep, try the 2015 grid..just to add a second score to that rank board too

 

[sorex]

how does the scoring get calculated?

 

[sorex]

can you publish it on the store so that we get the updates automatically?

 

[udg]

Hi sorex,

I've to check to be more accurate, but the score should be based on the "betting time" (the one you set in config, the shorter the better), on how long it took to complete the scheme (again, the shorter the better) and on the number of moves needed to solve the puzzle (the lesser the better).
Generally I play with a "betting time" of 2 o 3 minutes because my goal is more to solve the puzzle than to beat RC on high scores ..eheh
Anyway, both 2014 and 2015 grids seems easy enough to try the 1 minute ride!

Updating
Do you think the game "as is" is ready for the PlayStore? Maybe I could downgrade its name to be a Lite version and publish it...
Another option could be that to use my AppUpdating lib and post new releases on my server; that way current users will be invited to download and install (everything's automatic) newer releases on app's launch.
My considerations move mainly from the fact I believe a Pro app published on the Store really needs a server-based rank board (yes, I know those Google services but I prefer to do things my way) and a few more features.
One thing that calls for fixing even for an hypothetical Lite version is the switch from a map object to a sqlite db to hold the top scores. The former was chosen when the game had just one player and two game modes; considering that the sixth (daily) game mode alone could generate 365 scores time 2 players in a single year of operation..a db is much needed!

Thank you for you interest in my game. Please, go on with comments, hints, critics and suggestions; I really need them.

And don't forget to publish your 2014 and 2015 scores!

 

[sorex]

ok, I didn't touch the time setting at all. I just play it. Didn't know it had any effect on the score.

The game is good enough to publish, if there is an update just reupload it and it's online a few hours later for us.
I had to download it to a pc, rename it to doc or it wouldn't download at all as apk/zip/..., upload it to a local webserver and then I was able to download it
so I had to go through some hassle to get it to work and don't feel to do that every time

(I couldn't/can't access the forum on my phone as I don't recall the 20 chars random char password and I prefer a bigger screen anyway)

 

[sorex]

ok, installed the latest. will give it a try if colleagues aren't looking, lol

 

[udg]

ok, installed the latest. will give it a try if colleagues aren't looking, lol

Let them play too! Or are you saving them for the paid version? eh eh

I read about all the hassle you're facing when downloading an update. You deserve a prize only for that!
Meanwhile, my apologies for the inconvenience.

 

[sorex]

2015
3129
01:12
92 moves

can you see that overthere?

I can't see a score board in the app itself with the current bests

 

[sorex]

ignore the question, just re-read your update post and it's locally saving only. I thought it posted to a website already.

 

[udg]

Updated 2015 score board in post#1 with your score.

I can't see a score board in the app itself with the current bests

When you tap the third icon (the "cup") you should get a screen with the best score related to the currently selected game mode.
So, if your last game was the year2015 one, you should read something like:

<player1>: year 2015 competition
Best score: 3129
...

where "player1" is the label you set in the next to last panel on the config activity.

Edit: just saw you most recent post.

 

[udg]

15Tiles Pro ver. 1.12 published on post #1 above.

This release is intended solely to correct a subtle bug surfacing on some devices, as described below. So, if it's not your case you can easily disregard it, waiting for some new features to be delivered on a following release.

Bug description:
on some devices when your were in the configuration activity you were shown only a few of the 6 game modes available. That was due to some faulting code when taking in account different scale factors.
Thanks to the helpfulness and kindness of @RandomCoder it is fixed by now.

Don't forget to post your best scores!

 

[udg]

Best 2014 Player​

Ladies and gentlemen let's congratulate RandomCoder as the winner for our first annual best player competition!
He withstood the merciless incidental music, an ever growing muscle soreness and countless doze off (playing late in the night that's not uncommon..eheh).

So, how to best award all that? A lifetime free upgrade to any future release of the game (soon available from an online store).

Congratulations @RandomCoder !

 

[RandomCoder]

You forgot to mention the headaches, I just don't know if it was the music or the constant thinking that induced then

 

[udg]

It was definitely the music since it took you only 29secs for your best run and 52secs to win second place too!