Gamercide Android App ("Beta")

March 9, 201214 yr

Gamercide Android App ("Beta")

Your favorite Grim Reaper, now for Android!

Background:

Due to a workforce reduction, my position as Programmer Analyst was recently eliminated. To sharpen up my Java skills from school I decided to start doing some Java programming again. One thing turned into another and I started learning the basics of the Android SDK. Then a few days ago, an idea for an app for the forums came up. I decided I would take what I learned and create an app that would fix some of the pet-peeves I had about our current mobile interface (sorry Dat. lol). First it was just a web browser, then I added a few bells and whistles, then it came to the point where I thought the app would be something worth sharing. After positive feedback to go forward with the idea I am now releasing an early version of the (if I can call it this) "Official" Gamercide App for Android.

How to install:

Click the download link above (From your PC or phone)
If you downloaded the app from your PC, Place it somewhere on the SD card for your phone
Before installing, be sure to allow your device to install apps from unknown sources
Browse for the .apk file for the app and select it (If you do not have a file browser on your phone, here is one I recommend)
Press "Install"

**Please Note**

This app is in a "beta" stage as it has only been tested by me and I am unfortunately not perfect

If you come across any bugs or force closes let me know and I'll do my best to fix them.

Features:

Custom post font

Set up by pressing the menu button, go to More... and Edit Post Font and enter the BBcode tags you use for your custom font and color (Default will be mine).
You can copy your custom post font to the clipboard anytime by going into the menu and selecting Copy Font Settings.
When replying to a post, paste your font code by long-pressing in the textbox and select paste.

New Content

Set up by pressing the menu button, go to More... and New Content Settings and select your viewing preference (Default is 1 week).
To view new content, simply press the menu button, then select New Content
Cool shortcut!! - Simply press the search button on your phone and the new content windows will appear

Title Bar

On the New Content page, your current view setting will be shown (ex. week)
When using the private messaging system, the title bar will display "Personal Messenger"
Cool Feature!! - When viewing a topic, the topic title will appear in the title bar

Jump to last post in a thread

When viewing a topic, there will be another menu option called Last Post. Title speaks for itself.

Other features

Progress bar
Quick navigation to board index via menu option
Refresh page via menu option
Pressing the back button on the phone works just like pressing the back button in a browser
External links (ex. Domains that do not belong to gamercide.org) will launch in the phone's default browser
Options to log in or navigate to the personal messenger can be access by going to the menu and selecting more
Other items I may have put in and forget to mention here (nothing bad, I promise! My memory isn't the greatest if I don't write stuff down)

Screenshots:

You want some screenshots?

How bout these?

Tech Stuff:

Minimum Android Version: 2.1

Permissions: android.permission.INTERNET (duh)

Known bugs:

If a thread has HTML elements in it (ex. <iframe>) some options will not work properly. This can only be fixed by leaving the tread that is causing the issue.
Some topic titles will not be formatted correctly due to them being generated from URLs that contain escape characters.
The login option under the More... menu will always show, even if a user is logged in. This is because I have yet to figure out a way to make the app aware that a user is logged in.

Change Log:

v0.9.2 - Fixed issue where forums would launch in browser instead of app

v0.9.1 - Fixed occasional force close issue when starting app, fixed typo I noticed

v0.9 - Initial beta release

Additional Comments

If enough people like it and I am sure the app is stable, I may consider paying the fee to put the app on the Android Marketplace.

Edited April 19, 201214 yr by Skylark95

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March 9, 201214 yr

Oh hell yes! Thanks for making this, Sky!

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March 9, 201214 yr

You the man Sky. Seriously, way to go. Looks really cool!

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March 10, 201214 yr

This looks cool, and I hope it boosts some posts.

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March 11, 201214 yr

Really wish I could help test this, but I don't have a device that'll let me. Hopefully some members that have Android phones will step up and let us all know how it works.

Thanks again, Sky. This is beyond cool.

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March 15, 201214 yr

Author

App updated. See change log above for details.

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March 15, 201214 yr

Cool, i'll download later and install it.

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March 16, 201214 yr

No offense here Sky. The mobile skin is just the default that comes with ipboard. Looks like a great little app.

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April 12, 201214 yr

This could use a bump, and for those without an android phone the forum mobile skin has improved some with the latest update. Not as good as this app, but less frustrating than the previous skin.

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April 16, 201214 yr

Author

Download link updated.

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April 19, 201214 yr

Author

Due to some website changes that were probably made by Dat, the app is not currently working properly. My guess it a hostname issue which is very easy to fix. Will have an update shortly.