[QUASI-NEW APP] word puzzle game

EDIT: FIXED MANY MANY BUGS, changed/updated the layout, removed keyboard entry method.
Crude webpage with .apk download: http://www.finnote.com/jumble (also available on market under "andJumble" or you can find just by searching for "jumble"

History:
I wrote a word scramble/jumble game as a pet project and published it to the market place. Its beta and my first app so be kind. Basically I was curious how hard it would be to create multiplayer games.
At first I built a tcpserver and client in the app and had it go out to a matching server, then the one handset would be switched to server mode, and the second would disconnect from the matching server and connect to that host. Of course this worked perfectly on wifi, but with cell connections, the cell provider's NAT prevents the connection so now I have the matching server handle the communication throughout the life cycle of an online game.
If you like word scramble games, please give it a try and give me some feedback. I'm not exactly a master programmer nor graphics guy, like I mentioned its just a pet project.

FEATURES

* >60,000 words in supplied database
* ability to create your own word database and use it alone, or in conjunction with system database
* ability to set system words to be ignored
SOLO GAME PLAY
* option to change the # of rounds per game
* option to change the minimum and maximum word size for the game
* option to change the seconds per round and delay between rounds
* Option to see hints on incorrect guesses
* Three modes: Exact match: round advances when you form a word using ALL the letters, Anagram: round advances when you find all possible words that use ALL the letters, Scrabble mode: Round advances when you find all possible words of 4 or more letters from the supplied letters

BLUETOOTH HEAD TO HEAD:
* Multiplayer head to head match over bluetooth - play against a friend.
* Chat to send text messages during game using keyboard

NETWORK (Lan & cellular)
* Multiplayer Network head to head play
* Game toggles host each round so neither player has unfair advantage due to network (cellular) latency
* Can enter a username/pwd to save your online record
* Can enter a game code you could share with someone else and you will only be matched with someone who enters the same game code
* Chat to send text messages during game using keyboard
* JumbleBot generally online that will serve as opponent for online play if no one else is connected.

and Its FREE!! (has a few ads - i'm just playing with admob at the same time)

Please check it out and give me some feedback - tested with N1 and Motorola Droid. Just search for andJumble, or just jumble.
Here are some updated screenshots:


Thanks!!

Hmm - thats odd. It requires 2.01 or higher (sdk 6)

I can find it on market with Rooted Droid running 2.1 on Verizon and with unrooted Nexus 1 on AT&T running 2.1 update 1 just by searching for "jumble"

anyone unable to see it on market? I wonder if its an export issue? I've never posted to market before so don't know all the issues there might be.

the .apk is at http://www.finnote.com/jumble/Source/aJumble.apk

stooby said:

Hi, I couldn't find this in the Android Market.

I'm running 2.1 on a rooted Milestone if that helps.

Thanks

-------------------------------------
Sent from my Milestone via the XDA Tapatalk App

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

maybe this works?

Beta 0.5.19 uploaded to market - fixed Bluetooth head-to-head which was totally broken before and I didn't realize it

stooby said:

I definitely couldn't find it in the market so it may be because I'm in the UK.

I've downloaded it from your direct link and I'll give it a go.

I'll post my feedback in this thread.

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

Thanks. BTW there a new version (on updated link on first post) that fixes a lot of issues.

The network head to head works well when i've managed to find an opponent - but with only around 100 downloads, I basically have to stare at the matching server to see when someone joins. I think for the network version to be really good it needs thousands of downloads so there are always a few people online - but I really don't know how to get that kind of penetration. And the fact it doesn't seem to appear outside the US (if you are any example) isn't helping

fixed just a few bugs :/
Version 24 (Beta 0.5.24)

• NETWORK GAME Fixed funkyness with username failing to register
• NETWORK GAME fixed password reset on playAgain()

Version 21 (Beta 0.5.23)

• Added ability to set network game password so you will only be joined with another person who entered the same passwordNETWORKGAME: fixed possible force close event on quitting a network game while queued for the first time (or application locking up)
• GENERAL: fixed possible force close when in button mode but not AutoCentering buttons

Version 20 (Beta 0.5.22)

• added toast for network game to let people know to use the letter buttons for guessing and the keyboard for chatting.
• Added ability to set preferences for game button behavior (auto centering or not)

Version 19 (Beta 0.5.22)

• Changed button view "keyboard" buttons to make them more consistent and pressable
• NETWORK, BLUETOOTH, BTNMODE: Added option on main screen to autocenter buttons. Default is true. When false, the unused letters will remain in place.
• Cleaned up footprint of main page, removed lots of unused garbage.
• Marginally increased "intelligence" of jumblebot. He was too slow before.
• NETWORK: Added notification when difficulty auto-increases.

Version 18 (Beta 0.5.21)

• WORD MANAGEMENT: can now find words starting with, containing exactly the search characters, or all possible words from containing any of the search characters (results limited to words 4 or more characters). Handy for cheating at scrabble I guess
  

ALSO a feature that people might not know:

You can import a text file to the user word database by entering the path on the sdcard to the file where the file is a text file with a single word per line. (I forgot to indicate when its done importing, but i'll do that on the next release)

Anyone try this? Any feedback?

I've only seen 2 or 3 people connect via network - Have people tried and it didn't connect?
Thanks

biz79 said:

Hi I just tried your game, but not on online. Just wanted some single player brain training. Here's alittle feedback after a couple games:

1. It would be nice if you supplied the answers to words you get incorrect or don't know. Maybe during the time it takes to load the next word?

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

That is one of the options you can enable "Show all matches" will show all words it would have accepted.

2. Sometimes i spell the word correctly, press the enter key, but it says i'm wrong. So i retype and press 'Guess' and it'll except it. This happened twice in 3 games of 5, and I remember of the words being RIMS. Actually its funny, cause it wasn't even jumbled either... hahah I guess it was a gimme.

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

Might be a caps thing if you are using the keyboard to enter stuff - or maybe the keyboard is auto-inserting a space and I need to trim it. Also Swype is definitely problematic since it changes the way the keyboard interacts with input boxes. In fact, i used to have a warning popup if it detected a non-standard keyboard. You may want to enable "button mode" which uses the same input method (press the letter buttons) for solo play as the online version does. I might remove the keyboard input from solo play entirely - but i'm leaving it now in since its built.

3. Some options like play again or stats or summary of words at the end of the game would be great!

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

I am doing that for the next release of the online version - it will track:
-number of words founds
-number of rounds played
-number of points awarded
-number of points opponent was awarded
-number of wins, number of losses, number of times your opponent quit or was disconnected, number of times you quit.
-total time spent playing online.

Anyways, I'm playing on a rooted Droid running BBv1 rom and Swype. Other than that though, I'm a fan of puzzles and stuff and it was fun. I'll play some more during the week and let u know what else I think.

Biz

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

Thanks for the feedback!! I hope to have the next version released today or tomorrow.

biz79 said:

Ahhh the online interface is much better. It gives you the correct answer at the end. Although it said 3 people were online, I think i was just playing against myself. After I missed the word EXEC, it gave the right answer then crashed. I was able to still type into the chat room, but I was unable to exit and it eventually FC.

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

hmm - i thought i had found all the force close issues on network play but i msut have missed one. In any event the network module has some backend changes on the server in preparation for the next front end release so it could be some incompatibility with versions - i'm trying to maintain backwards compatibility as much as possible since I don't post all the updated betas but I think I might have to cut it off with the next release.

I've really updated the app since my first post about a week ago. I think I cleaned up most of the FC's, changed the game play a bit, added more options for single player mode, added quick game summary, option to replay, online network stats (wins/losses/quits), option on letter-button behavior (autocentering) and a bunch of other stuff. Still looking for feedback if anyone's got some. Can post it here, or from within the game.

Thanks!

gogol said:

No screen shots?

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

oh yes. I havent really spent much time doing the layouts yet. I'll probably work on the scoring next then do the layouts.
Solo scoring is rather meaningless at the moment.
Head to head scoring is every word is assigned a point value - if you guess it first, you get the points added to your health, and your opponent loses them from their health. That way if two people are evenly matched, it the game could last a long time with lots of rounds, if they are totally mismatched, it will be mercifully quick. If neither player guesses before time runs out, they both lose the points- thats so all games end and players don't just hang out and use the in-game chat or forget they are playing a game.

I've made massive changes to the game since this first post - i think its come a long way. I haven't gotten any feedback from people here - but would love some either in this thread or from the in-game feedback button.

Here are some updated screenshots: