Sakawochi development thread

Wendigo · 22 Jul 2018, 14:08

Hello fellow Ubporters,
I'm the developer of the aquarium simulation "Sakawochi" that I published on the Open Store today.
Sakawochi is a real-time aquarium simulation, similar to a Tamagotchi where you need to regularly take care of your fish to keep them alive. You can also buy decoration for the Tank to make it more pleasing visually.

In this thread I'd like to collect your feedback on the game.
Does it run well on your device? Are there any issues or spelling mistakes?
I'm also eager to read your suggestions for new features.

advocatux · 22 Jul 2018, 14:53

@wendigo congrats for your work. I have some questions for you

Are you going to release a xenial version?
Are you going to open source your app at some point in the future?
How can we translate your app to other languages. Now it seems is only available in English, French, and German.
When you say «You can also buy decoration for the Tank», are you talking about virtual money only or about real cash too?

I'll test your game later but keep in mind vivid is virtually dead as the project is moving fast to xenial release.

Wendigo · 22 Jul 2018, 15:30

@advocatux said in Sakawochi development thread:

Are you going to release a xenial version?

Of cause, but I haven't yet switched to xenial yet. So I wouldn't be able to test the game myself. I tried to switch to Xenial via the UBPorts installer but I'm affected by this bug.

Are you going to open source your app at some point in the future?

To be honest I haven't thought about which license to use until I had to pick one when I uploaded the game to Open Store. But yes I'd really like it to make it open source some time in the future.
Unfortunately GDevelop5 (the game engine I'm using) saves the whole project inside a single json file which makes it pretty inconvenient for more than one developer to work on it. Splitting the project into single files is on the roadmap but I think it will take some time until it gets done. (GD5 is still in beta currently)

How can we translate your app to other languages. Now it seems is only in English, French, and German.

I could create a sheet or json template and upload it here. But adding a language currently is a lot of manual work. If there is demand I could rewrite the localization logic to read json files for additional languages.

When you say «You can also buy decoration for the Tank», are you talking about virtual money only or about real cash too?

It's just virtual money. You earn it by buying young fish, nursing it until it grows up and selling it for a higher price.
I'm not a fan of in App purchases for virtual currency or Ads that break the players privacy.

I intend to publish the game for Linux, OSX, Windows and Android on Itchio and Gamejolt on a pay what you want basis next weekend (if I find the time).

advocatux · 22 Jul 2018, 15:45

@wendigo thank you for your quick reply

You can add a donate button in your app too.

I think you can include all the gettext stuff to generate the necessary files for translation inside your app but I can't explain you the how-to (sorry). In the OpenStore group or in the App Devs group someone can help you with that.

BTW I'm interested in translating your app to Spanish mainly, but I'm sure other translators will be interested as well.

Thanks again for your work !!

matteo · 23 Jul 2018, 15:52

Hey,
thank you for your job
I tried to install your game on my BQ Aquaris E5 Vivid version but it doesn't seem to work. What I see once launched is a white window, where from time to time I can have a quick glance at the game environment, rotating the phone screen, but then suddenly it disappears again flashing several time and bringing back the white window.
I had to uninstall it for now, but it is promising.
Keep up the good work.

Matteo

Wendigo · 23 Jul 2018, 16:28

@matteo said in Sakawochi development thread:

I tried to install your game on my BQ Aquaris E5 Vivid version but it doesn't seem to work. What I see once launched is a white window, where from time to time I can have a quick glance at the game environment, rotating the phone screen, but then suddenly it disappears again flashing several time and bringing back the white window.

Hi matteo, thank you for your kind words.
Unfortunately I don't really know how to fix this since I can't reproduce the bug on my FP2.
With a little luck the new QTWebengine based browser that will be included with Xenial fixes this. (But I haven't yet build a package for Xenial)
Sakawochi is an HTML5 App that runs offline in the browser.
If someone with a deeper knowledge of the system/browser App knows if there are any log files that might hold some information on this I'd be very thankful.

@advocatux said in Sakawochi development thread:

You can add a donate button in your app too.

Good idea, that should be easy to implement.

I think you can include all the gettext stuff to generate the necessary files for translation inside your app but I can't explain you the how-to (sorry). In the OpenStore group or in the App Devs group someone can help you with that.

I found a javascript version for gettext on Github but I'd rather include it into GDevelop than just my App. Need to see how much efford that would be. The json approach would be faster to implement I think.

BTW I'm interested in translating your app to Spanish mainly, but I'm sure other translators will be interested as well.

Cool, I'll let you know when I finished the localization logic.
This is very much appreciated.

matteo · 23 Jul 2018, 16:49

@wendigo of course I can translate it in Italian

advocatux · 23 Jul 2018, 17:24

The easier way to get logs is using the Logviewer app, but tech savvies users can take a look directly to the relevant logs in ~.cache/upstart/

P.S. Logviewer tutorial https://ubports.com/blog/ubports-blog-1/post/logviewer-102

advocatux · 23 Jul 2018, 17:26

@matteo did you see any error in the Sakawochi log?

matteo · 23 Jul 2018, 17:33

@advocatux yes multiple errors.You can find here following the log output:

Sakawochi log - pastebin

advocatux · 23 Jul 2018, 17:41

@Wendigo your app seems to run fine in Nexus 5

hummlbach · 23 Jul 2018, 19:18

@Wendigo working fine on meizu pro 5 too (except for a slight flickering). It generates a nice mood and looks like it was made with love! Also thanks for your work from my side.

Wendigo · 25 Jul 2018, 04:15

Thank you for your offered help. I'll let you know when I'm ready to publish the translation files but It will take some time. Looks like I need a dedicated credits page
I might have found a solution for the flickering issue, I'll create a test build later this week.
What do you think about the pace of the game? Do you think the fish grow fast enough? When feeding them about 2x per day it should take between 2 and 3 weeks for them to grow to their maximum size.
Again, thank you very much for your feedback

Wendigo · 28 Jul 2018, 17:01

I did some adjustments to the rendering code that will hopefully fix the flickering which occurs on some devices.
Please tell me if the game runs better now.
Little incentive: The linked version already contains a new unreleased feature

You can download it here:
https://www.magentacloud.de/lnk/gQk5kuWa

Install it with this command in the Ubuntu Touch Terminal App:
pkcon install-local --allow-untrusted sakawochi.wendigosoft_0.2.9_all.click
(You can later remove it like any other App)

advocatux · 28 Jul 2018, 17:33

@wendigo if you want people testing your app, you can posted it in the OpenStore group too

Cesar Herrera · 28 Jul 2018, 21:16

This post is deleted!

Cesar Herrera · 28 Jul 2018, 22:25

@wendigo I was not able to get the file correcly (and with .click). @advocatux gave it to me. I have installed it and it goes. Thanks a lot.

matteo · 29 Jul 2018, 06:53

Thank you @Wendigo I installed your app on my BQ E5 and now it works perfectly! Nice job

Wendigo · 1 Aug 2018, 16:53

Version 0.2.10 is now live on OpenStore

Changes:

Fixed a bug that caused flickering on some devices
Fish food is now a limited resource and needs to be collected by catching snails, that appear in your aquarium from time to time.
Reduced price for crabs
Blowfish now grows a little faster
New sound effects

Next on the roadmap is a revamp of the localization system that makes it easier to add additional languages.

I wish you much fun!

advocatux · 3 Aug 2018, 18:36

@wendigo hi, thanks again for your work! The sound of the snails dying is pretty funny XD

I have a question and a minor issue.

Question. Once you've read the instructions the first time, is there an easy way to access the instructions while playing your game?
Minor issue. I think this starting screen is confusing because it says "Please wait while loading" but you can see it's always "Loading...", and you can press the START button at anytime, and the game starts.