Sep
15

ReQognise ported to Playbook

I now have ReQognise working perfectly on Playbook (without having to modify its cross-platform Qt code!).

In fact, I now have all my applications working on Playbook thanks to the successful port of Qt to the Playbook platform (thanks octorian).

Reqognise (Playbook/Qt)

ReQognise for Playbook Beta available here (no longer representative of the game).

Known bug: Holding down touch to pick up objects doesn’t work, just swipe it across quickly.

 

Sky is the limit for the Playbook. If you have any favourite opensource Qt applications you want me to port to the platform, just leave a comment here.

ReQognise (and my other apps) will appear on Playbook’s AppWorld when the NDK (and Qt) becomes official.

Aug
30

Acquired a Playbook (it can run Qt!)

Just a little update. I have now acquired a Research In Motion Blackberry Playbook 64GB.

I intend to develop some cool Qt applications for it. Obviously there is no native SDK yet – I’m waiting. In the meanwhile, I will work on external projects that aid in its development. All in Qt of course :) .

I’m currently working on re-writing all of the Java developer tools in to Qt — so they can run on my phone, naturally. This can be released on to any operating system you want. Just request it.

More updates when they arrive.

Aug
18

New development: Swipe Menu

I have been working on a new menu replacement app for Symbian^3 devices.

Swipe Menu is written in Qt Quick and provides a quick and easy way to view and launch your applications.

Besides having a grid of application icons, the app displays the number of applications installed, the current time and has an exit button. The screen real estate is considered valuable in this minimalistic UI which allows space for a 4×7 grid with 80×80 icons. The application names are overlayed on top of the icons. Like my other apps, this one comes with 360 degree rotation of the application icons (depending on your phone orientation).

It’s currently in alpha stage with the following limitations:

  • Java apps don’t appear
  • No folders
Please test it out by downloading here! It is already signed. Just install :)
I look forward to your suggestions/thoughts.
Aug
13

ReQognise 2.0 submitted to Ovi Store

The new ReQognise 2.0 has been submitted.

As explained earlier, the UI has been revitalised with Qt Quick which improves speed and adds animations.

This initial version is a huge leap from ReQognise 1.04. Even so, I intend to further improve the UI by further optimising and simplifying the UI code and making use of the more advanced features of Qt Quick and Symbian^3 (such as GPU acceleration, online interaction, particles, physics and so on).

One of the most glaring omissions in this initial version is the lack of a messaging system. I still make use of Qt/C++’s message dialogs for displaying errors, notifications and opening files. As such, the Avkon system is still relied upon and this can look ugly, slow and does not respect rotations. I envisage to replace these messages with Qt Quick in the next iteration of this game.

 

E6 Reqognise Quick

I hope you all find my use of Qt Quick exciting and refreshing. For those that are yet to try it, I will be uploading a youtube video to demonstrate ReQognise 2.01 when it is released. The improvements can’t really be seen in a static image.

As a side note: I am looking in to translating the application in to the languages of those who have downloaded it (from Ovi Store statistics).

Further: If you have any queries, bugs or wishes for the application, please comment on here or send me an email!

Thank you all for your support.

Aug
05

Announcing reQognise 2.0

It will come as no surprise that I have been working on a Qt Quick version of ReQognise.

The advantages of such a change were immediately visible when testing out my base code. I hit a few road blocks along the way including some bugs that will need to wait for Qt 4.8 for a true fix (I’ve worked around them).

The result is purely amazing. If I was to show a picture, it would look the same as older versions. This really needs a video to show it off — and so, I will release a video once it has been submitted to Ovi Store. The app is still undergoing testing before I submit it to the Ovi Store.

Changelog

  • UI made in Qt Quick instead of Qt/C++.
  • UI allows rotating device 360 degrees with instant, responsive animations.
  • Many animations added.
  • Better graphics.
  • Better messaging system.
  • Removal of Avkon (source of all lagg).
  • Fluent scrolling and drag&drop actions within game.
  • More expansion possibilities.
  • Easier future coding.
Known Bugs
  • Although very unlikely, it is possible to get old images due to a caching bug in Qt4.7 (Fixed in Qt4.8). This can also lead to memory leaking.
  • Images are still square ratio (UI design). May be improved in future version.
Jul
27

Working on reQognise Quick

Hello everyone.

Just a little development update. I have postponed development of PoliceLog until the application speed can be enhanced. The application, written in Qt Quick, is lightning fast but slows to a crawl as soon as over 40 log events are made. As I believe this will be the primary use case of any PoliceLog user, I cannot publish it in its current state. In the meantime, I have cast my attention to reQognise.

I’ve noticed that reQognise is quite slow for rotating the screen (unless you use Symbian Anna), slow drag and drops and isn’t that nice visually. Always looking to improve, I have decided to rewrite the program in Qt Quick.

Based on my previous Qt Quick apps, I can tell you that this improved version will have:

  • Instant rotation in any direction. That is, as soon as a rotate is triggered, the UI will have updated. No screen flashing and UI shuffling. Also, you will be able to rotate with your phone upside down or however you like. Four views instead of two.
  • Animations. Qt Quick has very nice animation support and I will be making use of this — especially for the loading screen.
  • Modern UI. The update will allow a nicer looking UI, although my first attempt will be at replicating the current UI (which I think works quite well).
  • Much better, intuitive and beautiful drag and drop support. Qt drag and drop is woeful on Symbian (but beautiful on Windows and everything else). Hence, I will be rewriting my own custom drag and drop in Qt Quick.
Although it will be a completely new application, current reQognise users will be able to update to it directly from the Ovi Store.
Update:
For some reason, my development system got hosed half-way through developing the app. I’m trying to sort out the issue. It seems my Ovi Suite no longer works, my phones can no longer recharge from this computer and CODA (wireless debugger) is giving me error code 69 from this system.
In the meantime, I will probably release a proof of concept reQognise Quick on here soon. Just so you can see what it will look like.