creating things
Just updated QuickFlip with a new design matching iOS 7. I was quite surprised that the approval process was done in a couple of days. Think this has to do with iOS 7 ready apps.
But for the second update (because I discovered a minor saving error of the picture) the approval process is back to the usual one week plus. So still waiting for review now 🙁
When I look at the iPhone 5C, I can’t stop thinking that it looks a lot like the iPod Touch 5.
In design not much difference than the iPhone 5C being thicker, a mute switch on the side, a speaker on the top below the iSight camera in the front, a black front glass, no strap thingie button at the back and a single part hard-coated polycarbonate back.
So underwhelming or not when you look at product design in general?
On the other hand looking forward to the iPhone 5S! Fingerprint recognition with TouchID, 64 bit processor, motion processor and lots of camera fun.
But back to design and colors. I do like the overall package of the iPhone 5C in combination with iOS 7. The first step of hardware & software combined, all pointing back to Jonathan Ive.
Mindy: A handgun bullet travels at more than 700 mph.
Dave: Hey … Absolutely not. No!
Mindy: Look, if you don’t want to do it. You don’t have to do it.
Dave: Good. Okay. I don’t want to do it.
Mindy: Fine… Bang!
(Opening lines in Kick-Ass 2 the Movie)
So I read about the Google Easter Egg thing and decided to see it for myself. See link
And it’s the Tardis baby. The best blue box ever.
Something Old,
Something New,
Something Borrowed,
Something Blue,
Something…
As a Dr Who fan walking inside it is a dream come true.
So if I was asked the question: All of Time and Space, where do you want to go?
So finally decided to try Mac OSX programming. This should be easy with some experience in iOS programming. True, true… but also not true.
My first impression while still using X-Code as the main programming tool and objective C as the language. There is still a lot that I’m not familiar with: first so many new options in Interface Builder. This is all nice, but a new list of Outlet names and connections to learn. Second new frameworks & methods to learn. Third the feeling that I don’t know anything at all… guess it’s research & reading time for now.
Personal note: I already fell asleep twice while reading a Cocoa Programming book. My mind trying hard to learn the content by heart (new and interesting things and also a repetition of old things). So how would a describe: why I fell a sleep? A psychological explanation called Cognitive Restructuring or just plain old NLP.
The content wasn’t that boring and it didn’t cause my mind to wander off into NeverEverLand….. oeps NLP would make this into:
The content was that boring and it did cause my mind to wander off into NeverEverLand…
So something new then. Ehm the content contains a mixture between old and new information. The new information did catch my interest and attention. But the old one didn’t and made me think of boring old repetition.
The word to look out for is “boring”. Because “old” can and is in someway the new “new”. Vintage is in nowadays. And old can be associated with wise. With age comes wisdom.
To me repetition is a good word and it equals hard work & progress. It’s training, training and training again. Like grinding for XP.
How to reframe “boring”? Boring can’t equal sleep, because I already have my daily dose of caffeine & it’s 13:00 now. The sun is shining, certainly not night time & bed time. So what about distractions? What are the things that causes my mind to wander off? If I picture my mind as a processor, then a part of the attention/resource is focussed on something else instead of reading the Cocoa Programming book. Pinpoint it and resolve it before going further.
Give in to the distraction, enjoy it but put a time limit on it.
Do something totally different like writing a blog post. Which is what I’m doing now. Plus updating the website, something that I keep putting off.
Find another book to read. Sometimes it can just be the wording that a writer use, which does’t connect with you. So glad that I’m not in school/university anymore and that I have the freedom to choose & gather my own information resource. And the internet is a big, big resource pool.
So was working on a location based & aware App. The coding went good somedays and bad on other days. But guess that’s the life of an App Developer. You miss one line of code and everything literally breaks down.
NSLog is my new best friend a real life saver when it comes to error checking and application progress checker.
The other thing that’s weird for a non Developer, after weeks, months or more time coding something….you have to spent another additional time to think of ways that a user can break the App. Start the App and refusing to give location permission. Let the App run and put it in background, turn of internet access. Change time settings and other things. Really why… would someone do this. So any way I think Daylight is pretty robust now after all the error checking that I’ve done. It’s a good thing in the end I guess.
So what can I tell about Daylight? The name “Daylight” was taken in the AppStore… by the movie Daylight itself (which was kinda boring in my opinion. Vampires yeah!! Future & Vampires…bweehhh big no on that). So in the AppStore Daylight is submitted as –> Daylight Timer
And that name gives a lot away, doesn’t? Yep it tracks the daylight. More about it in a couple of days when it’s approved…or maybe not. Rejection still always a possibility.
Guess I’ve been away for a long long time. What can I say… I’m not really a blogger. Just updated 3 Apps on the site, not new apps but old ones that are already out on the AppStore but didn’t had an entry on the site. Hmm….bad. So site not really up to date then 🙁
All that I can say MysteryFiles.nl is run by a one man team. I can’t do everything at once can I. Anyway currently I’ve some free time so hence these blog updates etc.
So what’s on my mind? Just uploaded a new app and now… a week nothing and waiting for approval. App approval is still long as ever…or one week…is reasonable in a way considering all the updates and new apps that Apple has to review and check.
But still sometimes really annoying. For example a couple of weeks ago I updated QuickFlip with gestures and IAP (do have to make money somewhere :|). After a week the App was live. Good…but when I checked the IAP. That wasn’t, this due to some weird error while the App was submitted the IAP wasn’t apparently. So had to submit another version of QuickFlip just for the IAP. A week later IAP rejected…WTF… turns out. A rule being “non consumables” needed a restore button. Oh dear…..resubmit again for just one button.
So the lesson I learned from this: rules are rules.AppStore rules are RULES to be followed otherwise a big red rejection sign.
So I’ve been playing Diablo 3 for two weeks now. The result so far I’ve got an level 60 Demon Hunter called Buffy. Hell yeah I do. If she’s not a vampire slayer, then she’s a demon hunter 😉
Currently I’m in the first act of inferno and pffff the elites are hard. especially the invulnerable minions with fast movement coupled with arcane, jail or frozen orb. Still can’t beat them or out run them. Sigh grinding for better gear. Farming for gold and go to the AH to look for some cheap and affordable stuff. Still can’t and won’t pay over a million gold pieces for a single item. Prices are indeed sky high.
So far I have changed some of my playing tactics by switching some skills. My first setup was to use strafe with drifting shadow for running away from enemies while placing caltrops with jagged spikes. I say running but it isn’t really running because I’m still fighting and doing damage this way. My main form of attack was hungering arrow with scatter. Really like seeing the arrow split in three and going back to the enemy. What homing missiles? As a secondary rapid fire with high velocity. And at last evasive fire with displacement if the enemy got to close and shadow power with gloom for life and defense. This was good in nightmare and hell. In a way but in the later levels of hell and especially inferno. It’s not fast and mobile enough. After some careful thinking and experimenting with the skill setup. Thank you Blizzard for this. Back in the Diablo 2 time, you have to start all over again :S
People keeps saying with out smoke screen inferno is impossible. Ehmm to be honest I’ve never really used smoke screen before. And after hearing that it has been nerved. I thought why? Then I saw some video’s….ahh I understand. In a way constant being invulnerable that’s good but cheesy isn’t it? Plus not really my style and in a way it does feel boring. The hit and run tactics is more my way and it feels engaging. You have to be alert all the time and no slaking off. Pressing some buttons and yawning.
In my new skill setup hungering arrow with scatter and caltrops with jagged spike remains. Those two I really like. While exploring a new area shoot a hungering arrow ahead and seeing it automatically going to the nearest enemy. That’s fun and also cool. The caltrops is for defense and attack. Certain enemies and targets remain immobile place a caltrop next to it and it will do constant damage to it. Like before the skeleton king, you have to do the four pilar thing with lots of skeletons. Placed for caltrops at the pillars. stand back and fire some hungering arrows while using rapid fire and the skeletons. I completely ignore the pillars because thanks to the caltrops they got destroyed. In later levels when fighting elites use bombs running away not a good way to survive. Instead do the opposite strafe to the enemy until your face to face. Put down a lot of caltrops to slow them and also doing damage to them. Fire you attack skills for life steal. That’s my way to deal with them. And it really works. The catch is you have to withstand a blow or two. So these two skill a must for me (hungering arrow and caltrops). In the new setup I’ve picked elemental arrow with nether tentacles. In the early levels I used ball lightning and really cool to deal with packs of enemies. This is a cooler version with life regeneration. By choosing the nether tentacles, I dropped the shadow power with gloom. Don’t need the life steal effect for this. But for some tricky boss fight the life steal and added defense of gloom is a must… so my spare change of skill by choice then.
Next up a second secondary skill impale with over penetration. Discovered I needed a hard hitting skill and with 250% weapon damage this is the skill of choice and it’s s good crowed control when the enemies line up for you in narrow passages. By choosing impale, I dropped rapid fire with high velocity. Used this for the same effect. Impale works faster and doing more damage. When it hits. Not saying it’s better then rapid fire. You fire less often and if you’ve got certain effect bonuses as slow, bleed, chill, knock back or other effect on hitting enemies. Using rapid fire is the way to go. More arrows means more changes those effect will be triggered.
Another skill that I’m keeping is evasive fire with displace. Not doing this for the weapon damage but for survival. This skill is on my primary mouse button. Click on the primary button and character will move to where you want to go and if there is an enemy evasive fire is triggered. The good part now if the enemy is to close you will backflip to a save distance. From there do your worst with elemental arrow and impale.
My last skill is vault with tumble, this is really a lifesaver. It increases your survivability and your movement speed. Plus is gives you more control over your movement then evasive fire. You know the elites with the wall ability? With vault you’re no longer trapped by them. With two times vault and you’re out of harms way. Oh vault why didn’t I discover you earlier?
As for passive steady aim and sharp shooter for focusing on more damage. Brooding for life. Which fits well in the hit and run tactic. You run and vault to a save place while recovering your health and sharp shooter increases the critical hit chance on the next attack for damage. And in the meantime put some caltrops down to slow the enemy while dealing damage. Your running, but it doesn’t mean you stop fighting!!!! So fire some nether tentacles and hungering arrows back to your foe.
Like a lot of people I saw that wonderful 3003 error when trying to access the Diablo 3 Beta on friday (20th april). I tried for hours… a real stress test indeed.
Any how on saturday I did got access and how wonderful it was. First played the Witch Hunter. Which was cool, a real improvement from the rogue and amazon. Which of course I also had played from previous Diablo and Diablo 2. The bummer is a level cap at 13. Really wanted to see the more advance skills. I got the taste and wanted more…but not able until may 15th. Sigh. It’s like fishing you put out some bait and get them hooked before you wheel them in. So needless to say I preordered it. I wanted to wait first but I guess I gave in to the temptation. I foresee a future nights playing Diablo 3.
So the question that wondered into my mind is can you make a living out of playing the game? The in game auction house does seem intriguing. Auctioning your loot for real money. So my first aim and goal is to earn back the 60 euro I paid for the pre-order. Price wise it’s ok for a game like it, but for a digital version….it does seem and feel high. Doesn’t it?
Downloading the game now…
