iASCIImator Info Thread

[OpenCoder]

iASCIImator, ASCIImator for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
It will feature the following:

• Ability to create, modify, delete asciimations locally.
  
• Ability to login and upload asciimations to the site.
  
• Ability to download asciimations from the site (yours and open-source), modify them and re-upload.
  
• "Mod" mode, where size and font options are increased.
  This will just be 'on' by default with no 'off' switch.
  
• Comments and rating.
  

[geckojsc]

OMGGGGGG!!!!!!! I'll get me and iPod Touch, just so I can try this out. (did I ever mention you're awesome?)

[OpenCoder]

advice:
wait for the expected iPod Touch 3rd-gen to come out (i'm using the 2nd-gen), because the 2nd-gen prices will (probably) drop faster than a greased pig wearing jet-powered roller skates that's just been pushed off a cliff.

and yes you did, but thanks for saying it again.

[geckojsc]

So, how's this one going?

[edit]
I just had an idea. How about calling it "ASCimator"?

[edit2]
If I want to use it, will I have to jailbreak my iPod?

[OpenCoder]

1) I'm getting to know the programming language ATM, it's quite different.
2) Nice idea, I'll consider it.
3) No. Unless Apple disapproves the app

an idea, design-wise:
I presume you're familiar with coverflow (if not, turn your iPod sideways in the music app).
When choosing an asciimation to load, what would look/work better?
a) a list of asciimations sorted by Name/Date modified/whatever
b) a coverflow of the asciimations' first frame, with the currently selected one (the one in the center of the screen) animating

[geckojsc]

A coverflow would look awesome, especially with the one in the middle animating. Apple would have to accept it! I personally would prefer the cover flow to be in order of the last edited ASCIImation, but having them sorted by name would probably be easier, and wouldn't make too much of a difference.

[edit]
Or what would be even more amazing is a cover flow with optional tilt-control!

[OpenCoder]

<sarcasm>YAAAY!</sarcasm>
apple didn't give us a coverflow API, so i have to code it by hand. yay.

[geckojsc]

I just found out, ASCIImator does work on an iPod. It's incredibly hard to use though, and you must be connected to the Internet to use it. (I'm typing this on my iPod)

Edit:
Another nice feature would be to include a character map for easier access to special characters. There is an app that could do this called Emoji keyboard, but not all the chars on there work with courier new...

[OpenCoder]

Courier New on iPod isn't quite fixed-width anyway.
I may have to convert the PC CourierNew for iPod and somehow get the app to use that (more undocumented stuff....yay.)

[geckojsc]

Progress update? (sorry for bugging you. I'm just a bit bored.)

[edit] About the font, there's a free app called Fast Fonts that might help you. It displays all the fonts installed on the device and lets you preview them really quickly. The reason I'm thinking about it is that you might be able to find a font similar to courier new which is fixed-width.

[edit 2] Nope, forget it. There aren't that many fonts installed, and none of them are fixed-width.

[OpenCoder]

i'm thinking of using a bitmap font (like you used in asciimator DS) and implementing that to make it fixed width, but i have not got a clue how to do that. :/

[geckojsc]

Aha! I had an idea! *opens excel*

Creating a simple grid system shouldn't be too hard should it? In my opinion it would be much easier than using a bitmap font, and you could use the Courier New that is already on the iPhone. Good?

[OpenCoder]

[OpenCoder]

idea - it may be possible to store a .ttf file in the application bundle, and use that as a font.
I could then import courier(new) from my XP box and use that?