RwK Beta

Raptisoft

Sorry I'm late with this guys... I ended up coming down with some cough+fever thing that knocked me off my feet for two days.

RwK is now open for beta.  If you signed up for it, please follow this link:
https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.raptisoft.RWK

You can upload all the files you want-- I will wipe the Robot Wants Kitty shared files when the beta is complete, but you will be able to re-upload them afterwards if you want (this way, you can upload levels demonstrating a problem, etc).

If you get a crash, sending me the Android Logs is the fastest route to getting it fixed.  To get the log files, please follow these instructions helpfully written up by another tester:

You send logcats to show a developer exactly what happened when an
app does something that it isn't supposed to do. Developers depend
heavily on this especially when the reason behind an error isn't clear.

Instructions: (I recommend reading the whole thing through once before following along)

1. Enable "USB debugging" on your android device under developer
   options. If you don't have developer options enabled, go to Settings
   > About > (Software Information) > press "Build number" 7
   times.

2. Connect your Android device to your PC.

3. Install Android Studio on your PC, there are instructions on how
   to install the drivers to your device based on Windows version. https://developer.android.com/studio/run/oem-usb.html (1.9 gbs)

4. Download and Extract an Android Debug Bridge on your PC (adb executable)
   https://developer.android.com/studio/releases/platform-tools.html (7 mbs)

5. Go to the folder where you previously extracted the adb
   executable, it should be called platform-tools. Shift+Right Click an
   empty space and click "Open command window here."

6. In the command prompt, type "adb devices" to check if your device is properly attached.

7. Type "adb logcat > logcat.txt". The command prompt might say
   "- waiting for device -" or it might not say anything, it doesn't matter
   as long as the device is attached.

8. Now, you will try to replicate/recreate the error (or whatever)
   on your device. Remember to keep it connected to the PC at all times.

9. When you finish, you can close the command prompt and there
   should be a text file called logcat. You can email the file or upload it
   to dropbox.

Tip: When performing the error, try to complete it in as little time as possible to reduce the size of the .txt file.

Thanks again!

kyleseglin

How long does a beta testing period tend to take? Just eager! Thanks for all your hard work!

Raptisoft

Oh, one more note... I believe this site tells how to get the Android logs WITHOUT having to install Android Studio:

https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/33216/how-can-i-get-a-logcat

Raptisoft

Kyle, I dunno... right now there's only two outstanding issues that I know of.  One is an occasional crash on level start that will be fixed as soon as I can get a logcat for it... the other issue might already be fixed.

So maybe around 2 weeks if they turn up a lot of stuff?  Basically, right now everything "works," what I'm trying to find and fix is just peripheral weirdness that happens sometimes.  I mean if everything goes REALLY well I could publish as early as Monday, but I don't expect it to go that well.

kyleseglin

Gotcha. I’ll keep checking back! Excited!

Fomb

This is fantastic! I'm playing it on my phone now. It's great.

I love the new coin option too!

I know it's a beta, but is there any way to get rid of the ads in the beta? Clicking the delete ads gives an error.

And, the ads (the placeholder for the ads) actually pops up in the actual playing of a level. I know it's when one dies, but it's even in the maker mall and is a bit distracting.

Regardless, great to have this on my Android.

fnanfne

Yeah I try very hard not to die so as to avoid the adderuption :)

Raptisoft

Yeah, next beta I'll turn the ads off. 

Fipps

But only this way we know the ads work ;p

SomeRandomHEFan

Okay, here are the bugs I found so far:

#1: I can't create an account because my e-mail address is almost 20 characters long, which is apparently too much for the game. When I enter it, the first few characters disappear.

#2: As with Mahjong Blitz, the game apparently fails to start playing a music track if it's in the middle of letting one fade out. Here, it happens every time I restart a level.

#3: Don't know for sure if this is a bug, but when exiting a teleporter in mid-air, I immediately end up on the ground below it.

#4: On my phone, this text is slightly cut off: http://www.mediafire.com/view/xlqble9wvrpip96/HNI_0093.JPG

#5: The tags are cut off: http://www.mediafire.com/view/8ztabh4ytoha170/HNI_0095.JPG

#6: The buttons for hot levels and random ones overlap: http://www.mediafire.com/view/cfpstnesebz6s1z/HNI_0092.JPG

#7: Randomly selected levels can appear on the list multiple times.

#8: Using several checkpoints in quick succession creates a horrifying noise. Here's a video: http://www.mediafire.com/file/ulidt4gv877ce2a/HNI_0091.AVI

And here's the level I made to test this: http://www.mediafire.com/file/xklyz473jf44fhk/Hell's+Orchestra.kitty

#9: I just noticed that a word in my level's name is on the swear filter's list. Yet it didn't prevent me from using it. Does it only stop you when trying to upload a level with such a name?

#10: Dying infrequently crashes my game, presumably when the game is about to play an ad. This is really annoying here because it makes me lose my progress in the current level.

I could try to create a logcat for this, but it'd probably be very large, seeing how this doesn't happen often. Plus, this has also happened to me a few times with Keep's ads, so I think this is an issue with AdMob, not your own software.

Doesn't the game have a quick save feature, though? You could use that to minimize the damage from such crashes. Or is that not possible due to technical limitations?

Fomb

Yeah, about the text, on my device (Nexus 6) the level comment text is far above the screen so I can't actually see what I'm writing.

Also, and this issue pertains to Hoggy 2 as well, entering text disables by ability to type by swipe (or swype) which I'm assuming is because the game summons it's own keyboard and not the device keyboard for input. Is there a way around this? I know swyping isn't (or wasn't) an apple thing, but it's big in the Android world and is honestly like ten times faster.

* One other thing. I know we've discussed this in the past, but I see you've "fixed" the barrier blocks. Like I was suggesting before, that has only removed level creation options and added none. Since it's obviously important to you that they work as intended, is it possible to add another type, maybe a different color like blue or something, that is the "semi-permeable" version?

It would add a lot of functionality. Not only can we not jump through the barriers, we cannot stick to them and slowly fall or use them to press ourselves up against a wall anymore. There were lots of cool things we used to be able to do with barriers.

SomeRandomHEFan

Oh, there've been changes to the game's logic? I don't think that's a good idea either.

Given the game's age, it's pretty safe to say that most of the levels it will ever receive have already been made. So I think fixes for stuff you screwed up or aren't happy with should be saved for Hap Hazard 2. I don't think this is worth breaking some old levels.

fnanfne

I also noticed the shooting bug is gone which made me sad for a just a few seconds because this bug can go tbh and was purely just useful not essential, like the one Fomb described above. Ditto SomeRandomHEFan!

Raptisoft

I can't leave distinct bugs in there (like the one way walls) now that I have the code open and am fiddling with it.  It's just not how my brain works.  I'm adding in a few new maker things to make up for it.

Somerandom Bugs:

#1: The textbox scrolls
#2: Will look into it
#3: I did that for some reason, but I don't remember why.  If I can't remember why, I'll undo it.
#4: What's your phone resolution, so I can fake it here to look for glitches like this?
#7: That's just how it works, it's random.  As levels get populated, the odds get lower and lower, it's only an issue when there's very few levels.
#8: Eh, that's just what happens to the speaker if you fire the same sound at it repeatedly.  If a level creator wants to inflict this on the player and earn the subsequent karma voting, I'm okay with that.
#9: Which level?  I'll look into it.
#10: I don't have good control over the ad framework and if/when it decides to crash things, but I will make sure the game saves before attempting an ad, so that it can continue.  I won't need a logcat for this, admob is not 100% stable, and it varies by android device hugely.  I've already gone through several iterations of trying to figure out ad crashes only to spend days and days on it, then finally write admob with logs and stuff and have them say "oh, our bad, we'll fix it in the next version."

SomeRandomHEFan

#4: It's 736x414.

#9: I'm talking about this level: http://www.mediafire.com/file/xklyz473jf44fhk/Hell's+Orchestra.kitty

It's name is "Hell's Orchestra". The game didn't stop me from using the word "hell" in its title. I haven't uploaded it in-game, though.

fnanfne

#3 I don't think it's a bug perse. If you place the teleporter exit hole higher, you'll see the robot materialise in mid air and not on the ground

Fomb

Right, fnanfne, I agree.

#3 isn't a bug. The robot seems to materialize a little below the teleporter and if there is a floor he'll start materialized on the floor. If he's higher up he'll fall.

Whatever your reasoning for doing it this way, @Raptisoft, I wouldn't change it because it's totally functional and several levels make use of this effect which changing it would invalidate (I'm think of some Dahlo levels, but I can't remember exactly).

SomeRandomHEFan

#11: When beating a user-made level, my time is added to the highscore for the last regular level I played.

kyleseglin

I agree with the feedback regarding not changing things. We could even, as avid players and fans, suggest which bugs we like and which we wouldn’t mind changing? For instance I don’t think anyone is in favor of the one where exiting a level and re-entering the level activates all the teleopoeters regardless of whether you’ve put a crystal in. Or how if you leave the screen or die too quickly after triggering a haxxor computer, it results in the gate not opening and causes it to stay permanently shut. However, other bugs have been serendipitous in a way, and opened up more potential than perhaps you initially envisioned. It’s a fantastic game either way, and I’ll be happy to play it regardless, but we have a unique opportunity to essentially crowd source the refinement of your game. Obviously it’s your creation, and ultimately it’s your decision, and the only reason anyone here has an opinion is because we all really enjoy your game and respect the work you do.



Also, what is the “coin option” someone mentioned?

SomeRandomHEFan

>Also, what is the “coin option” someone mentioned?

Think that's a new gameplay element in this version. Assuming I understand how it works correctly, if you collect every Bitcoin in a level, certain gates will open.

Fomb

@kyleseglin,

I totally agree. I think if there is any "fixing" of bugs, it would be best to get the actual destructive ones and not the ones that add exciting elements to the gameplay.

Yeah, if we could get the teleporter crystal bug fixed, that would help. It actually renders the collecting of crystals for teleporters unnecessary since all you have to do is leave a level a couple of time and all teleporters work without their crystals.

And the haxxor/leaving-the-screen-too-early bug also can render levels unbeatable without starting over. I have in the past given up on some levels that were too easy to trigger this bug.

Also, there is still the boss block bug. I don't think people know of this one well, but if you melt a boss block between a boss (or many bosses) and another boss block, the boss block will never open no matter how many bosses you kill.

I may have not worded that well, but basically this arrangement below: [B] boss block, [X] melted boss block, boss.

[B]                 [X]                  Boss

Kill the boss or any number of bosses in this scenario will never allow the boss block to open.

All of these are destructive to the game. All the other glitches add a creative, fun element to the game.

That's my two cents.

Fomb

Also, this isn't a bug, but I've always been in favor of a self-destruct, or something like the "return to checkpoint" in Hoggy.

I know the falling/burning up thing was added and that helps when falling out of a level (even though on my device it doesn't always work), but for people who make levels where you can get stuck, it would be nice to not have to start over.

fnanfne

@Fomb, many of yours including one of you last levels called Vulcan also uses the #3 point raised above!

fnanfne

I have noticed the buttons are located in different areas (Playing on a tablet, Huawei T1-A21w) is this the same for everyone else?

rastapopoulon

@fnanfne: in the settings, you can change the buttons positions ;)

Fomb

@fnanfne, yeah, I thought some of my levels probably used that too, but I couldn't actually remember. Ha.

I does effect quite a few levels.

OzBoy

John,
Thank you so much for all of your work in getting our RWK updated. The new features sound wonderful.

I know that itch when a bug gets in the way. Is it possible to redefine the current features (eg the one way door) as a sticky cloud, then add another widget with the one way door? That way, the widget now behaves correctly as a "sticky cloud", then you can add a one way door as a new item. This ensures backward compatibility.
I'm hesitant to endorse breaking so many levels, not that I have a choice :). I simply believe that a compromise can be reached.
I haven't yet got my hands on the beta as I've been travelling. I will try to add feedback. I'm currently time poor.

SomeRandomHEFan

Has RWK actually been released on Google Play yet? It still only has 10-50 owners.

Raptisoft

No.  As soon as IOS approval hits, it'll go out.  I'm waiting on that at the moment though.  Current status is still "waiting for review" but it should be approved late today or tomorrow.