TappedOut App?
TappedOut forum
Posted on Feb. 20, 2014, 3:34 p.m. by hassankachal
Is it just me or does anyone else agree that they should make a TappedOut app? If I get enough positive votes, I'll ask the admins at tappedout. The app would be a lot more convenient. Opinions?
hassankachal says... #3
so you could just open it up rather than go to the site?
February 20, 2014 3:47 p.m.
I have a hard time viewing the site on my phone. I use Opera Mini as a browser, and I don't see the Search, Inventory, Notifications, and User (??) icons in the upper-right corner.
February 20, 2014 3:48 p.m.
I think that the display and UI for the play test could be done better for mobile. When apps are purpose built instead of smaller versions of the site they represent the use is way better, Amazon does a good job of having an app that you can use that is similar to the site but still is purpose built for a smaller phone screen.
February 20, 2014 3:48 p.m.
I would love this, however I don't see it being feasible for them to make. Maybe an iPhone app, but I don't see Android being possible since their are so many devices out there. That being said, if they wanted to develop one I would totally pay money for it.
February 20, 2014 3:57 p.m.
Wasn't there somebody on here a few months ago who was working on an app? KrazyCaley maybe?
February 20, 2014 4:01 p.m.
The Doctor says... #8
I too remember seeing something about somebody working on an Andriod App.
February 20, 2014 4:06 p.m.
Ohthenoises says... #9
The only reason I'd want an app for tappedout is for a lifecounter feature and because I live in an area with little/no cell service an offline database.
February 20, 2014 4:07 p.m.
yeaGO! There are a lot of things that could be better for mobile devices. The hover effect for cards for example.
This could be improved for the mobile site, so no app is necessary really.You could use ontouchstart and ontouchend to overlay the image of the card over the screen when on mobile devices. So when you start touching a card name the image covers the screen, and when you release it disappears. Maybe prevent scrolling using preventDefault() on touchmove when the image is shown to allow the user to move finger while viewing the image.
This would conflict with normal scrolling if the user happens to start the scroll by touching a card name, but you could get around that by showing the image after 1 second, and disable the timeout when the user has moved finger 10px.
not tested at all, but something like this using ( ) instead of < >, and no curly brackets apparently:
(div id="card_overlay")(/div) <-- css: display none and fixed position
(a href="the_card.html" ontouchstart="show_img_overlay()" ontouchend="hide_img_overlay()" ontouchmove="img_touchmove()")Storm Crow(/a)
Some jQuery:
var moved = false;
var start_Y;
var current_Y;
function show_img_overlay()
start_Y = event.touches[0].pageY;
setTimeout(function()
if(moved == false)
$("#card_overlay").css("display","block").css("background-image","card_image.jpg");
,1000);
function hide_img_overlay()
$("#card_overlay").css("display","none").css("background","none");
function img_touchmove()
current_Y = event.touches[0].pageX;
if(start_Y - current_Y < -10)
var moved = true;
This doesnt have to be implemented only on mobile version of the site since touch events is ignored by desktop computers.
February 20, 2014 4:10 p.m.
Ohthenoises: There are plenty of life counters on the app store. If you are using an iPhone you can download my app here ;)
February 20, 2014 4:12 p.m.
Ohthenoises says... #12
Sorry smackjack I use iMtg. It has a database, price checker, trade function, life counter, and rules on the go.
I was saying that that would be the only reason I'd want a Tappedout app.
February 20, 2014 4:15 p.m.
hmm maybe something with preventDefault maybe? This kind of thing is easier if you can experiment.
document.ontouchstart = function(e)( <-- curly
e.preventDefault();
) <-- curly
this prevents scrolling. The same principle could be implemented on touchstart to prevent the link from being clicked?
Maybe its simpler than that. Just show the overlay on click (if on mobile device only), and have a clickable link on the bottom if the user wants to go to the cards page?
February 20, 2014 4:22 p.m.
... skip the href part of the link and use JS to figure out what to do. If on mobile device show overlay. If not redirect to the cards page..
February 20, 2014 4:29 p.m.
Triforce-Finder says... #17
There's only one thing that doesn't work properly for my browser (firefox for android): rollovers. The playtester, the icons, everything works perfectly. If I absolutely need the rollovers, I can still use dolphin for android, my secondary browser. That does the rollovers, but fails at the playtester.
An App would run into similar troubles: it has to be compatible with all available phone models, work on small screens as well as on tablets, and there would need to be 3 different apps in the first place one for each operating system. I've started getting into java programming for android some time ago, and was surprised at the effort that is necessary to ensure compatibility, even though android is designed to take a good part of the work off the programmer.
As long as it's only about certain elements not working in certain browsers, it would be a lot less work to fix the site for that browser than build an app that has to deal with a whole new set of compatibility issues. An app would only be justified if it takes a completely new, mobile-tailored approach at presenting tappedout and maybe some offline functionality like saving decks on sd card and offline playtesting, for example.
And, if I may say so, it's even less work to install a better browser.
February 20, 2014 4:31 p.m.
Triforce-Finder says... #18
For clarification: The mobile browsers that do rollover have to be tricked into doing it. It's not comfortable at all.
February 20, 2014 4:36 p.m.
Triforce-Finder iPhone are a popular phone and many choose not to install a new browser because you can not use other browsers as default browser. Some 3rd party browsers may handle hovers better, but expecting the user to install a browser just for browsing tappedout is unreasonable, especially when all browsers on iPhone runs WebKit and therefore the only thing that differs are the user interface. Better to make sure it works as it should on the default one :)
February 20, 2014 4:40 p.m.
Triforce-Finder says... #21
That's kinda along the lines of the third paragraph of my post, smackjack. You know, the part about fixing the site for certain browsers...
Anyways, why does it have to be the default browser? Can't you just start up chrome (or whatever) and open the tappedout bookmark? Or is there some apple-restriction preventing that? As android user, I'm sometimes a bit... let's say surprised about the troubles of those stuck in an iCage.
February 20, 2014 5:03 p.m.
lets not go into a android vs iPhone discussion here :) I like my phone im guessing you like yours to :D
The problem i have with installing chrome is that i dont need it. I use Safari on my desktop and has everything in sync. And because 3rd party browsers on iOS all use WebKit there is few differences other than the user interface. I dont know, but chrome might handle hover effects better, so you can hold your finger over a card to view it as you can on desktop, but that is not reason enough to install a different browser. For me at least. And i think a lot of people think the same way, and most people doesn't know TO works better on certain browsers. Heck i have friends that doesn't know what a browser is :) Those users should be able to have a complete experience as well, right?
Its not about fixing the site for certain browsers, its about rethinking how the hover effect works to make it work on all mobile browsers. A overlay that shows the image would work for every mobile browser. That way TO users wont need to use a separate browser only to browse TO :)
February 20, 2014 5:15 p.m.
Triforce-Finder says... #23
I'm not interested in a iOs vs. android discussion either. I like my android tablet just as you like your iPhone, and everybody's free to use what they see fit. I simply don't know everything about iOS, so I ask to make sure I'm not missing info that i would need to understand the situation. I didn't even realize that those lines could sound like the intro to a fanboy debate. :)
With certain browsers, I meant those that don't work. So, fixing the page for those browsers would result in all browsers working. I understand that its a little bit long, but I referenced my earlier post for a reason. It's 3rd paragraph starts like this: "As long as it's only about certain elements not working in certain browsers..."
That aside, I'm often puzzled by the laziness or ignorance that some people show nowadays. They don't save their decks even though tappedout offers the functionality, and then complain that they can't access them when the site happens to be down. Browsing the web without the most basic internet knowledge is careless at least, and irresponsible if you do it with your phone where your contacts can be read out by scam pages. There is a certain amount of responsibility that everybody has to take for themselves. However, the pursue of improvement is something I value and deem necessary for everyone, and that includes web designers. It's the webmaster's responsibility to improve a site. While that happens, it's every user's responsibility to use the resources they have at hand if the site doesn't work for them.
February 20, 2014 5:53 p.m.
Heh.
I dunno. I don't think I could really do an offline playtester.... Does it work in app the same way the online one does?
Offline deck access seems doable but not that exciting. Maybe offline collection access could be cool. I don't know if editing is feasible offline.
Every time I think of it I just kinda spin at the thought of maintaining a whole new wing of effort. But I could potentially throw something together that satisfies somebody. Just not everybody, OS aside.
February 20, 2014 6:58 p.m.
Im so used to the fanboy debate, thats my standard comment whenever anyone mentions android and ios in the same sentence ;P.
I agree, users should not complaint if the site is down.YeahGo has the right to some vacation too :). And if the site would be improved, it would be the mobile browser compatibility. The hover effect to view cards is perfect for desktops, but many mobile browsers have trouble with hovering. Naturally since you cant really hover on a touch device. I find myself browsing TO more and more from my phone, and as the nerd i am i know most cards from the name, but if i dont i have to click and be redirected to another page to read it. Thats kinda annoying and a easy solution would be to have a mobile friendly way to view cards. A overlay is the best solution i can think of since its instant and you dont have to load another page. It would be fairly easy to implement as well. Im looking forward to a better mobile experience :)
February 20, 2014 7:06 p.m.
yeaGO! I think very few people would benefit from offline playtesting or decklists. It would require more work than it would benefit the site. I think it would be better if you put your energy on improvements for the site.
You (?) made some changes to the layout not that long ago. Are you aware that there are 2 different headers on the site? When viewing a deck you get the old one (i think) and on the front page you get the new one. And if you click the folder icon at the top right the "folder - inventory - aquire - binder" buttons are reversed inte the 2 versions? My OCD are on overload :) It seems like an easy fix?
Also, i have to say I'm impressed with your work. As i understan you built the site from the ground up and are the only one working on it. Thats pretty impressive. Don't take my comments as complaints, they are just suggestions :)
February 20, 2014 7:17 p.m.
... i live in Sweden where we have more bandwidth than butter, so i really don't know about offline stuff. It just seems like a website should focus on what it is.. a website :) Don't take me as ignorant :)
February 20, 2014 7:20 p.m.
Triforce-Finder says... #28
@ yeaGO!
I'm with smackjack on that. The Website itself is what's important. I really like the way little details pop up here and there, each one improving the website bit by bit. Like the suggestion checkboxes in the comment preview or the one-column layout of the profile page when I switch the screens orientation to portrait view. It is amazing to see the page grow like that, and I'd rather not give that up for an app.
I don't know if an offline playtester is worth the effort, since it has to fetch the images from the server at least once. It could reduce the traffic on the server and the phone if the images are saved locally. So it will be dependent on the server and/or take up quite some space on the sd card. Decked builder for example is cramming image after image into my poor phone memory... Anyways, if an app would be made, a playtester should only be a side aspect.
February 20, 2014 8:23 p.m.
Yeah saving all images locally sounds like an annoying thing to do.
Anyway, the mobile compatibility discussion seems like a digression. I'm interested in what people want in an app
...in bullet point format :P
February 21, 2014 5:07 a.m.
Triforce-Finder says... #30
It is especially troublesome because decked builder uses HD scans with at least 400 kB each. The lo-res playtester images would probably take up a lot less space. Btw, what language did you use to code the playtester?
If i would want an app, it should have
- a specialized decklist view that makes intelligent use of the touchscreen
- automatic download of new or altered decks as .dec file
- offline manipulation of downloaded decks
- automatic update of the online decks when altering an offline deck
- share function
- server-independent export function
- notifications with audio or notification bar popup (maybe with different notifications for certain users or threads)
If it's optimized for tablets, it should have:
- a sandbox function (move cards around and/or stack them freely) what is a great funktion when building a deck. It allows to view all cards simultaneously and contemplate synergies, for example. With paper cards, I ise an app called "table", saved to my kitchen, for digital cards I abuse the playtester, and am regularily annoyed that I can only use half the screen properly.
That would actually be quite cool for the page too.
February 21, 2014 6:09 a.m.
- Ability to export deck lists to the device, with the option of either .txt or visual format (PDF, maybe?).
I wouldn't even care if the visual format had a watermark, so long as the cards are still readable.
February 21, 2014 9:02 a.m.
Triforce-Finder says... #32
The Site already offers that option, by the way. It's possible to export to .txt, .dec, printable, markdown/reddit, and mtgsalvation format by clicking the "export" dropdown, next to the "ordering" dropdown. PDF can be achieved through the browser, some do it by default, some have an addon available that converts websites to pdf.
Not sure about images, though. Ah, now I'm remembering so many suggestions that I wanted to post at some point, I should just do it already while they're still floating around in my head...
February 21, 2014 9:19 a.m.
Regulus1010 says... #33
I would love an android app purely for notification purposes...refreshing TappedOut every 10 minutes when you're waiting for responses on trade proposals sucks haha. Would love to get a system notification pushed directly to my notification bar!
February 21, 2014 10:44 a.m.
I say yes to the app. Include the photo app with it possibly. Have on device storage for deck mod off line for those darn dead spots.
March 30, 2015 9:07 a.m.
Epochalyptik says... #36
@Ecnaegnev: Please check the post dates before commenting. This thread is over a year old, and much has changed since it was posted.
March 30, 2015 12:45 p.m.
doesn't help when there's never a link....
March 30, 2015 1:15 p.m.
Apachalyptic. Fare enough, my bad. This popped up on me like it was new and relevant.
yeaGO says... #2
What are you looking for in an app that doesn't come with the mobile site
February 20, 2014 3:41 p.m.