Sphericle

The latest release to Sphericle is now available on the App Store. This update fixes a nasty crashing bug with iOS 4.2.1, where the app would crash as soon as it was started. Sorry to anyone who felt pain from that bug. Get the update here. Read more about Sphericle 3.0.1 Now Available: Crashing Bugs Fixed

I've been working on the concepts and design for Sphericle 3.0 lately, and I want to share some of what I have so far. The past versions of Sphericle have not been designed nearly as well as they could have; I rushed into development too early, and the game suffered for it. This time around, I want to make it very pretty, more intuitive, and more fun! Here's some of what I'm working on:

While working on the next release of Sphericle (which is going to be awesome), I've had to create new map icons for the Search screen in the app. I want these icons to have the same style of shadow as the Google Map pins do on the iPhone. So, after some experimentation, I found a pretty easy and accurate way to do that. Here's what we're starting with:

Read more about Photoshop: Create an iPhone Google Map-style Shadow for Icons

Today I added some support forums to the Coffeeshopped website. So, now there's a central place to get help, give feedback, and discuss Sphericle, HourPatch, and Glory Math.

Sign up and let's get the conversation going! Read more about Building a Community: Coffeeshopped Support

By far the biggest complaint I hear about Sphericle is that there aren't any spheres around when people search. (Well, for most people... I think Jynne would disagree!)

I'm listening. Minutes ago I released an update to the Sphericle server that should result in people seeing a LOT more spheres in their vicinities. There are still only 360,000 spheres in the world, but now they move around in a way that makes them much more accessible.

NOTE: you may not see more spheres on your first search, but you will see many more over time. Read more about More Spheres in Your Neighborhood

Sphericle 2.0 is now available (for free)! Read more about Sphericle 2.0 Now Available

Yesterday I submitted version 2.0 of Sphericle to the App Store, so hopefully it should be available within a couple of weeks. This new version is a massive upgrade to the app, taking it from a small social experiment to a social, location-based game. And it looks a lot prettier, too! Follow Sphericle on Twitter to find out when the update drops! Read more about Sphericle 2.0 is On Its Way

As part of some of the new features I'm adding to Sphericle, I needed to add a ranking system for user accounts, based on a point system. Specifically, I needed to write a method for my User class (on the Sphericle server, which is a Rails app) that would give me the ranking for a User, based on how many points that User has compared to all the other Users.

Sphericle 1.1 just became available on the iTunes store. Get it here: itunes.com/app/sphericle.

A brief summary of what's new in this version: Read more about Sphericle 1.1 Now Available

Well, Apple hasn't emailed me yet, but I checked Sphericle's review status today and it said "Ready for Sale", and sure enough, it's on the App Store now (although it isn't turning up in searches yet). Please download it, review it, and rate it highly! I'm already working furiously on the next release, which is going to be big! Stay tuned. Read more about Sphericle now available on the iPhone App Store