I hope this isn't inappropriate in this forum. I've published an EQ2 related application for Android devices in the Google Play Store. The app is called "EQ2GO" and allows you to search EQ2 characters, add them to favorites, and view all sorts of character info. (Paperdoll images, stats, equipment, spells, aa's, skills, etc...) Being the initial release, there are probably a few bugs, but it works well in our limited testing, and should certainly be useable Unfortunately it's still a bit hard to find in the Play Store, so either search for EQ2GO by name, or follow the direct link here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.uppercase.eq2m Send me a tell if you catch me in-game and let me know what you think. -Monge
Did you get the OK to do this from SOE? I actually asked a while back...a long while back mind you, and got a cold shoulder.
There is no need to ask permission from SOE. The API is public for all to use. You can read terms, conditions and documentation here: http://census.soe.com/ Note that EQ2 data is actually published here: http://data.soe.com/get/eq2/ If you have any questions about the API, please feel free to post in the Data API forums or e-mail me directly at EQ2Wire.com. It's sad to hear someone have an idea and stop because they think they need prior approval. I spoke to someone else who got rejected by the Apple app store because Apple's draconian approval people are apparently illiterate and unable to read SOE's API docs and so the developer just gave up. I would have been happy to help draft e-mails to Apple to explain the situation and try to get their head out. This is pretty cool! I might work on getting the Character Details to look a bit more like in-game. Also, the app is very textual -- it would be great if you could pull in all the icons for classes, races, items, etc. to make it more visual. But I like that the information is cleanly presented. If you have any questions about what any of the stat names mean, how to get icons, etc. please feel free to e-mail me or ask on the Data API forums.
Thanks Feldon, you may see me in the data forums soon enough Icons and more "prettying-up" of the data is on the to-do list.
So can I ask what framework you used, and if you are happy with the performance? Not that I will be creating anything like this anytime soon. We're about to get flooded with a ton more data and that will keep me busy adding more tabs to EQ2U for the foreseeable future.
You should be fine unless trying to bank which obviously is not the case. Monge are you using Eclipse or tinkering in the Android Studio? or neither? I am using Eclipse on Windows machines but tinkering with Studio on my Linux Box Google actually is trying to make android design more user friendly (as if it is not currently but..you know what I mean more visual studio like...)
I didn't use any framework. I try to avoid things like that (Phonegap, etc...) exactly because of performance issues. I did use HoloEverywhere, which brings the Android 4.x look to older OS's so that it looks close to the same for everyone.
I'm using Eclipse. I've played a bit with Android Studio, but it's not quite ready yet. (or maybe I'm just too comfortable with Eclipse now, heh)
You are correct studio is not complete atm. I have been using Eclipse mostly myself for android based things.... I find myself leaning toward total web app development more and more since if I develop any game it is more text/2-D based (call me old lol.) My nephew has a cheapo android 4.0 device from some local drugstore that has to be the slowest 4.0+ device I have ever used. My goal is that if whatever I develop runs smooth on that device it should be fine on the others lol On fun side of things I was at a basketball game for my nephew and some kids sitting front of me had an android device when another comes over and says "Oh man you got one of those ipads!" they go "yeah man its cool look!" ....note these are high schoolers..I just went lol and continued watching the game. Makes you wonder..
Monge - thanks for building that app. I downloaded from Play Store last night. I like a lot of it. One request... I found my toons and saved them to my favorites. However each time I went to view a favorite character the app would initiate a full refresh of data, downloading everything all over again. Is there a way to cache everything locally and only update if I request an update? Would be nice to quickly check over my favorites while offline. Thanks.
Have a look at Basic4Android (http://www.basic4ppc.com/). I use that for all my Android development - if you can use Visual Basic, you can have android apps up and running in next to no time. It's not free like java/eclipse is but it is very good value when you consider the cost against the functionality. No, I don't work for them and I'm not on commission
Thanks for the feedback Malchore, and I completely agree I definitely need to work on caching the data for the favorited characters. I'll try to get this added asap.
Great app! Caching would be great - I'd love to be able to call up the pictures faster to show people. Though, if possible, it might be nice to be an optional setting so that those who always want fresh info or might have space concerns can turn it off. An extra list for guildmates or friends might be nice too.
Just pushed some updates... Caching is in, favorited characters will pull up without having to reload data. There is now a menu at the top-right corner of the Character view where you can initiate a data refresh manually. (No on-off setting for caching yet, but I'll give that some thought) Equipment and Spell icons have been added to the display. I haven't changed the layout yet, it's still just a list, but its a better looking list atleast The bad-news, favorites had to be cleared. The data being stored changed too much. I'll definitely avoid doing this whenever possible, but this time it was required... New app logo. It's been pushed to the Google Play Store, and generally takes a couple hours to show up, so keep your eyes peeled for the update. Thanks for all the feedback, Monge
