Wednesday, April 24, 2013

LCARS Interface [Windows 8] Hits version 2.0!

Update: This update flew through certification at Warp 9 and should be available for download shortly! Please visit the Version History page to read up on the changes.

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It's been a busy week but it's finally time to unveil the next update! Why is this one version 2.0? Because the split I was talking about in my last post has happened. There are now officially two modes, although the switch between them is pretty seamless. Simply tap/click on the "Change Mode" button at the top left and the left menu buttons switch between (unofficially named) productivity and entertainment modes. You can go back and forth between them easily enough since the "modes" are really just sets of buttons that change out to allow for more modules to fit.  Productivity mode is where you will find most of what has been included in the app up to now. The Simulator has moved over to the entertainment side of things and is the only thing to do so for now.

This app has mainly been focused on making LCARS versions of basic productivity apps besides the simulator module.  There will now be an additional focus on making the app a little more fun, and I am starting to build some simulated LCARS panels that not only look neat but you can also interact with them to some extent. There are two new modules in this category to get you started. What are they? You will have to wait until the update passes certification...or if you simply cannot wait, go over to the Version History page where I already added the release notes for it! These modules certainly take some time as I am doing them all from scratch and building them in native code. They are not flash animations from other sources. I will be adding more of these as time goes on. If you encounter any performance issues with these modules, please let me know!

Also less major but still noteworthy is a new panel in the Settings module which will allow easy access to this blog, the Twitter page and the Facebook page. I want to make sure everyone who uses the app at least knows about this blog so that everyone has an opportunity to see what's happening with the apps and to make suggestions for new features.  Get your suggestions in now and they might make it in the next update!

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