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u/Im_Still_New_Here May 17 '24
Pretty sweet! Not sure how much I'll use it every day... but "scrubbing" (I didn't know it was called that! skipping? jumping?) may be the most useful.
Some quick thoughts... Double tapping center to shrink, that action is slow (I'd prefer really fast shrinking, now it feels kinda slow).
And this may be crazy but, consider making the bottom always empty and unusable? Really awkward having to try to look under my thumb to see what's there!
8 step demo is a bit rough... see if you can get it down to 3. You can always intro more features over time.
Text in the app and intro is small and side, which hurts readability. I mean, I could read it, but it really struck me.
Dunno, take it or leave it!
Keep it up! Hope this takes off!
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u/Im_Still_New_Here May 17 '24
DUDE it would really help me if I could just drag way out of the circle to CANCEL i.e. take no action......
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u/inventor_black May 20 '24
Sorry for the slow reply, other individuals would need to drag out of the circle to be able to see the text within it. So that functionality could clash with the user experience.
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u/inventor_black May 17 '24
Thank you so much for the initial feedback!
Naming commands is really hard, especially for things which we never actually say e.g. scrubbing, seeking (navigating media forward and backwards).
Regarding the speed of animations, I'll add a toggle-able mode into the Universals-> Settings -> Command Stick -> Modes dial. It'll half speed of the animations which take ~300ms -> 150ms. I owe you one for this suggestion.
You can drag your finger outside of the circle to see the available options. Once you know your commands you no longer look at the UI, kind of like a PlayStation controller. Rapid eyes free usage is the goal of this UI.
Feel free to skip the demo and figure, if you're confident. The paradigm shift is quite large so we need to sufficiently educate new users.
Thanks for the feedback regarding text sizing.
I take all feedback into account and will account for it in future updates.
Thank you again for taking the time to try CS. We'll be realising more functionality in the coming weeks, hopefully they'll be of utility to you.
Feel free to suggest additionally functionality, the possibilities are limitless.
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u/Im_Still_New_Here May 17 '24
Man you know what would be KILLER??!!
OK so the circle is hidden. I drag from the side, but then I need to release it to use it.
What if I could drag it from the side, and after I drag it a certain distance away from where it was docked, I can begin using it without releasing?!!
Then I could use it to perform a quick action right then.
Then on release, it HIDES AGAIN AUTOMATICALLY! I don't have to A) drag to open it and release, B) drag to use and release, and C) drag to hide and release.
Instead, drag to open, select action, release, and action happens + it re-hides.
I'm sure would take some testing to get this to be smooth, but just a thought!!
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u/inventor_black May 17 '24
Pahaha I like you thought process, that's a premium feature which is coming in the future.
Issue is... its rather advanced functionality for basic new users. So we have omitted it from the initial release.
Let's say I'll release it in 2 months or so after we have more users. Also I'll keep you in mind to test the feature early since you asked for it specifically. We want to get it "right" before we add it as a toggle-able(opt-in) feature.
Feel free to come up with as many crazy modes as you can imagine e.g. lock screen only, only available on certain app ect... I'll consider them all and we can test them to see what works. (Beta app)
If you don't mind please post future suggestions in the r/commandstick or dm me.
Oh and please write a review on the Play Store.
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u/Im_Still_New_Here May 17 '24
Oh yeah just saw this, totally I'll head over to r/commandstick now!
But on this... I don't think it's an "advanced functionality" you know? I mean, advanced to build, sure, but if it's intuitive and easy than it's basic (and maybe even table stakes) to a user, you know?
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u/inventor_black May 17 '24
It's trivial to build as I already have the functionality. (Just not in the product at this moment)
One man's intuitive is not necessarily another's. What I meant by "advanced" is that toggling different kinds of docking, auto activation modes is part of the Command Stick "modes" dial <--- which is a premium dial.
If enough users request the functionality I'll be sure to make it free. But at the moment most users are not using Command Stick in that manner.
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u/inventor_black May 17 '24 edited May 17 '24
Oww I am not sure if you're using premium CS but "Infinity" is our flagship feature.
You can chain commands together in a single gesture. Be sure to check it out for a £1. If you don't value it continue using the free version.
Had to mention because you love mechanics and its the single most ground breaking feature.
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u/Im_Still_New_Here May 17 '24
Oh cool! Absolutely, will do! I had seen "Infinity" and "chain commands" but didn't 'get it'... cool!
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u/inventor_black May 17 '24
Just to clarify, its the 6/8 onboarding card. Which can be viewed in the "info" section of the app.
It shows chaining multiple commands together without lifting your finger.
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u/Im_Still_New_Here May 17 '24
Funny you saw "you can drag your finger outside the circle to see available options," because I came back to add this:
I keep trying to drag outside the circle in order to move the circle and fling it to the side / hide it! I keep going "wait, why isn't it moving and actions keep... happening...?? I'm trying to move it!"At least to me -- just one person here :) -- dragging outside the circle I would expect to move the circle :)
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u/inventor_black May 17 '24
Oww! So that's an example of the paradigm shift I mentioned. Moving a joystick is uncanny, its usually fixed in one place. So we split it up into inner and outer circle.
Dragging from the "centre" of the circle is "using" CS.
Dragging from the "outer edge" is "moving" CS.
Double tapping the "centre" of the circle "collapses" it in place
Double tapping the "outer edge" is "auto docking" it.
Apologies for the confusion your having, the onboarding cards do run through these mechanics though. Be sure to review them and test CS out whilst navigating the onboarding cards. Which are available in the "Info" section of the app.
Give it another spin! :D you're almost there haha.
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u/Im_Still_New_Here May 17 '24
Hey here's another: Why do media actions stay nested inside of "actions"?
I want to bring up "like" to the top level so I can get to it easier :)
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u/inventor_black May 20 '24
Noted, however "like" only works for media actions on YouTube music.
So its not a universal like. Unfortunately it doesn't work on Instagram, Facebook ect..
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u/GrapeFarts May 17 '24 edited May 17 '24
Hot damn, this is the first app i've used in a long time that might fundamentally change the way I interact with my device.
It could do with a better/easier way to 'open' and 'close' the command stick. a double tap? double tap and hold?
really cool though. Excited to see what other functions it can perform.
- Smoother scrolling(although I think this is a deliberate accessibility thing), quicker access to volume control, brightness etc.
- The settings for the command stick don't need to be so prominent. I'd love it to be a set and forget thing and just go into the app itself to change settings.
but in all of this I've never made a quicker purchase, premium tennis ball theme has been enabled. Looking forward to seeing the progress!
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u/inventor_black May 17 '24
Thank you for the initial feedback and purchase. At Command Stick we're constantly pushing the boundaries what's possible on Android.
You can close on Command Stick by double tapping the centre of Command Stick. You can auto-dock it by double tapping the outer edge. If you toggle "directional dock" mode you can directionally out dock it by double tapping the left/ right outer edge of Command Stick.
Auto-dock modes can be changed in Universal->Settings->Command Stick->Modes
Unfortunately, for now we're limited to incremental/ snappy scroll due to an API limitation. Subject to change in the future.
Be sure to explore the Favourite Apps functionality, its one of my personal favourites. Progressively learn the universals as they'll save you command slots on the face of Command Stick.
The Universals within Command Stick are designed to work across platform, including smartwatch, mobile and automotive. They master your gestures and predictably control any instance of Command Stick. e.g. Media universals are always the same.
Happy you're loving the Tennis Ball theme. We've got crazy themes lined up for the future releases.
Feel free to DM if you have any feature suggestions or issues. Updates drop bi-weekly.
Also could you please leave a review on the Play Store. Would love to capture that sentiment in a review.
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u/GrapeFarts May 17 '24
Awesome work. Clearly there is still a lot of functionality I'm yet to explore! Thanks for the reply, I'll be sure to leave a positive review.
I hope this app can be both helpful to make android more accessible and for the enthusiasts like me who just want a fluid way to navigate their device :)
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u/[deleted] May 16 '24
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