Keep score and time on your iPhone

[garyhayenga]

I've written a free iPhone application, now available on the App Store, for keeping score and time on your iPhone.

Here's a link to a description of it: http://66.93.4.109/ScoreCounter.html

I'm debating adding a bunch of features to it, and possibly charging a dollar or two, and I wanted to get some opinions from the people here.

Planned features:

Name entry for pools or DE bouts.

Ability to cycle through bouts in a pool.

Ability to save bout results.

Double-touch button for epee. It will keep track of what order the touches were scored in, so the double-touch button would increment both scores.

Separate view to see all the bouts in bout order, with results listed.

Pool view to assign Pool/Event/Tournament names and view Pool totals.

Also to assign weapon type (F,E,S) and bout type, (5, 10, 15) touches and pool or DE bout.

Color picker to for Red/Green color blind people to pick different colors.

Sound picker to let the user assign different sounds to different functions.

Ability to wirelessly download results to desktop computer.

What else?

[edew]

Make it web based to a local web server so that the BC can pull the information immediately to some other DB as well as project the info to some screen.

Take a look at the PalmFencer that Jon Daley wrote (and that I'm probably the only one that still uses it). There's a lot of features there that I like.

One thing that PalmFencer doesn't have is to show the score when the clock screen is shown and show the time when the score-screen is shown. Maybe you can do some cool alpha to show the score and clock together but emphasize one or the other by the amount of alpha showing.

Make sure you get the card colors there. All the fencers love it. Heck, they make an infraction just to see that red card.

[Purple Fencer]

Funny thing, Eric....the first person I thought of using an IPhone for scoring was YOU!

Ad for the cards....not only the solid colors, but make an animation of yellow-to-red and red-to-black...just to scare the fencer (Kinda like Ed Richards sorting his cards while awarding one and asking the offending fencer to hold one....the black, usually)

[BrodeurNJD30]

Your my hero! I will gladly pay to be able to run a tournament in my hand.

[garyhayenga]

Make it web based to a local web server so that the BC can pull the information immediately to some other DB as well as project the info to some screen.

Take a look at the PalmFencer that Jon Daley wrote (and that I'm probably the only one that still uses it). There's a lot of features there that I like.

One thing that PalmFencer doesn't have is to show the score when the clock screen is shown and show the time when the score-screen is shown. Maybe you can do some cool alpha to show the score and clock together but emphasize one or the other by the amount of alpha showing.

Make sure you get the card colors there. All the fencers love it. Heck, they make an infraction just to see that red card.

Ah, I looked up an old post you made about the PalmFencer software. I hadn't understood what you meant about the red and yellow cards. My version 1.0.1 has little yellow and red indicators that appear next to the name so the referee can keep track of who has what card (the App Store hasn't posted that version yet).

I hadn't thought of making solid yellow and red screens so the referee can show them to the fencers. I'll put that on the list. Would making a plain black screen to show to the fencers work though? I guess I'll have to try it and see.

[garyhayenga]

Oh yes, this will also run on the iPod Touch as well.

[catwood1]

I think its the next generation that all pool sheets will be on PDAs, and the results just downloadable to the BC computers. Save huge amounts of time and reduce the risk of human error.

[KD5MDK]

Hitup dberke to see if some sort of direct upload to Fencing Time would be possible.
Also maybe DJ Apostrophe could talk to you about Engarde compatibility.

[garyhayenga]

Make it web based to a local web server so that the BC can pull the information immediately to some other DB as well as project the info to some screen.

That's simple enough, I'll just have it saved as an HTML file as well when it's downloaded.

Take a look at the PalmFencer that Jon Daley wrote (and that I'm probably the only one that still uses it). There's a lot of features there that I like.

I can find places that say I can download the PalmFencer software, but no screenshots or other descriptions of it's functionality. I don't have a palm, so I couldn't run it myself. So let me know what good things about it I should include.

One thing that PalmFencer doesn't have is to show the score when the clock screen is shown and show the time when the score-screen is shown. Maybe you can do some cool alpha to show the score and clock together but emphasize one or the other by the amount of alpha showing.

ScoreCounter has the clock and score on the same screen. The clock isn't huge, but it's a lot bigger than any stopwatch I've ever seen used to referee with. And I really want them both right there at the same time.

It makes a crashing noise when time expires. Maybe I should make the screen flash wildly as well?

[edew]

I think its the next generation that all pool sheets will be on PDAs, and the results just downloadable to the BC computers. Save huge amounts of time and reduce the risk of human error.

Only if proper oversight by the fencers are allowed. Fencers must be able to see the scoresheet to verify that the scores were properly entered. Referees could make an honest mistake or deliberately put the score wrong. If it's on a PDA, then the fencer must be able to see it or maybe ask for a read-only downloaded copy. The fencer should then have an equivalent device.

As for the black card, perhaps have it slowly turn from red to dark red to black with a quick burst of white flash (just to prove to the fencer that your iPhone didn't just run out of battery and he's laughing at your loss of power).

Also, don't forget to allow for swapping the fencer's sides (in case of lefty-righty).

Another thing that would be good is syncing between two devices if two referees share a bout when double-stripping (or triple stripping). You can have the master-slave(s) model where the slave device will beam back the result automatically to the master.

[KD5MDK]

Can you activate vibrate when time expires? That would rock.

Palm OS Emulator - Not sure if this works or anything, but it might be worth a try.

[edew]

It makes a crashing noise when time expires. Maybe I should make the screen flash wildly as well?

Make it vibrate.

[garyhayenga]

Hitup dberke to see if some sort of direct upload to Fencing Time would be possible.
Also maybe DJ Apostrophe could talk to you about Engarde compatibility.

I already talked to dberke about integrating with Fencing Time, since that's what everyone I know who uses tournament software uses. He said he is very interested, but he's really busy right now, and he'll get back to me as soon as he can.

[garyhayenga]

Can you activate vibrate when time expires? That would rock.

Palm OS Emulator - Not sure if this works or anything, but it might be worth a try.

Oh yes, vibration is easy.

(makes note to add vibration)

[garyhayenga]

Only if proper oversight by the fencers are allowed. Fencers must be able to see the scoresheet to verify that the scores were properly entered. Referees could make an honest mistake or deliberately put the score wrong. If it's on a PDA, then the fencer must be able to see it or maybe ask for a read-only downloaded copy. The fencer should then have an equivalent device.

Yes, there will be a pool results screen since each fencer will have to review their scores and click an okay button.

As for the black card, perhaps have it slowly turn from red to dark red to black with a quick burst of white flash (just to prove to the fencer that your iPhone didn't just run out of battery and he's laughing at your loss of power).

I like it.

Also, don't forget to allow for swapping the fencer's sides (in case of lefty-righty).

Already does that in the multi-bout version. A swipe across the name will switch them.

Another thing that would be good is syncing between two devices if two referees share a bout when double-stripping (or triple stripping). You can have the master-slave(s) model where the slave device will beam back the result automatically to the master.

Interesting. Tricky, but doable.

[Purple Fencer]

Oh yes, vibration is easy.

That's what SHE said!!

On a serious note...make the vibration signifcant...you need to cut through concentrating on the action...a noise of any kind won't be heard.

[peet]

Cool, I was wondering when someone would do a score/time app for the iPhone!

Some thoughts:

While you're doing vibration, a vibration on clock stop/start would be a good additional feedback. Good for noisy venues.

Not sure that the noise for clock reset/undo is necessary.

Fancy idea, but maybe not necessary: Instead of the +/– and 3/1 buttons for setting the clock, what about just letting the user scroll the digits with swipe gestures, same way that the iPhone's built-in timer does (but smaller)? The greatest aspect of the iPhone is the gestural interface. In fact, even the +/– buttons for score could be replaced with gestures to swipe the score up & down.

Double-touch button for epee. It will keep track of what order the touches were scored in, so the double-touch button would increment both scores.

It might be reasonable to assume a double-touch (or double red card) when both scores are incremented without a clock start/stop in between? That would also save you a button.

Can you see a theme in my suggestions? They're all "less is more".

The main thing that bugs me about FRED's UI is how busy it is; I've always wanted to find ways to make it quieter. "One of these days"(tm).


Anyhow, thanks for doing this! It looks like a fun project.

-p

[oiuyt]

Not a fan of using the PDA to display cards, no matter how cool the fencers think it is.

The cards (and other hand signals) are primarily for the spectators. Both fencers should be close enough to the referee that s/he can just say what's happening. Holding up a PDA doesn't tell the spectator 5 rows deep (much less 25) what's happened, other than that the referee showed the fencer something.

-B

[KD5MDK]

It might be reasonable to assume a double-touch (or double red card) when both scores are incremented without a clock start/stop in between? That would also save you a button.

If you put each fencers score on a side, then wouldn't a finger swipe upwards on both sides at the same time indicate a double touch? ie with thumb and forefinger.

[edew]

This issue of double touches reminds me of the early days of computers when people are asked to hit both the ctrl and alt keys at the same time. Some idjits would literally try to time their keystrokes so that the two fingers would hit the keys at the same time. Sheesh.