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Block Keeper: Cross platform desktop timer

DalDal

Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2017
Messages
150
Location
Adelaide
WCA
2017MCNE01
Whoops, looks like notifications weren't being sent to my email for a while.

I would love support for bluetooth cubes but I would need a Giiker cube to actually test it but I'm waiting for Gans :)

Looks like the CSTimer export format changed slightly for the better, but a hack at the time doesn't work anymore so it will need updating, Should be an easy fix.

Update from me: I'm back a uni and now I have a part time dev job so I've been kept pretty busy. Block Keeper has been on hiatus for a while but it will probably stay that way at least until the end of the year. I'll still fix bugs and make releases from time to time, but I can't dedicate much time to new features (Like a better UI). I welcome anyone else to add features and make a pull request on the Github repo. I'm accessible if anyone wants to chat.
 

Hazel

Premium Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2017
Messages
1,681
Location
in your walls :3
Whoops, looks like notifications weren't being sent to my email for a while.

I would love support for bluetooth cubes but I would need a Giiker cube to actually test it but I'm waiting for Gans :)

Looks like the CSTimer export format changed slightly for the better, but a hack at the time doesn't work anymore so it will need updating, Should be an easy fix.

Update from me: I'm back a uni and now I have a part time dev job so I've been kept pretty busy. Block Keeper has been on hiatus for a while but it will probably stay that way at least until the end of the year. I'll still fix bugs and make releases from time to time, but I can't dedicate much time to new features (Like a better UI). I welcome anyone else to add features and make a pull request on the Github repo. I'm accessible if anyone wants to chat.
Thanks for the update! I was a little worried you forgot about us Block Keeper users :p
Have you considered starting a Patreon for Block Keeper! I know I'd certainly love to donate in exchange for whatever rewards you can think up.
 

DalDal

Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2017
Messages
150
Location
Adelaide
WCA
2017MCNE01
Haha thanks, maybe it's something I'd consider when I finish my degree and work full-time. But for the moment it's a bit of a responsibility.
 

OregonTrail

Member
Joined
Nov 8, 2009
Messages
138
Using this on my Macbook Pro. Love it so far, it's exactly what I needed.

All of the online timers had an issue on my machine which would rapidly repeat submitting times. Downloading a "desktop" timer I thought would fix the issue. However, I realized it was a macro setting on my keyboard after downloading this timer.

I see you with the Electron app : )
 
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Hazel

Premium Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2017
Messages
1,681
Location
in your walls :3
@DalDal when you have time to work on Block Keeper more again, would you consider a small feature to track how many solves you do in a sitting? IE. how many 3x3 solves done since opening the application, minus the number of deleted solves. I'm trying to practice more consistantly, so when I sit down to do a bunch of solves I'd like to more easily be able to keep track of how many solves I do in each sitting :)
I hope university and your dev job are going well!
 

danvie

Member
Joined
May 10, 2019
Messages
15
WCA
2019VIER01
Would be nice if the solves with comments had some sort of red mark or something to tell that it had a comment.
Also would be nice if the tool that displayed your pb's would have the times linked to that session.
If someone could make a blockkeeper mobile that would be able to share the times between the two would be great.

Don't get me wrong. This is an AWSOME timer for offline because we don't have acess to the internet on our computer. Keep up the good work!!!
 

danvie

Member
Joined
May 10, 2019
Messages
15
WCA
2019VIER01
Also, could you consider including fmc as an event with the long scramble and the slots for typing in the solution. Then the computer would check the solution to see if the solution was valid. Just an idea. Don't feel obligated to work on it right now, just throwing an idea out there.
Also possibly a 2-sided pll trainer equivalent to feliks's on cubeskills?
 
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Hazel

Premium Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2017
Messages
1,681
Location
in your walls :3
Actually, I'll just put all my suggestions/requests here so you they're all in one place :p take your time though, I know you're still super busy with uni and your job and all!

- Option to have a little counter somewhere keeping track of how many solves you've done since opening the application (per event ideally). Maybe a tool in the bottom-right?
- Option for different video output format if possible, perhaps .mp4 (.webm doesn't have a default opening app so Mac users would have to convert each file...)
- This is nitpicky, but a small "bug": in the menu, only the 'general' tab becomes flush with the list of options when selected.
- When viewing a list of times, would it be possible to make it so command/control A selects just the text in the window and not everything on screen? And having it keep the line break formatting would be amazing too so we don't have to manually add line breaks between each solve...
- This is also sorta reaching for ideas but some sort of option per event to have the timer automatically delete solves under one second and revert back to that same scramble would be amazing! I can't tell you many times I've had my hand on the spacebar and accidentally start and stop the timer quickly and have to pause to manually delete the time and go back a scramble. Again, it would ideally be per-event - so like 3x3 and up would have it, but not 2x2.

I'll probably just edit this comment if I think of more stuff... and again, there's no rush at all, I'm just putting this here now so I don't forget to when you have the time to work on BK again. Also I mentioned this a while ago but it's still on the table, if you make a Patreon page I would totally become a Patron! Partially because I love your timer and would love to contribute, partially because I'd love whatever Patron-exclusive stuff you might think up (maybe like insight into the dev process of the app and updates on how updates are coming along, and maybe a simple page in the timer commemorating Patrons xD), and partially because I feel bad constantly asking for more features on a free product...
 

Elf

Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2014
Messages
25
Location
Germany
WCA
2013FISC01
Since I started using Block Keeper again aswell, here is my little bit of input. :)
First of all, I've got a new computer, so the lag I had has decreased immensely. A slight lag starts to be noticeable at around 1500 - 1600 solves in a session, which is perfectly fine.

I noticed a small bug in the time display on the top left. The current and best averages are rounded differently, the best average is sometimes 0,01 s better. (I use 2 digits behind the comma)

I also have 2 ideas for features:
- the time distribution doesn't really help me as soon as the best and the worst solves in a session are very far apart, relative to the time. Knowing I have 500 solves between 5 and 10 seconds and 400 between 10 and 15 is quite useless I think. It would be great to be able to adjust the width of the columns.
- When coosing a background picture it's very hard to still read the scramble and, depending on the picture, even the time. To solve this, I put my wallpaper into paint and made a coloured rectangle behind the scramble. If the already existing area behind the scramble could be made not see through, that would be awesome.

Other than that, I am very happy that this exists!!!
 

TimP

Member
Joined
Aug 21, 2019
Messages
1
Hello @DalDal,

First off: I really love this timer, I have been using it for a month now and it does everything I need and more.
So huge thanks to you!

BUT

I have feedback for the Event Trend Graph:

I have alot of sessions for 3BLD to see my long term improvement.
Since it's 3BLD I do have some shorter sessions without an Ao5 because of the DNFs.
These seem to be represented as value zero in the graph... This looks really weird and maybe you can do something about that.Screenshot from 2019-08-27 20-02-34.png
 

Iwannaganx

Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2019
Messages
464
Location
Victoria, Australia
I'm on windows ten but I normally time on my phone. Is there a way to get the data off cstimer on my phone over to block keeper on computer? Do I have to email to myself or something? How, exactly, step by step, do I do this?
Preferably with pictures. :p
 

DalDal

Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2017
Messages
150
Location
Adelaide
WCA
2017MCNE01
Sorry guys, yet again I stopped getting email notifications.

I really want to thank everyone that's showed support and interest in Block Keeper, even since I haven't been updating it very frequently. Most of my motivation to work on it at this stage comes from your enthusiasm.

I'm cautious of making future plans or promises because I can't guarantee how my work load will change in the next year. I should be graduating at the end of the year with my Bachelors in Computer Science and I want to do an Honours program part time so I have more free time for things like this (also so I'm not stressed as much). I'll also be working full-time over Summer (Australia) and continuing part time work after that, as I do now. I expect that my workload will be lower and I'll have some free time.

I can see a lot of mess in the code from before I started Uni when I first started Block Keeper. So I want to do a refresh, rewriting the entire thing, but using the code already there where applicable. That way it can be structured way better and properly incorporate things like smart cubes, time splits, MultiBLD, FMC etc.

I think a Patreon would really help motivate and justify more time working on this refresh. I think at least keeping a dev log would be fun.

Keep your requests coming because they may be part of this refresh and I always like to hear what suggestions you have, even if they may not directly become a feature. I might release a survey soon to see what features and aspects are most important to everyone, which would really help shape my design.

Again, thanks everyone for your continued support. :)
 
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