FramePerfect Speedrun Timer for iOS and Android
6 years ago
England

Hi guys,

I'm a game and app developer who recently started speedrunning A Link to the Past. As I couldn't find a decent mobile timer I created my own called 'FramePerfect Speedrun Timer' which has just gone up on the app stores.

As I'm still very new to all of this I was wondering how I might go about getting the word out there to the community?

Thank you :)

Website: http://futuretrostudios.com/frameperfect/ iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/app/id1282372099 Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.futuretrostudios.frameperfect

Edited by the author 6 years ago
JTown2909, Oxknifer and 2 others like this
Kent, England

What is your app called Twinzam? Does it allow for splits?

Twinzam likes this
England

Hey drgrumble,

It's called 'FramePerfect Speedrun Timer'. It's fully featured with all the functionality you would expect e.g. split, pause, unsplit, custom icons etc. I've added links to my original post (didn't realise the forum supported them!)

Cheers!

Edited by the author 6 years ago
United States

I was always wanting a Livesplit counterpart for mobile. This is gonna be very useful when I don't have access to my computer. Thanks!

Twinzam likes this
Georgia, USA

definitely going to need this when I'm grinding IL's on my switch. XD

Twinzam likes this
Antarctica

LiveSplitOne works on mobile as far as I know since it's browser based.

I think it's still under development though so it's probably not 100% completed.

I have no idea how it compares to this app, but this timer looks very slick, nice work on it!

Twinzam likes this
England

Thank you so much for your kind words everyone!

Please feel free to hit me with any questions or feedback :)

Just bear in mind I'm based in the UK so might not be able to reply right away!

Also feel free to join the FramePerfect Discord here https://discord.gg/4jcw2xY

Antarctica

I'm hearing stuff from people on places you posted this, and they are saying this has features behind a paywall?

That's...not good. There are so many open source timers and other free ones that I can't imagine why anyone would pay for one, even if it does look nice. Hell, using the generic timer on the phone would be better than upgrading to a paid version of this too get features other timers offer free of charge.

I'm hoping the people talking about this having a paywall are misinformed because monetizing a timer like this is pretty bad.

Edited by the author 6 years ago
England

@Timmiluvs Thanks for your feedback :)

I made FramePerfect because I couldn't find a decent timer with all the features I wanted available for my mobile, whether free or paid.

I'm a professional developer and as much as I would love to release everything for free, it costs me money to develop my products which means if I don't charge a little something I wouldn't be able to spend the time making and supporting the product in the first place. In all honesty I don't even expect to break even on this one, but I wanted to give something to the speedrunning community I've just joined, in the only way I know how.

The free version allows you unlimited runs of one game and one category so you can make an informed decision of whether you think it's worth upgrading. I thought this was the fairest deal I could offer, but am certainly willing to listen to any suggestions.

Thanks for your understanding :)

JayJane4 likes this
England

@AbandonedSatan :) ah yes, that old chestnut!

In all honesty I hadn't considered it as an option but if there's a lot of interest it's definitely something I could look into :)

Please consider your vote added to the chalkboard!

Antarctica

As a developer too, I understand that point of view, but I think developing a tool for the speedrunning community and charging for it is in bad taste.

You acknowledge that there is a lack of tools for a certain platform and develop a tool for that platform, but charge for it and that just sits poorly with me because you're basically giving users an ultimatum - stick with the poor tools that exist or pay for mine.

Sometimes developing tools to better a community of people warrants them being released free of charge because the purpose should be to help the community rather than get some profit off of the lack of tools. That's my feedback anyway, I encourage you to consider open sourcing it or removing the paywall so that people can fully make use of this tool without needing to pay.

Still, regardless of our different viewpoints on the paywall, nice work on it. It's a job well done.

Edited by the author 6 years ago
Twinzam likes this
Georgia, USA

I also think that people hating the idea of paying $1 or $2 for an app is stupid. Yet we routinely drop more than that for so many things. Your phone is a computer too so I'm not opposed to the free trial/ demo business model here. It's actually the best. The software isn't behind a paywall at the beginning so you can at least try it.

The other option is Ads. I prefer the demo system over ads.

aaaief, Mitsunee and 2 others like this
England

@Timmiluvs thanks for being understanding :)

The bottom line is FramePerfect wouldn't exist if I didn't have a way to be reimbursed for the weeks spent developing it fulltime (this is my day job!). Releasing it as a demo gives the power to the user to decide whether they think it's worth shelling out a couple of bucks for.

Like JayJane4 said, the other option is ads and similarly I definitely prefer the demo system :)

JayJane4 likes this
Illinois, USA

Hey there twinzam. First thought: THANK. YOU. I have been dying for a program like this, it really helps me. Second thought: do you think you or anyone else could make a apk for the program? I have a kindle instead of anything else and rely on apk's for most things. If I could be replied ASAP it would be appreciated. Thanks ☺

Twinzam likes this
Georgia, USA

they did mention they were in the UK so you probably won't get an answer for a few more hours since it's the middle of the night over there

Twinzam likes this
England

@electriccrusher891 You're very welcome! Unfortunately I can't provide you with an APK directly, plus you would be missing out on all future updates. Instead, can I suggest installing the Play Store on your Kindle? I have one myself and found it a quick, painless process (this was some time ago though). Apologies if that's not an option for you :)

Edited by the author 6 years ago
Illinois, USA

I guess I could try that. By "indirectly" do you mean a file download? Most apks I download are on websites.

England

I can't give you an APK or speak to downloading from websites myself, but I expect it will appear somewhere either way :)

I'm just updating my Kindle Fire to confirm if the Play Store still works and I can download FramePerfect that way for you. Will let you know once the seemingly endless stream of updates are complete!

England

Okay, apologies for the delay, confirmed FramePerfect working fine on Kindle Fire with the latest Fire OS!

Idkid likes this
Illinois, USA

Will you share your algorithms with me?

Edited by the author 6 years ago
Idkid likes this