Still working on this app. I have since found a partner and we are working together to get this onto the Apple app store!
I think we’re nearing a state where we can start beta-testing the app, even though personally I feel like it’s not at a “presentable” state. Things are working as intended: You can upload posts, tag posts, filter posts, view other user’s posts, all ordered by location, you can offer trades, message users and you can receive notifications when you are offered a trade. It’s all “workable” but I definitely feel as though there’s a lack of polish and… well there’s just something missing! Perhaps animations to make the whole thing feel complete and actually ‘fun’ to use?
There’s also one more key feature that we’ve been scratching our heads over. We wanted to include some sort of “scoring” system on the app, where on every user’s profile there is a number displayed. The number increases the more the user uses the app or when they do specific actions, like creating a post, or accepting a trade, etc. Sort of like Snapchat’s Snapscore on their app. We’re kind of scratching our heads at this… if anyone has any idea how we could tackle this last obstacle I would love to hear from you!
Overall, I think we’re nearing the finish line. At least, the first usable state of the app. To be honest it feels a little overwhelming. The closer it is to the end, the more faults and errors and general lack of polish I see - and the more I feel like we should push back and delay. I feel like I’m stuck between: “This is only the first build, and besides people will know that it’s just a beta test and not the final product. You’ve done what you can and now it’s time to just get some feedback and keep making improvements.” & “This is the first time people will see what you’re doing, so you gotta make a grand entrance and WOW them!”
In any case, I think I’m just going to swallow my fear of having this flop and do my best to get it in the hands of people asap. It’s been a long time coming!
First of all much respect to you for all your progress and reaching that point!! That’s amazing!!
You’re ahead of me, but still if I may offer my 2 cents
Use the app with your mind open, and try to picture what cool effects could happen every time you do something. Animations for data updates are really cool. If you need some inspiration, definitely check out Kavsoft’s YouTube channel! Also, padding goes a long way. I personally find there’s not enough padding more often than there’s too much of it haha
I have kind of a simple way to see it, but because all user interactions are not worth the same, I would each give them a “scoring weight”. For illustration:
User creates a post → +5 points
User accepts a trade → +15 points
And you store the sum somewhere on your Database. Be mindful to tweak the weight scoring system to reflect the singular value of each “operation”, as well as the orders of magnitude you want people’s scores to reach. Would you consider a user having 1k points a lot? 20k points? What are the implications in your app for having a great score?
On the back-end side, are you using Firebase? For an MVP I’d simply store the number on the user’s document and increment it from the front-end SDKs. For the App Store I’d try to store this number on a secured document and increment the number with Cloud Functions.
Only a user can do something that increments their own score right? In that case you should never reach the writes per second per document limit so that should be fine.
If you don’t know yet how to increment a number on Firebase, you should start with this post
My gosh, that’s so relatable. I feel the same way. Honestly both those answers make sense to me, only you can make that decision.
Further than you?! I refuse to believe it!
Even if that’s the case, I’m sure your understanding and mastery far exceeds mine. I still have no idea what I’m doing half the time.
On the back-end side, are you using Firebase? For an MVP I’d simply store the number on the user’s document and increment it from the front-end SDKs. For the App Store I’d try to store this number on a secured document and increment the number with Cloud Functions.
Only a user can do something that increments their own score right? In that case you should never reach the writes per second per document limit so that should be fine.
If you don’t know yet how to increment a number on Firebase, you should start with this post
Oh thank you so much!! We are indeed using Firebase and my partner ended up figuring it out while I kept on polishing the app haha - but ill definitely check out your linked post. I need… to learn more… ahaha.
And yea, your suggestion on the scoring weight is basically exactly what we did haha. Every action increments the score differently.
My gosh, that’s so relatable. I feel the same way. Honestly both those answers make sense to me, only you can make that decision.
Keep it up, it’s inspiring to read your journey!
Thank you so much!! Hopefully we’ll be able to test out both of apps to each other soon!
Yesss!!
I ended up getting some close friends in on it already.
It’s absolutely not done, but the core features are there…
And I think there’s a paint point. However, I’m only going off of personal experience i.e it’s a personal pain point I experience, so I’m just hoping that there are others who feel the same way.
I have a twitter account for my app already and it seems like there are people who like the idea!! So… HOPING FOR THE BEST!!
