Cocoa Stuff : Blog » Announcements

Deep Green 1.2

Joachim Bondo — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 09:35:54 +0000

This has been a difficult release. I’m very happy it’s out.

From the day the iPad was announced, more than a year ago, I wanted Deep Green to be a universal binary. You should’t have to manage several versions, and you certainly shouldn’t have to pay for it twice. So here it is for you, as a free upgrade.

Even if you bought it more than two years ago, you’ll be able to run it on any of your current iOS devices. And at no point in time have you had a reason to regret buying Deep Green at a higher price, because it has stayed the same since after the short introductory period. If anything, price will increase as more features are added over time.

On a related note, I’ve decided to discontinue the free Lite version. The difference between Lite and the paid version (Lite doesn’t save games between app launches) has been practically eliminated by iOS 4.0’s multitasking.

For all you Lite users, I hope you’ve enjoyed the free ride enough to upgrade to the full version. Lite will stay in the App Store for a while to support older devices and iOS versions, but it will never run native on the iPad or support the Retina display.

If you appreciate the new version, please rate it on the App Store.

Another Happy New Year

Joachim Bondo — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 14:11:47 +0000

While you can say I don’t post to the blog very often, at least I do it regularly. Let me use the start of the new year to post a short update.

2010 started out with the following ambitious, professional goals:

Launch Deep Green 2.0
Launch another iPhone app
Launch a Mac application
Launch a more personal site for my free software

None of these can be ticked off completely. But it’s not far from, and many other interesting things happened in 2010.

I just managed to create a more personal blog where I’ll start talking about all the subjects that don’t strictly belong to Cocoa Stuff. That leaves us with Deep Green here for now…

Deep Green Is Thriving and Well

2010 saw the introductions of iPad and iPhone 4 with higher resolution displays. On the Deep Green forum I’ve told a little bit about the turmoil around the graphics design of the next version, so I’ll just list a few forward looking statements about the next version:

Version number will be 1.2
Graphics will be optimized for Retina and iPad displays
Binary will be universal
Release date will be in Q1/2011
Lite version will be discontinued

I’ll elaborate on two of the statements, universal binary and Lite discontinuation, in separate posts.

Happy New Year!

And Then There Was Lite…

Joachim Bondo — Mon, 25 May 2009 19:25:52 +0000

Previously, there wasn’t any way of trying Deep Green without having to purchase it. I can appreciate users wouldn’t necessarily just want to do that, although $7.99 US is cheap for an application of Deep Green’s caliber. And only very recently did I provide you with videos to ease the buying decision, let alone a website that would imply the quality I stand for.

By downloading Deep Green Lite, you can now get a feel for its big brother. In fact, they’re exactly the same – with just one exception: Lite won’t restore your previous game at application relaunch. So if you answer a phone call during a game, for example, you won’t be able to resume it, because Deep Green Lite will have terminated.

Luckily, getting the full enjoyment is only a few taps away: Game Info > Help > About:

Tapping the Buy Deep Green button will take you to the comforting shelves of the App Store. So to all of you with a need to kick the tires first, have a go at it.

The Best Chess App for iPhone Keeps Getting Better

Joachim Bondo — Sun, 10 May 2009 20:10:37 +0000

Deep Green 1.1 was just approved by Apple. It’s been four months under its way. That’s a long time. And it feels even longer. Perhaps because I’ve been doing a lot of other things while creating the best Deep Green yet. More on that soon.

Version 1.1 offers the following improvements over 1.0:

Built-in Help
Application Settings:
- Rich, analog-type sounds¹
- Callout notification for check, stalemate, and checkmate
- Vibration on check, stalemate, and checkmate²
- Board coordinates
- Board auto-rotation
- Prevent device from going to sleep
Added piece animations for check, stalemate, and checkmate
Improved animations for captures and move suggestions
More comfortable auto-playback speed in Playback mode
Display of Engine Strength next to player name in Game Info
Animations when swapping colors in Game Info
Quick-link for sending e-mail to Support
Other minor improvements and bug fixes

I’ll be writing about several of these enhancements in greater detail in separate blog posts. For now, check out the videos on Deep Green’s product page.

¹) Sound is only available on first generation iPod touch when using headset or external speakers. The device must be unmuted.

²) Vibration must be enabled on the iPhone (Settings > Sound) for the currently active Silent/Ring state. Vibration is not available on iPod touch.

Hello, world!

Joachim Bondo — Sun, 10 May 2009 19:37:52 +0000

I’ve been reading blogs since 2004. I remember this because that’s when I went back to using a Mac. Now, five years later, I’m ripe for my own blog. Just before they become obsolete, taken over by some new, exciting technology, I reckon.

So why this billionth blog? Mostly for my own sake. I need somewhere to put my thoughts on the code I write, on user interface and design. That’s what I feel strongly about. I’ll be discussing my iPhone applications, perhaps others’ as well.

I’ll strive to make the content both entertaining and thought provoking, so you might want to check back. You may even take it so far as to subscribe to it. Like now.