Introducing... FuwanViewer!

[Steve]

nice release, noticed bug:

When you browse with VN banners and change the filter, the image order is still the same and only the name changes. So Katahane banner shows always as the first banner for every filter.

[ilegend]

Dang, I think I broke something again...

Anyway, it's been fixed now.. Since it's just a single fix, I won't make a new version of it but just keep it at v1.3.3.

So you'll have to update it by downloading and replacing the file, or manually executing FuwanUpdater in the same folder...

Alright, if there's no other bugs I'll see you guys around~

[molitar]

Dang, I think I broke something again...

Anyway, it's been fixed now.. Since it's just a single fix, I won't make a new version of it but just keep it at v1.3.3.

So you'll have to update it by downloading and replacing the file, or manually executing FuwanUpdater in the same folder...

Alright, if there's no other bugs I'll see you guys around~ :D/>/>

Found a bug.. Click on the game One and get error message:

Error: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.

Cannonball also has errors.. did not have time to check rest yet.

[ilegend]

Thanks for the feedback! I have sinced fixed the errors surrounding One and Cannonball, so if you run your FuwanUpdater it should download the fixed version onto your PC.. It is still v1.3.3 so don't be alarmed ^^

Hopefully it might fix other possible problems that it might have, but if you still find any problems, feel free to post it here so I can address it

Cheers~

[Cyprien]

It's a neat program. I do have a suggestion however I think it would be helpful to be able to sort the list. When you click on "Name" at the top of the list it should sort the list in a A-Z type list and by clicking "ID" it would place it back into default view.

[Ryoji]

Your a genius Steve, that worked for me thanks

[Steve]

Your a genius Steve, that worked for me thanks

what what what have I done?

[molitar]

I would like to request an age group filter. All Ages, 18+, All translations.

[molitar]

When I click download torrent it says completed but I go to the fuwanviewer > torrent folder and the torrent is not downloaded. Is it downloading somewhere else? This is version 1.3.3.0

[ilegend]

May I ask which VN torrent you are downloading?

[molitar]

May I ask which VN torrent you are downloading?

Perfect Cherry Blossom I get the message download complete but no torrent is in the torrent download folder.

[meru]

Only just downloaded the new version, but am loving it!

I just have one issue.. sorry if this has been addressed already, but I'm too lazy to look through all the posts ^^;;

Basically, when I click on 'more details' and I get the box with the individual vn info, I can't scroll in that box. So the summary gets cut off part way through, and I have no way to see the rest of it.

Any ideas? Again, sorry if this has already been covered!

[ilegend]

Perfect Cherry Blossom I get the message download complete but no torrent is in the torrent download folder.

I think there's a slight prob with the API values, so I suggest to download the torrent directly from the site while I try to fix the issue... Sorry for the inconvenience caused m(_ _)m

Only just downloaded the new version, but am loving it!

I just have one issue.. sorry if this has been addressed already, but I'm too lazy to look through all the posts ^^;;

Basically, when I click on 'more details' and I get the box with the individual vn info, I can't scroll in that box. So the summary gets cut off part way through, and I have no way to see the rest of it.

Any ideas? Again, sorry if this has already been covered!

I think the window is able to be stretched vertically so you can see the rest of the summary.. I'll try to do something about it, so that it'll be much more intuitive for the users to use...

[molitar]

I am still having torrent download problems. The torrent for Yuenchi would not download.. Actually none of them are downloading.. I get message download complete but no torrent is downloaded

[JeMhUnTeR]

Downloaded 1.3.3 a few seconds ago and decided I'd give some quick feedback. I haven't read the other stuff so I don't have an idea what you guys are talking about.

Questions:

> what exactly does the "Clear Cache Folder" button do? Does the app even store cache of images, banners, and such data?

Some Usability Requests:

> make it an installer-type, so you could have a place to dump config files on its folder.

> add text to default genre dropdown: "All Genres"

> open VN info on double click.

> make scrolling independent from keyboard focus. Right now if you click on Genres and try to scroll on the list, you won't be able to do it unless you click on the list itself first.

> add more columns to list. (stuff like Freeware, Rating, Company, etc)

> allow changing of visible columns.

> allow sorting list with columns. (similar to how you sort stuff with the header in Explorer in Details view)

> compress all VN info in one window. Remove the "More Details" button.

> advanced list filtering feature. Filter list by search, by genre, by rating, by company, by release date, by EGS score, etc.

etc. there's a lot to mention.

Some Eye-Candy Requests:

> Don't leave blank spaces. Fill everything if possible. Stretch out buttons if necessary. (a bit vague, but meh)

> Change font, list color, text color, etc.

> changing views from VN Banners to list shouldn't be a checkbox.

> menu bar. I simply can't live without one.

the program needs a lot of visual revamps. Also, the layouts feel wrong for some reason. I could try to show you my ideal version of this app with Java swing, but it would take quite some time. For now just chillax around.

Issues:

> Banner images: last loaded image is the default used for all other entries. For example, I switch to Banner view. At first, only the text appears. Once entry #1's banner get loaded, all the entries' banners will be the same as entry 1's. Once entry 2's banner get loaded, entry 1 and 2 will now have correct banners, and then the rest of the entries will get entry 2's banner this time. The cycle repeats until the program finishes loading all banners, which makes all the entries' banners correct. I suggest using a default "banner not found"

sprite for all entries. If an entry's banner cannot be loaded or still loading, this sprite shows up instead.

Edit: Here's my rushed dummy JFrame sample. Made with NetBeans IDE.

this was very rushed, so it's not pretty at all. A lot of text should be replaced with images and logos.

The banner could change with the list selection, or it could randomly pick new ones and it will change over time.

again, I'm only suggesting what I think would be more user-friendly. Discard it if you want. Use it if you want.

Edit Edit: added minor issues.

[ilegend]

I am still having torrent download problems. The torrent for Yuenchi would not download.. Actually none of them are downloading.. I get message download complete but no torrent is downloaded

Sorry about that, I fixed the issue in the current prototype on my system but found no time to upload it...

Downloaded 1.3.3 a few seconds ago and decided I'd give some quick feedback. I haven't read the other stuff so I don't have an idea what you guys are talking about.

Questions:

> what exactly does the "Clear Cache Folder" button do? Does the app even store cache of images, banners, and such data?

Some Usability Requests:

> make it an installer-type, so you could have a place to dump config files on its folder.

> add text to default genre dropdown: "All Genres"

> open VN info on double click.

> make scrolling independent from keyboard focus. Right now if you click on Genres and try to scroll on the list, you won't be able to do it unless you click on the list itself first.

> add more columns to list. (stuff like Freeware, Rating, Company, etc)

> allow changing of visible columns.

> allow sorting list with columns. (similar to how you sort stuff with the header in Explorer in Details view)

> compress all VN info in one window. Remove the "More Details" button.

> advanced list filtering feature. Filter list by search, by genre, by rating, by company, by release date, by EGS score, etc.

etc. there's a lot to mention.

Some Eye-Candy Requests:

> Don't leave blank spaces. Fill everything if possible. Stretch out buttons if necessary. (a bit vague, but meh)

> Change font, list color, text color, etc.

> changing views from VN Banners to list shouldn't be a checkbox.

> menu bar. I simply can't live without one.

the program needs a lot of visual revamps. Also, the layouts feel wrong for some reason. I could try to show you my ideal version of this app with Java swing, but it would take quite some time. For now just chillax around.

Issues:

> Banner images: last loaded image is the default used for all other entries. For example, I switch to Banner view. At first, only the text appears. Once entry #1's banner get loaded, all the entries' banners will be the same as entry 1's. Once entry 2's banner get loaded, entry 1 and 2 will now have correct banners, and then the rest of the entries will get entry 2's banner this time. The cycle repeats until the program finishes loading all banners, which makes all the entries' banners correct. I suggest using a default "banner not found"

sprite for all entries. If an entry's banner cannot be loaded or still loading, this sprite shows up instead.

Edit: Here's my rushed dummy JFrame sample. Made with NetBeans IDE.

this was very rushed, so it's not pretty at all. A lot of text should be replaced with images and logos.

The banner could change with the list selection, or it could randomly pick new ones and it will change over time.

again, I'm only suggesting what I think would be more user-friendly. Discard it if you want. Use it if you want.

Edit Edit: added minor issues.

This is awesome, I've been waiting for find somebody who has a much better design sense than me! (Since I'm not a design guy, just your average programmer who does simple apps like this every once in his free time..)

The screenshot looks nice, may I ask if I can use that design layout you mentioned above? o.o

If you want to develop a version of FuwanViewer of your own, go ahead! I'm not monopolizing the idea of a desktop application for $$ or benefit, I simply do it because I want to! I can put my programming to good use, as well as give users another option of browsing the site with added convenience.

I do know qberty is trying for an android implementation of FuwanViewer, and I even helped him with the api at some point, so if you think there's a better way to present this program, feel free to do so~ In fact, I would be very glad if more options are available for the users~

P.S. I've set up a public repository last year with the source code of FuwanViewer (although it's C#), so if you want to look at it, go ahead

Once I've cleared up some free time I'm going to continue with developing FuwanViewer, but for now I need to focus on schoolwork~ orz

[JeMhUnTeR]

hmmm.... school's really tough, eh? Good thing I'm still on vacation hahaha ))

also, I'm still not that familiar with C#. I only started trying to learn C# since I'm starting to design stuff with Unity. And I don't plan to debug long codes I didn't write myself, it's just not fun

and what's the point of coding my own FuwanViewer, if we could just help each other to make something better?

I'm more into design and layout, so I only made a non-functional JFrame with NetBeans IDE's swing editor. I could create really complicated and compact stuff with this handy app, so I don't suggest using that layout yet. That's just the rushed version. I'll go ahead and make something serious this time around since you liked it. *brb gonna lock myself inside this room for hours and bring tons of chips and mountain dew with me*

Wait for around 3 or so hours. I might be done with a presentable layout by then.

And btw, what features are you focusing on with this application? I mean, what features need to shine?

And another question: do all banners and display images in FuwaNovel have the same sizes?

[ilegend]

hmmm.... school's really tough, eh? Good thing I'm still on vacation hahaha ))

also, I'm still not that familiar with C#. I only started trying to learn C# since I'm starting to design stuff with Unity. And I don't plan to debug long codes I didn't write myself, it's just not fun

and what's the point of coding my own FuwanViewer, if we could just help each other to make something better?

I'm more into design and layout, so I only made a non-functional JFrame with NetBeans IDE's swing editor. I could create really complicated and compact stuff with this handy app, so I don't suggest using that layout yet. That's just the rushed version. I'll go ahead and make something serious this time around since you liked it. *brb gonna lock myself inside this room for hours and bring tons of chips and mountain dew with me*

Wait for around 3 or so hours. I might be done with a presentable layout by then.

And btw, what features are you focusing on with this application? I mean, what features need to shine?

And another question: do all banners and display images in FuwaNovel have the same sizes?

FuwanViewer was a name I thought of on the spot, when I needed to name it something.. FuwanViewer is "Fuwanovel Viewer" in short, which really means that the user is just browsing VNs in fuwanovel like usual, except they're doing it in a desktop program.. This would hopefully allow users to browse for the VNs they want (filtering by genre, age rating, etc) faster and easier since the main website does not handle that kind of functionality yet..

It is also really to test my programming skills, back when I did have some time to kill.. I was really hoping to look for one more enthusiastic programmer to join me in further improving the program, but I'm out of luck in that..

Features that need to shine.. I guess whatever that FuwanViewer can do.. Since there's not really that many functionality to date yet.. And to answer the question about same banner sizes, yes I believe there's a fixed size for what kind of images they show (banners, screenshots, cover arts)..

Oh, and finally, there's no rush for the design yet! Take your time in the designing, I still need to settle some backend issues to improve the user experience~

[JeMhUnTeR]

layout v2 (main window only):

Reload button: reloads all visual novel list data.

Options button: opens the options window.

View Combobox: This is where you change from list view to banner view or other views.

Filter List: Where you filter the list, duh.

Main List View: list of all filtered VNs. Double clicking an entry opens its info window. Single clicking an entry updates the detail summary panel.

Detail Summary: Quick Info about the selected visual novel.

Status Bar: the current status. I see progress bars on weird locations in the current program so having this might be cleaner.

Just added the detail summary and replace some text with images. I ended up sleeping for a few minutes so I wasn't able to work properly. Also, tab sorting:

I'll work on info window and options window next.

[Guest]

dayum. it looks so nice now

[shcboomer]

dayum. it looks so nice now

Agreed, the newest build is looking great from the screenshot.

[Kreweta]

Hmm, is that app still downloadable ? I'd like to get my hands on it (but not the source code). (:

[ilegend]

Hmm, is that app still downloadable ? I'd like to get my hands on it (but not the source code). (:

Hey Kreweta, yes you can still download it. The link to the page is here.

[JeMhUnTeR]

okay, I changed my mind, may I have the source code? :>

[ilegend]

okay, I changed my mind, may I have the source code? :>

Sure thing, knock yourself out