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Forums » Suggestions & Development Discussion » need this as a app

i really want this to be a app that you could get on your phone and such... sometimes i cant get on the computer but always have my phone on me. But when i get on the browser the messages dont load. So something like Facebook messenger would be great.
Kim Site Admin

this question has been asked a lot since the launch of the mobile site (and even before) and I’ve never really had the opportunity to talk about it, but I really want to make sure Kim gets the recognition she deserves here.

Firstly, you’re in luck! You’ve already got the best possible version of a universal RPR app! if you’re on an iPhone, it’s actually possible to add the RPR as an icon on your home screen exactly like an app! The Mobile website already functions like an app, so there really wouldn’t be much of a difference.

The only difference would be an increased workload on our only programmer, Kim.

The website is developed, debugged, and administrated all by Kim! She’s really a freak of nature. :P It’s easy to mistake this website for the work of a large corporation, or a team of professional programmers, but Kim is the long and short of it! It’s a real labor of love, and she works hard on it.

To have an app on the iPhone app store, you have to pay a regular fee to be a registered developer for Apple. That’s money that isn’t going to server time, new feature development, or Kim’s rent!

The other thing is that every time an operating system update is pushed out, there’re changes that are made that may cause glitches to the app. Now Kim has to work double overtime to do code on TWO different apps, (web and iPhone) and make sure everything is compatible with everything else.

That’s Apple’s clean, closed system environment, where all devices are homogeneous. Same goes for Windows.

If we were to try and get the RPR on the Google Play Store and the Android OS, it would be a nightmare. There are HUNDREDS of different Android devices with all kinds of different specs and there is no guarantee that an app is going to work exactly the same on all of them. The work it would take to make sure there are no glitches for every kind of device would break our poor Kim!

The RPR doesn’t work without an internet connection, so it’s not like you’d have a use for a downloaded app anyway. We need to be appreciative of Kim’s time and effort, and allow her to be economical in her development efforts.

It’s a good idea in theory, but doesn’t add any real value in practice. If you’re looking for offline resources for dice, character sheets, or other tabletop apps, I’d be happy to make some recommendations! Otherwise, you can find out how to make the RPR an “app” on your phone here.
Kim Site Admin

Wow, thanks Oaky! :D
Ilmarinen Moderator

I wanna chip in and say RPR has the best mobile version compared to all the sites I use regularly. Hell, it's BETTER than a lot of apps.
Kim Site Admin

Heimdall wrote:
I wanna chip in and say RPR has the best mobile version compared to all the sites I use regularly. Hell, it's BETTER than a lot of apps.

You kind of made my day.

The proliferation of these topics this month inspired today's news posts, because although I have absolutely no plans to make an app, I do absolutely want the site to be a good experience for everyone, regardless of the device they are using.
yandere_queen wrote:
i really want this to be a app that you could get on your phone and such... sometimes i cant get on the computer but always have my phone on me. But when i get on the browser the messages dont load. So something like Facebook messenger would be great.

Can you tell me more about what it looks like that messages don't load? Are you talking about PMs? Forums? Does the screen just show up blank? Does part of it load and then stop? Do you see the full page but not the new messages, like your phone is showing you an old cached version?

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