Updating AndEngine

Recently I decided update my version of AndEngine to GLES2 (before I was using GLES1) and as a result a lot of my code broke. GLES2 has actually been out for some time, but when I first started with AndEngine, I grabbed the first version for whatever reason and it worked so well I never really needed to upgrade. Fixing the errors is just a matter of changing some syntax mostly, but it promises to be a pretty tedious task. I've also run into a couple issues so far with some timer stuff. Because of this, I haven't actually been able to fully test play the game I'm in the process of converting. I'm a little worried that things might not work as well, which would be awful since they were working great before the AndEngine update. Fortunately I made backup copies of all my current AndEngine projects, so worst case scenario is I go back to GLES1 for my current projects, but use GLES2 for any future ones.

Additionally, I've been revisiting the Nail Polish Cataloger. I am attempting have it create a lower res copy of any image you select to attach to an entry. Then the original image can be deleted and the version being used by the cataloger is in an NPC image folder on external storage. The copy will be lower resolution (the app never actually shows the image at a high res) so that your external storage won't get filled with a bunch of large image files that are potentially still on your phone. I'm running into issues with this as well. I can save the copy just fine and have it linked to an entry, but so far the image is always a really small (much smaller than I want) sized image. I'm hoping to have this issue solved soon and working properly in the app's next update.

Database App Released and Puzzle Game

We've released the database app. It's called the Nail Polish Cataloger and as you might expect, it catalogs a person's personal nail polish collection. Tia suggested the idea a while back, and I wanted to play around with SQLite, so I started working on it. You can put in the colors, brand, collection, finish, size, etc. in and then look at them later or edit them or search for specific qualities like blue glossy polishes that cost more than $1. You can assign a picture to each entry in the catalog from your device's gallery. You can get it here:

On another note, I've added a cool (I think it is at least) power-up to the puzzle game I've been working on. The one that was my first attempt at AndEngine stuff. It was already good but I decided it needed a little bit more, and I'm really happy with the idea I added in. Here's how it works: as you destroy tiles on the board, an animated meter to the side fills up. When it is full, it starts glowing red which means the power-up is ready to be used. If you click it while its glowing red, the glow becomes green to show the power-up is "armed". When the power-up is "armed", your next move will destroy a bunch of tiles, but the meter will drain and you'll have to start filling it again to get the power-up back. I'm really happy with the way the power-up works, and especially how it looks. When the meter drains the bar slides back down to the bottom of the meter, and it looks really cool in my opinion. Overall, its a cool addition that I'm pretty excited about.