“GoDroid” for Android needs Testers – Play Against GnuGo

Announcements
1

Hello

TLDR: I am releasing a fork of GoDroid, an app to play simply Go against GnuGo, on the Android Play Store (sorry to Apple users, but it is Android only), but I need testers per Google’s new developer policy; specifically 12 users for 14 days. If you are willing to test it, please add yourself to the Google group below and try the app out!

I wish I could say I’ve loved the game of Go for my entire life, but I was only introduced to it 17 years ago. Since then, it has been a passion of mine. I love how the elegance and simplicity of the game lines up with the infinite complexity of the strategy. Although I’m not great at the game, I still play it regularly on my phone against a simple AI.

Or I did until the open-source GOdroid game stopped working on newer phones. It was last updated 12 years ago, so it had a great run. Being a better programmer than Go player, I decided to fork the original GOdroid and update it (and I did talk to the original developer about it). I renamed it to GoDroid and added a couple of new features. It was a process, but it is pretty much done!

However, Google is trying to clean up their app store a bit, so they recently introduced a policy where new app developers need to get a dozen people to test a new app for 2 weeks. I’ve asked friends and family, but I’d also like to get people who, you know, actually play Go to give it a try.

The app simply plays Go. You can play with a friend right next to you or against GnuGo. It supports 9x9, 13x13 and 19x19 boards. The touch controls are, in my opinion, top notch. You can save and load sgf’s of your games. This app is free in every way possible; open source and no cost. No subscription or log in or ‘play only n games per day’ or anything like that. Just, simply, play Go!

Thank you in advance to everyone who gives it a go! Feel free to reply to this message or add a new conversation in the Google group with any bugs or suggestions for new features (although honestly, I consider this release feature complete and they might wait until the next major release).

7 Likes
2

Hello @samthegliderpilot,

as this might well evolve to become a long thread, with feedback from users and news from you, I’d suggest giving it a more expressive title, including the App’s name, so that people can better find it.

Perhaps something like …

“GoDroid” for Android needs Testers – Play Against GnuGo

?

Just an idea :slightly_smiling_face:

Good luck with your enterprise!
(I cannot join as I mostly use Apple products).

2 Likes
3

Greatly appreciate your efforts to move this forked app forward. A few quick reactions after testing it briefly on a Motorola G stylus (2021) phone w/ Android version 11…

  1. Not sure what you’re referring to with regard to top notch touch controls. I don’t see any onscreen controls - the limited controls are contained in a series of menu choices.

  2. The saved sgf games are put in an inaccessible folder. Allowing them to be placed in any navigated folder (with read/write rights) would make the files accessible to other programs later on (e.g., for email, analysis, evaluation, AI alternatives, etc.)

Best wishes!

1 Like
4

Thanks for taking a look! For the touch controls, I mean for placing stones and zooming in and out on the board. But for everything else, yeah it is behind the 3-dots menu.

Alas, the save folder has to be in an app-specific folder for Android security reasons (in older versions of Android the permissions were a lot more lax). I was able to access the files in my phones file browser. You can also ‘share’ the games you play too.

1 Like
5

Making that update now! Thank you for the suggestion.

1 Like
6

Ah, got it re: touch controls. As for “share” - that sure does the trick. From there I can email, save file wherever I like etc. Don’t tell Google or they’ll screw this up next. :wink:

7

Hi everyone

The app has been released! Thank you for taking a look. You can check it out here!

GoDroid - Apps on Google Play

4 Likes
8

Played with, all good. What’s his strength btw?

9

It uses GnuGo for the AI, and it is running on a phone… according to one post I found online, it is weaker than 2 kyu.

10

To clarify, the change in strength setting at the weakest level makes it approximately 2 kyu, or is that at its full strength? If it’s the latter, then what is the approx strength at its weakest level?

For us newbies, it makes a big difference if there’s never a chance of playing a comparable strength match.

11

The bot can play pretty good! At weakest levels its maybe around 10k, and at its strongest i had really hard time with it! Maybe it could be more beginner-friendly with even weaker bot, but for me these are good enough ^___^

Some stuff i’d love to have:

  • smoother zoom in/out transition,
  • “pass” is hidden under the 3 dots, bit bothersome to be the first one to pass
  • some “you won!” message after the game would be nice ^^
  • also some big button for a rematch with the same settings after the game ends?
  • larger / more visible font for the text at top
  • can i get rid of those numbers on 2. and 3. most recent moves somehow?

It’s quite fun to just make a “bot vs bot” game and watch the chaos that ensues, but when you then create a new game, it resets to “human vs human”? ^^

12

Indeed! But… Newbies (like me) would appreciate a level that at least afford us a fighting chance. Otherwise, there are too many better alternatives out there for learning and enjoyment. :wink: