Sportacular - Feedback, Ideas, Trash talk, etc

[Jeremy1026]

I'd like to update my initial post by saying, the NHL push alerts work great. I have two alerts set, one for the Devils one for the Caps. I have beginning of game, score, end of period, end of game alerts for both teams. I have not missed an alert yet. Most alerts have come through before they drop the puck after the goal also. A+ app.

 

[botsmack]

Pro user here. Thanks for fixing the News/Web viewing bug that required you to load-exit-load the news item. One feature I'd like to see added (I don't know if it's been requested), is making those news articles load the mobile versions of the websites -- if the reporting agency has them.

For example, when I open up a news item and it's from ESPN, don't load the full website article, load the mobile version of the article. It would speed up load times and make it easier to read.

Thanks!

 

[Requiemm]

This past weekend I had alerts set for scoring changes, quarter end and game end and noticed a quirk.

The Cowboys game went into OT but Sportacular stopped updating at the end of regulation. I received no more notifications and wasn't able to see any other updates for that game.

I love sportacular and was miffed that I had to launch espn to see how the game resolved.

 

[Almy]

I love the app! And I have to say I'm loving technology these days, so many cool possibilities.

I think UI and sounds would be my greatest desires. I still use ESPN for quick glances for future games and such between the NFL and the NCAA. Sportacular's UI is a bit cluttered to me if I want to just get some quick info on upcoming games/records. With ESPN I can get that by just swiping left and right, much easier.

I know sounds aren't a priority, but I'd suggest they might deserve to be. The one thing everyone with the app will do is get push notifications. So the alert sound is your first, and most common, interaction your app will have with everyone.

I'd love to not get extra point notifications, but I see your point about not wanting to wait for the total. For me the ideal setup would be where you can set an audio sound for touchdowns that is different from extra points. Then you can even turn it off for the extra point but still get a sound for others. Would be cool to have a sound setting for extra point failures, safeties, et cetera. But even a toggle for off on things other than touchdowns would be a nice option

 

[Jeremy1026]

I'd be cool if hockeys score alerts came with a horn sound. Wouldn't be hard, maybe an extra 5 lines of server side code.

 

[flash80]

If you load a game before it starts and it starts while you are on that page, the navigation doesn't update and clicking on any of the navigation at the top will take you to the wrong page.

Great bug find. We just fixed this for 1.7 but never caught it in testing. Much appreciated!

Some other good suggestions here as well. To be honest, we've messed around with the sounds a bit but it hasn't been a top priority (adding more sports/data and faster, better alerts). Almy, good point about the alerts being the first and most common interaction. Maybe we'll do something for 1.8 (version 1.7 will be submitted this week... sneak preview coming soon).

 

[RollTide1017]

What are the main benefits of getting the pro version over the free one?

 

[nbs2]

I like the in-app update notification. On your TD notification question, I like the two notices. It isn't much, but it gives me a bit more context into the game (especially if I miss earlier notices).

On suggestions, I have three:

First, I don't know how the Apple UI is set up, but is it possible to stack notifications? When multiple teams are playing, I'll get two or three in rapid succession and end up missing whatever the earlier notices said. If notices can stack, being able to see the underlying notices as I clear the ones above them would be nice.

Second, one feature that the Worldwide Leader has that I like is the horizontal swipe. It would be nice to be able to switch between sports on Sportacular in the same way. While your method is better for making a long jump in sport, moving to an adjacent is more cumbersome.

Third, background loading. If you could offer background loading of whatever in the sport not being viewed, it would be a timesaver. As you jump from category to catgory, those could be loaded on an as needed basis, but I usually am just checking scores. If NHL and MLB scores loaded while I was looking at the NFL, it'd be a nice efficiency.

 

[RollTide1017]

I figured out the answer to my question above.

Used this for the first time yesterday and I really like it. I did notice that the start times for upcoming college football games are not all right. Examples: Ark vs UF is listed as starting at 11am but really starts at 3:30pm / SC vs AL is listed as a 12pm start when it is really 7:45pm).

 

[Errk!]

Are NBA alerts working for the preseason games? I've got alerts set for the Pistons and am not receiving any alerts at all. Wasn't sure if it was just because it's preseason...

 

[Jeremy1026]

I figured out the answer to my question above.

Used this for the first time yesterday and I really like it. I did notice that the start times for upcoming college football games are not all right. Examples: Ark vs UF is listed as starting at 11am but really starts at 3:30pm / SC vs AL is listed as a 12pm start when it is really 7:45pm).

College games change their time, so thats not overly surprising.

Are NBA alerts working for the preseason games? I've got alerts set for the Pistons and am not receiving any alerts at all. Wasn't sure if it was just because it's preseason...

They didn't have preseason alerts for NHL, so I don't think they would for NBA either.

 

[RollTide1017]

College games change their time, so thats not overly surprising.

Ture, but the start times for the 2 games I mentioned were announced on Sunday. I just thought it would have been updated by now. Not a big deal, was just wandering.

 

[STEVESKI07]

One big issue for me that Sportacular and ESPN does not have, yet USA Today has is having the main college football scores page just listing all the current games that are on, whether they are top 25 or not. Sometimes I'll bet on a game or a friend will ask me the score of the game that isn't in the top 25 and I'm not really sure what conference they are in. It's very very difficult to find this score, so I usually just have to go over to USA today, which I do not like, to find the score. I think if you just had a section like the 'Top 25' selection that said 'Live Games' or something that will display the score of all the games thare are currently on, it would really come in handy.

Besides that, this app is incredible. The push notifications work great and really help me keep track of games without having to constantly refresh the app and look up scores when nothing important is even happening. I know you spoke about this earlier in the thread, but the alerts can be a bit loud and a little much if you have more then one games alerts being pushed. Maybe a feature in the settings to have no sound and just a vibrate even if the phone isn't in silent mode? I'd like to be able to have my ringer on, yet have the option of whether or not I wan't the push to make a noise.

 

[flash80]

What are the main benefits of getting the pro version over the free one?

Right now it's just the ads, but with v1.7 the Pro users will have a few new features that aren't available to free users. Honestly though, if the ads don't bother you, I would stick with the free version.

First, I don't know how the Apple UI is set up, but is it possible to stack notifications?

Second, one feature that the Worldwide Leader has that I like is the horizontal swipe.

Third, background loading.

Thanks for the feedback...

1. We wish Apple made it easy to do this (more like Android notifications), but it's out of our hands.

2. That's something we'll consider for our 2.0 design, but we won't mess with the current functionality if we do.

3. Also something we'll play around with and would certainly improve the usability.

Are NBA alerts working for the preseason games?

Yeah, it's a pre-season thing. They will be working fine for the regular season.

I did notice that the start times for upcoming college football games are not all right. Examples: Ark vs UF is listed as starting at 11am but really starts at 3:30pm / SC vs AL is listed as a 12pm start when it is really 7:45pm).

Sorry about that. As Jeremy1026 pointed out, it's because they changed the start times. They should be fixed shortly and we'll put a system in place to better handle that.

I think if you just had a section like the 'Top 25' selection that said 'Live Games' or something that will display the score of all the games thare are currently on, it would really come in handy.

We actually have an "All D-1A Teams" option in the conference dropdown, but it's at the very bottom and most people don't know about it. Be warned though, it's a pretty slow loading screen since it has to load so many games... which is part of the reason why it's at the bottom

 

[Redwood]

The Cowboys game went into OT but Sportacular stopped updating at the end of regulation. I received no more notifications and wasn't able to see any other updates for that game.

I had this same problem. Is there going to be a fix for this?

 

[RollTide1017]

I'm still pretty new to this whole iPhone thing so forgive me if this seems like a trivial question. Since I have the free version, if I were to purchase the Pro version, would it install on top of the free version, keeping all my fav teams and stuff intact?

 

[nbs2]

Thanks for the feedback...

1. We wish Apple made it easy to do this (more like Android notifications), but it's out of our hands.

2. That's something we'll consider for our 2.0 design, but we won't mess with the current functionality if we do.

3. Also something we'll play around with and would certainly improve the usability.

I appreciate the response. This kind of attention to the userbase solidifies my intention to keep using Sportacular over their app (originally I only picked you guys up as a filler while I waited still wait for them roll out push notifications).

With the second, I don't mean to suggest that the current implementation is flawed, just that a horizontal swipe would be an enhancement in addition to the current upper-right button. I think the Worldwide Leader could benefit from you implementation as well, as it can be cumbersome to go from the first to last sport with swipe after swipe after swipe...

I don't know if it is any help to you, but I was thinking about the things that make me prefer your app to their app or vice versa:
1) Shorter app load time for you guys - it can take a while for their app to load if it even loads (see below)
2) Better loading for you guys - I've had their app crash on the loading screen more than a few times.
3) While eye candy isn't everything, their app is a little more "phone friendly" - I like that it is quick and easy to see what games are on and the gaves are individual blocks that are separated by some space. It's just easier to jab.
4) Favorite handling - I like the favorites screen that you offer as it is nice when you have multiple teams playing on a given day. But, they offer your favorite at the top of the listing of each sport, making it easier to follow races (the race for NL seeding was huge for me) and rivals. I suppose I could make those guys rivals too, but that is just a bit more cumbersome as things change.
5) Initial information - Sportacular offers team name, and game location, date, and time, which are all I normally want; they offer current records as well. This goes hand in hand with the races I mentioned earlier. When I am only tracking one other team, it is easier to get the information I need from one screen rather than having to switch over to the standings

 

[severe]

I'm still pretty new to this whole iPhone thing so forgive me if this seems like a trivial question. Since I have the free version, if I were to purchase the Pro version, would it install on top of the free version, keeping all my fav teams and stuff intact?

I was concerned about this as well.

 

[bozzykid]

I'm still pretty new to this whole iPhone thing so forgive me if this seems like a trivial question. Since I have the free version, if I were to purchase the Pro version, would it install on top of the free version, keeping all my fav teams and stuff intact?

It's considered two different apps so it will be installed as a separate app (you would just delete the non-pro version). I'm not sure how it stores the favorites so I can't say if it keeps those or not.

 

[flash80]

I'm still pretty new to this whole iPhone thing so forgive me if this seems like a trivial question. Since I have the free version, if I were to purchase the Pro version, would it install on top of the free version, keeping all my fav teams and stuff intact?

It is a separate app, but all of your favorite teams will be ported over automatically so you should be fine.

I don't know if it is any help to you, but I was thinking about the things that make me prefer your app to their app or vice versa:

This stuff is really helpful for us, thanks for taking the time to share. We plan to make a number of UI changes over the next few months and I'll keep all of this in mind as we do.

 

[sleeks]

How about adding formula 1 (next season obviously since their are only two races left).

Thanks.

-Pro User

 

[jbennardo]

After a busy weekend of sports and updates and keeping track of scores, I finally removed the 'worldwide leader' from my phone. Sportacular does everything I want and that was just the free version. I am going to purchase pro to support the devs. Great app - it's one that I keep coming back to and I can't really say that about a lot of the apps I buy.

 

[nyisles84]

Sportacular is great, this was my first full weekend using it. One thing that is semi-annoying on football games. I get an update for a touchdown then an update for the extra point. Is there anyway to delay the push for just a minute or so to reflect the extra point as well?

 

[yukong]

Sportacular is great, this was my first full weekend using it. One thing that is semi-annoying on football games. I get an update for a touchdown then an update for the extra point. Is there anyway to delay the push for just a minute or so to reflect the extra point as well?

I for one like it this way. Keep it as is.

I love the app. It is now the only sports app I use and I will be deleting the WWL app as well as the others I have. I had alerts for several college games as well as ALCS. I was out and about most of the day unable to watch the games and it was great being able to keep up with all the goings on. For those on the fence about getting the pro version...I like not having the apps, but I suggest you buy the pro version to support the developers so that they can have the wherewithall to keep this thing going and getting better and better.

Thanks DEVs.

 

[nyisles84]

I for one like it this way. Keep it as is.

I love the app. It is now the only sports app I use and I will be deleting the WWL app as well as the others I have. I had alerts for several college games as well as ALCS. I was out and about most of the day unable to watch the games and it was great being able to keep up with all the goings on. For those on the fence about getting the pro version...I like not having the apps, but I suggest you buy the pro version to support the developers so that they can have the wherewithall to keep this thing going and getting better and better.

Thanks DEVs.

i just figure, 99% of the time, that extra point is made. Hold off the update for that extra 45 seconds - 1 minute to account for the extra point