Cosplanner

var sc_project=10361342; var sc_invisible=1; var sc_security="2a343c67"; var scJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://secure." : "http://www."); document.write("");

[cosplanner]

The App Formerly Known As Cosplanner

I should’ve realized when I received messages on tumblr about my app that was still quietly in development that it was not a fluke or someone stumbling upon this blog in casual interest. After receiving another, more specific message, I casually googled the name of my app-to-be and discovered it came into existence while development was frozen due to my own life issues. It bears the same name, the same features, everything I was working so hard on, and it has been available for months.

It would be a lie to say that I am not devastated, but I suppose it was inevitable. I may have lead to my own demise by making this tumblr in preparation for releasing my own app, though I never linked to it and kept most of the development a secret otherwise. I had a few beta testers and the app was functional but incomplete around this time last year when I became unable to properly update it due to the lack of funds to purchase a new Mac to keep up with development and renew my developer license.

From what I can tell, the Cosplanner app that exists on iOS and Android is, functionally, exactly what I had made and envisioned. Mine did not have finalized graphics, but even layout and flow seem very similar. I have no interest in downloading it and trying it out, at least at present, as I am working through a good deal of emotion finding this all out and I fear it would only upset me more to do so.

This isn’t a callout post, this isn’t an accusation of theft, this is an admission of defeat and clarification. I dreamed big and couldn’t follow through. Someone else did.

The takeaway from this should be heard by everyone:

If you have a good idea, never tell a soul. Work tirelessly to make your dream a reality as quickly as you can. Don’t let anything stand in your way. Say nothing publicly until you are ready to promote its release. Never, ever doubt yourself along the way. Everything is yours to lose.

[cosplanner]

Screencap Dump: April 2014

Note: As far as I can tell, this is just a dump of info on this one costume’s progress. It was a commission I took on and was probably sharing this as a status report for my commissioner. There doesn’t appear to be any specific changes shown, just usage.

[cosplanner]

Screencap Dump: February 2014

Note: These screencaps are in reference to the addition of Events to the app. The last image was what happens when you entered a location into the Event Info section, finished editing and tapped it. It launches the GPS and gives you route guidance to the location (in this case from Severna Park, MD to Katsucon in National Harbor, MD)

[cosplanner]

Screencap Dump: March 2014

Note: These screen caps showed fixes to functionality that had been frozen or not working as intended as well as being the state of things during the 2014 con season. The last one was a rare showcase of the iPad version of the app, which I didn’t often use as it was unwieldy to simulate while developing and I did not take screencaps on my actual iPad for showing anything particular off. I believe it was taken to show off the modal window flow unique to iPad.

[cosplanner]

Screencap Dump: January 2014

Note: These screen caps were in relation to updates on the To-Do List function, including adding, deletion and re-ordering of individual entries.

[cosplanner]

Screencap Dump: September 4, 2013

Note: These screencaps showcase the addition of materials to the costume piece listings as well as being a ‘current state’ of the costume flow.

[cosplanner]

Screencap Dump: June 3-6, 2013

Note: These screen caps were taken to show off new dynamic layout generation for the tables everything is built on as well as tests of the To-Do List. There were also tweaks to the rooomate rate calculator.

[cosplanner]

Screencap Dump: May 2013

Note: This was when I started making the Cosplanner site for Javascript testing and as a placeholder.

[cosplanner]

Screencap Dump: April 2013

Note: This is when I initially made the To-Do List function.

[cosplanner]

Screencap Dump: January 2013

Note: These were originally posted to my locked-down private Facebook account when I had the first noteworthy features in. They show only the most basic things (creation, adding and deleting specific info) and my first highly functional piece of work: the roommate cost calculator.

[cosplanner]

This is the oldest receipt I have RE: Cosplanner’s inception. It was an email I sent to myself (please pardon my anonymity, I prefer not to disclose my email address at this time) that had my original thoughts as to what should go into Cosplanner from the very start. I had discussed it vaguely with my fiancé and a few close friends and made this as a guideline on how to proceed with my development. I tend to store my thoughts in emails to myself, which I guess turned out to be for the best.

The oldest receipt for my Cosplanner: December 2012

[cosplanner]

Speaking of the Cosplanner site, it is ugly and outdated but still hosted on my professional webspace. It was a placeholder and where I could easily test the Javascript backend functions that I was writing to make calculations quicker and smoother, among other things. I was actually learning Javascript and PHP just for Cosplanner, if you’d believe it! I wanted to make sure that the apps were prioritized, so the functionality on the site itself was often behind and messages were hard-coded onto the pages that were outdated to warn beta testers away from using it. The one page that stayed up-to-date was the download page with all of the beta release info and instructions.

Also, it’s ironic my choice of copyright placeholder info in the style of deviantArt recolors, don’t you think?

[cosplanner]

Despite my failure to deliver before the other app, I took my development very seriously. As noted in the previous post, I begun distributing beta builds in September 2013. Originally these builds were distributed directly via email and bug reporting was done as a reply to said emails, tweets with my private Twitter or IMs on GTalk or Facebook.

I graduated to making a bug report form and database about a year ago, which coincided with my Macbook being unable to download the latest development SDKs, as noted in the database. My license lapsed a month or so later and made releasing builds impossible.

Additionally, I began hosting Cosplanner through the Cosplanner website I was working on as a side and made the latest beta build installable from that page directly. It had a log of released beta versions with a summary of additions and changes that beta testers could expect to see during use.

[cosplanner]

Though I was very hush-hush about my development, I did actually keep fairly decent records via source control of my versioning. It has dates going back as far as this blog, though I didn’t update here much due to being afraid of my IP being stolen and also because I was afraid of raising too much hype and not being able to follow through with it.

Let this also be a lesson to you:

Never be afraid of being successful. Never undermine your efforts. That is far worse than the fear of failure. The fear of success will stop you at the very cusp each and every time. Never be afraid of how to change to accommodate in the face of overwhelming success. Don’t rely on your success, but plan vaguely for it and resolve to deal with it if and when success comes.

[cosplanner]

Consider this your state-of-Cosplanner address 2015!

This tumblr has been long neglected due to some pretty intense life changes and some struggles with regards to the planning and progress of Cosplanner itself. There were a lot of self-imposed deadlines I made that I missed and there were a lot of life circumstances and life changes that made progress difficult. That said, here is where we stand at present!

words words words

I had originally started this post around Katsucon before I got too busy with my cosplay projects to finish it. That was exactly how it started, so I figure I should keep it.

These screen caps were taken directly for this post and represent my Cosplanner as it was circa Feb 2015. I’ve only made minor changes to it since then, due to my two other jobs and con plans, so this is a good barometer for it as it stands. I figure I need to put things up to substantiate my claims, since I potentially have tens of thousands of people stumbling here looking for the other Cosplanner.

Subsequent posts will be just collections of receipts showing evidence of my original concept with dates and timelines. If I go forward with my app, I want it to be publicly addressed beforehand to insulate myself from criticism of stealing my own intellectual property.

[cosplanner]

Is it possible to move data from one device to another? I use Cosplanner for organizing and keeping an accurate list on my military simulation kits and builds, so I have a huge amount of data on there.... Thanks!

Thank you for sending this ask. Without you, I would’ve never known that someone else made Cosplanner while I was unable to finish it.

I know nothing about their app or how the data is stored. On my Cosplanner, all the data is instantly available to whatever device you log into due to it being hosted on a server and not locally. If you have tech support questions for them, please direct it to them in whatever manner they have provided you with.

I’m sorry I can’t be of service, but good luck to you and never stop building.

[cosplanner]

The App Formerly Known As Cosplanner

I should’ve realized when I received messages on tumblr about my app that was still quietly in development that it was not a fluke or someone stumbling upon this blog in casual interest. After receiving another, more specific message, I casually googled the name of my app-to-be and discovered it came into existence while development was frozen due to my own life issues. It bears the same name, the same features, everything I was working so hard on, and it has been available for months.

It would be a lie to say that I am not devastated, but I suppose it was inevitable. I may have lead to my own demise by making this tumblr in preparation for releasing my own app, though I never linked to it and kept most of the development a secret otherwise. I had a few beta testers and the app was functional but incomplete around this time last year when I became unable to properly update it due to the lack of funds to purchase a new Mac to keep up with development and renew my developer license.

From what I can tell, the Cosplanner app that exists on iOS and Android is, functionally, exactly what I had made and envisioned. Mine did not have finalized graphics, but even layout and flow seem very similar. I have no interest in downloading it and trying it out, at least at present, as I am working through a good deal of emotion finding this all out and I fear it would only upset me more to do so.

This isn’t a callout post, this isn’t an accusation of theft, this is an admission of defeat and clarification. I dreamed big and couldn’t follow through. Someone else did.

The takeaway from this should be heard by everyone:

If you have a good idea, never tell a soul. Work tirelessly to make your dream a reality as quickly as you can. Don’t let anything stand in your way. Say nothing publicly until you are ready to promote its release. Never, ever doubt yourself along the way. Everything is yours to lose.