2 ms·

I agree that the web is generally more bloated and slow than native apps. However, native apps don't magically become performant by being native. As an example

I agree that the web is generally more bloated and slow than native apps. However, native apps don't magically become performant by being native. As an example, my grandmother-in-law has been putting up with Microsoft Jigsaw's desktop app for years. Last time I watched her load it, we sat there for awhile and had to restart multiple times because it was getting stuck loading some advertisements. The startup time was absolutely brutal and the run-time performance while playing wasn't great either, even with a decent laptop. So when I saw how slow, bloated and laggy this app was, I wanted to try to make her a better jigsaw app for the web and I think I succeeded [1]. It loads almost instantly, has no advertisements, and feels super smooth while playing... and it's mostly just js, svelte and a little bit of Rust WASM. Anyway, I do prefer a good native app over a web app when available. But with native apps, it's also harder to block ads and other trackers compared to the web. [1]: https://puzzlepanda.com https://puzzlepanda.com

pdimitar 6y ago
Sure, I'm not denying it. It's just that apparently it's very easy to produce slow-as-molasses UI with JS. I've been working with the horrors called Windows MFC and Java Swing a long time ago. It was tough but if you did it right (moderately hard) you had a very snappy app on a computer that was 5x slower and had 10x less RAM than a midrange today's Android device.
- snake_case 6y ago
  You're exactly right! Building a slow web app is only one npm install away. It takes someone who really cares about performance and monitors it to make a fast web app and to keep it that way. Unfortunately it's still too easy to accidentally make it slow.
bochoh 6y ago
I had a chance to play the demo round and it was extremely performant - well done. The only thing I'm not sure about is that on the first click of each piece it automatically orients itself to the final orientation as expected by the puzzle. Is this an "Easy / Medium / Hard" setting? Otherwise great!
- snake_case 6y ago
  Thanks for trying it out! Yupp, it's on my todo list to give users the option on how difficult they want the rotation to be. So far I have users that want click-to-rotate and even no rotation at all.
WorldMaker 6y ago
Microsoft probably should revoke Arkadium's right to use their brand name. Arkadium's worst of the worst ads and microtransactions, much less their poor attention to performance detail, really are making Microsoft look bad to a lot of users that just want to play Solitaire/Minesweeper/Jigsaw sometimes. Especially after the walkbacks that Xbox Game Studios had to do after flak about scummy microtransactions in Halo, Gears, and Forza, it still seems incredible that Microsoft continues to allow Arkadium to do it to a far bigger audience (and a lot of people's parents and grandparents especially) with their brand name attached to it.

pdimitar 6y ago

Sure, I'm not denying it. It's just that apparently it's very easy to produce slow-as-molasses UI with JS. I've been working with the horrors called Windows MFC and Java Swing a long time ago. It was tough but if you did it right (moderately hard) you had a very snappy app on a computer that was 5x slower and had 10x less RAM than a midrange today's Android device.

snake_case 6y ago
You're exactly right! Building a slow web app is only one npm install away. It takes someone who really cares about performance and monitors it to make a fast web app and to keep it that way. Unfortunately it's still too easy to accidentally make it slow.

bochoh 6y ago

I had a chance to play the demo round and it was extremely performant - well done. The only thing I'm not sure about is that on the first click of each piece it automatically orients itself to the final orientation as expected by the puzzle. Is this an "Easy / Medium / Hard" setting? Otherwise great!

snake_case 6y ago
Thanks for trying it out! Yupp, it's on my todo list to give users the option on how difficult they want the rotation to be. So far I have users that want click-to-rotate and even no rotation at all.

WorldMaker 6y ago

Microsoft probably should revoke Arkadium's right to use their brand name. Arkadium's worst of the worst ads and microtransactions, much less their poor attention to performance detail, really are making Microsoft look bad to a lot of users that just want to play Solitaire/Minesweeper/Jigsaw sometimes. Especially after the walkbacks that Xbox Game Studios had to do after flak about scummy microtransactions in Halo, Gears, and Forza, it still seems incredible that Microsoft continues to allow Arkadium to do it to a far bigger audience (and a lot of people's parents and grandparents especially) with their brand name attached to it.