We are halfway through the year and, matching with the third Community Info Blog, I'd like to give you a little preview of the next three big features that we have planned or are already working on. Of course, this doesn't mean that everything will happen exactly this way or that we won't shift the focus again to program something else. So, please understand if the future will turn out differently than I announced here. Also, the following order does not stand for the order in which things are going to be released.

But before we start, I would like to quickly touch on the mobile/PC topic. As already mentioned in the #1 Blog, 3/4 of the active community is now mobile. And the tendency is rising! As a result, new functions are programmed primarily for smartphone & tablet users. I know that some people don't like this, but we are a very small team and have to set priorities. What started as a pure PC version 10 years ago has now developed into a mobile app. There's a saying that goes well with this: "Move with the times otherwise you are gone with the times!"

So, but now let's get back to why you're all still reading: The Big Three!

AR mode
Some of you have already noticed, we are working on an AR feature for Club Cooee. AR stands for "Augmented Reality" and basically means showing virtual things on a display in the real world. Your Snapchat dog ears filters, Instagram face masks, or Pokémon standing around in your garden... all this is what AR means. Club Cooee with its crazy avatars and nicely designed rooms is the perfect place for this feature. I mean, how cool is it to be able to place your avatar on the dining room table? Therefore we don't want to miss the opportunity to enter this world! For now, all Android devices with the latest version of AR-Core (a Google App) can participate. Check this list to see if your smartphones or tablets are AR-compatible: https://developers.google.com/ar/discover/supported-devices#android_play
Of course, we are working hard to supply more and more devices with AR. But this will still take some time. If you want to follow the progress a bit, you can do so on this wall: https://de.clubcooee.com/users/my/search?q=arshot
The Cooee AR mode is still in an alpha state, which means we're still at the very beginning of the development. But we are making progress. I will post an official blog about this soon.

Building mode
Until now, it is not possible to buy or edit rooms or to access your furniture inventory via the app. Obviously we would like to change this. There are so many creative minds among you, who hopefully will be able to unleash their design skills before the end of this year! In connection with the AR mode, we're still working on a way to implement the building mode into the app as well. Unfortunately, this is not as easy as it seems, as we face a lot of challenges in this area. It's all about operation, control, camera perspectives, touch input, drag & drop, server synchronization... and lots more. The list is long and it is only up to us to check it off as fast as we can. And yes, I know, the current building mode of the PC version used to run more smoothly. But I have high hopes that even that one will get an update in the course of the new development (at least concerning the bugs.) So stay tuned!

Designing
This feature is practically already in the starting blocks. Soon designers will be able to design their outfits using the app. At first glance, this may seem like a very special feature, as only some users will actively benefit from it. But at second glance you can see that there will be even more cool stuff in the shop in the future. This is because designers will have the possibility to create their designs on a tablet, for example with a pen. They can use any external software they want for that. Using the Club Cooee app, all templates can be easily exported and uploaded again more easily. More about this in a separate, public news blog, probably sometime in the next 2 weeks (please don't point your finger at me if it should be later).

So that's it, the big three. Usually we keep a low profile with this kind of information, but as you know, I am trying to make these info blogs as transparent as possible for you.

Thanks for reading this.

The translations into other languages can be found as always on the walls of our Community Managers @filipi, @expectativa & @saam. @nuqui took care of the English version on my wall.

Be nice, @Tom