Hi, and welcome to the rather gloomy-looking Craic Design app support page.
If you have a question, or want to report a bug, please feel free to email me the details at support@craicdesign.com
Please be sure to mention:
* What version of which app you are using,
* What device you are running it on,
* Does the issue happen all the time or sporadically.
If you could include a screenshot that would help too! (Take screenshot by pressing Home and Power together for a split second).
Pocket Universe
Q. In Motion Tracking mode, the display is jerky or points the wrong way!
A. Depending on your device, Pocket Universe uses a mixture of the compass and gyro when in motion tracking mode. When using the compass on, say, the iPhone 4, the app is at the whim of magnetic interference.
In order to compensate, Pocket Universe uses the gyroscopes to provide the directional information after the initial compass fix. If subsequence compass readings imply that the direction is considerably off, the view snaps back to the compass and resets.
In practice this means that if your compass is working fine and there is no interference, and if you keep the device moving slowly and smoothly, it just works.
However, if there is a lot of magnetic interference, and you move the device quickly, the display can appear to jump.
Not everyone likes the trade-off between keeping the view steady and accurate when you are holding it up at a particular point in the sky, and this resetting action.
For this reason the latest version has a toggle button in the bottom right of the display to switch off the compass, and use the gyro (if available) only. Start the app, switch on motion tracking, and once the view is aligned, toggle the compass off to switch to gyro only motion.
If you still experience problems, I suggest:
1. Perform a shutdown and restart to reset things,
2. Run the device’s Maps application and play with the compass view there to get the compass aligned and working, and
3. Use the app in Landscape mode, and
4. Move it slowly to avoid jumps.
If you still don’t think it’s smooth enough, use Manual Alignment. This ignores the compass completely. You just align the view on something you can see – say, the Moon – and the gyros do the rest. The downside is that the gyros will get out of sync with the real world after a while.
Q. In Constellation Quiz mode, the selected Constellation is not centered in the display
A. Fixed in version 4.5.
Q. Why can’t I tap the microphone icon to start Ask mode?
A. Ask mode only works in Portrait mode.
Q. I updated to 4.4.2 and I can see any difference?
A. On the iPad, the version is still reported as 4.4.1 – but rest assured that if you downloaded 4.4.2 from the App Store, that’s what you got. If you go to More >; Help >; What’s New, you can confirm that you have 4.4.2 installed. Version 4.4.2 makes certain that Ask mode only works in Portrait mode, and that the ‘Where is..?’ question works.
Unfortunately some App Store reviewers didn’t spot this, and continue to lambast the app in their reviews. Please feel free to leave your own reviews on App Store *hint hint* 😉
Q. When I tap on the microphone, I get the Ask view, but when I ask “Where is..” I get “I don’t understand”.
A. *FIXED IN VERSION 4.4.2* I messed up in the last update, and this question is currently broken. If you ask “How Big Is..” you will get the answer for “Where is..” Sorry. I was up very late trying to fix the bug. I have selected a suitable punishment for myself, and 4.4.2 has been submitted to the App Store – and Apple have promised an expedited review, so it should be available before the end of this week. Sorry for the inconvenience!
Q. When I tap on the microphone, I get the Ask view, but I can’t get rid of it..
A. *FIXED IN VERSION 4.4.1* Please do not start Ask mode from Landscape mode, only Portrait mode. If you do, you may not be able to leave without quitting the app. If you do, and can see a text input panel but no “DONE” button, you can just type something like “Show me mars” to close the Ask view.
Q. I get a blank screen when I close Tonight’s Sky!
A. Version 4.2.1 introduced a bug on OS 4.x devices, in which closing a display such as Tonight’s Sky brings up a blank screen rather than the home screen. Sorry! This bug does not occur on iOS 5.x devices, so if you can, please update your device (just connect it to iTunes, and check for updates – the update is free). Please update your app to version 4.3.1 to fix this issue properly!
Q. Find Me doesn’t work in version 4.2!
A. Version 4.2 introduced a bug related to the “Find me” option. This bug was fixed in version 4.2.1.
Q. Where can I get support?
A. Just email info@craicdesign.com or send a Tweet (@craicdesign) or visit the Facebook page here – http://www.facebook.com/puniverse. I’m usually pretty quick at answering emails, but due to the nature of the spherical Earth causing different timezones, and my puny human body’s need for sleep, it might take up to 24 hours before I get back to you.
Q. After I updated the app, it’s gone?
A. Make sure you have installed the latest version of iOS on your device (it’s iOS 5 at the moment). Just connect your device to iTunes on your computer, and check for updates. Once you have your iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad updated, the app should re-appear.
Q. The app can’t find North!
A. Make sure the compass is aligned correctly – try using the Maps app, to make sure it’s working. Keep away from large metal objects, and go outdoors!
Q. The Moon Rise time is wrong.
A. This bug has been corrected in the current version.
Q. The ISS is in the wrong place!
A. When comparing the location of the ISS in the app compared to other web-based program, please try using FireFox, as Safari seems to display the ISS in the wrong place in some sites. Also, make sure the orbital parameters are updated in Pocket Universe (tap the refresh button), and that the app is currently displaying the current time (you haven’t used the Time Controls to jump to next week – if you do, you’ll see the position for next week, not right now).
Q. The app hangs when I launch it or it behaves weirdly!
A. If this happens when using Pocket Universe, please try the following:
1. Restart your iPad, iPod Touch or iPhone: press and hold the power button until the “slide to power off” message appears. Then restart.
2. From within the App, go to Settings and Reset. Then restart the App.
3. Delete the App, and then re-download it from the App Store (not from a computer). This will clear out any old preferences. You won’t be charged for downloading it again.
Q. How do I get to Settings in the iPhone/Universal version?
A. Tap the little (i) in the top right.
Q. Pocket Universe seems to crash on me!
A. Please reset your device before running Pocket Universe – it uses a lot of memory. To reset your device (which will NOT lose any data) simply hold the Power and Home buttons until the “Slide to power off” message appears. Then restart. This will free up memory.
Q. Which version should I get, the iPhone version, or the iPad version?
A. If you already have the iPhone version, the latest update will run as a Universal app on the iPad (that is, full-screen without pixel-doubling). If you like it, use it. I have created an iPad specific version which has more graphics and a larger scale user interface. If you only have an iPad, I would recommend you get this version. It takes up more storage space, as the graphics are larger.
Q. I’m running Pocket Universe, and when I use the multitasking to return to it, it just shows a blank screen. What happened?
A. After double-tapping the Home button, tap-and-hold the Pocket Universe icon that is displayed in the multitasking view to quit it, and then restart. If it doesn’t appear in the list of running apps, try launching another app first. If all else fails, hold the Power and Home buttons until the “Slide to power off” message appears, and then hold only the Home button down. This will quit any frozen application, allowing you to restart them.
Q. When I start the app, the Rise and Set times for the Sun are just wrong.
A. Please be certain that you have set your location correctly from Settings. If you have updated from a previous version, try using the Reset option from Settings to clear out older configuration files and start again. Quit and relaunch the app. Once it launches knowing your location, the times should be correct.
Q. I can’t get the motion feature to work!
A. Make sure you have pressed the Motion button on the Virtual Sky view to enable motion tracking.
Q. The tracking seems off..
A. Make sure your iPhone Compass is aligned (use the Compass App). If it’s still off, activate the motion adjustment feature under Settings, and then you can compensate for any bad alignments.
Q. Your program claims to be localized, but I can still see English!
A. The program has been evolving rapidly, and so some user interface elements and support files are still in English. However, the solar system object names and constellation names are localized. As time goes by, more localization will be added.
Q. I still have a question / want to report a bug.
A. Go to the About screen, and then tap the button to send an email. Or tap here. I’m usually pretty good at replyin