[Android Apps and Games] Nx Biotic:
Hello! It's been awhile since I've been to the xda forums and figured I'd drop by with a preview of my latest project Ive been working on. Some of you know me from Sapphire, Sapphyx and GCA Launcher of which all have been unpublished due to either being outdated or their being better options on the playstore. For the past few months, I've been working on a new Launcher Project that revolves around gamers...I've been rather busy with life lately and android projects arn't on my todo list anymore so updates are very random and not scheduled.

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This is project Drosera, A unique android homescreen that has been in development for a few months now. It has been built from scratch and designed for a specific line of devices that excludes mobile phones (I mean maybe like "Ultra" variants with wide screens) but this launcher is not intended for the touch screen environments. We are supporting Tablets, Handhelds, Desktop environments (specifically Bliss OS) and eventually Android TV devices. The goal of this launcher was to Develop a homescreen that brought users a homescreen experience that felt like a console experience. Now, Im aware there are a few on the playstore as we speak and maybe a few on github unreleased but this launcher aims towards a different crowd. When you use Drosera, The launcher's goal is to present the user with a daily routine as like a console would. Present the user with it's most used games or apps and just make the route easier for them while presenting a rather attractive user experience. A gamepad is required to navigate this launcher (PS4/5, Xbox, Steam Controller, Stadia, etc). This launcher is also being designed to suggest cloud/stream gaming apps in its suggestion panel.

I am using the Logitech Gcloud as the main daily driver for development. Altho the Gcloud has some android features under lockdown, it still serves as a rightful driver for development.

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Drosera Launcher is built with a mixture of Android Leanback, Material Design and some custom implementations to make this work the way I wanted it too. The Homescreen is comprised of 2 sections. Your default App Store and your recent apps and when navigating downward, your presented with quick actions and suggested apps for cloud gaming and communication. Surrounding the homescreen is an interactive display that shows you button input, hardware status updates, homescreen indicators and access to Launcher sheets (of which i ported over from my last launcher project). Everything you see is subject to change and still heavily in development as a side note.

What has been achieved so far...

-Interactive Hardware Indicators that tell you the connection status of wifi and bluetooth (certain permissions where needed to access this information)

-A Digital Clock indicator that can be binded to a user app of choice for Clock app shortcuts when expanded (with its own Calendar info when expanded)

-A notification Indicator that shows you high priority notifications (with notification management options in development)

-Battery icon that shows hardware information and charging information

-Displays the devices android user account name in top right (this will be expanded on in due time)

-Interactive Button displays that update based on the item in focus

-The ability to set a default app store that is installed on your device (Playstore, Amazon app store, Galaxy store, etc)

-Recent Apps panel that shows useage info over time and some other interesting features in development

-Adaptive Leanback cards that take in adaptive icons to form their shape.

-Icon Pack Support with Card Icon options in development

-A custom Preference screen built from the ground up to support Dpad navigation

-OTA Updates (for the developer preview)

-Horizontal Scroll App Drawer with custom category options in development

-Screen size optimized Leanback cards that are designed to match your screen display pixels.

-Notifications sheet that displays all of your current notifications

-A Guide sheet (in development, more info to come)

-A settings navigation sheet (shortcuts will be binded to keyboards)

-Support for the Logitech Gcloud and Abxylute (Note that these devices do not have access to a status bar nor a recents apps provider)

-Support for any tablet thats greater than 6" screen size

-Any and all generic android handheld from amazon is welcomed to be supported in the future

-Android tv is to be supported but no testing has been done yet

-Mouse and Keyboard support for Bliss OS is in the works

-Ambient sounds and UI Sounds (toggleable)

-An issue reporter will be worked into the launcher in due time

Current issues I am aware of...

-The homescreen does not transition well back and forth from the App Drawer. Sometimes hitting a Home button fixes this.

-Some transition animations may be sluggish or time incorrectly

-Not all Handhelds have the same buttons so we will be working on a key binding window eventually

-Not all Icon Packs behave well, we recommend any that are adaptive

-The launcher is being designed to work on Bliss OS but we still have some corners to cut for Key Bindings and permission access

-Android TV has not been tested yet

-Checkmark Setting preferences may need clicked back and forth before it actually settles in the preference database

-Button Legends sometimes overlap

-Theme colors may not be correct in some spots (We are working on a theme engine)

-Notification Page may have notificaton data mixed up with notifications

-Some menu items are placeholders or empty altogether

Il update this thread as new development takes place and new milestones are reached. I wont be announcing every update as I release but I will talk about milestone releases. I plan to launch Drosera on the Google Playstore in due time but if things seem like it will go against Google Play release guidelines due to permission usage and other issues, we will manage it some other way. Drosera on launch will have features locked behind a license but during all previews, everything will be accessible by everyone. Youll know if its worth your time by release or not.

The Developer Preview

I have decided to welcome experienced android users into testing. All I want from you in this round of testing is feedback. How do you feel about the launcher? What are your first impressions and what would you change if something didnt feel appealing to you. Unless its breaking your chance to test the launcher, im not interested in bug reports right now as everything is experimental. If the launcher just fails and does something completely wacko, im not really interested to hear about it just yet.

Getting Connected

I have 2 communities you are welcomed to join as I dont keep an eye on the forums much

- Discord https://discord.gg/zGTHmVCZta

- Telegram https://t.me/+MG-SLNIHHvphYTEx

- Youtube Channel

- Preview Download (debug) - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bIbAf3Of0jijJ6I5t09wSn1lnMl00lc1/view?usp=sharing

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Im looking forward to some of your feedback on the project and ill see you all around! Thanyou for taking interest in Project Drosera.