Hello, everyone! We have finally been able to push through the new 0.7 update of Read The Kanji, which has many new features and changes from 0.6.5 . The list of new features is pretty long, but here goes:
- Algorithm update – Algorithm now uses a word’s strength as the main factor in determining which word is next. One great thing about this is that the algorithm will always constantly test you on your the weaker cards, allowing you to get every single word in a level to go to green, unlike 0.6.5 which had a tendency to jump around a bit. However, older cards will also be thrown in to the mix every now and then to make sure you still have a good hold on them. Also, the algorithm does not depend on time or expiring cards, so you may use Read The Kanji whenever you need to, without having to redo older words.
- New Javascript IME pad – Read The Kanji now allows you to convert romaji characters into hiragana as you type in the input box. You do not have to use your own computer’s IME pad anymore, and it should work in any computer that has Asian fonts installed. Character entry is designed to work the same as your own computer’s IME pad, and it can support multiple romaji inputs as well. This will allow you to actually check your answer before you send it, and hopefully eliminate many past romaji entry issues. However, if for some reason, you would rather the old style of input, it can be disabled in the preferences menu.
- Colored Words – Words are now colored with their current strength color to give you a visual idea of how well you are progressing through the level.
- Strength Display – Strength ratings for each word and kanji are now displayed as you go through each word
- New Options – Two new options in the preferences are the “Stack Size” and “Repetition Factor”. “Stack Size” allows you to choose how large or small you wish a quiz round to be before it enters into fail review. The higher the number, the longer it takes to reach a fail review, but allows you to cover more words quicker. The “Repetition Factor” gives the user some control on how often the words should repeat within a single quiz round. The higher the number, the more often words are repeated, so a higher number is best used at times when proceeding through new, unknown words. As these two new options allow you to control the rate of the quiz, the previous “Test / Practice” modes have been eliminated.
- New Design – We tried our best to make the Read The Kanji design simple, and without using unnecessary screen space so it can work on many various resolutions. We’ve also tried our best to make the interface as intuitive as possible.
- Hiragana / Katakana decks now track stats – Previously ignored from the stats, hiragana and katakana decks can now be tracked and follow the same algorithm as other words.
- Full word and sentence details – Now clicking on the last done word on the right side will give the full details of that word, plus sentences in case you need to recheck the sentence.
- Faster – The new Read The Kanji now uses AJAX to send requests to/from the server, saving users from many many page reloads as they quiz. Hopefully this helps speed up your quizzing all around.
- Word/Sentence fixes – Many word/sentence fixes from your submitted word reports
I hope you all find this new version to be yet another improvement to Read The Kanji. We’ve been doing a lot of work to try and make it the absolute best it can be. And like the previous versions, many of these new features are fueled directly from user feedback, so let us know what you think is great/not-so-great so we know what features to prepare for 0.8! Thanks again everyone, and good luck studying!
*Note: If you are having any errors or problems, sometimes the best solution is just to log out and log back in again. If the problems continue though, don’t hesistate to email me at joe@squarefour.net and I’ll take a look to see what the problem is. Thanks!
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