N2 Content Drop #14 & #15

Hey everyone!

It looks like I forgot to publish the usual content drop announcement two weeks ago (as well as the mobile app dashboard announcement! Whoops!), so even though the content was already online, here's the announcement for both the previous one and the new one that dropped yesterday!

Drop #14

In this batch, you’ll find autumnal-themed grammar points such as ～ざるを得ない for when you are forced to enjoy a pumpkin-flavoured latte, ～てでも for “even if I have to (drink a pumpkin-spiced latte)”, as well as another installment in our 慣用句 (set expressions) series! In honor of spooky season, this one’s all about… bones!

You’ll also find new vocab such as 目覚ましい for “remarkable”, 偶然 for “coincidence”, and 衝突 for “collision”. By chance, three words that are fun to say!

Practice your recent grammar in vocabulary in this week’s reading, featuring haiku, an essay by an accomplished artist, and an interview regarding earthquakes.

Drop #15

BOO! It’s the spooky content drop. Get ready to be surprised by grammar, frightened by vocab, and given the heebie-jeebies by the reading exercise. Not to worry though, it’s all in good fun and you’ll receive some candy at the end… if you’re good and don’t play any practical jokes involving toilet paper, that is. Oh and you have to share with me. The candy, not the toilet paper. Look, what’s that over there?! CA-CAW!

In this not-actually-Halloween-themed-at-all drop, you’ll find grammar points such as せめて for “at least”, だけまし for… “at least”, and a grammar round up featuring grammar used to express… “at least”. Okay, now that is spooky.

For vocab, unlock words such as 哲学 (“philosophy”), 狂う (“to go mad”), and 雷 (“lightning”). What a combo!

And in this week’s reading exercise, practice your recent vocab and grammar by taking a look at some differences in Japanese/Western work culture, ordering at an izakaya, and learning about Dara Tara Hime. Whatever that is.

All of this and more, in the Sands of Mastery!

As always,

Happy studies

Oh, and don't forget,

BOO!!!

New Mobile Apps Update - v1.0.13 - Adventure Dashboard!

This announcement was meant to be published a few weeks ago already, but it looks like I forgot to publish it (along with the other content announcement). Whoops!

The good news, though, is that even though this announcement talks about one of the newest and most exciting features for making the most out of your MM studies, by now a new release is also shaping up pretty well! So expect v1.0.14 to pop up relatively soon too

But for now, let's get into the details of the Adventure Dashboard, which I'm hoping most of you have gotten to play around with already. But just in case you don't know what it is, I'll go ahead and do a little recap:

The Adventure Dashboard (Mobile edition)

On the adventure screen (both overworld and inside a region), you will now see a new button floating on-screen. Tap on this button to open the dashboard view.

It looks something like this:

Or like this in dark theme:

After opening it, the dashboard gets saved as your default view for Adventure (for this device) from now on, meaning it will automatically open if you go to any of the adventure pages. You can switch back to the artwork view again by tapping on the "MAP" button (at the top), and that will become your default again. This also means you get to bypass all of the region artwork in case that wasn't really your cup of tea!

General Usage

First, let's talk about some of the many things that show up here:

You can see all the regions at a glance, and tapping on them opens the contents of that region (just like how N3 is opened by default for me, as that's my current region).

Hovering over the ( i ) icon will show you a few statistics about your progress in the region:

You also get a progress bar for each region, showing you your overall progress.

As stated above, for me, it opens up N3 by default, as that's the region I'm currently in. Scrolling down (or using the button to scroll automatically!!), you will see that it also expanded the "Chapter" (and Tile) I'm at by default, too:

Now you might be wondering... Chapter? Yep! That's a new thing! We've gone through all the regions and divided the tiles by chapters. For most regions, this comes down to the batches in which we release them (so 5 Grammar Lessons, 1 Reading Exercise, and 1 Unlocks Batch), but in some cases, we've also divided them per topic. It's still the same order as the normal adventure path, though, no changes there!

Anyways, back to the dashboard! Most chapters are minimized to save space, but they will still show you your progress on the tiles in them. You can still tap on the Tile circles to open the corresponding information pop-up modal, but you can also just tap on "SHOW INFO" in case you wish to see the chapter details. The tile you are currently at has its chapter details expanded automatically, and so do the chapters after it. It's only once you go past a chapter that it minimizes by default.

Anything that's greyed out/translucent is something you've already completed before; anything that's prominent is something you still have left to do.

Now you might be thinking, didn't we already have a list view/sidebar for Adventure? You're right! But that view didn't include any of the following functionality:

Searching & Filtering

The best thing about this new view is that you gain the power to search through all our content (which is quite extensive by now!) in a few quick ways!

First up is our search functionality, which works exactly like how you'd expect it to. You search for a specific thing, say "polite form" and it will bring up the lesson(s) corresponding to that query, close any regions without any results, and hide all unrelated tiles.

The real power comes from combining this with our new filters:

Not only can you combine this with Region filters and Tile Type filters, but also our new "Concepts" filters. Things like "Conjugations", or those pesky "Have to" grammar points, now all have their corresponding grammar lessons tagged, making it super easy to figure out where to learn about them or review them again! We think you'll love this feature!

That also brings us to the following filter & functionality:

Bookmarking

We also have a bookmarks filter! Meaning we've also added a way for you to bookmark lessons.

Just tap on the greyed-out bookmark icon next to a tile, and bam! Saved for later! Tap on it again to unmark it.

You can then use the bookmarks filter at the top to quickly view all your bookmarks:

Your bookmarks are also saved on the MM servers, so they're available right away on any device you use!

One last thing: At the top of the view, we've also added a button that opens your current tile automatically. So starting your next tile is as simple as going to adventure and tapping that button to continue where you left off!

So there we have it! The dashboard on mobile! One of the very first features to get a simultaneous web and app release on MaruMori! And also one of many more to come!

As mentioned above, expect the next app update to come relatively soon, as we haven't been sitting still in the time since we actually released this! Study Friends, Profile pages, and, if time allows, the leeches & recently studied pages will all be included in the next release. More on that soon!

Happy Studies!!

Introducing the Adventure Dashboard (alternative list view!)

Heya!

Today we've got a major upgrade for you all! Something that's been requested many times before:

A whole new way to view, search, filter, and bookmark the adventure regions and their tiles! No more animated artwork ( :'( ) unless you want it!

Let's dive into how you can make the most out of it:

The Dashboard

On the adventure pages (both overworld and inside a region), you will now see a new button floating on-screen. Clicking on this button will open the dashboard view.

It looks something like this:

Or like this in dark theme:

After opening it, the dashboard gets saved as your default view for Adventure (for this device) from now on, meaning it will automatically open if you go to any of the adventure pages. You can switch back to the artwork view again by clicking on the "MAP" button, and that will become your default again. This also means you get to bypass all of the region artwork in case that wasn't really your cup of tea!

General Usage

First, let's talk about some of the many things that show up here:

You can see all the regions at a glance, and clicking on them opens the contents of that region (just like how N3 is opened by default for me, as that's my current region).

Hovering over the ( i ) icon will show you a few statistics about your progress in the region:

You also get a progress bar for each region, showing you your overall progress.

As stated above, for me, it opens up N3 by default, as that's the region I'm currently in. Scrolling down (or using the button to scroll automatically!!), you will see that it also expanded the "Chapter" (and Tile) I'm at by default, too:

Now you might be wondering... Chapter? Yep! That's a new thing! We've gone through all the regions and divided the tiles by chapters. For most regions, this comes down to the batches in which we release them (so 5 Grammar Lessons, 1 Reading Exercise, and 1 Unlocks Batch), but in some cases, we've also divided them per topic. It's still the same order as the normal adventure path, though, no changes there!

Anyways, back to the dashboard! Most chapters are minimized to save space, but they will still show you your progress on the tiles in them. You can still click on the Tile circles to open the corresponding information pop-up modal, but you can also just click on "SHOW INFO" in case you wish to see the chapter details. The tile you are currently at has its chapter details expanded automatically, and so do the chapters after it. It's only once you go past a chapter that it minimizes by default.

Anything that's greyed out/translucent is something you've already completed before; anything that's prominent is something you still have left to do.

Now you might be thinking, didn't we already have a list view/sidebar for Adventure? You're right! But that view didn't include any of the following functionality:

Searching & Filtering

The best thing about this new view is that you gain the power to search through all our content (which is quite extensive by now!) in a few quick ways!

First up is our search functionality, which works exactly like how you'd expect it to. You search for a specific thing, say "polite form" and it will bring up the lesson(s) corresponding to that query, close any regions without any results, and hide all unrelated tiles.

The real power comes from combining this with our new filters:

Not only can you combine this with Region filters and Tile Type filters, but also our new "Concepts" filters. Things like "Conjugations", or those pesky "Have to" grammar points, now all have their corresponding grammar lessons tagged, making it super easy to figure out where to learn about them or review them again! We think you'll love this feature!

That also brings us to the following filter & functionality:

Bookmarking

We also have a bookmarks filter! Meaning we've also added a way for you to bookmark lessons.

Just click on the greyed-out bookmark icon next to a tile, and bam! Saved for later! Click on it again to unmark it.

You can then use the bookmarks filter at the top to quickly view all your bookmarks:

Your bookmarks are also saved on the MM servers, so they're available right away on any device you use!

One last thing: At the top of the view, we've also added a button that opens your current tile automatically. So starting your next tile is as simple as going to adventure and clicking that button to continue where you left off!

I'm also pleased to tell you that our mobile app update containing the dashboard functionality is also ready to go! So we'll be submitting it to the app stores this weekend. Approval usually takes a day or two, so expect all the same functionality to arrive on your phones (if you don't use the mobile website) on Monday or Tuesday!

We hope you'll enjoy using this new alternative view for Adventure! We've already gotten much use out of it ourselves by searching for lessons where we've needed to make changes and such. And personally, I've been bookmarking quite a few grammar lessons to reread later on, hehe

That's all for now, but I'll write another announcement once the Mobile App update goes live! See you soon!

New Mobile Apps Update - v1.0.12 - Quick Study & Bugfixes!

Hey everyone!

Today a new update for the mobile app went live on both app stores! This time the new update is bringing the Quick Study feature to the apps, as well as a bunch of much needed bugfixes.

Let's dive straight into it!

Quick Study (AKA Cramming)

I think many of you are already aware of what Quick Study does, but just in case you are unfamiliar with it, here's a quick explanation:

Ever felt like you want to cram a few kanji or vocabulary without it influencing your SRS levels? Ever felt like practicing an item 50 times in one review session just to finally get it to stick in your brain properly (aka squashing those leeches)?

Well now you can do so on the mobile app as well! Just hit the Quick Study button right after a lesson session (newly learned items), or a review session (wrongly answered items), choose the study options you want and go nuts!

As you can see you can choose the number of repetitions per item, as well as select which layout(s) you wish to train. Who is going to be the first one to train 行方 100 times? (Bonus points if you recalled the reading by yourself just now!)

Bugfixes

We've also been squashing some of the bugs you guys ran into while using the app:

• 

  Grammar Lessons - Fixed Table styling.

• 

  Grammar Lessons - Fixed an issue with text alignment in titles when it has kanji in it.

• 

  Grammar Lessons - Strikethrough color has been changed to red to be clearer.

• 

  Kana Minigame - Fixed an issue where the tutorial would not finish.

• 

  Kana Minigame - Now properly shows the currently selected kana set in the kana chart modal.

• 

  SRS - Kana-only words now autoplay properly.

• 

  Grammar Lessons - Example Sentences - The blur is no longer white in dark theme.

That's all for now, but keep your eyes open for a very cool "Adventure Dashboard"-related update coming later this week, first for the website, then the app right after!

Happy Studies!

P.S.: For those that might not know: If you are a subscriber or have a lifetime account, you can try the mobile app through the following links:

iOS app:

https://testflight.apple.com/join/MfpPbqCq

Android app:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.foxlabs.marumori

In the coming months the app will release from early access into general release, meaning everyone will get access to the app, regardless of subscription status. But until then, we'll keep implementing missing features first!

N2 Content Drop #13

N2 Content Drop

Can you hear that? The faint rustling of leaves? The enthusiastic slurping of pumpkin-spiced beverages? It’s the coming of autumn! Almost enough to make you forget about your studies and curl up with a blanket and a book, right? … HA! I got you. Thinking you can escape your reviews, huh? Nice try.

This week’s content drop features a fall-themed fare of fantastic grammar, such as 〜ものがある for when you want to say “there’s just something weird about that guy”, 〜ては〜ては for repetitive actions, and 〜ずじまい for actions that just don’t end up getting completed.

In the newest reading exercise, a “sweets alliance” forms, a senpai gives their kouhai important advice, and you get to practice your essay-reading skills!

What’s more, look forward to learning words like 微妙 “subtle”, 影響 “influence”, and 亀 “tortoise”. As usual, we’ve picked words that make the best sentences. Almost makes you want to output a bit,... right???

All of this, and more, awaits you now in the Sands of Mastery!

Happy studies!