Changelog

Stay up to date with all of the latest additions and improvements!

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September 12, 2024

New Mobile App Update - v1.0.3

Hello! This update took a little while, but I wanted to make sure we squashed most of the reported bugs before bringing out a new version. So in this new update, you can find a whole bunch of bugfixes for most of the common problems, as well as a few new features.

Please keep in mind that the new update has just been submitted to both app stores, and it will likely take a few hours before it's been approved. So if you don't notice the changes, be sure to check your current version and check if the update is already available on your platform or not!

Anyhow, let's get to it!

New Features

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    Added Discord social logins (Google will take a little bit longer due to the login flow being more difficult to implement).

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    Dictionary - Vocabulary - Added the "other forms" section for vocabulary.

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    SRS Lessons/Reviews - Spoilers (meaning/reading/stories) are now automatically blurred. Tap on the blurry text to reveal it! - Keyboard - The keyboard now changes theme according to your app theme (meaning, dark keyboard for dark theme, and light keyboard for light theme).

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    SRS Lessons - The page now scrolls back to the top when going to the next lesson.

Bugfixes

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    SRS Lessons/Reviews - The answer input field will now properly autofocus at all times. - Reading Exercises - Fixed an issue with bolded text breaking up reading exercise content.

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    Home - Fixed an issue with the streaks, it should now display properly according to your set timezone.

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    Grammar Lessons - Fixed a rendering issue causing a blank screen in some lessons.

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    Grammar Lessons - Mark as Done Modal - The buttons no longer overflow on smaller resolutions.

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    Grammar SRS - Fill in the Blank - The text size has been adjusted and furigana will no longer overlap the prompt in certain sentences.

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    Grammar Lessons - Details component title will no longer overflow.

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    Android - The app icon and name have (hopefully) been fixed.

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    SRS Lessons - Pitch accent now updates properly between lessons.

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    SRS Lessons - Example Sentences now update properly between lessons.

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    SRS - Input is no longer case sensitive, no longer fails on missing diacritics and now properly trims whitespace.

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    General - Dynamically sized text based on OS settings has been disabled, as this was causing many styling issues.

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    Grammar Library - Status icons for grammar points are now consistent with the website.

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    SRS Lessons - Tapping "next lesson" will now bring you back to the "primary" tab for the new lesson.

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    Grammar Lessons - Highlighting syntax in example sentences would create weird pauses and other issues with the audio, this has been fixed.

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    Grammar Lessons - Exercises - Fill in the blank exercises now wrap properly.

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    Grammar Lessons - Fixed the large spacing issue between the Grammar Lesson sections (e.g. mark as done and exercises)

Known Issues

Using a Romaji keyboard (the one that converts with an IME to kana) on Android can lead to wrong conversions as it's doing a double conversion. I doubt many of you use this keyboard over the existing in-app kana conversion though, so it's hopefully not a huge issue for now! I think (or hope!) I've fixed most issues with Android keyboards and the autoconversion in general now.

That's all for now! Unless major bugs arise we'll be able to focus on implementing new features and pages for the app again, as well as give some parts of the website a nice new update again emoji-/images/emojis/marumori.png

P.S. Thanks so much to everyone who has supported MM lately! Your support has been overwhelming and it brings everyone on the team so much joy to hear and see everyone progress on their Japanese language learning adventure through MM! You're the best and we'll continue to make MM the best possible platform for learning Japanese!

August 20, 2024

Anniversary Sale, Mobile Apps Beta start and end of giveaway!

Hey everyone, we've got some really exciting news for you today!

Anniversary Sale

MaruMori just had its first anniversary since launch (August 14th) and to celebrate that, and the mobile apps being launched, we're holding a Lifetime sale on both MaruMori and Kitsun! It will be a little while until the next sale, so be sure to check that out if you are interested in getting Lifetime! It also gives you access to the mobile app while it is in early access. Speaking of which:

Our mobile apps have been published and are in early access!

That's right! If you are a supporter (paid user) of MaruMori, you can now access the beta of the mobile app! The iOS version is already out there, while the Android version is awaiting approval from Google.

To access the apps you will need to use a specific link for each platform:

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

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

Now, what to expect from the apps?

While we've tried to make sure all the core functionality is in there (Adventure levels, SRS lessons/reviews, Dictionary, Grammar Library), there are still some screens and features missing. It is also still a bit rough around the corners at some places, so expect things to be a bit buggy sometimes. But other than that, it should be pretty good already!

The missing functionality and screens will be added over time in the coming period, but if you notice any bugs, please be sure to let us know on Discord. We have a dedicated channel for feedback and bug reports for the mobile app.

This also means that there will be rapid updates to the app. We actually have a new version awaiting approval already! These updates will get downloaded to your phone automatically through TestFlight/Play store, but in case you encounter a bug, please do check if you are using the latest version first 😄

Later on, we'll open up the beta for non-supporters as well, but we first want to make sure everything is working properly.

Now onto the good part, here are a few screenshots of what you can expect:

Giveaway End

Our recent giveaway has also ended! The lucky winners have gotten an email congratulating them and their accounts have been upgraded accordingly.

Congratulations to:

Monthly:

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    Bazzon

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    Schriller

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    huoshengyu

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    yxrko

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    AlyLala

Yearly:

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    chuenpodo

🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉

If you didn't win, sorry! But we hope you had a great time and thank you for trying out MaruMori!

That's all for now, happy studies! emoji-/images/emojis/marumori.png

August 8, 2024

Giveaway, New Trials and Mobile App Update

Hey all, exciting news! You might've read about it already, but to celebrate hitting over 1k members on our Discord, we’re doing a fun giveaway. And as a bonus, we’re including fresh trials for all registered users!

Here are the details:

- All un-subbed registered members have been given a brand new 14-day trial

- All users who have an active trial and complete at least six grammar lesson tiles between now and August 20th will be entered for a chance to win one yearly or one of five monthly subscriptions!

We'll be drawing the winners randomly, and if you win, we will automatically upgrade your account and inform you about winning through your registered email!

And in other news, I'm pleased to announce that we've been making good progress on the MaruMori mobile app, and that we foresee an initial alpha release in the very(!!!) near future.

For now, here are some sneak-peek WIP screenshots!

We'll be offering a closed beta of the app for MaruMori+ subscribers , so be sure to sub for early access to the app, as well as access to our (top secret) supporters-only discord channel where we're providing exclusive progress updates and more! This channel is also where we'll first send out the invites for the alpha/beta of the app, so be sure to check it out!

Keep an eye out for more information about the mobile app very soon, and happy studies!

July 1, 2024

New N3 Content Drop

I’m happy to report that we have hit tile #100 of the N3 region! Wahoo! This is definitely cause for celebration, so be sure to treat yourself to a nice beverage or snack.

This batch’s content features such grammatical curiosities as ~ずにはいられない, for the things you can’t help but do, ~最中に, for when you’re interrupted in the middle of something, and ~に基づく, so that you can say that the movie you watched was based upon a true story (one involving pizza, and thievery).

Plus, in this batch’s reading exercise, PIZZA THIEF strikes, civil unrest ensues, we debut the MaruMori cooking show, and you’ll get an exclusive interview with the famous film director, Mr. Kitano.

All of this, and also… more! Awaits you. Yes, you. In this latest N3 content batch.

Happy studies!

P.S.: The mobile app is in full development, and we already have most of the important screens in there! Expect some news about this in the coming weeks! Beta when??

June 18, 2024

The new N3 Content Drop just landed!

Hey everyone, hope your studies are going well! From now on we'll be posting content drop updates here as well! We've previously been posting about them on our Discord, but we figured it might also be nice to know for users not on our Discord!

Until now, we've been keeping to our schedule of a new batch of 7 adventure levels per two weeks, and this time is no exception! So expect to find 5 new Grammar Lessons, 1 new Reading Exercise, and 1 new Unlocks Batch. As usual, we've also added stories (mnemonics) for all Kanji in the new unlocks batch.

Here goes:

Another batch of notoriously awesome N3 content is coming right at you! The announcement may be a day late, but that’s only because Maru wanted to befriend all the creatures of the alphabet starting from Z. Zebras and yellow-eyed penguins were fine, but things went downhill from there…

Anyway, in this batch, find plenty of grammatical trouble-makers demystified, such as 〜ば〜ほど (the more you learn about it, the better it gets), 〜のに for “for”, and もの・もん for excuses and justification (does your country’s soccer/football team need this right about now?). What’s more, you’ll level up with a new verb form: 〜ず. Exciting stuff!

Then, in this batch’s reading exercise, check out a Japanese city hall, chat about “half-truths”, and get a sneak peek into Shiori’s diary. All of this, and more, await you in the Jungle of Tenacity! Happy studies!