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Hi TeamLiquid,
After encountering APM in StarCraft: BW over 10 years ago, I've been fascinated by the concept of tracking performance in gaming. 3 years ago I decided I would bring actions-per-minute to every game and application by developing Desktop APM. After investing hundreds of hours, I'm happy to announce Desktop APM to the TeamLiquid community.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/hyrbwWF.jpg)
Desktop APM provides your true APM in StarCraft II and other games. Unlike in StarCraft II, APM is not reduced due to the accelerated in-game timer.
Take a tour of Desktop APM:
+ Show Spoiler +![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/5wCCfTW.jpg) Desktop APM provides a graph of how intensely you use your keyboard and mouse. Statistics show your highest APM, distance mouse moved, and total keypresses / mouse clicks. ![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/66eRil3.jpg) The in-built calendar makes browsing previous days easy. Find out your gaming habits days, months, even years prior. ![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/pgDMfza.jpg) Hovering over a graph shows a preview of how your time was spent. Timeline provides a comprehensive list of applications used. ![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/Yi99erS.jpg) Browsing your timeline breaks down APM by application. Selecting multiple applications compares APM on the same graph. ![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/PXhFdKh.jpg) Many features are waiting for you in Desktop APM. Hotspots show where you click the most, set daily targets, setup voice alerts and more.
Features:- graph your APM across minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years
- browse a timeline of applications used throughout the day
- use the calendar to find out what you were doing weeks, months or years prior
- view hotspots on your monitor that highlight where you click the most
- track words per minute, distance mouse moved and total time active
- compare StarCraft APM to other games and find out which games are most APM intensive
- enable voice alerts to notify you when APM falls below a certain number
- set daily targets and strive to achieve your target APM
FAQ:
Is Desktop APM secure?
+ Show Spoiler +- Desktop APM data is encrypted and saved locally on your PC
- Data generated by Desktop APM is never transmitted across the internet
- For more information read the privacy statement.
Is Desktop APM free?
+ Show Spoiler +- Yes, Desktop APM is free
- There is no kickstarter campaign or crowdfunding, Desktop APM is a fully realized product that is ready-to-use.
- A professional version of Desktop APM unlocks advanced features.
- Money raised from Desktop APM goes towards development and StarCraft II tournaments. See the rewards page for more information.
Who are you?
+ Show Spoiler +- the developer of Desktop APM and a programmer with over 16 years experience
- an enthusiastic supporter of eSports who has been actively involved in the StarCraft community for many years
- the founder of a small business called Little Sky Studios, providing software, games and 4k photography
- someone looking to give back to the community by sponsoring tournaments and providing gaming-related content
Where can I get Desktop APM?
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Any plans for an OSX version?
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5 seconds in! It's awesome!
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Any plans for an OSX version?
That would depend on the amount of support and interest in Desktop APM. The software is very reliant on Windows architecture (kernel32 provides keyboard/mouse inputs, the program uses windows calendars, listboxes and UI features that aren't interchangable), so it's not just matter of importing code, a lot of code would be rewritten from the ground up. There are still a lot of features to add to the PC version (achievements, skins and customisation), so rather than divide my attention across two platforms the immediate plan is to develop the PC version to its full potential. I know this answer may be disappointing to mac users, however I think with e-sports growing in popularity, it's only a matter of time before we get better game-tracking tools across both platforms.
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On December 13 2015 00:37 achronism wrote:That would depend on the amount of support and interest in Desktop APM. The software is very reliant on Windows architecture (kernel32 provides the inputs, the program uses windows calendars, listboxes and UI features that aren't interchangable), so it's not just matter of importing code, a lot of code would be rewritten from the ground up. There are still a lot of features to add to the PC version (achievements, skins and customisation), so rather than divide my attention across two platforms the immediate plan is to develop the PC version to its full potential. I know this answer may be disappointing to mac users, however I think with e-sports growing in popularity, it's only a matter of time before we get better game-tracking tools across both platforms.
achievements 0_O
the application seems cool
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the application seems cool
Thanks, if you have any questions feel free to ask them here or through the Desktop APM contact form.
It's almost 3am where I'm from so it's time to rest, but I'll be back in 8 hours to answer any questions. Hope you enjoy the app!
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Loving the heat map! The SC2 map is already shaping in the bottom left of the screen, lol!
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Cool! Is it possible to get the heatmap by application, so that I only see sc2? Similarly, is it possible to track my APM over time by application?
There is no way to detect when a game starts right? So the sc2 apm will be an average over all time spent in sc2, including time in lobby, queue, etc? I'd like to track my APM in-game for sc2 over time, to see if I am faster now than 6 months ago, but maybe that isn't possible without looking at the replays like scelight etc.
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Great now I can see how fast my apm is downloading porn.
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Amazing, thank you for this contribution!
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Hah, I love the idea behind this :D
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Wow that is really cool. Well done!
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Is it possible to get the heatmap by application, so that I only see sc2? Similarly, is it possible to track my APM over time by application?
You can do this by setting up rules that ignore other applications except StarCraft, then heatmaps and APM will only apply when the defined applications are in use. See THIS image on how to setup rules, which are found in the Timeline Menu -> Rules section.
There is no way to detect when a game starts right? So the sc2 apm will be an average over all time spent in sc2, including time in lobby, queue, etc? I'd like to track my APM in-game for sc2 over time, to see if I am faster now than 6 months ago, but maybe that isn't possible without looking at the replays like scelight etc.
You're right, although Desktop APM is still useful over time. For example, whether you play 5 games or 3 games, you'll average x amount minutes in the lobby every game, so your APM will be still be proportionally bigger or smaller based on your performance during the game, with a small reduction overall due to lobby time. As you begin to play hundreds of games, you'll spend an average of (for example) 16 minutes in a game, and an average of 2 minutes in the lobby, therefore lobby time only has a 12.5% influence on your APM, while how you perform during the game has an 87.5% influence on your APM.
Also, after a minute without clicks or mouse presses, Desktop APM stops tracking APM and classes that time as inactive, so that inactive time doesn't contribute to APM. So waiting in lobbies for games to start will only slightly reduce APM when you're clicking, typing or moving your mouse.
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Will this product be updated if there are changes that need to be made in the future?
This is awesome, and I went ahead and gave the 4$ for it ! 
Thanks!
Will perhaps updated with my own 2c on the actual program in a little~
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Oh $4 for the pro? I'll do that once I get my paypal unlocked
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On December 13 2015 09:55 achronism wrote:Show nested quote +Is it possible to get the heatmap by application, so that I only see sc2? Similarly, is it possible to track my APM over time by application? You can do this by setting up rules that ignore other applications except StarCraft, then heatmaps and APM will only apply when the defined applications are in use. See THIS image on how to setup rules, which are found in the Timeline Menu -> Rules section. Show nested quote +There is no way to detect when a game starts right? So the sc2 apm will be an average over all time spent in sc2, including time in lobby, queue, etc? I'd like to track my APM in-game for sc2 over time, to see if I am faster now than 6 months ago, but maybe that isn't possible without looking at the replays like scelight etc. You're right, although Desktop APM is still useful over time. For example, whether you play 5 games or 3 games, you'll average x amount minutes in the lobby every game, so your APM will be still be proportionally bigger or smaller based on your performance during the game, with a small reduction overall due to lobby time. As you begin to play hundreds of games, you'll spend an average of (for example) 16 minutes in a game, and an average of 2 minutes in the lobby, therefore lobby time only has a 12.5% influence on your APM, while how you perform during the game has an 87.5% influence on your APM. Also, after a minute without clicks or mouse presses, Desktop APM stops tracking APM and classes that time as inactive, so that inactive time doesn't contribute to APM. So waiting in lobbies for games to start will only slightly reduce APM when you're clicking, typing or moving your mouse.
Would it be possible to implement an option to set something like key-frames (via hotkey)? Thus, you could set them at the beginning and end of a game. If you could then apply keywords or such to said frames you could also sort and order them. This way, you are not limited to apps, but could also divide by different events in apps themselves.
Obviously, it wouldn't not be as nice to use because it does not track everything automatically, but it is only an extra option for people that want it. And if people were crazy enough (and they usually are), they could probably write some sort of plug-in to automate the process by searching for some pixels or stuff to indicate the start and end of a game.
I am not much into programming, so I do not know how difficult something like that would be. Or if you are willing to spent even more time on it. But to for my personal preference, it would improve the already nice program quite a bit
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On December 13 2015 09:55 achronism wrote:Show nested quote +Is it possible to get the heatmap by application, so that I only see sc2? Similarly, is it possible to track my APM over time by application? You can do this by setting up rules that ignore other applications except StarCraft, then heatmaps and APM will only apply when the defined applications are in use. See THIS image on how to setup rules, which are found in the Timeline Menu -> Rules section. Show nested quote +There is no way to detect when a game starts right? So the sc2 apm will be an average over all time spent in sc2, including time in lobby, queue, etc? I'd like to track my APM in-game for sc2 over time, to see if I am faster now than 6 months ago, but maybe that isn't possible without looking at the replays like scelight etc. You're right, although Desktop APM is still useful over time. For example, whether you play 5 games or 3 games, you'll average x amount minutes in the lobby every game, so your APM will be still be proportionally bigger or smaller based on your performance during the game, with a small reduction overall due to lobby time. As you begin to play hundreds of games, you'll spend an average of (for example) 16 minutes in a game, and an average of 2 minutes in the lobby, therefore lobby time only has a 12.5% influence on your APM, while how you perform during the game has an 87.5% influence on your APM. Also, after a minute without clicks or mouse presses, Desktop APM stops tracking APM and classes that time as inactive, so that inactive time doesn't contribute to APM. So waiting in lobbies for games to start will only slightly reduce APM when you're clicking, typing or moving your mouse.
OK, thanks.
Don't think the average is very reliable though. So much variance from a lot of stuff, and you really would like to be able to pick up a 10% difference in APM, preferably even smaller. Don't think you can do that on a months worth of data for most players.
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Very nice indeed, thank you for sharing your work
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Would it be possible to implement an option to set something like key-frames (via hotkey)? Thus, you could set them at the beginning and end of a game. If you could then apply keywords or such to said frames you could also sort and order them. This way, you are not limited to apps, but could also divide by different events in apps themselves.
This is a great line of thinking. In general I'm looking to setup up a custom key combination for pausing and resuming Desktop APM, so for example you can press 'control-shift-p' in game and the program will play an "APM paused/APM resumed" sound, that way you can pause tracking between games without having to toggle out of StarCraft.
Obviously, it wouldn't not be as nice to use because it does not track everything automatically, but it is only an extra option for people that want it. And if people were crazy enough (and they usually are), they could probably write some sort of plug-in to automate the process by searching for some pixels or stuff to indicate the start and end of a game.
Your suggestion is also highly possible. I could capture key information such the color of the StarCraft HUD at certain pixels, but it's hard to apply this consistently across many games. Games often get graphic interface updates that would temporarily break the feature in Desktop APM until a patch is released, and every game has to be analysed carefully to implement such a feature. The easiest way I feel would be to provide an APM threshold, such as 'do not track when APM goes below 20', this way, you would only get gameplay data, rather than periods of using menus and waiting in the lobby. Actually, the more I think about it, it's quite easy to implement and I'll add it to the list of features coming in the next patch.
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Will this product be updated if there are changes that need to be made in the future?
Absolutely, I've been releasing updates every 3 months or so for the last two years, and each update brings a significant number of new features. This will continue, especially if the community remains interested in it.
This is awesome, and I went ahead and gave the 4$ for it !
Thank you so much! I'm very happy to receive your support and I can assure you it's great value as Desktop APM helps you study, work and play.
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On December 13 2015 15:00 achronism wrote:
The easiest way I feel would be to provide an APM threshold, such as 'do not track when APM goes below 20', this way, you would only get gameplay data, rather than periods of using menus and waiting in the lobby. Actually, the more I think about it, it's quite easy to implement and I'll add it to the list of features coming in the next patch.
Yes, this is probably the way to go. Maybe have a setting for the threshold, and then allow us to afterwards track when the threshold was superseeded so the user can quality control that part. You can't make the threshold too narrow in time either, as many players will go below 20 APM for a short while in game, and the other way around. So it may not be trivial to get to work flawlessly, but I definitely think it's the way to go. Maybe with an option for manual on/off, which will allow a user to track only the games they want, for example maybe you only want to track when you play 1on1 ladder, not random 4on4 4 teh lulz or arcade.
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Interested to see where this goes. If I can make a suggestion I'd like to see a keyboard heatmap as I find it significantly more useful and interesting than where you click your mouse.
Another idea though it may not work, is instead of not tracking under a certain APM would it not be possible to set a global hotkey like scroll lock or something to start/stop tracking? I just feel like 20 APM might be a bit low otherwise. This way you can avoid tracking chatting or whatever in the lobbies, which can easily hit 400+ APM for even an average typist.
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On December 13 2015 15:10 achronism wrote:Show nested quote +Will this product be updated if there are changes that need to be made in the future? Absolutely, I've been releasing updates every 3 months or so for the last two years, and each update brings a significant number of new features. This will continue, especially if the community remains interested in it. Thank you so much! I'm very happy to receive your support and I can assure you it's great value as Desktop APM helps you study, work and play.
So I've been playing and streaming with this ticker in the background and I am interested in exactly how the clicks and such are recorded?
In game SC2 is stating I have ~200 APM but the program is pulling ~560 APM o.o...? This seems to account for more than just a difference in time, but I am not quite sure what it could be? o:
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On December 13 2015 16:00 -Kyo- wrote:Show nested quote +On December 13 2015 15:10 achronism wrote:Will this product be updated if there are changes that need to be made in the future? Absolutely, I've been releasing updates every 3 months or so for the last two years, and each update brings a significant number of new features. This will continue, especially if the community remains interested in it. This is awesome, and I went ahead and gave the 4$ for it ! Thank you so much! I'm very happy to receive your support and I can assure you it's great value as Desktop APM helps you study, work and play. So I've been playing and streaming with this ticker in the background and I am interested in exactly how the clicks and such are recorded? In game SC2 is stating I have ~200 APM but the program is pulling ~560 APM o.o...? This seems to account for more than just a difference in time, but I am not quite sure what it could be? o:
That should be correct. For example 100 WPM is ~500 keystrokes per minute. So assuming your CPM is anywhere near that speed and considering how much clicking is done in game it seems quite realistic. No real idea how blizzard calculates APM, but I know not only is it not real time but it also doesn't count all of your spam. They made this change way back in 1.4:
Before the patch:
245245245 = 9 actions (1 for each selection made)
2mmmmmmmm = 9 actions (1 for the selection, 1 for each move issued)
52m52m52m = 9 actions (1 for each selection and each move issued)
After the patch:
245245245 = 1 action (1 for the initial selection made, the rest ignored)
2mmmmmmmm = 9 actions (1 for the selection, 1 for each move issued)
52m52m52m = 6 actions (1 for the initial "5" selection, 1 for each move issued)
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On December 13 2015 16:15 Nabe wrote:Show nested quote +On December 13 2015 16:00 -Kyo- wrote:On December 13 2015 15:10 achronism wrote:Will this product be updated if there are changes that need to be made in the future? Absolutely, I've been releasing updates every 3 months or so for the last two years, and each update brings a significant number of new features. This will continue, especially if the community remains interested in it. This is awesome, and I went ahead and gave the 4$ for it ! Thank you so much! I'm very happy to receive your support and I can assure you it's great value as Desktop APM helps you study, work and play. So I've been playing and streaming with this ticker in the background and I am interested in exactly how the clicks and such are recorded? In game SC2 is stating I have ~200 APM but the program is pulling ~560 APM o.o...? This seems to account for more than just a difference in time, but I am not quite sure what it could be? o: That should be correct. For example 100 WPM is ~500 keystrokes per minute. So assuming your CPM is anywhere near that speed and considering how much clicking is done in game it seems quite realistic. No real idea how blizzard calculates APM, but I know not only is it not real time but it also doesn't count all of your spam. They made this change way back in 1.4: Before the patch: 245245245 = 9 actions (1 for each selection made) 2mmmmmmmm = 9 actions (1 for the selection, 1 for each move issued) 52m52m52m = 9 actions (1 for each selection and each move issued) After the patch: 245245245 = 1 action (1 for the initial selection made, the rest ignored) 2mmmmmmmm = 9 actions (1 for the selection, 1 for each move issued) 52m52m52m = 6 actions (1 for the initial "5" selection, 1 for each move issued)
Ah yeah this is what it is, I was trying to think if that happened or not but I suppose that is what it is!
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WOW!!! I am using this program for an hour and this program is just awesome. I was searching a program something like this more than 4-5 years and finally someone made it! There are too many APM track programs for Starcraft and Starcraft II but these programs only supports Starcraft series. I was searching a program for other RTS games and there is no good solution for other RTS games. I found some APM programs for other RTS games except Starcraft II but i stoped to use them because these programs was not calculating APM accurately and these programs was not giving detailed information as it should be. Desktop APM is the program just what i was looking for. This program has many detailed features like graphical interface, voice alert, hotspot(just WOW), comparing game APMs, daily targets, calendar and timeline feature etc... Also user interface is really user friendly and useful. Other APM programs that i used before hasn't got even half of these features which Desktop APM has. I will absolutely buy this program in a week and i will support the developers. $4 is nothing for that kind of useful program.
I thank to developers for this awesome program and wish you a continued success. Have a nice day.
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Thank you Ryan for such a great tool. I've donated for the Pro version.
I have a question: I play Warcraft III, and how can we show the real-time APM within the Warcraft III screen?
I selected "Always on Top" but it doesnt work... and I just want a big number for APM...
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trying it out... interesting idea :D
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this will probably lead to me spamming through browser tabs for 'no' reason
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On December 13 2015 00:24 PinoKotsBeer wrote:
Any plans for an OSX version?
 Just submitting my vote.
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EPT
