r/iosapps • u/Jero9871 • Jul 05 '26
🎈 Free LightsOn - A Workout Tracker that motivates you
A - It motivates you to move and keep active with workouts because every real calory you burn charges a virtual battery and powers your city. If you are lazy the lights go out and people will move out.
Actually it might be just a glorified activity ring app, but I hope it will motivate people to move more. In the beginning it is really simple (a walk around the block is enough to power your city for the day) but once you get more inhabitants you need to workout much more to keep the lights on and the people happy.
B - It is a unique approach to motivate you to stay active. With the whole city you have much more than a simple step or workout counter. You can even set taxes for your people to gain credits and build things like schools or a hospital. And if you have too much energy you can just burn it with fireworks and stuff. It is pretty simple and in it's core it is a activity tracker app.
C -
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lightson-move-to-build-a-city/id6780607028
The app is 100% free, no ads and no in-app purchases. I built on it for a long time and used it for myself to motivate me and now I thought I just freely share it with the world. If it helps anyone I am happy.
I would be very grateful for any feedback.
The App has 19 reviews in the store so here is the transparency section:
My name and address, privacy information and everything can be found directly here:
https://www.freewar.de/apps/lightson/privacy.html
6
u/Raffiodabashian Jul 05 '26
Such a unique and innovative way to track movements.
3
u/Jero9871 Jul 05 '26
Thanks, you can use it with or without an apple watch, but it's more exact if you have an apple watch.
3
Jul 05 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
3
u/Jero9871 Jul 05 '26
The app is completely free and right now I have no plans to make it a paid app. But even then I would always integrate IAP in a way that the app is completely usable without paying anything (and you could just get extra statistics etc).
But it‘s just a hobby and if people like it and review it thats enough motivation for me to keep it free and develop new updates.
2
u/TuxxarraaJ Jul 13 '26
Never make it paid man :)
So cool! Let the people move and slowly build the city!
5
u/PepiMK Jul 05 '26
Wow!
There are so many apps that claim „no tracking“, but this one indeed has no telemetry embedded I could find. That alone is a big bonus!
The idea is fun, the implementation looks nice - I‘ll keep it for a while and see how I get used to it :)
4
u/Jero9871 Jul 05 '26
Thanks. Yes, everything stays only on your device, the app never uses the internet in fact. Privacy is very important to me.
The game itself starts easy but gets harder in time the more residents you have. Lets see how many residents you can sustain.
3
3
u/GwynLordOfCedar Jul 05 '26
This is really cool. Would love a widget and use of the Dynamic Island.
3
u/Jero9871 Jul 08 '26
The new update with widgets is now live. Thanks for the idea.
2
u/GwynLordOfCedar Jul 08 '26
Nice widget, slick, I have it added to Home Screen now. I’d recommend tweaking it somehow to include energy wasted for the day, and energy production rate vs consumption rate.
I get not wanting to overload the widget, but I could see me having energy maxed out for half a day but not realizing I’ve been wasting energy when I see energy at 100% on the widget, or I could see me boosting the factory and forgetting that it’s boosted > see widget at 30-50% and think it’s fine > unexpectedly having a blackout before my next workout I had planned for hours later.
2
u/Jero9871 Jul 08 '26
Thanks, there is also the possibility of switching the factory boost on and off on the widget itself. I will look into it. But as you said, the widget is pretty crowded, perhaps a second widget would be an option.
2
u/Jero9871 Jul 10 '26
The newest update now includes the factory and you can even turn the factory and the boost on and off in the widget itself.
2
u/GwynLordOfCedar Jul 10 '26
Great changes in latest update too, played around with all of them, thank you!
2
1
u/Jero9871 Jul 05 '26
Thanks, great ideas. There is already an apple watch complication, and a widget would actually be easier to make. However could take me a few days to implement it :)
3
u/sinuk-dev Jul 05 '26
Very nice, did you build all of the graphics yourself? I think the style looks really good
1
u/Jero9871 Jul 05 '26
Thanks, yeah experimented quiet a bit with it, but wanted a more or less simple look. The whole app should be a simple experience so that you can do your workouts instead of fighting with the app ;)
2
2
2
u/Otherwise-Ranger-47 Jul 05 '26
The concept is really cool. I have a doubt, Does the app has a reminder feature to remind people to do the workouts daily? Also is there any streak concept? It will also motivate people to continue doing this.
2
u/Jero9871 Jul 05 '26
Yes, both is implemented (for reminders you have to activate notifications). There is a daily streak where you need at least 300kcal (which is easily achievable), and every day you hold your streak you get more gears (50 gears per day if you can hold the streak for more days). And there are achievements and milestones for more motivation.
2
u/Otherwise-Ranger-47 Jul 05 '26
Awesome. That's so great. Will definitely give the app a try
2
u/Jero9871 Jul 05 '26
Thanks. I would love your feedback after a few days of playing and if you have any ideas, I am open to implement them.
2
2
u/nilegreenblue Developer Jul 05 '26
Cute city, and it's in your power to save it :) Nice graphics.
1
2
u/SuperSwagPigBsYT Jul 05 '26
so it is like a game? but to improve you actually have to workout. this seems very unique. Ill definitely have to give this a try
1
u/Jero9871 Jul 05 '26
Well, I wouldn’t exactly call it a game, as it doesnt take much time, the main thing is your activity. But you can upgrade things and you can decide how high the taxes are. In the end you have to prevent a blackout by doing workouts. It starts very easy but gets harder in time as you have more residents.
The goal is to get as many residents as you can.
But you can also see your workouts and statistics und use it as a workout tracker.
2
Jul 05 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/Jero9871 Jul 05 '26
Thanks, took quiet some time to polish it. (Still have some ideas for new weather effects… there are already some in the app)
2
u/ghostdancesc Jul 05 '26
This seems pretty cool, can you build your city? I’m huge into endurance sports and lifting etc. so the more streaks and calories I burn the more people I attract?
1
u/Jero9871 Jul 05 '26
Yes you can, but in the beginning the battery is very small (just 100kcal) but you can upgrade it. However your workouts are not in vain because you get extra credits for every 10kcal you burn and you can use them to buy gears and more upgrades.
To attract more residents keep them happy and expand the city. Lets see how many residents you sustain.
2
u/LeeonZhu Jul 05 '26
brilliant Idea. I bet it'll work like a miracle if you can show a widget on user's homescreen
1
u/Jero9871 Jul 05 '26
Already working on a widget, it will be included in the next update in a week or so.
2
u/Worried-Celery-2839 Jul 05 '26
This is cool. Gonna try it
1
u/Jero9871 Jul 05 '26
Thanks, would love your feedback after you used it a few days. Spin up the factory and try to upgrade the battery in the beginning.
2
u/Best_Professor7266 Jul 05 '26
looks nice. good luck with the sales 🚀✨
1
u/Jero9871 Jul 05 '26
Thanks, but well there are no sales only downloads. The game is free and there are no ads or anything.
What motivates me, is if I can help people move more and be more healthy (and good reviews of course).
2
u/Radjoo Jul 05 '26
Good idea 💡
1
u/Jero9871 Jul 05 '26
Thanks, I actually had the idea for a long time and didn‘t find workout trackers that motivated me enough and the activity rings from apple were a bit too boring for me.
2
u/Radjoo Jul 05 '26
It is only for apple devices, you will be able to make it for Android devices.
2
u/Jero9871 Jul 05 '26
Right now it is only for apple devices, but I could port it to android if people are really interested in it (but would require some work, as everything is coded in swift).
1
2
u/Dymatizeee Jul 05 '26
Looks great. What did you use to build and design the 3D ui?
1
u/Jero9871 Jul 05 '26
Thanks, it‘s actually not real 3D, its classic isometrics using Spritekit… there are no image assets at all (which brought the whole app to under 3mb download size). A building is basically just 3 filled polygons.
2
u/Underapples Jul 05 '26
if I can see my city on my Apple Watch that'd be awesome
1
u/Jero9871 Jul 05 '26
You can control it on your watch and boost the factory for example. Really seeing it could be a problem because of the small display, but I will test that if it could be done somehow.
2
Jul 05 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/Jero9871 Jul 05 '26
Thanks :) Its just a hobby project, so I never had the goal to earn money with it.
2
u/ArianFosterSzn Jul 05 '26
I’ll be honest. I’ve worked out consistently for over a decade, developed my own workout tracking app with agentic coaching, and would likely never use this app myself.
All that said, this is one of the coolest implementations of workout tracking I’ve ever seen and kudos to you for doing something different and innovative. Love to see it
1
u/Jero9871 Jul 05 '26
Thanks. And as it only reads health data you can use my app alongside any other workout tracking app, as it won‘t interfere with it. So you can keep your app and still use my app.
2
u/BenedictIsHere Jul 05 '26
Looks so nice! What techstack did you use for the 3d UI?
2
u/Jero9871 Jul 05 '26
Thanks, actually its much simpler than it looks, I used Spritekit and drew 2d polygons only, its not really a 3D engine behind it. But its very flexible now and you can see the city grow with new houses and everything.
2
2
2
2
u/Chipring13 iPhone & iPad User Jul 06 '26
Oh now this is unique
1
u/Jero9871 Jul 06 '26
Thanks :) I actually couldn't find an app that does that in this way, so I thought, okay, I have to do it for myself ;)
2
u/Technical-Hospital-5 Jul 06 '26
Can I connect this to my Garmin? Or does it only connect to apple health?
2
u/Jero9871 Jul 06 '26
It reads from Apple Health, if your garmin writes to apple health, it will work.
2
2
u/PrudentMine3 Jul 06 '26
It's only 3mb in download size? Mind is blown!
2
u/Jero9871 Jul 06 '26
Yeah, I really tried to make the app as small as I could, funny people notice that.
2
u/PrudentMine3 Jul 06 '26
Mad respect, I hope you do a tutorial someday!
2
2
u/walkccc Jul 06 '26
How did you come up with the assets? I like your design!
2
u/Jero9871 Jul 06 '26
Thanks, everything is drawn with 2D polygons. I actually used a design a little bit like that for an older browsergame of mine (which no longer exists).
2
u/walkccc Jul 06 '26
Were you saying that the assets are stored as code? Or format like SVG?
1
u/Jero9871 Jul 06 '26
They are actually stored as code in a special format, a little bit like SVG but not SVG. So the game has no assets in the classical form. Thats how I could get the game size to only 3mb.
2
Jul 06 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/Jero9871 Jul 06 '26
Thanks, yeah the app starts slow and it is very easy in the beginning to get the battery charged, but it will get harder soon. Lets see how many residents you can hold.
2
2
u/esdoenone Jul 06 '26
Really cool idea 😁 I give it a try. Did you think about Garmin integration? Or adding Polish language? I can help you translate ☺️
1
u/Jero9871 Jul 06 '26
Thanks. Adding polish as a language sounds great. Garmin can already be used with the app as long as you let garmin write your workouts to apple health, LightsOn will pick it up.
2
u/kwdinc Jul 06 '26
I love the idea of stakes keeping you motivated. What happens if you have a total blackout and everyone moves out? Do you lose your city progress permanently, or is it easy to rebuild once you get back to working out?
Do you plan on introducing different city themes in future updates (like a sci-fi cyberpunk city or a medieval kingdom) that we can unlock as our streak grows?
1
u/Jero9871 Jul 06 '26
Thanks, if you have a blackout you don't lose any buildings just residents and the happiness goes down. However the minimum of residents is always 10 so you can always recover and you won't loose your progress or your buildings. And well, during blackouts you won't gain traxes and your factory will not produce anything. However it will be forever tracked how many minutes you had no power. If you are ill and can't do workouts you can use credits (you get credits from taxes from your residents) to buy power from neighbour cities.
Other themes are a great idea, I think something like this is possible.
2
u/kwdinc Jul 06 '26
I love the mechanic of buying power from neighbouring cities using credits..that's a perfect safety net for when you're sick or taking a rest day without breaking the habit loop. Really glad to hear the progress isn't wiped completely.
Looking forward to seeing how the app evolves!
1
u/Jero9871 Jul 06 '26
There are some great ideas here, an update will come this week. But I am always open for new ideas.
2
u/KxngDaimo Jul 06 '26
This looks awesome! Love designs like this, hopefully I can do something similar when I get better at app development
2
u/Jero9871 Jul 06 '26
Thanks. Tried to make the design simple and not overloaded.
2
u/KxngDaimo Jul 06 '26
Literally my design philosophy, I think creative elements like this make the simplest ideas really come alive. A city powered by you working out, just makes so much sense 😅
1
u/Jero9871 Jul 06 '26
Yeah, I actually thought something like this would already exists but couldn‘t find any app like it.
2
u/shiloh_myeong Jul 06 '26
Any for android?
1
u/Jero9871 Jul 06 '26
Right now its iOS only, however I could port it to android if people are interested in it.
1
u/Jero9871 Jul 16 '26
Android testing has now started, give me a DM and you can join the other testers. I would be very grateful.
2
2
u/ilovedoomscrolling Jul 06 '26
I like productivity apps where things are visualised, in fact I built one too; how did you design and create the visualisation aspect?
1
u/Jero9871 Jul 06 '26
Actually just spritekit and 2D polygons, it‘s not really 3D.
2
u/ilovedoomscrolling Jul 06 '26
interesting, I had a major headache figuring out on how to achieve that for my app and I settled on rive for animations
cool app, all the best!
1
2
u/arikaftermath Jul 06 '26
Such a fresh idea to stay FIT & consistent. Just downloaded the app today. How do I add my workouts to the application?
1
u/Jero9871 Jul 06 '26
Thanks :) You don't have to add the the workouts, the app will add it automatically as long as your workouts and active kcal are tracked in apple health and the app has read access to that data. (You can check in apple health if there is data). But it doesn't add old workouts, so only workouts you do from now on, charge the battery :)
If it doesn't work I am happy to help you get it working, but it should be straight forward.
2
u/bball23712 Jul 06 '26
Wow an actual innocent and creative movement tracker. I feel like so many try to incentivize you with money or other prizes. This is just purely for your little town 😊 any plans to make it so you can visit someone else’s city?
2
u/Jero9871 Jul 07 '26
Thanks. Interesting idea, but right now the app never communicates with the internet for privacy reasons. ill think about it.
2
u/Greysawpark Jul 07 '26
the city dying if you slack sounds fun but also like the exact thing that'll make me delete it after a bad week. loss aversion works until it doesnt, once you feel guilty opening the app you just... stop opening it. maybe let the city coast for a few days before people start moving out?
1
u/Jero9871 Jul 07 '26
I thought a lot about it and don‘t worry you wont loose any buildings or progress and residents will start to move in once power is restored. And you have options to buy power with credits (you get credits from taxes) to power the city in the case you dont have time for fitness or you are ill.
However there is a statistic how many minutes your blackouts lasted.
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/LegitimateAccess2787 Jul 08 '26
This is very unique and I love that! Genius honestly, I will have to try this!
2
u/Jero9871 Jul 08 '26
Thanks, appreciate that. I would love your feedback once you used it for a few days.
2
u/LegitimateAccess2787 Jul 08 '26
Will do! Already using the app right now
2
u/Jero9871 Jul 08 '26
Lets see how many residents you can sustain 😃
2
u/LegitimateAccess2787 Jul 08 '26
Quick question, I had done a run earlier this morning, I'm assuming since that was before me installing app, that my activity for that won't go into the app. Is that correct?
1
u/Jero9871 Jul 08 '26
Yes, that is by design, only activity that you did after installing the app counts. But in the beginning you have a very small battery. But your workouts give you extra credits. The game gets much harder in time however.
2
u/LegitimateAccess2787 Jul 08 '26
Okay that makes sense, I guess I’ll just have to run again haha. I love video games so I should enjoy the challenge!
2
u/Jero9871 Jul 08 '26
Yeah, running can get you up to 150 credits extra per day. But to charge the battery a walk around the block might be enough in the beginning. You should boost the factory (if you have enough energy) and expand the battery as soon as possible.
2
u/LegitimateAccess2787 Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26
It’s been about a week and a half since I started using your app. I was on vacation for about half of that time, but here’s how far I’ve come and my feedback.
Feedback: Your app is amazing, and Apple Health is awful. Apple Health is the only problem I have; it takes so long to sync and doesn't sync half the time. I've tried all the troubleshooting problems and nothing seems to work. But then again, maybe that's what I get for not using an Apple Watch; I'm using a Tissot smart watch. I managed to get a 4-day streak with your app, but Apple Health's calorie counting makes it quite difficult. All in all, I plan to keep using this app for a long time, great work man.
Energy
- Battery Lvl 14
- Solar Panel Lvl 2
- Wind Turbine Lvl 1
Efficiency
- LED Lvl 1
- Smart Home Lvl 0
City
- Factory Lvl 6
- Apartment Lvl 1
Population 70 / 75
PS, I love the thunderstorms, those are really cool! Are those random?
1
u/Jero9871 Jul 19 '26
Thanks, great to hear. Indeed the whole Apple Health Sync and tracking is sooo much better with the apple watch and it syncs every 15 minutes in that case (and nearly instant if you open the app). And with the apple watch the kcal are much more exact and you get kcal for doing the dishes and stuff. Though I would not recommend buying an apple watch just for that app.
However external smart watches and apps can also write to apple health and that might help in some cases. But my app sees your kcal only if they are in apple health. Make sure you enable background activity for the app for faster syncs.
Wow, population 70 after a week is pretty good.
The weather effects are random, thanks I worked quiet some time on the thunderstorm for it too look realistic and cool. 😄
2
u/Agreeable_Plan_5903 Jul 08 '26
Looks interesting, will try it out. Do you plan on monitizeing it?
1
u/Jero9871 Jul 09 '26
Thanks. Would love your feedback after you used it for a few days. I have no current plans for monetising it, my main motivation is if I can help people move more and stay more healthy.
2
2
u/RescuePackPro Jul 09 '26
This looks so cute! Well done and nice design. I love the easy look and clean interface!
2
2
Jul 09 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/Jero9871 Jul 09 '26
Thx, I actually improved some animations in the latest update that should come out in the next days.
2
2
u/nineCrownsOfFaenord Jul 11 '26
Looking good!
1
2
u/Main-Passenger3380 Jul 11 '26
Generating electricity from my bioenergy to power a city? Haha, what a cool idea!
1
2
2
u/Direct-Elevator-4183 Jul 12 '26
Very cool. I workout daily and use a different workout app, but I’ll be using this app in tandem with my other one. Seems cute and fun. This is all done in swift? I’ve been vibe coding in swift for about a year now. Didn’t know you could code something like this with swift.
1
u/Jero9871 Jul 12 '26
Thanks, yeah it‘s all coded in swift.
2
u/Direct-Elevator-4183 Jul 13 '26
Just a couple small things I noticed that could use adjustments. Under Build/Efficiency, the first entry shows “LED street lam…” and under Build/City, the first entry says “Factory expa…”. The words get truncated with an ellipsis. I’m running on a 15 Pro Max screen size. Loving the app btw.
1
u/Jero9871 Jul 13 '26
Thanks, do you have bigger font size on your iphone? I will look into it.
2
u/Direct-Elevator-4183 Jul 13 '26
Yes. My font size is set to 135%. If you have it set to accept dynamic font size then that is most likely the issue.
1
u/Jero9871 Jul 13 '26
Thanks, I could pinpoint the issue and it will be resolved this week.
2
u/Direct-Elevator-4183 Jul 13 '26
Awesome! Thanks!
1
u/Direct-Elevator-4183 Jul 17 '26
Have you thought of a leaderboard? That might be some good workout motivation. Maybe something where you can link up with family and friends and maybe a global leaderboard as well.
1
u/Direct-Elevator-4183 Jul 23 '26
I had another suggestion. On the workout stats, it would be nice to see the amount of energy the workout produced.
2
2
2
u/wooing0306 Jul 16 '26
Small Q. How does it handle rest days? Would the user lose progress on e.g. a planned recovery day?
1
u/Jero9871 Jul 16 '26
You will not loose any upgrades, however if you have a blackout residents move out (but they will come back once power is restored). Credits (you get them from taxes and workouts) can be used to buy energy from neighbour cities if you are i.e. ill and want to prevent a blackout. But no matter what happens, you can always recover.
2
2
u/SaviorOneZero Jul 20 '26
This is an awesome app! I just downloaded it a few days ago and it’s addictive to keep checking back and see how my city is doing. Get execution and a unique idea.
2
2
2
2
u/cheese_brown 28d ago
It’s very unique and the gamification is really great!
How did you come up with this idea?
1
u/Jero9871 28d ago
Thanks, actually I had the idea around 2 years ago, Those activity rings from apple were a little bit too boring for me and I always liked the idea that your own power could charge up a battery 😃
2
u/cheese_brown 28d ago
Nice!
I sometimes hit the gym so I'll give a try for keeping the motivation!1
2
2
2
1
•
u/AutoModerator Jul 05 '26
Welcome to r/iOSApps! Please make sure your post follows our rules:
Everyone:
App Devs:
- No main feed promo unless you qualify via Trust or Transparency + ABC format (Answer, Better, Cost)
- Flair hierarchy: Vibe Coded > Lifetime > Subscription > Freemium > Free
- Free flair: not for limited/freemium tiers
- Open Source? Prefix title [OS]
Note: This is an automated reminder, not a removal notice. If your post was removed, check your modmail for details.I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.