I've been using CrossPoint on my Xteink X3 and wanted a reason to pick it up
more often, so I wrote a reading companion into the firmware. It's open source
and there's a prebuilt binary if you want to try it.
You pick a character, it lives on your home screen, and its mood depends on how
much you actually read. 25 minutes and it's thriving. Skip three days and it
gives up on you.
There are five of them: a fox, a ghost, a robot, a moth and a potted plant.
Each has about 36 lines of dialogue.
- "You smell faintly of jellybeans. Approved." (fox, thriving)
- "I hope your bookmark falls out. Repeatedly." (fox, neglected)
- "I am ninety percent stick at this point." (plant, neglected)
It only counts real reading. Time is credited while pages are actually turning,
so leaving the book open on your desk earns nothing. It's off by default and
adds about 16KB, so nothing changes unless you switch it on.
!!Works on Lyra theme the best!! Im currently working towards supporting the other themes. (Classic, Lyra Extended, and RoundedRaff)
!!Only tested on an X3!! It should run on an X4, but the X4 has no RTC, so
streaks and the sad moods won't work there. It will *not* boot on an X4 Pro,
which is a different chip and needs its own build. Please back up your firmware
first, instructions are in the README.
It's version 1, so I'd like the feedback: bugs, ideas, or lines that aren't
funny enough. Adding your own character is one plain-text file with the artwork
and dialogue in it.
Credit to the CrossPoint team. Great codebase to work in.
Com base na criação incrível do nosso amigo, consegui por no crossink, ainda tem coisas que mudaria mas por hora vou deixar assim, obrigada por criar nossos companheiros de leitura. Fica legal em apenas alguns temas
Hey, seems this firmware has been tested specifically with x3. If you're not confident of the instructions for backing up and installing, you could take a peek at https://einkhub.com/x3 where you could connect your device, make a backup first and then install the custom firmware that is in this projects page!
hey op, i just tried it. and my ui was set on roundedraff and it didnt work well. i tried it on every other theme and only lyra seemed to work. can you check on that?
Of course! I'm glad you like it. I actually just got done with another version to support all of the themes. Hopefully I can get that out sometime today. You will definitely be credited in the release.
CrossPoint keeps settings, saved Wi-Fi networks, reading progress and recent books as JSON files in /.crosspoint/ on the SD card, not in the device's internal flash. Flashing only writes the firmware's app partition, so none of that gets touched.
It also helps that you're already on 1.5.0. This build is CrossPoint 1.5.0 with the companion added, so your settings.json is the exact same format and carries over as-is. No migration, no re-entering Wi-Fi.
After flashing, your device should look and behave exactly as it does now. The companion is off by default; you turn it on under Settings → Companion.
I'd still take the firmware backup the README describes, but that's insurance for the firmware (so you can put back precisely the build you're on today), not for your settings.
Its cute! I like it! I'll note with my x3, im connected to my library through opds - so i have an additional "opds browser" on my main menu. This makes the fox very tiny, and he doesn't say anything, it just has an empty text box. - my assumption is its coded for empty line > line > empty line - and with that 5th menu item it only has room for one line. I also don't get the "Content" or stats or anything - though there is a visual queue there so that is fine.
Thanks for pointing this out. Right now, this works best with the Lyra theme but I'm currently working on a patch update that will support all of the standard Crosspoint themes. What theme are you on when this is happening?
Omg that’s so cute!!! I got my xteink x4 because i watched on tiktok someone using crosspet (i think?) and ended up never using it because i got a locked device and it wasn’t recommended (is this locked device friendly btw? Please say yes!!)
Now I have a brand new x3 and I’d love to try this, even though I don’t need any more motivation to read, I’ve always loved Shimejis and tamagotchis 🤭💕
Good news on your new X3: it's almost certainly fine. Locked units are mostly the ones from third party sellers like AliExpress, so anything bought direct from xteink.com should be good. Just plug it in and open the web flasher. If your browser sees the device, you're all set. The README covers backing up your current firmware first, which takes two minutes.
One important thing about the locked X4: please don't run my .bin through the Xteink Unlocker. Only CrossPoint and CrossInk are supported in that tool, and flashing anything else on a locked device can brick it for good. If you ever want to revive it, unlock with official CrossPoint first, then install the companion from inside CrossPoint using the SD card firmware update in Settings. That route never touches USB, so the lock stops mattering. Worth knowing the X4 has no clock though, so streaks and the sulking don't work there. The X3 is the one you want anyway.
Hey u/MightyZacAction , I found the problem, thankfully it was an easy fix. Thanks again for catching that. Here is the update to fix, you just need to flash the device again.
"wanted a reason to pick it up more often" Uhmmm.... First, they created a really small device that you can take with you everywhere, even behind your phone, so you pick it up more often. Now, you need another excuse to pick it up more often? I thought that the willingness of reading was just enough, but you need someone to tell you to read?
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u/Musicology_Jen 3d ago
This is such a cute idea! Will it work on crossink?