joedemo42

I have a sneaking suspicion that the big-name game companies bribe them into doing so, in order to quash competition from indie and starter companies

What? This is not what I meant when I criticized the search in the AppStore. Besides that, there's the Indie Showcases, Staff Picks (which consist of mostly Indie Games). Apple even had a "Pay once, play forever" category for a while, which included specifically Non-Free-to-Play games. Still, the search is crap but I don't think you can say Apple is trying to hide Indies.

Seriously, they update the iPad and iPhone way too frequently

Are you talking about iOS or the hardware? If you're talking about iOS, then I've to say: No, I like my security issues fixed, my bugs squished and my features enhanced.

Yes, but a major problem with the iOS for mobile devices, as one of the comments in my post says, is that every version update (case in point: the 8.3 update from 8.2) is a software breaker. This is acceptable (though annoying) for free, copyleft software like Blender (which still has a better track record than Apple with backwards-compatibility), or even GIMP (which does not suffer from this problem) but for one of the world's biggest software companies, it's just plain bad.

Again: What?! First of all, the first part is just not true. See the post of acis. Games/apps do break during the beta periods of iOS - but that's what betas are for. More often than not, they then work again with the final release - like Monster Hunter. Crashed at launch during the beta, worked flawlessly in the released version. No update neccessary. So I really think that what happened to Avadon 2 is rather the exception than the rule.

Also, what do Blender and Gimp have to do with Avadon and iOS updates? I don't get it.

Sorry, I'm not trying to pick on you in particular. It's just those quotes urged me to reply.

One thing when an OS gets updated is the entire game must be play tested to make sure any OS change doesn't cause a bug. Also whether any new bugs got introduced because of a typo when updating the game to the OS.

No, that is not how this works.

I can totally empathize with Jeff's frustration. And he's right that the app store is a steaming pile of shite. It's impossible to casually browse for good games there because of the avalanche of crap that you have to dig through. The only way I've been finding good games is by reading forums like Touch Arcade. I'm an IT Business Analyst by trade, and it blows my mind that Apple designed the app store UI to serve the developers instead of the buyers. I mean look at the Top Charts page. The categories are free apps, paid apps, and top grossing apps. As a buyer, are those the primary categories that help me in my buying decision? No they are not. I don't give a rats butthole what games are top grossing. Only the developers care about that. I'm not saying that Apple should take those categories away, but why not add some tailored more for purchasers to help in their buying decisions? Duh, duh and duh!

Full ack! Well said. But I don't think this interface is aimed at developers. Developers have iTunes Connect. I think it's just plain bad. I mean, Apple gets a cut of each sale, so they should have a legitimate interest in selling more. Why is it so bad then? My guess: They just don't know how to make it better - and that's just sad.

Guess I'll be heading back to my Mac for my dose of Avernum then, too.

Cheers,

-joe

Does anyone know - if I did successfully downgrade to 8.2, would Avernum 2 still be there?

Well that depends. If Jeff just removed it from sale but not from the AppStore, you should be able to download it from the "purchased" page on the AppStore (You can check if it's listed there). If he completely removed it from the AppStore, then you have to install it from a backup. To be perfectly safe, connect your iPad to iTunes and select "Transfer purchases". That'll copy all apps and games from your iPad over to your computer. You can then later re-install them using iTunes even if they're no longer available on the AppStore.

Anyway... Since iOS 8.3 was released 9 days ago, I really doubt that Apple still signs iOS 8.2 which means that you can no longer downgrade to iOS 8.2.

Cheers,

-joe

Hi Jeff,

this is really sad news. You can't imagine how happy I was when I discovered your games on my iPad. I started to play them when they still were Exile back in the nineties. The iPad has become my primary device to play them now, since I can do it virtually anywhere. And it does not take much time to get into it, like I can play a quick 20 minutes on the couch vs. firing up my computer (which I have to get to first). Of course, this does not mean that I don't enjoy your games on devices with keyboards. ;-)

As for your reasons, even if I don't like them existing, I guess I can understand. Well, what can I do besides accepting the fact that there won't be new games on iPad.

I do not develop and sell games for iOS, so I can watch this market only from the outside but from what I see, this must have turned to a toxic soup of free-to-play titles, ambitious indie games and a few daring devs that try to keep up the banner for reasonably priced AAA games. I'd put you in the last group. It does not help, that you have virtually no way of discovering (or even properly searching) games on the AppStore besides the few lucky featured ones. The "charts" are crap. The ratings are crap. This is totally Apples fault and I'm stumped how they don't even try to fix this. It should be in their very own interest to make it as easy for me as possible to spend my money - and I certainly won't spend it on something like in the top grossing charts. I'd spend it on games like your gems - if I had a way to find them. (I did find yours, so I spent my money on them. No worries there! ;-) )

Of course I don't know what you've got to do to advertise, but again from the outside, it seemed like you got some decent coverage in online media. I remember your games being featured both in the RPG Reload podcast and quite some articles on toucharcade and other sites about iOS gaming. But again, this is probably also about visibility on the AppStore. Which goes back to what I said earlier.

It is really sad to hear that iOS 8.3 broke Avernum 2. I was really really looking forward to playing this. Sure, I could get it on GOG for quite some time now, but I wanted it on iPad. I'm not sure what I'll do now.

Could you elaborate on what you mean by Apple forcing you to learn programming again and again? Do you hint at Swift? If so, I really think you're waaaay too optimistic on how fast it will become the standard. Or is it new Frameworks? Don't get me wrong, I'm neither trying to disprove your point nor criticizing in any form, I'm genuinely just interested. Your post makes you sound kinda exhausted, so I'm wondering what causes this.

iOS gaming has its problems. And one of them is, that it's too much infested with free-to-play and casual crap. There are not that many developers which try to bring "real" games over to iOS. You were one of them, so it is really sad to see you go. But then again, you only have so much time to spend on developing games. So I'd like to rather see you working on plattforms that you get something out of, than waste it on a plattform that's just not working for you.

So... only one thing left: my desperate attempt to beg you into thinking of a way I can play Avernum 2 on my iPad. Just as Godzilla before me, I missed the tiny window where Avernum 2 was briefly available on the US iTunes Store. Had it been there a little longer, I'd have bought it. I even would've bought it knowing that it would crash and burn on my iPad running iOS 8.3. I would've had the slight hope that Apple might fix what breaks your engine in a future update. Even if they never will fix it, it would have supported your efforts in porting it to iPad.

I see two ways this could be done. First, you could make Avernum 2 available for a brief moment on the German AppStore so I could buy and download it there. Just a day, no announcement, no nothing. Under the radar. The second option is an developer version signed for my iPad. My iPad is registered to my developer account in Apple's Devloper Portal, so it's entitled to run software not coming from the AppStore. Of course I'd pay you directly if you'd choose the second option. Paypal, bank note in a letter, coins in a discreet black suitcase - your pick.

I'd prefer the first version since it would allow me to re-download it at a later time (and maybe on a different device, should I have to replace my iPad) but I'd be more than happy with either version.

Yes, I know that I'm asking for the chance to buy a game that I probably won't be able to ever play on my iPad. But please, please, pretty please with cherry on top let me do it.

Cheers,

-joe