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Newly Broken iOS Games

I

Imbarkus

As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
I upgraded my iPhone to a 6 and a few titles are broken or semi-functional, waiting for devs to update. I guess I have doubtful feelings that they all will get updated... I mean, business reality has changed for some of these devs/pubs, right?

So is there some sort of App Store garbage-sweep that moves through and double-checks the conditions that got some of these apps approved in the first place?

Bit.Trip Blitz just crashes.
Atari's Greatest Hits often crashes, fights restoring purchases, doesn't show controls overlay.
EDIT: Updates added from posts (trying to include only full-on unplayable issues)
Ghost Trick
The World Ends With You
Deathsmiles
Sonic 4
Helsing's Fire

Maybe I can add more, anyone running into similar issues? Curious how widespread.
 
A

Anion

Member
Good thing about the iOS store is that many people get pissed and actually decrease the rating. Saves me the trouble most of the time
 
I

Imbarkus

As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
Technobabel said:
Hey, I worked on that game! I haven't worked for that employer for years though and would be surprised if it got updated.
Click to expand...

You guys got a lot of grief on the reviews over the ad implementation, but I enjoyed it. Thanks!
 
A

AtomicShroom

Member
One of the main reasons why I don't play any games on iPhone anymore. It's pretty damn fucking terrible that OS upgrades can break previously-released software or affect their performance, making their framerate worse than it used to be. It's something that would never happen or ever be allowed to fly on a dedicated game system, but somehow on mobile that shit is now routine and no one raises an eyebrow it seems. Games I bought on my 3DS at launch still run flawlessly despite numerous OS updates. Why is this kind of bullshit allowed on mobile?

Angry Birds doesn't even look like the game it used to when it first came out. Its menus were completely changed, it's ridden with ads and extra stuff to get more money out of you that wasn't there when I first bought the game, its performance has dropped over time. Coupled with OS updates, the thing had gone from a stable 60fps to a stuttery mess on my iPhone 4. Even though it's the same game! And you can't revert to previous versions or remove updates, so you're effectively stuck.
 
S

SURGEdude

Member
Fucking Game of Thrones. Such garbage framerate even on devices like the iPhone 6 and iPad Air.

It's really shockingly bad. Telltale needs to get their shit together. Even my gifted XB1 version runs like garbage and looks like crap.
 
Teh Emo Penguin

Teh Emo Penguin

Member
Both Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic CD don't full up the entire screen on my iPhone 6 Plus. It just fills whatever the resolution the iPhone 5 was, leaving the extra space black only.
 
D

DeceitDecide

Member
Ziggurat from Action Button Entertainment has simply vanished from the US app store. I tried contacting them to ask about it, but they haven't responded to me.
 
D

deltatheta

Member
I think most of the blame probably has to go to the OS. Backwards compatibility just isn't a priority for Apple (or Google with Android). They expect the devs to go back and do extra work with every release of the OS, except who's going to be paying for it?
 
I

Imbarkus

As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
deltatheta said:
I think most of the blame probably has to go to the OS. Backwards compatibility just isn't a priority for Apple (or Google with Android). They expect the devs to go back and do extra work with every release of the OS, except who's going to be paying for it?
Click to expand...

Huh. I suppose ill will is ameliorated by the whole race to the bottom thing on pricing.

Wasn't World Ends with You like regular Squenix $10 tho?
 
J

Jomjom

Banned
I'm just mad that Ghost Trick still doesn't work and it doesn't look like it'll ever be upgraded. I feel like I got robbed.
 
D

deltatheta

Member
Imbarkus said:
Huh. I suppose ill will is ameliorated by the whole race to the bottom thing on pricing.

Wasn't World Ends with You like regular Squenix $10 tho?
Click to expand...

If they're not being fixed, I'm guessing the reason is that it doesn't make financial sense. These games probably sell most of their copies on the first weeks while it's being promoted in the app store. It's hard to justify tons of additional compatibility programming work just to maybe sell a few more copies. The people who already bought the game aren't giving you any more money.
 
B

Bebpo

Banned
Square's big deal iOS series Chaos Rings doesn't even work on iOS anymore after iOS 8 came out. I bought a fricken iPad air 2 to play the series smoothly and I can't even play CR2. Load of bull.
 
G

galvatron

Member
Wario64 said:
Ghost Trick isn't supported in iOS8
Click to expand...

That's the one I'm most upset about since I had been waiting to finish it, got into the mood again when I bought the new iphone 6+ then crash after restoring my IAP...

Seems pretty common for Capcom. I think Ace Attorney isn't supported in iOS8, either
 
D

deltatheta

Member
It'd be nice to hear from iOS developers on why the compatibility is getting broken.

Are the apps using undocumented APIs?

Are they depending on bugs in the APIs that get fixed in new OS releases?

Is Apple over-deprecating APIs and actually removing them from new OSes, intentionally breaking compatibility?

I suspect most of the blame should fall on Apple, but I'd like to have more facts.
 
B

Bebpo

Banned
The worst thing is that this creates an environment where if you buy a bunch of games and have a mobile backlog, by the time you sit down to play them a new OS may have been released and now some of your games don't work anymore.

It really is insane. I have Ghost Trick in my backlog and now I just learned I can't even play it and it was a waste of funds. I wonder how many other games in my mobile backlog don't even function anymore.
 
I

Imbarkus

As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
deltatheta said:
It'd be nice to hear from iOS developers on why the compatibility is getting broken.

Are the apps using undocumented APIs?

Are they depending on bugs in the APIs that get fixed in new OS releases?

Is Apple over-deprecating APIs and actually removing them from new OSes, intentionally breaking compatibility?

I suspect most of the blame should fall on Apple, but I'd like to have more facts.
Click to expand...

Definitely seems to be some screen-size changes messing with how some apps are laid out, as to the rest, yeah I'd be curious why.

Bebpo said:
The worst thing is that this creates an environment where if you buy a bunch of games and have a mobile backlog, by the time you sit down to play them a new OS may have been released and now some of your games don't work anymore.

It really is insane. I have Ghost Trick in my backlog and now I just learned I can't even play it and it was a waste of funds. I wonder how many other games in my mobile backlog don't even function anymore.
Click to expand...

Apple, Google, and Amazon have all had to deal with class actions based on kids buying IAPs.

Where does the liability lie for purchases that stopped functioning on an always online, constantly updating device when the system updates break the software?
 
E

eyeball_kid

Member
deltatheta said:
It'd be nice to hear from iOS developers on why the compatibility is getting broken.

Are the apps using undocumented APIs?

Are they depending on bugs in the APIs that get fixed in new OS releases?

Is Apple over-deprecating APIs and actually removing them from new OSes, intentionally breaking compatibility?

I suspect most of the blame should fall on Apple, but I'd like to have more facts.
Click to expand...

Apple changes many existing APIs with each new version, and in doing so, often breaks compatibility with older implementations of the API. Part of this is wiping the slate clean, and part of it is just Apple not having enough time in a yearly release cycle to create new functionality and also make sure apps developed for older versions still work. This is a problem for all iOS developers, not just game devs. As deltatheta mentioned, the reason many don't get updated is just financial. It takes engineering time, and sometimes a lot of engineering time, to update the codebase to conform to whatever has changed in the new iOS version, and most mobile games just don't have a long enough tail to justify that expenditure. While this is bad for developers and customers, it does push innovation on the system faster.

This is one advantage of dedicated portable game consoles vs mobile devices – you can be pretty sure that your DS cart will still function exactly as it did five years ago.
 
M

MichaelFassbender

Member
Some of them just disappear. Like that one version of The Force Unleashed. I don't know if anyone remembers it, but it was pretty early on. Unique.

Gone now. Forever.
 
G

Garrett Hawke

Member
Robot Unicorn Attack 2 is broken :( after you crash for the first time, you can't click the "respawn" button.
and Plants vs Zombies 1 is broken.
 
J

Jomjom

Banned
Yeah I'm definitely going to buy way fewer games on my iPhone because of this. At least make some sort of official emulator that you can run your apps with iOS6 compatibility or something. I have probably 30-40 dollars in apps that I paid good money for and have never even played and can now never play.
 
I

Imbarkus

As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
tghm1801 said:
Robot Unicorn Attack 2 is broken :( after you crash for the first time, you can't click the "respawn" button.
and Plants vs Zombies 1 is broken.
Click to expand...

These are both working fine for me though I haven't applied 8.1.2 yet.
 
G

Garrett Hawke

Member
Imbarkus said:
These are both working fine for me though I haven't applied 8.1.2 yet.
Click to expand...
You sure? Cus I can't get past the first life in RUA2 because it gets stuck on the "try again" screen.

Edit: just checked, still doesn't work. You can't click "Tap here to make your next wish!"
iPhone 6 here.
 
R

Rodney McKay

Member
I wish I hadn't updated my iPad Mini to iOS 8. :(
I only did it because my girlfriend lost her internet for a week or two so I couldn't airplay movies to her Apple TV until I updated my iPad. We only used it once before she got her internet back up and now I can't play Ghost Trick and it looks like I won't be buying TWEWY anytime soon (which I had been wanting to do).
deltatheta said:
I think most of the blame probably has to go to the OS. Backwards compatibility just isn't a priority for Apple (or Google with Android). They expect the devs to go back and do extra work with every release of the OS, except who's going to be paying for it?
Click to expand...

So far I haven't had any issue with BC on Android, the only issue I run into are games that give me a message "this game is not authorized to run on your device" or something like that.

I think this is more in the hands of developers than Google since games like the original Android Sim City eventually died because EA stopped supporting it on ANY devices anymore. I think I had even payed for that game back on my old Samsung Infuse, but it hasn't worked on my Note 2 or Nexus 10. The new one they came out with isn't supported on any of my devices either which seems weird since they are both still capable of running whatever I throw at it.
 
B

Bumpers

Member
This is the worst form of digital future where you're not able to play some of the games on the existing hardware you had. Same on Android with some Cave and Square games, Chrono Trigger and others weren't even working for Android 4.4, let alone ART/5.0. I haven't bought any games on my iPad as a result of it being the same with iOS.
 
bobawesome

bobawesome

Member
badcrumble said:
iOS 8 broke The World Ends With You and it's still not fixed.
Click to expand...

Just posted about this in the iOS thread last night. THREE MONTHS. THREE MONTHS LATER AND IT'S STILL BROKEN. Jesus Christ, Square Enix. I'm not buying anymore iOS games in the foreseeable future.
 
L

lovely ladies

Member
bobawesome said:
Just posted about this in the iOS thread last night. THREE MONTHS. THREE MONTHS LATER AND IT'S STILL BROKEN. Jesus Christ, Square Enix. I'm not buying anymore iOS games in the foreseeable future.
Click to expand...

We have confirmed a bug that prevents this game from running properly on iOS 8, and are currently investigating the matter. We humbly ask for your patience and understanding until the issue is resolved.
Click to expand...

.
 
M

Mario

Sidhe / PikPok
Imbarkus said:
So is there some sort of App Store garbage-sweep that moves through and double-checks the conditions that got some of these apps approved in the first place?
Click to expand...

While there are automated checks on app submissions which scan the binaries, the actual approval process is a manual thing and once you are approved you are approved for all time. Only legal reasons will get you pulled down by Apple at that point.

There are likely always going to be issues with some apps and games. As devices and the OS evolves with new releases, underlying assumptions and "constants" change over time. Sometimes those changes will degrade or break the experience.

We ourselves got caught out with the way the OS8 and iPhone 6/6+ reports back device resolution, meaning the controls in a couple of our games were operating at a different resolution to the actual graphics being displayed. It wasn't really "bad coding" in that we had to wait an extra frame for the OS to return the correct results.


tghm1801 said:
Robot Unicorn Attack 2 is broken :( after you crash for the first time, you can't click the "respawn" button.
Click to expand...

Are you sure you have updated to the latest version of the app? We fixed that pretty quickly I believe. You should still be able to get past it anyway if you tap off the button somewhere on the screen because the hitbox and the graphics are misaligned.
 
I

Imbarkus

As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
tghm1801 said:
You sure? Cus I can't get past the first life in RUA2 because it gets stuck on the "try again" screen.

Edit: just checked, still doesn't work. You can't click "Tap here to make your next wish!"
iPhone 6 here.
Click to expand...

Huh. Takes that press as if I hit the Leaderboard button.

I notice a lot of that, buttons on the screen not matching where the touch UI places the selection.

You can always double-tap home and quit the app to relaucnh and get your next run, but... yeah, shitty.

lovely ladies said:
TWEWY is $18 for iphone and $20 for ipad, both have been broken since September.
Click to expand...

Wow.

If you want to be a dev who strikes a different tone asking for higher value in prices, you've got to offer higher value in the product. They amaze me.

EDIT"
Mario said:
We ourselves got caught out with the way the OS8 and iPhone 6/6+ reports back device resolution, meaning the controls in a couple of our games were operating at a different resolution to the actual graphics being displayed. It wasn't really "bad coding" in that we had to wait an extra frame for the OS to return the correct results.
Click to expand...

Well that explains that thing I mentioned.

Mario said:
Are you sure you have updated to the latest version of the app? We fixed that pretty quickly I believe. You should still be able to get past it anyway if you tap off the button somewhere on the screen because the hitbox and the graphics are misaligned.
Click to expand...

I just duplicated it and no updates are showing available for the app. I'm helping!!
The "live area" for the "next run" button seems pushed all the way off the screen at the bottom.
 
B

Bumpers

Member
lovely ladies said:
.
Click to expand...
It's Square Enix, they've had this for a year on the Google Play page for Chrono Trigger, perhaps longer
"CHRONO TRIIGER" may not perform as intended on the latest version of Android. We ask for your patience and understanding as we work to address this issue in the coming days."
 
W

Waylon Drums

Member
Square really doesn't "get" the App Store. They're the only developer whose app bundles don't have a "complete my bundle" option that discounts the bundle if you've bought apps in it before (like the "complete my album" option in the music store).
 
P

PixyJunket

Member
I love gaming on my iPad, but iOS really comes off as a mess of an OS in terms of how many games and apps are destroyed with each update.

And I was really hoping for a The Worlds Ends With You sale during Christmas.
 
M

Meffer

Member
Waylon Drums said:
Square really doesn't "get" the App Store. They're the only developer whose app bundles don't have a "complete my bundle" option that discounts the bundle if you've bought apps in it before (like the "complete my album" option in the music store).
Click to expand...

This is SE. They just want your money and don't care.
 
L

lovely ladies

Member
Bumpers said:
It's Square Enix, they've had this for a year on the Google Play page for Chrono Trigger, perhaps longer
"CHRONO TRIIGER" may not perform as intended on the latest version of Android. We ask for your patience and understanding as we work to address this issue in the coming days."
Click to expand...

Oh no lol, I wasn't aware of that. Shit, that's not reassuring news.
 
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