What's your current mood - feeling insane already? That's the one on the right.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
On Episode 2
Yes, we are waiting. No, still no word from Apple. Yes, we did submit on the 6th. C'mon Apple, it really shouldn't take three weeks to approve a simple update! People want updates, we have them, and they are taking forever to emerge from the other end.
What's your current mood - feeling insane already? That's the one on the right.
What's your current mood - feeling insane already? That's the one on the right.
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yeah..... definitely the one on the right
ReplyDeleteno.. the one on the right doesnt express it enough..
ReplyDeleteThe delay in this game's second release on the app store is shocking. Over three weeks now since it was submitted. In the time I've been waiting for Minigore ep2 I've seen over ten of my other apps upgrade, including Strategery which managed two updates in this time to fix a serious bug. Why the enormous delay on Minigore? The ONE game that I'm desperate to play takes the longest period of time ever to appear in the appstore. This is unacceptable. I don't want to wait for THE REST OF TIME to play this. Minigore is my life. When I'm awake I find myself spinning round to face the shadows. When I'm asleep I dream of shotguns and minotaurs. John Gore has entered my personality, become the centre of my being. If I don't get to play episode 2 soon I'm gonna have to go out and get my gun and go postal, minigore for real man YEAH NIGGA WHAT OMFG OMFFFFFFG ROFL MG FTW
ReplyDeleteFinally a word from you guys..thought you guys just took the money and moved to an island :D
ReplyDeletehows work on episode 3 coming along? Can u give us a hint at the new weapon john gets? Maybe if u submit it soon it will be out before episode 2 lol
ReplyDeletetaking forever, but looking at the new artwork you post up is always great, hope it keeps coming :D from Cooper (cant be bothered making an account >.<)
ReplyDeleteI'd just like to say how much I love minigore!!!! :D And how much I can't wait for insane mode!!! I gather you have already made a lot from the sales of minigore so I suggest you hire an assassin and tell jobs to approve it now or else......... ;)
ReplyDeleteI don't even think the insane tells how i feel now!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteMan, it's been way too long. DYING for this update!
ReplyDeleteDammit, Apple, just push it through!!
I have a strange feeling that it will be approved today.
wow u sent in the update on the 6th?! wow whats apples problem!? im getting mad with apple and how it takes them forever to approve a simple update!
ReplyDeleteYou might as well go and submit Episode 3 asap because it will take another to get to us
ReplyDeleteI hate waiting for Updates. And this one seems to take forever... Hurry up, Apple!
ReplyDeleteHow far are you in EP3? Is it soon finished, or is it much left to do? Could you give us a percentage maybe?
ReplyDeletemaybe you should try submitting it again? maybe it didn't get through or something...
ReplyDeletei have a question about ep3. will the new characters only be in co op or will you be able to play as them in single player?
ReplyDeleteI think that you guys have to talk to us more instead of this once a week crap
ReplyDeleteYou can't unfortunately submit another update without canceling the first update. It's a restriction in the Apple systems.
ReplyDeleteEpisode 3 has the insane mode and firefurries ready, and the grenade is blowing up some furries. Needs a bit more tweaking, balancing and play-testing, but that's about it.
Apple enjoys frustrating people and developpers. They call it "a business plan".
ReplyDeleteHm... looks like I'm gonna change my mind about the frequent updates. I had no idead that it would take this long to approve.
ReplyDeleteHave u tried telling them it's in there and has been for so long? I feel more like a minitaur right now. Get it? MINItaur?
ReplyDeleteim really worried actually... as a consumer because ( no offense minigore developers) but these games that come out promising more updates can be a little tricky. Now that minigore is dropping out of the top 50 it will lose momentum even faster and what does that mean for me? will i get less content because you didnt make as much money? how much has it been making for you anyways? enough to hold you for a LONG time i hope... you should hurry with episode 3 and send it to apple ASAP once ep2 is out...
ReplyDeletei honestly can't believe crap like pocket god can stay in the top 20 for so long... on their blog they are complaining about not having a price increase because they pulled their latest update that had a bug.... SHUT UP!
oh and i also cant believe i bought pocket god... im so disappointed in myself
Pocket god didn't make the price change because they sold 1 million copies not cause of a bug. The only thing they complain about is apples approve times
ReplyDeleteI just sent an email to apple to encourage them to hurry up.
ReplyDeletewhat i meant by price increase (and this is my fault i didnt check what i wrote) was that they didnt have their normal profit surge like they used to... because the update didnt come out and not as many people bought it. sorry about that.
ReplyDeletecheck it out here if you want more:
http://pocketgod.blogspot.com/2009/08/daves-state-of-island-sharks-with.html
oh ya and WTF apple lets hurry up!
I have been checking every single freaking day for this update, but have not seen it for the past almost a month. What kind of people allow this awesome game to take almost a freakin month to get a simple update??? HUH? I hope that when you finish and submit episode 3, that it won't take as long as this is...
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile at Apple's app approval office:
ReplyDelete- Hey look! A fart-flash light app! Awesome!
- Let's approve it!
- How about Minigore?
- Nah... I can't go over 300 on my highscore, it's too hard... I think there's a bug... now turn off the lights and listen to this... 3, 2, 1...
While sales certainly affect certain decisions like being able to get more people on board to add more content into the game, we are going to be pushing out updates regardless of how long Apple decides to hold them hostage. Well, unless they block them altogether. ;) We have let Apple know about this delay and I'll let you guys know when we hear back from them.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure EP 2 will come out this week, though!
thats good kimmo, you should really complain to them about their approval process. its horrible!
ReplyDeletePaul, pocket god didn't say they didn't get as mush profit. They said there would've been a huge drop in sales if apple didn't let them revert back to their last update, and he was glad that new users didn't spend $1 for an app that didn't work. Read the post one more time.
ReplyDeleteI wonder why Apple can't make a a 17+ option for the users who are out of the parental bubble. That way, all 17+ app (this is in actuality stupid, by the age of 7 kids know the meaning of fuck), can be checked quickly and thoroughly. Minigore development, i am sticking to you side by side every update, but have you considered using cydia? the app approval takes minutes and your primary target grows by the thousands each day,
ReplyDeletedude i am really mad at apple right now it just proves that there one of those big companies who are almost at the point where they dont care about any other people and don't listen to there customers. im the one on the right.
ReplyDeletethank you kimmo keep us updated on what stupid apple saids
ReplyDeleteI hope to hell that this won't end up like the iShoot 2.0.2 update did. The iShoot 2.0.2 update took 2 months for approval! Two Pocket God updates were approved during the approval of ONE app!
ReplyDeletei just got a facebook update submitted two days ago.
ReplyDeleteHey kimmo, why is the splash screen art portrait, while everything else is landscape?
ReplyDeleteThat's one thing that's always bugged me...
Alive 4 ever came out with 16 weapons, 4 characters, 30 missions and more. Waiting for these updates is ridiculous. I don't care how long it's taking apple the developers are the ones who gave us a game with 1 level, 2 weapons even though they claim there is 3 just because the box explods and kills "maybe" on tiny little furry so regardless of how long it's taking apple we should of received more. I'm not even excited for this update because I feel it really adds nothing new. I mean wow furry sense to me it's more exciting trying to find out where they are and open faint features who gives a crap about that what does that do for the excitment of the game? And instead of new weapons we just get a fix on an old weapon? Freakin A!!! I'm super bummed by minigore and all the hype who cares about ps2 worry about the original iPhone app. Alive 4 ever is by far the best shooter on the app store. Sorry minigore.
ReplyDelete^^ well you gotta remember, we the customers pushed and pushed mountain sheep to release the app earlier then im sure they wanted to, if we did wait i think we would be upto what episode 4 has to offer right now. doesnt matter tho, we will get everything. and yes mountain sheep, take some pages froom alive4ever. the missions are boring, but the gameplay is fun and the control are very responsive. the main thing i think you should try to target is 4player co-op. 2player will be good but 4 is always better
ReplyDeletestill, i know minigore's gonna absolutely kill alive4ever once all the main updates are out
I played through Alive 4-Ever today, it's one of the best games I've played on iPhone so far.
ReplyDeleteI'm actually very happy that it was released as Minigore sales improved when A4E reviews mentioned our game in their comparisons! :) When games cost $0,99 we are not actually competing - players have money to buy several games because they're so cheap. If it was Killzone 3 vs Halo 4 it would be a bit different because not many people can afford two $60 games in the same month.
Feature wise I liked how they did the critical hit/headshot thing when you shoot in the middle of a zombie. The blood effect was great too and I liked the character development bits!
It's not a flawless game by any means and it seems like they focused on different things. 16 guns is a number, how many of those are actually any different or usable? If you look at Blizzard RTS games they balance fewer units instead of going for a huge number. Their competitor Cavedog made a game called Total Annihilation, it had 160 units and I can only remember one by name. In comparison I can name all the units in Starcraft or Warcraft.
We put a lot of effort into general usability like framerate, menus that are fast to navigate, fast loading (so you can pick up and play while waiting for bus), OpenFeint high scores (44341 players have submitted scores so far), support for earlier than 3.0 firmwares, custom playlists for music, screen flipping, etc.
As far as I noticed A4E doesn't have any of the features listed above.
In Alive 4-Ever it takes 6 button presses to start the game (7 if you count pressing the game icon), menus have slow transition animations.
Other major differences are the camera angle and it's a 2d game instead of 3d. Minigore has much more in common with iDracula which is from 45 degree angle and actually IS a survival shooter. If looking at genre I would say Alive 4-Ever is closer to Warpack Grunts.
Timo, I am wondering if the picture is (on this blogpost) the screen where you choose the difficulty of the game (for episode 3)? Normal, Medium and Insane? I love Minigore and I can't wait for Hardgore! Keep up the amazing work!
ReplyDeleteI would love to see a preview of the new user interface! Thanks for the awesome game!
ReplyDeletedid you guy say that we would be able to vote for new features in the app? i thought i heard that a while back...?
ReplyDelete^^ yea same i thought that you guys sais it was coming in ep2. well i hope so anyway, itll get alot more people involved with minigore
ReplyDeleteSo have you guys tried telling Apple's Approval System that you sent an update roughly three weeks ago? Maybe it was lost and never got sent. Games like Habor Master and Pocket God, when they send their updates, it is always on time.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the pictures are from the difficulty selection. We'll introduce the new features in EP3 once EP2 goes through.
ReplyDeleteWe're looking into voting for new features in the app. Can't say anything about the timeline yet, though.
We are pushing a lot of buttons to get Apple to approve it. Pocket God does seem to get their updates out as planned nowadays, but I think they've had their fair share of approval difficulties in the past.
Thanks for answering-that's why I love Mountain Sheep so much!
ReplyDeletei really hope you guys an get ahold of apple... because i dont think the update is coming out. there have been several other apps that have been approved already and they were sent to apple after episode 2 was sent to apple. good luck. its so sad that such a good game as this is below 50 in the app store already
ReplyDeleteits still 11 in the appstore in australia. so your still doing good here even tho apples holding the potential of this game back drastically
ReplyDeleteI think if you combined all the faces together and added an extra right face, the combination is how I feel. Really apple...i respect the process but minigore doesn't contain some hidden feature that lets you make phone calls over wifi. Just release the effing game already, damn, is it that hard? Hire some more people to review games or do something, but the process is ridiculously long and drawn out.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe worst part about the wait. Is that Episode 2 isn't really changing that much. It's episodes 3 and 4 that people are really looking forward too. Episode 3 probably won't be available for another month or so.
ReplyDeleteim so pissed at apple their bs approval system!
ReplyDeleteisnt hardgore supposed to come out real soon?
ReplyDeleteJoey H: We're focusing our development efforts heavily on Minigore as there's a large amount of players waiting for the updates. We honestly want to make it the best 99 cents you can spend.
ReplyDeleteAbandoning the userbase and moving on to develop Hardgore would feel very wrong.
The two games do share a lot of technology so practically every time we do Minigore we're actually doing both :)
Would it be possible to add blood sprites similar to those of 'Pools of Blood' without it hindering the frame rate too much?
ReplyDeleteI think it'd be fantastic.
let us know what email and such that we could contact apple with this dilemma... we know you like to have support with your fans.. so that is in fact what we need to do. give you the support you need!
ReplyDeleteGetting pretty frustraing, coming up to the 1 month mark, and just for an update, sheesh.
ReplyDeleteMinigore is by far the best and most unique app. I truly love it!! Have u guys thought of a hut for John to go In to buy weapons? It would be so much fun to earn weapons rather then just finding them. Every time u kill a furrry u get gold or something to make the gamer feel like we are working up to something. A place to buy,health,weapons,clovers,latte,whatever it's endless possibilities. I think too having something like redbull that makes John grow gradually, every redbull he gets a little bigger unless he gets hit then he goes back to regular size. AnywY regardless of what u do it will be amazing!!! Thanks for answering so many questions and putting up with crazy minigore fans:)
ReplyDeletepeace! -mikeC.
so you guys said you will tell us when you have contacted apple and they have replied back. so.......did you guys contact apple?
ReplyDeletenah these guys dont say shit!!
ReplyDeletehey :)
ReplyDeletecant wait until the update is out !
but i have a problem:
when i want to join the chatrooms (via w-lan)
im kicked out of game
is it a bug or just the ipods error?
can anybody help me?
You guys should just sit on episode 3 until co-op is ready then submit so we dont have to go through this mess two more times before the best update
ReplyDeleteyah thats a good idea add co-op to episode 3
ReplyDelete"Pools of blood" has really nice pools of... blood. Minigore is pushing the limits of iPhone and it would be a problem to do what they have done. There may be a way of doing it by baking the sprites into the background texture, possibly over multiple frames. That's a matter of some R&D, though.
ReplyDeleteApple's approval process e-mail was put into public domain by a frustrated developer who's update is late as well: http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthread.php?t=23516
Fire away! :)
Hut's been brought up a few times. It's a cool idea and perhaps we could do something with it. While we don't have plans for putting money into the game, we are going to have achievements in Minigore so you need to earn the new playable characters.
We did contact Apple and they are trying to sort it out.
The OpenFeint version we put in Episode 2 makes the online experience, including chat rooms, more reliable. What you've been experiencing is definitely a bug.
I still like to think a long approval time is an anomaly and that the next one will get through in a speedy manner. We are not far away from finishing Episode 3, so what we might do is merge Episodes 2 and 3. The co-op update is a big one on its own and it will most likely not be merged with other updates.
'fireing' away kimmo!
ReplyDeleteill get all the minigore community on TA to do the same!
I'm not saying you should necessarily fill the entire Apple inbox with Minigore. They might simply keyword-ignore the topic if they see a bulk of emails pouring in. :P However, brandtproductions above wanted to know if there is a way to reach them and the link gives you a way. You always get an automated stock answer from that address, but I'm pretty sure someone does read it every now and then.
ReplyDeleteTimo
ReplyDeleteThanks for your feedback
I love minigore, and i would not want you to abandon it for hadgore! I feel much the same way you do! I was just wondering about it because on the mountainsheep website it said that hardgore was due to come out at the end of quarter three, and that is coming up. I really hope to see the updates for minigore approved, so you guys can get on with your lives and stop having to post reponses about things that aren't your fault.
That spam idea is amazing ;'D
ReplyDeleteI couldn't think of a better one myself : ]
Bloody Apple though, most of my other apps have got updates but not Minigore, my favourite one :'(
It's not fair. Not fair at all.
Hopefully it'll get sorted this month though, because maybe Apple will realise how much of an arsehole they've been...
Oh wait,
They'll never realise that
Just sent a rather angry email to that Apple email -
ReplyDeleteHello Apple, or to whom this may concern.
I'm an enthusiastic fan of the app "Minigore"
Whose new update has taken, to this date, 5 whole weeks to NOT be submitted into the App Store.
Now, I noticed you have a new schedule system in place to give developers a hint at when their apps and updates will be submitted, but what's the point in having it when you aren't even loyal to it? It's a false sense of security for developers, one which
I've been buying Apple products for a number of years now and I haven't been treated with the kind of disrespect that "Mountain Sheep" the developer of Minigore, have been shown.
Such disrespect that is an insult to the world of technology and to your somewhat two faced company.
I believe one of your highest ranking employees once stated that App updates will not take very long to be submitted, so why the 5 week wait for "Minigore" ? It doesn't add up, it really doesn't.
I thought you were an organised company, with a considerable reputation, a reputation which is now spiralling downwards with angry App developers and frustrated gamers as we speak.
Agreed, you may have your reasons for these massive delays, but you don't even try to contact developers with those reasons.
You're supposed to support developers, not keep the most important information from them, information which is crucial.
In this now 5 week wait, I've recieved numerous App updates for the other Apps I own, including Pocket God and Real Racing, two apps which has a popularity which is high in the ranks of the Top 50 Apps in the App Store.
Nothing adds up, Apple, and it's about time you started answering questions or else you're going to lose your "Reputation"
One reputation which is already damaged, mainly because of the many flaws in your App Store.
Flaws which shouldn't exist in a company as respectable as yourselves.
Now, as a word of advice for you, Apple.
Another thing, I believe one of your colleagues released a notice saying that you are listening to emails and feedback from devlopers and gamers?
Well, read this feedback.
I'm not happy with the way you deal with Apps and their updates.
It's just as if you throw the majority of them in the trash, and even then does it take an angry developer phone call or email for you to actually explain it to them.
That in itself is pathetic.
Now I'd really appreciate some answers about this,
Because I have paid money for this app [Minigore] and having done so, I am entitled to somer answers.
Alike the many people who do email you, only to recieve a slap in the face and no emails back.
Yours sincerely
------------------
Proud owner of Minigore
And a wide variety of many more Apps
Wow... But i'm afraid it's useless.
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking the time to respond to us as gamers. I'm stoked to hear you may do a hut for John Gore to cruz into to upgrade or buy weapons or whatever. Anyway thank you guys for all your doing to keeping us addicted yet drug free:)ha! -mike
ReplyDelete