Episode 3.8 submitted

Episode 3.8 was submitted yesterday. It contains the following:

HD-certified graphics:
-The completely redone artwork brings you as close to the HD experience as you can get on iPhone and iPod touch!

Restore your kills based on OpenFeint achievements:
-If you reinstall the game or install it on another device, log on to OpenFeint and the game will automatically restore your kills based on your achievements. Note that the game cannot know the exact number of kills you had, just the kills it can award from your achievements.

Other improvements:
-Weapon recoil effects for all characters.
-Made it possible switch performance-intensive “3rd generation effects” (bullet shells and fence) on and off.

Visual comparison of Episode 3.7 and Episode 3.8:

Get your kills back based on your online achievements

Yesterday I replied to some people who suffered from data loss, had deleted the game and only reinstalled it after the new update was out. In this case the game has no way of knowing that you actually have suffered from data loss as there is no evidence (a save file) of it left.

We discussed what we could do about it and arrived at the same solution I hinted at in comments. Upon logging on to OpenFeint, the next update will check if you have an online achievement but no corresponding local achievement. If so, you will receive the cost of the character in kills. This ensures you get the correct amount of kills. You can then use those to unlock any characters you want.

Hopefully this will remedy the issue for the rest of you out there. We will look into restoring your local scores from OpenFeint in a later update. If you see any loopholes with the kill restoration scheme (being able to choose different characters than you did before does not count), please tell us in the comments. Cheers!

3.7 fixed update is out

The new update with 100 000 extra kills and unlocked characters for those of you who posted their achievements online is now available. See the previous blog post for instructions.

NOTE: This update is able to grant you extra kills and unlock your characters if your game contains a save file from the buggy Episode 3.7 (v1.27). If you are updating from Episode 3.6 (v1.26) or earlier, your save file is from an earlier version. If you deleted Minigore and are installing the latest update from a clean slate, you don't have a save file at all. The extra kills and characters can be granted for anyone who experienced a data loss and has a save file from the buggy Episode 3.7 (v1.27) when updating to the latest version.

Mountain Sheep is grateful for your patience and wishes you happy gaming. We will be submitting a new graphics improvement update next week, so stay tuned!

The fix

The new update with a fix to the data loss bug and inability to save has begun its journey. Let us hope for a swift passage.

This is how we will thank you for your patience:

1. Anyone who suffered from data loss will be granted 100 000 free kills.
2. If you used OpenFeint, the next time you log on all the characters for which you had an achievement will be unlocked, as well as the next most expensive character you didn't yet have an achievement for (if any). For instance, if you have achievements for Jerry Gore and Zombieville Guy, you will get access to those two characters + the next character, Hook Champ, regardless of whether you had them unlocked previously or not.

We recognize this will not make it up for everyone (particularly those of you who don't go online), but hopefully it helps alleviate things at the very least. The bottom line is the update is on the way, so bare with us a little while longer!

Unlocking premium characters you have bought

There seems to be a little bit of confusion as to how in-app purchases are unlocked in Minigore and when it can be done. Let me walk you through the process.

You can reunlock any premium characters you have already purchased for free and you can do it right away. That is to say iTunes won't charge you twice for downloading the same content. Use the "BUY NOW" button to unlock your premium character and when asked for your credentials, log in with the same iTunes account you used to make the original purchase. iTunes will then tell you have already bought this content and can download it for free.

Please note that for anyone who is running Episode 3.7, Minigore will not be able to create a save file and will have all the characters locked again the next time you start the time.

The fix is already implemented and we are now working on ways to make up for lost data. The update will be submitted in the next few days. Thanks for your patience and understanding, folks! Again, truly sorry about the data loss.

The save file bug

Sincere apologies on my behalf, as well. :( We, as not only developers but also fellow gamers, know how painful it is to lose your scores, kills and characters (though DLC characters you can always download for free) - something you've worked very hard to get. The fault was in build finalization process. We implemented anti-cheating measures a couple of episodes back which rely on matching version numbers. One of the version numbers was not updated and it caused the game to completely reject new save games. It pains me how small an error can cause such wide-spread havoc!

I just now finished coding a save file loader which takes a different approach to anti-cheating to make sure this cannot happen again. Also, now whenever there is trouble loading a save file, the game will not overwrite your save unless you specifically instruct it to. This means if the game is ever unable to load the save file, you will not lose progress and any bugs causing the failure can be remedied in an update without a loss of data.

I'll move on to unlocking the lost characters based on OpenFeint achievements now. Sorry guys! We'll make this up to you with even better updates.

Don't update to Episode 3.7!!!

There's a save game bug in Minigore Episode 3.7 - Don't update and wait for a fixed version!


If you already updated:

1. You won't lose your In-App Purchase characters!

2. Also it should be possible to recover your unlocked characters through OpenFeint achievements.

3. Normal, Hard and Insane difficulties are already unlocked on first playthrough on Minigore HD - we'll add that change iPhone/iPod version so you don't have to grind through earlier difficulties.

4. As a final change we might give for example 20 000 kills at the start of the game that you can spend on any character.

Free upgrade to Minigore HD for 50 fans

In celebration of iPad's U.S. launch tomorrow, we decided to let 50 of our quickest fans in the U.S. upgrade to Minigore HD completely free of charge today!

Requirements:
1. You own Minigore on iPhone or iPod touch.
2. You are based in the United States.
3. You have a working PayPal account.

You need to send us your:
-OpenFeint ID
-current online highscore in Minigore for Single-player survival (Episode 3.5)
-PayPal-enabled email address

Send the information to the following email address with the topic "Minigore HD free upgrade":

The first 50 will receive instructions on how to get your free upgrade. Only people meeting all the requirements and sending all the required information will be considered. Godspeed, my friends!

Minigore HD has arrived!

The best-selling iPhone action game makes its long-awaited High Definition appearance!

Can you survive the onslaught of furries in the dark wilderness of Hardland?

- 14 unique playable characters

Guest stars from App Store hits Zombieville USA, Hook Champ, Sway and Enviro-Bear 2010.
All premium characters included for FREE.
Egoraptor returns as the voice of John Gore – wait till you hear the all new Zombie Gore open its mouth!

- Unmatched set of features

Razor-sharp HD-experience – graphics carefully redone from ground up to exceed all expectations!
Accessible touch2go controls – simply point where you want to walk and let John Gore handle the guns. So easy grandma could play!
Dual-stick shooter controls – the original Minigore experience on the iPad. For ultimate precision.
Multiple dynamic difficulty modes – be warned: insane mode is not for the faint-hearted!
Crystal – online leaderboards and achievements.
Day and night cycle – Hardland is never going to be the same again!
PlayHaven community – access tips, announcement and more.
Automatic saving – enables true pick up & play gaming.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/minigore-hd/id364238135?mt=8


PS. Episode 3.7 was submitted before Minigore HD but latter was approved faster. It's probably because of the DLC in Ep 3.7 which makes the approval last a bit longer.