Sorry, I'm too lazy to link - maybe someone less apathetic toward work could do it for me?! # It would appear Slitherine games are currently heavily discounted (£19.99 -> £4.99 or lower) but with a fairly major caveat appended to the top of the game description stating the app is 32bit and is only guaranteed to run up to and including iOS10.3. They clearly make no promises about support for the games post iOS11. So whilst they're a bargain when you consider the gameplay and content, the enjoyment may only be short lived. Caveat emptor!
http://www.slitherine.com/news/2285/A.selection.of.great.iOS.strategy.games.is.on.sale.now! This has list of games on sale and does reinforce all are 32-bit and sounds like no 64-bit update planned.
So let's just say #### slitherine. They make good, even great games. But they don't support their customers.
At least they've clearly stated they are 32 bit on the store description of each that I looked at. Better than most.
Is that so? Sale, clear and obvious statement that it's 32bit and won't run on iOS11. What more do you want for it to count as customer support? Come by your house and make coffee for you? Oh, and: Manners.
No. Update the apps to 64 bit. Don't do a sale where "at least they're stating the games won't run on ios 11." What about all the people who already paid full price, screw them? I'm just really thick about this and that's that. Update your games or get the hell off the app store and let the developers who are actually doing their jobs work in peace.
Alrighty, let's put the axe of reason to this thing... 0) I see it like a clearance sale: "everything must go". Very much like some places I knew still selling old videotapes for a buck or two, at a time where those players were a rarety already. Very upfront, you get what you pay for, don't complain it doesn't run in your DVD player. 1) Support the people who already bought the game, especially at full price: You might be surprised, but I'm actually with you ... in principle. But consider this: How many people who bought one of those games, say, 3 or 4 years ago are actually still playing them? In other words: Is it worth the effort? Without seeing their decision process, we do not know how they arrived at that decision. But I wouldn't be surprised if it came down to #3 below. 2) It's not their fault: Apple's decision to completely remove 32bit support. And ultimately I applaud them for it, for reasons too complex to explain here. In short: sometimes it's good to cut off legacy support. 3) Converting costs money, and easily a lot: There is no magic "make it 64bit, woozah!" button. A conversion can be anything from incredibly trivial to inanely complex. And, knowing just a wee bit about programming myself, here's a hint: most of the times, it's the latter. There's a reason we only recently upgraded *some* of our (aka company I work for) software to 64bit support: money. And I dare say we have a few more zeroes at the end of our quarterly reports than Slitherine (note: would have to fact-check that to be sure). In short: It's not worth it. Might make for some happy fans, sure. It all depends on into how many sales at a later point those happy fans translate to. 4) "Update or get the hell off the Appstore": --> Your opinion. "Go drown in Klatchian horse manure, that's just insane" --> my opinion. In more words: Just because one outspoken fan does not like that they don't update, they should quit making games for iOS altogether? Hhmm... how about no? Could that be described as overreacting just a tad? You decide. Rant, you have been warned: This incredibly solipsistic, demanding, and rude kind of attitude is exactly what folks like Eli and other staff frequently and rightfully criticise. It doesn't help anyone to spew venom at some dev or studio just cause you don't like one of their decisions. At best, they are incredibly patient and deal with every single one of those responses. At worst, they just go "screw this" and completely leave a platform or stop making games altogether. Can this crap, folks. The only one benefiting from it is your overinflated ego and sense of importance. Why do some folks have to act like the devs personally killed their puppies for Satan or some crap like that? Can't you just enjoy the fact that you'll get a bunch of good games at a lower price, for however long the fun lasts? Even if they have a killswitch already? By the way, consider this: Noone forces you to update to iOS11 right on day one. Rant over, enjoy the evening anyways.
All points taken good post. Not really trying to be negative but won't deny that I am. Just my opinion like you said. You raise some good points that I didn't really think of. Everything must go is true I guess if people want to buy the games they've been warned. I still can't really imagine spending years developing games only to essentially give up due to an update. So many devs HAVE updated their games that I guess it just doesn't seem that difficult. What do I know.
I’m kind of on the fence on this one as far as blame. I will say that at least Slitherine is being much more upfront than other devs that their apps won’t work going forward. It truly upsets me to see even big publishers like Square-Enix putting games on sale knowing they are not 64-bit and may never be. Apple either needs to tag these games themselves or force devs to put warnings on them. As far as conversion, I would have to guess that it must have to be more complex with some games than others. I’ve been shocked to see some old games that I figured were abandoned long ago getting updates to 64-bit by even one-man dev teams. For them, it must be fairly simple or not expensive to do. But if it was that simple for all games, I would think Slitherine and others would be doing it. Would love to hear from them on how complex or costly it is.
