Ugh well this sucks. You get us all excited and tell us it's sent in and when to expect it and then you tell us you aren't hitting the button. No I don't understand. No I'm not happy. It's not right. Billy
I agree on not liking marketing reasons . I already spent 30 and have been holding off playing for over a week anyways since finding out the damage doubler is broke. I already have to reset my progress since the scaling perks cant be retroactive (which I understand). But I do not get why people who already have the game and spent time and money in it have to wait for marketing reasons. I am glad it will get some marketing because it deserves more attention. But I do not get why releasing an update now when it is approved will affect a marketing push next week. Just my two cents, not that it matters. Still an A+ dev. But the marketing logic for holding an update that includes game fixing bugs doesnt make sense to me. If anything it makes less sense. As excited as people are for the update it would seem it would be nice to have people enjoying it and talking about it for when a marketing push happens. Maybe when the marketing thing happens it will make sense. I will be upset if by marketing push it means the game is releasing on other platforms (which I am fine with, I encourage it so the dev can make as much money as possible to keep creating awesome games) But goes back to no reason why people who already have and paid cant get an approved fixed version, that just alienates paid caring players. But I will give the Devs the benefit of the doubt considering how much interaction they have had with everyone so far and care the have showed.
I'm not talking about damage, though. I'm talking about AOE. I don't believe there is an AOE Howitzer Beetle perk.
Seriously? Holding out an update that fixes huge bugs for paying players just so you can get extra coverage? Glad to know what my dollar is worth. Don't plan on seeing any more money from me now.
Was waiting impatiently for the update, well, don't want to sound like an ass, but you fail big time on this. I paid 10, stopped playing because some things are broken, and now you tell that you postpone the patch because of marketing reasons... Well, you were quick to address issues, so that's nice, but announcing that the game will be patched and then canceling it, that's frustrating...
I think they have done great work! Great communication with the player base, and very fast reaction to feedback. If they choose to take their time with a release that makes most sense to them, for whatever reason, i think they have earned that. Good job foursaken! I look forward to this and everything else you have coming our way!
it really depends on who is doing the marketing. It's the worst when it's one of those Harvard graduate wannabe's These asswhipes ruined so much lately n gaming world.
You could just as easily have a large marketing push with articles about how the game has been out a couple weeks and they already had a major update and features Released. Which sounds even better. No one is complaining about the marketing itself. I think most dont see how the marketing should delay an update. As I said I will give this dev the benefit of the doubt and hope it all makes sense when it happens, they have earned it. But everyone is entitled to their own opinion and as some have spent a lot of money on this game which helped them afford the marketing in the first place, people have the right to complain when they cant play the game they spent money on until the update is out because progress with perks dont matter until the update.
Unless this delay involved getting re-featured by Apple? I don't know what all the details are, though I do know Soda Dungeon was delayed for this reason, one of them anyway.
I think their "sin" was announcing it had been submitted and promised the standard Apple release time, then retracting that. Better to probably not say anything. I know nothing about this market, but FM obviously does and financial health ultimately keeps them improving existing games and making new ones. Potentially sacrificing significant revenue in order for quicker existing customer gratification has the benefit of fan loyalty, but if the company goes away, fan loyalty doesn't help much. I certainly applaud devs that are at least willing to give straight scoops. I am continuing to play (and I had very negative initial impressions due to the forced timer) and am curious as to how the gameplay will change. I have found that some people's idea of a great update has sometimes caused me to stop playing because I dont like the new changes.
With (huge amounts of) all due respect, wouldn't the TA community fall largely under the title of 'marketing reasons'? I would've thought that in the iOS gaming market they'd feature near the top of that list. Plus I guess I just don't understand why you wouldn't want the best possible version of your game out at all times, especially if you had a choice, regardless of any reason. Just my thoughts.
It could be that it's being featured in the Best New Game Updates section but I don't know if there's a rule prohibiting releasing updates before Tuesday/Wednesday. Like has been said, might have been more prudent to simply not talk about when the update would drop beyond "it's been submitted" but I do respect FM for being upfront about what's going on.
I may revise this assessment once I know what those marketing reasons are but, as another paying customer, who now does know that one of the chief reasons I became a paying customer IS broken and is being deliberately left broken longer than necessary, can't give any praise for announcing it was approved but not released. Seems a very odd decision when no such announcement was necessary. In the end, it makes no difference as to when I get to play the fixed game, but would have preferred radio silence on this one.
Just because I enjoy pointing out the obvious - I think it interesting (perhaps in the Chinese curse view of the word) that FM has remained completely silent in the last couple of pages. I actually dont blame them, its not an argument they can win, or perhaps even placate folks. Devs do a great job explaning their ideas for updates, fixes, tweaks, etc. They typically do a lousy job explaining anything having to do with making money, selling their product, or otherwise marketing. Good luck FM. I dont know if its a blessing or a curse, but count me among those who support you.
There is such a thing as "too much communication with customers", and this is probably a good example of that. On one hand I'm glad you told people to stop checking the app stores for updates... it'll make it easier to make in-game decisions and plans by knowing it won't come out for another 4-5 days. On the other hand, the reason is pretty lame. I'd rather a white lie in this case than being told such an unfair-to-current-paying-fans reason for a delay. Your brand name carries a lot of respect within this community, and this is a bit of a slap in the face, especially for those of us who spend money in the first hour on your games because of that respect for you guys. IMO go ahead and release it now to regain some of that trust... it's nowhere near too late, and at this point waiting 4-5 days will hurt your company and brand name far more than any marketing effort next week could help by delaying. (Edit: Agreed with Pluto6 above me... I think it's a business hiccup, but a hiccup nonetheless. They don't need to "win this argument", so much as realize they had a hiccup and do what they can to fix it.)
Yes, that's my fault for jumping the gun and giving a rough estimate for a launch window (though in all fairness, the update will still be launching inside of our initial launch window). Some things developed after we submitted that we felt we had to consider - unfortunately that happened after the initial submission announcement. I apologize for that - we'll do a better job next time! Trust me when I say no one wants you guys to play the update more than us - we worked TONS of extra hours over the past 2 weeks to finish this update up as quickly and jam packed with stuff as possible... not to mention I've been monitoring these forums, communicating whats going on, and reading reviews practically 24/7 to make sure we listen to players and try to get everything right... but we also have to think about our company, and about our futures. You may not believe it but something as simple as botching a launch date can have huge repercussions - something we frankly cannot afford to risk. Sometimes we have to make tough business decisions that goes against everything we as gamers and developers want to do... that is the toughest part about surviving as an indie developer. I wish more than anyone else out there that we didn't have to think one second about marketing, monetization, etc... but its just not possible to survive like that. But I definitely get why you may be upset about the delay - again, a possible opportunity came up and we had to take it... Please don't hesitate to contact Apple and request a refund if anyone feels slighted about the bugged Damage Perk (or anything else)... totally understand as that is completely our fault - they're usually pretty good about things like that! Anyway again, we do apologize for the delay - but ultimately I hope you can understand and/or forgive!
I will say this to the rest of the FM crew: Please please please PLEASE don't come down hard on the guy who posts here... he's one of the best on these forums as a Dev-poster, and he certainly deserves a mulligan. I'd rather US take this one on the chin than lose him as a resource and dude to communicate with about your games.
