wow... I had over 1.000.000 score on the original version and now this game has become a joke. Very sad as it was a (probably somewhat hidden) app store gem. You can add stuff for IAP / grinding but you cannot cripple an existing game as they did. Disappointing!
Just a guess but I think it's not free yet because it is going to be Apple's free game of the week for the upcoming week. This app use to be so good.... I don't see why I have to pay more when i was was one of the people who supported it from the beginning...
Just deleted the updated version from my iPhone and reinstalled the old version from my computer. The old version is sooooooo much better than the piece of crap freemiun garbage updated version. Glad I was able to reinstall. I will never update to the new version again, and probably won't buy any more games from ustwo because of this. Way to ruin your game and client-base.
i think you guys are to harsh to ustwo they invested a lot of money into the original game but it kinda faild although it was a pretty awesome game people who bought the game dont have to update and can keep their old version but i understand the fact that they try to earn money through the app and freemium seems like a logical consequence as the paid version didnt work that doesnt mean the next games from them will do the same way
In all honesty, I hadn't played this game in a while...too many other runner/distance games have come out and taken my time. But, now that I've gone back in after the update, I won't be going back again. I've said it before, but don't always practice what I preach -- never update something without knowing exactly what's in the update. And unfortunately, coming to places like this is really the only true way to know what you're getting. Sad that you buy something and have to think about whether to update it. An update usually signals improvements...but I've been burnt too many times with updates on the AppStore lately. I realize devs have to make money, but there's better ways of doing it and leaving the original purchasers happy. This is exactly the problem, though. If a game fails, it doesn't mean you punish the people who DID support you. Sorry. It just doesn't work that way. Not everyone has a backup of their old game. And MOST people don't realize that updating a game is going to kill whatever progress they had. The easiest way to make everyone happy is to have two different versions. Sure, it may mean a little more maintenance, but it's the right thing to do.
I just gave it a try. I'm sure it's a really good game prior to the update. Hell, the tutorial (or whatever they called it) felt like the superior game before going in for real. Frenzy mode lasted, what for a couple seconds? Not to mention other areas the game wasn't very forgiving before failing. This would've been better as Whale Trail: Freemium Edition and kept the old. Oh wait, they want to act like it never existed, nevermind. Edit: I'm more in the middle of the love/hate thing with this version of the game. I'm wishing I had bought the former game now and kept the old file.
This is their shareholders speaking through the game, wanting more because their predicted profit margins weren't met. Greed now shines through the game and has crippled the fun factor with a profit motive. It's very distasteful and ruins the magic of the game. If they wanted to do this, they should have released a part 2 as a freemium model, or simply added more options to spend money within the game, but not set it back to some weaker version demanding you spend money everywhere to get back to normal.
I like it better, but ... Personally, I like the new version better: as you get better in playing the game, you have something to work towards which results in being able to travel even further distances. However, having bought the game before the update, I agree it is a very bad trick to set 'us' way back by making our character weaker, instead of being able to improve it. It feels like a whale hit by a big ship ...
so it finally went free eh? sad. just sad. well i know they said the sales didn't go well and it also walks the path of many iOS games. their choice in the end. hope that eventually it turns out to be the right move for them - even though most all signs say it probably is not.
^This^ +1 I am so tired of people saying we should keep supporting the devs while they're bending us over. I have a growing list of games I cannot update and devs I will never buy from again. Harsh? Whatever. That's life. In the real world, people don't have the money to keep supporting other people who routinely take advantage of them. Don't like people complaining about devs breaking their (formally) premium titles? Ask the devs to stop doing so. Good luck with that, and in the meantime, I'll keep adding to the list of devs I will continue to support, and the devs that I won't. DBC
Why does Apple allow this? The rule should be, if you want to migrate to this crappy system, that you keep the original game intact and release a separate version. Replacing the version that people paid for with an IAP-laden mess should be forbidden.
Exactly... I love the ideas they put in in this new update but the implementation was terrible...beyond terrible really. Imagine if Diablo 3 improved how fun it is to level in the next update...but decided to kick everyone back 30 levels at the same time... It's just not how you do things.
We really do need a "do not update" thread and maybe a thread calling out dev's who do business this way, so we can keep track and vote with our money. That said, it was only a dollar, and we did get a dollar worth of fun out of it after the first week.... I just don't like the principle of it. Same with jetpack joyride, but I still play the heck out of it.... Dev's gotta do what they gotta do, I rather them stay a float, if this is the way they have to do it, do it. Just don't bait and switch us.
I must say, I find it kind of sad that in one post, you're asking for a "vote with your money" thread, and then saying you "play the heck out of JJ." If there was such a thread, JJ would be near the top of my list. Deleted and never looked back. On to the 1000+ other games available... Indeed, devs "gotta do what they gotta do," and so do the consumers they're hoping to sell to. If "staying afloat" means more of this, I say good riddance. DBC
As someone who bought the old version but never really played it much, I have to admit I'm having fun with the new update. The skills update system does give you a sense of progression which keeps you playing. IMO they should have included the skills system from the start (the progress through grinding keeps ppl playing even if they reach a "skill-wall", at least for a while) and added the new skins/chacs for IAP. But completely agree it was bad to erase old players' progress - the update should allow them to advance with grinding/IAP, not push them back. Oh well, the game seemed to have a lot of heart put into it. Sad to see things go this way. Wonder if this new version will make any $$ for the devs.
I hear you brother, the bait and switch is not cool. I'm all for a well done freemium game like Subway Surfers. It's was free from the get go, and you can "support" them of you "want" to, with no real need to as far as the game goes. As far as JJ goes, I loved the game when it first come out and even bought I coin doubler. It's a fun game IMHO, and just because halfbrick baited and switched us does not take away from the gameplay. Truth be told, JJ has seen many updates because it went free, so over all it's a much better game ten it would of ever been had it stayed a paid game. Sad but true! I feel like my dollar was well spend, and I'll probably grab the next halfbrick game, they make great games..... Does it stink do feel "cheated," I guess... but at the end of the day it was only a buck! If I played it for 30mins total I feel I got my money's worth. It's the way the app store goes, cheap games, price goes up and down, and game get updated for the better or for the worse. You win some and you lose some, over all I strongly feel like we are winning.... Lots of great game as you said (please excuse any typos, it's late and this touch screen is not made for typing! )
