Why We Are No Longer Developing for the iPad • Hacker News Board

Re: Why We Are No Longer Developing for the iPad

#21

Post by Fr0styMatt8 » Thu, Apr 16, 2015, 9:58 PM UTC

dyarosla wrote: post #16

I admire the developer, but the whole post feels like a cop-out blaming Apple. Too much competition? Let's give up. Engine broke from some change, don't want to try fixing it? Let's give up. Ads cost too much? Not, 'let's stop advertising on iOS', instead, Let's give up. I can understand as much as the next iOS developer that changes that require large workarounds due to software/hardware updates that aren't backward…

I didn't really get that from the post myself - I read it more as just "the amount of effort we'd need to put in to get it working again just isn't worth it given the sales we have on the platform". It really just sounds like they don't have the time/resources to put into the port.

Which is fair enough. Still a shame though given how highly regarded the Spiderweb games are.

Re: Why We Are No Longer Developing for the iPad

#22

Post by rodgerd » Thu, Apr 16, 2015, 9:59 PM UTC

dyarosla wrote: post #16

I admire the developer, but the whole post feels like a cop-out blaming Apple. Too much competition? Let's give up. Engine broke from some change, don't want to try fixing it? Let's give up. Ads cost too much? Not, 'let's stop advertising on iOS', instead, Let's give up. I can understand as much as the next iOS developer that changes that require large workarounds due to software/hardware updates that aren't backward…

> But as a developer, you suck it up, modify your content, and continue.

Or decide life's too short for this shit and make your money doing something more fun.

Re: Why We Are No Longer Developing for the iPad

#23

Post by mjquinn » Thu, Apr 16, 2015, 10:01 PM UTC

untog wrote: post #4

I'm interested to know what changed in 8.3 that broke their game engine. It's supposed to be a minor update, after all.

A quick Google search led me to this thread: http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthread.php?t=259228

There are a few reports there of games on Unreal Engine 3 having graphical glitches and performance issues under 8.3. It looks like Unreal Engine 3 is not getting updates anymore[0], so it's possible that UE3 users are stuck. (I don't know if Spiderweb use UE3).

[0] https://www.unrealengine.com/previous-versions

Re: Why We Are No Longer Developing for the iPad

#24

Post by rodgerd » Thu, Apr 16, 2015, 10:01 PM UTC

eridius wrote: post #12

> Competition on the App Store has risen to a frenzied level. This is a curious argument to make. The platform is too popular ? Would it have made any sense at all if anyone made the same claim about, say, Windows game development? I suspect what this really means is "there are more games than ever, and the iOS App Store is becoming increasingly difficult to rely on as a discovery mechanism, thus requiring advertisin…

> Would it have made any sense at all if anyone made the same claim about, say, Windows game development?

In Windows game development you've have a long history of many ways to distribute your wares, with different pros and cons. Not so much for Androids or iOS. Note that similar complaints have been levelled at Steam, which is the closest thing to the iOS model.

Re: Why We Are No Longer Developing for the iPad

#25

Post by 51Cards » Thu, Apr 16, 2015, 10:01 PM UTC

dyarosla wrote: post #16

I admire the developer, but the whole post feels like a cop-out blaming Apple. Too much competition? Let's give up. Engine broke from some change, don't want to try fixing it? Let's give up. Ads cost too much? Not, 'let's stop advertising on iOS', instead, Let's give up. I can understand as much as the next iOS developer that changes that require large workarounds due to software/hardware updates that aren't backward…

I disagree. Life and business are always about ROI and that is a personal gauge. The developer is stating the reasons they feel the ROI has tipped not in their favour anymore. I think it's perfectly valid if disappointing from the consumer's point of view.

Re: Why We Are No Longer Developing for the iPad

#26

Post by istvan__ » Thu, Apr 16, 2015, 10:01 PM UTC

dyarosla wrote: post #16

I admire the developer, but the whole post feels like a cop-out blaming Apple. Too much competition? Let's give up. Engine broke from some change, don't want to try fixing it? Let's give up. Ads cost too much? Not, 'let's stop advertising on iOS', instead, Let's give up. I can understand as much as the next iOS developer that changes that require large workarounds due to software/hardware updates that aren't backward…

If you think about this as a small scale evolution it makes sense. On the other hand, I understand why the guy is unhappy. Apple os breaking compatibility for no good reason, mostly for promoting their new shiny things (like Swift), which does not bring that much to the table to justify breaking compatibility. Somebody pointed out in this thread that it is possible to roll with new platform that is compatible with the previous one and having new features at the same time. To summarize: platforms supposed to be stable, and backward compatible, only break compatibility when it is absolutely a must. Investing into a new stack is not cheap. I feel sorry for those who are at the mercy of Apple in this regard.

Re: Why We Are No Longer Developing for the iPad

#27

Post by kbenson » Thu, Apr 16, 2015, 10:02 PM UTC

eridius wrote: post #12

> Competition on the App Store has risen to a frenzied level. This is a curious argument to make. The platform is too popular ? Would it have made any sense at all if anyone made the same claim about, say, Windows game development? I suspect what this really means is "there are more games than ever, and the iOS App Store is becoming increasingly difficult to rely on as a discovery mechanism, thus requiring advertisin…

Whether the marketplace is profitable to a developer at their level is not always directly correlated to how popular that marketplace is. If the the App store is so competitive as to require a lot of up-front money to see a worthwhile return on investment, but other markets do not have that same problem, it may may sense to focus on those other markets.

Re: Why We Are No Longer Developing for the iPad

#28

Post by izacus » Thu, Apr 16, 2015, 10:03 PM UTC

untog wrote: post #4

I'm interested to know what changed in 8.3 that broke their game engine. It's supposed to be a minor update, after all.

Honestly, Apple sometimes tends to break some fairly important stuff even in the bugfix x.x.1 releases, especially in iOS 7/8 versions which have been... slightly more buggy that we'd like.

Re: Why We Are No Longer Developing for the iPad

#29

Post by amelius » Thu, Apr 16, 2015, 10:03 PM UTC

> Competition on the App Store has risen to a frenzied level. As a result, sales for our games has dropped massively and the cost of advertising them has shot through the roof.

Indeed. It seems nowadays, with Apple and Google, that the company with the deepest pockets for advertisement takes it all.

Money is screwing up the evolutionary game that capitalism is trying to be.

Re: Why We Are No Longer Developing for the iPad

#30

Post by detaro » Thu, Apr 16, 2015, 10:03 PM UTC

dyarosla wrote: post #16

I admire the developer, but the whole post feels like a cop-out blaming Apple. Too much competition? Let's give up. Engine broke from some change, don't want to try fixing it? Let's give up. Ads cost too much? Not, 'let's stop advertising on iOS', instead, Let's give up. I can understand as much as the next iOS developer that changes that require large workarounds due to software/hardware updates that aren't backward…

And it makes sense to get out if the changes to the ecosystem cost you more (money/time/effort) than the income you get from it. No reason to "suck it up" if you have less painful alternatives.

Or:

Why do hardware companies feel so entitled to force developers to change working things for free?