Atari's Greatest Hits on iOS 8

[CodeMystics]

So does this mean it's a pretty sure bet that this will actually happen, sooner or later?

We believe so.

[bigdragon60]

A remarkable question. Indeed. Sooner or later? Or -perish the thought- not at all?

[CodeMystics]

A remarkable question. Indeed. Sooner or later? Or -perish the thought- not at all?

Our apologies if our replies sound unintentionally vague. It's simply not our place to make statements on behalf of Atari and Apple, who are ultimately in control of the timing of the update. Nonetheless, the people we've been in touch with at Atari and Apple have been supportive of a solution, and we have been doing everything we can to assist them. Unfortunately, the app update process can sometimes take a significant amount of time, and we are not privy to everything going on there.

[richmlow]

Hi Codemystics,


I'm very glad to hear that Codemystics, Atari and Apple have been in communication with each other, regarding an iOS 8 update for Atari's Greatest Hits! I hope that the update is released very soon. =)

BTW, I'd like to mention that Codemystics did an excellent job with the emulation. In particular, Tempest (arcade) is the best that I've ever seen. =)


Sincerely,

richmlow

[CodeMystics]

We'd like to offer an update on the situation with Atari's Greatest Hits.

When we were first made aware of the problem, we investigated and discovered that a change in iOS 8 was preventing the app from accessing the data Atari's Greatest Hits has to download when you make an In-App Purchase. We found that if we bundled the downloaded data with the app, it fixed the problem without requiring any changes to the app itself. We believed this to be a safe and quick fix, since you could continue to use the same app you'd been using the last two years without any changes. A lot has changed since iOS 5, when we last worked on the app. (The iPhone 5 hadn't even been introduced when we last worked on the app.) Rebuilding the app for iOS 8 would be a more involved overhaul with a greater potential for new problems.

We provided Atari with our solution and assisted them in attempting to get it published through the App Store. As iOS developers will know, however, you can no longer submit iOS 5-based apps. Apps must be compliant to the latest needs of iOS 8. That said, we were hoping that, since the app itself didn't change and we were merely adding the downloadable assets to the bundle, it might be permissible. It took longer than we hoped to hear back on this strategy, but we've heard today that the bundling will not be possible.

That said, we have a Plan B we'll now be pursuing with Atari. We're very sorry for the delay and share your frustration. We hope to have better news soon.

[richmlow]

Dear CodeMystics,


Thank you very much for the update with regards to Atari's Greatest Hits on iOS 8. Your level of support for your apps is very commendable. It is this type of customer support which differentiates great companies from mediocre ones! You can rest assured that I will continue to support CodeMystics with my future purchases. =)

I am sure that an acceptable solution will be worked out between CodeMystics, Atari and Apple. Please keep the community updated as time goes on. =)


Sincerely,
richmlow

We'd like to offer an update on the situation with Atari's Greatest Hits.

When we were first made aware of the problem, we investigated and discovered that a change in iOS 8 was preventing the app from accessing the data Atari's Greatest Hits has to download when you make an In-App Purchase. We found that if we bundled the downloaded data with the app, it fixed the problem without requiring any changes to the app itself. We believed this to be a safe and quick fix, since you could continue to use the same app you'd been using the last two years without any changes. A lot has changed since iOS 5, when we last worked on the app. (The iPhone 5 hadn't even been introduced when we last worked on the app.) Rebuilding the app for iOS 8 would be a more involved overhaul with a greater potential for new problems.

We provided Atari with our solution and assisted them in attempting to get it published through the App Store. As iOS developers will know, however, you can no longer submit iOS 5-based apps. Apps must be compliant to the latest needs of iOS 8. That said, we were hoping that, since the app itself didn't change and we were merely adding the downloadable assets to the bundle, it might be permissible. It took longer than we hoped to hear back on this strategy, but we've heard today that the bundling will not be possible.

That said, we have a Plan B we'll now be pursuing with Atari. We're very sorry for the delay and share your frustration. We hope to have better news soon.

[bmjohnson]

I'm new to this forum and wanted to comment on the progress being made to fix Atari's Greatest Hits. It's very reassuring as I was thinking my recent purchase of the complete game pack ($9.99) would be for nothing.

My story: Downloaded Atari's Greatest Hits app on my pre-iPhone 5 phone (pre-iOS5) and then the Crystal Castles game pack for $0.99. It all worked fine and then I stopped playing. Recently bought an iPad Mini and wanted to play the same game but discovered the game didn't work on either my current iPhone 5 or iPad Mini. Since it has been a couple years, I removed the app from my phone, iPad and iTunes and then re-downloaded it. Then I bought the complete game pack.

Nothing works except a couple of the free/standard games. Continue to receive "download failed" message that many others have described.

However, the outlook looks good, from what it sounds like here. I was about to pursue a refund (given the option by Apple) but I'm wondering if I should hold out for the update. I'd love to because I'm still very eager to play Crystal Castles on my iPad.

Question; if a solution is not attainable, what happens to all of these game purchases? Will we be notified either way?

Thank you in advance!

[CodeMystics]

Question; if a solution is not attainable, what happens to all of these game purchases? Will we be notified either way?

Absolutely, we will continue to keep people informed either way, but we are confident Atari would want to see this issue solved to the satisfaction of its customers.

[Adoxian]

Hi, Code Mystics,

I just signed up for the forum right as I got the news you were fixing the issues in iOS 8, and I'm glad you are coming to fix the problem. I emailed Atari about the problem the other day (and haven't received a reply yet), but I've become more aware of a bug on the Android version of the app. I recently bought all of the games for the price of $10, and later on updated to Android 5.0.

While running the game on my Nexus 7 (2013 WiFi model), the app now crashes after the opening titles. Yikes.

I would hope you do your best to fix all of these problems as soon as possible; spending $10 on an app that doesn't do anything is a little discouraging.

[Fastmazz]

I paid $10 and I can't play anything but middle command. I'm disappointed! I grew up on these games and I would love to play with them. iOS 8.1.1 and iPhone 6 I have.