Will iOS 64 Bit Support come for iOS 11?

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Mockingbird
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The "slow down your ipad message" for 32 bit apps

Post by Mockingbird »

Hello,

So when I start up the Battle Academy and Legion iPad apps, for some time now, I get the subject message before the games start. The message suggest that the apps need to be updated to 64 bit. There is some indication that in future versions of IOS that 32 bit apps will no longer work.

Considering mine (and others) investment when will these games be updated to the 64 bit framework?

Thanks.
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Re: The "slow down your ipad message" for 32 bit apps

Post by JosephM »

Hello Mockingbird,

Sorry, but for both of these games the engines themselves which the games are built on are only 32-bit engines and the engine cannot be updated to 64-bit, so if Apple stop 32-bit apps from working on the iOS then this will unfortunately end the games as well, as these cannot be updated to 64-bit without completely rebuilding the games in a new engine. At the moment there is no confirmed date when Apple will stop 32-bit apps from running, but there is talk that this may happen with iOS11 so if you still wish to play the games then you will not be able to update to this iOS. I'm sorry for this.
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Re: The "slow down your ipad message" for 32 bit apps

Post by IainMcNeil »

There is no slow down from running a 32 bit app. This message is quite misleading. It runs just as well as it always did and any new processors will run it faster not slower. It is an attempt to make people think they need to upgrade. That's not to say if we didn't write it from scratch it wouldn't run faster but the only reason apple is trying to force developers to write 64 bit only apps is to make the older 32 bit hardware obsolete and force users to upgrade. It's entirely about forcing people to buy new hardware, not about the quality of the game. This game would quite happily run well on any future iPad is Apple allowed it :)
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Re: The "slow down your ipad message" for 32 bit apps

Post by Mockingbird »

Hello Iain,

I understand as most others do that yes they run just fine... the problem is going to be if Apple excludes 32 bit applications running in the 64 bit environment as they update their operating system. Of course it is about dollars but those of us that already have the iPad Pro which is a 64 bit machine are not going to need to upgrade for some time.

From Joe's response it appears that you will not be recompiling (or whatever it takes) for the games to work if this happens... it can understand that (but I do not have to like it). These games are what I thought were flagships games that you are perhaps now telling us that you will not be supporting going forward if Apple makes this decision. I'm very disappointed.
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Re: The "slow down your ipad message" for 32 bit apps

Post by KhanDam2 »

Hello all

I'm very disapointed by the answer you give about the "Future" issue comming.
I spend a lot of money in your game to play them on PC and Ipad.
I use my Ipad for a lot of thing not only to play. So if Apple stop 32-bit applications all thing i buy on your server stop to work when i'm upgrade my ipad for the other thing

So i have the choice i stay on IOS10 and can't use my ipad with new stuff ( i paid more 1000€ in ipad Pro )
or i use IOS11 and can't use your game ( I Paid for more 10 Games at the moment )

I can't think your answer is definive about that and just saying we can't do anything just make choice between apple and us ??????????
are you ready to reimburse all game stop running on ipad ?????

I'm understand exactly what apple made for all the time with marketing and program obscolescence but it's a fact and not your responsability but not mine too.
i'm very sure it's no slow down but the probleme is to stop running not with speed.

i'm not angry about you, I'm just explain here what is difficult to understand how you choose to make nothing,
ok maybe it's hard to recompil all thing but in the future you have to precise before selling that it's only run on the current os and you don't make any upgrade !!!!
i think the number of game you sell fall significatively.

cheers
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IainMcNeil
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Re: The "slow down your ipad message" for 32 bit apps

Post by IainMcNeil »

HI guys,

the game would run on iPad for ever unless apple prevents. if you have any concerns about that then please direct them to Apple as there is absolutely nothing we can do about it unfortunately. There is no technical reason a 32 bit app wont run on a 64 bit device, unless the OS prevents it. The problem is Apple look like they will prevent it. We dont have any way to refund purchases. Only Apple can. There simply is nothing we can do about this. Sorry!

Thanks
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Will iOS 64 Bit Support come for iOS 11?

Post by Mythbuster »

Hi,
I have purchased all your games for iOS and spent really a lot of money ... but: Many games like Battleacademy 1 & 2, Pike and Shot, Buss Aldrin, Qvadriga etc. are still 32 Bit Apps ... this means, from iOS 11 they will not work anymore on any new iOS device!

So I would like to know, if you plan to update all those Apps.

Thanks for any answer!

Regards,
Sascha
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Re: Will iOS 64 Bit Support come for iOS 11?

Post by VPaulus »

Mockingbird
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Re: Will iOS 64 Bit Support come for iOS 11?

Post by Mockingbird »

I hate to post about this again but you guys are being so lame about this. If you don't make any effort to update at least some of these games I do not no how I can continue to support Slitherine which I've done for many many years.

Good luck with your future business decisions... you have to live with them, I however do not and will move on.
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Re: Will iOS 64 Bit Support come for iOS 11?

Post by Mythbuster »

+1!

There are games like Qvadriga which made with Unity that could converted to 64 Bit without huge problems.

In between I asked Apple and they confirmed that 32 Bit support will end with iOS 11 ... I spend more than 250,- Euro in iOS games and within a short time they are worthless ... even games I have also on my PC ...

And the bigger shame: Anybody can still purchase them without a warning before clicking the purchase button ...

In my opinion you make it yourself a little bit too easy, guys ...

If no game will getting updated, I will never ever support this company again.
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Re: Will iOS 64 Bit Support come for iOS 11?

Post by pipfromslitherine »

BA pushes the memory and performance very hard, remember it had to run on an iPad 1! Rewriting it to correctly run in 64 bit (and still be cross-platform playable with both the 32 bit version AND PC AND OSX) would be a massive task. Apple's move to 64-bit only is simply designed to force people to upgrade their HW. We are as frustrated by their actions as you. Apple have not officially announced that iOS11 will end 32bit support, so we are not able to act yet, which is again frustrating.

That said, any games which have had updates within the last couple of years should be fine, as you say Unity games deal with the issue internally.
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Mythbuster
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Re: Will iOS 64 Bit Support come for iOS 11?

Post by Mythbuster »

Ok, I understand your problems with BA & BA II ... at least Panzer Corps is ready for iOS 11 ...

But what about all the other games? At least Qvadriga and Buzz Aldrins SPM? Or really nothing at all? :(
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No 64 bit support on iOS

Post by eugenemcardle »

I have purchased at least 20 of your titles over the years, but alas, no more. I think it’s unconscionable that you are still selling items on the Apple Store that WILL NOT WORK after the next update. The Battle Accademy series is selling for $46AUD which isn’t cheap on the iOS store and in a matter of weeks it will stop working! This argument “.....we are not making enough money on these games...” doesn’t hold water. Putting profit before customers is a poor strategy. No business can expect to make massive profits on all their products all the time. That what tax breaks are for, to help cover any losses. Shame on you Slitherine for slithering away from your customer base on iOS. I am active on many forums, and this is a topic that is causing a lot of unrest out here in gamers land. No fan boys jumping down my throat please, portable game play is here to stay. Please rethink your strategy.

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Re: No 64 bit support on iOS

Post by zakblood »

Please take a look at this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=76144
eugenemcardle
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Re: Will iOS 64 Bit Support come for iOS 11?

Post by eugenemcardle »

I have reposted this here.

I have purchased at least 20 of your titles over the years, but alas, no more. I think it’s unconscionable that you are still selling items on the Apple Store that WILL NOT WORK after the next update. The Battle Accademy series is selling for $46AUD which isn’t cheap on the iOS store and in a matter of weeks it will stop working! This argument “.....we are not making enough money on these games...” doesn’t hold water. Putting profit before customers is a poor strategy. No business can expect to make massive profits on all their products all the time. That what tax breaks are for, to help cover any losses. Shame on you Slitherine for slithering away from your customer base on iOS. I am active on many forums, and this is a topic that is causing a lot of unrest out here in gamers land. No fan boys jumping down my throat please, portable game play is here to stay. Please rethink your strategy.

Eugene McArdle
Cairns, Australia
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Re: Will iOS 64 Bit Support come for iOS 11?

Post by eugenemcardle »

pipfromslitherine wrote:BA pushes the memory and performance very hard, remember it had to run on an iPad 1! Rewriting it to correctly run in 64 bit (and still be cross-platform playable with both the 32 bit version AND PC AND OSX) would be a massive task. Apple's move to 64-bit only is simply designed to force people to upgrade their HW. We are as frustrated by their actions as you. Apple have not officially announced that iOS11 will end 32bit support, so we are not able to act yet, which is again frustrating.

That said, any games which have had updates within the last couple of years should be fine, as you say Unity games deal with the issue internally.
Please, don’t play the blame game here. Other devs seem to have no problems with going to 64bit, some of them much smaller than you guys. All the baldurs gate games are being updated, as are the Games Workshop stuff. They can cope with Apple, but you can’t? Worrying about maintaining compatibility with 32 bit hardware, is a bit like not making motor vehicles because the cart tracks can still be used. As for saying it runs on iPad 1, big deal. “Hello World” still runs on all versions of windows, but the world has moved on since then. Without customers, there are no sales, no profits, no company, and no jobs.
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Re: Will iOS 64 Bit Support come for iOS 11?

Post by Mythbuster »

I have to agree 100%!

By the way, last night "Ultimate General" was updated ... which was build on the same Unity Engine as Qvadriga ... and they are much smaller than you!

The argument, do not update to iOS 11 is lame, because that means I am not able to buy a new device in the future and not getting any update or even security patches ... and do not forget, new software may need iOS 11 ... so I should stay with an old system just because you are not willi g to update Apps I have spend around 300,- Euro for?

I do not know how much I spent for Software from your company, many titles I paid for PC and for iOS ... but be sure, as long as even games like Qvadriga will get no update I will never spend one more Euro ...
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Re: No 64 bit support on iOS

Post by VPaulus »

In the last few years Apple have changed their operating system from 32 bit to 64 bit. Over the last few years Apples operating system has supported both 32 bit and 64 bit applications. However we expect Apple to end 32 bit support in fall 2017. If Apple decide to do this it means games written in 32 bit will no longer run on that operating system. The games which are affected are:

• Battle Academy
• Battle Academy 2
• Pike & Shot
• Hell
• Quadriga
• Commander the Great War
• Legion
• History Egypt Engineering an Empire
• History Egypt HD
• Great Battles Medieval
• Conquest! Medieval Realms
• Ice Road Truckers
• The Tudors
• Magnifico

We have a number of games that were released a number of years ago that are 32 bit. To update the games to 64 bit requires significant engine level rewrites and even if using a system like Unity can still require major updates to fit with the latest version of that software and then further updates to work with the latest version of iOS. It would take many man months of developer time per game to adapt and test the new versions, and updating the iOS versions would require all other formats to also be update exponentially increasing the work.

It is much the same as Windows XP games not running on the latest version of Windows.

Fundamentally it would cost far more to make the changes than any revenue we could hope to make out of it, this late in the product lifecycle and we’re talking orders of magnitude more.

Obviously, we’d prefer it if Apple didn’t remove 32 bit support but we’re completely at their mercy here. We’d really like players to be able to continue to enjoy these games. The only way you’ll be able to continue to play them is if you do not update your device to iOS 11.
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Re: Will iOS 64 Bit Support come for iOS 11?

Post by eugenemcardle »

Did you know, Nintendo didn’t stop support for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) until 2007. 24 years after it came on the market. Now, that’s putting customers first.
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Re: No 64 bit support on iOS

Post by eugenemcardle »

VPaulus wrote:In the last few years Apple have changed their operating system from 32 bit to 64 bit. Over the last few years Apples operating system has supported both 32 bit and 64 bit applications. However we expect Apple to end 32 bit support in fall 2017. If Apple decide to do this it means games written in 32 bit will no longer run on that operating system. The games which are affected are:

• Battle Academy
• Battle Academy 2
• Pike & Shot
• Hell
• Quadriga
• Commander the Great War
• Legion
• History Egypt Engineering an Empire
• History Egypt HD
• Great Battles Medieval
• Conquest! Medieval Realms
• Ice Road Truckers
• The Tudors
• Magnifico

We have a number of games that were released a number of years ago that are 32 bit. To update the games to 64 bit requires significant engine level rewrites and even if using a system like Unity can still require major updates to fit with the latest version of that software and then further updates to work with the latest version of iOS. It would take many man months of developer time per game to adapt and test the new versions, and updating the iOS versions would require all other formats to also be update exponentially increasing the work.

I have purchased ALL the games in your list except for Ice Road Truckers and The Tudors. Now perhaps you will begin to see why people are pissed off with your attitude Slithering, er I mean Slitherine.

It is much the same as Windows XP games not running on the latest version of Windows.

Fundamentally it would cost far more to make the changes than any revenue we could hope to make out of it, this late in the product lifecycle and we’re talking orders of magnitude more.

Obviously, we’d prefer it if Apple didn’t remove 32 bit support but we’re completely at their mercy here. We’d really like players to be able to continue to enjoy these games. The only way you’ll be able to continue to play them is if you do not update your device to iOS 11.
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