Hello Touch Arcade! The Trak4 1.1 update has been finally submitted to Apple for approval. Here's what the update will give players 1) 30 New Puzzles - to bring the total number of puzzles to 89. 2) Save State - you can hit the home button on your iPod Touch and the game will remember where you left off so you can come right back in next time you launch the game. 3) Pause - there is a Pause button on the main menu in case you need to take a quick break. 4) Improved Scoring - playing on Harder difficulties is now more rewarding, and playing with shorter time limits gives the player a boost in their score. 5) Graphical Flourishes - New graphics for those bonus scores and a winner effect as your bonus points are adding up. 6) A couple of bug fixes. In order to get the next update out quicker, I've already locked down the feature set for 1.2, 1.3, and 1.4. I will be cranking them out as soon as possible. Check out Trak4 and the free version Trak4 Lite while we wait for the update approval.
Trak4 1.1 Rejected! I guess Im a real iPhone developer now - I got my first app rejection email. Its too bad too, because I got the letter exactly 7 days after submitting it for approval. Had they approved the app instead of rejecting it, it would have flown through the approval process in a short 7 days. Maybe I should look at the positive and hope that Apple is starting to catch back up with demand and approval delays are coming down again. One can only hope, right? So why did Trak4 1.1 get rejected? The rejection letter was very formal, but at least the app reviewer included a screenshot of the offending artwork. When you hit the solve button and your wrong, a glass breaking sound plays and the pieces crumble. The reviewer interpreted this artwork as the screen breaking, and we all know that you cant simulate a device failure - evidence in the App Store not withstanding. I guess I can see the reviewers point and it would easily be mistaken for that. But my real problem is that the artwork didnt change. Its the same artwork that is on the App Store right now in Trak4 1.0 and the same artwork on the App Store right now in Trak4 Lite 1.1. At first I fired an email back to the reviewer asking him why the artwork passed first review (1.0) but was now being flagged in 1.1. I mean, how do we know what does and does not run afoul of the programming guidelines if reviewers interpretations of those rules change from app to app. But making that kind of argument is pointless, now isnt it. Im not married to the artwork thats in there right now and it was literally a half hour change to replace it with different art and a different sound effect. Why sit there and trade emails arguing the point for weeks and weeks when its easier to rebuild and submit with new artwork? So thats what I did. Call it surrendering to the man if you want, but it wasnt a fight worth fighting. I need the updates pushed out onto the store, so I need to take the easier road. For consistency, I developer rejected Trak4 Lite 1.1 and replaced the artwork in that app too. Trak4 Lite 1.1 had only been under review for about 24 hours so it wasnt that big of a deal to reset the countdown clock on that apps approval. http://trak4game.com/?page_id=46
Congrats on your first app rejection? Good luck to you and your games, i'd be glad to beta test some of them if you need beta testers
Thanks Thanks for your kind words. You can get 1.0 now (or the free version Trak4 Lite). I'm sure 1.1 will get approved now that the offending artwork has been removed. Keep a watch on the main forums. When 1.1 is approved and I get new promo codes, I'm going to give away a hole bunch of codes.
