It's been a week since you posted, and 4 since the iPhone / iPod Touch update was released. Matthew said "Personally i prefer the ipad version", and then leaves us without an update or any information for a month.
Popping up every now and then to use WoS for free advertising of your latest release, with nothing in between, is a very poor relationship to have with your customers and potential customers, Matthew.
It's been a week since you posted, and 4 since the iPhone / iPod Touch update was released. Matthew said "Personally i prefer the ipad version", and then leaves us without an update or any information for a month.
Popping up every now and then to use WoS for free advertising of your latest release, with nothing in between, is a very poor relationship to have with your customers and potential customers, Matthew.
As it happens we've been extremely busy of late and i've not yet had a good chance to post up some comments.
In reference to poor relationships we've always tried our best to give the users what they want (-within reason) and I can't always respond to peoples requests on a forum immediately. If anyone who has actually posted something to us via the online News section of the app they would almost certainly have had a personal response from Steve.
Anyway, aside from all the other stuff we've been upto as it happens I have just been putting the finishing touches on the ipad update at last and it will just now be a case of James to work his magic on it before we can submit it to apple.
Don't forget the last update was a pretty hefty one and i've actually decided to go back through all the games on the ipad one and change the help texts to all work the same way. There has been a lot of files to work around and graphics to remake which is why it has took longer.
I've all but done all I can on it so we should expect to see it release very soon now but i'll let you know the exact date when I can once it goes into review etc.
As it happens we've been extremely busy of late and i've not yet had a good chance to post up some comments.
It takes less than 5 minutes to post a progress report, or just a "Hang in there guys, the iPad version is taking a bit longer than expected!".
As to "I can't always respond to peoples requests on a forum immediately", Refrenz posted a week ago! No-one expects you to reply within an hour, but a week? After 3 weeks of slience before that?
Check out the Touch Arcade forums for an example of developers who spend some time listening to and keeping their customers informed.
It's been a week since you posted, and 4 since the iPhone / iPod Touch update was released. Matthew said "Personally i prefer the ipad version", and then leaves us without an update or any information for a month.
Popping up every now and then to use WoS for free advertising of your latest release, with nothing in between, is a very poor relationship to have with your customers and potential customers, Matthew.
As it happens we've been extremely busy of late and i've not yet had a good chance to post up some comments.
In reference to poor relationships we've always tried our best to give the users what they want (-within reason) and I can't always respond to peoples requests on a forum immediately. If anyone who has actually posted something to us via the online News section of the app they would almost certainly have had a personal response from Steve.
Anyway, aside from all the other stuff we've been upto as it happens I have just been putting the finishing touches on the ipad update at last and it will just now be a case of James to work his magic on it before we can submit it to apple.
Don't forget the last update was a pretty hefty one and i've actually decided to go back through all the games on the ipad one and change the help texts to all work the same way. There has been a lot of files to work around and graphics to remake which is why it has took longer.
I've all but done all I can on it so we should expect to see it release very soon now but i'll let you know the exact date when I can once it goes into review etc.
Matt
Matthew is not obliged to come on these forums with news/update info, and the fact that he does at all - regardless of the time between posts - is something I appreciate. I don't think it is fair to criticise him for not doing something he's doesn't actually have to do!
Thanks for the update Matthew, and whilst you're here, I've been wondering ... the sound emulation in the ZXEC app lags about half a second (maybe a bit more) behind the graphics. Take Dynamite Dan 2 as an example - you press jump and should immediately hear the jumping sound, yet the sound doesn't kick in until Dan is at the top of the jump. Same with Manic Miner - the jump sound should be immediate but there is a noticeable delay, Chuckie Egg - noticeable sound delay picking up eggs/birdseed, jumping noise, walking noise etc ... the sound delay occurs with all the games (the above just used to highlight the delay) and happens on both iPad and iPhone versions.
Don't know if anyone has mentioned it but I thought it's worth a mention - do you know if any more work is going to be done to improve the emulation in areas like this?
Has Elite ever posted a "Tell us what games you'd like to see us release for the emulator" thread, here or somewhere else?
Allowing for games that are denied distribution, can not be licenced or where permission is unobtainable then surely it would be a good idea to find out what the customers themselves would like to play (and pay for) above others? Wouldn't it make good business sense or don't potential buyers care what gets released, just buying anything that goes? Elite must have done some market research on this surely?
Matthew is not obliged to come on these forums with news/update info, and the fact that he does at all - regardless of the time between posts - is something I appreciate. I don't think it is fair to criticise him for not doing something he's doesn't actually have to do!
That's a view that I used to share, and I suppose I have been unfair in venting my frustration at Matthew, but something just isn't right when a company (Elite) updates an app for the iPhone and leaves the iPad users in the dark for a month.
It's also a shame that Elite charge us for the packs on each version, so I can't even play the iPhone one while I wait.
It's a moot point anyway, as I won't be buying any future packs. This isn't the only reason; the sound emulation is poor as you mentioned, and I've also noticed some games don't seem to run as silky smooth as another emulator I use. I'm also not keen on the fact that nearly all packs have 1 or 2 good games and the rest is made up of games that were awful even back in the day!
So apologies to Matthew for my rant, and all the best for the app in the future.
I'm not personally aware of any major sound issues but i'll definitely lopk into this for you.
Mousey, i respect your opinion and anyone else's for that matter and if you don't want to continue supporting thr app that's your decision. What i din't understand is that if this is your opinion why make such a fuss about everything then, albeit to give another app a plug.
I'm not going to get into an app war with anyone as it's just not my style all i'll say is that we are still dedicated to our apps.
As i said i'll post more info as soon as i can, in the meantime if anyone has any questions just drop me a message and i'll be happy to respond as soon as i can.
What i din't understand is that if this is your opinion why make such a fuss about everything then, albeit to give another app a plug.
I'm not going to get into an app war with anyone as it's just not my style all i'll say is that we are still dedicated to our apps.
I'm not sure where this has come from... am I not entitled to say that in my opinion some games seem to run better on another emulator?
I didn't even say "app", or mention any names - I could be talking about Patrik Rak's excellent ZXDS (which is what I used on my DS prior to getting an iPad and Elite's app) - but I get accused of giving another app a "plug", and then you start talking about app wars?
Really nice iPad update Matthew - I must say it's been worth the wait. The iPad version also doesn't suffer from the audio lag found in the iPhone version either! ZXEC is definitely best experienced on an iPad.
Think its a good idea, dont just contact the owners of Speccy games, talk to other people as well whether its C64, Apple or other 80's type of games.
Would be good to have an app for 8 bit games which features a wide range. They seem to be talking about releasing each one seperately, bit of a gamble i think, depends on the price for each one as well. Would expect to pay a small price for a few of them at a time. Said in the future there'll be bundles so i'll wait for those
But be interesting to see how well it works. Mentions differerent countries, i hope we can get all the games regardless of where you are though.
(By the way talking of iOS games, check out Jeff Minters latest game which is excellent, features a lot of Speccy looking screens, a whole level of Manic Miner graphics as well - GoatUp - well worth buying. Like Doodle Bug but features retro graphics/levels)
Since getting an iPad, the ZXEC has been a pleasure to use as has the C64-based Elite Collection. Just bumping this to see if there is any news on when the next update will be for the ZXEC and the EC (Paradroid please!). :)
I'm guessing from the way it's worded, they're not paying out for rights to the host machines' ROMs, so they're not running on a total emulation of the host machine. Some things are rigged internally to get the games up and running on an emulation of the hardware only.
As for the commentard who describes Quazatron as 'much worse' than Paradroid - GYTF, cretin.
We did a small update to ZX:EC HD just before XMAS which included a few cool things like icade support more load/save game options and idaptive controls from within a game.
We also did the same for the iphone ZX:EC although it got hung up in apples QA over xmas because they didn't like a reference to Bluetooth controller which was in the metadata for the Spanish version (not sure how it got there :p).
Anyway, that's sorted out now and we'll probably release that very soon now which will bring it level with the current ipad version.
Aside from all this I've actually almost finished now with another update which as usual will include several more games and will get the ipad version into submission this week shortly followed by the iphone version.
As for the other app and the Paradroid reference do you suggest to include Paradroid inside the app? (it's already available as a standalone but i see no reason why we can't include it in the next update).
Currently we're adding more games into it ready to do the update soon.
As usual loads of stuff going on behind the scenes so appologies for the prolonged update to the ZX:EC's but rest assured they haven't been forgotted :p
Also, Did you know?
If you're the proud owner of a windows 7 phone (like me- HTC TITAN as we've already got too many iphones around) you can now get Manic Miner on the market place. It's a nice version and plays very well on the devices, also includes a winter theme'd pallete hack mode of play too...
And wait...lol
For those who may be the proud owner of a Samsung Bada Wave 3 enabled device (..........Tumble weed blows by............) you can also get Manic Miner and ZX:EC Vol.1-6 on it to.
Since getting an iPad, the ZXEC has been a pleasure to use as has the C64-based Elite Collection. Just bumping this to see if there is any news on when the next update will be for the ZXEC and the EC (Paradroid please!). :)
I've got both the Speccy app and the Elite Collection. BUT i was a bit disappointed with the initial launch of the Elite Collection, think it needs some 'killer games'. Reading an interview with Touch Arcade/Elite it seems theyve got some very good classics lined up but would like to see some of those soon.
Bit disappointing that most of the app packs to buy (Apart from Bruce Lee) were mostly Speccy games i already had.
Hope to see some different 'big name' games coming out soon for the Elite Collection. Think that app has a ton of potential with other games for 8 bit (and 16 bit) machines
We did a small update to ZX:EC HD just before XMAS which included a few cool things like icade support more load/save game options and idaptive controls from within a game.
Yes, I noticed that - used to really be a pain having to exit the game to adjust the controls, so being able to do it within the game is brilliant.
As for the other app and the Paradroid reference do you suggest to include Paradroid inside the app? (it's already available as a standalone but i see no reason why we can't include it in the next update).
Yup, I saw the stand-alone app but prefer to buy in-app purchases where all the games easy to get to, rather than having to load a separate app for different games. A Parardoid in-app purchase would be very welcome (as would a Quazatron in-app purchase for ZXEC!).
Just one point of curiosity - the Elite Collection games are billed as "near-100% original". Are they 'near 100%' and not 100% because of changes made to game menus etc ... to make them easier to navigate using the iDaptive controls, or is there another reason?
On that note, thanks for the update Matthew, looking forward to the next batch of games. :)
Just bumping this after 18 months of no posts because ...
ATIC ATAC has been released on ZXEC. A big deal for me as it;s the first Speccy game I ever played (and bought for ?5.95).
Lovely to see some denianced games appearing, but they still need to tighten up the emulation (especially the sound which is nowhere near as good as Spectaculator), and rehash the user interface because trying to work out where to find my games is now a flippin' chore. Where is that game I'm looking for? Is it in the ....
"Collections (in-app purchases)" section?
"Singles (in-app purchases)" section? If so, which one, as there are two 'folders'
"Collections (Included)" section?
"Singles (Included)" section?
I know the button on the top right shows a list of games, but when accessing the games that way, all the instructions and cassette artwork is completely bypassed.
So Elite, if you ever read this ... how about sectioning the current layout off in to a 'shop' area away from customers purchased games, because it's all getting very confusing faffing about trying to work out if the version of (for example) Manic Miner you bought is in a Software Projects pack, or a single purchase.
To replace it, have an iTunes-ish cover flow style of accessing games so we can browse purchased games like the were cassettes on a shelf, then tap the spine and access the instruction/artwork screen that way. It will encourage me (and maybe others) to spend more time in the app if the interface and navigation was easier and less confusing.
The current layout worked when there were a half a dozen game packs and no singles, but it doesn't work well any more.
Anyway, fingers crossed for more Ultimate gems being released!
Just bumping this after 18 months of no posts because ...
ATIC ATAC has been released on ZXEC. A big deal for me as it;s the first Speccy game I ever played (and bought for ?5.95).
Lovely to see some denianced games appearing,
Anyway, fingers crossed for more Ultimate gems being released!
I checked with Microsoft/Rare and Elite doesn't have permission to release Atic Atac, you've just bought stolen goods.
Did you not notice that Elite took all the copyright info out of the game? Did you not notice the Ultimate Play the Game logo on the loading screen is missing?
I checked with Microsoft/Rare and Elite doesn't have permission to release Atic Atac, you've just bought stolen goods.
Did you not notice that Elite took all the copyright info out of the game? Did you not notice the Ultimate Play the Game logo on the loading screen is missing?
Elite licensed dozens of arcade titles back in the day and is no stranger to the legal process. I'd like to hear their side of things before assuming they haven't obtained the rights. And to clarify that, I'm not saying that you're wrong, just that Microsoft is going through a massive re-org right now and it's perfectly possible that someone in legal outside of Rare was involved in licensing and Rare just aren't aware of it. Haven't seen the title as I don't own an iDevice so I can't comment on the status of copyright messages and logos.
I checked with Microsoft/Rare and Elite doesn't have permission to release Atic Atac, you've just bought stolen goods.
Did you not notice that Elite took all the copyright info out of the game? Did you not notice the Ultimate Play the Game logo on the loading screen is missing?
Both interesting and strange. I assumed that this was the other half of your deal to put the Win8 versions out there... obviously not! What's particularly confusing is that Elite haven't put out any sort of press release about this. Is it possible they've just screwed up and released something they didn't mean to release?
Someone who should be in a position to know, although I can't divulge who as their comments were made in private, said this in an e-mail to me in October 2012:
I see on pocketgamer.co.uk Daley Thompson was saying that Elite asked him for a license for their Decathlon app over the summer. When he said, “No”, they released it anyway. And now they are flogging Atari’s IP (Head Over Heels etc.) without their approval.
I'd like to hear Elite's side of this, and also regarding Atic Atac, but these kind of comments have made me wary.
Off subject (sort of), but I have just read and thoroughly enjoyed the various articles (particularly the Ultimate Play the Game anecdotes) you have there:
I hadn't gone to your site before because I don't use Windows (and therefore, unfortunately, can't purchase the apps), but it's a great read for anyone with memories of Ultimate's games.
Isn't removing company logos or copyright notices illegal unless you are the company or copyright holder that owns it?
Not if you've been given permission. As a general rule you're not allowed to modify the copyright message in the Spectrum ROM, but some people have been given permission to by Cliff Lawson.
I have to say that if the Windows 8 versions have retained the Ultimate logo then I can't see a good reason why the iDevice version wouldn't. Looks like Elite have some explaining to do. Given that MS / Rare has been notified I can't see them not taking action if everything isn't above board.
Comments
It's been a week since you posted, and 4 since the iPhone / iPod Touch update was released. Matthew said "Personally i prefer the ipad version", and then leaves us without an update or any information for a month.
Popping up every now and then to use WoS for free advertising of your latest release, with nothing in between, is a very poor relationship to have with your customers and potential customers, Matthew.
As it happens we've been extremely busy of late and i've not yet had a good chance to post up some comments.
In reference to poor relationships we've always tried our best to give the users what they want (-within reason) and I can't always respond to peoples requests on a forum immediately. If anyone who has actually posted something to us via the online News section of the app they would almost certainly have had a personal response from Steve.
Anyway, aside from all the other stuff we've been upto as it happens I have just been putting the finishing touches on the ipad update at last and it will just now be a case of James to work his magic on it before we can submit it to apple.
Don't forget the last update was a pretty hefty one and i've actually decided to go back through all the games on the ipad one and change the help texts to all work the same way. There has been a lot of files to work around and graphics to remake which is why it has took longer.
I've all but done all I can on it so we should expect to see it release very soon now but i'll let you know the exact date when I can once it goes into review etc.
Matt
As to "I can't always respond to peoples requests on a forum immediately", Refrenz posted a week ago! No-one expects you to reply within an hour, but a week? After 3 weeks of slience before that?
Check out the Touch Arcade forums for an example of developers who spend some time listening to and keeping their customers informed.
Matthew is not obliged to come on these forums with news/update info, and the fact that he does at all - regardless of the time between posts - is something I appreciate. I don't think it is fair to criticise him for not doing something he's doesn't actually have to do!
Thanks for the update Matthew, and whilst you're here, I've been wondering ... the sound emulation in the ZXEC app lags about half a second (maybe a bit more) behind the graphics. Take Dynamite Dan 2 as an example - you press jump and should immediately hear the jumping sound, yet the sound doesn't kick in until Dan is at the top of the jump. Same with Manic Miner - the jump sound should be immediate but there is a noticeable delay, Chuckie Egg - noticeable sound delay picking up eggs/birdseed, jumping noise, walking noise etc ... the sound delay occurs with all the games (the above just used to highlight the delay) and happens on both iPad and iPhone versions.
Don't know if anyone has mentioned it but I thought it's worth a mention - do you know if any more work is going to be done to improve the emulation in areas like this?
Allowing for games that are denied distribution, can not be licenced or where permission is unobtainable then surely it would be a good idea to find out what the customers themselves would like to play (and pay for) above others? Wouldn't it make good business sense or don't potential buyers care what gets released, just buying anything that goes? Elite must have done some market research on this surely?
It's also a shame that Elite charge us for the packs on each version, so I can't even play the iPhone one while I wait.
It's a moot point anyway, as I won't be buying any future packs. This isn't the only reason; the sound emulation is poor as you mentioned, and I've also noticed some games don't seem to run as silky smooth as another emulator I use. I'm also not keen on the fact that nearly all packs have 1 or 2 good games and the rest is made up of games that were awful even back in the day!
So apologies to Matthew for my rant, and all the best for the app in the future.
Mousey, i respect your opinion and anyone else's for that matter and if you don't want to continue supporting thr app that's your decision. What i din't understand is that if this is your opinion why make such a fuss about everything then, albeit to give another app a plug.
I'm not going to get into an app war with anyone as it's just not my style all i'll say is that we are still dedicated to our apps.
As i said i'll post more info as soon as i can, in the meantime if anyone has any questions just drop me a message and i'll be happy to respond as soon as i can.
And Mousey we really have been that busy....
I didn't even say "app", or mention any names - I could be talking about Patrik Rak's excellent ZXDS (which is what I used on my DS prior to getting an iPad and Elite's app) - but I get accused of giving another app a "plug", and then you start talking about app wars?
Odd behaviour.
We will issue another iphone update soon that will also cater for that sound issue...
It was a monster update this time but future ones now will be a lot easier.
We've also been hard at work on lots of other cool stuff which will be revealed in good time too.
Matt
http://toucharcade.com/2011/09/18/elite-pushes-beyond-the-zx-spectrum-in-coming-elite-collection-of-8-bit-classics/
Think its a good idea, dont just contact the owners of Speccy games, talk to other people as well whether its C64, Apple or other 80's type of games.
Would be good to have an app for 8 bit games which features a wide range. They seem to be talking about releasing each one seperately, bit of a gamble i think, depends on the price for each one as well. Would expect to pay a small price for a few of them at a time. Said in the future there'll be bundles so i'll wait for those
But be interesting to see how well it works. Mentions differerent countries, i hope we can get all the games regardless of where you are though.
(By the way talking of iOS games, check out Jeff Minters latest game which is excellent, features a lot of Speccy looking screens, a whole level of Manic Miner graphics as well - GoatUp - well worth buying. Like Doodle Bug but features retro graphics/levels)
I'm guessing from the way it's worded, they're not paying out for rights to the host machines' ROMs, so they're not running on a total emulation of the host machine. Some things are rigged internally to get the games up and running on an emulation of the hardware only.
As for the commentard who describes Quazatron as 'much worse' than Paradroid - GYTF, cretin.
- IONIAN-GAMES.com -
We also did the same for the iphone ZX:EC although it got hung up in apples QA over xmas because they didn't like a reference to Bluetooth controller which was in the metadata for the Spanish version (not sure how it got there :p).
Anyway, that's sorted out now and we'll probably release that very soon now which will bring it level with the current ipad version.
Aside from all this I've actually almost finished now with another update which as usual will include several more games and will get the ipad version into submission this week shortly followed by the iphone version.
As for the other app and the Paradroid reference do you suggest to include Paradroid inside the app? (it's already available as a standalone but i see no reason why we can't include it in the next update).
Currently we're adding more games into it ready to do the update soon.
As usual loads of stuff going on behind the scenes so appologies for the prolonged update to the ZX:EC's but rest assured they haven't been forgotted :p
Also, Did you know?
If you're the proud owner of a windows 7 phone (like me- HTC TITAN as we've already got too many iphones around) you can now get Manic Miner on the market place. It's a nice version and plays very well on the devices, also includes a winter theme'd pallete hack mode of play too...
And wait...lol
For those who may be the proud owner of a Samsung Bada Wave 3 enabled device (..........Tumble weed blows by............) you can also get Manic Miner and ZX:EC Vol.1-6 on it to.
Bit disappointing that most of the app packs to buy (Apart from Bruce Lee) were mostly Speccy games i already had.
Hope to see some different 'big name' games coming out soon for the Elite Collection. Think that app has a ton of potential with other games for 8 bit (and 16 bit) machines
Yes, I noticed that - used to really be a pain having to exit the game to adjust the controls, so being able to do it within the game is brilliant.
Yup, I saw the stand-alone app but prefer to buy in-app purchases where all the games easy to get to, rather than having to load a separate app for different games. A Parardoid in-app purchase would be very welcome (as would a Quazatron in-app purchase for ZXEC!).
Just one point of curiosity - the Elite Collection games are billed as "near-100% original". Are they 'near 100%' and not 100% because of changes made to game menus etc ... to make them easier to navigate using the iDaptive controls, or is there another reason?
On that note, thanks for the update Matthew, looking forward to the next batch of games. :)
ATIC ATAC has been released on ZXEC. A big deal for me as it;s the first Speccy game I ever played (and bought for ?5.95).
Lovely to see some denianced games appearing, but they still need to tighten up the emulation (especially the sound which is nowhere near as good as Spectaculator), and rehash the user interface because trying to work out where to find my games is now a flippin' chore. Where is that game I'm looking for? Is it in the ....
"Collections (in-app purchases)" section?
"Singles (in-app purchases)" section? If so, which one, as there are two 'folders'
"Collections (Included)" section?
"Singles (Included)" section?
I know the button on the top right shows a list of games, but when accessing the games that way, all the instructions and cassette artwork is completely bypassed.
So Elite, if you ever read this ... how about sectioning the current layout off in to a 'shop' area away from customers purchased games, because it's all getting very confusing faffing about trying to work out if the version of (for example) Manic Miner you bought is in a Software Projects pack, or a single purchase.
To replace it, have an iTunes-ish cover flow style of accessing games so we can browse purchased games like the were cassettes on a shelf, then tap the spine and access the instruction/artwork screen that way. It will encourage me (and maybe others) to spend more time in the app if the interface and navigation was easier and less confusing.
The current layout worked when there were a half a dozen game packs and no singles, but it doesn't work well any more.
Anyway, fingers crossed for more Ultimate gems being released!
I checked with Microsoft/Rare and Elite doesn't have permission to release Atic Atac, you've just bought stolen goods.
Did you not notice that Elite took all the copyright info out of the game? Did you not notice the Ultimate Play the Game logo on the loading screen is missing?
I know this because... well because...
http://www.livewiredesign.co.uk/
Elite licensed dozens of arcade titles back in the day and is no stranger to the legal process. I'd like to hear their side of things before assuming they haven't obtained the rights. And to clarify that, I'm not saying that you're wrong, just that Microsoft is going through a massive re-org right now and it's perfectly possible that someone in legal outside of Rare was involved in licensing and Rare just aren't aware of it. Haven't seen the title as I don't own an iDevice so I can't comment on the status of copyright messages and logos.
Both interesting and strange. I assumed that this was the other half of your deal to put the Win8 versions out there... obviously not! What's particularly confusing is that Elite haven't put out any sort of press release about this. Is it possible they've just screwed up and released something they didn't mean to release?
[The two images Removed to save my bandwidth]
http://www.livewiredesign.co.uk/category/Growing-up-with-Rare.aspx#sthash.gOWNvX85.dpbs
I hadn't gone to your site before because I don't use Windows (and therefore, unfortunately, can't purchase the apps), but it's a great read for anyone with memories of Ultimate's games.
Not if you've been given permission. As a general rule you're not allowed to modify the copyright message in the Spectrum ROM, but some people have been given permission to by Cliff Lawson.
I have to say that if the Windows 8 versions have retained the Ultimate logo then I can't see a good reason why the iDevice version wouldn't. Looks like Elite have some explaining to do. Given that MS / Rare has been notified I can't see them not taking action if everything isn't above board.