[Closed] Coming soon - The Circus Masters Revenge

Joseppie,

Thank you for the pointer.

Unfortunately, this guideline does nothing to explain why you need to store email addresses on a server (let lone at the ridiculous price of $800) or support your statement that all accessible games will now require you to login with your email.

Please don't think that I am criticising you or your game here. In fact, I have total respect for the challenge that you have chosen to take on. However, you have made some very big statements which risk being seriously misleading if people take them at face value.

The reality is that you have simply pointed us to something which hundreds of thousands of apps already do - support in-app purchases.

Not only is this not new, but the actual mechanism for processing in-app purchases is taken care of by Apple.

Like others, I have serious question marks concerning the accuracy and completeness of the information that you are being provided by the company you are paying to develop this app.

Here is the section of the App Store Review Guidelines mentioned by Joseppie:

3.1.1 In-App Purchase:

• If you want to unlock features or functionality within your app, (by way of example: subscriptions, in-game currencies, game levels, access to premium content, or unlocking a full version), you must use in-app purchase. Apps may not use their own mechanisms to unlock content or functionality, such as license keys, augmented reality markers, QR codes, etc. Apps and their metadata may not include buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms other than in-app purchase.
• Apps may use in-app purchase currencies to enable customers to “tip” digital content providers in the app.
• Any credits or in-game currencies purchased via in-app purchase may not expire, and you should make sure you have a restore mechanism for any restorable in-app purchases.
• Remember to assign the correct purchasability type or your app will be rejected.
• Apps may enable gifting of items that are eligible for in-app purchase to others. Such gifts may only be refunded to the original purchaser and may not be exchanged.
• Apps distributed via the Mac App Store may host plug-ins or extensions that are enabled with mechanisms other than the App Store.
• Apps offering “loot boxes” or other mechanisms that provide randomized virtual items for purchase must disclose the odds of receiving each type of item to customers prior to purchase.
• Non-subscription apps may offer a free time-based trial period before presenting a full unlock option by setting up a Non-Consumable IAP item at Price Tier 0 that follows the naming convention: “XX-day Trial.” Prior to the start of the trial, your app must clearly identify its duration, the content or services that will no longer be accessible when the trial ends, and any downstream charges the user would need to pay for full functionality. Learn more about managing content access and the duration of the trial period using Receipts and Device Check.

Someone correct me if i'm wrong, but I seem to remember that in one of his posts jo said that he was going to have a forum for the game on the mental vision website so that the game could be discussed there as well. I cant remember at the moment, if its not here... Then he didn't post it here and he just told me privately... Anyhow I hope this clears the confusion about the emails. On a separate note, this is jo's first game, mistakes will happen. You cant just walk into something new and expect it to work perfectly; you will mess up at first, because you have no experience. Given time, said experience will be gained, but its a learning process, and during this process, comments such as, in short, beeing ungrateful for the effort put into bringing this game to you guys... It doesn't help. If any of you created a game, and it was your first, would you really like people to instead of thanking you for the effort you've put into it, weather you like it; or not; just throw it back in your face? No matter what your job is, no one likes this kind of behavier. This is one of the reasons why goldgun and other devs have left, because we throw all that effort they've done, back in their faces, instead of saying thanks. If we continue with this attitude of beeing ungrateful for what others are doing for us... There will be a point, where we will have no more games. I'm just saying, be grateful for what you have

Get rid of those filthy useless walking abortions who developed this game for you. They are ripping you off. They are making stuff up just to take money from someone who doesn't know any different. Sad.

Hi Igna, no it doesn't clear the email thing up, josepi has stated in his earlier comment that registration with an email address is required to allow for reinstalling of the game on separate devices, he has stated that he has had to rent server space to store these addresses privately outside of apple. he has further stated that apple is going to have some sort of system where you have to enter an email address into an accessible app, and he also went on about a visually impaired policy or something which I have never even heard of, sorry but I feel that josepi has miss understood something somewhere. and as to a dedicated forum to discuss the game, seriously, its nice josepi had the idea, but a forum to just discuss one game, what's wrong with existing options like audiogames.net applevis etc.

Hello,
Maybe, and I am only guesssing here, maybe Jo was indeed talking about that forum when he mentioned the $800. Maybe his developers told him how much he‘d have to pay them to
1) rent a server
2) set up an user forum
3) make the necessary adjustments so it would be completely accessible and
4) make sure everyone who uses his app is actually registered in said forum.
If that was the case, an amount like $800 would not be so high anymore.
But as I said: I am allowing my imagination to run wild here, as the messages we did get so far just don‘t add up without adding a lot of imagination.

My friend, do not get angry and do not be offended, we believe in you and fully support your game; indeed it is now our game, we can't wait for it to come out to play! I've already done it in my previous comments and do it again: thank you so much for all you've done and you're doing for us, I appreciate and fully support all your hard work and your dedication.

I edited my earlier post to comment on the forum, but posting as someone commented after I made this edit. a forum is a nice idea, but what's wrong with using existing options like applevis, audiogames.net etc, seriously people aren't just going to sign up to a forum to discuss one game that will be a 5 minute flash in the pan. I myself have no interest in signing up to a dedicated forum, though quite happy to talk on applevis etc. also his comments specifically talke about the purpose of this email thing being for us to reinstall the game on other devices, and all this stuff about it being for accessible games, and a visually impaired persons policy none of that makes sense, I certainly don't like the thought of my email being stored privately outside of apple or financial information come to that.
editing to now respond to joseppis comment, I think that's a very sensible idea to ask apple, as I really can't see anything in the information you posted that suggests anything of what you have been told, I really hope it is us who are wrong and that you haven't been mislead, and if you have that you can get your money back.
just a thought could we maybe see the discussion you have had with your development manager, as I assume when you told us about this email thing you were pparaphrasing in which case maybe it might help if we can see in black and white what you were told.

Hi joseppi, well I have done some further reading up on this, and it seems there are two ways to validate receipts for inapp purchases, locally and with the appstore,
I certainly didn't know any of this, but below is something I found in apples chapter on validating receipts, even so, 800 just to do what apple describes sounds a lot, and I do wonder if there is a better root as the chapter also talks about being able to locally validate receipts some how, as what happens say if your server goes offline, or you go out of business etc. also there is something you can do called a device check as well, this server method doesn't sound at all efficient for small developers such as yourself. also I haven't come up with anything about this being specifically for accessible apps, a visually impaired persons policy etc, and also nothing about having to enter and store email addresses privately, it doesn't sound like this server is doing anything two complicated to justify 800 and I just think there must be better methods.
anyway this is what I have found officially in apples chapter on validating receipts, hopefully also the developer centre can give further insight.
Validating Receipts With the App Store

Use a trusted server to communicate with the App Store. Using your own server lets you design your app to recognize and trust only your server, and lets you ensure that your server connects with the App Store server. It is not possible to build a trusted connection between a user’s device and the App Store directly because you don’t control either end of that connection, and therefore can be susceptible to a man-in-the-middle attack.

Perhaps the developers feel using a server for this is a better root for the simple reason of preventing cheating. If you're jailbroken, it's trivial to get around in-app purchases. At least a few years ago in the iOS 10 days, you could simply install a tweak that hooked into the in-app purchase mechanism and immediately told the app that the purchase was successful without actually doing the in-app purchase normally. That was for apps that verified locally. If an app actually went through a server, these tweaks would not work for that app.

For restoring, I'm not sure how the app store handles restoring consumables. For permanent items, Apple won't let you repurchase something multiple times. If you try, the app store will simply ask you if you want to get the item for free, and then tells the app that the purchase was successful. However, this obviously won't work for consumable items, but also not having a button to restore purchases is confusing and I know this confused me when I first started out with iOS so I can see why Apple would require developers to have a very obvious restore button - the guideline Joseph mentioned says it's required.

For the restore process, that's also all handled by Apple, I believe the way it works is the app asks to check the purchases on someones account, then the app store prompts for your password and the app then gets a list of the items you purchased and when they were made in return. This would also probably need to be verified by the server.

For storing data, $800 does seem like a lot. Most VPS's and even dedicated servers would come out to less than that for a year, and it's not like this is an app that'll have to handle hundreds of requests and store terabytes of data - storing a small number of game data for a few hundred players won't take much space at all, but I think the data could just be stored on the person's iCloud account as there is a separate API for iCloud game saving. Perhaps your developers are spinning out cloud instances on AWS, Google cloud or Asure, which are priced a bit differently so the costs may be a bit higher, but I don't have too much experience with cloud computing and no idea what infrastructure you gone with so I can't really comment much more on that.

Here's hoping you get all of this figured out.

Hi,

This sounds great. And kudos to you for taking the initiative. You saw no one was making the kind of game you wanted . So you said, fine, I'll just make the game my damn self! LOL, I love it. Good luck on the project and I look forward to its completion and release.

I hope that everything comes together for this game.

It means you can upload on the App Store now if you wish.

whoooo! funtimes. I'll try to get this game once it's available.

Yep, normally apple behaves like that, you submit your app, apple checks it if it's meeting their guide lines and then they push it out to the store.

I don't know what Joseppy is about here, I think we or he is again subject to false information.

Hi!
It might just be the permission to press the button that transfers the app from the review area to the live App Store. The word "upload" does not necessarily literally mean something from his machine is uploaded to an Apple server. Calm down folks, do as I do, and play some Timecrest while you wait.
Cheers Perry

Hi!
Am I summing up the situation correctly? Green light has been given by the mighty Apple, we're all maximally excited, and all that stands between a bored community and some refreshing virtual violence is an upload button that nobody is pressing? The tragedy! The comedy! The irony!
Cheers Perry

I agree does seem a bit strange, apples review process has been completed, and you would think given how excited and over hyped this game has been joseppi would have bitten apples arm off to get his game live so we can all say how amazing it is and not give him any negative criticism lol. actually on the subject of his appology well done to him for making it, though seriously if your using google translate to write it its not good to describe those who are trying to help you as being aggressive with excitement that implies blaming us, still with the amount of effort that he has put into this its not surprising he is the last person who can stand back and be objective about his idea. and its natural for him to feel protective and defensive of his idea, and its good he made the effort to try to explain his thinking, and well done for that.

I didn't say your apology didn't come from your heart, in fact well done for making it. I guess when I read some of your posts language you use sometimes looks a bit strange, like the sort of thing a translator might come up with, or sometimes I notice grammar mistakes which could be down to siri I guess. and sometimes you can repeat yourself, but I will take your word that your a native English speaker, not using a translator etc. I never use siri for dictation especially of messages and emails, I prefer either good old braille screen input or a trusty keyboard for physically typing out things.
still I am pleased the end is near for you and that we will get to experience the end product of all your enthusiasm and hard work.

Lets keep an open mind here and stay calm, he's been told Friday by his developers, though we did have to prompt him to get another update, lets just wait and see what happens, though we never heard a full resolution about the so called visually impaired persons policy thing, the needing to store emails separately thing or the mystery800 for the server, or if he got a response from apple. though I have no interest in using social media with the game, in fact it seriously gets on my nerves all these people who send tweets from dice world when they beat someone.

His team promised that they will have it uploaded by Friday. I can go with that, since most of the time games are indeed released on Thursdays or Fridays. Note when I say most of the time. Of course it is not all of the time, but most of the time. Come to think of it, Venture Zone Global was released on the 1st of August, which was of course a Thursday.

well there should be only a few hours to wait, to ke7zum, I think you are being a bit of a troll, he is trying to provide proof, though admittedly we never got to the bottom of the hole needing to store email thing or the claim it was specifically for accessible apps, I really think you should give him a break and we will see what happens. now if it gets to say sunday or Monday and nothing has happened then yes I say we do have the option to start being skeptical. But I think we should give the guy a break, yes we all know this game isn't going to be world changing, hopefully it will be fun for a few hours, and of course there is nothing wrong with giving a balanced view on it when it comes out, but lets just wait and see what happens.

I think we just have one last problem, it is: how to upload the app to apps store!
it very close till it is really install in our phone!
hope we can get this during this weekend. and I can spend the hole weekend for it!

Seriously? A conspiracy theory?
I beta tested the game. It is definitely real. I didn’t get paid for it and I’m not getting paid to say this.
I agree with what some others have said about the mods closing this topic until the game is released. Honestly, it would be the best thing to do.

For those saying that this is a hokes or that kind of thing... what more proof do you need to get it into your heads that this isn't a hokes? A a should one of us testers do a playthrough and spoil the game for everyone so that you can see that this is not a, fake? i not going to do the playthrough because i'm don't want to sspoil it for everyone... but seriously? why would we be faking this? what reason would we have? it has been done before yes, but not here, and not by mental vision. And are you really taking that root? O, i cant see it, so its fake? No one saw jesus die on the cross, so its not true, jesus doesn't exist? I haven't seen any blind people in my life before, so blindness is fake, and people are just doing it to get attention... i could go on and on with other examples, but The argument that seeing is believing is bullshit, but to each his own i suppose, if you will only believe that this wasn't a fake till you see it launched on the appstore... your choice. none of us are affected by your belief. but seeing is not believing, though. and have patience, all the people saying that this is a hokes or fake... your not patient enough. If you want to see how hard it is... go ahead and make your own game. and when people start to complain about that its fake because it hasn't been releaced, or you w start to run into unexpected or unforceen problens that cause delays, maybee then you'll understand how much effort it takes. Just chill out. Having this kind of attitude won't make the game be releaced any quicker, it will only aggravate the heck out of people. Francly, the picture your painting is beyond funny. Ok, so jo just got up one day, and he decides to prank all of us into thinking he's developing a game. and he keeps this up for a year? Do you realise how insane that sounds? If you wanted proof that this game isn't a fake, look no further that the kickstarter campain joe made. For those of you spouting theories, i suppose he just took what people gave and ran off huh? If you must wait until its on the appstore to see that we're not lying, fine. For the record though... Joe has been telling the truth from the beginning. If you don't believe him, fine. We're not asking you to. But seriously fokes? chill it

guys audio defence was much better quality than this game; sure, it's good, but as i stated before from playing it, not ground-breaking, honestly. play it, by all means as the developer pointed out, noone made a remake, but it's a lot of hype for a simple hear and react title, and that's a fact. it's not complex, no replay as all missions are the same, admittedly with different enemy types, but he acts like we should kneel down and worship him for doing this, and yes, i could never program, i admit that and hold hands up, but why is everything all about positivity? people won’t like your game, others will think it's the best game in the world, but to say we should all be positive as your negativity meter has run out, is pathetic, scream at me all you want, but the gamej isn’t worth paying for as no replay, and no interest in my view once played through.

Its one thing to say this. Note: this is just as an example... this game is the best, it is better than audio defence, it will be the best game ever... that, is hyping. Another totally different thing is give updates to the public on how things are going, which is what we have been doing

Hi!
So your intent is to give us updates. For starters, how about clear responses to the following questions:
1. What exactly were the results of the first review by Apple? Based on what guidelines, which changes needed to be made?
2. Have all of these changes been made? Which of the changes that were made were optional, and which were mandatory?
3. Since then, has the app been resubmitted for review? When was that?
I'm not saying you owe us these answers. I'm just saying, if your intent is to give us updates, then these are a good way to start.
Cheers Perry

Feel good, now you have really tired me with this attitude! Stop spitting venom on Yoseppie you are really irritating! If I were a moderator of this site I would have already canceled you, bring only agitation and disarray! The game will be released when it is ready, the speech is over! Please moderators, get rid of the site who will still spit satanic poison on Yoseppie. Thank you!

Attack of the Satanic Poison Spitters from Applevis! Can you unravel the conspiracy theories surrounding the mysterious Circus Master? Have you mettle enough to stop the snarling legions of bored blind gamers threatening to throw the world into disarray? Climb Mount Hype to find the missing upload while dodging blasts of satanic poison! Disclose the greatest hoax a human being has ever set blind eyes upon, or return to your people with stone tablets containing the best audio game ever made!
And now, on with the news.

I think these answers are a bit late in the day, according to joseppi the app should be out wait for it pause, drum roll today. the hype element stems from the fact we have been told its going to be revolutionary amazing etc. other games have been very quiet and unassuming, I mean look at papa sangre that developer didn't make a lot of noise, yet the game quality was obvious and a lot of people enjoyed both those titles. same with crafting kingdom again that came out of nowhere but was very popular, by all means its great to engage with a developer, the problem is that we have had this for around 18 months, its a bit like a long election campaign, I think everyone just got board of all the hype, plus repeated questions can I test can I test, this will be amazing etc. question is, also is this game going to have unlockable achievements and content to help maintain interest for longer that might help with replayability.

if it comes out i'll try it. if not, no biggy. that's all I'll say here.

That's why I watch the entertainment value of my posts. Still there's a serious archetypical story unfolding here: the tale of a hero who at first does not succeed. He gets a lot of advice, ridicule, criticism, scepticism and, yes, aggression. In this time of far too few high-quality audio games, he is carrying a torch of hope, and accordingly he is blamed every time it seems to darken. Still let's not forget he owes us nothing, not even the truth. Let's not become twisted zombie cheerleaders reinacting the orchestra aboard the Titanic. Hope always entails the seed of disappointment, otherwise it would not be called hope but knowledge. The worst thing that can happen is not that he fails, but that he never tries again because of how we behaved. That, folks, would make us ghouls, and who needs ghouls?
Cheers Perry

You guys are doing too much drugs.