I had lots of crashes until I realised that I had never actually closed out of a program ever (by double-tapping the home button and then closing the programs manually). Once I shut down most of the 40+ apps I had running I haven't had any trouble with it!
That list is not "apps running", it's "apps history". Apps are automatically removed by the OS from memory if current running app needs more memory than currently available. This does not impact the "double tap" list. There seems to be a memory leak in BGEE that's causing it to use more and more memory the longer it runs, thus eventually hitting maximum allowed (or available) and crashing to dashboard.
You don't need to do anything, the OS will do it itself.
There seems to be a memory leak in BGEE that's causing it to use more and more memory the longer it runs, thus eventually hitting maximum allowed (or available) and crashing to dashboard.
You don't need to do anything, the OS will do it itself.
That's correct, iOS will clean up after itself terminating old apps currently in a 'Backgrounded' state as required by exhaustion of resources. Generally you need only 'Force Quit' an app if it's misbehaving (I.e. GUI not responding or in a state where the app is running but not useable).
In regards to a leak in BG:EE, I had a quick look through the crash logs on my device and all are EXC_BAD_ACCESS exceptions, suggesting accessing an invalid memory location (dangling pointer, memory corruption, over zealous releasing of objects still in use, etc.). Normally you'd get 'Low Memory Warning' as the crash source if the app failed to cleanup sufficient memory after being given a warning by iOS, which would point more towards a leak.
I'm not saying there isn't a leak, just that for me the app appears to be crashing for other reasons.
There seems to be a memory leak in BGEE that's causing it to use more and more memory the longer it runs, thus eventually hitting maximum allowed (or available) and crashing to dashboard.
You don't need to do anything, the OS will do it itself.
That's correct, iOS will clean up after itself terminating old apps currently in a 'Backgrounded' state as required by exhaustion of resources. Generally you need only 'Force Quit' an app if it's misbehaving (I.e. GUI not responding or in a state where the app is running but not useable).
In regards to a leak in BG:EE, I had a quick look through the crash logs on my device and all are EXC_BAD_ACCESS exceptions, suggesting accessing an invalid memory location (dangling pointer, memory corruption, over zealous releasing of objects still in use, etc.). Normally you'd get 'Low Memory Warning' as the crash source if the app failed to cleanup sufficient memory after being given a warning by iOS, which would point more towards a leak.
I'm not saying there isn't a leak, just that for me the app appears to be crashing for other reasons.
That could very well be true I didn't really check what's happening during a crash, just commented on what it looks like for me. I'm sure the devs got to the bottom of it already and a proper fix will be included in the first update.
So, from this tweet, it seems an iPad BG:EE update is only as imminent as a Mac launch, or have I read that incorrectly? I was hoping to have an update a bit earlier, but oh well! See:
"@TrentOster: We're planning a more synchronized Mac launch / iPad and PC update to synchronize versions so multiplayer works properly."
Well, perhaps that tweet is a future plan, but I can't imagine them holding back updates of other OSes to wait for the Mac. Now they need to sync up the iPad multiplayer with PC.
Coming Soon! (I'm going to be using that little needle joke for years to come!)
The tweet by Trent does bother me a bit, unless they're sitting right on top of a Mac release right now, in which case I could see the consolidated release.
That said, this all seems a little screwed up to me. There have got to be places where there are problems on the iPad and not on the PC or on the Mac but not on the Android or whatever...keeping these release versions the same and trying to turn out consolidated releases (coordinating with Mac App store, iDevice Store, Android Store, etc.) is going to produce a headache larger than the state of Texas.
I've run into this kind of incompatibility issue before on an open source project I maintain. The trick is to separate the sections of the code that have to be the same for multi-player (i.e. the network code) from the "bug fixes" in the game, and "version" those pieces internally and separately from the actual release version.
This way you can release version 1.3.2 on the PC and 1.2.4 on the iPad, and so long as both pieces are running "network 1.2.0" they can communicate with each other and MP is enabled.
I THINK Trent already said the iPad update was in to Apple for review (can anyone confirm? This would have been a tweet shortly before the app store closed). So at minimum, I would expect one update for the iPad prior to any kind of "consolidated" release table.
He did, but he also tweeted earlier in December that there was an update in to Apple and then I never heard anymore about it, so I'm not holding my breath.
This way you can release version 1.3.2 on the PC and 1.2.4 on the iPad, and so long as both pieces are running "network 1.2.0" they can communicate with each other and MP is enabled.
I'd bet that this not just a code issue but is probably more than likely a data issue. While BG is a client/server game there is likely a ton of data on the client that the game needs to be the same to ensure that the client and server stay in lockstep. It's likely that, given when it was developed, the IE wasn't built to elegantly handle cases where the client and server disagree due to data mismatches and fixing that would probably mean rewriting most of the engine :P
Well, this is what I get for being the fool and buying an app on Day One that had trouble passing early Apple inspections. I'm double the fool for also buying the two character add-ons which merely provide further buggy dialogue which renders the experience complete sh*t. Oh yeah, and forget about casting spells. Those will render the game unplayable.
Not to be the negative Nancy, but for $10+ I expected more. I'm quickly losing faith in this dev team. They can't even push a bloody patch out. Uninstall incoming. Guess it's back to Bastion.
@Reignmaker Fair enough. Sentiment duly noted. Personally, I'm quite happy to see BG on the iPad and consider my £7 (+£4) to be like a Kickstarter donation that I can actually enjoy the benefit of straight away. A small team could not have counted on every eventuality and while in a perfect world, we would have a perfectly polished product on day one, we have to think about perspective sometimes. There are worse things in life than paying $10 and getting laggy spells. Back in the 90s (and even today), many 1.0 releases were riddled with bugs. The dev teams don't wave a magic wand and give you an update. If it's a problem, ask for your money back from Apple. They sometimes honour those requests.
@Reignmaker Personally, I'm quite happy to see BG on the iPad and consider my £7 (+£4) to be like a Kickstarter donation that I can actually enjoy the benefit of straight away.
Those are my thoughts as well. I've been waiting forever for a good RPG on the iPad... And here we are, with one of the greatest RPGs of all time right at the tips of our fingers. That feeling alone is worth it.
Well, this is what I get for being the fool and buying an app on Day One that had trouble passing early Apple inspections. I'm double the fool for also buying the two character add-ons which merely provide further buggy dialogue which renders the experience complete sh*t. Oh yeah, and forget about casting spells. Those will render the game unplayable.
Not to be the negative Nancy, but for $10+ I expected more. I'm quickly losing faith in this dev team. They can't even push a bloody patch out. Uninstall incoming. Guess it's back to Bastion.
I'm with you, I didn't pay to be a beta tester. I haven't really touched the game since downloading on day one., I'm waiting for the big patch. I have sympathy of the limited funds and resources of the dev team, but the amount of bugs in the 1.0 release is inexcusable, regardless of apples App Store approval process.
When BG2 ee is released i will be sure to ignore it until it is patched up.
For comparison, I'm a big Pinball Arcade fan, they made their Christmas release of the Star Trek TNG and twilight zone tables ( I didn't partake in the kick starter though), and they are very receptive to their audience. I've spent over $30 buying up all their tables in DLC. I'm sure many lessons have been learned by beamdog for the next round.
This way you can release version 1.3.2 on the PC and 1.2.4 on the iPad, and so long as both pieces are running "network 1.2.0" they can communicate with each other and MP is enabled.
I'd bet that this not just a code issue but is probably more than likely a data issue. While BG is a client/server game there is likely a ton of data on the client that the game needs to be the same to ensure that the client and server stay in lockstep. It's likely that, given when it was developed, the IE wasn't built to elegantly handle cases where the client and server disagree due to data mismatches and fixing that would probably mean rewriting most of the engine :P
Yeah, while it was fun to play multiplayer BG back in the day, it was hardly the polished and smooth experience we've all come to expect in modern games.
What are these game breaking bugs that people are experiencing? I've read some of the threads, and I've seen AoE slowdown, but I would hardly call the issues rendering the game unplayable.
That being said, I eagerly await the patch. Any word Trent?
The patch we are waiting on for the iPad is the one that the PC got weeks back. Supposedly that's already been submitted to Apple & it's going through the standard approval/release process.
If Trent is talking about a synchronised Mac/iPad/PC release it will hopefully be the next round of patching after that.
And despite a few frustrations iPad version is perfectly playable for me. I'm nearing the end of my first run through and will have a kick ass (or bite ass seeing as it's a werewolf) druid ready to take through to BG2EE.
The end result is that people are complaining that they bought a game and it doesn't work as well as they feel it should. I have a hard time arguing this because "should" is a personal opinion.
I work in the software industry (or have in the past) and have friends who develop everything from telecommunications systems to video games to just about anything else you could imagine. To a person, they'd tell you there's never a perfect piece of software. I'm one of those people that believe if an application boots and functions to the point where I can work with it till it gets done what I want it to get done, then it's usable and worth the money I've paid for it. I guarantee to you that you can beat the iPad version of BG:EE. Maybe not at one sitting because it crashes on you, maybe not by using the spell or effect you want to use, but beating the game is possible. Experiencing the game, front to back start to finish IS possible, and to me that makes the game both playable and acceptable.
On the other hand, you have the Angry Birds people out there who want what they got with that app: They download the app, tap it, and play it for hours on end without ever experiencing a problem or bug or issue. If the app crashes, it's broken and it wasn't worth the money they paid for it. There's something to be said for expecting high quality out of what you pay for. I don't walk into a restaurant and expect shitty food and crappy service, why should I pay for an app on the app store and expect a half finished game? As was pointed out to me in another thread (paraphraised): Just because every major game development company in the last 10 years has released half finished software (regularly) doesn't mean we the consumers should accept it...and it's because we the consumers DO accept it that it's released like that.
"Done" and "should" are all relative. I'm not going to change the opinions of the folks who feel this game is a POS just because it's not as smooth as they want it to be, just like they're not going to convince me to delete the app because it's horrible because it crashes periodically or has a doorway or two that you have to hunt for on the screen.
What bothers me is those folks coming to these boards and CONTINUALLY complaining about this being a horrible game. The fact is, it's not. Are there problems? Hell's bell's, I've got a 3 page thread with over 5K reads on it identifying the fact that the game ISN'T PERFECT...do we need more people throwing vitriol here saying how bad the folks that developed it are? There are several threads out there from people saying "I read the boards here and was scared about the app being broken, but I'm glad I bought it...it's been really fun despite what I've read here!"
Many people find this game both playable and enjoyable despite the problems it faces. Everyone who's read anything here should understand a patch is on the way and, if you look at the Windows forum, you'll realize that the patch on the way fixes A LOT OF PROBLEMS with the application, including attempting to fix some of the stated interface problems people are so adamant about.
I predicted it when the game was first released and I'll predict it again, not too far in the future there will come a point where the bugs are patched and the problems are few and far between. Most of those people posting here about how they're uninstalling the game and running away from it because "it sucks!" will have re-bought or re-downloaded the app and will be happily playing the game...having forgotten long before about how much they hated beamdog for breaking their precious.
Go back and play whatever it is you want to play in the mean time and wait a patch or two for the software. It should have been obvious what you were getting into when you saw this being released at version 1.0...I know it was for me.
I think the typical iPad player just forgets that games like this were never designed to work on this OS. It is a port of a very old PC game and there were bound to be unforeseen bugs and issues that would arise. I've never played this game on PC and to me it runs just fine for the most part. Yes the glitches and issues show but it's nothing that has stopped me from enjoying the game. I'm honestly surprised they even managed to put it on this system and have it run as well as it has. It's quite an accomplishment and I'd rather have it here needing a few fixes than to not have it at all.
@Illydth Well said! BG:EE is by an order of magnitude the most compelling RPG one can install on an iPad. We are in uncharted territories here and the game is nevertheless very enjoyable, its many qualities outweighing its issues.
I personally stopped playing because I read about the cumulative patch for iPad, and it addressing some specifically irritating issues like the loot pick up/door selects etc. That was about a month ago now and I am surprised, and kind of irked, to find no-one really has an inkling if (on one extreme) or when a patch will arrive.
If I knew the devs were abandoning progress on the patch, for the foreseeable future say, to focus on the Mac version, then I might return to the game and struggle through the annoyances but having no sense of what is happening is particularly frustrating - in truth, it is frustrating to the point of losing faith in the team behind the game and the prospects of BG2ee; as a previous poster stated, I also would now be very leery about making a day one purchase of that game, should things move on that way.
I think I read somewhere (and I cannot say where) that the patch has been submitted to Apple, and they are awaiting approval. They definately have publicly stated the patch is in the works. I would imagine there will be at least one more patch after the next one.
Yeah I agree with a lot of you. I'm OK (more or less) with the game as-is, but with Trent (and the other guys) being somewhat open social about the process I find the fact I truly have no idea what's happening kind of strange. If this was EA or something, where our posts seem totally ignored, sure I get it. It doesn't seem to hard to say "hey we're hoping to submit next week" or "we submitted over the holiday, now we're on the App Submission roller coaster". Not that I feel entitled to know, but you gotta be curious since the Devs talk to us.
I'm gonna play the game through again after this run through (I'm near the end, IIRC) just because I was planning on dual classing and it never seemed to work despite what I read. (Beastmaster -> Cleric). Just as an archer I'm kicking some ass, but I don't want to take a leather-clad dink with pet rats into BG2, I want him to be better. Maybe I'll just beat it and start over post-patch since I want to anyways. And because I truly enjoyed playing it again on iPad (despite my intended-to-be-mild complaints).
Comments
You don't need to do anything, the OS will do it itself.
In regards to a leak in BG:EE, I had a quick look through the crash logs on my device and all are EXC_BAD_ACCESS exceptions, suggesting accessing an invalid memory location (dangling pointer, memory corruption, over zealous releasing of objects still in use, etc.). Normally you'd get 'Low Memory Warning' as the crash source if the app failed to cleanup sufficient memory after being given a warning by iOS, which would point more towards a leak.
I'm not saying there isn't a leak, just that for me the app appears to be crashing for other reasons.
"@TrentOster: We're planning a more synchronized Mac launch / iPad and PC update to synchronize versions so multiplayer works properly."
The tweet by Trent does bother me a bit, unless they're sitting right on top of a Mac release right now, in which case I could see the consolidated release.
That said, this all seems a little screwed up to me. There have got to be places where there are problems on the iPad and not on the PC or on the Mac but not on the Android or whatever...keeping these release versions the same and trying to turn out consolidated releases (coordinating with Mac App store, iDevice Store, Android Store, etc.) is going to produce a headache larger than the state of Texas.
I've run into this kind of incompatibility issue before on an open source project I maintain. The trick is to separate the sections of the code that have to be the same for multi-player (i.e. the network code) from the "bug fixes" in the game, and "version" those pieces internally and separately from the actual release version.
This way you can release version 1.3.2 on the PC and 1.2.4 on the iPad, and so long as both pieces are running "network 1.2.0" they can communicate with each other and MP is enabled.
I THINK Trent already said the iPad update was in to Apple for review (can anyone confirm? This would have been a tweet shortly before the app store closed). So at minimum, I would expect one update for the iPad prior to any kind of "consolidated" release table.
Not to be the negative Nancy, but for $10+ I expected more. I'm quickly losing faith in this dev team. They can't even push a bloody patch out. Uninstall incoming. Guess it's back to Bastion.
I'm with you, I didn't pay to be a beta tester. I haven't really touched the game since downloading on day one., I'm waiting for the big patch. I have sympathy of the limited funds and resources of the dev team, but the amount of bugs in the 1.0 release is inexcusable, regardless of apples App Store approval process.
When BG2 ee is released i will be sure to ignore it until it is patched up.
For comparison, I'm a big Pinball Arcade fan, they made their Christmas release of the Star Trek TNG and twilight zone tables ( I didn't partake in the kick starter though), and they are very receptive to their audience. I've spent over $30 buying up all their tables in DLC. I'm sure many lessons have been learned by beamdog for the next round.
That being said, I eagerly await the patch. Any word Trent?
If Trent is talking about a synchronised Mac/iPad/PC release it will hopefully be the next round of patching after that.
And despite a few frustrations iPad version is perfectly playable for me. I'm nearing the end of my first run through and will have a kick ass (or bite ass seeing as it's a werewolf) druid ready to take through to BG2EE.
I work in the software industry (or have in the past) and have friends who develop everything from telecommunications systems to video games to just about anything else you could imagine. To a person, they'd tell you there's never a perfect piece of software. I'm one of those people that believe if an application boots and functions to the point where I can work with it till it gets done what I want it to get done, then it's usable and worth the money I've paid for it. I guarantee to you that you can beat the iPad version of BG:EE. Maybe not at one sitting because it crashes on you, maybe not by using the spell or effect you want to use, but beating the game is possible. Experiencing the game, front to back start to finish IS possible, and to me that makes the game both playable and acceptable.
On the other hand, you have the Angry Birds people out there who want what they got with that app: They download the app, tap it, and play it for hours on end without ever experiencing a problem or bug or issue. If the app crashes, it's broken and it wasn't worth the money they paid for it. There's something to be said for expecting high quality out of what you pay for. I don't walk into a restaurant and expect shitty food and crappy service, why should I pay for an app on the app store and expect a half finished game? As was pointed out to me in another thread (paraphraised): Just because every major game development company in the last 10 years has released half finished software (regularly) doesn't mean we the consumers should accept it...and it's because we the consumers DO accept it that it's released like that.
"Done" and "should" are all relative. I'm not going to change the opinions of the folks who feel this game is a POS just because it's not as smooth as they want it to be, just like they're not going to convince me to delete the app because it's horrible because it crashes periodically or has a doorway or two that you have to hunt for on the screen.
What bothers me is those folks coming to these boards and CONTINUALLY complaining about this being a horrible game. The fact is, it's not. Are there problems? Hell's bell's, I've got a 3 page thread with over 5K reads on it identifying the fact that the game ISN'T PERFECT...do we need more people throwing vitriol here saying how bad the folks that developed it are? There are several threads out there from people saying "I read the boards here and was scared about the app being broken, but I'm glad I bought it...it's been really fun despite what I've read here!"
Many people find this game both playable and enjoyable despite the problems it faces. Everyone who's read anything here should understand a patch is on the way and, if you look at the Windows forum, you'll realize that the patch on the way fixes A LOT OF PROBLEMS with the application, including attempting to fix some of the stated interface problems people are so adamant about.
I predicted it when the game was first released and I'll predict it again, not too far in the future there will come a point where the bugs are patched and the problems are few and far between. Most of those people posting here about how they're uninstalling the game and running away from it because "it sucks!" will have re-bought or re-downloaded the app and will be happily playing the game...having forgotten long before about how much they hated beamdog for breaking their precious.
Go back and play whatever it is you want to play in the mean time and wait a patch or two for the software. It should have been obvious what you were getting into when you saw this being released at version 1.0...I know it was for me.
If I knew the devs were abandoning progress on the patch, for the foreseeable future say, to focus on the Mac version, then I might return to the game and struggle through the annoyances but having no sense of what is happening is particularly frustrating - in truth, it is frustrating to the point of losing faith in the team behind the game and the prospects of BG2ee; as a previous poster stated, I also would now be very leery about making a day one purchase of that game, should things move on that way.
I'm gonna play the game through again after this run through (I'm near the end, IIRC) just because I was planning on dual classing and it never seemed to work despite what I read. (Beastmaster -> Cleric). Just as an archer I'm kicking some ass, but I don't want to take a leather-clad dink with pet rats into BG2, I want him to be better. Maybe I'll just beat it and start over post-patch since I want to anyways. And because I truly enjoyed playing it again on iPad (despite my intended-to-be-mild complaints).