iOS device support?

[subtledoctor]

Anyone with a connect at Beamdog know/can find out whether the 2.6 patch does/will support all iOS devices? I’m curious about the new iPad Mini, it looks super slick but I hear it has a somewhat weird resolution...

[StummvonBordwehr]

Hi Subtledoctor

I have tried posting the question on the Beamdog Forum:

https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/1178192/#Comment_1178192

The official answer so far on the iOS version topic has been: “we are working on the Android versions, and will work on the iOS versions after that - and can’t answer you questions before then”.

The current pecking order seems to be

1) cpu/Mac (in Beta?)

2) Android (Beta)

3) iOS (not worked on)

4) Consoles

ps. You might check the link to see if I got your question right.

[subtledoctor]

So ridiculous. Beamdog's entire PR strategy stems from a condition of abject terror. They have no confidence that they will actually get these updates done. What an amateur outfit.  Like, "is your iOS app going to work on iPads?" is not asking for trade secrets. They do not need to freeze up and scream "no comment" in response to that question.

They have this obsession with doing massive, rare updates. LIke you used to be able to mod IWDEE on iOS. You just zip your override folder, rename the extension from ".zip" to ".iwdoverride" and then ship the file over to the iDevice. Boom, modded game. But in the 2.5 update Beamdog somehow turned off that OS file-extension-handling hook. So now you can't mod IWDEE. The fix is the easiest thing in the world - they don't have to change the app at all, just ship the same v2.5 app with fixed OS-level file-handling hooks. But instead they say they must wait until the 2.6 patch drops. So it's a 2-year wait, and the patch itself is so massive that it will inevitably create whole new bugs, which will take two years to patch out. And now they are close to finally doing it, and they can't even tell people what hardware it will run on. I mean, it's not a huge range of hardware to worry about, it's Apple's walled garden, it is a very limited range. And after all that, if and when this patch finally drops (looking like the 2 year wait is going to turn into a 3 year wait), I bet you they forget to fix the file-handling hooks. You just wait and see.

[StummvonBordwehr]

We can agree that the IWD situation is super annoying - and I actually did put up an “agree” on one of your post on that topic back in the days (when the posts existed that is).

I have asked about the time frame a couple of times, but they sure are tight lipped…

The file handling hooks will be a major issue if not fixed. Luke and I will probably be one of the first asked to do the Beta testing, and I have vowed to file “lack of access to the files” as a bug - and I believe Luke will do the same.

My hope is that the devs will look towards NWN for a solution. The NWN iOS version has more or less free access to the files, so they can be modded in the old fashion manor (no jailbreak). So I am expecting the same treatment for the IE engine games - and will consider less manageable solutions as buggy.

[subtledoctor]

So I just tentatively got an iPad Air 4, the 2020 model with the A14 chip that looks like an 11" iPad Pro with no Face ID. Got a really good deal on it and couldn't resist. This thing is beautiful - the screen is noticeably bigger, but the device is noticeably smaller, than the old-fashioned chin-and-forehead iPads that I'm used to. Holding it in one hand to read ebooks is surprisingly satisfactory. (I was coming from an old iPad Mini, which is actually the rough size and weight of a paperback... this is kind of liek reading a hardcover book.)

I've seen people complain on the Beamdog forum that they never updated the app to work on these 11" Pro/Air screens, and the BG games do run with letterbox black strips on either side - the app only runs in 4:3 aspect ratio, while the iPad Air is more or less 16:9 I think. But, honestly, I don't mind it at all. The game is still big and beautiful, and the touch controls are nice and intuitive, and I can easily play in whatever sporadic bursts I feel like - on the couch, in bed, etc. It's great. Moving from an A7 processor with 1GB RAM to an A14 chip and 4GB RAM is a revelation... although my own mods are still intense enough to cause the occasional ~5-second freeze-up. 

I'm still thinking of sending this back - I have a 30-day return window - and grabbing one of the new iPad Minis. They have a bigger screen than my old Mini but the device itself is even smaller and more pocketable, and they have the new A15 chip. They look tremendous. But... the aspect ratio is very long, almost 2:1 apparently. And while the screen is bigger than the old Mini, it actually has fewer pixels across - 1488, vs. 1536. This is the only iPad in existence right now that has fewer than 1536 pixels across... and given BGEE's very static game resolution, I have no idea if the game will actually run on the new Mini. You ask about device support on the Beamdog forum and their response is "we have no comment on that." Like what the actual fuck? They can't tell customers if the game runs on a major, popular device? That's crazy. Like I say, their communication strategy is based on abject fear. I think the GamerGate/review-bombing nonsense back in 2016 completely destroyed their customer relations.

[StummvonBordwehr]

I am considering an iPad mini as well - or an iPad Air. 

Have been playing the game on iPhones and have just recently tried them out on an iPad; and fortunately the graphics don’t look dated, which was my concern. 

I had shelved the idea about an iPad mini until I saw your post - back to the considerations I guess.

I haven’t received an answer on my post on the forum. I think Julius will try his very best to see if he can get an answer; but they are not overly fond of giving an answer on a topic of which they are not a 100% certain…. It may be gamers gate or something else (the Wizards of the coast). But I have not seen many companies less reluctant to hint or speculate. That’s how it is for now - I will keep you updated if anything happens.