MMC Dev Notes: From the Trenches (July 22, 2022) v0.9.0 Purchasing System Release Update, Early August Skeleton Crew, Reporting Bad Ads, The Public Beta Battle Plan (what's left to do) and Any other side thought had while writing this...

[Mini Militia Classic Alpha Force]

WHEN IS THE NEXT RELEASE?

We have some good news and some bad news... The good news is we can estimate and predict the next release date! (To the week anyway.) The bad news is it's looking like 3.5 weeks from today. The next release will be mid to late August when v0.9.0 drops (the first release to support any kind of purchasing). Even though we are super close, our internal schedule isn't supporting a release. For example, If we were releasing today and something broke the issue would likely NOT get LOOKED at for possibly nearly three weeks then a few more hours/days to fix it if required both devs to be present at the same time. The app would stay broken until we were both around to support it. It makes a lot of operational sense to not be dumb and release for the sake of releasing when the devs won't be in a place to support the release the day after its out.

We were shooting for this week, Monday, and got to the day and the builds weren't just found to not be ready enough (that happens... a lot.) Given that us devs won't be in the same place at the same time the big brain unfun move here is to wait for us to be. This is the path of least future resistance on all fronts even though it sucks at the moment. We will get further by the end of August by waiting then rushing this out unsupported and wasting everyone's time and goodwill. We think that is the best path for the moment. The only good thing is the release is nearly ready to go and it just needs people in the right place at the right time. In the meantime work will continue progressing (and this progress is likely to alter the release details slightly and we'll highlight that later if that's the case. Especially around purchase item options and prices, etc. I could spend a whole email on just that. Maybe I will... that's a threat... or a promise... to the three people that actually attempt to read every word of these wordy updates. The more wordy and rushed the less edited... like this one...)

The Skeletal Crew leading into the first half of August:
We will be slow(er) to respond the first part of August. As mentioned, there are times neither of us will be available to work on the release prep either, if at all, on many of the days, and this includes several of the volunteers supporting us (e.g., the comms officer will be away too.) So we are going to be very much a skeletal crew for many parts of the next several weeks through and into the first weeks of August. So... try not to blow anything up while we're gone... ;P 

Hunter 's Thought Insert - Last year we predicted we'd be in a WAY different operational place than we are now, so we told our families we'd take care of all these things we're doing right now in August of 2022. I suppose our families have been taking the hit month after month for the last 1.8 years... so we probably owe them more than just a few moments of our attention, but we promised them times would be better after we go public. Well a few months later after releasing... right... it's just gonna get better for us right? (well if things go REALLY well we will probably have even more operations work to do. A good problem to have... for the game, not our families.) The bottom line is, they miss us and we're gonna make some of this up to them in the next couple weeks.

Apple iOS release and v0.8.5

A new Apple iOS version for TestFlight was posted last week. THERE ARE NO CODE CHANGES in v0.8.5. This is just v0.8.3 repackaged as v0.8.5. Apple pulled the app on TestFlight and notified us that to keep the app in TestFlight it needs to be updated every 90 days. As some of you have found out, we have hit that deadline and were not in a good position to pivot and solve that until later that day. It usually doesn't take 90 days to do a release so we never worry about tracking that. Apple users should have gotten an email directly so they can play again. Once again I state: The only difference is the version number. We don't plan on this one running out before v0.9.0 drops, but let's not jinx ourselves by being overconfident and leave it at that.

PURCHASING PASSES (v0.9.0's primary feature)
Work on the new purchasing system is wrapping up. The first level of passes being offered will have very limited features so we can test the system overall. The items offered are there to validate we can successfully process the different purchasing types and unlock the necessary features. There are a lot of moving parts that can go wrong so we want to take this slow. We're still figuring this out, but here is what we know about the purchasing options.

Tier 1 Pass includes:
- Remove non-optional ads (no ads between games, banners, and no ads to do saves). You will still be able to watch ads to earn tokens.

- Enable a "call sign" (your profile's unique name) that will override the current avatar name when being displayed anywhere (the avatar name is still there, there is a setting you will turn on and off to enable this.) The unique call sign will be highlighted (the design has not yet been determined).

- (Temporary feature for testing*) Removes the cost of tokens for starting a custom ranked game.

How much will passes cost?

For the initial release we will set the price as low as Google will allow. Likely to be one day in length for testing them expiring as well, That price is temporary and we will adjust the price as deemed necessary with every release and update, ultimately getting to what we hope is the final cost of the one month pass. We need/want lots of transactions to test that the system is working. So we want to keep the initial barrier to entry as low as possible.

What pass periods will be available?

Eventually the passes will be offered for day, month and year. For testing purposes, we will Initially set the periods to be very short (day/week/month). Probably in that order, but no promises there either.

Bag of Tokens includes:

- A small bag of tokens will be available for purchase. The exact amount is unknown but we think it will be something small.

How much will the bag cost?

We are still trying to determine what that cost should be. There will be a limit on how many bags can be purchased per day most likely. The cost will also reflect a small amount. There is not a lot to spend tokens on yet (that's coming...) More of these plans will become more clear as we approach the release.

And time to think about it may lead us down another pay in the next coming weeks too! NOTHING IS FINAL... not even once we release it for testing... 

Special Notes:
Call Sign - Players will be able to register a unique name for their account. The name will override the display of your currently selected avatar's name. The rules about what words and characters are allowed are still being defined. The reserved call sign is a tier 1 pass feature and would typically expire when the premium pass expires (we will talk about grace periods later.) However, to give Alpha players an advantage, the reserved call signs will not expire while we are still in Alpha (even though it says it does.) Your name will be locked in until just after the PUBLIC Beta version of the game goes truly public. iOS players will be able to get a callsign set even though purchasing is still weird for them still (see next section). We also need to be prepared for a wipe if something catastrophic is wrong and needs to be redone and that proves to be the quickest solution.

NOTE: You can still have an Avatar with any name... even someone's call sign, but it won't be highlighted. it won't be special. Your GID will NOT change (this is that 8+ alphanumeric string of characters you see in your profile and next to your name) you can't run from that unless you get another account.

iOS vs Android - Apple has different rules about accepting real money for purchases while the app isn't fully released. This means that some of the new purchasing features will be altered or disabled for iOS users. We do, however, plan to make sure the unique call sign feature is available to all players (iOS included) in the alpha.

ADS - DISPLAY & REPORTING

We understand that experiencing ads can be a bit annoying. Right now ads are the only way we have to cover the costs of our servers. You can use tokens to suppress ads for 15 minutes and we are currently working on an in-app purchasing system that will allow you to remove ads.

Of the ads being displayed, we are getting some reports of content issues and the close button not working. We need people to report these ads to us and we will send that feedback to AppLovin (our current ad network).

How to Report an Ad
1) Take a screenshot of the ad you are having trouble with.
2) Use the report function of the ad network to send a report. Some ad networks offer a report button (. . .) so you can mark an ad as inappropriate. That is not always offered. Another option is to flip the phone over twice. This will make the report button (a triangle) appear on the screen. Video to show how: https://vimeo.com/522573918/65f4c62eaa?embedded=true&source=video_title&owner=22765024
3) Follow the instructions on the screen. Explain in detail what the problem is with the ad. If the ad is displaying offensive content, please include the country you are located.
4) If an email address isn't already loaded into the report, attach the screenshot and send the report to adfeedback [at] appsomniacs [dot] com.

Note: Ad networks pull user information from your device. Who the device is registered to will impact the types of ads you see. If your device is registered to a 40 year old woman, the ads will be catered to her. Which is different from someone under the age of 18.

We need people to report problems to us so we can send that feedback off to the ad network. They need to incorporate the cultural norms for certain regions of the world.

We haven't had a lot of experience with AppLovin as a primary provider of interstitials so we're learning alongside everyone else. Help us get rid of these crappy ads. In the future we will provide surveys to include the youngest age of users of the device and other details that an ad network can use for better targeting but that's a thing that will happen much later. Probably near or after a v1.0 release.

MOVING TO BETA 0?

Getting the purchasing system released for players to test is a major task that needs to be completed. After that release appears to be stable, we have a few more tasks that need to be finished. We also need to decide if we will use the "pre-registration" process the Google Play Store makes available. We will make that decision when we get closer.

- Stabilize/Restore the Cv4 META (still to be defined and we're only gonna get close in beta 0, not perfect, but it should dial in better.)

- Continue to expand purchasing (gifting passes, automatic renewal, adding higher tiers** )

- Prepare the game servers in multiple regions
- Current release crashes fixed (always on-going)
- Add scaling to auto create/spin down/delete/quarantine servers
- Adjust user XP rank level requirements? (being considered, i.e., faster leveling.)
- Merge Alpha players into a new system (this will mostly be making sure alpha players are specially denoted with being alpha players later.)
- Review new/veteran player experiences (setting up the best environments for play and retention we can for each of these groups!)
- Logged in vs not logged in (i.e., limiting what anonymous users can do... users who have not logged in will have few out of game privileges.)
- Legal compliance requirements must be met for public consumption (we have to pass review muster on many more legal points than we used to!)
- Leaderboard performance issues resolved for scaling (Leaderboard broke after a while.. a scaling performance data problem we have to fix!)

**(if features are found to be worth it and able to be added without adding more time.)

We predict that these last BETA 0 items won't take long to achieve. This is our punch list. No other features will be considered unless dire circumstances come to light.

We'll test them as an alpha state, then if good enough, announce the public launch date and get ready to grow over time as we get the word out.
Think about how you can get the word out. Your voices will be critical to our re-acceptance. Thank you for believing in us thus far! We aim to not let you down.

ROADMAP UPDATE

Did you not see something you wanted? Check the roadmap! See if its already part of the plan. If not let us know!
Find the latest roadmap attached and here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1KBRgRIe8z0duhetJY1RHmqu-XL1_HLrX?usp=sharing

Hunter's addendum of completely unedited unreviewed personal words:

Ok you made it this far... >:D My editor really tries to make me get those lines above to be as small and succinct ideas/thoughts as possible... but they cut 'em down and like a stinky healing poultice I pile it up over the cuts as a final healing treatment... and then add more. I add so many more words... :D So don't blame them, blame me. They really try hard. They do. When I write fast I write alot... but I gotta get back to the code!!! It's a tradeoff. I want this in your email first thing in the morning for most of you, for some of us still in Friday's afternoon sun it will be our Friday night, but as usual I digress.

I've probably talked your ear off... Do you like these details? Because I have a TON more of them that could be shared... Do let my comms officer know. ;) Tell Martin that "Hunter said he wanted comms to know if you wanted to hear more details before the release." I will likely have time to write/think a bit. I may not be constantly connected to the internet over the next several weeks for days on end (crazy scary right huh!) I will be able to think a lot about the incoming v0.9.0 changes and our strategies. I may change my mind on a lot of these things if a better idea comes along and murders yesterdays better idea.

Let us know what you'd like to see unlocked in or used by the purchasing system. We've just begun on how we will use this. This is just the beginning of the future...

As always, thank you!

-Hunter

One of those darn tootin' Appsomniacs Devs (the talky one)