MMC Beta Anniversary Announcement (2025)
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Mini Militia Classic Alpha Force
Mar 18, 2025, 4:43:23 PMMar 18
to Mini Militia Classic Alpha Force
Hey all.
This channel is for major announcements right? So here is one. This is a a partial repost of a discord announcement where currently all of the "live" announcements are currently being made there. Do come join us there if you are a discord fan to get the latest info and news. I won't post here often except for major announcements.
I love my alpha force though! That was a long gritty four years we got through. I was glad to serve with you all! Thanks again for helping make the Mini Militia space exist again.
This channel is for major announcements right? So here is one. This is a a partial repost of a discord announcement where currently all of the "live" announcements are currently being made there. Do come join us there if you are a discord fan to get the latest info and news. I won't post here often except for major announcements.
I love my alpha force though! That was a long gritty four years we got through. I was glad to serve with you all! Thanks again for helping make the Mini Militia space exist again.
-Hunter Mayer
Appsomniacs
https://discord.com/channels/413042483660849172/461246804919582720/1351635168779042928
---- Original Post ----
Two announcements! (well... there is more if you read the whole string of announcements...)
Happy Mini Militia Beta Release Anniversary Day!
[DA2 2015 & Classic Open Beta 2024]
*What is it about March that brings out the releases? There is a pattern there...*
Google Play Downloads was officially displaying 10 million downloads (it happened several weeks ago under the hood, and we're already 1/10 of the way to 20 million several weeks later... I will post graphs in a thread on this announcement right after I post this.
Quick stats (more in the thread I will start)
10 million+ downloads
~300k Daily Active Users (DAU; The alpha had 2.5k DAU at its peak!)
Over 2 million Monthly Active Users
We're over 12k concurrently active users (not all are playing online!)
MMC is healthy and growing!
Compared to DA2 in April 2018 had 3.5 million DAU and 22 million MAU this is small time. But DA2 NEVER grew this fast. MMC is growing 1000% faster than DA2 did. There are a lot of factors at play there (we have an audience that used to love us... that helps immensely.. I believe we regain the trust we can deliver a fun space for folks to make their own again (or why bother!).
--------
**What are we working on right now you ask? ;)**
:ios::ios::ios::ios::ios:
This very moment we're both currently dev battling Apple requirements to launch on their App Store platform without TestFlight (i.e., full public accessible release.) We have a preliminary release ready but it won't pass (e.g., we have to remove all the "beta" messaging (no "coming soon" alerts, etc.) This means some things are just getting finished now vs. later (like In App Purchasing which is what we're slapping in right now.) And other things will simply stay hidden or continue to show old/test data like the leaderboards (that's a server problem anyway we simply haven't had time to look at and diagnose fix yet.)
We badly wanted today to be the release announcement of the iOS full release. We have been crunching for months to get here. We're darn close too. We believe this is the last hoop we have to jump through, unless they start digging deeper and something we've done doesn't sit well with them. We expect to appease them soon.
We see no reason to leave early access on Android, but we will do so after the basic systems are nearly self-sustainable (they are not right now. The millions of players over the last year have really shown us where we are strong and where the systems are weakest. It generates a lot of work to follow up on and solve. The game sits as it is while we figure all that out under the hood.
Supporting an indie live game service is hard work! Thank you all for patience while we run around wildly repairing the systems, etc. It is like repairing an airplane while it's in flight... A little scary and if you make the wrong move it all comes crashing down. You can't take the wing off and fix it as quickly as you could on the ground in the hangar (i.e., the early alpha when there were 10k folks clamoring on board for the initial day one sign ups of so many years ago... we were planning for a 100...)
----
**We've had a crazy personal year. A lot has happened that is not advertised wildly.**
A lot of personal business issues (as you get older and families get older more and more of these keep happening.) i.e., personal and family health, family deaths, financial worry, even politics in the wider world. It's all taken time away from hands on the project, as it should. We have to find a healthy pace to achieve our end goals here. Sometimes that requires putting something down and letting it simmer. This has happened for several months this past year. There simply hasn't been anyone at the helm to make things go until those other issues are taken care of. When there is a small team it feels like a larger impact because 50% of the team just isn't there to support and feed momentum. I really have to praise my mods and helpers for being glue in our absence. I'd like to tell you it's gonna be less so this year than not... I don't know if I can say that truthfully our issues keeping us from giving more and more to the project are out of the way. I can say we'll give it what we can within reason, sprinkled with moments of heroic contribution here and there. I am being a realist. We will continue to live and work within our means. It will be a constant stability that we have (it may get boring at times as releases stretch out and game changes are slow to appear... hopefully not as bad as 2013 to 2015 where DA2 didn't have a single update... although I was working on server stability and up time back then... so I guess that counts... it should... it's a large part of why we had as much success in 2015 when it took off, besides having a good game. we had the online support needed to support growth alongside it.) But before I digress further, lets not forget all the good and great stuff that has gotten us to here too (I will leave that as an assignment to the reader to go back and look that up :D It's all there... )
----
**The future looks bright even with the dark challenges ahead.**
Even with the messed up world the plan stands as it was announced recently:
-Android version will have the ability to gain tokens via ad views again *restored*
-Apple Full Release in App Store (its the beta continued... we know that... they just need to accept us as we are...) This includes full ad support including token rewarding (it will say testing at first until AdMob approves. we won't make a dime till after that.) We are also finishing the in app purchase system. (I know none of this is terribly exciting but I'd like to be able to work on Mini Militia FULL TIME again (see below) sooner than later...
-Google AdMob is requiring changes or we get demonetized (kind of important and this was found out last week so it is the new news)
-The next game feature we're working on is custom map loading.
**On the topic of custom maps: **
There will be a lot of trial and error in this space. The map system was never made for this. It has limits. Story Time: We recently created a map to support a new game mode we are planning (working name "Mini Militia Royale" or "Mini Royale" (although that name is used by other games...)) In any case this map needs to be pretty big. The tile system we currently have can't handle it. So that's something we need to upgrade. But that is just one limitation we know of, and when your phone chokes itself out loading big maps... I want you all to know it's a known issue, etc. But there are probably more we don't know about too!
**Deeper on the topic of demonetization (and monetization in general):**
Google has thrown us a requirement that if we don't respond with changes it will demonetize our banner Ads. AdMob does not like the ads drawing over menu titles, etc. Even with the ability to "hide" them after a time. Ok ok.. we'll move the menus around when ads are showing, but just where their ads are showing. the semi-opaque "nag" banner to get rid of ads stays. Menus will still be read, but if you want the full version of the game *ad free* and keep supporting us so we can do more you will have to take one of the actions we support to remove ads however you see fit (*within the bounds of the EULA*) . ;) (*see what I did there...*) For those that let ads run we do THANK YOU. You are single handedly keeping this game open and running. Pass buyers you know the pleasure it brings to just make ALL those ads go away and bring us a large value. We appreciate you and hope to continue to add value to this space. It's always a work in progress around here! We have a LOT of plans and not enough time to try it all at once (not to mention it would just be too much change all of a sudden too imo.) We want to "add" to the game.
Happy Mini Militia Beta Release Anniversary Day!
[DA2 2015 & Classic Open Beta 2024]
*What is it about March that brings out the releases? There is a pattern there...*
Google Play Downloads was officially displaying 10 million downloads (it happened several weeks ago under the hood, and we're already 1/10 of the way to 20 million several weeks later... I will post graphs in a thread on this announcement right after I post this.
Quick stats (more in the thread I will start)
10 million+ downloads
~300k Daily Active Users (DAU; The alpha had 2.5k DAU at its peak!)
Over 2 million Monthly Active Users
We're over 12k concurrently active users (not all are playing online!)
MMC is healthy and growing!
Compared to DA2 in April 2018 had 3.5 million DAU and 22 million MAU this is small time. But DA2 NEVER grew this fast. MMC is growing 1000% faster than DA2 did. There are a lot of factors at play there (we have an audience that used to love us... that helps immensely.. I believe we regain the trust we can deliver a fun space for folks to make their own again (or why bother!).
--------
**What are we working on right now you ask? ;)**
:ios::ios::ios::ios::ios:
This very moment we're both currently dev battling Apple requirements to launch on their App Store platform without TestFlight (i.e., full public accessible release.) We have a preliminary release ready but it won't pass (e.g., we have to remove all the "beta" messaging (no "coming soon" alerts, etc.) This means some things are just getting finished now vs. later (like In App Purchasing which is what we're slapping in right now.) And other things will simply stay hidden or continue to show old/test data like the leaderboards (that's a server problem anyway we simply haven't had time to look at and diagnose fix yet.)
We badly wanted today to be the release announcement of the iOS full release. We have been crunching for months to get here. We're darn close too. We believe this is the last hoop we have to jump through, unless they start digging deeper and something we've done doesn't sit well with them. We expect to appease them soon.
We see no reason to leave early access on Android, but we will do so after the basic systems are nearly self-sustainable (they are not right now. The millions of players over the last year have really shown us where we are strong and where the systems are weakest. It generates a lot of work to follow up on and solve. The game sits as it is while we figure all that out under the hood.
Supporting an indie live game service is hard work! Thank you all for patience while we run around wildly repairing the systems, etc. It is like repairing an airplane while it's in flight... A little scary and if you make the wrong move it all comes crashing down. You can't take the wing off and fix it as quickly as you could on the ground in the hangar (i.e., the early alpha when there were 10k folks clamoring on board for the initial day one sign ups of so many years ago... we were planning for a 100...)
----
**We've had a crazy personal year. A lot has happened that is not advertised wildly.**
A lot of personal business issues (as you get older and families get older more and more of these keep happening.) i.e., personal and family health, family deaths, financial worry, even politics in the wider world. It's all taken time away from hands on the project, as it should. We have to find a healthy pace to achieve our end goals here. Sometimes that requires putting something down and letting it simmer. This has happened for several months this past year. There simply hasn't been anyone at the helm to make things go until those other issues are taken care of. When there is a small team it feels like a larger impact because 50% of the team just isn't there to support and feed momentum. I really have to praise my mods and helpers for being glue in our absence. I'd like to tell you it's gonna be less so this year than not... I don't know if I can say that truthfully our issues keeping us from giving more and more to the project are out of the way. I can say we'll give it what we can within reason, sprinkled with moments of heroic contribution here and there. I am being a realist. We will continue to live and work within our means. It will be a constant stability that we have (it may get boring at times as releases stretch out and game changes are slow to appear... hopefully not as bad as 2013 to 2015 where DA2 didn't have a single update... although I was working on server stability and up time back then... so I guess that counts... it should... it's a large part of why we had as much success in 2015 when it took off, besides having a good game. we had the online support needed to support growth alongside it.) But before I digress further, lets not forget all the good and great stuff that has gotten us to here too (I will leave that as an assignment to the reader to go back and look that up :D It's all there... )
----
**The future looks bright even with the dark challenges ahead.**
Even with the messed up world the plan stands as it was announced recently:
-Android version will have the ability to gain tokens via ad views again *restored*
-Apple Full Release in App Store (its the beta continued... we know that... they just need to accept us as we are...) This includes full ad support including token rewarding (it will say testing at first until AdMob approves. we won't make a dime till after that.) We are also finishing the in app purchase system. (I know none of this is terribly exciting but I'd like to be able to work on Mini Militia FULL TIME again (see below) sooner than later...
-Google AdMob is requiring changes or we get demonetized (kind of important and this was found out last week so it is the new news)
-The next game feature we're working on is custom map loading.
**On the topic of custom maps: **
There will be a lot of trial and error in this space. The map system was never made for this. It has limits. Story Time: We recently created a map to support a new game mode we are planning (working name "Mini Militia Royale" or "Mini Royale" (although that name is used by other games...)) In any case this map needs to be pretty big. The tile system we currently have can't handle it. So that's something we need to upgrade. But that is just one limitation we know of, and when your phone chokes itself out loading big maps... I want you all to know it's a known issue, etc. But there are probably more we don't know about too!
**Deeper on the topic of demonetization (and monetization in general):**
Google has thrown us a requirement that if we don't respond with changes it will demonetize our banner Ads. AdMob does not like the ads drawing over menu titles, etc. Even with the ability to "hide" them after a time. Ok ok.. we'll move the menus around when ads are showing, but just where their ads are showing. the semi-opaque "nag" banner to get rid of ads stays. Menus will still be read, but if you want the full version of the game *ad free* and keep supporting us so we can do more you will have to take one of the actions we support to remove ads however you see fit (*within the bounds of the EULA*) . ;) (*see what I did there...*) For those that let ads run we do THANK YOU. You are single handedly keeping this game open and running. Pass buyers you know the pleasure it brings to just make ALL those ads go away and bring us a large value. We appreciate you and hope to continue to add value to this space. It's always a work in progress around here! We have a LOT of plans and not enough time to try it all at once (not to mention it would just be too much change all of a sudden too imo.) We want to "add" to the game.
**Another Monetization addendum**: We also got dropped by Ironsource (an ad provider) who exclusively provided us with our rewarded videos. After 10+ years of partnership... We still have little to no idea why. The bot email claimed we were being fraudulent... or better said... that our traffic was fraudulent... Modders please don't screw with the ad system; it's critical to us living... Bottom line is I could never get a human to answer. So.. we ditched them. They are out! We will replace what was lost soon :tm:
**Why are we still in beta**
The general consensus in the last year has been the little tweaks we've done under the hood to emulate MMC to be more like v4 is mostly in favor. We home that is not because people don't care anymore. There is still a lot of data to consider. The bug list is large too. BUT the one thing keeping us in beta is there are systems that are simply not prime time yet. Leaderboards, Avatar Store, and our unsavory pass monetization come to mind. Plus the latest anti-cheat system won't go into place (increased auto-banning and attackable surface lockdowns) won't go in till the later beta.
-----
**What is this talk about working on other things **
Go to the discord to read more about this sensitive topic.
The general consensus in the last year has been the little tweaks we've done under the hood to emulate MMC to be more like v4 is mostly in favor. We home that is not because people don't care anymore. There is still a lot of data to consider. The bug list is large too. BUT the one thing keeping us in beta is there are systems that are simply not prime time yet. Leaderboards, Avatar Store, and our unsavory pass monetization come to mind. Plus the latest anti-cheat system won't go into place (increased auto-banning and attackable surface lockdowns) won't go in till the later beta.
-----
**What is this talk about working on other things **
Go to the discord to read more about this sensitive topic.
----
I will post the years data from the Google Play Console app and you can judge our ups and downs. It will be all Android data, because Apple participant users are capped by TestFlight so that data doesn't move the needle more than 1% right now. A public app release will change that. But Apple doesn't support the idea of a "live beta" on their platform. I have to assume it's because they only believe in polished finished apps existing in their store and the idea that a piece of software is not a living growing thing is not part of their ecosystem (I have some opinions in this space... as a worker, a manager, and a user.) But its not a bad place to do business, but we have to "appear" 100% functional when we are beta 85%~90% there, but generally 99% fun anyways.
-Hunter
Appsomniacs
I will post the years data from the Google Play Console app and you can judge our ups and downs. It will be all Android data, because Apple participant users are capped by TestFlight so that data doesn't move the needle more than 1% right now. A public app release will change that. But Apple doesn't support the idea of a "live beta" on their platform. I have to assume it's because they only believe in polished finished apps existing in their store and the idea that a piece of software is not a living growing thing is not part of their ecosystem (I have some opinions in this space... as a worker, a manager, and a user.) But its not a bad place to do business, but we have to "appear" 100% functional when we are beta 85%~90% there, but generally 99% fun anyways.
-Hunter
Appsomniacs
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