Fixed the Flash problems with Blobbit Push, so all levels are now playable! Also added a level skip feature, for dirty cheaters.
You can play it at the Blobbit Web Site, or on Facebook.
Mail me for the level skip code.
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Well it seems the fix to Blobbit Push resolved the problem with Level 36, but another restriction in Flash has prevented the remaining levels from loading properly. Hopefully I’ll fix that within the next two years! There’s been a bug with the Flash version of Blobbit Push, where you couldn’t complete level 36. We’ve known about it (and constantly reminded by irate players) for over two years now, but I’ve finally got around to fixing it. Now, because the flash file has changed, you may find that Flash has decided to ignore your savegame, meaning you’d have to play through all the levels again! So, to avoid any death threats, I’ve put a level skip feature in there – email support@blobbit.com and one of us will let you know how to find it. We’re currently working on iBlobbit – yes, you guessed it, Blobbit for iPhone – as well as new Blobbity goodness on the way, as time allows. You can play Blobbit Push here and there’s an updated Facebook version here. There’s also been an update to Facebook Blobbit Dash, as I’ve fixed the highscore database. Phew! I think I need a lie down…. Wow, two months since my last post! But then I have been a busy bunny. Lots of things I can’t talk about, but one little project I can mention is an adaptation of a friend’s space invaders game for a games exhibition in Liverpool. There’s prizes for the highest scores, so get zapping here and a Facebook version here. Now you can get a taste of it for free: http://bit.ly/1eetWy Finally, after 11 months, the Squeeballs are unleashed! I had great fun making this, and I managed to hit the App Store in time to coincide with the Wii and DS releases.
More screenshots here. Following my last Forex post regarding Fat Ern, I started thinking about how I could make a new robot which would be more cautious, so it wouldn’t need as much margin (“float” money) to ride out bad trades. I’ve been running this new one – “Bertha” – since late July, and on its 50th day of trading it doubled its initial deposit of 1,250 to 2,500 euros. During that time the USD/JPY market was all over the place, but Bertha managed to ride the storm. Besides, it was a good test. So, I’m confident enough to set Bertha loose on a live market, with real money. Other people’s money, of course! I’ve demonstrated the system and the trading history to one investor, and he’s signed up already, so I’m on the look out for more. Email me for details. On Sunday, after spending the weekend earning money for a new kitchen, I posted the following Twitter message, which then appeared on Facebook: “Ikari Warriors now on 3 Sidekick phones. Time for Vindaloo!” A couple of hours later, I received a Facebook message from a colleague, warning me that the publisher is notorious for non payment. On Monday morning, a friend confirmed the warning. Then an email arrived from another developer saying work they’d done had been published, but payment never came. He provided details of yet another company with a similar story. So, from an innocent message on Sunday evening, I cancelled the project Wednesday morning. If it wasn’t for Social Networking, I’d be working this weekend for money that’d never arrive. Luckily I’d only spent a couple of weekends on the project, so better to have found out early on. It just goes to show though how powerful word of mouth is these days. It also shows that, because there’s so many eager and naive developers out there, it’s actually a feasible business model to systematically rip off developers, progressing onto a new developer once the current one gets wise to your actions. It also highlights that, as a developer, you need to be as good at litigation as you are at coding. Developers are typically hobbyists-turned-professionals, so when a client goes bad they don’t know the options open to them. Many typically just quickly get started on another project to cover the shortfall of the bad one. This is what the publisher is counting on – rip them off, because they won’t fight back anyway. In the last 10 years I’ve taken 3 publishers to court and sent a winding up order to a fourth, so I’m no slouch in going after people, and I try and perform due diligence on every client I take on. Plus, there’s the Cheeky Private Forum to check out. But it shows that even with all that, you can still get caught out. Hopefully, with Twitter, Facebook and the like, these sorts of business practices can’t continue. It’ll only take one of these events to happen, and everyone will hear about it. Which is what I’m doing now As we near the end of developing iPhone Squeeballs, the PR machine has kicked in and stuff’s starting to emerge online. Reviews are being prepared, tweaks and polish applied, and the demand for screenshots has begun! I’ve just uploaded them to Facebook – everyone can view them, so take a look! Had a trip into town today, which I try to avoid as much as possible. Not only because it means hauling my arse out of bed at daft o’clock in the morning, but the Corfiots have to play a game called “guess where the police aren’t ticketing today”, as there aren’t any car parks. Well, there are, but they’re usually full, despite it being a Greek’s constitutional right to park where the hell he damn well pleases. Anyway, part of this wonderous adventure was a visit to the British Consulate, to enquire about renewing Dee’s passport. Paranoid as they are, about being blown to pieces by some Hellenic Muslim Extremists, the Consulate is unsignposted, hidden up a set of stairs at the end of a dim alleyway. When you reach it, it’s as if you’ve been magically transported back to England. It’s hard to put into words, but you’re first confronted by a large secure door with a CC camera. You have to press a button and state your business before they’ll even let you in. Once inside, everything reeks Englishness – the pin boards with public service posters attached, the primary-school-height tables and chairs, precisely engineered to make you feel meek and unimportant, the sort you can only find in banks and government buildings. But what tops it off is the counter itself. You see, things are very laid back here – banks don’t have bullet proof glass rising to the ceiling, you can quite easily walk around the back of the tellers and help yourself to cash with glee, but part of Greece’s charm is that people don’t. The tellers often have their kids with them, they happily smoke and drink coffee, and generally things are very friendly (also completely incompetent, but that’s another story). So, back to the Embassy. Bullet proof glass to the ceiling, one of those metal trays for passing documents through, and a microphone and speaker system that ensures that neither of you can understand each other. I asked about the passport, received a bundle of forms, including a sheet for the photographer, specifying exactly how the picture should be taken. I asked where the nearest recommended photographer was. “Oh no, we couldn’t possibly do that – we’re not allowed to recommend anyone”. How typical. | ||||||
