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  • So frustrating! Got rejected because of a sensitive word: DEMO!!!

    Posted on May 1st, 2009 Dr.Watson 98 comments

    I’ve put the following line in the application description when submitting iFighter to Apple:

    The demo version of iFighter has been downloaded more than 1.7 million times and here is the full version everyone is waiting for!

    It got rejected this morning because, apparently, the word “demo” was not allowed in neither the description nor within the application itself. What?! This is so frustrating!

    The line has been removed from the description and a new binary was uploaded again for approval. Now we all have to wait for a few more days. Errrrr…

    Sorry about the delay. It was really unexpected :(

     

    98 responses to “So frustrating! Got rejected because of a sensitive word: DEMO!!!”

    1. argh, this is terrible news. Either way, can’t wait.

    2. Just curious, why are they having developers avoid the word “demo”? How is it different than “lite”?

    3. Unbelievably, and now???

    4. Shoud have read the rules better. Nice numbers…1.7m dl. Oh well what’s a day or two more

    5. oh few more days huh.. well, better luck next time..

    6. Hey what’s few a few more days unless they want to find something wrong with something else….

    7. So this is how deep they bite to put their teeth into for managing people..wow impressive. But it is only couple of days more and a lot of people will support you because you’ve made a great game. The introductory price of .99 is awesome!! Way to go Epicforce!! :)

    8. Thank you for all the support! Much appreciated!

      Fingers crossed!

    9. hey im excited for the full game. I check on here everyday for news. and so do others… i think we deserve a free version of the full game. Dont you think?

    10. As I said, we really appreciated all the support from you guys, so, yes Raafa17, you got yourself a free copy of iFighter if you’re in the States. I’ll send you a promo code once it’s available.

      I fact I’ll give all the people in this thread posted BEFORE this message a promo code as well. In addition to that, the FIRST 5 people who post AFTER this one will get a free promo code too (of course, one per person :) so you’re free to post more in this thread but you’ll get one code only ;) ).

      Please note that the promo code only works in the US App Store. I’ll be sending out the promo code to the email address that was left with each post.

    11. It’s a great game. I’ve been waiting for it for some time. (And i could use a promo code).. Thanks. Great job.

    12. Just Downloaded the lite versionl. Good job looking forward to game

    13. We can wait some more days of course. But i’ts hard :-)

    14. Oh sweet! Glad I decided to click the comments! I’ll take a promo code! lol. Thanks man!

    15. Cool, one more promo code to go :) !

    16. Excellent game!
      I can only assume Apple is trying to protect against developers calling apps demo and then charging for it?
      As I’m in UK will gladly pay for this brilliant game!!
      :-)

    17. thanks alot Dr.Watson that is hella awsome and 9 of yall should thnk me LOL. JK …and i am in the USA

      hey Dr.Watson this game was such a good idea. i remember going to the arcades and playing one like this game. this is a much better graphic enhanced game. Good Job

      Dr.Watson could i change the email

    18. Thanks $ark! So we still have one more promo code to give away.

      Sure, raafa17, you can send me your email address:

      support@epicforce.com

    19. Awesome game I have not found anything so intersting in app store………..

    20. yes! i love the game and now i can get it for free. thanks dr. watson

    21. and rafaa17

    22. OK, we’ve got all the winners!

      The following people will get a free promo code when iFighter is available:

      - Andrew
      - Dave
      - Woodpecker
      - Chrome
      - Ascavera
      - halodawn
      - Mark j. Kim
      - raafa17
      - WEEPINGMOON
      - Hayduke
      - Loubers
      - Justin
      - Nittin
      - kin

      Thanks again for dropping in.

    23. Thanks you very much !!
      I very love this game :-)

      In my preceding post I badly wrote my pseudo “loubers = Loubets in fact”, but my email address is correct :)

    24. @Dr.Watson

      THX
      good work
      Many Greetings from Germany!!!!!!

    25. Thank you very much but I have a spanish account so, dr. Watson, please give my code to somebody else.

    26. Great game, I am eagerly waiting for it. Would love to have promo code, but 99c is a great price anyways.

    27. GOOD! Great job!! Wonderful game! I’m excited to full version!
      Every morning I open your site and update the iphone waiting the full version!!!
      would be too much to ask a promotional code for an Italian account?
      thank you so much Dr. Watson!

    28. One of the very few games on Itunes I think is worth paying for. Hope it works out.

    29. That sucks about the rejection! Promo code or not, I just wanted to say I really appreciate what you’ve done with this game and I can’t wait to get the full version. I’ve even been playing the demo well past completion just to up my score. I’ve been a fan of Strikers 1945 and similar games forever, so this is perfect!

    30. Hi Dr, here’s another doc ;-) Kudos! Don’t worry for the waiting. I have been playing with iFighter for several weeks now, and I keep finding it great. I was going to tell you that the bomb button should be in a different place than in rev 2 (it’s easy to bomb inadvertedly), but I see you’ve already fixed it in the final version. Well done!

      The 0.99 tag is perfect. Hope you sell hundreds of thousands, you deserve it.

      Greetings from Spain!

    31. How did you come up with the idea to submit the lite version before the regular version? It is a very unique marketing tool that allows the user to have buy in to the product. Was that the intent?

    32. Wondering how you came up with idea to release lite version before regular version? Very original idea.

    33. Thanks for the promo code!

      Looks like I’m not the only one waiting impatiently for the game :)

    34. Since Chrome has a Spanish account, we’ll give his promo code to a new winner, which is Nishant! Thanks Chrome for letting us know about it.

      [laccio85] Unfortunately the promo code works in the US App Store only. Apple hasn’t put this feature in other App Store yet.

      [brandon] As a small developer like us, we don’t have the budget for “real” promotion. We thought maybe we’d release the lite version first so people have the chance to know about our game. And at the same time, we could also improve the final version based on the feedbacks from the players!

    35. Norcallights

      The wait is KILLING me! I have played the demo (err…. *lite*) level at least 100 times. I hope the full version does at least as well as the lite version. You certainly deserve it.

    36. Great game! But another breaucratic stumbling block! Ouch! Thank you for creating the game. Can wait to see next levels.

    37. Hey Dr. Watson :)

      I do not want a promo code (I live in Europe so it wouldn’t work anyway…) because if I pay for your game you will be able to mke even more great games :) :) :)

      Hope the full version comes out soon!

      Keep the good stuff coming :)

      Take care,

      Alex.

    38. I have played lite so many times…its really good and fun. I always check here for updates and also check the app store for updates.

      Thanks if you have any other promo code left do send..if not no worries i will buy the game.

    39. I love the lite, light, demostation, first round, seedling version so much I would have paid the .99 just for it :)

      Have a blessed week!

      Chris

    40. Is today the day??

    41. Mike Shaffer

      Definitely not mooching a freebie from you guys…heck, I’ll pay double. Great game, having a ton of fun with it, as is my family (trying to pry my phone or my touch from daughters right now). Nicely done!

    42. I have always been a fan of the 194x series and I love how the game is just like it. However I find it annoying that the spread and multi-shot firing upgrades cancel eachother out. It would be cool if you could costomize weapons or have missiles (like in 1943). I think that this would add to your game but I understand if you cannot add this in an update. Also an Internet ranking system would imrove the game. Either way the game is awesome! Congradulations on the great work!

    43. Anxiously awaiting the news that the full version got approved….have played the lite version quite a bit, and I too remember a similar game in the arcades….it was always a favorite!!

      Keeping fingers crossed it will get approved very soon!

    44. Hey dr.Watson do u know by what date full version will be available in app store. This wait is getting longer and longer………. can’t wait to play the full version……

    45. I wish I could tell you exactly when will the full version be available. Unfortunately Apple’s approval process is all behind the curtain. I’m expecting it to be this Thursday or Friday but I can’t guarantee that. I’m impatiently waiting and checking everyday myself too… :(

    46. Bad luck on the “demo” glitch. You’d think Apple would want a game like this to go to the full version as soon as possible… they’re just loosing revenue themselves by holding it back. I’m looking forward to the final release. I love the look of the sneak peek screen shots too. ;) Good work fella’s! :)

    47. Too bad about the rejection. I was wondering why it was taking so long but now I know.

      Hopefully it will be approved soon, looking forward to it. Good job guys!

    48. Dr Watson. Could you you please give us all who are impatiently waiting a few more tidbits about the full version that we can chew on during this last agonizing wait??
      How many new levels will we get? New weapons? New environments? New enemies? New scoring system?
      More screen shots would be great!!
      Impatiently yours…

    49. WOW, THE DEVELOPER ACTUALLY TALKS TO US…. AND GIVES AWAY PROMO CODES! HOW COOL IS THAT?

      Anyway, I’d like to thank you for being attentive to us and say that I am eagerly awaiting the full version, I haven’t bought a game in years and find myself counting days like it was apple hardware or something!

      I was wondering, though, the new version has some classical music running in the background which is louder than the sound effects. Doesn’t work for me.

      I can’t wait for the release date! Love the graphics, speed and looks like some different scenes … I love the idea of fights over the sea!

      You guys rock.

    50. The demo is the still my fav game ever on iPhone, so I can wait, and I will be buying the full version immediately upon release.

    51. Just downloaded the latest update to the lite version and I’m not exactly thrilled.

      I think you guys are starting to mess too much with the winning formula. I could do without the new background music. I’m not a big fan of some of the little tweaks that seem to be intended to make it easier. Now the “little buddies” can pick up stars? An added bullet stream to the basic plane? The first “V-Bullet” stream has a center shot now too? Increasing the pace of the screen scroll?

      It’s cool to fix some of the bugs, and it was great to add the easy and normal levels for those folks that found it too challenging, but now things are starting to morph too much. I like the sound effects, and the bug fixes, but the very first version of iFighter lite was the one I enjoyed playing the most. It was the perfect difficulty level with the right pacing, and had a good mix of enemies and bonus items to pick up along the way.

    52. Can’t wait for the full version. Maybe an update should add a bonus level with the dreaded “D.E.M.O.” boss.

    53. when will full version be released? it will top the charts.

    54. Love this game!!! Good job!

    55. Damn it!, i wish i could have spotted the discussion thread earlier. I’ve been checking and checking the app store none stop 15 times a day since last friday!! Great demo. I cant remeber how many times i’ve played it. It’s just right. Simple and straight forward.

      Anyways, it would’ve been nice to also get a free promote code.

      Great job Dr.

    56. My apologies again for the long wait. I love and hate Apple at the same time. I praise them for the App Store but the approval process really driving me nuts. It’s not the first time for a rejection so we have been extremely careful already. I guess I can’t blame Apple because hundreds of applications rushing into App Store everyday. We spent 6 months on iFighter and it has to go through the same approval process with apps that are done in one day :( !

      Anyway, we are always listening and trying to make iFighter a good game for everyone. Jason, yes, we’ve made the first level easier but the other levels are not. We planned this way so that the difficulty levels increase as the player move on to the next stage. Please try the full version and if you think all the levels are too easy, we’ll address the issue, at least with “Normal” and “Hard”, in the updates.

      There’s a volume control in the Settings screen. Also, if the music volume has been turned to 0, you can listen to your own iPod music in the background (need to restart the game after the volume change).

    57. All Hail Dr. Watson!

    58. Love this game!!! I especially like that fact that you can change the controls based upon preference. I love the joystick option myself.

      Dr. Watson… kudos to you and your team for putting out one of the best games for the iPod Touch/iPhone to date. Can’t wait for the full version.

    59. This game is insanely beast! I have been waiting for about 3 weeks since I downloaded this game. I remember when this game barely came out and I downloaded quickly…however…the full version is killing me!! I check everyday for the full version and nothing…I come to the website to check out news about the game and nothing!!! Aaaggghhhh!!!!

      but great job guys!!! thank you!!

    60. hie everybody!
      this is the magical aspect of Iphone and Internet that even in a small french island lost in the south pacific, people like me are waiting for iflight!

      for me it is lite version is the best games on Iphone till today. i really hope the final release will be as wondefull.

      Thank you the dev team for the pleasure you all giv us, and long life!

      from a pal in new caledonia!

    61. Damn!

      Enough wait already…Have numb fingers looking up ifighter on the App store everyday…

      Super Game. Super Graphics. Super Everything!

    62. I do the same ;)

    63. Joseph Kumar

      I can’t wait….pls release the app.I keep visiting your website & the app store every other hour!!!
      Speak to someone at Apple.

    64. ok… I’m not sure if anyone else is experiencing this bug with the latest update with iFighter, but for some reason, my high scores only update in the “Hard” levels and not in the normal or easy ones. It recorded one score on easy and then just stopped posting high scores. It just won’t record a score on normal. I’ve exited the app and tried it a couple different times with no luck.

      Oh btw, Thanks Dr Watson for the tip about the music. I much prefer listening to my own music, but I find there are a couple of weird things going on.

      1) The processor on the iphone must be maxed out when listening to my own music and playing the game, cause now the game hesitates and pauses.
      2) No matter what I do, I can barely hear the sound effects when playing with my own ipod music, even if I don’t have the volume on my music up very loud and I have the sound effects cranked.

      Speaking of sound effects. I notice that they don’t always match up with the rate that I’m firing bullets at. I like to play with auto fire, and when I tap the screen to accelerate them, I used to hear increased “hit” effects when shooting enemies. Now the “hits” don’t sync up anymore.

      Seems like a few bugs were introduced in the last update. :( Maybe I’m the only one experiencing issues. I must remember to make a back up of the ipa file on the versions that I really like. ;)

    65. Just spent some time with the update and, well, I don’t need a promo code cause I’m more than happy to give you my $1! You’ve earned it!

      I’ve been looking for a good 194x game and this *seriously* beats all the others. C’mon stupid App Store policies, approve it already :)

      Btw, I’ve notified a couple of iPhone sites that I frequent about this silly delay. Hopefully it will let people know that the game is coming & get you more publicity?! (Hope you don’t mind.)

    66. Great great game, when I was a child I was dreaming to became a ace of airfight. Yip yip yip hurra it’s done I’ll be your nightmare. Congratulations !!!

    67. I can´t wait anymore, still looking several times a day on your website with the hope, that the full version is available…

      Hope, it´s available in a few hours… :-)

      “Apple”, you have to see these comments, then you´ll hurry up, to aprove it.

      I´m happy to pay 1€ or more to get this game, cause I´ve already bought some games, that are no good … for rubbish, but this game is really ingenious. You did a good job, and I hope you´ll develope this game further, and I think, everyone will pay a few € or $ to play it, when the levels of the first full version are done.

      Awaiting eagerly the full version, I´ll go to bed now, to look tomorrow morning about the results of aproving by apple…

      @ Developer: You did a very, very, very good job, please stay tuned to develope next version, although I´ve never seen first one.

      BR
      Peter

    68. The wait is killing me as well. I’ve always loved the 194x’s and R-type games and I can’t wait for this one. I’ve been checking your site aleast twice a day for any news regarding the full version release and would happily pay over £5 for this game. I can’t remember the last time felt this way about a game release. Come on Apple pull your finger out and get this game out there.

    69. I am chomping at the bit!!!…thank you very much for the free app!!!…I would clear my entire app library for this one app…serious business!!!

    70. Thank you everyone for your support. It’s very encouraging! We’re thrilled to see so many people visiting here and supporting us.

      @ Jason: Can you please give us some details of your device? Is it an iPhone or iPod Touch and which OS version? We didn’t experience the sound related bugs here but I’ll double check.

      @ tosui: Thank you so much for telling other people about the delay. Much appreciated!

      @ Peter: Yes, we’ll keep improving iFighter through updates, for example, we’re working on a global high score system at the moment and I’m sure we’ll put that in for iFighter in the very near future.

    71. As I play another lite game and check for the full version…. I’ll have to do it again tomorrow! Apple is killing me!!! Thanks I cannot wait!

    72. @Dr.Watson

      Sure, my device is an iPhone 3G. version 2.21 (5H11) Model: MB631C.

      Hope that helps! :)

      J

    73. Just an aside about the high scores….

      It stopped recording High Scores in the Hard level as well, but for some reason, only if it’s over 400 000. I still had a few spots open out of the 20 available, and so i tried getting a lower score. I was able to post a couple of 20,000 and below, just not over 400 000.

    74. Here is just my little advise for the game.

      I used to beat 1943, 1943Kai, and Raiden with 1 coin in the arcade ages ago =), One of the reason that makes these game unique to me are the easter eggs they are hidding in the game. Specially in 1943, those bamboo shoots under the clouds, and the lucky cat that gave u the laser beam… etc I think it would be a bonus if you add some hidden items in the game.

    75. @ Jason: Thanks for the info! We have an iPhone 3G but with different OS on. We will try with 2.2.1 for the sound issue. We may have a bug with the high score code. I fixed it once with the full version and maybe I forgot to put it in for the lite. :( I’ll check it out!

    76. @Dr.Watson

      Thanks for the feedback. :)

    77. tic….toc….tic…..toc…..I check the apple store and nothing!!!!!

    78. Lite is a great game. I am sure going to enjoy playing the full version. I will be paying attention today and tomorrow for its release.
      Thanks for putting this game together.

    79. Bummer. But its definately worth waiting for.

    80. thursday may 9 and nothing still

    81. my bad got ahead of myself may 7 LOL

    82. Still no news!

      The wait is killing us too. This is really getting on my nerves.

      Come on Apple, it’s just a harmless little game…

    83. Let’s cross our fingers for tomorrow!

    84. Can’t wait to check tomorrow morning. I don’t have the patience for this

    85. I’m running out of anxiety medicine…apple needs to hurry it up…Christmas will be here before you know it…

    86. Still one more day with no release and I don’t care! The demo (oh wait that’s a bad word these days isn’t it) the light version is still fun no matter how many times I play it. Dr. Watson and Friends thank you for an amazing fun game. And App Store Approval people /rude

    87. Just the kind of game I’ve been looking for it’s a brilliant arcade style shootem up.

      Keep up the good work Dr Watson!

    88. iFighter Lite is the BEST game I’ve played on iPod Touch yet! Like everyone else on this list, I check for the full version every day–sometimes many times a day.
      I will NOT buy anything else from iTunes–no music, no books, no podcasts, nothing–until after I have purchased the full version of iFighter!

    89. Maybe they sent your approval to Trent Reznor by mistake…

    90. The Lite version is great! The most fun I’ve had since P-47 came out couple of decades ago :)

      Can’t wait for the full version, thanks for all your hard work!

    91. Hi,
      This is the best game on the iPhone, period.

      I would like to say, though, I hope the final version brings more weapon/plane types than just this level! We have all been waiting soooo long, I want to see something with a bit more BANG to it!

      Thanks,
      Jeff

    92. HA! Good one Marc, I was thinking the same thing.

    93. This wait has been far too long…any update as of today, May 8th? Thanks for the hard work on the game, I love it. I got in trouble with my wife on my honeymoon I was playing it so much. Can’t wait for apple to get their act together so I can donate my $1 to y’all.

    94. All the promo codes have been sent out. If you are on the winners list and didn’t receive the code or having problems with the code, please let me know!

      Thanks again for patiently waiting for the full version!

      Have fun!

    95. Hi there I have not received my promo code…if it’s been sent to my email address I haven’t seen it…

    96. @halodawn: I’ve sent it again to “halo______@yahoo.com” again. Hope you can receive it this time. Cheers!

    97. Hi dr. I did not get the promo code but that’s ok…I would pay anything for this game so I will go ahead and purchase it…thank you very much for an exciting game!!!!

    98. @halodawn: thank you! Not sure why… maybe it’s in the SPAM box?

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