Hex 2.0.0
This morning Hex 2.0.0 more or less automatically got released on iOS, Android and Web at the same time. While not the biggest update from a user perspective, it’s a huge technical update - completely replacing the technology stack on Mobile from Cordova to inhouse tech.
New features
- The game now saves your game between sessions.
- You can now disable fullscreen ads on mobile with an in-app purchase.
- The game now has a tutorial for new users.
Tweaks
- The game now starts out easier and becomes slightly harder as your score increases.
- The game now takes up more of the available screen area.
- The game is now easier to play one handed on large phones.
Many bugs have been fixed including
- Fixed bug where game over would not always be detected.
- Fixed bug where you could sometimes clone a brick.
- The game now uses 20%-50% less CPU while game is running.
iOS specific
- Now with GameCenter integration - Compete with your friends!
- You can now listen to your own music and audiobooks while playing.
Android specific
- The game now runs on pretty much any device without lag or other issues. (This one was really hard)
As something new, I set myself a specific release date with the goal of being able to better prepare marketing and distribution. This had the side effect of a few features being cut from 2.0.0. Most noticeable:
- Highscores on Web
- Google Play highscores on Android
- Integration with Chinese social networks.
As the new version is now live, I will spend the next few days focused on getting as much traffic to the new version as possible, while adding the features that I missed on in the 2.0.0 release. Here is a quick overview of analytics before I start.
Compared to the previous update on stats, the growth has tapered off and the game is slowly flatlining / decreasing in size. This behaviour is quite diffrent from my experience with Solitaire that slowly grows organically. I believe this is because that while the game is fun and addictive, it’s starts to become really repetitive after about 20 days. Therefore, when I am done with this release, my focus will be on increasing the engagement with longterm goals and achievements in version 3.0.0.