Apparatus is out of beta!

(Archived news article, originally published 19th August 2011 on bithack.se)

We’re happy to announce that Apparatus is finally out of beta.

Many bugs have been fixed since the initial release of the beta version, and even more features have been added.

Since the release of the first beta version, close to 100,000 people have bought the game on Android Market. Each day, there are around 4,000 active users in the community section. In total, 2,000 user-made levels have been uploaded to the community section, which is an impressive amount high above what we expected.

The Apparatus 1.0 update should be available any second now in the Market, depending on where in the world you are located. Please be patient until it arrives.

Below is a list of changes since the last public version (0.9962):

• New object: Rocket engine
• New object: Electricity hub
• New object: Remote switch for batteries and rocket engines
• Undo functionality (20 undo steps)
• Autosave main challenge levels, close the level and come back later to continue where you left off
• When clicking the follow-object button, the game now pauses until you have selected an object
• 10 new background images
• 1 new level
• Elastic ropes are now more FPS independent
• Improvements to controls
• New app icon
• Bugfix: The wooden motor suddenly wasn’t possible to nail to other objects
• Bugfix: Force close occurred in the sandbox if too many objects
• Bugfix: Other rare crashes in sandbox

If you haven’t played the game since the initial beta release, following is an overview of some of the many new features:

• All features listed above
• Community levels can now be browsed on your computer: www.apparatusgame.com
• You can use a QR code scanner to scan the level you want to play
• Improved rendering, better looking objects and shadows
• 7 new levels
• New object: Control panel
• New object: Control panel cables (red)
• New object: Explosive mine
• New object: Interactive red wheel
• New object: Elastic ropes
• New object: Mini batteries
• Autosaving in sandbox (30 second intervals)
• Revamped community section
• Tutorial and help videos (requires internet connection)
• New option menus for tweaking performance and adjusting camera swipe speeds and velocity decay
• Support for controlling built vehicles and other constructions using on-screen buttons and sliders in-game
• Much more!

What the out-of-beta status means

From this point on we will dedicate more time on our upcoming games, but still maintain Apparatus by adding new levels now and then, and fixing possible bugs. We have some new features for Apparatus planned, but since the development will focus mainly on our new games, these features will be rolled out at a relatively slow pace compared to during the beta phase.