Should I release a game that crashes?

Games
#1

I have a finished game that crashes occasionally - either closing the app completely or it hanging.

I have been trying for well over a month to solve the problem and have been unable to even identify the exact cause due to the lack of diagnostic tools (i.e. crash reports cannot be symbolicated). I have posted numerous questions, tried numerous suggestions from the community and have now reached the point where I either need to just release it (knowing it crashes, which seems wrong) or shelve it and give up trying to fix the crash.

If I choose to release it then should I put a comment about stability in the description or just wait for the inevitable negative comments…

Any opinions out there?
[import]uid: 8353 topic_id: 6468 reply_id: 306468[/import]

#2

Does it crash at the same point or event? [import]uid: 11809 topic_id: 6468 reply_id: 22348[/import]

#3

Should I release a game that crashes?

no [import]uid: 12108 topic_id: 6468 reply_id: 22362[/import]

#4

@iDev, no it’s fairly random - most likely a memory leak but without any tools to diagnose runtime errors (from crash reports) it’s pretty to trace crashes back to code.

See this post for info:
http://developer.anscamobile.com/forum/2010/12/28/need-ability-symbolize-crash-reports-using-dsym-files

My dilemma is whether to release “as is” or not. Obviously, I would prefer not to release something that crashes but it’s either that or scrap the project :frowning:
[import]uid: 8353 topic_id: 6468 reply_id: 22370[/import]

#5

I wouldn’t release it. If a user downloads your app and all it does is crash, they might have a bad taste for any future apps from you. If your programming for iPhone, use xCode when the iPhone is connected to see the output of the error. If it’s for Android, I have no idea how to see the error then. I’m still new to lua/Corona so I am still learning too. [import]uid: 11809 topic_id: 6468 reply_id: 22377[/import]

#6

Thanks - I’ve already tried that and there’s nothing that was helpful in the output. [import]uid: 8353 topic_id: 6468 reply_id: 22379[/import]

#7

Look for some where in your program where you might be trying to divide by 0 in any calculations, that was the problem I had. [import]uid: 11809 topic_id: 6468 reply_id: 22388[/import]

#8

Thanks for the suggestion.

I’m beginning to think it’s related to audio… since I’ve introduced a “buffering” mechanism into my audio class it seems a lot more stable.
[import]uid: 8353 topic_id: 6468 reply_id: 22553[/import]

#9

Have you tried outright removing all the audio? Obviously you wouldn’t want to release like that but it makes a good test to see where the problems are. If that turns out to be the issue I would recommend simply throw away and re-write all the audio handling rather than attempting to locate some obscure bug in the middle of a pile of code. [import]uid: 12108 topic_id: 6468 reply_id: 22572[/import]

#10

I completely agree with jhocking… I was having massive troubles and the turning point came when I realised I finally knew enough about Corona/lua to rewrite my app from scratch; Dumped every single line of code - nearly 3.5 month’s worth and 3000 lines (all in one file) - and started from a blank file. It was not nearly as painful as I feared. Maybe I’m a rare exception in this case, but I’ve made 4 month’s progress in just under 3 weeks.

I was once told (by a better dev than me) that if you’re afraid to throw your code away and start again you know you’re doing it wrong.

Ok, that’s my tuppence-worth. But I am also working hard to get rid of final bugs in my game because I believe that the Apple App stores do not tolerate buggy apps. The android marketplace does, but not Apple’s. I don’t think it would get past the store moderators if they were to see the crash just once.

matt. [import]uid: 8271 topic_id: 6468 reply_id: 22906[/import]