Underworld: Traffic still too “bad” for the AppStore
Bad news kicked in about the anticipated Traffic theme of Underworld. Got rejected again. Apple contacted us, saying that nothing that involves trafficking of illegal commodities won’t pass the bar.
Is it the time to make a theme featuring medical use of Underworld commodities? Seems like this works pretty well for other iPhone apps. Prescription only, 100% legitimate business, eh? 
Anyway, this doesn’t stop us from improving the game along the roadmap. We are releasing a new version in the next couple of days. Feature preview;
- Push notifications about your sales and new messages;
- The improved map screen: you’ll see not only your current tile but also tiles of other dealers you can reach;
- A couple of other useful improvements suggested by the community: like an option to make the system bar visible in the game;
What happened to the
Well, how about new ranks then? Right. New ranks (=upgrades) will come out together with a big new chunk of gameplay, right from the top of the Open Roadmap based on your votes. Yep, we’ve promised ‘Missions’ some time ago and to bate your curiosity, we’ll squeeze a separate post soon about the stuff we’re cooking right now.
Stay tuned!
Image credits to GenMed64, via Flickr.
August 22nd, 2009 at 8:46 am
Hey,
Can this game be transfered to a new iphone and still keep the same ranking and cash etc?
Please help
Thank you for your time
Tez
August 22nd, 2009 at 8:50 am
Tez, drop a note to support@a-steroids.com with: your old nickname, the new nickname (you have launch the game on your new iPhone to do that) and your approximate location. We’ll transfer your account, it’s pretty easy to do.
August 22nd, 2009 at 9:24 am
Awesome!!! I can’t wait for the new goodies.
August 22nd, 2009 at 9:28 am
I hate them… I hate them so much… Do the medical thing! Eh I’m sure they’d have a problem with that to.. Just make it iPods..
August 22nd, 2009 at 12:01 pm
Push notifications!!!!! =]
August 22nd, 2009 at 1:48 pm
“We are releasing a new version in the next couple of days”
days or weeks?! hmmm
August 22nd, 2009 at 3:11 pm
Great. I can’t wait for this game to become fun again.
I hope this is what we’ve all been waiting for.
August 22nd, 2009 at 7:38 pm
andrey…..i just referd a friend through facebook and he installed uw but never received my points, can u help me please??
August 22nd, 2009 at 10:26 pm
mucky, sure, I’ll help you. Please check your email.
August 22nd, 2009 at 10:31 pm
chezk, days, for sure. The version was in QA for some time now, so it’s really almost ready. Also, the map blackout can only be fixed by updating the app and we don’t want to delay this.
August 23rd, 2009 at 3:52 am
Update already!
August 23rd, 2009 at 8:27 pm
@Andrey…thanks, awesome. The enhancements you mentioned will be welcomed
August 24th, 2009 at 5:13 am
Hey the old game, as good as it is, Is getting a little tired. Bring on the push and the missions.
Nice 1 A.steroids. Keep it up
August 25th, 2009 at 3:02 am
Push notifications and a stinking system bar? Joy!!! We have been waiting for months for this crap. Oh cant wait its gonna be so cool to be able to see the time and play at the same time. You out did yourself.
Do you really think thats going to bring back all the peeps that left?
August 25th, 2009 at 5:56 am
WTF, if you think you can do better for a free app why don’t you go do it. If not stfu and let the developers do their thing. There are alot of games I have seen with potential that I havenet seen any sign of an update much less get a response from an email. Andrey does a pretty good job of responding to people so if you can’t sit and wait for an update on a free game with out getting vulgar then GFY.
August 25th, 2009 at 5:33 pm
Hey, I just wanted to say when I searched “DrugLords” and I stumbled across Sweet Deal, I was not disappointed in the slightest. I’m probably the only one to say this, but I have no desire to see Drug Lords. Personally, I find this way more clever, and I think that maybe since my friends and I are a little older, we do too. I find telling my girlfriend that I’m “pushin’ sugar”, “movin cake”, and “spreadin’ drops” hilarious. (Even if she doesn’t, ha.)
I’ll try to keep this concise. I think this game is revolutionary in the way that it utilizes the GPS feature. However, I see a few buggy pitfalls that get under my skin a bit as I’ve spread this game throughout about 9 of my friends. I realize this problem is unavoidable, but there are certain places that–if you log in repeatedly–your phone will register you in one area (where you can buy buy buy) and then sometimes in another (where you can sell sell sell). I found my cabin to be in one of these zones and the outcome was incredible. Granted I was having fun, but I just had one suggestion.
If we could see our facebook friends no matter where we were, and form a cartel of sorts, it would make the teamwork aspect awesome. Unfortunately, I HATE to think of this game becoming like iMobsters, where gangs are arbitrarily formed and just a few big gangs win out. Rather, why not ONLY allow cartels to be formed by inviting more and more facebook friends? I think this would be incredible and would skyrocket your facebook referrals. You probably could stop giving out free UW points for Facebook networking as a result.
Just a thought. Sorry for my rambling mouth.
-DueDroP
August 25th, 2009 at 5:35 pm
Sorry. Shameless plug. Had to do something.
DueDrop
August 25th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
Underworld 1.3 submitted to the AppStore. IPhone 3.0 features included: push notifications & map.
August 25th, 2009 at 6:58 pm
WTF, I truly and utterly believe that not everyone will like the idea of the update containing only the mentioned stuff. But as I said before, we just don’t have enough resources to deliver all the wanted features quick. We are doing our best though.
August 25th, 2009 at 7:06 pm
Hey, DueDroP, thanks for the suggestion. We really like the idea of forming gangs out of Facebook friend circles - it was in a list of ‘potential features’ of ours for some time. We will seriously consider this developing Gangs.
August 25th, 2009 at 7:26 pm
Facebook is like, so 2004…
August 25th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
That’s not what Microsoft thought when it purchased a 1.6% stake for 240 million in 2007.
August 26th, 2009 at 3:54 am
I got this as one of my first apps on my iPod, and it is still one I use everyday - I check it every hour or so. I also excited for the update! Please keep updating the blog.
August 26th, 2009 at 7:29 am
What’s illegal about trading candy? Interfering with prosperity? Obstruction of justice? If I were the developers, in my own personal opinion for myself , I would acquire a stronger legal team.
August 26th, 2009 at 7:34 am
How about sugar count for diabetics, etc.
August 26th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
Stop crying about the product that is being sold. Like someone said before, we could be selling panties and the game would still be the same. Sure, the cops idea would seem pointless but this is a blackmarket operation. It’s all illegal goods, maybe the candies are a knock-offs of real name brand candies. Leave it be, I actually like it this way. It’s fun to tell my friends and gf about drops and waffles and the rest. Could you imagine the DHS listening in on your conversation and you stating different drugs, or weapons? They’d be on you like flies on… You get the point, the candy theme is fine. Let them stop worrying about pleasing the few of you that care for the drug theme and let them focus on making the game more fun than it is. Great job Andrey, you and the whole team. Keep it up!
-Mundo
August 27th, 2009 at 7:09 am
Hello, keep trying to post a review but they won’t let me. Thanks for all the work on such a compulsive game, much appreciated here.
I also like the sweetie theme, far more imaginative and very amusing for the oldies amongst us, besides, if it was named drugs, i wouldnt be able to have it on the phone as my nephews and son use it at times.
looking forward to the updates, although im finding it challenging enough at the moment just getting to level 19!
August 27th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
I agree with Mundo and the others when they say that the theme of SweetDeal is better than any drug alternative. In saying this, know that I believe prohibition on any drug is just an attack on an individual’s liberty; so my preference does not spawn out of contempt for such substances. In fact, the SweetDeal theme does more towards the abolition of arbitrary rules than a drug based theme does. This is because a drug based theme just further glorifies the life of an underground market dealer while giving legitimacy to the rules set forth that force such a market into existence. Whereas with a sweets based theme one may argue that it glorifies a dealer in such a market, it mocks the illegitimacy and foolishness of prohibition on a given substance.
August 27th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
tinifni, Mundo, SugarLips, and others, thanks folks, that’s an interesting point of view. I couldn’t agree more, Underworld isn’t all about drugs - it’s about “buy low, sell high” first of all. Although we always thought of a drug theme as of an exciting twist to the game setting.
Anyway, as I said in the post, no matter what happens with the “Traffic” theme in the future, our current goal #1 is to improve & prolong the gameplay and make it even more fun. There’s still so much unused potential in location based mechanics!
August 28th, 2009 at 2:59 am
@ mundo…couldn’t agree with you more. If people are so hard up to have the drug theme then jailbreak that bitch.
August 28th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
Mundo, Tinifni +1 here. There is nothing left to say.
Andrey and the team, keep up the good work, waiting for the updates.
August 30th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
Within a day or two I will have enough cash in this game to purchase the final upgrade, and be at level 21.
However, I won’t be doing so right away.
I’m waiting for the update after next, to see if there will be a better upgrade to spend the money on.
August 31st, 2009 at 2:35 am
Will the new version be free?
August 31st, 2009 at 11:23 am
TheConfuzed1, ok, that’s the plan!
August 31st, 2009 at 11:25 am
Denise, yes, as always. Although when we publish the version with in-app purchases there are going to be two versions: Free & Premium. All the functionality will be the same, only in the Premium version you’ll be able to get paid features (protection and other boosts).
September 2nd, 2009 at 12:48 pm
“andrey says:
August 22nd, 2009 at 10:31 pm
chezk, days, for sure. The version was in QA for some time now, so it’s really almost ready. Also, the map blackout can only be fixed by updating the app and we don’t want to delay this.
”
well?
Just curious….
September 2nd, 2009 at 8:38 pm
chezk, unfortunately, we can only control when to submit an app. We can’t control when it’s reviewed and published in the AppStore. And what comes to our part - the submission - it was done as promised
September 5th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
Out of curiosity, what’s been the mean time between submission and the review result?
September 6th, 2009 at 3:48 am
You can always hack sweet deals to change everything back to UW Druglords. I’ve done it a couple of times but you lose the changes when an upgrade comes through.
September 7th, 2009 at 3:58 am
So when’s the new update hittin the press pimps?
September 8th, 2009 at 11:12 am
Gareth, Fernando, normally, it takes them 6-7 days to review an app. Sometimes longer.
In this current case with UW update, Apple asked us to edit some keywords in the description of the game. So, technically, they’re reviewing it for the second time now. Also, the latest version contains Push Notifications support, this could slow down the review too.
Anyway, we await the update to come through any day soon.