If you like all the improvements & fixes recently brought by the Premium version, but aren’t ready to pay a nickle yet, it’s a good time to update your Free version.

• Map screen bug on 3.1 firmware fixed (incorrect positions)
• Interface improvements (‘stock value’ in Money screen, dealers’ profiles in Recent Deals, etc)
• Ability to choose how much stuff to dump in Stock controls

Download Underworld from the AppStore

After the recent Underworld update has arrived, it’s time to review the game’s Open Roadmap.

Some features have already hit the game, some of them are in progress right now. Besides, we’ve got some new stuff from in-game feature suggestion tool and from other sources: worth adding for community’s consideration.

Here is what we took away from the list:

• iPhone 3.0: Notifications: implemented;
• iPhone 3.0: Improved Map: implemented;
• Missions: in progress. We’ll outline the new upcoming chunk of gameplay in a separate post.
• Messaging black list: in progress. Should explain this one. It is true that the feature is terribly unpopular in the Open Roadmap (close to zero votes right now). But for the past few months we’ve got so many abuses about receiving offensive and insulting messages, so we felt this black list feature is a must, just to save our time, you know.

The new things:

• Items discoverable on the map: find and pick up items in the world around you: cash, commodity, extras, etc;
• Real-time positioning: your position on the game map to be updated in real-time, just like in Google Maps app;
• In-depth financial stats: detailed view of your past financial history (prices, margins, stock, etc);
• Run from cops: ability to run away from cops. Risky thing, but might be worth it if you got busted with a big parcel.

That’s it for now. Visit Open Roadmap in the game to start voting for the new stuff. And your feedback is always welcome either here in comments, on the forum or in twitter.

Image credits to Bogdan Suditu, via Flickr.

A Premium version of Underworld just got into the AppStore.

• In-app purchase support
• Map screen bug on 3.1 firmware fixed (incorrect positions)
• Interface improvements (‘stock value’ in Money screen, dealers’ profiles in Recent Deals, etc)
• Ability to choose how much stuff to dump in Stock controls

If you know what the Premium version is, just go download it. If you don’t, read on!

What is Premium version?

It’s a version of Underworld supporting in-app purchase mechanics, that was brought to the AppStore by 3.0 firmware earlier this summer.

Underworld has always been free, why paid now?

Underworld is still free-to-play and it will always be. However, currently existing UW Points distribution scheme is neither convenient nor intuitive; this is why we decided to switch to in-app purchase support.

Right now, only paid applications can feature in-app purchases. That is why Premium version is paid after all: $0.99 in US iTunes Store. For this minimum possible price, UW Premium grants you:

• 4×1 hour of full police protection
• 4 days protection from the loan shark
• 1 Supply & Demand info request
• 1 Carry Space 30% boost for 4 hours

All the stuff you get is placed into your Inventory (a new entity in Underworld screen) and is activated/used any time you need it.

I still have some UW Points left, what do I do?

No worries! If you still have UW Points left on your account, there is a subsection in Underworld screen, which allows you to spend them.

 * * * 

Still having questions? Ask here in comments, in our twitter or on the game forum.
See ya!

Ever since we launched Underworld, we’ve been asked constantly if there’s going to be a version for Android. Fair question, considering impressive platform capabilities and its growing popularity!

Today, we are happy to announce that Android people will be able to get into Underworld this fall. We’ve been working on it for some time already and the launch date is really close now.

The same as in the AppStore, the game is going to be free to play, with an optional paid stuff. Like a full protection from cops, a temporary boost to your equipment and other useful things.

What is maybe more interesting to the fans: we intend to publish the Android version of Underworld in its ‘Traffic’ theme. The one that is putting you through the daily duties of a drug dealer. The same that couldn’t make it to the AppStore few weeks ago.

Underworld: Traffic for Android will bring players into the same world as SweetDeal, available from the AppStore, with a difference in available commodities and dealers’ ranks.

We will keep you posted on the development process and the exact launch date to be revealed soon. Stay tuned and feel free to ask questions: here in comments, on UW message board or in Twitter!

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 In-App purchase functionality? Although we have already done a lot of work to make this mechanics happen in the upcoming version, we’ll have to postpone it to the next release. The thing is, AppStore has a very strict policy on the in-app purchase usage and selling UW points as in-app goods doesn’t comply with this policy very well. We have to work on that a bit more and push another update within a week or so.

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.