Ethical question about getting highscores in AB Space -

TenJoker

So I'm pretty happy with my progress towards getting good scores in Space, but it annoys me that there are a couple of levels in which it is no longer possible to get the highscore (or close to it) because of modifications made by Rovio in later updates.

Then it struck me a few days ago that I should be able to "downgrade" my version of Space and install an earlier version of the game (I have a jailbroken iphone 4). I only use the jailbreak for changing my layouts and tweaking this and that for personalisation (plus a few other cool features), but now I could theoretically backup all my savedata to Dropbox (which I do regularly anyway) and play a version of, say, 3-10 where the Space Needle still falls apart by itself so I'm no longer at a disadvantage versus the top players on that level.

I guess my question is, how would everyone feel about that? Should I be able to get away with it? Keeping in mind that jailbreaking is not illegal and that I've paid for my copy of Space, DZ and a batch of Eagles (I won't be pirating the software). Thanks in advance!

Burbman

No problem from my perspective, but be aware that I got my highest scores on 3-10 without the collapse. Are you sure that you have gotten everything out of the levels that was possible?

I do understand your point though, I would love to be able to go back in time and find a version of AB Seasons that still has the Santa Hat Glitch intact. Even without it though it is still possible to beat the leaderboard averages here. I just haven't done it.

TenJoker

Thanks for your response. I've definitely not gotten everything out of the levels that I can, but I figured I'd ask about this before I really commit to trying for a top spot on the leaderboards. I've already beaten all the averages, just wondering if I should stop now or go for everlasting glory ;-)

PlayDBird

Since there's no way to tell which version other players are using (let's assume not everyone upgrades every time a new version is released) I think you'd be in the clear.

TenJoker

Yeah I mean, I'm sure I could "get away with it" in practice without mentioning anything but I don't want to do anything that's considered shady, or in conflict with ABN's code of ethics or whatever, so I figured I'd see what everyone's opinion is first :-)

AMslimfordy

If you are playing a legitimate copy of the app, there is no issue as to what version number is being played.

heathen

If you are in doubt, since you have a jailbroken device, why not get Display Recorder to record your game, and that way, you'll have evidence that it was something that you did?

TenJoker

Well with Slim's blessing I decided to go ahead and try it out.

First I triple backed up my save game (local backup to PC, backup to iCloud and backup to Dropbox with DataDeposit).

Then I downloaded version 1.1.0 of Angry Birds Space and "updated" (downgraded) the 1.2.2 version, which worked! I fired up 3-10 and sure enough, the Space Needle was back to being completely unstable!

To test what would happen to savegames after I reverted to the current version (1.2.2) I figured I'd improve my 2-3 score (which should be easy), but it seemed that that level had already been "fixed" in the 1.1.0 update, so I went back even further and downloaded and installed v 1.0.0, the original release. In that version the rightmost atmosphere was still present and after a few tries I improved my score by about 10k points.

Now for the most important question, which is when I upgrade back to 1.22, will all my other scores (Utopia, additional Eggsteroids etc) still be intact or will they have been overwritten by a blank file or something after playing an earlier version (since I have no idea how AB save games work)? To my delight, the answer is YES, every high score that I've ever gotten (including the 86k 2-3 score) is now recorded in my new 1.2.2 save game!!

What that means is that I now have a AB time machine where I can go back and forth between versions whenever I want, so I have no more fear of future level-altering by Rovio :-) This will almost certainly also work for ABO, Seasons and Rio, though I haven't tried for high scores in those games yet. So cool!!!

I downloaded 1.2.0 and 1.2.1 as well so that I have a complete set, in case it turns out that those versions brought certain changes as well. If anyone else has a jailbroken device and would like help/directions in setting this up, send me a message and I'll be glad to talk you through the process! I can also upload all 5 of the game's verions to Mediafire or something for you to download.

I'm really excited that this worked!! :-D

TenJoker

Additional note: GameCenter picked up the new score as well.

TenJoker

One last comment: I can now confirm that this works for Seasons as well. I found a copy of the old v 1.1.1 ipa on some long forgotten corner of the internet, so I decided to try one of the Santa Hat levels for fun :-)

http://i308.photobucket.com/albums/kk357/SterlinFalco/2012-08-17171718.png

burpie

Hey, excellent news. I'm currently going through my backups in Android to see if I can get 30.000 free points for Space, Danger Zone 4.

TenJoker

@burpie Yeah it's quite nice to have the option. Does Android let you play different versions of the game without a workaround like jailbraiking? I'm already seriously considering ditching Apple and getting an S3 when my plan expires..

cosmo2503

@Burpie-I play AB games at iPad and recently I started playing on android phone. I haven't noticed any achievements nor leaderbroads for android. Can I find them somehow to compare my scores with other android players? Is there such thing like game center for iPad and iPhone players?

burpie

@TenJoker I think there are specific Android apps to backup Angry Birds on an unrooted phone. I did root my phone and use Titanium Backup (which only works on rooted devices) in order to backup/ restore multiple versions of everything. Swapping from one version of Angry Birds Space to another takes all of 30 seconds. Unfortunately, my previous backups don't seem to offer a 0-bird DZ4 opportunity.... Anyone??

@cosmo2503 Alas, there is no Android version of game center. I joined this site to compare scores ;-)

TenJoker

@burpie That sounds pretty cool! But do highscores that are obtained in an earlier backup transfer over to the newest savegame or would you always need to keep multiple savefiles in order to have a complete set of scores?

It does sound like a method that is less likely to corrupt your savegame or settings or whatever, since I'm just installing a different version of the game each time I jump back or forward in time, rather than reverting to an existing backup. I haven't any issues so far though fortunately.

Yeah 30 seconds sounds about right for my method too, quick & easy, just the way I like it ;-)

Laurence

I noticed earlier someone mentioned obtaining a working version of the Santa's hat glitch - a few months back, I made some detailed instructions for getting a working version. If anyone's interested, let me know! :)

burpie

@TenJoker Titanium Backup lets you backup/ restore with or without the save game files. So several versions of the program can all use the single set of save game files.

For peace of mind I occasionally also use ES File Explorer to email the game progress files to myself.

What you do need to check is if your current save game files will transfer to the Android version of the game.

TenJoker

@burpie Yeah I had already looked into that, but it seems that it's as simple as transferring highscores.lua and settings.lua from the iphone to the Android and you're good to go! Supposedly it's even possible to transfer your Angry Birds progress to PC, PS3 etc.

We'll see, if the iphone 5 doesn't come with significant changes (unlike the 4S) I'll probably jump ship to Samsung when my cellular plan has run its course in a few months. If the iphone 5 proves impossible to jailbreak I'll switch as well, the jailbreak just makes the iphone 4 sooo much more fun/practical/cool :-)

Laurence

@TenJoker I'm pretty sure a jailbreak will become available for the iPhone 5, but whether it'll be absinthe or Redsn0w remains to be seen, and it may take some time! The jailbreak for iOS 5.1.x took ages to land. Still, it was worth the wait, and allows you to download older versions of apps - always a bonus! :)

TenJoker

@Laurence Yeah it seems like Apple has been doing a good job of making life difficult for the jailbreakers. As I recall pod2g tackled the 5.0.1 jailbreak pretty much by himself which took forever as well, but it was awesome to have an ios5 jailbreak when it finally landed!

I'm super curious about how the iphone5 will turn out, hopefully it will be something really cool. I agree that it's really likely that they'll find a way to jailbreak it, hopefully within 4 months, which is when I can get a new phone :-) Also curious to see how the Apple vs Samsung thing will play out now that they've declined to settle out of court. I think the jury deliberates today...

CmdrBond

I personally have no issue with this, as I too have used an old version of Seasons to get the Santa Hat scores on my Android phone. My only issue is what will happen when I re-store my scores over the top. I like the fact it kept your highs, but you are on apple and I am on Android. and there is no certainty :(

cosmo2503

OK guys (and maybe some ladies) call me stupid for all tehnical matters but I don't get it at all.
I have jailbroken iPad 2 and brand new Samsung Galaxy S2 phone unrooted (and will not root it).
I don't know what is a point of getting old versions of games. If I find and install old version wouldn't my new version and all scores that I get be lost? I wouldn't like it to happen I worked very hard during past few months to let it all "gone with the wind".

Kittykip

I have to say I'm impressed with the find of the "angry birds time machine". Well done finding away around the updates, now if only it was legal. :)

TenJoker

@CmdrBond I thought that @burpie mentioned in an earlier comment that multiple backups can use the same savegame using Titanium Backup? If so then it shouldn't be an issue right? Hmm but I guess you already used a different one for the Santa Glitch levels and want to merge them. Well you know you can always back up all your savedata to your PC (and preferably to Dropbox or something) and play around with it, so that you can always restore if something goes wrong.

Then again, if you can play the latest version of the game and the only issue is that some of your scores are on a different savegame, it might just be best to leave it this way. I personally just really like to have all my scores in one savefile, but I don't really know enough about Android to say :-)

@cosmo2503 I completely understand your reservations and if you aren't comfortable with the idea you definitely shouldn't do it! A few extra points here and there aren't worth it unless you know what you're doing and are confident that whatever happens, you'll always be alble to restore your savegame to a "healthy" state (which I am). That said, the idea behind this method is that whatever version of the game you install, it will alway use (and update) the same savegame.

For example I have copies of Seasons 2.5.0 (Back to School), 1.6.0 (Mooncake) and 1.1.1 (Seasons Greadings) on my phone. When I feel like playing a Santa's glitch level I install 1.1.1 right over the existing 2.5.0 version. I can then play the game in an earlier version but with all my most recent scores. Let's say I get a new highscore on 1-7 and decide that I want to try out the Big Picknick Basket level, but I',m not sure if the spinning flower glitch is fixed or not in the most current version. So, I install 1.6.0 and play a version that definitely still has the glitch. If I then get a new score on that (haven't actually been able to btw :-P) I can install 2.5.0 again and play Piglantis or whatever while having the new 1-7 and Big Basket scores show up in my current savegame :-)

@Kittykip That's the beauty of it, it IS legal! If it wasn't then there's no way @AMslimfordy would allow us to discuss it on his forums :-D

burpie

@cosmo2503 The point of switching to an older release is to rack up some free points from unstable levels that were fixed later on. With Angry Birds Space, for example, there's 10k points to be had in level 3-10 and 30k points in DZ4. With Danger Zone, for me that would make the difference between my current spot 16 on the episode leader board and, um..., spot 4. Is that fair? Nuh-uh. I can't make it to the top because I downloaded the game too late. I could play like Zeus on steroids and it wouldn't matter. Ooohhh, the injustice of it all!!!1 :-) So yeah, I'm looking for an older version myself.

You can keep using your original score files when you switch between versions, so that's not a concern.

cosmo2503

@TenJoker and @Burpie thank you both for clarification.

Burbman

@burpie - DZ4 still works even with the new Red Planet update installed. Has not been stabilized, keep playing!

hinarei

thanks for confirming, @burbman :) I still can't get that to completely collapse after upgrading to the Red Planet version, so I reckon it can't be done xD

I have an Android phone and while I haven't tried to go back to older versions of the programs I am a bit puzzled as to how a switch to an older version would keep your higher scores once you go back to the future :S I mean, you'd restore a file which didn't have the new score, right? Not sure of the approach you guys are taking with this...

jord

Kinda strange thing, as far as i am concerned. In the the discussion about power ups, ( almost) everybody was over the top with their comments as to how unfair this was, when competing on the leaderboards, whereas in this case, everybody seems quite ok with replacing versions to get to hugher scores. What could drive this?

CC Jolly

@jord
We hope to see a difference leaderboard between using power Ups and using no Power UPS in Future !!!

burpie

@Burbman With DZ4 my android version invariably stalled at 12.000... after dozens of tries.

Two days ago I found an older version of the game and my score for the level has already jumped from 105k to 118k.

@jord If older scores with the glitch are allowed, this levels the playing field. If this is what it takes for me to claim a spot in the top-10 for the episode, I'm doing it. I spent too many hours on the other 29 levels.

@hinarei I keep my scores in one place by transferring the files highscores.lua and settings.lua to whatever platform I'm playing on at the moment. You can swap the files from the current Android version to an old Windows version and back again just fine.

TenJoker

That's what I do as well (transferring the highscores.lua back and forth). I always have my highest scores on the same savegame.

Watch out with the settings.lua though, the ios version at least isn't compatible with the PC version. (edit - actually I can only confirm that for Seasons, I don't have the PC version of the other games)

Burbman

@TenJoker - How do I find an old version of Seasons Greedings with the Santa Hat glitch intact? I just JB'ed an old iTouch we had laying around the house, and want to give it a go.

TenJoker

@Burbman You can scrounge them around the internet. They are typically found in the darkest, nastiest neighborhoods that most law-abiding citizens steer well clear of. Of course, there's a reason why this site awarded me the "Danger Addict" Badge..

Alternatively, shoot me a PM with your e-mail address and I'll just send you the file :-)

TenJoker

Oh I guess I never really answered your question lol. I honestly don't remember where I got the Seasons v1.1.1 from, it was some obscure website. If you'd like to hunt for the ipa's yourself, just start with a Google search and go from there. Just be cautious! And don't bother with links to Mediafire downloads, they have all been taken down.

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