Angry Birds Epic not working on Android 5.0

[Angry Johnny]

As some knows Angry Birds Epic does not work in the latest version of Android that are currently being rolled out. The reason for this is that 5.0 uses a new default runtime known as ART that works differently than the old runtime Dalvik that was the standard on Android in earlier versions, and some applications now have to be fixed for them to be compatible.

I mailed Rovio about this since more and more Android devices will be getting Android 5.0, also known as Lollipop, very soon. This is their response:

“We are working hard to get the game compatible with ART and Android 5.0 as soon as possible. Unfortunately we can’t give out any timeframe for this to make sure we can finalize the updates without external time pressure and because we do not want to give dates that we cannot always guarantee we will hit. I can assure you that we have not forgotten users with ART devices. We hope you understand and can bear with us a little longer.

Best regards,

Iida
Rovio Support Team”

So they are working on it but beware that you will currently not be able to play Angry Birds Epic on Android 5.0.

Topic

[sal9]

Thanks for sharing this @angryjohnny

[abirds954]

*insert Android fragmentation joke here*

I’d say don’t update to 5.0 but how many devices are even able to now? Nexus?

[Angry Johnny]

For now only Nexus devices.
Next week Motorola.
The week after that Nvidea Shield.
Sony at the end of November/December.
LG in December.
Samsung in late December/January 2015.

Android 5.0 has had a preview out since June so many companies have already prepared for the final 5.0 version to come, there are really no excuse for Rovio not having ART support in Epic. They have had close to 6 months to do it if they wanted to.

[abirds954]

@angryjohnny I completely agree, and wasn’t the gap between 5.0’s announcement and availability much longer than usual? You’d think that would be enough time.

@amslimfordy Maybe this is worth a special announcement of some kind on the Forum’s main page?

[Angry Johnny]

@abirds954 Yes, usually the libraries for Android development is released about one month before the actually Android release is rolling out for users. This time it has been out since June.
This is also the first time Google has released preview versions of a release before it was rolling out, all to give developers a headstart to make their apps and adjustments compatible with the final release.

[Cary Hedges]

@angryjohnny While I don’t regularly play this game, I will test on my Galaxy S5 running Android 4.4.4 using ART. I will let you know if it runs.

[Cary Hedges]

@angryjohnny Apparently it is an ART issue :-( I was hoping it was an issue other than that because ART runs everything (else) so much smoother, IMO.

https://www.angrybirdsnest.com/members/caryhedges/album/picture/11744/

[Tman]

I had switched my HTC One M8 to ART and noticed this a while ago. Most apps work with no problems. Given all of the bugs that this has had on my Kindle since I started playing, I can only imagine the problems that ART is giving them. Still, it’s coming, and they should be working hard to get it out as soon as possible.

[Abe Val]

Hello, the game works on my Nexus 4.0 on Android 5.0.

[CrumpledStories]

I have heard that it now works on ART devices due to the new update (1.1.3). Can anyone confirm this?

[Paladin]

Great news, it works now on my Nexus 9! I was starting to get paranoid since I only use Nexus devices and this is my favorite mobile game of all time.

[Angry Johnny]

Yes, there was an update yesterday without any release notes. It seems like this update implemented ART support which is good news.

Does anyone still have any issues playing this game on Android 5.0 or under the ART runtime in general?

[Cary Hedges]

@angryjohnny I am still getting the following message on my Galaxy S5 running Android 4.4.4 using ART after the update.

https://www.angrybirdsnest.com/members/caryhedges/album/picture/11744/

[Cary Hedges]

@angryjohnny I’ll try uninstalling and reinstalling and tell you how that works out.

[Angry Johnny]

@caryhedges Any luck getting it to work?

[Cary Hedges]

@angryjohnny Sorry for not getting back to you right away. After uninstalling and reinstalling I’m still getting the message that it is incompatible with ART :-(

[Angry Johnny]

@caryhedges Hmmmm… wonder if Rovio has made some fix so Epic can only be played with ART if you have Android 5.0 but not 4.4.X :-/

[Angry Johnny]

Here is an official response from Rovio on Google Play:

“Unfortunately ART is not yet fully supported in earlier Android versions, but the latest version of the game runs on ART on Android 5.0.”

So it seems like ART works on Android 5.0 but not earlier.

[snives]

A lot of changes were made to ART between 4.4.4 and 5.0, so don’t expect 4.4.4 ART to ever be supported.