It’s a new year. A fresh start. Where there was once a two, now there is a three.

And in honor of that new three (or perhaps for no reason at all) everything in the Outwitters store is on sale for a limited time! Act now to grab the Über Pack for two bucks off, or a shiny new base for 99¢. Did I mention this is only for a limited time? Yes, I just reread it and it looks like I did mention that already.

I remember the crushing disappointment when I learned that Tilt to Live’s cooperative mode only worked with blue tooth connections. I have only ever had white teeth.

But lo! Through the magic of Game Center, Viva la Coop now features online matchmaking in new updates for both Tilt to Live iPhone and Tilt to Live HD! Just don’t try to play HD with your iPhone buddy; they’re different games. You can match to random strangers, or invite a Game Center buddy to help out. Bullet points!

• Viva la Coop can now be played online via Game Center!
• Big fat iPhone 5 display support! See parts of the background you have only dreamed about.
• No mic support, so your friends won’t hear you yelling at them.
• Replaced a few images that have been blurry for like 2 years.

For those wondering what the “Current Season” bit in their profile means, and for those that aren’t, here is a run down on seasons in Outwitters league play. Starting with season 2, each season will run approximately two months. We may change this in the future based on feedback and other factors. When a new season starts, your current rank and league are immortalized into a stone plaque in your profile page and you are put back into placement. When the new season starts, you will do 1 placement match to get promoted into a new division and league. Your hidden skill rating will carry over from the previous season, so you will continue to match up against similarly skilled players. We’re also changing points attribution to be slightly more reflective of someone’s success in the division instead of how many games they’ve played.

Season 2 is starting this Wednesday after a short period of server downtime while we roll out the changes and season 1 awards. So if you’ve been aching to crack that top spot in your division, now is the time to do it!

Joy to the world, Outwitters 1.4 is come! Here’s what’s new:

Season Support:

Like a real sport, but requiring less coordination. Outwitters ranks will now reset at the start of each new season, so you might not be in Fluffy League forever. The end of Season 1 will be announced soon.

Also Fixes:

• iPad base avatar store now works.
• You can no longer hear thorn patches being grown in the fog of war.
• Mobi’s position is no longer revealed in the fog of war when moving hidden teammates.
• Fixed HUD issue with tutorial on iPhone 5.

What’s Next?

We’ll be taking a look at some server statistics and shifting unit balances where needed, in preparation for Season 2! Edit: Sike. We’ll start Season 2 while we look over the balance.

Alex is jumping between Tilt to Live’s iPhone 5 support, an update to ¡Viva la Coop!, and Outwitters’ Seasons support (which has already been submitted). His goal is to get all of this done before the App Store holiday deadline. What’s all that got to do with me? Not a whole lot. I’m exploring new styles and experimenting with new techniques. It’s been a lovely week.

Tilt to Live went free this past week, and may still be free in an App Store near you. We were featured under Impossible Games and decided to get experimental with the price.

Having fun with Outwitters? Head over to the Best App Ever Awards and nominate us for best strategy game! If we win, I think they’ll let us keep the title forever. Even if a better game comes out later. No backsies.

We just crawled out from under our rock and discovered the iPhone 5, so we added long-screen support to Outwitters. It should arrive on your device within the week… or maybe longer if the Christmas holidays have anything to say about it.

Look at all the room you’ll have!

The Outwitters 1.2 should be hitting your device in the next few hours. Here’s what you can expect in this update:

The Veggienauts Team Pack:

• Includes a new special unit, two new 1v1 maps, and a new 2v2 map.
• Free for those who purchased the über pack!

Also New:

• Base avatars are available in the store. You can change them in your profile.
• Player 2 now starts with 8 wits to counter the advantage of going first.
• You now get a bonus wit for each enemy you kill.
• Spawn menus have become prettier.

Fixes:

• Mobi shows up in replays when used within the fog of war.
• Fixed issue with local data cache growing to very large sizes.
• Fixed issue with re-installing causing users to be locked out of on-going games.
• Other numerous bugs and performance improvements.

We’ve tested these changes with a small group of beta testers, and hit a point where we’re confident enough to release it into the wild. We’ll be closely monitoring the live server, and making adjustments if something comes up balance-wise with the Veggienauts or any of the new gameplay changes.

What’s Next?

We’ve got another update already pretty far in the pipeline that’ll bring iPhone 5 native resolution support.

You can now complete your Outwitters Soundtrack by downloading the new Veggienauts Theme, free of charge for everyone (I know it says Buy Now, but you can pay zero). Mike Reagan and his company, REdVOLT Audio, did an outstanding job crafting the music and sound effects for Outwitters. The Veggienauts stuff is no exception.