Compressed Textures and deleted unused files, but updated app size > original size?

Unity Engine
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1

Hey Unity Community,

So my app (Aww, Eggplant!?) just got updated in the App Store. My original version was listed at 35.3MB (the compressed .app I submitted was 33.5MB), so I spent a lot of time trying to get the app under 20MB by deleting any unused textures and sounds as well as compressing every sound I could and every 16-bit texture to PVRTC where quality changes weren’t noticeable. The compressed .app I submitted to Apple this time around was 17.8MB, so I figured it had a chance at being under 20MB. However, when it went live today, the app is now listed at 35.7MB.

How does this make any sense at all? I didn’t change any build settings.

Anyone who could shed some light on this, I would greatly appreciate it.

iTunes Link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/aww-eggplant!/id440070703?ls=1&mt=8

Thanks,
-Anthony

2

Nothing on this yet? I’d really appreciate any insight you guys might have as to why this would happen. Did they somehow amend the changes I made to the original instead of uploading the entirely new binary? I really don’t understand…

3

Compressed textures are often a lot larger than uncompressed textures due to compressed textures meaning they are compressed in memory, not in file size. They perform better and take up less RAM.

But a png is often a lot smaller than a PVR texture.

In addition if you are aiming for file sizes compile it only for arm6, not arm7.

Also you should relax, there is no evidence at all that file sizes mean more sales.

4

Deleting unused textures/sounds won’t accomplish anything, since assets not referenced by anything aren’t included anyway. Apple adds DRM, which makes the executable not compressible, so the file you submit isn’t the file that’s on the store. You can get a good approximation of the final size by compressing everything but the executable, then adding the uncompressed executable size to that. Being under 20MB isn’t a big deal anyway; if you compromised quality too much to achieve that, it will probably actually have a negative effect.

–Eric

5

The formula to find out the app size can be found at Steps to determine iphone app size please? - Questions & Answers - Unity Discussions

Generally, especially if you aren’t on pro without stripping, its basically impossible to get below 20mb as Unity + DRM leave you with 4mb or so left.

6

It is possible to get below without Pro. My game ShootStorm was 17.4 MB before I added a much larger music file and a couple of extra textures making it 18.2. Of course some game genres will be much easier than others.

Unity 3.4 does seem to be adding some extra size though, making it harder.

7

Its definitely possible, but its extremely hard due to the footprint of unity + DRM itself already which leaves you with a few midi music tracks or short mp3 ones and lower res compressed textures to stand a chance to fit in. The Stripping from iOS Pro gives you about 10mb more of a budget to spend

8

Thanks for all the replies! We’re using iOS Pro, but unfortunately we’re also using gravity and forces and apparently stripping cuts out the functionality of forces. I tried applying even the most basic stripping level and the game would not function properly, so I don’t think that’s an option. My main concern with not being under 20 MB is we’ll be missing out on a ton of “impulse” purchases that people make when bored at a doctor’s office or whatever and browse games. If they stumble upon my game, they might impulsively try to buy it, but if they can’t due to lack of wifi in their area, then they’ll forget about it and not download it later. It’s kind of sad that the 3G limit is still 20MB with wonderful engines like Unity being used more and more, and the developers using Unity are practically penalized due to the app size since they’ll miss out on all these “impulse” buys (and anyone without wifi in general).

Thanks for the clarification though, this was absolutely baffling to me. We didn’t lose any noticeable quality by compressing textures but we did improve our game’s performance (particularly on older devices), so it was still worth it.

I am, however, still pretty confused as to how my uncompressed AND compressed binaries were more than 50% smaller their original counterparts’ sizes, yet the app was bigger in the app store. Apple black magic I guess?

Check out the game if you get a chance! http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/aww-eggplant!/id440070703?mt=8