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Tersus 2.0: An Unexpected Journey

18 Comments

A few weeks ago, we encountered a data loss during a system migration. Unfortunately, the keystore for Tersus was corrupted and unrecoverable. Before we go into what this means for you, let’s talk about why this matters.

What is a keystore? When developers are building an application to be published onto Google Play, they sign the product using this unique key. This prevents a malicious third-party from releasing a counterfeit version of the application. To read more about the keystore and signing process, see this article from the Android team.

End-of-life Status

We are no longer able to sign the Tersus 1.0 application and therefore can no longer upload new versions to Google Play. Because of this, we are discontinuing updates to the product. If you own a copy of Tersus, you can continue to use it on your device. However, we will be removing it from Google Play at the end of the year, so download a final copy from the link at the bottom of this page.

Instead of just abandoning the design, we’ve been hard at work refining the original style. Tersus is now around 1.5 years old and hasn’t really kept up with the high standards we strive for. The adjustments we’ve made now exhibit more polish and cohesive visuals for the entire set.

INCREASED RADIUS

Originally, Tersus icons were 72×72 pixels. With the new screen density increases, we now render the icons at 144×144. Due to the resizing process, the icons lost a bit of their rounded feel. We’ve now corrected this and are really happy with the new curves. The icons feel a lot more comfortable on homescreens now.

LIGHTING TWEAKS

The original icon style was missing a distinct visual signature (aside from the silhouette). We’ve added a small highlight to the top of the icons, as well as given them all a constant gradient. These little details have made a huge impact on the overall feel of the icon set when swiping through the app drawer. We’ve fallen back in love with Tersus.

What happens now?

We’ve released Tersus 2.0 on Google Play at a price of $0.99. This discounted price is for our users, who we hope will join us in this new release. We’ll be raising the price on the product, in a month from release, to bring it in line with the rest of our styles. Unfortunately, we are not able to transfer licenses from Tersus 1.0 to the new version.* With the design changes, the new Tersus icons feel like a brand new collection. We hope that you’ll grab a copy of this upgraded version and enjoy the enhanced visuals.

Tersus on Google Play

  • PINCHO

    Can’t find the new Tersus theme on the Playstore. Norway

    • It’s still propagating through Google’s servers and should be live in an hour or less.

  • PINCHO

    The price of the discontinued version in Norway is about 196 USD

    • This is to prevent people from purchasing it.

      • cavveman

        Uhm, what happens if people actually do buy it? Why not just set it free and say that it wont get updates?

        • People would ignore the warnings and have false expectations for support that would not be there. It’s easier to have a price barrier, in order to prevent our support team having to deal with an extra influx of emails in relation to it.

  • Very Shagadelic! Just bought Version 2.0! 😀

  • Ravish

    Asking me to pay again because of YOUR mistake? Wow.

    • We didn’t ask you to pay again. If you want to stick with Tersus 1.0, you are more than obliged to. However, the product will no longer be receiving updates as it is now end-of-life status. Tersus 2.0 is an upgraded product, similar to how companies like Adobe release new versions of their offerings. If you are interested in the new design, it’s available for you to purchase.

  • Simon

    The keystore is one of the most fundamental things to keep backuped as a developer, how could you not have an off site backup?

    • We had on-site duplication, but one was lost and the other corrupted. We’re not comfortable with putting keys outside of our internal system, due to security reasons. We’re now triplicating keys locally, in order to prevent this kind of event in the future.

      • American

        But really he’s hoping some people will be dumb enough to buy the $200.00 version. Also these devs aren’t trying to give good customer service. Making a new app (almost instantly after the original was lost) works in his favor and the best thing about it for him is alot of those bitching still bought it or will be buying it.

        • I hope no one is dumb enough to buy it. If they do, I’d refund it. It’s not there to dupe people. I’m sorry you think I have ill intentions regarding this decision and I don’t expect me telling you otherwise to have an affect on your opinion.

  • This is sometimes heartbreaking for new purchasers, you at least should offer the new version free of charge for existing users, you said its new design and worth purchasing again, this is how Business is running.

    • We offer a free copy of the new version for users to try out before upgrading via Google Play.

  • Joris Griffioen

    This is lame on multiple levels.

    Google should be able to transfer the license status. You should’ve had better redundancy (seriously? you don’t trust off-site storage? Put it on a USB stick in a safe!). And you should not be using this calamity to your advantage immediately after discontinueing a product people very recently paid you for.

    You handled it well by explaining the situation. You also handled it poorly by using the situation to introduce a new thing you expect people to pay for.

    • Version 1.0 is still available for users, so I haven’t taken anything away. The free updates to the product are the only thing that has been discontinued.

      I spent a lot of time to bring an updated design and vision for the set, in the form of Version 2.0. I don’t expect anyone to pay for it, but the option is available.

      • Joris Griffioen

        No but it would be good to wait a while, do damage control and then when everything has cooled down introduce your new work. It *seems* oppertunistic (the way you explain it, I believe you don’t mean it that way, but the first impression is so)