The Catloaf Software Blog

Trainer HD v5.3 released

20 Apr 2014
The latest version (5.3) of the Trainer HD series of educational apps is now available on the App Store.

Along with the usual cohort of bug fixes, as well as the new ability to send challenges from within the game to your friends, we have made an important change to the way the apps are being priced and marketed.

This new version is now ad-supported for the instruments that have not been purchased. This means that in lieu of having to purchase the instrument to unlock all of its features, you can now choose to instead watch ads, in the form of banners and the occasional interstitial. This will in turn allow us to reach more users who wouldn't otherwise be able to afford to buy the full app or its instruments to use it.

Ad-supported instruments have vastly extended capabilities compared to previous versions of the app, however they do not include the full range of training options (for instance you are limited to the first 12 frets). To fully unlock them as well as remove the ads, you will need to purchase the instrument or the discounted bundle of all instruments.

If you have made purchases in a previous version of the apps, you will not see ads or any changes in the way you use the instruments. Likewise, the instruments included when you own one of our instrument editions are not affected. With those editions, the main change is that you are now able to play all the other instruments like in the free edition.

This change affects all editions of Trainer HD that include in-app purchases, meaning the popular free version as well as each of the instrument editions (Guitar, Bass, Banjo, Ukulele and Mandolin). The Complete edition stays ad-free as always.

We believe this is a move that will be seen as a net benefit for our users, as they will be able to enjoy more of the app before having to make a purchase decision.

As always, feel free to contact us directly with any questions and comments at support@catloafsoft.com.