Apps and updates
Moo Classic runs on computers, phones and tablets, and in a browser. Every version is the same game, with the same loading screen, the same server list and the same accounts. This page covers what each version is and how updates work.
Quick facts
| Version | Notes |
|---|---|
| Mac | Moo Classic.app, signed, with the game files inside. It updates itself. |
| Windows | A zip with the game files beside the program. It can update itself. |
| Linux | A tarball for 64-bit Intel and AMD, with the game files beside the program. |
| Android | An APK: a 64-bit one for current phones and a 32-bit one for old phones. A small starter pack is inside and the rest downloads while you play. |
| iPhone and iPad | Coming soon. |
| Browser | The same game in Chrome, Edge or Safari, on phones and tablets too. Nothing to install. |
The open beta opens by waitlist. Players on the waitlist are invited first. Download links appear on mooclassic.com when the beta opens.
Starting the game
The first thing you see is the Moo Classic logo on black, with a bar under it. It fades once the first screen has drawn. The browser has no start picture, because the web page is the loader.
After that every version shows the same loading screen: the logo at the top, a Wizard, Knight, Elf or Gladiator standing on Lorencia's ground, swinging or casting every few seconds, a tip, and a strip that says "Checking for updates", "Up to date" or "Starting Moo Classic" with the build number. On a computer it stays at least 5 seconds. Enter, Space or Esc ends it early.
The server list
The list shows Moo Classic (1x experience) on top, as the default, and the High XP Test world below it. The groups on the left only choose. The right side shows the server of the chosen group, and Enter connects. The server's address is never shown.
Updates
Updates are forced when they have to be. If the server and the game change together, the server raises the version it asks for, and an older copy is turned away at the server list and told to update.
- Computers: the login shows an update panel with a bar that moves as the file downloads, the megabytes done, the speed and the time left. The game then restarts itself. If the download fails, you can retry, or play anyway while the server still takes your version.
- Mac: the update is built next to the app you installed, swapped in, and the game files carried over. The app restarts as itself, in the same place.
- Android: the app installs its own updates and keeps downloading changed game files while you play.
- Windows zip and phones: a newer build is offered in a window before login (Open TestFlight, Download, Later). While you play, one yellow chat line appears at most every 30 minutes.
News
A news icon with a red count of unread items sits at the top left of the login screen, beside Create account. Inside the game, the Esc menu has a News row that opens the same window. What you have read is saved for your account, so news you read on one device counts as read on all of them.
Report a problem
Press F12, type /bug, or choose Report a problem in the Esc menu. The game takes a screenshot first, then sends your text with the end of the game log. A crash reports itself. Once per play session the game also sends a short anonymous line about your device (system, model, graphics card and frame rate), so problems on certain phones can be found.
Browser
The browser version loads each map's files the first time you visit it and keeps them for next time. It keeps playing when the tab is in the background. It holds the frame rate to the cap you set in Options. On phones it uses the same touch layout as the app: see Phone controls.
How Moo Classic changed this
| Change | What now happens | Why |
|---|---|---|
| One loading screen | Every version shows the same one. | Two different loaders made no sense, and the browser one looked best. |
| Update panel with a bar | The login waits for the update and shows progress. | An update on any version should block play and show real progress. |
| Old versions refused | The server list turns them away. | Some players kept playing an old version after a change that needed both sides. |
| Starter pack on Android | A small download first, the rest while you play. | A smaller first download for phones. |
| Report a problem | F12, /bug or the Esc menu. |
Testers and phones are far from the team, and crashes need a report. |
| One news window | Same window at login and in the Esc menu, read state saved per account. | A player should not see the same news twice on two devices. |