Can’t Upgrade until IOS Terrain Tree Bug is fixed ( Unity 4.3 and higher )

First let me say I love Unity. My Unity game has hit the top 10 in RolePlaying on IOS in several countries and it’s thanks to the simplicity of building in Unity and the Asset store.

But there’s an issue that is increasingly becoming a problem to the point where it’s now affecting my game development.

Unity 4.3 introduced a regression to IOS terrain trees. Since Unity 4.3 adding even a single tree to the terrain results in unplayable frame rate.

There’s been several but reports filed here:

• http://issuetracker.unity3d.com/issues/terrain-tree-culling-performance-regression

also here

• http://fogbugz.unity3d.com/default.asp?587905_i12j8cb5ee57ue2v
  
• http://fogbugz.unity3d.com/default.asp?611017_m8ban080lj776h0r

There is a long thread about the problem here:

• http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/max-mesh-trees-setting-broken.224212/

and more threads here

• http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/terrain-trees-causing-slow-framerate.231931/
• http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/tree-creator-trees-decreasing-performance.253043/

I contacted Unity a few months ago and was told the issue was solved in an upcoming version. But as of Unity 4.5.2 it hasn’t been solved.

It’s become a problem for me now because I cannot upgrade my game since it is effectively unplayable when upgraded to any version above Unity 4.2. I am missing out on new version updates that are essential for IOS game development. For example, I need to identify when the game is running on an iPhone 5C or 5S, but that detection is only available in version 4.3 and higher.

With iPhone 6 around the corner and IOS 8 being released I fear my Unity 4.2 version will soon run into more compatibility problems.

It’s been more than half a year that this issue has existed. i understand Unity is incredibly successful and busy, but I thought IOS Terrain trees would be an important bug to solve. It’s made worse by the fact that it’s a regression, so something that I relied on (terrain tree performance) has effectively been removed from the product.

If anyone else encounters this issue please, please, please add your vote to the Bug report:

http://issuetracker.unity3d.com/issues/terrain-tree-culling-performance-regression​

As an independent game developer it’s hard enough to make a living from my artworks. I’ve very happily invested many thousands of out of pocket dollars in the software, upgrades, add ons and the asset store because I believe in Unity - I’ve been a paying customer since version 3. I’m very happy with the work Unity is doing, but I am here asking about this bug because I want to pay and upgrade to Unity 5 when it arrives and I need this bug fixed to do that.

Thanks for listening and I hope that this regression/bug can either be fixed or at least addressed.


Trees are Good

 

I think this issue needs to be looked at, asap by Unity Dev

 

It looks like there are a few reports of frame dropping from version 4.2 to version 4.3:

http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/unity-4-2-2-to-4-3-4-performance-drop.228450/

and

http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/help-with-confirming-bug-needed-lower-fps-in-unity-4-3.210548/

I read the release notes and it says Unity rewrote the occlusion culling system in version 4.3 - maybe that has something to do with it.

 

The issue tracker report on this seems to have been updated to 'Fixed in future release' today:-

http://issuetracker.unity3d.com/issues/terrain-tree-culling-performance-regression

 

That gives me hope SeelOfQuality Thanks for posting that - i'm going to keep my eyes peeled on the updates.

 

Just downloaded 4.5.3.p1. Still have the same problem.

 

Thanks for the update

i read this : http://7daystodie.com/forums/showthread.php?10535-Alpha-8-2-is-out!/page11

"when there is an actual fix to an issue, it will say something like the following: "Status: Fixed in Unity 4.3.1" Just so people know that "Status: Fixed in future release" doesn't mean it is actually fixed, just that it will possibly be fixed on a future Unity version."

I hope this isnt the case. But Unity engineers are good guys and i'm sure they will have this fixed hopefully before using the IOS 8 SDK becomes a requirement.

 

So this pretty much means that it is pointless to start creating my next game, a realistic hunting game hopefully using Unity's terrain engine?

 

Yes, I believe that the 'Fixed in future release' status means that while Unity has been able to resolve the issue in an internal build, they haven't yet determined which from public build the fix will be integrated.

Since this fix was only made within a few days of the release of 4.5.3, it's understandable that it perhaps couldn't have been included in that, but hopefully it appears in a fairly prompt 4.5.4 release...

 

Well Unite is on this week and I hope forget about 4.5.4 -> 4.6 Launch with new features and load of fixes.

 

I hope so. Unity just announced Unity 4.5 for Samsung Smart TV. I've been preparing for this, but i cant take advantage of it until who knows when. I love unity but it feels really awful to work on my game in 4.2 and watching new, needed updates pass me by. I'm not really sure what to do except keep working and keep hoping for the bug fix.

 

@protopop, according to bugreport logs, our QA wasn't able reproduce your issue on Unity 4.6 beta. But since you didn't include any sample project it is hard to tell if exactly your issue was fixed. You might give a try to our 4.6 beta release (http://unity3d.com/unity/beta/4.6) or add simple repro project to your fogbugz case.

 

I've got this problem too, and a fix wasn't mentioned in the 4.6 release notes. But I'll give it a test today.

 

Thanks for the scoop. I will download 4.6 and report back as soon as I can test it out. Fingers crossed

 

The problem is not fixed. I did a very simple test scene in 4.2.2. (terrain with lots and lots of trees); in an iOS build from that, xcode reports CPU usage is 10.5ms. Then I imported the project to 4.6 and did a build. CPU usage is 47.5. No changes to the scene. I'm submitting a bug with this repro project.

EDIT: My bug report is case 627766

 

Thanks for testing that.

This is really disappointing, If it isn't fixed in 4.6 then i have no idea when we'd actually see a fix, if ever. My game is set in nature and removing the trees isn't an option. And just supporting A7 devices isn't an option either. When I released BrightRidge 1.0 it didn't work on A5 devices and there was a lot of upset feedback. That pushed me to optimize (unity is really flexible) and provide A5 support with version 1.1. But unless i can get this same 4.2 performance in a new version i'll effectively not be able to continue making games for iPhone and iPad. I'll test it too as soon as i get a moment to upgrade the project file.

Unfortunately it means no new GUI and upgrade to 4.6 for me. I'm actually pretty scared. I'm like the definition of a broke, hard working indie dev, and I've made a real push with my new game and have invested a lot in it, and i just feel like it's this countdown until Unity 4.2 is obsolete. Like Apple will suddenly announce all new games need to use the IOS 8 SDK and my version won't support whatever's required.

Anyways i feel like a complainer but i just wish my game business wasn't on the line here. It has made me realize that by putting my faith in non open source software we have to take what we're given. I still believe in the ability and hard work of the developers - but I guess this is not a priority regression or it's too hard to fix. I notice it happened in Unity 4.3 and that's when they completely rewrote the culling engine, so maybe its all connected. I think personally its because they removed PVS culling which is what i used to great effect before 4.3

 

I couldn't agree more, protopop. We actually started converting a standalone game that has lots of trees right after 4.3 was released, so I thought that trees simply weren't an option on mobile, and so we spent a lot of time creating our own tree system, which works, but is substantially inferior to the Terrain Engine. Imagine my surprise (and frustration) to find this thread yesterday.

 

I think looking on the asset store for some kind of replacement is best bet..I had issue with Unity built in feature Depth script - made a post about it, found solution for mobile devices on asset store saved me 50percent cpu...i understand your pain with this as although many bugs have been fixed each release, problem is performance with mobile and understanding that each feature of unity there has to be a mobile solution for it also but this is simply not a option as it would take forever to program...

I hope this moves up the priority list..

 

Fix was done for 5.0. I've talked to the developer who fixed it, and he said there are plans to back port it to 4.5 soon.

 

Thanks for the good news, smiledriver! Very glad to hear that.

 

That's the best news Smilediver - thank you for keeping us informed, that's half the battle I'm extremely eager to update and try everything untiy 4.3 and higher has to offer. I'll keep working on my projects and keep an eye on the new releases.

 

The fix is in 4.5.3 patch 4, just released. My test scene performs slightly better now than it did in 4.2.2!

 

GASP!

This is the best news. My game is selling well and i'm about to release an upgrade. Now i don't have to worry about being shut out of Unity's new features.

I will test this as soon as i can backup and convert my project (it takes a while).

thank you for sharing the great news.

 

So you are saying it's not just fixed, but seemingly runs faster than even before it "broke" possibly?

 

Yes, slightly faster. Here's the xcode readout from builds from the two versions of Unity. This is a test scene with about 30,000 trees (three different tree models), and some detail objects -- though the camera was placed pretty far from the latter, so I don't know if any were being drawn.

I've now tried my actual scene, and it's not performing as well -- but I never tried it on 4.2.2 so can't really draw any conclusions, except that I need to figure out how to tweak it to speed things up. So YMMV.

 

Protopop, have you got your project into 4.5.3p4 yet? For me, the profiler spikes badly (unacceptably on iPad 2) when the camera moves close to trees. Does it for you?

 

Im backing up my files and then will convert my project, but that takes about 2 - 3 hours, so i will probably only be able to test it this evening. But I'm very eager to find out and will post my result here as soon as I know.

Right now the Unity 4.2 version of my game works on A5 devices, so i am hoping that the Unity 4.5 version will too.

 

It didn't work.

I upgraded my 4.2 project to 4.5.3p4. Ran it on an A5 device and performance was choppy. That was with the original occlusion data from the 4.2 file. So i tried to recalculate occlusion natively in 4.5 to see if it would make a difference. I received the error "not enough memory to complete tile computation". I tried various occlusion settings all with the same result. Eventually Unity crashed and I had to force quit.

Now I have to make some difficult decisions.

It's been a year I haven't been able to upgrade, stuck on version 4.2. Ive invested several thousand dollars of my own money in software and asset store assets. I've sold more than 3000 copies of my game in the last 2 months. But I cannot upgrade because of the regression.

I thank Unity for trying, but it looks like whatever was broken in version 4.3 is here to stay.

I am going to stick with Unity 4.2 knowing that it may not be able to work with new versions of Xcode, and i may be locked out of updating my game on the apple store eventually.

I am mentally exhausted over this, but i can't keep hoping. More than a year is long enough. I have made a real go at making a living being an independent game developer and a large investment of time, money and very very hard work. I have thrown everything into this series of games and am actively updating my project and keeping communication open with players. And this is crushing to know that my development on this game may have to come to an end. All i keep thinking is that multi-million dollar game companies through thousands of dollars away at the drop of a hat and can afford all the best and the brightest, while i have to rely on my wits and effort just to make a small splash. But it was ok because I was driven to make games and worlds, and more importantly to share them with people, so that they might find some of the joy ive experienced exploring the worlds of others.

Maybe i can figure something out or find a fix, but i have been looking for a long time now and i do not know what to do. It's not feasible for me to recreate this game in a new engine, let alone learn it and repurchase all the assets.

Im going to step back and think about what to do next. I am really disillusioned, and quite a bit shaken.

 

So I went back in and set the occlusion to smallest occluder: 64 smallest hole: 64 backface threshold: 30 and baked it, and the baking worked. Actually it baked it i literally about 3 seconds so im not sure whats going on there. I tried it again on A5 and same result though - 4 frames per second versus the 30 or so i get with Unity 4.2

Im going to try some more setting. Maybe I can get somewhere with this.

 

Well i get the same 4fps even on iPhone 5 - basically the same issue ive had with every version since 4.3. its unplayable on anything except an A7 device (and then its a bit slower too)

Im going to return to Unity 4.2. It had the best occlusion.

If it helps anyone more technical than me, the occlusion data baked in 4.2 then upgraded to 4.5 works better than recalculating occlusion natively in 4.5. 4.2 occlusion data is much smaller at about 80kb vs 300kb to 4mb depending on the settings in 4.5. So there really is something working simpler in v4.2 - i am convinced based on everything ive read that it might have to do with the removal of the PVS occlusion culling which from what i understand was a lightweight process that may have involved errors (which i didn't see) but performed very well with low cpu impact.

I'm gonna try and stop worrying about this. Ive worked as hard as I can and this is a technical issue out of my hands.

 

OK, I took one more look.

iPhone 5C with Unity 4.5.3p4

• with no terrain trees: 30 fps
• with one terrain tree : 4fps

iPhone 5C with Unity 4.2

• with 1600 terrain trees: 30fps

I'm hoping this will help somehow. It isn't that the performance of tree culling has degraded per se, so, it works 20%, 40% etc as well as it did in Unity 4.2. It's that something is fundamentally wrong with the terrain tree system because it only takes one single tree to bring the whole system to it's knees. Grass is fine - no performance hit. It's just when you draw one tree - so as soon as the Unity player is like "there's terrain trees - run the terrain tree system", it's that system where it's busted.

I know that's super un-technical, but i just thought if people are looking for the fix by increasing the efficiency of the tree system, it might be closer to the problem to know it's probably not the number of trees that counts, but whatever system is engaged to display the trees. Maybe it's a problem with the billboarding system? (i don't know)

Anyways thanks to Unity for trying - I know you don't want this regression any more than do, and i hope that a fix can be found.

 

@protopop: I've added a mobile controller to my simple test scene (4 tree types, 30,000 trees, two detail objects), and it still runs great (about 8ms CPU) when the camera is stationary or moving forward/backwards/sideways -- but performance plummets (70ms CPU) when the camera rotates. (Testing on iPad 2.) So that's definitely an improvement from before, but still not viable. I'm submitting my updated project to Unity for further investigation.

However, what you describe sounds like the 4.3 - 4.5 problem still, where even adding a single tree to the terrain brings the game to its knees. Have you submitted your project for Unity to examine?

I haven't tried any occlusion culling (not useful in my game) or baking yet.

 

Thanks for the update Gecko.

Can i submit my xcode project? My Unity project file is 12gb so not feasible. But ive just created 2 xcode projects with just my terrain, the player, the joysticks and 1 tree or zero trees.

Xcode with terrain and 1 tree : 4fps
Xcode with terrain and no trees : 30fps

Can i submit these somewhere? Do i file a bug and then attach them, or maybe i can append them to an existing bug. Im sorry to ask, i havent submitted a project before.

But my test here where ive eliminated everything except the terrain and the tree proves that its not the number of trees, because like in last nights tests its just that one tree on or off that affects it. (and there is a ton of grass but again that not affecting performance, just the tree presence). I thought maybe the complexity of my scene might be doing it but with these simplified versions its the same issue.

Anyways if anyone knows if these two xcode (one tree and no trees) projects will help and where to send them, please let me know. I will also look around to see if i can find out where to send them myself.

 

@gecko by the way you mentioned how it only is a problem when the camera rotates.

After you mentioned that i went into my build with the single tree and the slowdown, and i noticed that my camera rotates into a settled position at the start. By looking at my grass swaying in the wind, i can see that as soon as the camera settles into position and finished its rotation, the frame rate jumps back up to 30fps. So as long as the camera doesn't rotate the issue seems to fix itself.

Of course having a camera that never rotates is not really feasible but maybe it will help track things down.

I also wondered if i put the camera itself inside a game object and rotated that instead of the camera itself if that would solve the problem (that way the 'camera' wouldn't be rotating), but that didnt work, so its not the transform of the camera via rotation, but what the camera sees.

 

@protopop: glad that you also found that the problem was with rotating camera. I submitted an updated repro project so hopefully that'll be sufficient. Submitting an Xcode project wouldn't be helpful to UT folks.

 

Why is this only an iOS problem and not an issue for Android, that seems so weird.

No new updates on this?

 

I haven't tried it on Android but it would be really helpful I think because then we could see if it's platform specific.

I know that on the iPhone 5S it works - still slower than the Unity 4.2 version - but the 5S is so powerful that it seems to overcome, mostly, the slowdown through sheer cpu power. I could test it on my Nexus 5 but thats a pretty powerful device so it would be more insightful if someone could also test it on a somewhat earlier device, something equivalent to an iPhone 4s or iphone 5, both of which are unplayable with terrain trees in any version of Unity past 4.2

Im actually about to release Nimian Legends : BrightRidge update 1.2 to the app store, and im REALLY hoping there wont be any issue using Unity 4.2 (which I'm stuck with until a fix) to upload to the current Apple App Store. I will post an update here once I submit it to the App Store to let people know if there's any issues using Unity 4.2 for those of us who are stuck with it.

 

All I know is that I built it for ipad 2 and 30fps solid, until you rotate camera.

My Galaxy S4 didn't drop anything when rotating. I think my older Atrix didn't respond to rotating either, so I really think it might just be iOS specific, not for certain though.

 

There's a new patch release coming tomorrow, hopefully that'll have a newer, better fix.

 

I hope so. I want to update my game on the App Store - but i dont have access to new bug fixes like the IOS8 auto rotation fix. This regression is threatening to prevent me from updating my app. I am trying to stay calm about it but it is quite stressful.

 

Oh man, i just read that IOS Apps will have to be 64 bit in february

Apple: Beginning February 2015, App Store submissions need to be 64-bit
http://arstechnica.com/apple/2014/1...2015-app-store-submissions-need-to-be-64-bit/

I have to use Unity 4.2 because of the IOS Terrain Tree Bug. Will Unity 4.2 be able to build a 64 bit IOS app?

I really hope this bug is fixed so I can upgrade my version.

 

New IOS Apps AND Updates will need to be 64bit starting February 2015

I just read confirmation that new IOS apps AND Updates will need to be 64bit and IOS8 starting in February

This means I need to know if Unity 4.2 will be able to make 64bit builds. It's really important now because February is 4 months away and it will basically ruin my indie game development if it can't

yes im worrying, but its been a year Ive been begging for this. . I've loved unity since it was Mac only and I just really, really want the IOS Terrain Tree bug to be fixed so I can upgrade.

Can Unity already make 64bit IOS apps and / or will the ability for 3.x / 4.x versions be able to build 64 bit?

 

I know that they're still working on this issue. They had to set it aside for awhile, but are back on it now.

 

That's really great to hear. Thank you for letting me know, This has been a really growing worry for me.

My passion is to make games and worlds and ive put the last several years of my life into a framework based on the Unity engine. I guess the truth is either i will be able to continue my work (yes!) or not (devastating) and I will know soon.

 

So i'm thinking about it and here's a repost i originally posted on the Touch Arcade BrightRidge thread. I'm mulling over the options and staying positive:

New IOS Apps AND Updates will need to be 64bit starting February 2015

As some of you may know, Unity 4.3 and higher has a regression that makes IOS Trees unworkable due to a low framerate. I'm using Unity 4.2 and have been following this bug for a year and asking Unity for a fix.

I just received confirmation that App Updates will need to be 64bit starting February 2015. I'm trying to find out if Unity can already build 64bit IOS Apps or if Unity 4.2 will be able to do it. It's kind of freaked me out because I have solid plans for Nimian Legends BrightRidge and the remaining games. But it looks like there's 4 potential outcomes here:

1. Unity fixes the IOS Terrain Tree Bug, I upgrade, build 64bit and all's well
2. Unity doesn't fix the bug, i stick with Unity 4.2, it does build 64bit and i continue to use it as long as possible
3. Unity doesnt fix the bug (preventing upgrade) and I will no longer be able to update the app
4. Unity doesnt fix the bug, I update anyways buy due to the bug have to drop support for anything lower than the A7 chip

If #4 comes to pass, what i am thinking to mitigate it is that i would make the previous version of BrightRidge free so A5 and A6 devices would have something to play, and then just focus on A7 and up and hope there isn't another feature regression in unity like this one.

The other option im looking into is to replace my terrain trees with a custom system of billboards and occlusion to handle trees as objects.

I guess I just wanted to put this out here because so many people on this forum have been so helpful, and being able to share this worry i think soothes me somewhat.

My official outlook is that Unity will come through and fix the bug before February. In any case I am just going to continue to work on BrightRidge and hope for the best. But I'm kind of scared that all the money and time I've put into this might come to an end.

I'll definitely keep people posted - im sure this news affects other developers as well.
And who knows, the say in Chinese the word for Crisis is the same for Opportunity. I don't know if that's true, but its a great piece of advice, and no matter what happens I'll approach it as openly as possible. Maybe it will even lead to a new opportunity or path (HTML5 only games?, Android and PC only versions)


Thank you to the forum for listening and all you great support and feedback - it has meant a lot to me and helped a lot​

 

there's another issue. Apps and updates from February 2015 will also need to be built using the IOS8 SDK.

I built using Unity 4.2 and Xcode 6.1 and got this:


From what i understand there is a patch for 4.5 http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/wrong-screen-orientation-with-ios8.269175/

It looks like Unity 4.2 doesn't meet Apples February requirements to update our apps using IOS8 SDK. Meaning that unless these issues are back patched to 4.2 , that version won't be enough.

I'm still hoping for the Terrain Tree IOS bug fix, but in the meantime I think I need to figure out a way to upgrade to the latest versions of Unity with or without the fix due to these other looming incompatibility issues.

A few devs have mentioned they built their own tree systems. If I can figure out one that handles 2000 trees on mobile (like Unity 4.2 and earlier terrain tree system does) then i could upgrade, since it's only the tree bug holding me back. I'm just thinking out loud here trying to make sense of the situation.

 

Hi Protopop,

I highly encourage you to provide a sample project for the issue that you are seeing to give Unity a proper chance to fix it.
Before I report a bug I usually try to reproduce it in a minimal project, i.e. a sample that only demonstrates the particular issue without any other UI/game logic code that could interfere. Then I include this sample in the bug report.
Mantas has pointed out above that you haven't provided such a repo project, which makes it hard for them to reproduce the same issue and verify fixes.

Unity 4.2 does not include iOS 64 bit support, and I would be very surprised if they backport 64bit support to this legacy version once they add it.

 

@JohannesQ Thank you.

I'll prepare a test project - maybe i can learn something by examining a sparse project and scene file. I guess I'll use Unity 4.6 but if anyone thinks its better to test it in 4.5.5 please let me know (i dont know which one is more up to date outside the GUI benefits in 4.6)

EDIT: i found the 4.6 release Notes page here http://unity3d.com/unity/beta/4.6/release-notes that shows which version of 4.6 is equivalent to versions 4.5

Thank you for the observation. I think this is now necessary to accept. What i'm coming to realize is that it is no longer just about fixing the IOS Tree bug. because of Apple's 64bit and IOS8 SDK requirements starting February 1 2015, any version of Unity that isn't patched won't be able to export to the Apple App Store anymore. I think this will be tough for people using Unity 4.2 or lower and Unity 3.x, but i read here http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/apple-enforces-64-bit-in-february.275115/#post-1821492 that Unity is making some decisions about how to handle the 64bit issue so maybe there will be a fix. Anyways either way my original fear from almost a year ago, that older versions of unity won't be able to create new apps, seems to be on the verge of coming true. my failed attempt to use Unity 4.2 to create an IOS8 SDK Xcode 6 app that runs on iPhone 6/6 is a good example.

I'm going to focus my efforts on accepting using the latest version of Unity will LIKELY soon become a necessity. I can either find a workaround for the bug or speak with my fan base and let them know I may have to drop support for A6 devices if the bug isn't patched. No matter what the result I know Unity is working hard on a number of fronts and i'll focus my efforts on finding solutions to the consequences of using the latest version of Unity.

 

@protopop

Did you preoder Unity 5, to try the beta now? Since they supposedly fixed it in Unity 5, I wondered if anyone has checked this for sure yet.... maybe they didn't really fix it yet, and so when the back ported the fix it wasn't really a fix...

 

That's exactly what i was thinking

I contacted Unity to order Unity 5 but the rep is traveling and I haven't heard back from them yet. i'm sure she'll contact me soon and when she does I plan to get Unity 5 and test it right away (or i might just buy it online but id rather deal with a live person . Ill post results here.

I created a scene with just 2000 trees, a character and terrain and it runs smoothly on my iPod Touch in Unity 4.5.5 So I tested my scene but the same thing - if there are no trees it's smooth even on older devices but with a single tree it crawls. Unless im on iPhone 5s or above where its slower but the raw CPU power keeps the framerate up somewhat.

all this to say that:

• there is something in my project that is not in the simple sample project i set up that causes a slowdown when a tree is added
• There is something different between Unity 4.2 and Unity 4.3 that cause a slowdown in my current project when I use 4.3 or higher
• Slowdown only occurs when the camera is rotating. As soon as it stops moving framerate goes back to normal

So i am taking all of this and i am basically going to recreate my entire game from scratch, adding in piece by piece to see which project assets + unity 4.3 and up + terrain trees = slowdown

My guess is that maybe all of us who are experiencing this slowdown are using a specific asset store or other asset that is in the project files (not the scene) that combined with our scene setup and Unity 4.3+ results in slowdown. I think its in the project folder and not the scene because i tested my scene in 4.5.5 and sripped it of almost everything except terrain, a player and a few trees. it may also be the combination of a script and newer versions of Unity.

Anyways i have worked hard to stay zen about this because ive been freaking out the closer we get to unity 4.2 being obsolete (see 64bit app requirements, xcode 6 and iphone 6 support etc). But I'm sure that the answer will come if i look hard enough and in the meantime im continuing to update my game for as long as possible before February, and i will figure out a work around or solve this bug one way or another