Ouya has pumped out a new firmware update that addresses a few issues that had come up regarding a few different problems that would cause the system to crash. While this was one main focus for the update another was just improving the overall discoverability of games on the Android-powered game console.
To address the issue of game discovery on Ouya, the company has done a few adjustments to the overall user interface that you’ll see when you turn on your console. First games you already have downloaded and installed have been moved to the back row in the Discover section. This takes the games you already have and moves them out of the way, bringing games you don’t have more into view.
A second adjustment is actually more of a feature. You can essentially ‘bury’ games that you are not interested in by pressing R3 (that would be pressing the right thumb stick). This also brings games you would possibly be interested in to the forefront without having to scroll past games you already know you are not interested in. There is a new notification now that will go off and notify you when a game has finished downloading. Now you won’t have to guess when it is done or stare at the progress bar.
As for crash fixes, Here is the changelog regarding those:
– Fixed an issue where sometimes a system update would cancel and not inform the user, so only a blank downloading bar would appear.
– Fixed an issue where high bandwidth could actually cause performance issues and crashes while navigating menus.
– Fixed an issue that could cause the OUYA to overheat in some cases.
– Fixed a handful of crashes that could occur after browsing DISCOVER for a long period of time.
A lot of people are hoping that support for external storage will be coming soon and while this update didn’t address this issue, Ouya did post a statement regarding this. Basically the company is working on it and we should see support for external storage arriving in the near future.
We understand everyone wants this feature (we do too!), so I just want to let y’all know that we are currently working on it. It’s not a simple feature to do right, so know that we hear your feedback and are working on it as our top priority.
So a pretty decent update for the Android-powered console which should improve things overall for everyone to some degree. Ouya did mention that an intern has hidden some Easter Eggs in the menus for people to find. If you do happen to find them, post them and how you got to them in the comments below.
Website Referenced: AndroidCommunity
