Thread:68.174.30.169/@comment-24668482-20140901081004

This is a known problem that the vast majority of ipad players updated to the Tavern update are suffering from. It was caused by a combination of 2 things 1) the tavern update changing how the friends section of the game's files are stored and used on your device and 2) The akamaihd.net provider Facebook uses to host images changed the way they want images accessed, which made all the links for FB pictures used as avatars in the game longer.

The result is some (but not all or even most) Facebook avatars are missing their file extensions in the folder they are stored in on your device. When the game tries to access these photos it finds a file that isn't a photo (because it is missing the ".jpeg") and doesn't know what to do. This causes it to crash. So when you go to your inbox and there is a gift from a friend with one of these problematic photos the game tries to load the avatar, finds a file it can't read, and crashes. Every time you try to open a page of your inbox that contains a gift/thank you from that friend. It doesn't affect android or kindle devices as unlike iOS devices they are simply able to display a black blank space instead of the missing photo.

The solution is actually quite easy - add the file extensions back. Then you will be able to access all your old gifts and any new gifts from that friend will be fine as well. The problem may come back if you add a new friend who happens to have a facebook picture as their avatar that has a long url cutting the .jpeg off on your devices files, or if one of your existing friends changes their avatar to a (new) facebook avatar that is missing its file extension on your device. But the fix will work again as many times as you need it to.

The only downside is that you cannot access the game files from your device itself. They are stored in a part of your device that you do not have access to. So you need to have access to a computer, and to download a programme that will let you see the hidden files on your device such as iFunbox. So you also need to be comfortable enough with messing around with computers to do it. There are clear and precise instructions here (external link to chaptercheats, a very friendly forum for the game) if this is something you have the resources and comfort level to do.

Note: there are loads of programmes that you can get (both free and paid) that will allow you to see and edit the files on your device. You do not have to use iFunbox. You can use any programme you find that you want to, or one you currently use if you happen to use one already. The reason why everyone recommends iFunbox is because it is free, is simply to use, and just happened to be the programme a lot of players already used to back up their game (it can be hit or miss with itunes or cloud so many players back up their SS game manually) so a lot of people who needed to do this fix already had the programme and were already comfortable using it. But that doesn't mean you have to if you feel you have a better alternative.

If you don't have access to a computer, or you do not want to edit the game files on your device, there are things you can do to manage this problem. You can simply buffer off the offending pages of your gift box and work with a smaller gift box limit until the update to fix the problem (promised soon) is released. To do this successfully you will need to identify the friend(s) whose avatars your game can't display and either contact them and ask them to change their avatar to a standard game one or delete them if you have no way of contacting them. If a player changes their avatar to an in-game one instead of a facebook one, all new gifts from them will be fine, and will not crash your game, but you will still not be able to access your current gifts that are crashing as they will still have the old avatar. This is not as neat a solution as simply fixing the files yourself, but it does work, and will at least get you to a point where you can play again. This may not work if you currently have way more gifts than the standard gift box limit as you need to get a few safe gifts to act as a buffer first, so if the inbox is full they won't arrive.

Every player of the game should remove their facebook avatars and use in-game ones until the developers fix this problem, as they may be crashing some of their friends with the gifts they send. So if you are using one, please change it as soon as you can.

If you would rather manage your current gift box and crashing gifts than use the iFunbox fix, I can talk you through how to do it in more detail, but this post is long enough as is. 