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eeenmachine posted:I think the main problem with JoF is that the art style doesn't necessarily appeal to a wide enough audience to make freemium work. If it were my game I probably would have launched it paid with non-consumable IAP additional content (more characters / kitties / levels). Disclaimer: I don't have a problem with putting a higher max spendable amount on my game if it keeps me in business. Ultimately, it didn't pan out. The $1.99 thing might not work either. I certainly don't expect to make much on iOS, just, hopefully, enough to meet my teensy required survival amount once added to Android, PC, etc. Wozbo posted:Also, count me in the boat of people that wait a week for IAP, for this very reason. I think you are shooting yourself in the foot a bit early here. By switching to $1.99 now, I can at least take advantage of the rest of Apple's featuring period at a premium price. If I wait a week, that's gone. Wozbo posted:Honest question: Are you planning on doing large content updates or is this app more fire and forget + fixes? If you plan on doing things like: instead of kitties dalmatians etc then I'm really confused as to why take off the IAP. If that hits, the other planned update past that would be to add additional zone types - Apartments, Rooftops, each with some different hazard types - to break up the forests. Shalinor fucked around with this message at 19:19 on Mar 11, 2013 |
# ? Mar 11, 2013 19:10 |
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# ? Jun 6, 2024 06:12 |
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thedouche posted:If any of you Quest folks go Nogur like I always do, be sure and get access to paralyze (the spell or preferably the wand) when you can. This allows your magic sensitive self to freeze deadly long range magic attackers and charge/club them to death. Note: if two enemies are side by side, you hit them both. Seriously, get this poo poo. Shaman enemies in the early game will wreck your poo poo with lightning spells.
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# ? Mar 11, 2013 19:11 |
I feel like the change is taking place too early. I mean, a game that is floundering might continue to do so, obviously, but jumping from free to paid in less than a week seems pretty ridiculous. I'm also surprised that's even happening. I've seen a lot of cases where it's gone in the opposite direction -- a paid game going free. That typically comes with a lot of its own drama and criticism (as the game is re-balanced around IAPs) but people tend to do this because paid games aren't making them any money. That said, I am no game designer so my opinion really doesn't matter. I did try out Jones on Fire but I can see where people are coming from with the issue with the camera. The game just seems weirdly jittery, or maybe the sparkles on the kitties make my eyes kind of slide off the screen. Not sure what it is.
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# ? Mar 11, 2013 19:22 |
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I downloaded Jones on Fire, and liked it alright. I'll probably play some more. It's not really an infinite runner, which is something I really like. I like that if I get good, I can pass stages. Sense of accomplishment, yay! Sucks that it's not making lots of moneys.
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# ? Mar 11, 2013 19:25 |
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edit: nm I'm just dogpiling at this point.
Jalumibnkrayal fucked around with this message at 19:34 on Mar 11, 2013 |
# ? Mar 11, 2013 19:29 |
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Clocks posted:I feel like the change is taking place too early. I mean, a game that is floundering might continue to do so, obviously, but jumping from free to paid in less than a week seems pretty ridiculous. I don't have enough window left to nurse a game along for a year, hoping for a break, so I made the choice more likely to fix the release in the shorter-term. Who knows if I made the right one. I don't think it was recoverable, though, without an ad spend that I can't afford, or some very lucky luck. The jitter had two components. One, an incidental "pop", has been fixed. The other, the thing iPad users are noticing, I'm still working on. ... and if anyone's got further questions, probably take it to PMs, or over to the GameDev business thread. I don't mean to keep derailing the thread.
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# ? Mar 11, 2013 19:32 |
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Stormfang1502 posted:There is one critical thing to remember about this game. Unlike in real life tactical situations the high ground is NOT your friend in this game! Enemies turn their backs to climb down terrain and this is a huge advantage for your base. The ideal set up is to have your barracks near the center of the map next to a mining node in the lowest possible part of the map. This is for two reasons, first you won't have anything blowing out from under your base because there's nothing there. Secondly if your in the low ground the enemies have to climb down the hills to get to your base, exposing their backs to your turrets! That's... a really good point. I'll have to give it a go tonight! I now feel very dumb that my solution has been to take the high ground and build a very high pole up from the center of my bunker, then build weapons platforms out on 4 long arms to zap fools climbing up my mountain. That's right, MY mountain, you filthy gobbos... which eventually becomes a gutted plateau with a very awkward base teetering at its summit. I'd still recommend tat approach, if only because it does result in some hilarious atrocities of engineering the longer you manage to survive.
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# ? Mar 11, 2013 19:41 |
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hogswallower posted:I took the plunge on The Quest thanks to the responses earlier and it rules. You should all check out The Quest because it is a really well done game that hits the same nerve that daggerfall did back in the day. Except without all the glitches, crashes, and horrifying, randomly generated eterna-dungeons. Yea, everytime I keep seeing some touted "epic" RPG (looking at you Ravensword 2) they all fall staggeringly short of the sheer scope, world detail, story, characterization and quality of writing found in The Quest. Not only is it massive, but it's very well written as well. And I love how quests have multiple ways of solving them due to how you built your character.
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# ? Mar 11, 2013 20:28 |
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theblackw0lf posted:Yea, everytime I keep seeing some touted "epic" RPG (looking at you Ravensword 2) they all fall staggeringly short of the sheer scope, world detail, story, characterization and quality of writing found in The Quest. Not only is it massive, but it's very well written as well. And I love how quests have multiple ways of solving them due to how you built your character. One of the things I like about The Quest is that it's not always obvious how many ways there are to complete quests. If your Persuade skill isn't high enough, for instance, you won't be given a notification that you failed some skill check, it'll just move on without a pause. Playing different characters with different skill sets opens you up to lots of different paths.
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# ? Mar 11, 2013 20:48 |
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Trane posted:I missed out on the codes for Brian Cox's Wonders of Universe, so if anyone has a spare they can PM me, I'd appreciate it. Sorry for the non-game derail! (Edit: Still 5 left as of 10:15PM CST! They apparently only work in the US, FYI. You can also request via email, but let me know your SA username in the message. It's my username at gmail) mister negative fucked around with this message at 04:19 on Mar 12, 2013 |
# ? Mar 11, 2013 21:35 |
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While we are on the talk of RPGs, I picked the penny arcade game about 2 weeks ago. I'm not the biggest fan of the web comic, but the game is really fun. It was made the same team that did the call of chulutu rpg. It has got a fun class system and battle system. Though the game is more fun when you realize every single battle is supposed to be a puzzle for you to figure out how to win. And I recommend playing on hard because normal mode is really easy (you can change difficulty at any time). I got about 10 hours of enjoyment of it which isn't bad for 3 bucks. http://appshopper.com/games/penny-arcades-on-the-rain-slick-precipice-of-darkness-3
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# ? Mar 11, 2013 21:35 |
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Bummey posted:One of the things I like about The Quest is that it's not always obvious how many ways there are to complete quests. If your Persuade skill isn't high enough, for instance, you won't be given a notification that you failed some skill check, it'll just move on without a pause. Playing different characters with different skill sets opens you up to lots of different paths. I love enchanting items. I just realized that you can wear a robe under your armour. I figure if I enchant a robe with enough magic resistance (to go with my magic resistant mithril plate armour), I might be able to shrug off any magic attack.
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# ? Mar 11, 2013 21:52 |
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Is there a knights of pen and paper thread? Or maybe some tips on starting out?
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# ? Mar 11, 2013 22:06 |
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FYI: In honor of Henry Ford's 150th Birthday Celebration, Crickler is featuring puzzles on the Man, The Machines and the Company. Solve the Ford puzzles and share that you've completed them through Twitter and you'll have a chance at one of TEN $50 gift cards to Amazon! Free app: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/crickler-2-daily-word-puzzle/id427784181?mt=8
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# ? Mar 11, 2013 22:39 |
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If I kick someone out of my party in Knights of Pen & Paper are they lost forever? I've been unlocking new classes but I filled my party up to five members and I don't see a way to even look at the new ones Edit: AggroJagg posted:Is there a knights of pen and paper thread? Or maybe some tips on starting out? I know I've been successful starting out with a paladin for tanking (high HP and high threat % lets her soak up all the damage from monsters) a mage for damage over time spells and area effect spells, and a rogue for massive single-target damage. Maybe add in a cleric for your fourth for healing ability and the spell that weakens enemy attacks, which seems quite powerful after you pump a few skillpoints into it. Edit edit: wow reading below it looks like my RPG instincts are still pretty solid goferchan fucked around with this message at 23:11 on Mar 11, 2013 |
# ? Mar 11, 2013 23:04 |
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AggroJagg posted:Is there a knights of pen and paper thread? Or maybe some tips on starting out? Start out with a Mage, paladin, rogue, and cleric. Do the hunter quest in the first town (just buy the items he wants). Unlock the hunter class and get it. For paladin and Mage unlock their abilities and then just pump their passive. For hunter and thief unlock their attacks and then pump damage passive to level 10. For cleric pump weakening and get some single healing. That teams is good enough to beat the main game, but it is not the greatest for super bosses. Always time to fight as many monsters at once as you can, especially during missions. Weakening reduces damage from monsters to basically zero. For real world items get: objects, + hp items, + item find, and whatever dungeon master you want (I went with the doctor). After you got all the real world items, raise the level of the item shop and buy three rings.
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# ? Mar 11, 2013 23:06 |
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goferchan posted:If I kick someone out of my party in Knights of Pen & Paper are they lost forever? I've been unlocking new classes but I filled my party up to five members and I don't see a way to even look at the new ones Yes. You'll have to $hire and level them up all over again.
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# ? Mar 11, 2013 23:07 |
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Bummey posted:Yes. You'll have to $hire and level them up all over again. Ugh that's so annoying-- even if it cost $ to get them back I'd be happy as long as they retained their levels. If I'm understanding the app's most recent update correctly, I guess there used to be multiple campaigns to choose from & your unlocks carried over between them, but now they've integrated the content into a single campaign so it seems like the unlock system doesn't make as much sense.
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# ? Mar 11, 2013 23:10 |
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Anybody else pick up I, Gladiator while it is free. http://appshopper.com/games/i-gladiator I did, and after only playing for an hour or so it seems fun, especially for free. Kind of a mix between Infinity Blade and Gladiator Begins for PSP.
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# ? Mar 12, 2013 00:51 |
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Shalinor posted:I'm fine with F2P, so long as it's "just" F2P. Free + IAP. $1.99 + IAP, though? Eeh, no. Certainly not for a runner with limited content. All my pre Punch Quest games had IAP, and the base games were also $3. Zombie Highway is a good example of a paid game that offered some IAP extras, though theirs were basically just completion buying. Still, I don't think it marred their design at all, and I heard 50% of their profit is from people getting their IAP. I still kind of ignore the "art style wasn't casual enough" thing for the most part. I bet there's a parallel universe where Tiny Tower failed, and its failure was blamed on the pixel art. "Shoulda been more like Zynga Heights." Temple Run fails, it's because 3D graphics only appeal to hardcore audience. Minecraft fails because its programmer art. That said, my next casual game is totally going to have bright saturated colors and fat cartoon animals. Just to be safe.
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# ? Mar 12, 2013 01:23 |
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I have to say I kinda like JoF's art. It and the tone of the game remind of the real texas.
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# ? Mar 12, 2013 01:29 |
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While we're on the topic, I wrote a post-mortem about Take My Machete, since it's sitting nice and dead now http://www.rhysd.com/blog Also removed ads on bootup, since they are more annoying than profitable at the moment. Fat cartoon animals and physics puzzlers seems to be the in thing @Kepa hahaha!
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# ? Mar 12, 2013 01:29 |
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Jut posted:No I understand perfectly, IAP's make more money. But I was hoping there would be a pocket SimCity style game which was an upfront cost. Also I agree completely that we need a better SimCity/OpenTTD game for our mobile devices. I've been trying to build an engine for one but I keep getting ADD and stop trying. Needless to say, my design doc for it is getting stale, but I recognize the desire.
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# ? Mar 12, 2013 01:30 |
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DrManiac posted:I have to say I kinda like JoF's art. It and the tone of the game remind of the real texas. If I could ever swing it, it'd be cool to do a joint project with Kitty Lambda Games. Kepa posted:I still kind of ignore the "art style wasn't casual enough" thing for the most part. I bet there's a parallel universe where Tiny Tower failed, and its failure was blamed on the pixel art. "Shoulda been more like Zynga Heights." Temple Run fails, it's because 3D graphics only appeal to hardcore audience. Minecraft fails because its programmer art. EDIT: VV It was a compromise. Locking the camera on an up-incline felt really wrong, though I honestly couldn't tell you why. I tried it a bunch of ways, but the mobile camera felt like the best of a lot of not-quite-right options. I think it may have had to do with how the tilt-toward-character view angle interacts with a taller-than-character terrain chunk in front of them. (as much as that added to the charm, I don't think I'll do that again - I need to find a better way, that doesn't skew the playing field wrt. the controlling player's view) Shalinor fucked around with this message at 02:37 on Mar 12, 2013 |
# ? Mar 12, 2013 01:42 |
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Shalinor posted:That's what inspired me. I loved The Real Texas, but the lack of animation bugged me, and the textures were muddy. I thought I could evolve the style. I might have gone too far on the "no texturing" axis, but I like what I ended up with, even if the color palette needs work. Side question - and my apologies I've only watched videos of the game and not played it yet, so this question may sound dumb - but is there a reason you have the camera move up when the player jumps when she's on an incline? (and possibly when double jumping?) It seems like you've avoided a common platformer mistake and correctly DO NOT always lock the camera directly to the player. But then in certain situations you DO, even though it seems like you always have enough room above her to keep the ground framed at the bottom and use a simple on-rails camera. The camera shifting drastically when jumping definitely is distracting/can subconciously ruin the feel and clarity of jumps/looks not as professional. So I'm honestly curious if I'm just missing something?
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# ? Mar 12, 2013 02:29 |
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Shalinor posted:That's what inspired me. I loved The Real Texas, but the lack of animation bugged me, and the textures were muddy. I thought I could evolve the style. I might have gone too far on the "no texturing" axis, but I like what I ended up with, even if the color palette needs work. You could always only texture the background -- that's the biggest thing that bothers me, it's just a giant purple slab for no reason. And does no IAP means no more plans for Kitty Hats? This may be a dealbreaker.
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# ? Mar 12, 2013 03:48 |
Anyone who bailed on The Blockheads, an update went live today that lets timers tick down in the background. No more staring at TINKTINKTINKTINKTINKTINKTINKTINKTINKTINK for ten minutes whenever you do anything.quote:- No need to leave your device running for long crafting times anymore. Instruct a blockhead to craft 10 ingots, exit the app, come back after enough time has elapsed and it'll be done! When you exit, time will continue for each blockhead until all queued actions and crafting are completed, or they get too exhausted. Watch out though, while blockheads are busy they will get tired and hungry as usual, and they can even suffer damage. This was the biggest issue with the game before, so it's way more playable now.
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# ? Mar 12, 2013 04:09 |
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Kazy posted:And does no IAP means no more plans for Kitty Hats? This may be a dealbreaker. ... and that Blockheads patch has me itching to reinstall - but I finally broke my addiction, which is why it's uninstalled. AGH.
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# ? Mar 12, 2013 04:13 |
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Shalinor posted:All it means is that if Jones succeeds at the new price point, Kitties In Hats would be a free content update, instead of being a "INSERT MONEY HERE for kitty hats" freemium thing. I understand sticking your morals (I run a little sustainable marmalade company that won't use sugar, HFC, or cheap chemicals), but I don't think IAP has to be evil. But I don't think asking your fans to support you isn't a bad thing. And I don't think giving their kitties a hat in return as a thanks isn't a bad thing either. Sometimes you just have to say "Hey I need some financial support, if you like my work would you mind giving me some money?" Anyways I suck at words so here is a ted talk on the subject http://www.ted.com/talks/amanda_palmer_the_art_of_asking.html Edit: Either way, Your game looks great. I'll wait till it cost some money before I try it. Edit2: Whoops lets retry this but in English this time. Shwqa fucked around with this message at 04:32 on Mar 12, 2013 |
# ? Mar 12, 2013 04:24 |
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This thread made me decide to go ahead and buy Jones on Fire. It's pretty fun, and I dig the graphics, but I do have to agree that I'd prefer something filling up that purple background. I'm not sure how to put it, but by having the background and foreground being equally simple and un-textured, it actually makes the screen feel jumbled to me. I feel like if there were some clouds or stars or something that contrasted in detail from what's in the foreground it would be a bit more aesthetically pleasing.
Nickoten fucked around with this message at 04:36 on Mar 12, 2013 |
# ? Mar 12, 2013 04:34 |
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I thought some simple rolling smoke clouds would fit with what I think the mood is intended to be while you're outside while filling the space with something that wouldn't visually distracting. On the Simcity/openTTD conversation - has anyone played Yoot Tower? I'm curious what the UI is like without using a mouse.
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# ? Mar 12, 2013 04:59 |
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Ghostlight posted:I thought some simple rolling smoke clouds would fit with what I think the mood is intended to be while you're outside while filling the space with something that wouldn't visually distracting. At one point, there was blocky pixel smoke back there, but it just looked... noisy. Having it be the one texture in an otherwise untextured game was kind of nasty, somehow. If anyone's curious, you can kind of see it in the original BlazeJam trailer. Shalinor fucked around with this message at 05:15 on Mar 12, 2013 |
# ? Mar 12, 2013 05:12 |
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I was thinking a very pixely texture like Minecraft wouldn't be too out of place. Also, Hot Butt is very hard to complete if you have full Fire Proof
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# ? Mar 12, 2013 06:21 |
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Got the 'stumble over a log' and 'jump over a log' mission at the same time. Make your minds up kitties!
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# ? Mar 12, 2013 06:23 |
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VideoGameVet posted:FYI:
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# ? Mar 12, 2013 06:48 |
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Thanks for the heads up on KoP&P. It's pretty cute, for literally being one long pointless grind. My rogue and mage are kicking rear end, but choosing the warrior over the paladin was apparently a mistake. Also, leave the pizza dude for your last guy and save yourself some time and money. I didn't realize the price would quadruple and got him fourth. I didn't even know there were other classes to unlock, should I definitely wait before adding a fifth? I didn't realize what I was doing and took a lvl 19 quest at lvl 9, so maybe I'll restart...with a paladin.
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# ? Mar 12, 2013 07:09 |
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Just checked TouchArcade as I'm wont to do on the daily, and Dungeon Plunder caught my eye. Gonna DL it right now and give it a whirl.
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# ? Mar 12, 2013 07:13 |
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Personally I'm pretty impressed with a F2P game being rebalanced for pay. It seems like these days lots of people just make stuff to squeeze every last dime out of customers, thinking they'll hit the big money, and that making a premium game is foolish. Sure, maybe you won't make the infinite money of a F2P game, but I'd imagine that making an honest dollar making a good game with no bs is more respectable. I actually stayed away from Jones before since I figured it was another F2P grindfest, but I'll probably buy the game now that I know that won't be the case.theblackw0lf posted:Yea, everytime I keep seeing some touted "epic" RPG (looking at you Ravensword 2) they all fall staggeringly short of the sheer scope, world detail, story, characterization and quality of writing found in The Quest. Not only is it massive, but it's very well written as well. And I love how quests have multiple ways of solving them due to how you built your character. The beauty of the game is that it keeps getting updated with bugfixes and polish. It's really amazing how long the series has been supported and with no sign of slowing down. Heh, I wonder if it's even possible to complete the game and all of the expansions in one's lifetime.
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# ? Mar 12, 2013 08:03 |
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VideoGameVet posted:FYI: Starting The Quest Lite, and things seem to be going better this time as a mostly stock fighter guy compared to the magic guy I tried earlier. Still, you do tend to get hosed over old-school style when say 3 bandits gang up on you, follow you back to the inn, and hang out waiting for you to get out of the inn and destroy you.
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# ? Mar 12, 2013 08:46 |
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Reciprocator posted:Just checked TouchArcade as I'm wont to do on the daily, and Dungeon Plunder caught my eye. Gonna DL it right now and give it a whirl. It's pretty fun but very, very repetitive.
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# ? Mar 12, 2013 08:48 |