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iOS Gaming August 2016 | A sever-ly hot summer

C

crazyivan19

Member
I don't have a lot of gaming time during the week, but last night I had a couple of hours after the kids went to bed and I intended to make some progress in No Man's Sky and Dark Cloud 2.

I've also been wanting a new game for my phone, so I decided to buy Solitairica based on the reviews here and on TA, even though it's not normally my type of game. I figured I would play through the tutorial just to get a taste and then hop over to my PS4.

2 1/2 hours later, I put down my phone not because I needed to get to bed, but because my phone was about to die. Holy mother of pearl does this game have an addictive hook! And in an extremely good way! I haven't been this completely out of touch with time since the first time I started up Game Dev Story. The level of polish and consistently awesome gameplay is perfect. And it is beyond refreshing to have this type of game be premium, as I can EASILY see the places they could have made this F2P and ruined the experience for me.

This is definitely my iPhone GOTY, no question about it. I can't wait to get back into it! So to anyone else that's on the fence about Solitairica because it's not usually your genre, I highly encourage you to give it a shot.
 
Frostt

Frostt

Member
crazyivan19 said:
I don't have a lot of gaming time during the week, but last night I had a couple of hours after the kids went to bed and I intended to make some progress in No Man's Sky and Dark Cloud 2.

I've also been wanting a new game for my phone, so I decided to buy Solitairica based on the reviews here and on TA, even though it's not normally my type of game. I figured I would play through the tutorial just to get a taste and then hop over to my PS4.

2 1/2 hours later, I put down my phone not because I needed to get to bed, but because my phone was about to die. Holy mother of pearl does this game have an addictive hook! And in an extremely good way! I haven't been this completely out of touch with time since the first time I started up Game Dev Story. The level of polish and consistently awesome gameplay is perfect. And it is beyond refreshing to have this type of game be premium, as I can EASILY see the places they could have made this F2P and ruined the experience for me.

This is definitely my iPhone GOTY, no question about it. I can't wait to get back into it! So to anyone else that's on the fence about Solitairica because it's not usually your genre, I highly encourage you to give it a shot.
Click to expand...

Ok I am encouraged by your impressions and others. Bought!
 
K

killercow

Member
heringer said:
Space Marshals (the first one) is pretty good! Only playing it now for the first time.

Any impressions on the sequel?
Click to expand...

It's the same structure but with more options, a worthwhile stealth approach that was missing, way more weapons and a faction system. It also has iCloud and MFi support so you can't complain at all. It might not have the same breadth of content as Space Marshals (which since had 3 major content updates) but it's well worth the asking price and I'm sure it'll get stellar support once again.

Pixelbite solidifies its reputation as one of the best indie mobile dev once again.
 
H

heringer

Member
killercow said:
It's the same structure but with more options, a worthwhile stealth approach that was missing, way more weapons and a faction system. It also has iCloud and MFi support so you can't complain at all. It might not have the same breadth of content as Space Marshals (which since had 3 major content updates) but it's well worth the asking price and I'm sure it'll get stellar support once again.

Pixelbite solidifies its reputation as one of the best indie mobile dev once again.
Click to expand...

Cool!

I wonder how much content is available in this initial release.
 
PittaGAF

PittaGAF

Member
LOL, just spent 20 minutes staring at the shop screen in Solitairica debating what to get.

New character/deck or upgrading my warrior?
 
A

awp69

Member
Serious hope they add iCloud support to Leap of Fate so I can play it on my 6S Plus on the go. Heck, maybe I'm just start a fresh game in it. Still a GoTY contender for me. Sooooo addictive but have been playing with my new phone toy.

Also loving Solitarica and Nightgate is pretty cool so far.
 
O

okno

Member
Okay, Solitairica is legit. It's an RPG versus of Fairway Solitaire, one of my favorite iOS games ever made. Really lovely little game that's absolutely worth $3.
 
PittaGAF

PittaGAF

Member
I'm sure there are tons of other possibilities but...do you want to make money in Solitairica?

With the Warrior get as soon as you can the split power, the spell that makes all cards 3 gold value, and get the ring that double the gold earned.
When battling low level critters and the board is full, spam split, then make all the lanes 3 gold value and then chain as much as you can.
IF you survive you will make money in no time (and get the most powerful spells, essential after quest 10), if you die you will have a ton of gems to get new decks or upgrade the warrior.

Another thing I love...I found myself reading with attention the monster powers BEFORE battling them, and changing the spells I bring in battle accordingly (this is true especially after quest 10).
Monster powers are always different, every play through, so you can't use always the same strategy.

The enemy powers I hate (love) most so far are spikes, bombs and those damn spells that add cards in the lanes.
 
PittaGAF

PittaGAF

Member
heringer said:
I'm embarrassed to say I don't know how to play Solitary.
Click to expand...

Well there are a ton out there but Solitairica (and a ton others) are like this:

You draw a card with a number.
You can select from the board cards (aligned in lanes with only the last card value visible) that are 1 value higher or lower, and onward.
Like...you draw a 5...you can select (and destroy) a 4, then a 5, then a 6, then a 7, then a 8, then a 7, then a 8, etc...
Always 1 value of difference.
When you destroy a card, you reveal the card under in the same lane.

If you clear the board, you win.
If you can't click on anything, you draw another card (and usually your opponent/monster do something bad on you, it's like passing the turn).

It's more difficult to explain that to do it, really.

In Solitarica on top of this you have a colored runes on every card that when selected add to your colored mana pool, and when you hit certain values you can cast a spell (like in Puzzle Quest).
Spells are attack, armor, heal, etc...the usual stuff.
Enemies have all sort of powers besides damaging you directly.
So for example if your enemy does 1 HP of damage whenever you pass....you draw a new card 10 times, you die (you start with 10 HP).

Really, it's dumb simple.

You can watch a video on youtube...it will be clear in no time.

Actually when I watched the Solitairica videos on youtube before buying...for some reason I didn't find the game compelling as I actually did when I played...mostly because I wasn't paying attention to the different powers.

Hope it helps!
 
H

heringer

Member
PittaGAF said:
Well there are a ton out there but Solitairica (and a ton others) are like this:

You draw a card with a number.
You can select from the board cards (aligned in lanes with only the last card value visible) that are 1 value higher or lower, and onward.
Like...you draw a 5...you can select (and destroy) a 4, then a 5, then a 6, then a 7, then a 8, then a 7, then a 8, etc...
Always 1 value of difference.
When you destroy a card, you reveal the card under in the same lane.

If you clear the board, you win.
If you can't click on anything, you draw another card (and usually your opponent/monster do something bad on you, it's like passing the turn).

It's more difficult to explain that to do it, really.

In Solitarica on top of this you have a colored runes on every card that when selected add to your colored mana pool, and when you hit certain values you can cast a spell (like in Puzzle Quest).
Spells are attack, armor, heal, etc...the usual stuff.
Enemies have all sort of powers besides damaging you directly.
So for example if your enemy does 1 HP of damage whenever you pass....you draw a new card 10 times, you die (you start with 10 HP).

Really, it's dumb simple.

You can watch a video on youtube...it will be clear in no time.

Actually when I watched the Solitairica videos on youtube before buying...for some reason I didn't find the game compelling as I actually did when I played...mostly because I wasn't paying attention to the different powers.

Hope it helps!
Click to expand...

Hmm, thanks! Sounds simple enough. Might give Solitairica a try.
 
PittaGAF

PittaGAF

Member
OMG I didn't expect Solitairica to have summons and special graphics for high level spells.

Not sure if buying it was the best idea ever or the worst idea ever.
Production is shit lately.
 
Frostt

Frostt

Member
Race the Sun got updated:

What's New in Version 1.02
- Added free new game mode: "Sunrise." Play in a beautiful new environment with a focus on relaxing, zen-like gameplay. No highscores, no speed boosts - just endless flow
- Added several beautiful new portal worlds. The portal world will update every 24 hours.
- Added 3D Touch support for newer iOS devices.
- Bug fixes and optimizations
Click to expand...
 
A

awp69

Member
An update is finally out for the Mr. Robot game for anyone who has had issues progressing. It also enables badge notifications.
 
M

More_Badass

Member
I've never played solitaire, so while I love Solitairica, it feels very luck-based. Are there strategies or solitaire rules/tactics one could learn to help play this game more efficiently
 
A

awp69

Member
More_Badass said:
I've never played solitaire, so while I love Solitairica, it feels very luck-based. Are there strategies or solitaire rules/tactics one could learn to help play this game more efficiently
Click to expand...

Solitare is very much luck based to begin with. So the tactical element here is to use your various items/spells efficiently. For example, using the spell that allows you to peek at the next card might give you a good idea if you can use your sword ability to get rid of a card that doesn't line up with what is coming next in your deck.
 
M

More_Badass

Member
awp69 said:
Solitare is very much luck based to begin with. So the tactical element here is to use your various items/spells efficiently. For example, using the spell that allows you to peek at the next card might give you a good idea if you can use your sword ability to get rid of a card that doesn't line up with what is coming next in your deck.
Click to expand...
Ah, okay, I thought perhaps there were some strategies or rules I wasn't aware of.
 
PittaGAF

PittaGAF

Member
More_Badass said:
I've never played solitaire, so while I love Solitairica, it feels very luck-based. Are there strategies or solitaire rules/tactics one could learn to help play this game more efficiently
Click to expand...

Well it's a card game so it's luck based by default.
You will never have full control, ever. (Personally I like these kind of games much more than pure strategy games with full control, but many do the opposite).
That said you have the powers/spell to mitigate the rng factor.
To be honest, I have yet to feel I died just because of bad luck (certainly not more than Card Crawl or other card games or Puzzle Quest).
Since I read with more attention monster stats and change spells accordingly, I made much more progresses.
Often I select the least efficient cards/chains just to gather specific mana for next turn where I unleash my strategy.

I don't think there are strategies for the plain Solitaire.
The most you can choose generally is if going up or down (assuming you can't go back) trying to remember which cards are supposedly still in the lanes, or if it's beneficial to leave a card there for a better chain later.

That said I did notice back in the days that my win ratio increased by a big margin after I played a ton of it...so maybe there are some strategies I adopted not even knowing.

As for the rng, I feel it's slightly less important here than plain cards games, or match 3 games.

All that said, never happened to me but yeah...you could draw unmatchable cards and die no matter what.
 
C

crazyivan19

Member
PittaGAF said:
Solitairica not being featured by Apple is criminal.
Click to expand...

Agreed 100%. It's one of my favorite premium games I've bought in a veeeeery long time. Absolutely adoring the game.

And I love that it's so easy to pick up and even master the basics, but it will still challenge you as you move along the path. I've fully unlocked the Warrior deck and can fly through the first 8-9 levels at this point with my eyes closed. But come level 10, I have to buckle down, and I still can't make it past level 12. I'll get there, but I love that there is a clear sense of progression even though it's not blatantly in your face.
 
PittaGAF

PittaGAF

Member
crazyivan19 said:
Agreed 100%. It's one of my favorite premium games I've bought in a veeeeery long time. Absolutely adoring the game.

And I love that it's so easy to pick up and even master the basics, but will challenge you as you move along the path. I've fully unlocked the Warrior deck and can fly through the first 8-9 levels at this point with my eyes closed. But come level 10, I have to buckle down, and I still can't make it past level 12. I'll get there, but I love that there is a clear sense of progression even though it's not blatantly in your face.
Click to expand...

I'm at level 13 myself (warrior deck).
The damage output of some monsters is insane so I spend a lot of time building up armour but it's not working...I have no time to build attacks and chains.
What a game!
 
H

heringer

Member
Holy shit Space Marshals. It starts out ok, then it gets better, then it gets effing awesome.

I know it's old news for most of you, but I'm really loving it, heh. Can't wait to play the sequel, though I might wait the new chapters (assuming they will do the same here).
 
P

Pachimari

Member
awp69 said:
So has anyone bit on this yet? On the fence with all the other games I have. Even managed to nearly fill my 64 GB 6S Plus with tons of stuff from my backlog.
Click to expand...

I'm on a 128GB iPad Pro and have only had it for 3 months, and I got 10GB left on it ugh.
 
A

awp69

Member
Madridista said:
I'm on a 128GB iPad Pro and have only had it for 3 months, and I got 10GB left on it ugh.
Click to expand...

Yeah. I had a 16 GB iPhone 5S/ 32 GB iPad Mini 2 combination. Now I have my new 64 GB 6S+ and the mini still.

But just with an additional 48 GB of space, I managed to fill all but 2.8 GB on my new phone with lots from my backlog.

Not hard to do, sadly. With iPhone sales supposedly down, Apple would do well to add expandable storage. I would be willing to bet that would help jump start sales. Apple is so thick headed when it comes to things like that, however, so doubt it will ever happen.
 
A

am_dragon

Member
I think I'm going to grab Solitairica. Saw it yesterday, and it looked good.

I had surgery 2 weeks ago, and I'm going to be out just a few more days, I spent a bunch of time reading reviews on iOS 4x games, I love Starbase Orion (SO), but I've been playing it for years now. I picked up Planar Conquest and Ive been struggling with it. It's as complex as SO but I don't really know what to do from turn to turn and some of the battles are just brutal. Not sure I'm a fan. There really seems to be a decent fanbase for this game so I'm missing something I'm sure.

I spent a bunch more time looking and finally remembered SuperTribes (Polytopia). I bought it played through one game and forgot about it. I couldn't even find it on my iPad due to the name change LOL. I've spent the last week playing game after game. Easy, Normal, then Hard 2, 3, then 4 opponents, bought some new tribes, I'm hooked. While I love blowing the occasional Saturday fighting my way through a game of SO, this is 30 turns, One or two hours / game tops (perfection mode). It feels so good to complete these games, and just start another one up. If you are looking for a big 4x game on the iPad give this a shot, it might be 4x Arcade Mode but it sure is satisfying.

Finally I just noticed Eclipse: New Dawn is on sale $4.99. Castle of Mad King Ludwig is also on sale $2.99. Any recommendations for those games?
 
M

More_Badass

Member
am_dragon said:
I think I'm going to grab Solitairica. Saw it yesterday, and it looked good.

I had surgery 2 weeks ago, and I'm going to be out just a few more days, I spent a bunch of time reading reviews on iOS 4x games, I love Starbase Orion (SO), but I've been playing it for years now. I picked up Planar Conquest and Ive been struggling with it. It's as complex as SO but I don't really know what to do from turn to turn and some of the battles are just brutal. Not sure I'm a fan. There really seems to be a decent fanbase for this game so I'm missing something I'm sure.
Click to expand...
No King of Dragon Pass? Have you played that?
 
A

am_dragon

Member
More_Badass said:
No King of Dragon Pass? Have you played that?
Click to expand...
I own it, bought it day one, like 4 years ago. I played it for a while. Maybe I'll revisit it, it never hooked me, maybe because it's less direct, not sure. I love sci-fi and Starbase Orion was for me what Deathwatch is to Pitta.
 
B

BTA

Member
Solitairica looks pretty neat, but it's reminding me that I have Pocket Card Jockey sitting on my 3DS and I haven't touched that for a while. So I should probably play through the rest of that first.

I have been playing Skyfish though. I'm enjoying it, but I wish the movement was just a bit faster/smoother. Even with switching to the virtual stick setup, it still feels kinda off, though at least I'm getting stuck on corners less.
 
G

Grim Patron

Member
I blame you all. Put imbroglio by mistake as I got it before but the rest = aquired today or a few days ago.

12pwp.png
 
P

Pachimari

Member
Well, I guess there's something to look forward to next year for iOS lol. I'm betting on we'll get The Witness in 2017 too. Maybe even Gwent.
 
PittaGAF

PittaGAF

Member
Ah I forgot about that!
Hoping to see more soon.

And while we are looking at isometric scifi games...I'm hoping to see Stasis on iPad soon too.

Meanwhile, Solitairica is eating all my free time.
And even my non free time.
Currently struggling at level 14 with a full warrior deck....I'm trying all sort of combos but damn it's so hard.

So good.
 
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