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[infiniteloop]

Quick question guys, Can the ipod touch 5th gen run most/all games on the app store?

Can get a good deal on one just wondering if it's capable. I might just get a ipad Mini, but then it isn't very portable for music on the bus/train.

iPod Touch is passable, it has an A5 so it's comparable to the iPhone 4S. It'll run most games, but might struggle on some 3D games. Won't support Metal, but there's only a couple Metal only games.

Probably better to go for a iPad mini 2 (not 1), but like you said, not as portable.

 

[okno]

Most of my grind complaints are that I just want to buy a bunch of items and stuff because they're cool but you earn money pretty slowly

This will be the last thing I say before going to the OT: replay all of the main story areas and collect all of the blue chests before spending money in the shop. Many times you'll find skills or emblems there and will save you a lot of money.

 

[Mario]

Finally.

Congrats!

 

[OccamsBlender]

Amazing! And without any iAPs to boot! I wonder how it's controlled though.

Knowing how IAP happy DeNA has been in the past, a shot at a premium app is delicious.

 

[More_Badass]

Anyone playing Drop Wizard? It's pretty cool. When I saw the trailer, I dismissed the game because I thought it would be another Super Crate Box-style arena shooter. But it's not. It's actually more of a arcade-y action puzzle game. Basically, you can move left and right, and the screen wraps, so falling from the bottom deposits you back at the top of the level. You have to defeat all enemies, but you only shoot when you fall between platforms. Also your shot doesn't automatically kill enemies, but rather stuns them. Bumping into stunned enemy causes it to roll through the level, taking out other enemies along the way.

The game is stage-based, introducing new enemies that add more complexity and challenge, as well as boss fights that change up the mechanics in interesting ways

 

[killercow]

Sid Meier's Starships for iPad:
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/firaxis-reveals-new-interstellar-strategy-game-sid/1100-6424728/

Coming Spring 2015.

 

[PittaGAF]

When you will hear a tremble in the Force, like millions of souls all of a sudden silenced, followed by a beastly loud scream....you will know that me, Pitta, cleared the Tower of Deity in Hero Emblems.

Such a wonderful game!!!
Best match-3 game EVER.
So far almost 26 hours of pure fun.

If I had to change anything, I would remove the random encounters...but I know it's a staple in the JRPG genre (something I really hate....fortunately I'm a beast now so random encounters take less than 5 seconds to be cleared).
I had to better prepare for last encounter so I went looking for skills and emblems I could have missed all over the world...found a ton of secrets too (and many useful skills I missed previously).

It's unbelievable it's a 2 people team.

 

[More_Badass]

And yet again, another round of "I don't know that was coming to mobile!"

Particle Mace is releasing this week (23rd)
http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPad/Particle+Mace/news.asp?c=63400

Great arena "shmup". I say "shmup" because you have no guns but rather a powerful mace that you swing around to destroy hazards and enemies. Really great game with a ton of content, more than your usual dual stick shooter.

PC trailer

 

[gingerbeardman]

Awesome.

Looks like a cross s between Pendulumania and Asteroids.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GxJUgiHY3c

 

[mjc]

Hero Emblems is interesting but the horrible writing and translation hindered the experience for me. I'll be in for a more polished sequel if it's made.

 

[infiniteloop]

Hero Emblems is interesting but the horrible writing and translation hindered the experience for me. I'll be in for a more polished sequel if it's made.

Completely agree, everything about the game is great, but the lengthy, un-skipable badly translated writing is a chore to get through . I might give it up for now in hopes that there's an update in the near future.

 

[More_Badass]

Completely agree, everything about the game is great, but the lengthy, un-skipable badly translated writing is a chore to get through . I might give it up for now in hopes that there's an update in the near future.

I find it kind of funny and charming. I mainly just tap through them fast

 

[okno]

The dialog is plenty skippable. Just tap the screen and it moves along faster. Sure, you can't skip it in just one tap, but you can skip through even the lengthiest section in seconds.

I skip through almost all of it. It's annoying, but not enough to make me stop playing a great game due to a little inconvenience.

 

[More_Badass]

On the subject of PC ports, I always enjoy seeing news of one. Makes it seem like more and more devs are seeing mobile as a viable platform. Particle Mace, Murder in the Hotel Lisbon, tentatively Rex Rocket, Sid Meier's Starships coming to PC and iPad, Shadowun Dragonfall, etc.

 

[awp69]

Hero Emblems is interesting but the horrible writing and translation hindered the experience for me. I'll be in for a more polished sequel if it's made.

Completely agree, everything about the game is great, but the lengthy, un-skipable badly translated writing is a chore to get through . I might give it up for now in hopes that there's an update in the near future.

I find it kind of funny and charming. I mainly just tap through them fast

The dialog is plenty skippable. Just tap the screen and it moves along faster. Sure, you can't skip it in just one tap, but you can skip through even the lengthiest section in seconds.

I skip through almost all of it. It's annoying, but not enough to make me stop playing a great game due to a little inconvenience.

I know there are translation issues but not nearly as bad as other games written by devs who don't have English as a first language. Guess I'm in the minority in thinking that overall, it's fairly well written and kind of funny.

Regardless, the gameplay easily trumps any negative on that side. Definitely can see it on my Top 10 for 2015, even this early. Probably also one of my favorite RPGs on iOS as well.

Think I'm about half way through the second continent and clocked around 14 hours thus far. I've gotten some other great games lately - Gunbrick, Space Marshals and Shadowmatic, but have trouble pulling myself away from Hero Emblems.

Probably will go through withdraw when I'm done so hope more content is added! More than willing to pay for it!

 

[killercow]

The MOBA based on the witcher's universe will arrive this week on iOS:
http://t.co/TEjSQUWwma

 

[killercow]

http://dungeonhunter5.com

 

[awp69]

http://dungeonhunter5.com

Don't know about things like timers, but already see dual currencies with gems that the rarest weapons need to be bought with. F2P no doubt. Sadly, not a shock, I suppose.

 

[Wthermans]

When you will hear a tremble in the Force, like millions of souls all of a sudden silenced, followed by a beastly loud scream....you will know that me, Pitta, cleared the Tower of Deity in Hero Emblems.

Such a wonderful game!!!
Best match-3 game EVER.
So far almost 26 hours of pure fun.

If I had to change anything, I would remove the random encounters...but I know it's a staple in the JRPG genre (something I really hate....fortunately I'm a beast now so random encounters take less than 5 seconds to be cleared).
I had to better prepare for last encounter so I went looking for skills and emblems I could have missed all over the world...found a ton of secrets too (and many useful skills I missed previously).

It's unbelievable it's a 2 people team.

Did you ever use Heist and if so, what was your best find from it?

 

[Wthermans]

The MOBA based on the witcher's universe will arrive this week on iOS:
http://t.co/TEjSQUWwma

Vainglory is my current go-to for iOS MOBAs. Fates Forever is close behind.

Will be interesting to see if this dethrones those titles.

 

[Mario]

Don't know about things like timers, but already see dual currencies with gems that the rarest weapons need to be bought with. F2P no doubt. Sadly, not a shock, I suppose.

Wasn't the last one widely criticized for its very heavy handed monetization?

 

[killercow]

Wasn't the last one widely criticized for its very heavy handed monetization?

It was. But I guess Gameloft never learns and it must have been a financial success so they are continuing on the same path.

 

[More_Badass]

Damn, two devs leaving IOS

Game Oven (Bounden, Fingle) is closing
http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPad/Fingle/news.asp?c=63449

Erik Asmussmen (PWN: Combat Hacking) is shifting over to PC game development
http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPad/PWN:+Combat+Hacking/news.asp?c=63446

"I finally gave up on iOS after I got a 'Best New Games' feature and saw how little revenue that actually brought in," Asmussen said.

"The risk/reward profile was just terrible, combined with annoying barriers like having to put all updates through a review process. So I decided to switch to PC. That has proven to be a good decision by any measure."

 

[Ninja Dom]

"Putting updates through a review process"?? Sounds like a good thing for us consumers really. And if all other iOS devs have to do the same then what is the issue?

 

[okno]

"Putting updates through a review process"?? Sounds like a good thing for us consumers really. And if all other iOS devs have to do the same then what is the issue?

I believe they only receive a certain amount of free updates before they then have to pay for them to go through the process. This is why, when a game is released with a pretty crucial bug, they'll often way until they have found enough bugs to warrant the use of one of the updates before releasing it. After that, it comes out of their pocket, and that's why you'll see a lot of smaller games just die off.

On PC, you just upload the update and hit go.

 

[Ninja Dom]

I believe they only receive a certain amount of free updates before they then have to pay for them to go through the process. This is why, when a game is released with a pretty crucial bug, they'll often way until they have found enough bugs to warrant the use of one of the updates before releasing it. After that, it comes out of their pocket, and that's why you'll see a lot of smaller games just die off.

On PC, you just upload the update and hit go.

Ah-hah! That all makes sense. Thanks.

 

[PittaGAF]

Did you ever use Heist and if so, what was your best find from it?

I do not have heist, but yesterday I finally cleared The Tower of Deity with the confusion/vampire sword/minimize/Archangel barrier combo (I have to give up greater purify which is a mainstay anyway).
Felt almost a walk in the park...after that I was able to walk over 3 bosses
When I beat the tower I felt like a true hero.
I'm in the last continent now, nice twists and all.

Where do you find heist btw?

 

[Vyer]

Never heard of PWN. Just looked it up. I don't doubt the difficulty some devs have on the App Store at all, or that it's a good game, but that game didn't do itself any favors graphically. Those screenshots aren't going to grab many folks browsing through. Shame it didn't work out for him though.

 

[infiniteloop]

I believe they only receive a certain amount of free updates before they then have to pay for them to go through the process.

Source? Never, ever heard of Apple charging for App reviews. yes, you have to keep your dev account going to be able to submit new apps, but you don't get charged per update.

 

[okno]

Source? Never, ever heard of Apple charging for App reviews. yes, you have to keep your dev account going to be able to submit new apps, but you don't get charged per update.

I could be absolutely wrong, but I remember there was a very popular game last year, may have been around December of 2013, that came out that had a very debilitating save game bug where it would wipe out the save every time you closed the app. The developer came out and said that they were waiting to find more bugs in the game to release the update, because they only had a certain amount of "free" update things. Eventually, they just pushed the update through, because of all of the complaining, but I remember it being a big nuisance.

That's all I got, hence why I started with "I believe," so take it with a grain of salt.

 

[Got the Shakes]

I could be absolutely wrong, but I remember there was a very popular game last year, may have been around December of 2013, that came out that had a very debilitating save game bug where it would wipe out the save every time you closed the app. The developer came out and said that they were waiting to find more bugs in the game to release the update, because they only had a certain amount of "free" update things. Eventually, they just pushed the update through, because of all of the complaining, but I remember it being a big nuisance.

That's all I got, hence why I started with "I believe," so take it with a grain of salt.

I know this was/is the case for pushing updates on Xbox Live, but never heard of Apple charging anything.

 

[Anilones]

Mario will be able to confirm, but I believe the case is that each app may have one emergency patch per year which is reviewed very quickly by Apple, any further updates go into the normal queue.

And they're free of charge.

 

[Mario]

I could be absolutely wrong, but I remember there was a very popular game last year, may have been around December of 2013, that came out that had a very debilitating save game bug where it would wipe out the save every time you closed the app. The developer came out and said that they were waiting to find more bugs in the game to release the update, because they only had a certain amount of "free" update things. Eventually, they just pushed the update through, because of all of the complaining, but I remember it being a big nuisance.

That's all I got, hence why I started with "I believe," so take it with a grain of salt.

Apple (and Google and Amazon) never charge for updates or app submissions.

The "free update" being referred to as mentioned above will be that developers get 1 emergency expedited update a year (in theory) where instead of going through the usual process where it can take anywhere from 4-14 days (or more) to get an update approved they jump it to the front of the queue and push something through within 48 hours.

 

[Wthermans]

I do not have heist, but yesterday I finally cleared The Tower of Deity with the confusion/vampire sword/minimize/Archangel barrier combo (I have to give up greater purify which is a mainstay anyway).
Felt almost a walk in the park...after that I was able to walk over 3 bosses
When I beat the tower I felt like a true hero.
I'm in the last continent now, nice twists and all.

Where do you find heist btw?

IIRC, I got it from a blue chest early on the second continent. I haven't used it yet though.

 

[PittaGAF]

IIRC, I got it from a blue chest early on the second continent. I haven't used it yet though.

I see, I must have missed it and I may go back to check for it.
I have some holes in my skills and emblems now that I'm towards the end, so I will see...but right now I'm too into the story to leave it.
Almost 30 hours btw...and the game keep adding things and different monsters...their combo requires new strategies constantly.
I even found a secret location and people to 'interact' with....like the game did grow while they were building it, which I find pretty awesome.

 

[More_Badass]

Why do some games get completely broken after an OS update and others work fine? Capsized is broken, and the dev closed down, so it's be broken forever. And yet Splice: Tree of Life hasn't been updated since 2012 and doesn't have any issues

 

[infiniteloop]

Why do some games get completely broken after an OS update and others work fine? Capsized is broken, and the dev closed down, so it's be broken forever. And yet Splice: Tree of Life hasn't been updated since 2012 and doesn't have any issues

I guess it depends on what APIs it uses?

 

[Dalek]

Late to the party on this, but I've finally started playing Sneaky Sneaky and as we would say it's GLORIOUS!!! I love it. Sort of like a "stealth" version of the NES Zelda dungeons with upgrades, and extra mission parameters. Very fun, don't sleep on it.

 

[HamsterPackage]

So between the Ipad Mini 1st gen and the Ipod Touch 5th gen, Any performance difference? they have the same specs right?


Edit: I think I'm just going to grab a Ipad Mini 2 and go all In.....farck it!

 

[PittaGAF]

Nihilumbra just became even more awesome with last update!!!

 

[awp69]

So between the Ipad Mini 1st gen and the Ipod Touch 5th gen, Any performance difference? they have the same specs right?


Edit: I think I'm just going to grab a Ipad Mini 2 and go all In.....farck it!

That's a HUGE step up from an iPad 1 (and only second to the iPad Air 2 in specs and iPhone 6). You won't regret it. Many of us have the mini 2 here.

 

[infiniteloop]

Dragon quest 5 out tonight.

 

[More_Badass]

Another cool recommendation for tonight: Skyward

NZ store link

Imagine if Monument Valley did a three-way with an endless runner and Duet. That's Skyward. You control a pair of circle; these circles orbit about each other and tapping the screen lets you alternative between them, allowing you to "walk" through the levels. The levels are reminiscent of MV, all isometric and odd angles, and challenge you with moving platforms and various modifiers. It's a game about timing and speed, as waiting too long to take your next step ends your attempt. It's simple, polished, and addictive. Free with ads, no IAP

 

[More_Badass]

Two releases to look forward to in February

Odd Bot Out - 2/1

Metamorphabet

Odd Bot is really fun and charming. And Metamorphabet is an IGF finalist for both Excellence in Visual Art and the Grand Prize (up against games like 80 Days and This War of Mine). So I'm pretty hyped for that one

 

[More_Badass]

Interesting UI for Particle Mace. Seems like it's played in portrait. Actually that might work better because it keeps your finger out of the way of the action

 

[wihio]

Superchroma coming Thursday. It is a free space ActionRPG. Looks interesting!

http://teamchaos.com/game/superchroma/

 

[Fuu]

Awyes, Maze Runner update with new levels and challenges. Time to jump back in.

 

[awp69]

Another cool recommendation for tonight: Skyward


Imagine if Monument Valley did a three-way with an endless runner and Duet. That's Skyward. You control a pair of circle; these circles orbit about each other and tapping the screen lets you alternative between them, allowing you to "walk" through the levels. The levels are reminiscent of MV, all isometric and odd angles, and challenge you with moving platforms and various modifiers. It's a game about timing and speed, as waiting too long to take your next step ends your attempt. It's simply, polished, and addictive. Free with ads, no IAP

Probably the only thing I'm interested in tonight which is actually a good thing.

 

[awp69]

Superchroma coming Thursday. It is a free space ActionRPG. Looks interesting!

http://teamchaos.com/game/superchroma/

OK. Make that two things...

This looks pretty cool too. Hopefully with a fair F2P model.

 

[More_Badass]

Probably the only thing I'm interested in tonight which is actually a good thing.

OK. Make that two things...

This looks pretty cool too. Hopefully with a fair F2P model.

Superchroma has wait timers for ship building. Sigh..I can deal with grinding and dual currency and ads, but timers are the kiss of death for me. I'll still give it a shot though

And I'd recommend checking out Particle Mace. Reviewed the PC version last January, it's really fun. Getting multi-kills is really satisfying, especially once you start learning how to control your mace better and can pull some advanced manuevers. Going to be $2.99, no IAP

Shoot-em-ups - or shumps as they're known - usually revolve around shooting. Particle Mace does not, and crafts a fun and challenging game from the usual shmup framework.

You're in control of a damaged ship among dangerous debris and hordes of enemies. Your projectile weapons don't work, but you do have one final ace up your sleeve: a particle mace, a trailing cluster of particles that obliterate anyone on contact. Like the Pacifism mode in Geometry Wars or Radiangames' Fireball, Particle Mace is all about evasion and close calls as you thread between enemies and debris. Alone, the game would be enjoyable, due to the smooth controls and different hazards to avoid, but your mace weapon adds a great offensive aspect to the gameplay. Not only are you looking for gaps and areas to maneuver, you're looking for way to gain momentum and space to swing your weapon around and line up hits. It's a fun weapon to use, a fine line between being in control and being at the mercy of physics and momentum, and each hit is punctuated with a split-second pause that makes each kill satisfying. As hazards pore in from all angles, and then even the arena itself starts moving, Particle Mace is a game where you must stay focused and adaptive to survive.

Particle Mace offers a number of different modes to test your evasive and mace swinging skills, between the various Arcade difficulties and Asteroid Field. If you enjoy fast paced frantic arcade gameplay that requires skills to progress, then check out Particle Mace.