More_Badass
Member
It's games against the AI, no multiplayer. At least not yet, not sure if the dev plans to add it later
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iOS Gaming October 2016 | When Ember leaves start to fall
- Thread starter More_Badass
- Start date
Yeah, I had some preconceived misconceptions. =)
Wanna stress that I do like the game - nice look, fast, fair IAP.
Saucycarpdog
Member
Not going to be a popular opinion I know, but I think Spingun might be better than Downwell. Spingun is just fun and the controls are hectic but that's actually the point. Downwell has finer controls but I feel that it's gameplay doesn't suite touch controls very much.
More_Badass
Member
The dev's other game David is also really fun. It's essentially an abstract Shadow of the Colossus-esque action puzzler
I finished SteamWorld Heist yesterday after ~15 hours. Great game is great :_
I will miss the steambots BUT now I have time again to complete Sorcery! & Ember (and to continue playing Hearthstone, to try Really Bad Chess... ¯\_(ツ
_/¯ )
Edit:
Ok, after 3 or 4 games of Really Bad Chess I've decided to unlock its features and remove ads. Yep, it's that fun.
I will miss the steambots BUT now I have time again to complete Sorcery! & Ember (and to continue playing Hearthstone, to try Really Bad Chess... ¯\_(ツ
_/¯ )Edit:
Ok, after 3 or 4 games of Really Bad Chess I've decided to unlock its features and remove ads. Yep, it's that fun.
More_Badass
Member
On the TA forums, the devs basically said that it wasn't worth the effort. Ad remover purchases only consisted of half a percent (0.5%) of the first game's income
They are deciding whether to add one or not
Frostt
Member
We've never had meaningful success with an explicit ad removal IAP. Their stat above seems about right in our experience.
Our policy for our (newer) games is to just turn off ads with any purchase. Though our last 3 games, and our next two don't even have ads outside of opt in rewarded video.
Yep, it's out. Downloading it right now!
Don't care if they get low income from the iap. If they don't add in an ad remover iap, I'm not playing the game. Pretty simple. Pretty sure I'm not alone on this...
No...you aren't. I absolutely despise ads in my games. Not being able to remove them is a deal breaker for me. But...if revenue is that low for them we must be a small minority. Unless ad revenue is much larger than I am assuming....
EDIT: Mario's suggestion of removing ads with any purchase sounds like a great policy. I can deal with that!
BaltimoreLarry
Member
Is Knights of the Old Republic worth a play on an iPhone 7? People rave about it, but I wasn't sure if that was just on the larger screen of a tablet.
It wasn't just that adding an ad removal IAP wasn't worth it, they also said that by releasing a game without any IAP results in a lot more downloads. Not sure how true this is but maybe people avoid downloading free apps with IAP due to being burned by other apps in the past? I know I myself check out what IAP the game includes before purchasing a game.
I like Flappy Golf enough that I'm willing to put up with the ads but only when on WiFi.
More_Badass
Member
Oooh...that's interesting.
Could the general mobile audience actually be getting wiser and more selective?
I still find that hard to believe when almost every top game on the App Store is F2P with IAPs. There are so few free with no IAP games that I'm not sure how'd you make a good comparison.
For me, if a game is completely free and I see it had no IAPs, I do assume it had ads and am actually turned off by that.
Just my 2 cents but there are plenty of games with IAPs get thousands and in some cases millions of downloads.
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Downloaded the Tentacles: Enter the Mind. I like it but still think the first game was better without the 3D levels. That actually encouraged me to download the original and am sad to report that there's some kind of save bug in iOS 10 (or maybe earlier). Every time I play it doesn't save my progress.
Ah, well, guess I'll keep going with EtM.
Yep. I think it's because people don't read what they're downloading. Remember when Apple and others were forced to change the "Free" caption to "Get" on download buttons? Many people thought they were being scammed. In the ES store you can still find user reviews in apps like National Geographic that read "it's a scam. It says FREE but you have to pay for every issue. They didn't even give you one issue for free!"
I think the same applies to games. General public doesn't want to pay a dime despite having a $700 device. I know people who play lots of games on PC and consoles that say: "five bucks for a game? That's a steam sale price and I find it RIGHT. Five bucks for an iOS game is expensive" (true story).
There are several more factors but I think that's the reason of the success behind the top chart F2P games. They don't charge anything to download it and maybe, when you're curious enough about the game (or you are hooked enough), you'll happily throw your wallet to the company.
I don't buy/download games with IAPs which are needed to make real progress in the game. It's okay having them for that people that "don't have time to play and want to unlock all the features asap". I don't get it but I respect it. What I'm not buying are games with IAPs "bag of coins, chest of gold, etc." that you need to spend in order to continue playing. I like to pay upfront for my games, and I don't mind to buy an IAP to remove ads or to unlock all game features as long as it's a unique payment (i.e. unlock the full game). Developers have a bad habit of eating every day!
Frostt
Member
I think the first one was better as well. This lacks a lot of the challenge the first one had (I am on the fourth world in EtM). The first one (one of the best games on the AppStore) had more thrills and awe. This one, as of now, only has a few enemies here and there and thats it. The first one was full of puzzle sections, hazards, enemies, etc... will keep playing to see if it picks up and buy the Coin Quintupler when it releases to support the developer (the first one was too cheap and good)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDznCDU00cU
BTW, I emailed the dev and they are fixing and re-releasing the original game. Sounds as if they may release it again at the same time EtM launches globally.
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On another note, The Bug Butcher is in "early access" on Google Play and it is awesome! You guys are in for a treat when it comes to iOS.
It's a continuous story so if you want to get the most out of it, start with the first one.
They lead into each other, so I'd say start with the first one.
More_Badass
Member
Honestly, I'd say just to play all of them in order. Each one has choices and consequences that affect the next games, and 4 has tons of differences and other characters and consequences depending on the previous three games. It would be like starting a serialized show from some later season.
3 is my favorite, but that's because I haven't gotten far enough into 4 yet.
I thought the controls were too cumbersome on a mini 2. Like I could play it, but it's not the experience I want from a mobile game. You pretty much have to use two hands at all times which is not what I like.
Cool, thanks.
PittaGAF
Member
Tell me more!!!!
I discovered the game just weeks ago and I would love something more action-y with all the turn based games I'm playing.
I hoped it was something like a platformer/action/metroidvania but I guess not (the art style and animations looks glorious).
More_Badass
Member
It's this with better art and animations, more weapons, etc.Tell me more!!!!
I discovered the game just weeks ago and I would love something more action-y with all the turn based games I'm playing.
I hoped it was something like a platformer/action/metroidvania but I guess not (the art style and animations looks glorious).
It's this with better art and animations, more weapons, etc.
Well, the big difference is the weapons instead of just the hook gun in Pang. I like Pang too but the art style here is more up my alley and I love the sense of humor in it as well.
I haven't gotten far enough into it to know how it mixes things up in variety of how the levels work (some of the Pang levels are pretty wild).
Hoping to get into it more over the weekend and can give better impressions then. Right now I'd say it's very impressive.
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Played some more and I'd say there really is a bigger difference in the two games than it appears on the surface. Pang has much more of a puzzle aspect to it, having to time your shots just at the right time, dependence on various obstacles, different ball reactions, etc.
Bug Butcher is much more of a pure action game. And it's a blast. Wide variety of enemy types, having to rescue little guys and just pure hecticness. As such, the graphics and animation are more of a part of the game (balls in Pang are, well, balls).
Both are great games but as far as the mobile versions, I'd give the edge to Bug Butcher for just pure addictive and a little more mindless fun.
Frostt
Member
Nice to see the original Tentacles come back, a must have in my book
I have BB on Steam and the game is pure awesomeness... cant wait to buy since it will be premium.
Like awp says, you guys are in for a treat
hardcastlemccormick
Banned
I played it on my 6s and thought it was surprisingly playable.
More_Badass
Member
This looks like a fun platformer coming next week. Grossly charming, with some Adventure Time inspiration
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdkXZcvblaA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdkXZcvblaA
Challenging, humor-filled retro space combat game Rogue Star is on sale for free:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rogue-star/id914339023?mt=8
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rogue-star/id914339023?mt=8
More_Badass
Member
Given the varied opinions in this thread of F2P monetization, the developers that use it, and the players that literally buy into it, I thought this was an interesting article on a number of different levels.
This player spent $2 million in a mobile game. Then he led a boycott.
http://venturebeat.com/2016/10/14/t...llion-in-a-mobile-game-then-he-led-a-boycott/
This player spent $2 million in a mobile game. Then he led a boycott.
http://venturebeat.com/2016/10/14/t...llion-in-a-mobile-game-then-he-led-a-boycott/
My biggest problem here is the greed of the game companies. The quote "It's nothing like a high roller experience" is really sad. If you spent 2 million dollars with most businesses over 5 years you would get special treatment when communicating with the company at least. I've always wondered why the game companies don't do something special for the big spenders.
That being said, the fact that these games are designed to exploit addictive tendencies and have no cap is kind of ugly. I wish some of these companies would show a little less pure greed. Sure these folks seem fine with the spending, but just yesterday my wife told me our neighbors are getting a divorce. The husband got a credit card and spent $16,000 on Game of War. I think if there was some study on the number of people that spent to the point that it had a negative affect on thier family/life we would be appalled, and some people would start pushing for regulation.
I'd be interested in how these games would do if there was a limit, let's say $500, $1000, $1500 I don't know. After that limit you get some form of bonus that would dramatically reduce the need to spend money. Would it ruin the game for those players? Are the whales the only thing keeping the game going? Would people still spend money even though they are given a ton of stuff? I think that eventually the competition will drive the cost of playing these games down, people will just move to the newer cheaper games. Over time you won't find as many whales, or the amount they spend will be so much less it will have less of a negative impact. That is already happening, the one F2P game I play has changed so much to retain customers, I haven't spent money in months. I don't know if I will again.
A lot of the bigger companies do, assigning dedicated account managers, prioritizing their feedback, sending gifts, and even flying them out to the studio etc.
Hard to fathom somebody spending $2m though. And how you actually might even show them gratitude at that level of spend.
Dash Kappei
Not actually that important
Damn Super Impossible Road looks soooo good. Sucks it won't come to mobile :-/
I really hope at least Darkest Dungeon iOS is still on the cards
Thumper would also work on mobile imo...
I really hope at least Darkest Dungeon iOS is still on the cards
Thumper would also work on mobile imo...
Level 1 of Thumper maybe, but you'd have to be some savant type person to manage the rest of the game's reflex needs.
PittaGAF
Member
Not sure if scam but apparently Mini Metro is out?
Mini Metro di Dinosaur Polo Club
https://appsto.re/it/F5l8X.i
Is this the right one?
Mini Metro di Dinosaur Polo Club
https://appsto.re/it/F5l8X.i
Is this the right one?
More_Badass
Member
That's the one
SuperPac
Member
To me the most interesting aspect of this article is that this guy spent $2m on a F2P mobile game but the article treats it as a common or even good occurrence (and the guy doesn't seem to regret it one bit). I suppose when you have the means to spend that on something you enjoy it's one thing - but I'm not sure how I feel about games that encourage a type of spend to players that don't.