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iOS Gaming Thread March 2013: It's $1 per post, $5 for 8 posts or $10 for 20 posts

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DodgerSan

Member
Yeah man wtf were they doing, expecting people to think? This is iOS dammit, I want easy answers and FAQs for a two hour game! Fuck exploration, gimme a map! You should totes ask for your money back. And in the reason write "not think".

Don't be imbecilic.

"Thinking" can be done perfectly well on iOS, eg The Room.

I'm sure the actual puzzles in this game are fine. I'm commenting on the way that you apparently have to go certain directions, in a certain order, with NO indication of where or why.

The other posters who replied understood perfectly well what I was talking about.
 

Tunesmith

formerly "chigiri"

Flunkie

Banned
Flunkie, that shot on Disc Drivin' is the best thing I have ever seen in that game :lol

You'd won! What were you thinking!
Was trying to make a stylish victory. Haha, I've given away like 5 wins (mostly to you) lately.

Ridiculous Fishing is so good. For the last couple of days I can't put this thing down. My wrist is hurting.
I find it more irritating than entertaining lately. Kind of regretting my purchase honestly.
 

Mudo

Member
I'm so embarassingly bad at Disc Drivin' that I'm ashamed to even be playing with you all right now! I need to practice solo as was recommended to me...

re: Ridiculous Fishing. I'm let down after all the hype. It's ok I guess. Inoffensive. But I have not had much fun at all either and wish I hadn't spent the money on it.

Played some Block Fortress and while it's been alright so far, I haven't been amazed with it either. Maybe it'll grow on me.
 

Mudo

Member
anyone play that nameless hacker rpg game? I recall a gaffer was pimping it, and the TA forum and iTunes reviews seem quite positive.

I've played about an hour of it after seeing the thread for it on GAF...and unfortunately, again, it's just been OK so far. Something that may not bother other people that really irks me (I'm looking at Knights of Pen and Paper too on this one) is that there are grammar mistakes spread throughout the game so far. I haven't seen spelling mistakes but there is decent amount of strangely worded or incorrectly worded things that has been distracting. The music has not stood out yet (not used headphones with it yet though). The story is just "there" so far and hasn't kept my interest. Battles are pretty simple turn-based affairs where so far, I have just used the basic attack that each person started the game with . I have learned I think 1 other skill in total so far but it's boring so I don't use it. The quests that I've been on around the world have mostly been some text followed by a battle then it's done. You can win InfoCards after battles that give your party bonuses - this is where i'm still confused since I can't seem to find a way to equip these cards, are they just active on the whole party once you get one? There are 60 something of them in total it looks like, which sounds like an awful lot of things to have active at once. I'm going to sit down and play it another hour tonight. Maybe it's a super long game and the beginning is just slow / confusing, but so far I'm not that impressed.

tl;dr Nameless Hacker is not doing much for me after 1 hour played. Maybe that will change after playing more.
 

okno

Member
Ridiculous Fishing, while fun, is incredibly shallow. There's really hardly anything to the game once you finish the story line. There's little reason to purchase all of the items except to own everything, and there are only really three useful, and fun, weapons to use. With updates, it'll get better, but as it stands its a really underwhelming product - especially considering the time it took for the game to release. The hype for it is totally insane.
 

KingKong

Member
Ridiculous Fishing, while fun, is incredibly shallow. There's really hardly anything to the game once you finish the story line. There's little reason to purchase all of the items except to own everything, and there are only really three useful, and fun, weapons to use. With updates, it'll get better, but as it stands its a really underwhelming product - especially considering the time it took for the game to release. The hype for it is totally insane.

I agree, I think the idea itself is clever but it's just too easy (and they basically make you use the drill thing because of the fish formations)

The biggest issue is that going up isnt fun or challenging, its just an annoyance, it would be better if there was an optional item to speed it up
 

razu

Member
I agree, I think the idea itself is clever but it's just too easy (and they basically make you use the drill thing because of the fish formations)

The biggest issue is that going up isnt fun or challenging, its just an annoyance, it would be better if there was an optional item to speed it up

I really like the game. But what you say about the formations is what keeps it from proper videogame status for me. I really want to be able to get to the bottom without using the chainsaw, but sometimes there's a whole row of jellyfish, and then some bastard fish steaming in from the side.

And the jellyfish in general... and the shell fish that take forever to kill..

But, for the price, I've already had my money's worth, and will play for a bit more too. So can't complain! Looking forward to whatever they come up with next.
 

Mudo

Member
More on Nameless Hacker:

-Music with headphones is better than without. It's got a nice techno-future feel to it. Also sorta generic sounding.

-Translation/grammar - Ok maybe not as bad as I thought it was. Some things are worded strangely but it's not horrible.

-You earn byteCredits from battles and that is the currency in the game (well the main one, this is also research points you can spend). So far the only way to heal is to wait on the overworld map - a map of earth - as your health and energy slowly go up, or buy healing items. It hasn't been an issue yet as I seem to have enough money. -You scroll around the world map and there are locations with random quests, as well as a main quest somewhere also. You can also visit cities for information or shopping. When you do quests it just brings a box up on the screen showing the enemies (for example, some IT guys running around in a server room) and the battle unfolds on that screen until someone dies. So there isn't a character you control and move around with it's more tapping around on the world map and then just having little battle screens.

Ok so it's a bit more fun after playing some more. Still, it's nothing mindblowing at all to me. I wouldn't say it's a waste of money either, though, as long as you know what you're getting.
 

Jedeye Sniv

Banned
Don't be imbecilic.

"Thinking" can be done perfectly well on iOS, eg The Room.

I'm sure the actual puzzles in this game are fine. I'm commenting on the way that you apparently have to go certain directions, in a certain order, with NO indication of where or why.

The other posters who replied understood perfectly well what I was talking about.

Yeah they did. That was a shame. Heaven forbid you actually explore a little and take note of your surroundings on the way - explore for exploration's sake. When I found the lighthouse I didn't even know I was looking for it, it was just another interesting thing on the journey. And on the way I built up a good understanding of the spatial relationships and the little markers between the areas and took mental note of the interesting areas I was sure to come back to. I didn't get frustrated after two minutes, look up a guide and disrupt the experience. It defeats the whole purpose of what the game is.
 

Zia

Member
I think some people are misusing or missing the point of the upgrades in Ridiculous Fishing. The first three levels are only about collecting fish, the last level about high scores. If you aren't using the saw intelligently, you're not going to make it very far at all. That said, most of the jellyfish formations are easily avoidable. If I waste saw or one of my free hits before 600m or so I suicide and begin again.
 

chubigans

y'all should be ashamed
Hi, I'm Jamie, the one-man team behind Chopper Mike, a charming, fast-paced, arcade helicopter time trial game featuring super smooth graphics and amazing controls. It's out this Thursday!! I hope you like it! :D



Release Date
iOS and Android: 21st March 2013.
PC, Mac, Ouya: soon after.

Price
iOS and Android: £1.49, ($1.99).
PC, Mac, and Ouya: TBA, (but will be about the same as iOS & Android).

Features
* Super-responsive controls, "Very impressed by the on-screen buttons in @jamielowesdev's Chopper Mike for iOS. I normally HATE these control methods.".
* 60 frames per second refresh on most devices, (e.g. iPhone 4S+, iPhone 4 is 30fps).
* High quality graphical shaders, (check this!).
* Minimal load times.
* GameCenter leaderboards and Acheivements.
* Instant Restart, for when you're trying to beat your best times.
* 48 levels, split into three difficulty modes.
* 6 playable aircraft, each with their own handling characteristics.
* Beautiful soft shadows.
* No IAPs!! Unlock the 3 bonus aircraft by just playing the game! Pay, play, have a nice day!™.
* Extremely funky music, (which can be turned off, boo!).
* A playable UFO!!

Website
VAMflax.com/ChopperMike

Developer
VAMflax is a one man development company set up by Jamie Lowes. Jamie has worked for Sony, Sega, and Codemasters, working on the handling code for Colin McRae Rally and Sega Rally (Revo). He also worked on the PSP version of Motorstorm. For more details, see jamielowesdev.com

Title Trailer


Chopper Mike Trailer


Gameplay


Awesome Controls! :D




So yeah, Chopper Mike. Made by one dude! Enjoy!! :D
So awesome to see this come out after following it in the Indie Dev thread. Good luck man, day one purchase right there!
 

DodgerSan

Member
Yeah they did. That was a shame. Heaven forbid you actually explore a little and take note of your surroundings on the way - explore for exploration's sake. When I found the lighthouse I didn't even know I was looking for it, it was just another interesting thing on the journey. And on the way I built up a good understanding of the spatial relationships and the little markers between the areas and took mental note of the interesting areas I was sure to come back to. I didn't get frustrated after two minutes, look up a guide and disrupt the experience. It defeats the whole purpose of what the game is.

You admit you didn't know you were looking for it. I'm happy that you stumbled the right way by accident. There are no clues indicating that is the way to go, you chanced into it by your own admission. The first thing I chanced into was the 'clock type' puzzle. Turns out I was in the wrong place, but again there was zero indication that I was.

I have a question though, as I will try it again. Can you do things in any order? If not, how are you supposed to know what the order is, other than by luck?
 
Ridiculous Fishing, while fun, is incredibly shallow. There's really hardly anything to the game once you finish the story line. There's little reason to purchase all of the items except to own everything, and there are only really three useful, and fun, weapons to use. With updates, it'll get better, but as it stands its a really underwhelming product - especially considering the time it took for the game to release. The hype for it is totally insane.
What exactly would "more depth" accomplish? It's a score attack game.

You admit you didn't know you were looking for it. I'm happy that you stumbled the right way by accident. There are no clues indicating that is the way to go, you chanced into it by your own admission. The first thing I chanced into was the 'clock type' puzzle. Turns out I was in the wrong place, but again there was zero indication that I was.

I have a question though, as I will try it again. Can you do things in any order? If not, how are you supposed to know what the order is, other than by luck?

So glad iOS offers a place for games for people who prioritize tight controls and fun mechanics over meaningless unlocks, or operate on the assumption that their players are moderately intelligent and curious.

You wander around, find points of interest, see if you accomplish anything with it and if not, remember where it was and save it for later. Would you really enjoy it any more if it held your hand through the whole game?

And I say this as someone with zero patience for games like Myst that offer no direction and have very esoteric puzzle solutions. Year Walk is not a hard game, just mess around with stuff and walk around and you're going to figure it out.



Ridiculous Fishing is pretty amazing, I have a feeling it's going to be something I go back to regularly to improve my score for months the way I did with Tiny Wings. I regretted buying it at first but loved it after I got the drill, it's an awesome mechanic.
 

Dash Kappei

Not actually that important
Apparently you can't cancel un-accepted game invites in Super Stickman Golf 2 so they'll sit on the screen until the person you invite accepts/declines them..

Dash, please accept/decline my invite!

I have never played the game. If you (and the others who've invited me) are ok with me learningmas we play I'll take my turn asap, otherwise I'll decline. You guys decide :)
 
You admit you didn't know you were looking for it. I'm happy that you stumbled the right way by accident. There are no clues indicating that is the way to go, you chanced into it by your own admission. The first thing I chanced into was the 'clock type' puzzle. Turns out I was in the wrong place, but again there was zero indication that I was.

I have a question though, as I will try it again. Can you do things in any order? If not, how are you supposed to know what the order is, other than by luck?

Just so you know, you're not alone in feeling like this.

Year Walk represents a different approach to both problem presentment and resolution. The former is where I take issue with the design in that there is very little feedback to indicate a puzzle's presence. There is so little player response early in the game that it's easy to get lost (both in the mechanics and the map). I do not think this is a flaw in the design, rather a choice that I disagree with.

The end result is a game that was exceedingly obtuse (for me) during the early going, but one that ended up being very rewarding at the end.
 
Awesome new thread format. Haven't been around since the older way of just one big thread.

Coming back to iOS in a few weeks with an iPad 2(sadly not a 3, but will definitely be upgrading when the next revision hits). Excited to read this thread and see a bunch of new things as I paid 0 attention to games etc whilst using my current Android tablet. Was purely an E-Book and Comic reader.

I swapped due to the limited functionality of the TwitchTV app on iOS but now they have fixed everything I see no reason to stay with Android. My experience with iPad was far better.

Especially excited to see Metal Slug X in the OT!
 
You admit you didn't know you were looking for it. I'm happy that you stumbled the right way by accident. There are no clues indicating that is the way to go, you chanced into it by your own admission. The first thing I chanced into was the 'clock type' puzzle. Turns out I was in the wrong place, but again there was zero indication that I was.

I have a question though, as I will try it again. Can you do things in any order? If not, how are you supposed to know what the order is, other than by luck?

I've been through this in the thread before and it wasn't pretty ;) you are spot on in how you are criticising year walk in my opinion. However others will strongly disagree.

So don't sweat it. It is a brilliantly crafted and atmospheric puzzle game that may also be a poorly constructed and boring waste of time. This doesn't make you an idiot and it doesn't mean others have no taste in puzzle games. It is all about how much you like the particular style of puzzle and feedback (or lack thereof) they went for.
 
I really like the game. But what you say about the formations is what keeps it from proper videogame status for me. I really want to be able to get to the bottom without using the chainsaw, but sometimes there's a whole row of jellyfish, and then some bastard fish steaming in from the side.

And the jellyfish in general... and the shell fish that take forever to kill..

But, for the price, I've already had my money's worth, and will play for a bit more too. So can't complain! Looking forward to whatever they come up with next.

To me, the necissity of the chainsaw is what makes the game interesting. At the beginning of a run, you're trying to use it as little as possible, but each time you get hit, the risk calculation changes, and you end up wanting to use more gas. Of course, the more you speed down, the more you also risk catching a bite. It's a really delicate balance to max out your performance. And given the leaderboard for money, the trip up can be just as important. Weapon choice comes into play there too, since the more dramatic weapons also risk hitting one of this multiplying jellyfish and costing you tons of money. Precise weapons can be better, but you might miss some fish if you feel in a big catch.

Depth in an action game doesn't need to be about the variety of actions. If you've played their other game Super Crate Box, you'll find the same kind of simple ideas tricked out with enticing risks. I personally love this kind of stuff.

But I also love pinball and classic arcade games.
 
To me, the necissity of the chainsaw is what makes the game interesting. At the beginning of a run, you're trying to use it as little as possible, but each time you get hit, the risk calculation changes, and you end up wanting to use more gas. Of course, the more you speed down, the more you also risk catching a bite. It's a really delicate balance to max out your performance. And given the leaderboard for money, the trip up can be just as important. Weapon choice comes into play there too, since the more dramatic weapons also risk hitting one of this multiplying jellyfish and costing you tons of money. Precise weapons can be better, but you might miss some fish if you feel in a big catch.

Depth in an action game doesn't need to be about the variety of actions. If you've played their other game Super Crate Box, you'll find the same kind of simple ideas tricked out with enticing risks. I personally love this kind of stuff.

But I also love pinball and classic arcade games.

Totally agree, it's a really well balanced score attack with great controls.

Razu, your desire to hit the bottom without using the saw is ridiculous, akin to saying Pacman sucks because all you want to do is eat all the dots without using the Super Pellets.
 

DodgerSan

Member
I've been through this in the thread before and it wasn't pretty ;) you are spot on in how you are criticising year walk in my opinion. However others will strongly disagree.

So don't sweat it. It is a brilliantly crafted and atmospheric puzzle game that may also be a poorly constructed and boring waste of time. This doesn't make you an idiot and it doesn't mean others have no taste in puzzle games. It is all about how much you like the particular style of puzzle and feedback (or lack thereof) they went for.

Fair enough, horses for courses.
 

razu

Member
So awesome to see this come out after following it in the Indie Dev thread. Good luck man, day one purchase right there!

Thank you! :D

Razu, your desire to hit the bottom without using the saw is ridiculous, akin to saying Pacman sucks because all you want to do is eat all the dots without using the Super Pellets.

No, ridiculous is painting jam on your legs and calling it trousers! But yeah, I am falling foul of making my own house rules. Like when I used to play Quake and people would complain about quad damage. It's part of the game. Fair point! :)
 

Jedeye Sniv

Banned
You admit you didn't know you were looking for it. I'm happy that you stumbled the right way by accident. There are no clues indicating that is the way to go, you chanced into it by your own admission. The first thing I chanced into was the 'clock type' puzzle. Turns out I was in the wrong place, but again there was zero indication that I was.

I have a question though, as I will try it again. Can you do things in any order? If not, how are you supposed to know what the order is, other than by luck?

Admit? There's nothing to admit - I was discovering the game. Along the way I think I went to nearly every other area too - I think it was purposeful to put the windmill so far away so you have to explore a bit. I found the creepy doll in the shed, played with the clock thing for a good while, found the fingerprint monolith. It's not accident I stumbled across the windmill, it was something I would have gotten to - the world is finite and fairly small. And by the time I reached the windmill I'd built up a vocabulary of what the game was dealing with.

The first thing I found was the clock as well and I spent ages playing with it and spinning it and trying everything. But I wasn't frustrated, I just moved on, expecting answers later (as it turned out, much later and in the most awesome way).

I don't know about the order for the puzzles - the way I did it felt natural and logical, I'd assume it was designed with that sequence in mind.
 
Between Ridiculous Fishing and Sonic Rush, I think I have spent more time gaming on my iPhone than any of my other platforms combined this week.

Sonic Rush is surprisingly good. I'm hardly a connoisseur of Temple Run clones, but the gorgeous graphics and Sonic made me give this a try, and I'm glad I did. Super fun.
 

SteveWD40

Member
ITT we find out who played games on the Spectrum / C64 / Amiga...

Hints? Clues? You were lucky if the game told you how to play it in the first place ;)
 

Tunesmith

formerly "chigiri"
ITT we find out who played games on the Spectrum / C64 / Amiga...

Hints? Clues? You were lucky if the game told you how to play it in the first place ;)

Load times of 45 minutes man.

I remember playing other games, and I mean shit like hide & seek, cowboy's & indians and other stuff with friends while the video games were loading.
 
Load times of 45 minutes man.

I remember playing other games, and I mean shit like hide & seek, cowboy's & indians and other stuff with friends while the video games were loading.

The real fun was waiting for Sam Fox strip poker to load on the C64 so you could play it long enough without getting caught....

ITT we find out who played games on the Spectrum / C64 / Amiga...

Hints? Clues? You were lucky if the game told you how to play it in the first place ;)

The Lords of Time trilogy on the amstrad PCW (W no less) was a great one for this. Time travel was critical to the game...but of course it never really explained how you were supposed to do it. You just finally turned cogs and swung a pendulum and boom, dinosaurs.
 

SteveWD40

Member
I know games have improved in a lot of ways since then ofc, but the joys of experimentation and discovery seem to be dying off in favour of breadcrumb trails and dumbing down.
 

KenOD

a kinder, gentler sort of Scrooge
ITT we find out who played games on the Spectrum / C64 / Amiga...

Hints? Clues? You were lucky if the game told you how to play it in the first place ;)

For those who didn't, they are of course welcome to join us with an old school boy try. Not exact, but it's no bad marks either.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/skool-daze-zx-spectrum/id418185802?mt=8
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/skool-daze-zx-spectrum-hd/id420148406?mt=8
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/back-to-skool-zx-spectrum/id439659352?mt=8
 

SteveWD40

Member

Dash Kappei

Not actually that important
____________________
Shoutout to fellow developers/publishers/gaffers:

You want to help us out making the competitions more juicy by sponsoring us? Then NOW it's the time!
I'll start prepping soon for the next challenge running in April and we still got spots open for promoting the competition. If you want to be a part of that, and we'd be very glad to have you, just contact me.
The game for the competition has already been decided but won't be announced till the start of the challenge, but of course you'll be privy to that information so to help you make an informed decision about the sponsorship.
You don't necessarily have to be a dev or a pub, many gaffers felt like contributing with [something] just to spice up the competitions a bit.. well, it's definitely more appropriate to say to "spice 'em up even more". /joecool.jpg

It does *NOT* matter how "little" your contribution might be: we'll be happy to have it, anything from game codes, cool swag of your game (books, t-shirts, plushies... you got the idea), OSTs, collectibles, iTunes gift cards... just contact me (Dash Kappei) via PM or via Twitter @GAF_iOS_scores. Hashtag will be #GAFiOSchallenge8
 

ToxicAdam

Member
I know games have improved in a lot of ways since then ofc, but the joys of experimentation and discovery seem to be dying off in favour of breadcrumb trails and dumbing down.

I think there are people that just aren't wired to be good at certain types of games. I beat each and every old RPG/platformer that ever existed but couldn't beat any graphic adventure game (like Maniac Mansion, Zak McKraken, all Sierra games) without loads of help. The only exception to that was Manhunter: NY and SF. I loved those games so much.
 

Dash Kappei

Not actually that important
Guys, you sure your invite for SSG2 haven't expired or something?
I have none when I check for multiplayer turn based
 
I've played about an hour of it after seeing the thread for it on GAF...and unfortunately, again, it's just been OK so far. Something that may not bother other people that really irks me (I'm looking at Knights of Pen and Paper too on this one) is that there are grammar mistakes spread throughout the game so far. I haven't seen spelling mistakes but there is decent amount of strangely worded or incorrectly worded things that has been distracting. The music has not stood out yet (not used headphones with it yet though). The story is just "there" so far and hasn't kept my interest. Battles are pretty simple turn-based affairs where so far, I have just used the basic attack that each person started the game with . I have learned I think 1 other skill in total so far but it's boring so I don't use it. The quests that I've been on around the world have mostly been some text followed by a battle then it's done. You can win InfoCards after battles that give your party bonuses - this is where i'm still confused since I can't seem to find a way to equip these cards, are they just active on the whole party once you get one? There are 60 something of them in total it looks like, which sounds like an awful lot of things to have active at once. I'm going to sit down and play it another hour tonight. Maybe it's a super long game and the beginning is just slow / confusing, but so far I'm not that impressed.

tl;dr Nameless Hacker is not doing much for me after 1 hour played. Maybe that will change after playing more.

picked this up when I realized it was only $2. Am probably enjoying it more than I should. Character art is nice enough, and UI transitions are pretty slick. From what I can tell, the cards pretty much make up of your stats. It's not equipment. You can 'reroll' each individual card in hopes of the getting the highest grade version.

Not too sure where the story is going, but from TA it seems like game is ~10 hrs, so hopefully gameplay gets more complex and story gets somewhere.

Lack of any IAP is also quite nice. Will keep poking at this.
 
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