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iOS Gaming Thread May 2013: Another board thread, now with 4X the backlog

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Anno

Member
I guess I don't really care about the lack of information too much. Nothing has happened yet that doesn't make sense. End of my first side dungeon, had the boss down to 2hp and I get jumped by 6 goblins. Killed em all, but my elf died in the process. Oh well. Loving it so far!
 

igor

Member
Yeah WHQ gets very repetitive (how could anyone play this fir 50+ hrs?) and I have the same issues with the game as anyone else. There's not enough explaining and game doesn't feel like a fully fledged release it could be (same feeling with star command - some kind of trend?). I'd love to see more customisation options, unlockables, something to shake things up. Maybe pIaying on casual is part of the problem but the game is a little bit to bare to be very strategic. guess the game was hyped a little bit too much here.

BTW tap on the characters names and you can edit them. Gonna play with my favourite tactics ogre characters now!
 

ttocs

Member
I had no idea KOTOR was coming out for the iPad. That's amazing. Now I just have to anxiously check sites to see when it's going to be released.
 

LevelNth

Banned
Holy crap KOTOR is coming out for the iPad?! This is my number one game I regret missing out so many years ago! This is a glorious, glorious day.
 

PittaGAF

Member
I think this review nails what's missing at the moment with WHQ:
http://www.quartertothree.com/fp/2013/05/29/in-warhammer-quest-the-emperor-has-no-dice/

Bought the game but still yet to play it. I scanned over the review, seems they need to work on explaining rules more clearly or make things tabletop-y.

I've just read the review out of curiosity.
Everyone is surely entitled his own opinion, but there are several wrong statements in that review.
Out of my memory the thing that you do not know HPs.
How could have he missed the HUGE RED BAR, plus THE HUGE BIG NUMBER beside portraits?

As for rules...I never paid attention because I know the (very simple) rules...so he can have a point but...
It's all dice based, a D6 dice.
So if, as clearily stated, your weapon can do 1-5 damage...it's pretty obvious.
How much damage?
Strenght+Weapon roll-Toughness=damage done.

That's the most difficult rule to remember :)
Can't really remember if it's in the in game journal or not...but I guess they hide all rules on pourpose.

I find it hard to belive the game is 'hard to get into' for the lack of the rules in your face...but it could be just me.

I've read so many hilarious things (on TA forums) this morning I'm not sure what to think anymore.
One complained to no end, eyes probably red in rage at the IAP rpesence, he had to pay gold to train his character and he was robbed in a random encounter.
!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm totally expecting he will moan about having actually to PLAY the game to acquire XPs to level up....

For the more curious, a google 'warhammer quest manual' bring to a pdf with the very simple rules (just read the combat ones it's just 1 page with pictures).
Probably they should have wrote them in the game...this is a fair point.
But I really do not think they are required to enjoy and succefully play the game (if you have questions I'll be glad to help).
I think it plays like the vast majority of RPG-ish games out there...so it's not rocket science but it's a fair point (not that it detracts that much imho).

As for the power wind....every turn you have a random value (you see it on the left on each turn start.
If you roll '0' (in reality it's a 1 in the boardgame)...you are ambushed or something bad happens.
Knowing if in the real boardgame it's a roll dice or a card draw...imho doesn't change a thing about the videogame.
After some levels you will control the Wind Power more in detail...do not worry.
I *THINK* it's described in detail in the description page of the charcter, in the inventory screen, up right buttons.

And sure, it's a dungeon crawler...so the whole point is exploring dungeons.

I'm not saying the game is for everyone and all....but I honestly read more informed reviews.

I finally just tried the final version (losing my mighty level 6 party with more than 100K gold, all epic items and nothing that could even touch me besides the black dungeons, sigh)....WOW!!! Visible Arrows!!!
They weren't in the beta :)
They upped up some effects too, cool.

The iPhone version, while very cute, it's really really really tiny imho.

As for who was asking :p I already bought (yes I spent money!!!) everything but the gold iaps.
I won't probably ever use the additional characters, but I was prepared to spend much more on the game so I just wanted to show support.
Already restarted the game with the initial group...I love them (the archmage is really cool too, I must admit).
 

Double D

Member
Never played any of the Phoenix Wright games, so I downloaded it for iPhone (4S). I just got through my first case. Pretty neat, although a bit slow. Is there a way to speed up the text?
 
Never played any of the Phoenix Wright games, so I downloaded it for iPhone (4S). I just got through my first case. Pretty neat, although a bit slow. Is there a way to speed up the text?

holding the progression button blazes through the text... but that might be too fast. Like with some nintendo games the text is specifically timed and paced to simulate dialogue inflections, so it speeds up and slows down depending on situation... which annoys a lot of people lol.
 

SteveWD40

Member
In WHQ if you buy the extra heroes can you go in to a dungeon with more than 4 at once, or always max 4?

Fun game so far.

Max 4, you pick the rota before you head out.

I am loving it, I do feel the lack of variety so far in the dungeons but I am still early on. Bought all the dlc cos fuck it, the new classes are pretty cool as well, I love the Battle Priest.

I am hoping for more classes / campaigns down the road, hopefully it does well enough to justify that, GW being part of it might spur Rodeo on to support it more than they did Hunters 1/2.
 

thelatestmodel

Junior, please.
Yeah, Warhammer Quest is good (I'm enjoying it at least) but I need to see those dice rolls.

Shouldn't be too hard for the dev to come up with something to show what's going on in the background.
 

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
Since some people were asking why the KotOR threads were locked, the idea is that we're not supposed to bump old rumor thread, but rather make new ones, because otherwise people come in and go "I hope this rumor is true!" for already announced products.
 

SnakeXs

about the same metal capacity as a cucumber
The WHQ "complaints" mostly make no sense to me. To each their own but as a fantasy fan and a guy who adored Hunters/2 it's all I wanted and more.

I do kinda miss the mix and match skill system of Hunters but I'm just scratching the surface of WHQ's, hopefully leveling and accessing more stuff will alleviate it. Also going barebones for now and will (100%) buy all the DLC for a second, possibly hardcore romp.
 

Minsc

Gold Member
Yeah, Warhammer Quest is good (I'm enjoying it at least) but I need to see those dice rolls.

Shouldn't be too hard for the dev to come up with something to show what's going on in the background.

I am enjoying it so far as well. A lot more than Hunters 1 or 2, which I couldn't get in to at all really. They probably could have had 3D dice modeled exactly the same as the board game ones animated rolling in the bottom of the screen between turns and for attacks (the animations sure are long enough to allow for it) or whatever to give it even more of that board game feel. Aside from the rotating for inventory, I don't have too much to complain about yet.

I really enjoy that they put descriptions on every item in the game, nice little touch (the cards flip over when you tap them), and the journal is very comprehensive too, all the enemies and locations are added to it as you play. You can bring up stats for anything by holding down on it, so it's easy to get some grasp for what's happening. The Winds thing was explained in the journal and in the tutorial, so I didn't get confused with that either. Randomness due to the nature of being based on the board game.

All the traits like Deathblow (the dwarf just plows through everything standing next to it one after the next upon each kill, gaining a free attack again and again) and others are nice. I don't know if the Wizard seems a little unbalanced because you can cast spells and still move around, while the other classes are stuck when they attack. I can see how it can get repetitive, one room after the next after the next, but that's really not unusual for strategy games. As long as there's variance in the layouts and weapons/powers you have (which there does seem to be), it's not really much different than playing a card game like MtG again and again and again with the same deck.
 

dark_chris

Member
Im enjoying Dead Ahead so much! I bought the Vera shooter and that Akira bike. Its so much fun when you get far into a level and the tension is constant
 
Since some people were asking why the KotOR threads were locked, the idea is that we're not supposed to bump old rumor thread, but rather make new ones, because otherwise people come in and go "I hope this rumor is true!" for already announced products.

Don't see a new one either though. new news new news?
 

Kosh

Member
The WHQ "complaints" mostly make no sense to me. To each their own but as a fantasy fan and a guy who adored Hunters/2 it's all I wanted and more.

I do kinda miss the mix and match skill system of Hunters but I'm just scratching the surface of WHQ's, hopefully leveling and accessing more stuff will alleviate it. Also going barebones for now and will (100%) buy all the DLC for a second, possibly hardcore romp.

I agree. Having a lot of fun with it. I could care less about seeing all the mechanics of the game.
 

Li Kao

Member
WHQ-time

So to answer you Pitta, I can't talk about the quality of the French translation of the main game, I was so horrified by the IAP one that I immediately go the English route.
As a side note, I hate bad translations like that with a passion. This practice is pretty generalized on IOS (the app store descriptions are often quite comical), and to me it is part a lack of respect for the target and part unprofessional. But believe it or not, it's not because my native language is badly handled that I have a problem. Yes there is the 'ok, google translation, that will have to do guys' side which is not really cool, but what astounds me is how, when you invested countless hours, money, passion on a project, you stain it at the last minute by not caring about the finishing touch. Yeah ok, I understand translators are not cheap, but for a lot of games on IOS, the amount of text is so minimal, you could even ask nicely on one of those language learning message boards and I'm sure you would do a stellar job comparatively.
Just me rambling, not really WHQ related as again, I didn't play the game translated. But of note there is again some strange behavior in the IAP part of the game. If you change the language to English, the description become part French/gibberish, part English. And while as you say it is no big deal, I still think it show a surprising lack of QA/care for a project that must have been so big for Rodeo.
On the translation side there is another quirk, when I hesitated about changing language, the game crashed on me each time I passed from French to English and validated.

Game-wise, bugs are presents too. I had a random event changing the status of my dwarf and now in dungeon where it should say the status change (in the "pinned" zone of the screen) the game only write some gibberish like 'status_change_0' or something, you know the type of error when a game fail to show the text meant to be and replace it with some internal parameter.


I've read so many hilarious things (on TA forums) this morning I'm not sure what to think anymore.
One complained to no end, eyes probably red in rage at the IAP rpesence, he had to pay gold to train his character and he was robbed in a random encounter.
!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm totally expecting he will moan about having actually to PLAY the game to acquire XPs to level up....

Hmm, I think this is pretty interesting game-design wise. While your external point of view is respectable and yes, whales are ridiculous, I think it shows that IAP for gold had no place here. Not because it is necessary, it seems quite useless on the contrary, kudos to Rodeo, but integrating this mechanism in a game that has quite frequent random events that can make you lose gold on a whim is looking for trouble. The man didn't have to pay and all, but at the end of the day it's like he paid money for something and the game just answered some minutes after that "by the way, you know, about your dollars ? derp"


I find it hard to belive the game is 'hard to get into' for the lack of the rules in your face...but it could be just me.

Finally yup, I'm with you on this one, I totally think the game can be enjoyed without a profound knowledge of how the system works. A ton of pseudo-rpg or srpg or... have some stats or mechanism that aren't precisely explained and the player roll with it. Not uncommon. The problem here I think comes from the fact that Rodeo has a tough time choosing between "pseudo" and "hardcore", design-wise. In the glimpse of the journal I took (granted I didn't read it extensively) the game is constantly dancing around this dichotomy. Some stats like toughness are described in it as being important and playing a role in damage calculation. And when the player who doesn't know WHQ rules finish reading this brief description and is interested in understanding the process, all he can say is: HOW ? have you basically said it is important, because ?
If the game is meant to be approached like a light game, there is no need for the journal. But if it is to be approached as something more complex, the journal is not enough.

Another journal example. The first boss I encountered was a beast. All the mob to this point were jokes and he one-shoted two of my men (one turn for each). Ok I deal with the little bastard and out of curiosity go in the journal to read the description of his power. And IIRC all it said is that his spell can deal to a maximum of 7 wounds damage. Cool. But my men were at full health, so the spell must works with multiple hits. How many ? No idea...

I'm just trying to describe what was my train of though at the time, the game has potential and I clearly will play it later today, some things just didn't feel right at first.
 

heringer

Member
Game is kinda buggy too. In less than a hour I had to restart the game twice, not to mention when it crashed in the middle of the battle. Meh. iPad 2 btw.
 

Frazley

Member
I am so tempted to pick up KoTOR when it comes out for iPad. Please tell me to wait for an unconfirmed, unannounced, unrumored PS3/Vita release.

I am so tempted to pick it up! Please help me! :)
 

igor

Member
WHQ-time




Finally yup, I'm with you on this one, I totally think the game can be enjoyed without a profound knowledge of how the system works. A ton of pseudo-rpg or srpg or... have some stats or mechanism that aren't precisely explained and the player roll with it. Not uncommon. The problem here I think comes from the fact that Rodeo has a tough time choosing between "pseudo" and "hardcore", design-wise. In the glimpse of the journal I took (granted I didn't read it extensively) the game is constantly dancing around this dichotomy. Some stats like toughness are described in it as being important and playing a role in damage calculation. And when the player who doesn't know WHQ rules finish reading this brief description and is interested in understanding the process, all he can say is: HOW ? have you basically said it is important, because ?
If the game is meant to be approached like a light game, there is no need for the journal. But if it is to be approached as something more complex, the journal is not enough.

Personally all I'd like to have is a decent explanation what certain parameters are, I play lots of jrpgs where "dice" is hidden and its not detrimental to gameplay. If something is a key element like toughness it just needs to be explained or kept hidden from the player. The design isn't very consequent IMO. Feels like the game could be catered only to people who have played the original table top game. Having said all that I spent with WHQ 3 hours in one sitting. Never did that with any other iOS title I think, so it is quite fun despite its repetitiveness.
 

PittaGAF

Member
Tons of reasonable things

Hey! Thanks for the super long post!
I was asking about the translation because, you know, I hate the bad ones with a passion too.
Being Italian (CIAO! to all italian folks!!!) I'm pretty accustomed to bad translations so the first thing I do is switching to english (and I hate with a passion the games that force you italian).
As a matter of fact I personally reported the fact to Rodeo several times, and I was told it was a placeholder...so I played the whole game in English.
Then, all of a sudden, the real translation kicked in, and it's pretty good.
So it cames to my real surprise that the italian one is good (not a huge market, let's say) and the French and I'm hearing the German one are hilarious.
That's why I asked.

Weird the crush bug on language French-English switch...the Italian-English switch was patched long ago (I reported it).

As for the mixed text, missing strings...I think it's because you switched.
Try to exit to menu (so it saves).
Kill the app, and restart....worked for me in the past when I had the problem.

The AppStore descriptions are hilarious...I really do not know why (they alternated good and bad in the past).
I'm GUESSING it's because Games Workshop handled the translations in game....but the AppStore things was done by others...and I SUSPECT it picks up the iOS device language, not the in game one.
But it's just guessing.

(I'm saying all this first to explain why the question, second to maybe give some hints to how correct things waiting for a proper patch, as I already went there).

Belive me....I endured playing the game with the 'hilarious' translation like 5 minutes...it was unbearable.
Now it's pretty good.

As for the iap..I think that the rage is really unwarranted...but I can see people, robbed 3 times in a row just before levelling up to think that devs did it on pourpose to make them buy the iap gold (again...imho more detrimental to the game, just for it's presence, than anything...I played HOURS and HOURS before even noticing it was there).
People just do not know that the 'rob event' is one of the most frequent event in the boardgame too....Rodeo just implemented the core game.
It's the mix of the two that seems shady...but really, it's not.
(If the game was balanced to actually require you buy iaps as many other in the appstore, belive me...I would have gone OCD with it).
The boardgame really required you to acquire BOTH XP AND GOLD before levelling up....and the two things never got togheter...so sometimes you did quests for XP, sometimes for gold....it's just how the game it's supposed to be.

That said, I really hope many will enjoy the game as I did, without thinking too much...just sinking in the experience.

Why?

Because I'm selfish, and the thing I want most now, is a new expansion :p
 

Mik2121

Member
I'm definitely enjoying Warhammer Quest, but how did the 'rotate iPad to go into item menu' thing get through, that's something I definitely wanna hear about. It's pretty horrible, and specially a pain when you're playing before sleeping laying on the bed and with the iPad sitting on the pillow. Having to hold it up and rotate to access a menu is absurd.

Other than that, I just leveled up my warrior and I'm enjoying this :)
 

LugNut74

Member
I'm definitely enjoying Warhammer Quest, but how did the 'rotate iPad to go into item menu' thing get through, that's something I definitely wanna hear about. It's pretty horrible, and specially a pain when you're playing before sleeping laying on the bed and with the iPad sitting on the pillow. Having to hold it up and rotate to access a menu is absurd.

Other than that, I just leveled up my warrior and I'm enjoying this :)

Yep this is really the only issue I have with this game. I am really enjoying it but not having access to the inventory in landscape mode is a real head scratcher. I mean they can't add another button in the top right corner or so just saying.
 

Anno

Member
Is WHQ worth dipping on? I'm seeing some mixed feedback after all of the excitement.

If the concept is even remotely interesting then yes, I think you'll find it worth the investment. Honestly I don't really understand much of the criticism here anyway. I could see it getting a little repetitive if you play for hours at a time, but I've really enjoyed playing it a dungeon at a time.

Just leveled up for the first time and man, levels are significant. My HP went up 50% and I probably got more than twice as much potential damage. Makes me realize how much I miss DnD style leveling that's infrequent but super powerful.
 

PittaGAF

Member
WAIT A MINUTE.

I never bothered to check if Rodeo explained the rules because I already knew them....but to everyone complaining they aren't clear/written and such....boys I JUST CHECKED THE JOURNAL and it's all there in the very first sections!!!
Melee, ranged, strength, wounds, agility etc...when they are used, modifiers....
Plus...just press longer your portrait to see your actual stats, with modifiers too in detail.
In the portrait (both you and enemies) it shows armour and number of attacks (enemies have random weapons and you can check special objects they may have under the numbers, but I guess it's too early for the most of you...wait for those Orc Warchiefs with chaos armours).

I guess the QT3 reviewer never bothered to check too, to busy moaning.

Just check it out.
(And keep in mind the journal GROWS over time with new sections when needed, if you acquire new skills and such....so you won't spoil yourself the cool things that await you).
 

XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
WAIT A MINUTE.

I never bothered to check if Rodeo explained the rules because I already knew them....but to everyone complaining they aren't clear/written and such....boys I JUST CHECKED THE JOURNAL and it's all there in the very first sections!!!
Melee, ranged, strength, wounds, agility etc...when they are used, modifiers....
Plus...just press longer your portrait to see your actual stats, with modifiers too in detail.
In the portrait (both you and enemies) it shows armour and number of attacks (enemies have random weapons and you can check special objects they may have under the numbers, but I guess it's too early for the most of you...wait for those Orc Warchiefs with chaos armours).

I guess the QT3 reviewer never bothered to check too, to busy moaning.

Just check it out.
(And keep in mind the journal GROWS over time with new sections when needed, if you acquire new skills and such....so you won't spoil yourself the cool things that await you).
The QT3 reviewer mentions it in the comments of the review:

I've read everything in the journal that I've unlocked. If that's what passes for an explanation of the rules, it is indeed horrible. Where in the manual does it explain the calculations for hitting? It simply points out that two values are "compared". That's like me teaching you to play D&D by saying some numbers will be compared to see if you hit. What numbers? Compared how? Subtracted from each other? Is a die rolled? Is there a multiplication to get a percentage chance? Boardgames teach you these things and I'm pretty sure knowing that is a significant part of playing Warhammer Quest at a tabletop.

Furthermore, someone just emailed me to explain how toughness works. It's apparently a flat deduction from damage received. That seems pretty simple. But here's how it's written in the journal: "Some opponents are tougher than others and can withstand blows more easily. This toughness is deducted from the number of wounds caused." That implies to me that only certain opponents -- the ones tougher than others -- get a deduction. "This toughness", written as a phrase after singling out a group of unique tough creatures, is very different from simply "the toughness attribute". The journal is a godawful excuse for a way to teach someone the rules.

I suppose I could just read a PDF of the manual, which is probably online. But my bigger problem is how little of this information is presented as you're playing. A good boardgame port would replicate the experience of playing the game, where I'm keenly aware of how the stats interact as I play. This character has this strength and he's wielding this weapon against this monster's toughness with these wounds. That stuff seems intentionally obscured in the iOS version of Warhammer Quest, as if Rodeo Games was ashamed of it. :(

Consider X-Com, for instance, showing you the percentage chance to hit. I've been playing a lot of Fallen Enchantress lately, which does a great job of constantly putting the stats in front of you, and it's not even a boardgame port.
 

Jedeye Sniv

Banned
Why does it MATTER what the numbers are saying though? It's not like you can have an effect on how they roll, it's just calculating damage etc. This feels like people looking for something to complain about.

EDIT: chance to hit would be nice, but I've played enough games that don't show that to not really be bothered by it.
 

nicoga3000

Saint Nic
I must say, WHQ plays very well. That being said, the rules are really not explained at all. Had I never played the actual game, I would have no idea that Winds of Magic represents your MP for that turn (for example). I do have to say that showing a chance to hit would be nice. The physical game ha all the stats in such a fashion where you can figure them quick (need a 3+ or 4+ to hit)...It isn't made clear here.

I love the game so far, but they needed to streamline a few of the things that do not translate well to an app.

E: Regarding why numbers matter...Calculated risks are everything in a game like WHQ. If you have a 75% chance to OHKO the enemy vs 25%, that changes your decisions dramatically. The actual board game is designed to fuck the player bad. I loved that. Often times, we were presented with a room of snakes and orcs and a locked room filling with sand. Knowing our odds allowed us to determine what threats to deal with first and who to allocate to said risks. I hope they made some of those things readily available to check.

Also, I'm excited to see that the Warrior Priest is here...I am a bit sad that he's DLC (I know he was an expansion...). Billy the Warrior Priest will live on, though!
 

Li Kao

Member
Why does it MATTER what the numbers are saying though? It's not like you can have an effect on how they roll, it's just calculating damage etc. This feels like people looking for something to complain about.

Hmm ? I don't know if I understand your point correctly but it seems an important thing to me. After all, the amount of understanding of the core mechanics you have will automatically changes you play style, no ?
I mean I won't play a game were stats and such are little more than cosmetics in the same way than a game were there is a strong emphasis on mechanics and every shot count.
And IMHO all this fuss is (again, maybe) just a result of Rodeo trying to appeal to both light and hardcore style of play with mixed results.


Edit - fuck, Nicoga nailed it : "calculated risks", exactly. At the moment (and again I didn't read the full journal and I'm not hatin' on the game), I don't feel like new players have enough clear explanations to manage those calculated risks. Rodeo clearly wanted to make the game more approachable to players inexperienced with the boardgame, that's not a bad thing. Problem is that they maybe have hidden a little too much. WHQ is no hardcore rogue-like but nor it is your basic hack' slash.
 
Why does it MATTER what the numbers are saying though? It's not like you can have an effect on how they roll, it's just calculating damage etc. This feels like people looking for something to complain about.

EDIT: chance to hit would be nice, but I've played enough games that don't show that to not really be bothered by it.
Well, I haven't played the game, but that reviewer said stuff will happen like you'll find a weapon that has a "chance to smash" and the game won't explain what the chance of any hit being a smash is, or even what a smash is in the first place. Not being able to make informed decisions on what gear does and how to make your character deal and take damage more efficiently takes away a lot of the fun in a game like this.
 

PittaGAF

Member
The QT3 reviewer mentions it in the comments of the review:

I!!!!!!
Did he even discovered at last that the number near the red bar is the wounds? :)

Well...in the Italian translation it's pretty clear to me (it's almost a cut&paste from WHQ manual)....I won't bother to switch to English again and read it again and my English wouldn't be sufficient to say if it's bad written and unclear.
I'll let the native English to judge, but know it is all there if you have trouble.
 

blackflag

Member
I had no idea KOTOR was coming out for the iPad. That's amazing. Now I just have to anxiously check sites to see when it's going to be released.

WHAT!!

edit: and it's out now? whoah. I never played it. Tried to a couple years ago but it would only play in a small window on my PC and I couldn't be bothered to fix it.
 

Jedeye Sniv

Banned
Well, I haven't played the game, but that reviewer said stuff will happen like you'll find a weapon that has a "chance to smash" and the game won't explain what the chance of any hit being a smash is, or even what a smash is in the first place. Not being able to make informed decisions on what gear does and how to make your character deal and take damage more efficiently takes away a lot of the fun in a game like this.

I figure a smash would be some kind of critical hit? Trial and error and all that. What does this do? Oh, it does this. Honestly, if this game was super hardcore on the dice rolls and expecting me to memorise a load of stats it would scare me off. It's Hunters with less guns, that's all I need to know.
 
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