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The Official iPhone/iPod Touch Gaming Thread

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mrkgoo said:
Interesting. This and the Real Racing demo further confirm in my mind that the 3GS is the next generation of iPhone proper, despite many people saying it's just an incremental upgrade. You will start seeing apps dropping support for the original iPhone and iPhone 3G, possibly next year at iPhone 4. It will depend a lot on how the 3Gs is received, I guess.
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Only for very high end apps imo and even then that seems like a poor financial choice. The best option is to try to do your engine the way PC games have always handled it via different videocards and scale your technology.

Here is the Firemint guy talking about this subject.

Earlier today, Firemint released a video showing a tech demo of its Real Racing game running on the iPhone 3GS, with 40 cars on the track rather than the existing game's six.

The developer has stressed that it's just a tech demo, with no plans for a commercial release. Is that true, though? You'd think Apple would be biting Firemint's hand off to get this onto the App Store to showcase its new iPhone.

We contacted Firemint boss Rob Murray to find out more, starting with the question of a possible release.

"It is possible to do a 3GS specific version, and we intend to explore it further at Firemint," he says, before pointing out that there's a commercial barrier beyond the pure cost of building, testing and maintaining two versions of the game.

"To get value from your 3GS-specific investment you would want to feature and promote its benefits. However, when you do that, at the same time you can very easily give the non-3GS market false expectations," he says.

"So if you do differentiate the 3GS, you need to think carefully about how much noise to make about it. If you make too much noise it may backfire with negative user reviews from non-3GS customers, if you don't promote it at all then you haven't really gotten full value out of your investment."

It's a conundrum. Perhaps in time, Apple will launch a dedicated section of the App Store for 3GS-optimised games - which might serve the double purpose of allowing developers and publishers to charge more for their games.

But back to that fragmentation issue. We were surprised that the performance gap between the 3GS and existing iPhones was so great, judging by Firemint's video. How big a problem is this for developers?

"All you really need to do is focus on the lowest common denominator and your app should only work smoother on the 3GS," says Murray.

"From what I have observed on the App Store, I don't think there are many apps that have pushed the limit of the existing hardware. For the vast majority of apps, there is little that they can do power-wise on the 3GS that they couldn't equally do on the prior models with just a little bit more care and optimisation."

However, he accepts that if developers use 3GS-only features like OpenGL ES 2.0 and the compass, that's a different kettle of fish.

"If you choose to use features like this then you have some thinking to do," he says.
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http://www.pocketgamer.biz/r/PG.Biz/Real+Racing/news.asp?c=14186
 
Just downloaded and played Pirate Bay over lunch. Really enjoyed it. I concur that if you like Flight Control you will definetely like this game. There are some additional layers of stratagy to consider with PB when comparing the two that I like. Managing your one-shot then charge base cannon, deciding who gets the health/ammo or if you let it float by to the base. Lots of fun.

They are laready discussing updates as well and have a cool survey question in app where oyu can vote for what feature you would like to see added next. Another great bite size 99 cent gem imo.
 
jonnybryce said:
::sigh:: I just bought Pirate Bay since I'm an App store addict. I'll post some impressions later.
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Damn man, its intervention time.... give me your wallet, jonnybryce.... STEP AWAY from the purchase button!. :lol


To get ready for Rolando 2, im' finally getting around to playing the Rolando 1 demo. This game really is quite good, I don't know why, but I quickly deleted the demo when I downloaded it a month ago. Its really catchy, nice music, cute aesthetic. Getting really excited for the second one. Can't wait!
 
Ok so I've played Pirate Bay for a few minutes. It's pretty fun, you have three ships to guard your base from enemy ships. They follow the route you draw with your finger and all have different speed and strength. Health ships come and you can give them to your defending ships or the base. It's very simple, pretty fun. If you liked Flight Control or Harbor Master you may like this and even if you didn't like those, you may still like it. You defend your base with your three ships from all angles. A good value.

lawblob said:
Damn man, its intervention time.... give me your wallet, jonnybryce.... STEP AWAY from the purchase button!. :lol


To get ready for Rolando 2, im' finally getting around to playing the Rolando 1 demo. This game really is quite good, I don't know why, but I quickly deleted the demo when I downloaded it a month ago. Its really catchy, nice music, cute aesthetic. Getting really excited for the second one. Can't wait!
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:lol I can stop whenever I want to!
 
Costanza said:
If you liked Flight Control/Harbor Master you'll probably like this. It's a fun twist on that formula.
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damn, i read the game title as Bungeling Bay. I was hoping for a iphone/ipod remake of Raid on Bungeling Bay :(
 
mrWalrus said:
Score! I'm really curious how the game plays on the 3GS, haven't been able to get my hands on one yet. The frame rate should be locked at 30 for now.. but we're aiming for 60 on the 3GS. :D

Quick note. The first update should be getting submitted by Monday. I'm driving out to Vegas for the long weekend to work with the other half of RttM to get things nailed down.
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It happened again!!!! I think it has to do with recalibrating. I recalibrated it to suit my position and it won't fly higher than the halfway point again. I'm going to erase and redownload again :lol

edit: deleted, reinstalled and restarted and it works perfectly again. I'm not touching the recalibrate button again. We'll see if this weird bug resurfaces.
 
As much as I enjoy WordFu, it's a buggy pos that I can't recommend to anyone. Even with the newest patch the game still crashes.

Do you know how frustrating it is to put in like 45 minutes of mind-numbing concentration while thinking you might finally beat your high score. Only to have the game crash.

I stopped playing because of this. Then the update came out claiming to fix the crashes. I installed and rebooted my phone. And of course it crashed in my first game.
 
I must agree with the sentiment that the 3GS is a major leap in terms of performance over the OG and the 3G.While the 3G had admirable performance on almost everything I've installed, the 3GS is running everything much faster and smoother.

Some quick examples of games that have been improved with better loading and a rock solid frame rate are:

Assassin's Creed
Need for Speed Underground
Real Racing
Touch Ski 3D
Tap Tap Revenge 2
Payback
Oregon Trail
Hero of Sparta
Aqua Moto Racing
The Price is Right

The differences range from noticeable(e.g. Assassin's Creed) to dramatic(e.g. Tap Tap Revenge 2) and I'm stoked to see some 3GS specific optimization in the future.
 
jonnybryce said:
It happened again!!!! I think it has to do with recalibrating. I recalibrated it to suit my position and it won't fly higher than the halfway point again. I'm going to erase and redownload again :lol
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Egad! sounds like it could be something to do with the 3GS/3.0. We've not heard of anyone having that problem. (please keep me up to date -- maybe PM me from here on out tho so we don't clog the board).

We did notice the game ran a little slower after upgrading to the 3.0 firmware (most likely do to extra processes being run in the background -- Thanks Apple! :lol)
 
suffah said:
As much as I enjoy WordFu, it's a buggy pos that I can't recommend to anyone. Even with the newest patch the game still crashes.
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If anything, its crashing more for me after the patch. Yesterday it crashed on me right after getting a new personal high score. I haven't tried deleting & reinstalling, maybe that will help.
 
Stoney Mason said:
Only for very high end apps imo and even then that seems like a poor financial choice. The best option is to try to do your engine the way PC games have always handled it via different videocards and scale your technology.

Here is the Firemint guy talking about this subject.



http://www.pocketgamer.biz/r/PG.Biz/Real+Racing/news.asp?c=14186
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Oh for sure, I agree entirely. Scaleable is the way to go.

But at the same time, I think you WILL see apps that are designed specifically for the extra power. Some developers will try to push the edge of what is capable, and inevitably decide the 'lower' version isn't worth it. Of course that depends on the adoption of the 3GS and iPod touch 3 (remember, the second is already a minor step ahead). Come iPhone 4, there will be a handful of apps that developers will stress that they only run well on later hardware. If the numbers of iPod touch 3GS (+4) and the new iPod touch are higher than the original (remember, the original wasn't released in as many countries as the 3G) and the 3G combined, it will be viable to do so.
 
lilljolle said:
Bought Toki Tori! Can't resist a good sale even though I still don't have an iPhone. :(

<3 this thread
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Haha, man, and I thought I was a sucker for games on sale.
Toki Tori bought
 
Just found out they won't release the 3GS in Sweden untill 31st of July. Going on a 4 week vacation next week and would have loved to have a new gadget to play with.

On the positive side this will give me a chanse to catch some more sales, and build a nice gaming library, before I can lay my hands on that sexy touch screen. :D
 
mrkgoo said:
Oh for sure, I agree entirely. Scaleable is the way to go.

But at the same time, I think you WILL see apps that are designed specifically for the extra power. Some developers will try to push the edge of what is capable, and inevitably decide the 'lower' version isn't worth it. Of course that depends on the adoption of the 3GS and iPod touch 3 (remember, the second is already a minor step ahead). Come iPhone 4, there will be a handful of apps that developers will stress that they only run well on later hardware. If the numbers of iPod touch 3GS (+4) and the new iPod touch are higher than the original (remember, the original wasn't released in as many countries as the 3G) and the 3G combined, it will be viable to do so.
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iphone gaming is still a business. no one in their right mind will leave the og iphone and 3g gamers in the dust. they userbase for those two devices it way too significant to be ignored.
 
DiddyBop said:
iphone gaming is still a business. no one in their right mind will leave the og iphone and 3g gamers in the dust. they userbase for those two devices it way too significant to be ignored.
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+1

Carmack said it best when he stated a smart developer will just make sure their games run at 60 hertz on a 3GS. Why would anyone in their right mind shun the 50MM devices already out there?

Besides, awesome tech or not. The first key is to make a fun game. This platform has proven on almost a daily basis that fun experiences don't always have to push the most polys.
 
DiddyBop said:
iphone gaming is still a business. no one in their right mind will leave the og iphone and 3g gamers in the dust. they userbase for those two devices it way too significant to be ignored.
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Agreed again.

There will come a point though.

I don't mean to say that the original iPhones will be shunned. It's clearly a strong money spinner. There's only so long you can keep the lowest denominator around. I'd probably backpedal a bit and say it will happen in a major form with the next major overhaul in processor (with iPhone 4.0 being similar to 3gs). But still think that you will begin to see apps that utilize the power within the next year.
 
mrkgoo said:
Agreed again.

There will come a point though.

I don't mean to say that the original iPhones will be shunned. It's clearly a strong money spinner. There's only so long you can keep the lowest denominator around. I'd probably backpedal a bit and say it will happen in a major form with the next major overhaul in processor (with iPhone 4.0 being similar to 3gs). But still think that you will begin to see apps that utilize the power within the next year.
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Hasn't it already been established that iPhone games will just be made to be scalable? Like, if you have an awesome PC you will run Crysis at better performance than the guy with the older PC. Everybody can buy it and play it, but only the guy with the best machine can fully experience the product.

Considering that the App store is a money loser for most game developers at this point, I think we are missing the point if we wonder how long until people start developing "for" the 3GS. Instead, I think its a question of how well they can make games scalable across all versions of the iPhone.
 
lawblob said:
Hasn't it already been established that iPhone games will just be made to be scalable? Like, if you have an awesome PC you will run Crysis at better performance than the guy with the older PC. Everybody can buy it and play it, but only the guy with the best machine can fully experience the product.

Considering that the App store is a money loser for most game developers at this point, I think we are missing the point if we wonder how long until people start developing "for" the 3GS. Instead, I think its a question of how well they can make games scalable across all versions of the iPhone.
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I think it's easy to do, though I have no idea. The OS is entirely similar through all the devices.

That said, there are already apps that check what device you have and simply don't allow installation, so I assume there are flags to indicate what it will install on. Currently, this is limited to preventing apps that are based on particular hardware features from installing (ie. some microphone or location-based apps for iPod touch 1st gen), but I assume there's nothing stopping a developer from flagging earlier devices if they deem support is more effort than profit.

I'm not saying that a majority of developers will forsake the older device in favour of new ones, but that it will happen eventually, and that you will see apps take advantage of the newer hardware. You may even see apps that are exclusive to the newer hardware because of this.

That's all I'm saying. It is obviously the better strategy to go for scaleability. Firemint said it themselves, but as TouchArcade point out, it will be interesting to see how developers approach future releases. I see it kind of like the GameBoy Color - games were made 'scaleable' and able to run the same software (multiple versions in the cart), but there were also specific titles. This isn't a great analogy, though, because the hardware was being marketed with different software in mind.

Notably, the 3G is still sold as a current ('budget') model, unlike the original, which I beleive was discontinued after a year. I realise the original shares hardware specs with the 3G, so any hypothetical transition will be more gradual than the yearly cycle Apple appear to be following (but see below for more comments), rather than suddenly that some think I'm implying (I'm not). Note the original was also a more limited release compared to the 3G, which was much more international.

I see the iPhone as being targeted for a two-yearly update cycle - that is Apple will update the models yearly, but strategically so such that models are incremented in hardware features so that consumers feel the need to upgrade every two years.

edit: bah I hate 500 errors. I lose all my typing.
 
Flunkie said:
PathPix - Connect pairs of numbers - the length of the path must match the numbers. Eveything you connect makes a picture in the end. It's simple, but truly addictive. It gets pretty challenging, too.

pathpix2.jpg
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I mentioned this game a few pages back and no one noticed. It really is hugely addictive. Been my go-to time waster for a couple of weeks now.
Stoney Mason said:
Worms
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Hot shit yeah! Though I'll wait for an update where they get some online 3G multiplayer working. I'm still hoping for an asynchronous turn-based like what Facebook has, so I can play against my friends across the country without needing to both be playing at the exact same time.
 
Bought both Toki Tori and Knights Onrush. Very nice games. As a one time owner of an OG iphone, it's pretty impressive how the games have advanced over the last couple of years.
 
I been playing a lot of California Gold Rush today and the more I play the more I love it, the single player has a huge map too so I know i'll be playing this for a long time, best £1.79 I have spent yet.
 
Are there any properly epic Final Fantasy-esque RPGs out on the app store? I fancy getting my role play on during my lunch breaks but I can't seem to find anything.

EDIT: Thanks for the Zenonia suggestion, I'll check it out.

Also, for the Super Monkey Ball owners there's an update for the app out, changelog: -Added "More SEGA Games" button. Sweet. :lol
 
edgefusion said:
Are there any properly epic Final Fantasy-esque RPGs out on the app store? I fancy getting my role play on during my lunch breaks but I can't seem to find anything.
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Only Zenonia, 2D action rpg.

*edit* there are some others but this one is the most fleshed out and worth the price.
 
lawblob said:
Hasn't it already been established that iPhone games will just be made to be scalable? Like, if you have an awesome PC you will run Crysis at better performance than the guy with the older PC. Everybody can buy it and play it, but only the guy with the best machine can fully experience the product.

Considering that the App store is a money loser for most game developers at this point, I think we are missing the point if we wonder how long until people start developing "for" the 3GS. Instead, I think its a question of how well they can make games scalable across all versions of the iPhone.
Click to expand...

Well, there's a problem. To truly take advantage of the 3GS hardware you have to write a *completely different* graphics engine from what you are running on the normal iPhone. The 3GS's graphics chip isn't just the iPhone's with a few extra features, you have to program it entirely differently, and even build your assets differently. In fact, to even make the 3GS able to run apps made for the normal iPhone at all, Apple had to emulate what the first chip did, in software.

You can still write an app that fully scales to the hardware, but it's a hell of a lot of work, because you have to write two different graphic engines and store two different sets of artwork. It definitely wasn't designed to be scalable, except for the extra speed.
 
Costanza said:
Has anyone tried Super Collider? It's from the devs of Underworlds.

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=319822953&mt=8
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I have, and deleted it in 5 min.

You pretty much hold your finger to the screen moving an orb around. While moving the orb around, you need to avoid other flying orbs while trying to collect certain orbs to clear the level. If one of the bad orbs touches you, it's game over.

Replace orb with a particle of antimatter or whatever the hell the game calls it.

I'll just pretend 99c fell out of my pocket, and I lost that money. :lol
 
Dreamwriter said:
Well, there's a problem. To truly take advantage of the 3GS hardware you have to write a *completely different* graphics engine from what you are running on the normal iPhone. The 3GS's graphics chip isn't just the iPhone's with a few extra features, you have to program it entirely differently, and even build your assets differently. In fact, to even make the 3GS able to run apps made for the normal iPhone at all, Apple had to emulate what the first chip did, in software.

You can still write an app that fully scales to the hardware, but it's a hell of a lot of work, because you have to write two different graphic engines and store two different sets of artwork. It definitely wasn't designed to be scalable, except for the extra speed.
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Thats interesting, I didn't realize it would be that labor
intensive to get programs running across the old / new.

Everything I read about programming always makes it sound so hard / tedious, I don't know how people have the patience for it.
 
Guys, have you given TapStar a shot? It's awesome, the diagonal arrow controls in each corner played in landscape work so well, the combo effects and album art makes for a really polished look and it has a decent song catalog, which promises to grow. It's 99 cents now but is said to shoot up to 4.99 soon. The only scoring is really cool, I'm #3 overall right now! :)

If you like music games you really should pick this up, fast.

burgerdog said:
I have a 3GS, but for future reference - which Apps do I have to hard close so they won't take up memory in the background?
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Any Apple ones, like Safari.
 
Diablohead said:
I been playing a lot of California Gold Rush today and the more I play the more I love it, the single player has a huge map too so I know i'll be playing this for a long time, best £1.79 I have spent yet.
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Agreed!

It's not just California Gold Rush either -- everything Digital Chocolate puts out is awesome. I've been playing the hell out of Penguin Catapult 2 and 3D Rollercoaster Rush all week long.
 
So, I did not buy anything in a while. What is the best recent game (last 2 or so weeks) under $3.99 worth picking up?

edit - California Gold Rush looks kinda fun... goes to get demo :D
 
Someone will build a 3GS only app, it's only a matter of time. It segments the market, yes, but it also will gain a lot of notoriety and interest just by being the first game to fully exploit the power of the 3GS.

Imagine the hype that could be built around that.
 
Evacuation was released today. 99 cents.

638539.jpg


Evacuation is a game of strategy, quick wits, and explosive decompression!

Aliens have invaded your cargo hold, and the only way to get rid of them is to vent them into space! But try not to airlock too many of the crew - they aren't insured!

Tap the doors to open and close them, or tap the floors to place a flag for your crew to rally around.

If you accidentally evacuate the captain, it's game over - he's also the pilot.

If you lose all your crew, it's game over too - when you have no crew, no one can hear you scream...
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App Store

you can play a free flash version here. it's kinda fun. I think I'm gonna buy it.
 
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