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Tunesmith · Mar 1, 2014

Each month, the iOS GAF community hosts a thread for new game releases, rumors and discussion that define the fast-moving world of iOS gaming.

The OP will contain games that released both towards the end of the previous month and games that have released during the current month.
All the games listed will have been highlighted by the GAF community in one way or another. This way you can keep tabs on the best games and at the same time curate an excellent resource to look back on to find games you may have missed.

Also keep an eye out for the ‘GAF iOS Challenges’; events where GAF battle it out on the Game Center leaderboards of a chosen game for both fame and fortune (prizes donated by members of our community).

toddhunter said:
Little Big Adventure is a rather strange PC game from many years ago. Called Relentless in some parts of the world, it featured a young protagonist in a harsh world trying to bring down the evil guys running the show. To do this, you move around an environment, solved some light puzzles and generally avoided the red elephants who teleport in and gun you down very quickly.

As a part of gaming history, it is well recommended. What made it so good was the amazing atmosphere, crafted from the graphics, sound and music which all worked together to create a strange, but believable world. Now out of nowhere comes an ios port re-jigged for touch controls. Being such a big fan, I couldn't resist trying it out, so does the experience come across?

Port Impressions (Escaped the prison)

+ The graphics look great at a high resolution on an iphone (5s) and performance is good. You can zoom in or out at any time (even to view the whole map)
+ The sound and music are intact and provide a great nostalgia hit
+ The controls are functional, with move to touch, drag to jump and tap to attack/search. Some actions are a little fiddly on a small screen, but being able to zoom helps.
+ At least some work has gone into designing the menus for touch screens and it is all arranged nice enough (with large icons etc).

- Path finding? What is that? Basically there isn't any and it is a bit of a problem on a touch device. You will get used to mapping out every move exactly, but it still isn't great.
- The cut scenes are still the originals and so don't look too flash on a high res device.

Overall I could see people coming to the game fresh having a bit of trouble with the mechanics and general lack of hand holding (I remember I had all sorts of trouble getting into it way back when as a youngster). It is also a very slow and methodical game, which can be troublesome when combined with a trial and error approach to a lot of puzzles. But for somebody with nostalgia and a bit of patience to tap out every movement? It looks like a solid and recommended port that will be more than functional enough.

Just be prepared for a bit of a steep learning curve before you get into the game proper. If you do stick with it? The rewards are more than worth it.

KingKong said:
Flappy Golf (by Stickman Golf devs) is actually kind of good

GWX said:
Awesome. Noodlecake is awesome.

More_Badass said:
This. I'm really enjoying this game. Really shows that the issue wasn't Flappy Bird, it was the lazy devs who just released stupid re-skinned clones. With some creativity and talent, you can take those mechanics and do something interesting and cool. Also see Terry Cavanagh's Maverick Bird and Adam Atomic's Flappybalt

Freedom = $1.05 said:
So 999 works just fine as a visual novel. As someone who never played the original, i didn't feel as if i was missing out on much playing the ios version. There are moments where I wonder how whats obviously a puzzle in the original game would've worked but I'm ok with basically playing the baby edition of the game.

It's been a while since I played a game until it completely ran down my ipad 3's battery. I've already run into one of the bad endings

Clover kills me for having abandoned her and Lotus in the hospital room shortly after learning of Snake's death

and i immediately went back in to see more.

I received VLR for free on the vita as part of PSN+ and I honestly feel that this was a great way for me to dip my toes in the series. I can't wait to get home and keep filling out that flowchart.

Pray For Death said:
Just finished 999 (all endings). It is much longer than I expected, and I found it rather enjoyable. Can't say I'm a huge fan of how the story ends up, but that's par for the course for Japanese visual novels I guess.

I did enjoy the detailed discussions on various historical (and fictional) events. The dialogue however was very spotty at certain points, probably due to translation.

I especially liked how the game tells you how to get a different ending next time. That, coupled with the flow chart and skip function can save a ton of time.

More_Badass said:
It's from the developer of Granny Smith and Sprinkle, and I'm really enjoying it. The only IAP is a premium unlock that lets you continue from checkpoints (rather than start from the beginning, when you fail). The game is essentially a level-based runner, but rather than avoiding obstacles, you need to smash them with balls. These balls are also your life, so hit something and you lose balls, and when you run out, you fail. It may seem simple, but it's fast, challenging, and almost like a fast paced timing-based puzzle game. Also the smashing effects are so satisfying and realistic.

Arcayne said:
Smash Hit (Free) is absolutely fantastic, with, alongside [More_Badass]'s description, some of the most ambient, trance-enduced relaxing music I've the pleasure of hearing. The physics of the gameplay feels so good, you all need to try it. Now!

igor said:
Smash Hit is AMAZING and ridiculously addictive repeating the path and trying to figure out the most efficient way of destroying stuff and collecting crystals. Hopefully I will eventually have 200 balls at once. Feels so badass going through levels unscathed. Plus it's just so pretty. Actually I am thinking whether I should go premium or buy Wave Wave instead, though I feel getting to level 10 without checkpoints would be pretty sweet.

More_Badass said:
I don't know what kind of madman designed Wave Wave, but he should be commended for crafting such a varied and complex package from such mechanically simple gameplay. I don't think any game I've played since Badland has used the one-touch rise/fall mechanic better (no, not even Wingdot) and none of the twitchy arcade games I've played have been so fully featured. Hell, even Pivvot only had about four (five?) different modes and two of those were just harder versions of other modes.

The music is great, the visuals are weirdly hypnotic as the lane forms before you, and like the best in the genre, the game has me instinctively reaching for Retry. It's the kind of game where progress is measured in increments of seconds and even the mere increase from a fifth of second to .75 feels like an accomplishment.

BenjaminBirdie said:
THIS GAME IS INSANE

polyh3dron said:
Yeah when I finished the wave wave tutorial and I thought I had it down and then the screen started spinning I was all like FUCK THAT.

killercow said:
Yeah it's crazy crazy hard. Love it though

haterofpants said:
I've only been playing Out There for a couple of hours, but it seems pretty neat and seems very unforgiving. It's kind of like a mix of King of Dragon Pass and (as was mentioned earlier in this thread) Mass Effect's space exploration.

If anyone would like me to answer specific questions about Out There, let me know.

SteveWD40 said:
Out There is fucking beautiful, music and art combine so well, haunting.

Highly recommend it.

PittaGAF said:
I'm really in love with Out There.
After you 'find' (not complete) the 3 endings you can't put it down (me anyway).
The last part is really awesome, expecially when you actively search for specific tech to complete it.

If you do not find new ships after a bit it's unlikely you will progress after the first beacon, but I'm having ton of fun nonetheless.
Everytime I feel I saw everything about the first part, a new cool event pop up.

Yeah it's difficult and in many runs you do not progress the story, but it would be too easy if so.

It's still a roguelike but everytime feels like a cool scifi 70 scifi movie.

PittaGAF said:
For the ones interested this is a nice review that captures the core of Out There without spoiling it too much.

Out There review

Jedeye Sniv said:
Yeah I had a bit of a play with this last night, seems really neat. i love these space games. And a great example of a genre really well suited for mobile.

None yet!

Tunesmith · Mar 1, 2014

Pray For Death said:
This website keeps track of all the controller enabled games. It gets updated regularly.

MOGA Ace Power Controller reviews said:
A better, yet more cumbersome iOS 7 gamepad: hands-on with the MOGA Ace Power - Engadget
MOGA Ace Power Gamepad Review - 148Apps
Hands-on with the MOGA Ace Power - the first MFi iPhone controller for iOS 7 - Pocket Gamer

iCade Hardware / Games reviews said:
Here are a few video reviews of iCade supported titles (thanks Alextended!)

iCade hardware

Blazing Star
Shogun: Rise of the Renegade
Gridrunner
ElectroMaster
Enborn-X
Midway Arcade
Vectrex Regeneration
Temple Run

Here is a summary of other iOS game/iOS device related threads!

iOS Hidden Gems

iOS Apps |OT|
iOS 7 |OT|
iPhone 5S |OT|

iOS Membership said:
Rules

Send Dash Kappei or Tunesmith a PM if you want to be added or taken off the list, following this text formatting:

GAF Name = Game Center Name / iOS Device(s)

When adding someone, add From GAF to the friend request and your NeoGAF name as to easily tell who's who.

Send Dash Kappei or Tunesmith a PM if you are already on the list but want to update your profile with more info like iOS devices(s) owned, or to just change your existing GC profile.

We are on the list and, if you are too, it's OK to add us even if we're not best buddies; don't be shy: we enjoy having more GAFers challenging us on the friends leaderboards.

Don't just wait for others to add you first you should at least add some of the profiles posted above yours if you want to get the ball rolling... It's really up to you. Ideally the last member of the list will be the one to add the profiles above his, and so on and on with each new member. Or maybe just add whoever you like, that's also an option.

Remember: Your real name will be visible to your GC friends.

You can add everyone on the list at once; click the second sheet on the iOS Membership list and read the instructions, works on iOS and Macs

###
The form to enter yourself to the list is here: quote to see
###

How do I back up my game saves for games that do not support iCloud save games?

Use a file manager program such as i-FunBox (PC/Mac) - It's free and requires no jailbreak.
i-FunBox has many different features, but to back up save games you would just want to do the following:

Click the iFunBox Classic tab
Connect your iOS device, via WiFi or USB, it should then appear in the Connected Devices list on the left side of the UI.
Under User Applications, navigate to the game you want to back up save games for.
Select the Documents and Library folders and copy them one at a time to your PC/Mac - this will copy the folders and all their contents. They contains your save files and settings for the game. Some games only use Documents, some use both.

To restore a backed up save game do the reverse.

Under User Applications, navigate to the game you want to restore save games for.
Select the Documents and/or Library folders and choose to copy from PC/Mac.
Navigate to where you saved the backed up Documents and/or Library folders on your PC/Mac, open them and select all the files within it and open them. This will copy the folder contents back onto your iOS device.
Restart/fully close the game itself and your saves should be back!

Check that the file structure of the game is retained, e.g. GameName > Documents > files after you're done (no Documents folder within the Documents folder!), otherwise the game will not recognize your restored saves!

How do I hide my Real Name on Game Center?

Your real first and last name (taken from your Apple ID) will be shown to your GC friends. If you value that information and want GAF's leaderboards to show your GAF nickname instead, here's how you do it:

Go to http://appleid.apple.com and log in with your Apple ID details via "Manage your Apple ID".
In the "Name, ID and Email Addresses" section, click Edit on the Your Name field at the top.
Change you First and Last name (you must enter both) to whatever you like (e.g. First Name: Tunesmith, Last Name: GAF)

Done, now that's who you're going to be listed as on your friend's Game Center leaderboards. This will affect Game Center *and* your Apple ID. If it's the same account you use for App Store/iTunes, you will still be able to use it for iTunes/App Store's purchases (you can still buy whatever you want like you could before) *BUT* in the receipt it'll show your nickname or whatever you chose as First Name and Last Name when you changed those fields. The first time you will use the modified account on App Store/iTunes, you will be asked to verify the account by re-entering the 3 digits code of the credit card's CCV security code (if you make your purchases using a credit card).

Should I buy this new high-priced game or wait for a sale?

Maybe! Just be aware that iOS games have a tendency to go on sale frequently and unpredictably, even recent games can be a dollar rather than premium $4-5. Spend your pack of gum money wisely.
As a recommendation, set up a RSS feed for the price changes on http://appshopper.com/ which will then notify you of any price fluctuations for old and new games alike.

I just got an iPhone/iPad. What are the best games?

In addition to checking out the past month's iOS Gaming threads, visit Best iOS Games Ever v1 / Best iOS Games Ever v2 / iOS Hidden Gems. You're welcome.

For gaming, should I get the iPad Mini 2, or iPad Air?

Both have their pros and cons. The Mini 2 is cheaper and smaller but there is a slight difference between the Air's A7 chip and the mini's A7: the mini's is around 100MHz slower -- 1.3GHz compared to the Air's 1.4GHz. Other than that they're both identical in spec. It's very much a coin toss between if you want a 9.7" or a 7.9" screen.

I'm a new iOS user, what non-gaming apps should I get ASAP?

This thread would be a great place to start. Asking here wouldn't hurt either!

Thanks to Fuu & Dash Kappei for handling the community list's past/present duties, Dash Kappei for running the iOS Challenges, past OT hosts for having done a wonderful job and finally to our iOS Gaming community for keeping these threads alive!

Stallion Free · Mar 1, 2014

I'm really looking forward to picking up Out There at some point this month.

Tunesmith · Mar 1, 2014

Stallion Free said:
I'm really looking forward to picking up Out There at some point this month.

I've only played it briefly but I love what I saw. It's essentially a roguelike type game in space, with absolutely fantastic presentation and atmosphere.

--

Any other tail-end-of-February games that should be in the OP? Disco Zoo? Autumn Dynasty?

Also if someone could write up (Flunkie?) a briefy summary of the "Controllers For All" jailbreak tweak? I'd like to feature that in the gadgets section.

PAULINK · Mar 1, 2014

DJ max Technika Q comes out for iphone and android this month. I heard it's online only though, if that's the case I don't think I can support it :/

StarCreator · Mar 1, 2014

PAULINK said:
DJ max Technika Q comes out for iphone and android this month. I heard it's online only though, if that's the case I don't think I can support it :/

Don't go by the Korean release to judge that. They've already confirmed the international version removes the KakaoTalk dependency.

PFD · Mar 1, 2014

Yay new thread! Currently playing BG2, Tengami, Calculords, and COD: Strike Team

killercow · Mar 1, 2014

Tunesmith said:
I've only played it briefly but I love what I saw. It's essentially a roguelike type game in space, with absolutely fantastic presentation and atmosphere.

--

Any other tail-end-of-February games that should be in the OP? Disco Zoo? Autumn Dynasty?

Also if someone could write up (Flunkie?) a briefy summary of the "Controllers For All" jailbreak tweak? I'd like to feature that in the gadgets section.

Autumn Dynasty deserves a spot there!

Here's a brief summary of Controllers for all:

Controllers for all is a tweak made by Cjori for 1.99$ that requires a jailbroken iOS device. It lets you play with a Dualshock 3/4 controller using BTstack on virtually any game that features controller support. You need to change your bluetooth address through Sixpair (on pc and mac) to make it work but that process is really easy. This tweak can have issues with some games but overall it's a blast to play with.

Full instructions here: http://orikad.com/sixpair_instructions.html or here: http://www.idownloadblog.com/2014/0...t-brings-ps3-controller-compatibility-to-ios/

PAULINK · Mar 1, 2014

StarCreator said:
Don't go by the Korean release to judge that. They've already confirmed the international version removes the KakaoTalk dependency.

I want to believe Star, truly I do. I just hope the way they handle dlc is much better than it was on DJ max ray, it was so bad there I didn't even bother getting dlc for that game.

Katana_Strikes · Mar 1, 2014

Played some good games last month. Calculords, Warhammer Quest (price cut), Disco Zoo and Brave Frontier were all cool.

FerranMG · Mar 1, 2014

Tunesmith said:
Any other tail-end-of-February games that should be in the OP? Disco Zoo? Autumn Dynasty?

I've been loving Disco Zoo.
As usual, it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I love these Nimblebit games.

BFIB · Mar 1, 2014

ICade for $40? Any gaffers have one?

PittaGAF · Mar 1, 2014

Woah, just WOAH.

I started an Out There game...why not? Usually one game take me about 20 minutes.

One solid hour later I can say: WOAH.

I didn't nor complete any ending nor made my top score but I managed to visit over 50 systems (a ton of dead ends too

But WOAH

SPOILER

I found all 3 endings...and was warped AT THE VERY BEGINNING 3 systems away from both red and green...how dumb of me...HOW COULD I NOT PRESS THAT BUTTON....

ANYWAY...Found THE ENEMY and since then many systems were occupied...I guess I must have the death seed or something.

Simply awesome.

The 'birdlike' starship is incredible...basically free fuel...if only I could had it upgraded with shields and better engines!!!!

My biggest problem now is that it will take me ages to reach that point again!!!!

I really didn't think this game could be so great...it's a pity a lot people IMHO, scared by initial difficulty, maybe won't ever see those things if not very lucky.

Timekiller · Mar 1, 2014

PittaGAF said:
Woah, just WOAH.

I started an Out There game...why not? Usually one game take me about 20 minutes.

One solid hour later I can say: WOAH.

I didn't nor complete any ending nor made my top score but I managed to visit over 50 systems (a ton of dead ends too

But WOAH

SPOILER

I found all 3 endings...and was warped AT THE VERY BEGINNING 3 systems away from both red and green...how dumb of me...HOW COULD I NOT PRESS THAT BUTTON....

ANYWAY...Found THE ENEMY and since then many systems were occupied...I guess I must have the death seed or something.

Simply awesome.

The 'birdlike' starship is incredible...basically free fuel...if only I could had it upgraded with shields and better engines!!!!

My biggest problem now is that it will take me ages to reach that point again!!!!

I really didn't think this game could be so great...it's a pity a lot people IMHO, scared by initial difficulty, maybe won't ever see those things if not very lucky.

Really loving it, but i must admit that i'd love for it to be slightly less hard. Just when i start soaking into the atmosphere i die because of something that is clearly a trap of a randomly generated universe - 4 planets probed for fuel and i only got 15 hydrogen?

If that would have ended up in 3x20 helium i would have seen the end of it. If i can't trade or refine resources into others, the game still feels a bit too simple and very based on sheer luck

Squirrel Killer · Mar 1, 2014

Tunesmith said:
I've only played it briefly but I love what I saw. It's essentially a roguelike type game in space, with absolutely fantastic presentation and atmosphere.

What do you mean by roguelike, an actual roguelike with graphics or the bastardization of "roguelike" to mean anything hard? From the screenshots, I can tell what kind of game it is, it might even be a side scrolling shooter.

Minsc · Mar 1, 2014

Pocket Tactics gave it a 5/5, not too common for them, so I'm definitely intrigued about it.

PittaGAF · Mar 1, 2014

Minsc said:
Pocket Tactics gave it a 5/5, not too common for them, so I'm definitely intrigued about it.

Love roguelike, including not finding frustrating the luck factor?

Love SciFi, expecially 70' like ST:TOS or SPACE:1999?

Love light resources management?

If you answered yes to all three, look no further

PFD · Mar 1, 2014

Squirrel Killer said:
What do you mean by roguelike, an actual roguelike with graphics or the bastardization of "roguelike" to mean anything hard? From the screenshots, I can tell what kind of game it is, it might even be a side scrolling shooter.

It's a roguelike in the sense that when you die, you start over. And it's very easy to die or get stuck with no access to resources if you don't plan your moves well and/or have really bad luck.

Timekiller said:
Just when i start soaking into the atmosphere i die because of something that is clearly a trap of a randomly generated universe - 4 planets probed for fuel and i only got 15 hydrogen?

I thought it wasn't randomly generated. At least this pocket tactics reviewer doesn't think so:

Peiffert has made a number of provisions with replayability in mind. The star map is huge, and though not randomly generated, theres many potential paths to take through it.

Azar · Mar 1, 2014

Blowfish Meets Meteor

A friend of mine put out a great game on iOS a couple weeks ago that he worked on for almost 3 years. He set out to combine a blockbreaker with Donkey Kong Country, but I think it ended up being more of a blockbreaker puzzle game. The puzzles are tough and vary a ton between worlds, which is my favorite thing about it. And it has boss battles.

The game's called Blowfish Meets Meteor. Here's a dramatic trailer he put together and some gameplay video. Costs $3.

If anyone tries it out and likes it, I know he could use some word-of-mouth buzz. I think the game's worthy of it. Also I made a gif:

PittaGAF · Mar 1, 2014

Timekiller said:
Really loving it, but i must admit that i'd love for it to be slightly less hard. Just when i start soaking into the atmosphere i die because of something that is clearly a trap of a randomly generated universe - 4 planets probed for fuel and i only got 15 hydrogen?

If that would have ended up in 3x20 helium i would have seen the end of it. If i can't trade or refine resources into others, the game still feels a bit too simple and very based on sheer luck

Personally I love the simplicity and the randomness (within certain limits...but without it I would have probably completed the game first night I played).
A friend of mine deleted the game at third game :/

BTW I found, in general, you have more chances of finding Helium at the START of the game, expecially on White stars.
I usually hoard 3 20 He slots in the very beginning for later.
Of course then I die suffocating or my ship hull is destroyed by something

Gamecocks625 · Mar 1, 2014

Anyone playing Mad Skills Motocross 2?

Timekiller · Mar 1, 2014

PittaGAF said:
Personally I love the simplicity and the randomness (within certain limits...but without it I would have probably completed the game first night I played).
A friend of mine deleted the game at third game :/

BTW I found, in general, you have more chances of finding Helium at the START of the game, expecially on White stars.
I usually hoard 3 20 He slots in the very beginning for later.
Of course then I die suffocating or my ship hull is destroyed by something

And then again i must admit... me too. I mean, i'm loving this randomness and simplicity. It really adds to the sense of wonder and fear of cruising an uncharted territory. If the planet doesn't have resources, and you crash, it's because... it just doesn't have any, that's life, and you die regretting not having chosen the other path. It adds to the sense of loneliness too of course.

But after a few hours of very enjoyable game time, i must also say that i could have done without at least 26 useless 8 minutes long playthroughs where i ended up dying only because of a randomly generated stream of disasters or empty planets. Feeling like it's still unbalanced. Basically, if you find decent resources 15 times in a row, you can continue. Then you hit a couple of empty planets and your chances of making it might already be compromised.

Timekiller · Mar 1, 2014

Pray For Death said:
I thought it wasn't randomly generated. At least this pocket tactics reviewer doesn't think so:

Yep, was reading that. I thought it was, it felt like it was, but i'm starting to believe that it's just a series of pre-designed maps that are randomly chosen at the beginning of a playthrough. Everything else, what you find and how, is completely random i think.

Heel · Mar 1, 2014

Minsc said:
Pocket Tactics gave it a 5/5, not too common for them, so I'm definitely intrigued about it.

Yeah, when Pocket Tactics hands out a 5/5 it's hard to ignore. My favorite iOS site for sure. Their only other 5/5 review this year is Hoplite. Still need to get around to that one!

Heel · Mar 1, 2014

Tunesmith said:
Any other tail-end-of-February games that should be in the OP? Disco Zoo?

Pocket Planes was great for a few days, I thought their snake game was excellent, but Disco Zoo is just the culmination of everything that's wrong with iOS in my eyes. When you boil it down, the "game" is flipping over tiles to find matches.

Want to flip over more tiles? Watch an ad.
Want to make a trip to flip over tiles? Spend coins.
Want to earn more coins? Spend dollars.
Want to keep earning coins? Open the app periodically.
The first time I closed the app, there were 6 push notifications.

Surely there's way better games on iOS, even in the free-to-play space.

Rasec · Mar 1, 2014

Azar said:
Blowfish Meets Meteor

A friend of mine put out a great game on iOS a couple weeks ago that he worked on for almost 3 years. He set out to combine a blockbreaker with Donkey Kong Country, but I think it ended up being more of a blockbreaker puzzle game. The puzzles are tough and vary a ton between worlds, which is my favorite thing about it. And it has boss battles.

The game's called Blowfish Meets Meteor. Here's a dramatic trailer he put together and some gameplay video. Costs $3.

If anyone tries it out and likes it, I know he could use some word-of-mouth buzz. I think the game's worthy of it. Also I made a gif:

That video was intense!! x'D
Very nice, i liked what i saw. Hope it get's some more word of mouth buzz.
It got my attention.

tmdorsey · Mar 1, 2014

Guess who just joined the 20K club for Threes?

Afrodium · Mar 1, 2014

Pray For Death said:
It's a roguelike in the sense that when you die, you start over. And it's very easy to die or get stuck with no access to resources if you don't plan your moves well and/or have really bad luck.

I thought it wasn't randomly generated. At least this pocket tactics reviewer doesn't think so:

Interesting. So does it just place you in a random location on the map and give you a random destination? I think that there will be some patches in the future that fix some of the balancing issues. The amount of fuel it takes to do anything is slightly absurd. You go to gas planet after gas planet for fuel, and now your hull is shot, so you have to start going to rock planets and use up all your new fuel landing, drilling, and taking off. Rinse and repeat until dead. I know that this resource management is the essence of the game, but it's pretty ruthless.

On a side note, finding an awesome ship footing in space only to realize that it doesn't have a drill is the absolute worst. Unless I'm missing something, there's absolutely no way to get the required elements to build a drill if you don't have a drill, right?

Timekiller · Mar 1, 2014

Afrodium said:
Interesting. So does it just place you in a random location on the map and give you a random destination? I think that there will be some patches in the future that fix some of the balancing issues. The amount of fuel it takes to do anything is slightly absurd. You go to gas planet after gas planet for fuel, and now your hull is shot, so you have to start going to rock planets and use up all your new fuel landing, drilling, and taking off. Rinse and repeat until dead. I know that this resource management is the essence of the game, but it's pretty ruthless.

On a side note, finding an awesome ship footing in space only to realize that it doesn't have a drill is the absolute worst. Unless I'm missing something, there's absolutely no way to get the required elements to build a drill if you don't have a drill, right?

yeah thats what i meant. they do need to balance it or it slowly falls into that loop

also: nope, building a drill is pretty easy, never had a problem in making one

superrobot · Mar 1, 2014

Timekiller said:
yeah thats what i meant. they do need to balance it or it slowly falls into that loop

also: nope, building a drill is pretty easy, never had a problem in making one

If you haven't got 4 iron loitering in your cargo bay then you have to dismantle things and hope you get enough from drilling to reassemble them afterwards.

With some rogue-likes when you die it's usually because you did something stupid when you could have avoided it, (like poisoning yourself or attacking something without being prepared). The fuel cycle is the problem and

unless you get the ultraprobe or the inferometer (sp)

there aren't any tricks to beating the randomness. You can't ID systems or planets that will get you what you need.

More_Badass · Mar 1, 2014

Posted about it in Hidden Gems, but I highly recommend ON/OFF.

iTunes | Trailers

It's a minimal puzzle game that plays like a 2D Rubik's Cube, as you maneuver rows and columns of tiles to link switches. It starts off easy but quickly grows more complex and varied, as new tiles types and complicated layouts are introduced. The game never holds your hand, has a nice minimalist style, and is free with a $1.99 game unlock.

Actually I'd recommend this developer's other games as well. I only discovered them yesterday, but they're all really good and underrated. SEQ reminds me of a mix of number based crossword and Sudoku, as you fill in grids by linking numbered tiles in sequential order and Mr. Flap may be a Flappy Bird-inspired game but it's a damn good one, with a nice minimal style and interesting presentation. It's clearly inspired by the genre. not one of the stupid clones that were flooding the App Store

Thanati · Mar 2, 2014

A good one if you have kids, especially those under two, is a bubble popping game called Bubblelot.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bubblelot/id815451130?ls=1&mt=8

My 19 month old LOVES this and it's just harmless fun for him. What I like is that there's no bloody credit card needed. Urgh. I HATE it when my kid accidentally taps on something that brings up a purchase screen.

There's a nice touch in that when you rotate the iPhone, it sort of does a cheering sound. He always smiles. Not bad for 99 cents.

BenjaminBirdie · Mar 2, 2014

So I've spent pretty much all day playing Card City Nights. It is pretty much SUPER AMAZING.

Koodo · Mar 2, 2014

This Duet game on sale right now.

Like.

The sheer anger and accurate chapter names.

Gamecocks625 · Mar 2, 2014

tmdorsey said:
Guess who just joined the 20K club for Threes?

Not me

Vyer · Mar 2, 2014

Out There, somehow I managed to go like my first three plays of the game without

finding another spaceship. I didn't even know you could find them. When I got one it was pretty awesome. There are some nice ships, but I agree it really sucks to find one with a ton of cargo space but no drill or probe.

chickdigger802 · Mar 2, 2014

card city nights is quite good. System is quite easy to understand (tutorial is like a handful of minutes long). and no iap and booster pack addictiveness.

great ost too.

Well worth the current $.99 price.

Heel · Mar 2, 2014

PittaGAF · Mar 2, 2014

Heel said:

WOAH.

I bow before you

PittaGAF · Mar 2, 2014

Just completed the first ending (green) of Out There.

Simply amazing, great and unexpected ending, very satisfying too.

Now I'm so much more determined to see the other ones...they seem a lot harder tough.

Stellar game, deceptively simple and addicting.....soooooooooo satisfying when you make progress.

colinp · Mar 2, 2014

PittaGAF said:
Just completed the first ending (green) of Out There.

Simply amazing, great and unexpected ending, very satisfying too.

Now I'm so much more determined to see the other ones...they seem a lot harder tough.

Stellar game, deceptively simple and addicting.....soooooooooo satisfying when you make progress.

I guess the 'when you make progress' part is what kills it for me. Maybe I'm too impatient, but it just doesn't catch me.

PittaGAF · Mar 2, 2014

colinp said:
I guess the 'when you make progress' part is what kills it for me. Maybe I'm too impatient, but it just doesn't catch me.

Which is your highest score?
Did you find the beacon?

Or you just simply do not like game

Personally I find much more frustrating King of Dragon Pass, which is IMHO the closest game I can think of (both are great).

EDIT: I do not know if the game is easier as you play, or I'm just getting better at it, but my last 3 runs were all really succeful.
I even avoided on purpose the green ending and I was sooooooooooooo close to the red one.
Last run I made a stupid mistake, relaying on chance instead of taking my time and gather some oxygen.
I died after like 5 black holes in a row, just 2 sectors away from the red spot

(((((((

colinp · Mar 2, 2014

PittaGAF said:
Which is your highest score?
Did you find the beacon?

Or you just simply do not like game

Personally I find much more frustrating King of Dragon Pass, which is IMHO the closest game I can think of (both are great).

EDIT: I do not know if the game is easier as you play, or I'm just getting better at it, but my last 3 runs were all really succeful.
I even avoided on purpose the green ending and I was sooooooooooooo close to the red one.
Last run I made a stupid mistake, relaying on chance instead of taking my time and gather some oxygen.
I died after like 5 black holes in a row, just 2 sectors away from the red spot (((((((

I already deleted it so I'm not sure what my highest score was. I don't think I found a beacon. What good does a beacon do?

I found some aliens and technology I couldn't create because I didn't have the right resources. And after drilling trying to find resources and fuel I didn't find enough fuel and died. Variations on the same theme each time I played. Was I playing it wrong?

phillipgessert · Mar 2, 2014

BenjaminBirdie said:
So I've spent pretty much all day playing Card City Nights. It is pretty much SUPER AMAZING.

Extremely fun and the presentation is top notch. Literally the only problem with it is the icon is kinda ugly.

PittaGAF · Mar 2, 2014

colinp said:
I already deleted it so I'm not sure what my highest score was. I don't think I found a beacon. What good does a beacon do?

I found some aliens and technology I couldn't create because I didn't have the right resources. And after drilling trying to find resources and fuel I didn't find enough fuel and died. Variations on the same theme each time I played. Was I playing it wrong?

Well, DISCLAIMER: I do not think there is a wrong or right way to play a game.
People have fun or they do not...it's the only thing that matter and a very personal one.

That said....you basically just saw the intro!!!!
There is a story to follow in the game (actually, 3 stories with 3 different endings).
That's why I asked the score and if you saw the beacon (that marks, around 25K points, the beginning of a more story focused game).
It's evident the game didn't grab your attention enough to continue playing so I won't even try, but there is more.
Later in the game you build cool techs, scavenge abandoned space hulks, use alien starships, uncover mysteries and so on...and still try to survive managing always low resources.

At the very start yes, you just try to enter the core of the galaxy with very low resources...but there are many ways of surviving later.
You can rely on wormholes tech...enhancing the telescope and using black holes as ways of transport.
You can use alien ships that use very little fuel and enhance to incredible distances their engines and life support.
You can hop form one abandoned ship to another with a lot luck, making till the end.
You can try to acquire high tech from aliens, enhancing a lot your starting ship (but you will remain with very few cargo holds for resources).
And so on...

Timekiller · Mar 2, 2014

PittaGAF said:
Which is your highest score?
Did you find the beacon?

Or you just simply do not like game

Personally I find much more frustrating King of Dragon Pass, which is IMHO the closest game I can think of (both are great).

EDIT: I do not know if the game is easier as you play, or I'm just getting better at it, but my last 3 runs were all really succeful.
I even avoided on purpose the green ending and I was sooooooooooooo close to the red one.
Last run I made a stupid mistake, relaying on chance instead of taking my time and gather some oxygen.
I died after like 5 black holes in a row, just 2 sectors away from the red spot (((((((

Ok, so, after 3 very successful runs i was finally able to see more of the game with less stress, and i guess test some of its limits not by suffering and dying but by having luck and enjoying a stream of favourable events - AND i still am convinced that a balancing patch would do the game wonders. For a start, i'd patch it to: slightly less fuel consumption and hull damage from visiting planets. Also, to get and not get hull damage from both fuel and ore planets, at random. Then i'd go full DLC with the ability to try to negotiate techs and resources with aliens after a minimum amount of language is learned (or barter at random when we still can't understand each other - like you place something there and hope that it goes well, they could take it and run, they could take it and give something back, they could get offended, etc) and refine some substances into others through a tech or more techs or those alien devices you find. And that's it - keep it really simple, as it is, nothing more. Yep.

I found a great alien ship with exactly the technologies you need to survive best (man, the geo scan is a life saver), and was very lucky in finding resources (fuel especially, but also iron). And guess what: i've never, not even once in 50 planets that i visited and 30 alien races i encountered, got to learn a single technology. That seems impossible in terms of randomness, so i'm pretty much convinced that the system was balancing itself - i had too much good and the game had to take something away from me no matter what, and became a bit unrealistic.

Because of that reason i couldn't install a Tau device or something similar so that i could avoid dead ends and progress (at some point it becomes basically mandatory), so i had to ditch that ship for a still very good one that had good stats but most important, a device to travel further, and after that, OF COURSE i ended up learning my first (useless) tech BUT got in such a very good position again that i guess the game had to rebalance itself once more: by not making me find ANY considerable amount of fuel or any breathable atmosphere at all in 15 consequent galaxies. And so i died. Which seemed very suspicious again...

igor · Mar 2, 2014

Heel said:

Woah, fair play :O almost 60k for just one block!

Also, a lot of WOWs for the Room - yes, I'm a little late to the party but I got the first one just last night (90cents full game unlock) and boom, I am on epilogue chapter now. It is rather easy and short, yes, but few games have hooked me to complete it in one go. Already bought the second one since it's on sale... I am such a sucker for the "Escape the Room" kind of games, apart from the sequel is there anything else like that on the
platform?

I mean, Device 6 is sorta approximation of it, but what stops me from completing it is that a) When I have time to play it I don't have a notepad handy that's kinda necessary for certain puzzles (i'm on the house grid one at the moment) b) Headphones are a must and when I do have time I also want to kinda chill and listen to my own stuff.

Gamecocks625 · Mar 2, 2014

Heel said:

Quite a few 2's on the board. Jk.

BenjaminBirdie · Mar 2, 2014

A little more on the wonderful Card City Nights.

Some might know from the Boardgaming thread, about once a year I go "Oh, yeah! I wanna get into all these card games!" but inevitably drift out of interest after a week or so. I splurge on a big time booster bundle, but just go right into matches.

CCN is the first time I've ever gotten deep into a game enough to really think about deck construction. I was getting clobbered by the Bar boss and I finally realized "Oh. I keep getting shitty cards dealt because I'm just putting everything I can into one deck, which gives me less of a chance to get the better cards I've accrued." So I took out the lame-os and left the better cards, which lead to better success, of course.

Now, of course, this is CCG 101, and I am thoroughly dumb, BUT, this is the first game where I've actually came to this conclusion after trying at least half a dozen other games. Which is to say, oh my yes, I was playing them totally wrong and stupidly before, but this is the first game engaging and fun and rewarding enough to get me to a point where I actually thought about building a proper deck and strategy.

Also, I'm a leek with a wig on it.

I'm now also revisiting Calculords with this new thirst for strategy and knowledge. Maybe someday I'll go back to stuff like Ascension, but I'm currently really appreciating the closed off nature of a single player CCG came as far as fostering an appreciation for strategy and deck construction.

Mr Cola · Mar 2, 2014

any recommendations for Pokemon like games on IPAD?

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