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[PittaGAF]

So...let's talk Smash Bandits

I freaking love the gameplay. It's almost like an open world Reckless Getaway with roadblocks and spike strips and mayhem and speed boats. And that's just awesome. The controls are perfect. The graphics and art style is great. The menus are beautiful and are made 100% with touchscreen in mind. Fast loading. Only issue is some lag on my iPhone 4.

The gameplay is fantastic but...
(And this is a huge but)

Those goddamn freemium mechanics! Ugh. Just...ugh. 5 runs and then you have to wait 10 minutes. The second car costs 10,000 credits, which isnt that bad, but every other car is unlocked with chips. I think the next one is 45 chips or something. Upgrades and gear prices are way too high to balance between upgrading, equipping gear, and unlocking new cars.

This game could have been perfect but the freemium model is just garbage. It's an absolute shame because I love the gameplay. It's so fun. If this was a 0.99, 1.99, 2.99 premium game, I would have bought it in an instant. Instead I already deleted

I felt exactely the same.
If they pull out a 'premium' version without all the iaps bullshit I would buy it, even if not my genre, because it's really cool and well made with really spot on controls.
I even was a bit perplexed because after just 3 races...I couldn't find the 'play' button...then I realized I had just to wait.
Too bad.

 

[PittaGAF]

Which are the chances of getting Tetris RPG in Europe FAST?
Do we know anything?

It hurts me reading comments about the Japan version being really positive....it's like Tetris meets Puzzle&Dragons.

Seems weird for EA to publish such a well known franchise in Japan only.
Some words are already in English (Loading and such...but everything else is in Japanese).

Any impression from a fellow Jap-speaking gaffer yet?

 

[dreamcastmaster]

New Kariosoft game, Dream House Days. Looks like a Hot Springs story base gameplay model.


https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/dream-house-days/id643631071?mt=8

 

[Nyx]

Glad I waited with buying Pirate Legends TD, for 89 eurocents it's a no brainer.

 

[Ninja Dom]

New Kariosoft game, Dream House Days. Looks like a Hot Springs story base gameplay model.


https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/dream-house-days/id643631071?mt=8

Kind of forgotten that Kairosoft existed. That haven't released a game in a while. And Ninja Village iOS never did get released did it?

In App Purchases are a bit strong for Dream House Days. £2.99 to remove ads and enable landscape mode?

 

[Nyx]

Still need to finish GP Story before I get a new Kairosoft game.

 

[Aaron]

Kind of forgotten that Kairosoft existed. That haven't released a game in a while. And Ninja Village iOS never did get released did it?

In App Purchases are a bit strong for Dream House Days. £2.99 to remove ads and enable landscape mode?

That's basically what they're games used to cost before they went f2p. Doesn't seem high to me.

 

[SteveWD40]

Not seen this here:

Terraria iPad gameplay

Explains the controls etc...

Looks good,seems to be the full game.

 

[Dynamite Shikoku]

Asphalt 8 runs like arse on my iPod 5G. Haven't tried on my iPad 3 yet.

 

[BenjaminBirdie]

Warning, potential money sink.

http://starwars.com/explore/video-games/star-wars-force-collection/

o my god

 

[chickdigger802]

so my brother wanted kingdom rush frontiers, so i bought that, good enough excuse to check it out.

like how heroes have persistent leveling.

Any of the paid heroes worth looking into? Kinda interested in the wizard. been reading alien guy was good.

 

[tops2]

Asphalt 8 runs like arse on my iPod 5G. Haven't tried on my iPad 3 yet.

Does it studded a lot? I wonder if there's graphical options in Asphalt 8..and if iPod touch 5 is trying to run the game with all the graphical effect. One of the post on Toucharcade compared screenshot between ipad3 vs ipad4 and to my eyes, it looks like the ipad3 isn't running with all graphical effects.

 

[PittaGAF]

Another great article about Device 6.


http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-08-15-device-6-adventure-texts


CAN'T WAIT.

 

[Dynamite Shikoku]

Does it studded a lot? I wonder if there's graphical options in Asphalt 8..and if iPod touch 5 is trying to run the game with all the graphical effect. One of the post on Toucharcade compared screenshot between ipad3 vs ipad4 and to my eyes, it looks like the ipad3 isn't running with all graphical effects.

Yeah the frame rate is all over the place. Haven't seen any options

 

[More_Badass]

Asphalt 8 runs like arse on my iPod 5G. Haven't tried on my iPad 3 yet.

Really? The game runs well, very little lag, on my iPhone 4. According to theTA forums, playing with wifi off helps

 

[TimeKillr]

Has any other iOS developers on here had to deal with major piracy? I was shocked at how much our app has been pirated.

I would say it currently stands that 99% of the people showing up on our gamecenter leaderboards have not purchased the game. It's definitely disheartening.

When we launched our first self-published game, Blockolicious, we found absolutely ridiculous piracy numbers, especially from China.

Nothing to do about it really except maybe make the game F2P over there. That's a huge argument over going F2P really - there's no real point in pirating those games.

 

[Alpha_eX]

Would people be interested in an iOS version of Heckmeck/Pickomino? Currently sitting on a playable prototype but will need to put cash in to take it further.

Works as you'd expect having played the game.

For those that don't know it, it's a great dice game but isn't really playable when travelling. It's kind of like Yahtzee but there is risk with each roll and you can lose/steal tiles from your opponent.

I really enjoy the game, just not sure how big the fanbase is or if it's worth investing my own money to bring it to iOS.

 

[superrobot]

Would people be interested in an iOS version of Heckmeck/Pickomino? Currently sitting on a playable prototype but will need to put cash in to take it further.

Works as you'd expect having played the game.

For those that don't know it, it's a great dice game but isn't really playable when travelling. It's kind of like Yahtzee but there is risk with each roll and you can lose/steal tiles from your opponent.

I really enjoy the game, just not sure how big the fanbase is or if it's worth investing my own money to bring it to iOS.

Do you need to have permission from Reiner Knizia?

 

[Alpha_eX]

Do you need to have permission from Reiner Knizia?

Yes, and that's why I will need to put money up front to get the rights. I'm trying to scope interest in the game to see if it's worth it, it costs a lot more than my developers licence did.

 

[JimtotheHum]

When we launched our first self-published game, Blockolicious, we found absolutely ridiculous piracy numbers, especially from China.

Nothing to do about it really except maybe make the game F2P over there. That's a huge argument over going F2P really - there's no real point in pirating those games.

I think that's the way we are leaning. Our piracy issues are coming from China as well.

 

[Rasec]

Hope you like it. Saw it on TA today and then I realized it was released last week and there's been no reviews or anything. Only thing people might not like is that it's not score driven like SH or Impossible and it's not endless. It's level based and need to reach the end. Of course reaching the end is easier said than done. They may be totally different genres, but I'd compare it to Kid Tripp in that the goal is to perfect each level, you'll fail, but each time you'll learn more of the level and eventually be able to complete it

yup, bought it and it's fun and hard stuff.
Not having score driven as hexagon or road game isn't bad for me. i usually play for fun and not scores.

and true, this game makes me fail each time so i can learn the level until i get perfect on it.
it was a nice surprise.

 

[PFD]

Asphalt 8 doesn't have dual-currency nonsense. I think I'm gonna buy it.

 

[SeanR1221]

Loving asphalt 8. Plays way better than the last need for speed game. It's so addicting I cleaned up space on my iPhone 5 and installed it so I can race on the go.

 

[toddhunter]

Eclipse is discounted by a couple of dollars.

Still not "cheap" but it is well worth a look if you want a high quality 4x/boardgame https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/id620439479?mt=8

 

[CronoShot]

Asphalt 8 runs like arse on my iPod 5G. Haven't tried on my iPad 3 yet.

I even noticed a bit of stutter on my iPhone 5. I wonder if it's really targeting the 5S or something.

Great game though. A lot like Burnout.

 

[Mario]

When we launched our first self-published game, Blockolicious, we found absolutely ridiculous piracy numbers, especially from China.

Nothing to do about it really except maybe make the game F2P over there. That's a huge argument over going F2P really - there's no real point in pirating those games.

Well, except people can and do pirate IAP.

But to the problem in general, not much you can do beyond some additional server side purchase verification, and you have to be careful you don't end up creating problems for legitimate customers (we've tripped over that ourselves).

Ad based monetization could be an option, and localizing languages and content for high piracy countries like China and Russia might help.

You won't be able to stop it outright, but find ways to leverage the extra user base where possible.

 

[PFD]

I even noticed a bit of stutter on my iPhone 5. I wonder if it's really targeting the 5S or something.

It plays like a dream on the ipad 4. It's a really good game from what little I've played. I love the way cars handle in it.

 

[More_Badass]

Any IOS game like Audiosurf? Like similar mechanics and gameplay, not just music influenced? I'll even take a clone or something. Finally played the PC demo and I love it even more than Beat Hazard. Got most of my music on my phone

 

[superrobot]

Yes, and that's why I will need to put money up front to get the rights. I'm trying to scope interest in the game to see if it's worth it, it costs a lot more than my developers licence did.

I've probably bought most board games with a decent async implementation or with a good reason to play the AI (the best being Carcassonne, Lost Cities, Ascension, Agricola, Summoner Wars, Ticket To Ride Pocket).

A lot of the time the games implement the rules and art fairly well but don't give you much of a reason to continue playing the AI once you've beaten it. (e.g. Le Havre, San Juan, Ra, Caylus)
I'm probably a niche customer though.
I like the look of what's there from the screenshots and you'd have one sale (I actually bought the real game a couple of days ago).

Have you contacted the guys running the iOS boardgames blog on BoardGameGeek link?
They can probably reach a pretty big target audience and might be able to get you some feedback from your likely eventual customers.
Their interview with Vlaada Chvatil link covered some of the reasons he took Through The Ages in house.

Good Luck whatever happens!

 

[Tunesmith]

Smash Bandits is pretty good. Would be much better without a Freemium model mind you. Basically if you do not want to spent ingame currency to extend runs or such once caught you get 5 runs before you're sent to jail and have to wait 10 minutes for runs to become available again. The '5 limit' can be extended permanently to 10 by using 50 bandit chips, not too bad IMO and the game itself is fun stuff, an open world smash into things racer, with cars and boats and it controls really well.

Also picked up Asphalt 8, which chugs on an iPhone 5 (wat). Very pretty and seems robust, ridiculous €1-89.99 IAPs on offer though but I suppose most of it can be earned with time. Will dive into this more. Menues are very cluttered though.
Asphalt 8 is also the first game I've come across that supports iOS 7's 'Turns' system in Game Center, what it basically entails is a centralised location for all your async notices.

 

[TimeKillr]

Well, except people can and do pirate IAP.

But to the problem in general, not much you can do beyond some additional server side purchase verification, and you have to be careful you don't end up creating problems for legitimate customers (we've tripped over that ourselves).

Ad based monetization could be an option, and localizing languages and content for high piracy countries like China and Russia might help.

You won't be able to stop it outright, but find ways to leverage the extra user base where possible.

Have you found that IAP crackers are more prevalent than people straight up pirating games? I have no data on this and I'm kinda curious. I know that typically, if the IAP is well-done, you have a typical conversion rate of 2 to 4% and that you usually end up making more money than if the app was sold at 99 cents since it's much easier to get users when you're free.

I read an article (which was also part of an experiment) of some guy who did tests on his app, localizing it and such, and checking how big of an impact it had on his sales - apparently just translating your app store description does nothing, so I guess a full localization helps? This is the article - http://stuartkhall.com/posts/an-app-store-experiment

 

[numble]

Well, except people can and do pirate IAP.

But to the problem in general, not much you can do beyond some additional server side purchase verification, and you have to be careful you don't end up creating problems for legitimate customers (we've tripped over that ourselves).

Ad based monetization could be an option, and localizing languages and content for high piracy countries like China and Russia might help.

You won't be able to stop it outright, but find ways to leverage the extra user base where possible.

Have you found localization to decrease piracy? And are the costs worth it?

 

[numble]

Blackbar sounds really cool:
http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/23/4...s-puzzler-and-commentary-on-nsa-redacted-text

If you've glossed over any of the documents released by the NSA of late, you've no doubt seen large swaths of text — sentences, paragraphs, and entire pages — redacted from public view. A new, text-based iOS game called Blackbar is an intelligent political statement on that secrecy. The player takes on the role of Vi, who is constantly receiving letters from her friend Kentry, a new hire at the "Department of Communications." Each message you receive from Kentry contains portions of blacked out text that you'll have to fill in to keep progressing through the game. These missing words, names, and dates are hidden because they're "violations of department code" according to the game.

Figuring out what goes where is simple enough at the start, but before long you're likely to run in to some head scratchers. And if you do get stuck, there are no hints free assists to help you through. Neven Mrgan and James Moore have built a game that doesn't hold your hand, but that's likely to be a plus for some players. We won't spoil anything; just know that paying attention to a letter's context and events in the overall story arch are critical to keep moving forward. It's just too bad uncovering what's really in those NSA documents isn't this easy. Blackbar is $2.99 in the App Store and is available now.

App Store link:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/blackbar/id672002602?ls=1&mt=8

 

[PittaGAF]

Blackbar sounds really cool:
http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/23/4...s-puzzler-and-commentary-on-nsa-redacted-text



App Store link:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/blackbar/id672002602?ls=1&mt=8

thanks for sharing, this seems cool indeed!!!

 

[dreamcastmaster]

I think that's the way we are leaning. Our piracy issues are coming from China as well.

Just keep a clear head and be aware that they are not "Lost sales" but from people that will pirate anything anyway and would never pay. From China? is your app localized anyway?

 

[Mario]

Have you found that IAP crackers are more prevalent than people straight up pirating games? I have no data on this and I'm kinda curious. I know that typically, if the IAP is well-done, you have a typical conversion rate of 2 to 4% and that you usually end up making more money than if the app was sold at 99 cents since it's much easier to get users when you're free.

Most of our stuff from the last year has been free to play, so app piracy isn't really a problem any more. Pirates are thankfully a minority of our users.

In general, I'm an advocate for the free to play model (with the caveat tat you need a vehicle to generate downloads), whether piracy is a factor or not. Reaching a large scale audience is necessary for success these days, and only some form of free to play will allow for that short of an Apple feature or an Ellen segment.

I read an article (which was also part of an experiment) of some guy who did tests on his app, localizing it and such, and checking how big of an impact it had on his sales - apparently just translating your app store description does nothing, so I guess a full localization helps? This is the article - http://stuartkhall.com/posts/an-app-store-experiment

Localization helps with the chance of Apple featuring, and general sales and IAP conversions. It doesn't really reduce piracy per se. Rather it helps you leverage whatever word of mouth you might be generating via piracy.

It varies depending on the game, but in terms of priority languages to localize to for games in general, French and German are right up there, then Italian, Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese, then Korean, Japanese, simplified Chinese and Russian.

And are the costs worth it?

That really depends on what the costs are and whether your sales in general are enough to suggest regional uplift will make a meaningful difference.

I'd say if you aren't selling a hundred or more copies of something a day already, then probably not.

Just keep a clear head and be aware that they are not "Lost sales" but from people that will pirate anything anyway and would never pay.

If you are talking about the China and Russia markets specifically I might agree, but in general there is a subset of pirates who would indeed pay for something if they can't get it for free. So, some (minority) amount of piracy is indeed "lost sales".

 

[toddhunter]

Thanks for sharing the thoughts

 

[Rekwest]

$50 iTunes Card for $35 at eBay (via giftcardmall) http://t.co/fTtAK5AByj

 

[PFD]

$50 iTunes Card for $35 at eBay (via giftcardmall) http://t.co/fTtAK5AByj

9,633 sold in 24 hours

lol WTF?

 

[NorrenRadd]

$50 iTunes Card for $35 at eBay (via giftcardmall) http://t.co/fTtAK5AByj

Thanks! ordered

 

[numble]

Asphalt 8: Airborne should be in the OP.

 

[WanderingWind]

Dot Space Hero is the Dark Souls of free runners. This fucking game with its stupid squid monsters. I've almost uninstalled it twice.

2 star level 2-2

 

[Tunesmith]

Asphalt 8: Airborne should be in the OP.

Yep on my to-do list! Gamescom has made me lag behind!

 

[bodyofanamerican]

Anyone playing Blackbar? It's fantastic but I am completely stumped on one puzzle. Anyone deep in or who has completed it, if I can bounce a question or two off of you, I'd appreciate it!

 

[More_Badass]

Dot Space Hero is the Dark Souls of free runners. This fucking game with its stupid squid monsters. I've almost uninstalled it twice.

2 star level 2-2

Is that a positive or negative comment?

 

[WanderingWind]

Is that a positive or negative comment?

It's a game that makes you hate it one second and love it the next. It's hard as FUCK.

 

[PittaGAF]

Anyone playing Blackbar? It's fantastic but I am completely stumped on one puzzle. Anyone deep in or who has completed it, if I can bounce a question or two off of you, I'd appreciate it!

Sorry to hijack your question...do you think it's feasible for a non native English?
I'm really interested in the game...but I read it's really difficult for non native English so I ask...
If I buy it, I NEED to complete it.

 

[Alpha_eX]

I've probably bought most board games with a decent async implementation or with a good reason to play the AI (the best being Carcassonne, Lost Cities, Ascension, Agricola, Summoner Wars, Ticket To Ride Pocket).

A lot of the time the games implement the rules and art fairly well but don't give you much of a reason to continue playing the AI once you've beaten it. (e.g. Le Havre, San Juan, Ra, Caylus)
I'm probably a niche customer though.
I like the look of what's there from the screenshots and you'd have one sale (I actually bought the real game a couple of days ago).

Have you contacted the guys running the iOS boardgames blog on BoardGameGeek link?
They can probably reach a pretty big target audience and might be able to get you some feedback from your likely eventual customers.
Their interview with Vlaada Chvatil link covered some of the reasons he took Through The Ages in house.

Good Luck whatever happens!

Thanks for that, some really good feedback and a useful link!

I do have some crazy ideas for a single player adventure mode that would feel more like an rpg in someways and even a new game (same base mechanic), but of course, always offer the classic mode. That was pegged as a sequel but not sure how much playroom I have to do such a thing with the licence if obtained, in discussions

When at home or in presence of the original, will always favour the dice and tiles over a digital version, same goes for Ticket to Ride and co .

 

[JimtotheHum]

Just keep a clear head and be aware that they are not "Lost sales" but from people that will pirate anything anyway and would never pay. From China? is your app localized anyway?

Nah, our app is not localized. Thanks for the advice!

 

[More_Badass]

Can someone explain how Blackbar plays? From what I implied from the screens and impressions, you use context clues to fill in the crossed out words. Is that correct? Does it get more complex?