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The iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch Gaming Thread 3

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japtor

Member
Alextended said:
Something's weird with iTunes, the more I buy the more money I have. Last night my bank said I have a measly 4.41 left in this account, I buy another game, see it hasn't refreshed and wait for today to see eactly what more I can buy, now I check again and I have 8.37 left. Lol? Is my bank blocking payments yet I still get the games?
Check your iTunes receipt emails, they batch purchases up...wouldn't explain your balance going up though...
mrklaw said:
Just traded my 1st gen touch in for the latest one. Anything particular that is optimised/4th gen only?
Cave games: Espgaluda II, Dodonpachi Resurrection, Deathsmiles, Mushihimesama Bug Panic.
Alextended said:
Is that Falcon Gunner AR game entertaining? It looks kinda cheap but apparently it will be taken down soon cos THQ is losing the licence or something..?

Maybe they'll have a good sale before they kill it.
It's fun, although they need to implement a "window" type mode with the Star Wars graphics rather than leaving that to the AR (camera) mode. The licensing thing was a few months back and was addressed I think, but that could be a fluid situation I guess.
Dash Kappei said:
It's not supported only by "a couple" of apps. Even League of Evil supports it now.
ICade support will grow. It is pricey tho, but if you jb+MAME it's fricking awesome.
It just acts as a Bluetooth keyboard doesn't it? Seems like it'd be pretty simple to rig up your own stick if that's the case.
Alextended said:
With that sort of argument one could argue that encouraging one to jailbreak as the only option for legal emulator use they also encourage the other things possible with it.

Anyway, so Apple has banned that sort of App regardless of the actual legal status? You'd think setting such preferential restrictions wouldn't be good for the service either.

Well, it would be nice to at least see SEGA and the like post up their own Virtual Console app, a nice emulator with lots of global and game specific option sets, and of course iCade support + a compatible controller of their own design (Saturn style 6 buttons please) and then start offering as much of their library as possible with in-App purchases instead of just release 5 or so randomly selected games, each packaged as a stand alone release with its own quirks. It could be on PC and consoles also. Preferably with other publishers teaming up with them rather than creating a whole separate app for each publisher's rom dumps. Although considering many of the other publishers' games would be on non SEGA systems perhaps per publisher services would be fine. Or would that also fall under the banned emulator type App?
It's a massive can of worms Apple would rather not touch.

...and doesn't Sega already have some emulator collection thing? I know there's a few other consoles there too.
 

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
Yeah SEGA has a handful of games, most of which is what they had also released on PC in recent years, I'm pretty sure each is a separate App but I could be wrong. Hence why a business decision to have something like Nintendo's Virtual Console would be great...

And yeah I haven't gotten an iTunes receipt in days despite getting all these games recently... Oh, got one today. And it only has Rage HD, none of the others, lol.
 

Tobor

Member
Alextended said:
Yeah SEGA has a handful of games, most of which is what they had also release on PC over time, I'm pretty sure each is a separate app but I could be wrong. Hence why a business decision to have something like Nintendo's Virtual Console would be great...

And yeah I haven't gotten an itune receipt in days despite getting all these games recently...
There's nothing stopping any company from doing that. Like I said, look at the Commodore 64 app, it's exactly what you're talking about. They license the Roms from the rightful owners and add them as IAP.
 

Tobor

Member
Alextended said:
Cool. What kind of games does the C64 have and how do they look/work on iPad? I never had one.
It's not a Universal app, unfortunately. I was never a big C64 guy, so I uninstalled it, but I remember it working well. If they added iPad and iCade support, it would be pretty awesome, now that I think about it.
 

Tobor

Member
Alextended said:
Yeah I just checked, they seem to have very few games added too...
Yeah, they're a small company with very little money to license. The main reason I brought it up is that it answers the question of whether such an app is possible.

If Sega or Capcom or anyone wants to do this kind of thing, they can do it.
 

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
Tobor said:
Yeah, they're a small company with very little money to license. The main reason I brought it up is that it answers the question of whether such an app is possible.

If Sega or Capcom or anyone wants to do this kind of thing, they can do it.
But they don't :(
 

wrowa

Member
I'd like to have a nice racing game for iOS. I played GT Free+ for a bit and surprisingly enough I found the controls to be decent. Apart of that, though, the game could be a little better. :p

So! As an iOS newbie (never had an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch before my shiny new 4S) I'm helplessly overstrained to find anything in the App Store on my own and thus I need your help.

Which racing is game is good? I heard many good things about Real Racing 2, but how real is "real"? I dislike racing games where the hardest part of the game is not to lose control over your car. I want it to be a bit more fun. It doesn't have to be an arcade racer, but it shouldn't be too realistic either.
 

Fusebox

Banned
Zeth said:
Any tips for the final boss in Epoch? Any specific items I should go back and upgrade by grinding? I have a lazer weapon and decent armor, I know the boss pattern by heart, I just can't finish it without dying.

I took him down in Easy mode with corrosive bullets and corrosive grenades, just focusing on whatever part of him was doing the most damage to me. Quickly transitioning to the new target when he changes modes helps too, but I haven't made it back up to him in Medium yet so I expect it'll be tougher, but he's a lot easier than the last boss in Shadowgun, that guys a beast.

heringer said:
I didn't like the controls without Fling either. There's a Lite version though, so you could always try. It's the non HD version, but it's basically the same thing minus the eye candy.

Oh, and to people who play Fifa 12 on the iPad, this thing is a must. Played the Fifa 12 in 2X mode and it convinced me to buy the HD version of the game. As soon as the price drops (I bet it does by the end of the year) I'm there.

NBA Jam too for the same reason!

Alextended said:
Take a screen of your setup so I can get some idea if you can. I must have missed that settings screen.

Nm, found it. Can't think of how to make it better outside putting buttons closer. Guess I need a couple flings but they're pricey.

You'd only want a single fling for MC3 because the right stick in MC3 isn't a virtual analogue stick it's a touchpad.

But even using my thumb on the left and rolling my thumb for analogue worked great too.

Here's how I have my buttons:

6307680136_aa328d3d84_z.jpg


Bottom-left is for Fling or thumb.

6331039404_0e9f58f18a.jpg


Typical battle, I'll hold run then tap crouch to slide into cover, roughly centre my gun on the action using the space above my shoot button, tap aim to snap to the nearest enemy, fire until dead, double-tap aim to zoom out and snap back to the next enemy, or if it's close quarters I'll fire from the hip and I'll move my view between enemies while I'm holding fire (if you put your thumb on the shoot button and move it around it looks while shooting), tap a grenade when things get hairy.

The trick is, pay attention to where your right thumb naturally goes when you want to shoot and aim and resize/move the icons accordingly. It took me a few sessions of playing a bit, pausing and tweaking the controls, then playing a bit more, pausing and tweaking some more, but now the controls are perfect for me, rarely a mispress.

wrowa said:
Which racing is game is good? I heard many good things about Real Racing 2, but how real is "real"? I dislike racing games where the hardest part of the game is not to lose control over your car. I want it to be a bit more fun. It doesn't have to be an arcade racer, but it shouldn't be too realistic either.

Well RR2 makes Gran Turismo PSP look, feel and sound like a hot mess, and there's a lot of assists to turn on/off if you don't feel like wrestling with physics. Definitely check it out.
 
wrowa said:
I'd like to have a nice racing game for iOS. I played GT Free+ for a bit and surprisingly enough I found the controls to be decent. Apart of that, though, the game could be a little better. :p

So! As an iOS newbie (never had an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch before my shiny new 4S) I'm helplessly overstrained to find anything in the App Store on my own and thus I need your help.

Which racing is game is good? I heard many good things about Real Racing 2, but how real is "real"? I dislike racing games where the hardest part of the game is not to lose control over your car. I want it to be a bit more fun. It doesn't have to be an arcade racer, but it shouldn't be too realistic either.
Real Racing 2 is the best sim racer on ios right now. Definitely a must-have if you love racing.

Also, the best arcade racing game in my opinion is Asphalt 6, which is currently $0.99 right now. Don't know what you think of Gameloft, but I think some of their ios games are good and Asphalt 6 is pretty good especially if you have a iPad 2 or iPhone 4S.

The NFS Shift games are also okay, but I think the first one is better. For some reason, NFS2 feels choppy for me. Maybe it's my device but it wasn't smooth.

But definitely check out Real Racing 2, if you want the best sim on ios, and Asphalt 6, probably the best arcade racer. I think Asphalt 6 is much better than Ridge Racer because it's faster and keeps you on the edge of your seat. It's obviously inspired from RR only it's more adrenaline-filled racing.
 

Cloudy

Banned
I have a fling but when I used it on my ipad, it screwed up the screen protector. I am reluctant to try it on iphone cos I don't feel like putting on another screen protector lol
 

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
Thirding Real Racing 2, awesome fully featured game with a very nice campaign and a good amount of cars and tracks.

GREAT analog tilt steering controls. So good to take light and heavy turns perfectly.

Though I wouldn't call it a sim due to lack of manual transmission and stuff, but it's no Outrun or Ridge Racer for sure.

Still, it's certainly not a hardcore sim, and it eases you into it with the slower cars. It's mostly about figuring out racing lines per track and when to break.

Upgrading cars is very simplistic too, just a handful of upgrades you want to always have as long as you can still meet the given race requirements, nothing tweaky.

The only time you'll lose control is if you veer off the track or try to turn way too hard at high speed. Which will happen quite a bit in some tracks, but you'll get it.
 

Fusebox

Banned
Cloudy, there's no need for a screen protector on an iPad unless you work on a diamond crushing production line or something equally insane.

They mention screen protectors on their website though:

http://tenonedesign.com/fling.php

Can I use it with a screen protector?

Possibly. We have found that some screen protectors are too sticky, and can keep Fling from gliding over the display. If this is your situation, we recommend changing screen protector brands or removing it altogether. Anti-glare screen protectors may keep Fling from mounting to the front. Also, over time, you may find that Fling can eventually wear a little on some screen protectors.
 

Tobor

Member
Cloudy said:
I have a fling but when I used it on my ipad, it screwed up the screen protector. I am reluctant to try it on iphone cos I don't feel like putting on another screen protector lol
Perfect reason to take the screen protectors off, since they do nothing but make your screen look and feel like shit.

You know why the Fling scratched your screen protector? Because its shitty plastic that's inferior to the screen underneath it.
 

Cloudy

Banned
Fingerprints and smudges on a screen REALLY bug me :p

I'll give it a go on the iphone tonight and see how this screen holds up...

edit: Will my ipad fling even work with iphone?
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
I liked Real Racing 1, but I just couldn't get past the tilt steering, and I don't like touch steering (I find anything that requires continual pressing and sliding gets uncomfortable after a while)

If Apple officially supported a bluetooth controller - anything really, even a crappy one, it'd be so good.
 

Cloudy

Banned
If Apple officially supported a bluetooth controller - anything really, even a crappy one, it'd be so good.

Seriously, it'd be such easy money. People buy their freaking bumpers for $30 so they could probably sell it for $50 with no issues

If you like REAL videogames, iOS cannot hold a candle to DS and PSP gaming until there's some sort of controller. I bet Sony and Nintendo would shit their pants if that happened cos Devs would be very attracted to that ecosystem...
 

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
I prefer tilt steering more than enough to not care about the lack of a few buttons/triggers. Now if you've invested in an actual wheel that's another matter. I haven't and so I haven't enjoyed a racing game as much as RR2 in ages. And of course there are many REAL GAMES that also work better with touch controls than with a gamepad, from strategy to pont & click adventures and hell, to retro CRPGs like Avadon (although I own that on PC so I'm not sure how the port is). Not that puzzle games like World of Goo and Cut the Rope don't qualify as REAL. Just stick to buying these sorts of games on idevices, not something you'd play on your 360 instead.
 

Cloudy

Banned
from strategy to pont & click adventures...

How is FFT on iphone? I don't really feel like buying the game for $15 (Really, Square?) since I have it on PSP but iphone is just more convenient on the go...
 

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
I don't have it, the only strategy game I have is Z The Game and it's real time strategy game. While it's a bit clunky (not just in controls, but as a game it's very barebones like it was in its original release, there are no noob friendly additions for people like me) it's certainly better than dragging a cursor with a gamepad and shows the potential of such controls for better developers. I imagine well implemented controls for turn based strategy games are even better, literally just tap and go... Hopefully.
 

heringer

Member
Fusebox said:
Cloudy, there's no need for a screen protector on an iPad unless you work on a diamond crushing production line or something equally insane.

They mention screen protectors on their website though:

http://tenonedesign.com/fling.php
I have a screen protector and it works great with it. No way I'm putting that thing on my iPad without a screen protector, heh.

Anyway, here's how I set up my buttons in MC3:

34ngtic.jpg


Cloudy said:
If you like REAL videogames, iOS cannot hold a candle to DS and PSP gaming until there's some sort of controller. I bet Sony and Nintendo would shit their pants if that happened cos Devs would be very attracted to that ecosystem...
Yeah, I have a problem with this stance. Touch controls aren't perfect, but have you tried playing a DS game with 3D environment? Not great. Have you tried a shooter on the PSP? Ew. And yet I have finished shooters on the PSP as well as 3D games on the DS. If the game is good most people are capable of overlooking less than ideal controls.

Some people have problems with shooters on touchscreen, I think it's great. And a virtual analog stick to me is better than a d-pad if we're talking about 3D gameplay.

Now, Vita certainly will offer a vastly superior method of control, leveraging on the best of both worlds, but that doesn't mean iPad games will suddenly become unplayable. I think it's proven that a lot of people, people who love videogames as much as you do, is fine with playing on a touchscreen. When I want something more demanding gameplay wise, I can turn to one of my home consoles.

Besides, devs are getting smarter now, building games with the limitations of the controls in mind.

Releasing some sort of controller or attachment is a good idea though. I'm all for that.
 

Shancake

Junior Member
Just a quick question for anybody playing Scribblenauts. Do you see your scribblenauts iCloud save under the manage data info for your iCloud account?

My iCloud saves are working but there isn't anything in that manage account pane like all my other games. Jaws/Doodle Jump/Pages etc. Just wondering if this is a fault. Will my iCloud save still remain if i ever have to restore?
 

Cloudy

Banned
heringer said:
Now, Vita certainly will offer a vastly superior method of control, leveraging on the best of both worlds, but that doesn't mean iPad games will suddenly become unplayable. I think it's proven that a lot of people, people who love videogames as much as you do, is fine with playing on a touchscreen. When I want something more demanding gameplay wise, I can turn to one of my home consoles.

Besides, devs are getting smarter now, building games with the limitations of the controls in mind.

Releasing some sort of controller or attachment is a good idea though. I'm all for that.

I personally wouldn't even consider the Vita if iphone had some kind of official controller add-on. That's how potentially good I feel it could be for gaming. I like having games on my phone but I can't bear playing most of them :(
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
Cloudy said:
I personally wouldn't even consider the Vita if iphone had some kind of official controller add-on. That's how potentially good I feel it could be for gaming. I like having games on my phone but I can't bear playing most of them :(

same. I understand about picking games suitable for touch controls. Great. But the platform is capable and so I'd like to play other types of games too, but I'm put off by the controls available

If Apple officially supported a standard for a controller, I'd pretty happily move all portable gaming to iOS. And its so easy, I think the current icade emulates key presses. So supportable already, just that without official information it won't get traction.
 

Fusebox

Banned
Cloudy said:
If you like REAL videogames, iOS cannot hold a candle to DS and PSP gaming until there's some sort of controller.

Please define "REAL videogame" for me Cloudy, I'm curious as to why games like Machinarium, Monkey Island, World of Goo and Plants vs Zombies aren't REAL.

Am I a metaphysical gamer? Let me into your dimension...
 

heringer

Member
Cloudy said:
I personally wouldn't even consider the Vita if iphone had some kind of official controller add-on. That's how potentially good I feel it could be for gaming. I like having games on my phone but I can't bear playing most of them :(
I honestly thought Apple would announce a controller add-on in the last conference. I still think it's coming, just a matter of time. It makes too much sense and it's really simple to do it.

In the meantime, you could try the Fling stick. That can help a lot. :)
 

Cloudy

Banned
Fusebox said:
Please define "REAL videogame" for me Cloudy, I'm curious as to why games like Machinarium, Monkey Island, World of Goo and Plants vs Zombies aren't REAL.

Am I a metaphysical gamer? Let me into your dimension...
Ok fine. Games with complex controls lol I am suck and tired of stuff getting dumbed down for touch. And us there anything worse than the transparent buttons in fighting games? Wtf u can't even focus on the characters on iPhone lol
 

Fusebox

Banned
Hey I agree, I can't play fighting games on iOS either, but there's probably some fighting game fans out there that think using anything but an arcade stick is a joke too.

I just can't agree with your "complex controls = real games" stance. Some of my favourite games ever have relatively simple controls.

Then again, I grew up using controllers that only had a 4-way dpad and 2 buttons so maybe I have lowered expectations.
 

KtSlime

Member
Fusebox said:
Hey I agree, I can't play fighting games on iOS either, but there's probably some fighting game fans out there that think using anything but an arcade stick is a joke too.

I just can't agree with your "complex controls = real games" stance. Some of my favourite games ever have relatively simple controls.

Then again, I grew up using controllers that only had a 4-way dpad and 2 buttons so maybe I have lowered expectations.

Yeah, in fact, touch controls are superior for some styles and designs of games, controllers for others, motion for some, and even mice, etc. Shoehorning one into another is certainly possible and happens quite frequently. The PC master race laughed at all fps on the console until Halo came along, and even then some won't touch it without a mouse. Games such as srpgs and menu driven games are far superior (when done right) on touch screen controls that encourage direct user manipulation, etc.

The stance that games on touch devices are somehow inferior is very misguided and is a result of the industry being stuck for years with a control system that has been slow to evolve and has had countless game types forced into it. Touch screens certainly have their disadvantages, but so does the NES controller - they are simply, for a lack of a better word, different.
 
I like touch controls for shooters. They're my favorite controls for handheld, DS and PSP are terrible.

I think iPhone has "real" games. Shadowgun is as fun as stuff I would buy on "real" handhelds.

But whatever. Different views.
 
Thought I would update you guys with my game, I don't think that i'm going to be ready for submit by the 25th as I planned but in a way that means the game is not as rushed and can sneak out in january for all those new 4S owners :p

Everything subject to change :p really thrown together dev title screen and all that.

2i0uq9y.png

1z5m2o2.png

1zexenr.png


I can only test on a 4G so no idea of some of the transparent light effects will stutter on a 3GS, however I had to drop support for the old devices as it was out of my control, sorry oldies :(
 

japtor

Member
Alextended said:
But they don't :(
Capcom has some arcade collection with IAP games and I think daily credits to play a few times free per day.
heringer said:
I honestly thought Apple would announce a controller add-on in the last conference. I still think it's coming, just a matter of time. It makes too much sense and it's really simple to do it.

In the meantime, you could try the Fling stick. That can help a lot. :)
I figure if they do anything controller wise it'll happen if/whenever the Apple TV gets its own games.
 

hyp

Member
Diablohead said:
Thought I would update you guys with my game, I don't think that i'm going to be ready for submit by the 25th as I planned but in a way that means the game is not as rushed and can sneak out in january for all those new 4S owners :p

Everything subject to change :p really thrown together dev title screen and all that.

2i0uq9y.png

1z5m2o2.png

1zexenr.png


I can only test on a 4G so no idea of some of the transparent light effects will stutter on a 3GS, however I had to drop support for the old devices as it was out of my control, sorry oldies :(
this looks amazing! godspeed diablohead. if you need a beta tester lemme know.
 

hyp

Member
heringer said:
Not the right place, but do you guys know a good PDF reader that also make notes? Preferably free or cheap. :p
good reader is the shit. has iCloud saving as well.
 
Diablohead said:
Thought I would update you guys with my game, I don't think that i'm going to be ready for submit by the 25th as I planned but in a way that means the game is not as rushed and can sneak out in january for all those new 4S owners :p

Everything subject to change :p really thrown together dev title screen and all that.

I can only test on a 4G so no idea of some of the transparent light effects will stutter on a 3GS, however I had to drop support for the old devices as it was out of my control, sorry oldies :(

Will this be universal or have an iPad version? Looks good.
 

Shaneus

Member
Can anyone point me in the direction of a quality Geometry Wars clone? I actually bought GW aaages ago but the online is completely fucked (won't work unless you're on wifi) and it's still using the old 3GS resolution. It would look fucking amazing on the retina :(

I know there's an iPad version, maybe there's a way to scale that one to work on a 4S retina screen (even via JB).
 

Utako

Banned
Diablohead said:
I can only test on a 4G so no idea of some of the transparent light effects will stutter on a 3GS, however I had to drop support for the old devices as it was out of my control, sorry oldies :(
Your game is looking good!

I admit I am dismayed that a developer uses the term "4G" to refer to the iPhone 4, especially in writing.
 
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