iPhone Cave-Flyer 'G Force' Needs Physics Work
posted October 27th, 2008 1:17 PM EDT by Blake Patterson in $3.99, Maze, Reviews, iPhone games, iPod touch games
Oliver Pasqualini has recently released a 2D cave-flyer for the iPhone called G_Force [App Store]. As a particular fan of the genre, I was excited to see the game appear in the App Store and was anxious to try it out. (I am always hoping for an iPhone title that approximates my all-time favorite mobile game, RocketElite.) And while G_Force is an otherwise well-designed game, it has one fatal flaw that ruins the feel of what could be a very enjoyable title.
Like the typical cave-flyer, G_Force puts the player in control of a spaceship that must navigate an increasingly intricate system of caves filled with various obstacles (both moving and not) in order to complete a task which, in this case, is the collection of a certain number of gems within a set time limit and with a limited amount of fuel. The game utilizes the iPhone's accelerometer to control the orientation of the ship and thrust is controlled via touch.
As is the case with most games of this sort, gravity and inertia play an important role–the ship can't just stop on a dime. And here is where G_Force fails.
In nature (and in most other games of this sort), when an object reaches the top of a parabolic "throw," it hangs slightly at the peak and then begins to descend. In G_Force, when the ship reaches this point, it is subject to a mysterious, greatly extended sort of hang time. It inexplicably just hangs at that point on the vertical axis for much longer than it should, before beginning to descend. (See the video.) This phenomenon ruins the feel of the gravity / physics situation and makes the game too frustrating to be enjoyably played.
Otherwise, the graphics are simple but sufficient and the game features a particualrly nice soundtrack. Fortunately, this is a v1.0 release and it is well within the developer's power to fix the physics system such that the ship will respond more "realistically." Until that happens, iPhone gamers would do well to hold on to their $3.99.
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Note that Digital Concepts, who published RocketElite, also publishes Loot Master for the iPhone. Fingers crossed that an iPhone port of RocketElite is already underway…
I see what you mean by the "hang time". The ship doesn't behave as it should at all! Why did they do it like that? Looks stupid if you ask me. I am glad I saw it in action before buying- now I won't bother. Thanks Blakespot.
Maybe it will be fixed in an update as you say.
thanks for the heads up. looks like it'd be pretty fun if they fixed that
it just dropped to $1.99, btw
arn
hi,
thanx for the review
i will fix the physics engine tomorrow
regards
olivier
Can I just say that having bought this at it's new cheaper price, I find it quite an enjoyable game. Although sometimes I blow up for no reason (not out of fuel, not near walls, is there a time limit?) Anyway, although the trajectory sticking bug is a little strange, I can't say it ruins the game at all for me, I find it quite enjoyable. It will be nice when it's fixed though.
Good game Oliver… I love platformer type games and currently there aren't any decent ones for the iPhone, I do love lunar lander style things so this covers a bit of both genres for me.
Well worth the $2.49 AUD IMHO
Thanx Rowan.
yes there is a time limit display at the top right corner.
the physics engine was a little bug. i forgot to remove an line i added for my testing purpose oups
anyway i rewrote another physic engine and it's more realistic but more "aggressive" too (faster accelleration,gravity,brake) i don't know which one i will use.
i love platformer games too but i'm not sure than the iphone without keypad is really good at that,even with virtual touch pad.
olivier, didi you pull the app from the App Store? It says that the app is not available in the US store. Thanks!
It's back!
yes,after work i will try to get it fixed and uploaded to appstore.
I would really like to hear some reviews after the update.
Deciding wether I should get it of not.
hi,
i have uploaded an demo and the fix but with applestore that may take many days…
It's games like this that make me worry that my game is taking too long… I only hope that most people continue to buy crap from the app store like you wouldn't believe until I can get an open beta up (current target date is January… closed beta (just me and a few friends testing the multiplayer,) is on track to start in about 2 weeks…)
I've got the new version now, much improved with the update.
ArtOfWarfare… if you're implying this game is crap, it isn't, I like it.
thanx Rowan.
i will upload the version with 25 easiers lvl (so 50 lvl in total) soon who will be more friendly.
vegetables will not kill anymore(flowers,grass etc…).
Ah, I mailed you, but I'll just reply here
The time limit irritates me, because I'm feeling, that there are two time limits running against me:
1. Fuel
2. Time
Fuel of course goes down the longer I fly or "steer", therefore fuel is equal to time, which means, that I have two time limits which work against me. I noticed that when I explode somewhere it's the "second" time limit which gets me. But I really like to fly around, feel the nice Lunar Lander feeling, collect diamonds and "solve" the maze. The time limit is a bit distracting.
What do others feel about this?
hello,
I'm currently testing the easy lvl and i finish them always with more than 50 seconds left so must be ok.
for the hard lvl i will extend the timer.
now you can start without take-care of the iphone orientation.you will not crash anymore i know it was annoying.
Do i need to add something for change the sensibility of the accelerometer and let user choose?.
thanx
olivier