please don't take this as me being a smarta$$, but i just don't get why this keeps happening... "buy it now, we'll add more content later"

how about... "make a quality, low-buggy, finished game and then i'll consider it like when i buy anything else"

i'm trying to think where else this type of thing flies. i can't remember them calling with updates for my car, my tv, my sneakers. if you can't get it right or finished i don't why a consumer would choose your product. competition is fierce so work hard and fight with a great (finished) product!

i don't want this at .99 - make an announcement when your game is done and what you want for it at the time. we'll see how it shakes out (compared to it's competition, thru the review process of users, etc) - sheesh!

i really want to buy that vector tanks game, but when i read that "soon it'll have flying stuff and a way to pause and brightness control" i figure i'll just wait til it's done to make my decision.

I definitely have pondered this and mulled this over in my pea brain, marc, time and time again.

This game particularly though, I find to be a finished product. I find it to be fun, fast and with multiple options. The market seems to dictate though. It does seem absurd, but if two of three purchasers of Nike basketball shoes "demanded" folow up re-soleing of their shoes in the future Nike would make cost/price determinations, adjust accordingly and give the consumers what they want.
I don't fully blame the devs. Some put out, what in their and the beta teams opinion IS a finished product and then adjust accordingly. Look at any games Appstore reviews. Let's take Gamelofts Brothers in Arms, for example. I'd wager to say at least 30 percent of reviewers say it's missing feature "x", or it would be complete if you implement my idea. Thankfully, Imho Gameloft is an exception to the norm, as they seem to only deal with updating known etc... I use BIA because it is a "full-feature" title that has been successful on many platforms many times.

Now take developer joe schmoe. He is in debt, submitting his/her first app, and his first 7 reviewers are pressuring that if such and such isn't met they will trash his ratings.it's almost borderline blackmail, but we have all seen it time and again on iTunes.

The moral: generally Darwins "supermen" theoryies apply. That developer is most likely gonna do any and every thing in his power to (hopefully) make sure his spouse and children have food to eat and shelter.

I don't think there's a problem with posting a 99c version and promise updates... It's lets these guys, who are mostly just messing around, get some cash to finish their games... Why not? Saves them getting in debt and going from there. Feildrunners was released to great applause as a pretty, but very limited and simple game, and everyone goes apeshit when an update comes out... can you blame a dev for wanting to get paid while he adds more guns and sound effects?

Though, I think iDracula is a weak name. But I don't like vampires stuff.

I think the promise of extra features is "ok" assuming the original version of the game is complete. Any game can get more features. No game has every feature, every level possible. So it's a matter of having a complete 1.0 version that doesn't have any major deficiencies. Then the extras are a bit of a bonus. But especially for $0.99, I think the promise of new features is fine. In that you aren't paying for those features yet.

arn

you make great points, rich and i agree with your stance. that being said... i can't afford to sit around developing games all day, so... i don't.

you know, another thing that really irks me (since you brought up the 'blackmail' thing), is their attempt to lure me with the whole buy it now thing. they call it an introductory price, i call it the 'but it while it sucks (or is less than darn near perfect) price'. i agree gameloft has their ducks in a row- A1 quality.

i can only speak for myself, but i can basically afford any app at (virtually) any price, 100 of them. so the whole hurry and get it while it's cheap and unfinished thing just cracks me up. $1 now? $3 later? woopti doo! i got your $3 pal, it's your job to separate it from me and selling unfinished stuff aint gonna do it.

sorry to repost, but geez arn... if they have a list of what's coming out in 2 weeks, is it really finished today? maybe that's the .99 version. it's not the price that gets me, all the apps are cheap, it's the concept.

example...

lemme borrow your phone. hey what's that? oh, that? a cool 1 level game. just one level? well yeah, but next week it'll have 3 levels and another gun though!

we can agree to disagree, i'm not trying to be a jerk - i just like getting what i pay for and in fact "knowing" what i'm getting up front.

I really enjoy this game =D RUSH mode is freaking awesome

I have no problem with a game being released and then growing (just as many AAA commercial games do, with Editor's Choice editions etc.). If the game is somehow lacking now (which iDracula doesn't seem to be) then obviously don't buy it.

The buyer must decide if the game is worth the current price. If future promises don't fly (understandable) then judge the game on what it has NOW. If it's worth it, buy--if not, wait and decide.

Does anyone really think people should boycott a game unless the developer keeps their future expansion plans secret?? I LIKE developers giving a glimpse into what they're working on for the future.

What Arn said! Its ONLY 99 Cents and is finished and polished. Find a game this finished and this quality anywhere else for 99 cents.

Saying I can add more to it doesnt always equate to 'its not done'. You can always add more to anything. Now if he was saying they will add the high score system and sound effects and exit saving then its not really done. But we all know some really sucessful apps have played that game too and won.

This isnt a console market.

As an alternate viewpoint I just downloaded this game and in the short time plying it I found it very enjoyable and even without any further upgrades, it's a great deal for 99 cents.

The controls are pretty easy to learn (although I was a bit confused as how to shoot, I would have preferrred more in depth instructions), the music and sound effects are great, the monsters keep coming the there's a decent variety of weapons. I like how the perk system lets you customize your character. I reminds of a modern version of Guantlet, where your mission is to survive for as long as possible against the oncoming hordes.

The thing is that everyone will buy a game for $0.99, even if you don't want the game in the first place. As a result, you will get a lot of customers who don't like the game, and therefore bad reviews from those people. This will kill any game, whether it's bad or good, and especially once Apple fix the top-10 and top-100 lists so they aren't solely based on sales but also ranking etc.

If it's worth $0.99, like a simple tool like a level, you should sell it for $0.99. If it's worth $4.99 (like iDracula seems to be -- gosh what a bad choice of name), then sell it for $4.99 to people who actually want it, and get good reviews and make even more money.

There is no problem with them saying they are going to have updates. However, I did get royally screwed on Urban Tycoon. So now, I will only buy it if it's worth the price they are charging right now.

It looks cool. I think at a buck...I'm buying in now. If I get the updates, great. If not...hey it's a buck.

Freeverse is killer at making their apps better over time!

@Fattychance :
heh nice one. royally screwed xD

I agree with Arn

However, one walks a thin line.

Introduce a polished product at a lower price point rewards early adopters who can add free input for future updates. When updated, the product can then be increased in price. This affords early access of the product to a competitive market.

At the same time, many users, particularly those with PSPs, Xbox, etc expect a product to be complete when published the first time and may trash it in the iTunes store b/c of its inadequacies relative to their expectations. This poor rating may then kill the app dead in the water for some time, even when updates are forthcoming.

Anders: the point is, it IS worth .99 already.

@Adams Immersice: So it's not worth more than $0.99?

I can't believe all of the complaining over a .99 cent game. IT IS .99 cents!!! You can't even get a gallon of gas for a buck.

@Anders:

To me it looks like many of the commentators think that what iDracula offers, it is probably worth $4.99. At $0.99, it's a steal, even without any updates.

If you want, you are free to wait and purchase it when the update is released at the full $2.99 price.

The game is a lot of fun, just mindless action. Sometimes you just need to kill monsters with a machine gun

To the issue of unfinished games, I think you have to come to expect that with the iTunes store. The whole point is to create something different from what you're used to. Sure, you usually get fuller, more complete games on the PSP or Nintendo DS at a price, but you definitely don't have any input into the direction of the games. One thing that the iTunes store has created, intentionally or not, is a community where our feedback is heard and incorporated into future updates. Frankly, it's a nice change from the usual "buy our game, and shut up" approach. And for Pete's sake, we're complaining about 99 cents?!

Moral of the story here is, say nothing!

Making games isn't just expensive it's risky, and being able to test the water with a 99 cent taster is great for business. Not all games sell, so any opportunity to know if you're onto a 'sure thing' is well worth taking advantage of.

There's nothing new about what these guys are doing, they just made the oops of promising more in a room full of hungry animals

It's a good value download - it's not going to change my life but I'm rather enjoying it, and I'm incredibly picky. If there's more to come, all the better!

This game is a finished game, have you played it? No, you heard they were gonna add more to it and charge more and all of a sudden you are bitching that they need to

“make a quality, low-buggy, finished game and then i’ll consider it like when i buy anything else”

They did, the only app that i feel right now that is as fun and polished is Fieldrunners. Play the damn game before you open your mouth. The only reason im not playing it now is because i ran my batts on my ipod dead playing iDracula (what a queer name). I dont know if any of you have Pocket God, but it started out as a fun simple game where you could just throw your islanders in the air and it was fun, well worth the buck I paid for it. Then the updates came out using the requests of the buyers of the game and now there a half a dozen fun ways of killing your loyal subjects. The point is I bought the game for what it was when I bought it A game where I could throw islanders in to the sky, Im happy with that. Anything more is just the berries. Buy iDracula its worth every penny the way it is right now, any added content is just berries.

You know whats going to happen here:

-In two days in enters the top twenty five

-The developers never raise the price (Cough days of Thunder Cough)

@holybull - wow, that was childish

so i bought idrac $1, dropship $2, vector tanks $3

after all the talk of vector tanks, i'm bored after 5 minutes, i'll try it some more later, maybe i accidently missed a couple bucks worth of content 3 stars max for me.

dropship seems better for less cash. 4 stars.

and i've already played idrac for 20 minutes, so it seems like the best deal all around (right now, at a buck). 5 stars.

just my opinions, if that's ok.

I find the game most enjoyable, i've bought several 1.99 and 2.99 games that don't offer this level of fun.
I like the name, the gameplay, and the price point.
if they add a couple more stages more enemies and weapons. It'll be my favorite game ever. I think its better than paradise ep I, and certainly offers more fun than most gameloft titles.

for what its worth I got your product and gave you a 5 star review in the chile store.

Great game and stop complaining about it being relased with promise of updates. If you don't like that then you can wait till all the updates are done then buy the game. Me personally, I like paying a lower price, getting my moneys worth from the game already and have the potential to get much more! If they don't, oh well I got a game I already enjoy. I am happy.

Well, my guess would be that this release was the original vision for the game, exposure on this and other sites generates allot of excited comments and suggestions for the developer to take the game further even before its released, which they have listened to, hence the coming update. The only reason this isn't complete in our eyes now is because we know theres an update coming.

Comparing a software product like a game to a hardware product like a TV just doesn't work. Updates and added features are the norm for software, especially games. I wouldn't hold off buying Left for Dead because "theres an expansion coming out and until then its just not a complete product"

iDracula is a really enjoyable polished game, I played it four times on my way to work today and so far I'm a noob x 4 so I think it will be a while before I have to worry about running out of content!

there should be a way to submit this stories to digg.com

I have played this game for about an hour now and will post a review on Youtube tonight. Hey I didn't even know that this was not a complete game until I started reading the above comments. I REALLY like the game and really like that it only cost me 0.99c.

It's very challenging and so far has great replay value.

Steve

@marc - I agree that you don't always get what you pay for especially when you pay more for it. I have a list of apps that I regret buying based on hype. But, I guess that's true of anything and everything we buy, not just apps. Of course everyone's tastes vary, and value is in the eye of the buyer.

To "marc"

Vector tanks is a good finished game as it is right now. I think the programer is going to be slowly adding new content and features to it for a while. That doesn't mean it is unfinished or a beta.

Sick game for $0.99! This game reminds me of Paradise: The Beginning. Same price, but this one offers WAY MORE FOR YOUR BUCK! Awesome graphics, smooth game play, awesome music and sound effects!

marc, first of all- you seem very angry.

Let me explain this from my point of view. I worked on Vector Tanks every night and every day for 3 months. Ask me what I did at Christmas instead of spending holiday time with my family. I am just one person working on this game by myself. During those 3 months, as soon as you could drive the tank around people were begging me for a copy. You saw the threads here on TA. People were going nuts over a 1 week wait after the app was submitted. Releasing the game when I did allowed those people to:

1. Immediately start enjoying the app
2. Participate in the development process by suggesting new features. Yes, participate.

Why is that a bad model? Would you rather a game go 6 months before releasing? Release and never update outside of actual bug fixes? Release and never once have any user feedback? You're forgetting how difficult if not -impossible- it is to do proper beta testing on the iPhone due to Apple's DRM, etc.

Yet even the iPhone OS itself employs the model you are criticizing. Can you do copy and paste yet? Push notifications? Landscape mode in Mail.app? Multitasking? Video recording? All those features are "coming" according to Apple. They are working on them. Yet you still bought a device because it allowed you to immediately start using the functionality that it provides today. Same thing.

Additionally, the App Store is not the typical software model. It is, for all purposes, an actual -part- of your Apple device. Hence, the App Store itself promotes the idea of constant updates similar to "Software Update" on the desktop. The iPhone OS is currently on version 2.2. The Mac desktop is on version 10.5. When are they going to be "finished"? Heck, even Space Invaders when it was released in the arcades in the '70s was followed up by Space Invaders Deluxe, Space Invaders II, etc. If someone tells me they believe there is ever a point when a piece of software is "done" - I'd say they were living in a fantasy world.

Getting back to Vector Tanks - in your first post you claim to be waiting for Vector Tanks to be "done" before you'll consider buying it. In one of your later posts you say you bought it and are bored with it. Did you actually buy the game? Have you played it? I ask this seriously. Please clarify. If you did actually buy the game, then I am sorry you find it unenjoyable. Perhaps it just isn't your type of game, and that's fine. I've definitely bought my share of stinkers on the App Store. But please don't call Vector Tanks "unfinished". I can tell you that if you don't like the game now, me adding a pause button and helicopters to the game probably isn't going to magically fix it for you.

You want to bust my chops for promising to continue improving my game and listen to my paying customer's suggestions? Cut me a little bit of slack please. Email me your paypal address and I'll refund your 3 bucks for Vector Tanks and you'll never have to worry about future improvements to my game.

-Peter

Well said, Peter.

OT:

I will be trying on this game next week! I'm quite excited. Thanks for the video.

This game is just awesome as it is.
For the price point, it's just ridiculous.
I mean, charge more already.

As someone said above, I've played it longer than some more expensive game previously bought.
If they plan to add content, I'll be delighted.
If they charge another buck for a second game like this, with a different setting, for example, I'll buy it on the spot.

That game is that good.
And seriously, that game is less expansive than what I give beggars in the street most of the day.
Just don't compare it to Diablo, just for the control and the graphics alone, it's worth 2 or 3 bucks.

yeah. I bought iDrac yesterday, even though some argue that it's an 'unfinished' game. So, far I like it. I like the music, the graphics and the sound effects. Pretty cool. I like the rush and survival mode. Would keep me busy for some time.

hey peter,

wow, i really dont know how to respond- i'll try. i'm sorry if i offended you. yes i purchased it, no i don't want my money back. your hard work should have been more appreciated. i guess i should have taken those late nights into deeper consideration. i apologize to you and everyone else here. my (angry) opinions were out of line and in the future i will keep them to myself.

idrac and vector tanks are both wonderful, complete projects, and worth their purchase prices. i think it would be healthy for me to put this little dispute behind me so this will be my last responce on this topic. thanks for staightening me out, lesson learned.

marc

I think some one may have pissed in marcs cornflakes. You're bitching about something that is a great thing. WAAAAH i buy a game and then then they put more stuff that makes it better WAAAAH. Then you go out and but the game you said you weren't gonna buy until it was finished. Sounds like you could use a good cigar, a glass of a nice single malt, and some Pink Floyd. Always relaxes me...

This game is great! Fun survival game, very polished, and the controls work great. For some reason, dropship's controls (same as this, one wheel for movement, the other for firing direction) don't work as well, but these are perfect on iDracula

Eyou! You Guys dissing this game! It rocks! Ive been awaityng some rockin´ RPG Diablo style, and i get some kick ass shooter.. But im FULLY SATISFIED! It´s such a cool game! Great monsters, newlish graphic, lovely arsenal, etc etc etc.... style, See ya suckers!