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'Fieldrunners 2' Halloween Update Goes Live

posted October 24th, 2012 4:36 PM EDT by Brad Nicholson in iPad Games, iPhone games, News, Tower Defense, Updates

Halloween, of all things, has come to Fieldrunners 2 HD [$4.99 (HD)]. In the tower defense title's latest update, creator Subatomic Studios has added the BOOM-kin Tower. Basically, it's a pumpkin equipped with two cannons. Alec Shobin, Subatomic PR dude and TouchArcade forums public enemy number one, tells us that it's a "super cool" addition to the game. He would.

This update also takes care of a few technical things. Numerous bugs have been addressed and iCloud support has been added in. Here's a link to the patch notes if you're into this sort of thing.

Fieldrunners 2 on iPhone and iPod touch [$2.99] will be getting these features in its own update within the next few hours. This update will include a notable extra: IAP.

App Store Links:
    Fieldrunners 2 HD, $4.99 (iPad Only)
    Fieldrunners 2, $2.99

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  • http://twitter.com/AndyPhifer Andy Hell Phifer

    Ugh, they're forcing me to download an update to get a new free tower? I bet they artificially inflated the difficulty curve from the start just to make me waste my bandwidth on downloading this update. UGH. Free updates are the cancer of the world and they are literally killing puppies worldwide as we speak.

    • AlecShobin

      Five puppies were saved in the making of this update. The mad scientists at Suba Labs immediately confiscated them and used them as test subjects for the BOOM-kin Tower. 

  • Richietherich

    This game is great, but the reasons why I don't play it are: 1. No iPhone 5 support. 2. No iCloud between iPad and iPhone. (From what I understand that is coming,so yay!!)

    • AlecShobin

      iCloud game save transfers between iPad and iPhone are now good to go! iPhone 5 support is coming soon, so you might as well just grab the game now :)

      • chris_halley

        Hey Alec, I've seen statements about iCloud but no indication of HOW to make it work. Could you please provide a step by step guide for how to get our progress from the iPhone to the iPad? It doesn't seem to just work. Thanks.

  • Vestid

    @andy posts like yours are what's wrong with this forum. IAP are serious business and your light hearted attempt to distract from this significant first world problem only makes it worse. I'm deleting the game immediately, which is annoying as I've only had about 50 hours entertainment for $3 to date, but I just can't deal with a new button on the UI.

    • AlecShobin

      I generally refer to IAP as "serious bidness" to emphasize the fact that we're trying to run a bidness here. Coincidentally, I deleted the game as soon as we added IAP to show my dislike for the bidness side of making a game that costs less than a can of beer. 

      • Hipcat

        I would rather games cost more than a can of beer as long as the IAP business model dies out. Granted, you guys have implemented the IAP in a minimalistic way, but I still do not want to encourage games to become shopping environments. It ruins the experience in more ways that can be summed up in a quick threaded discussion.
        It is sad, and if a game is good it can be sold for more than a can of beer. You guys (Developer and big IAP spenders) can focus on the "bidness" as you say, I guess that is what it is all about.

      • AlecShobin

        In all seriousness, "what it is all about" is making games that we love. Everything else is secondary. The problem is that in order to keep making games we love, we need to recoup our development costs through game sales. So, there's a difficult balance, but we're trying to explore different ways that will allow us to achieve both of those goals. It's always tough to mix sustainable business with something you're so passionate about, but there must be some kind of balance. 

        If we can achieve this goal, we'll be changing the games industry for the better. If developers can make more money from their passions while pleasing all audiences, we will inevitably get more awesome games that use a variety of different business models, including the model you're supporting most. 

        Just my thoughts, though. I'm really passionate about being able to work on games that gamers and I both love, and I want to be able to continue doing that forever. It's a tough subject to discuss, for sure, because everyone (devs and gamers) truly love games. But I really feel like discussions like this one will help us figure out how to make things work, so I really appreciate you sharing your thoughts :)

      • Hipcat

        I think I paid something like $20 for Chaos Rings 2 and it's a 5 star game for me, but if they put IAP in the game I will drop it to 1 star. Not even a question.

      • Vestid

        @Alec, it's attitudes like yours that stop developers from releasing decent high cost games on the App Store that are only acceptable by kids with rich uncaring mums and people with mixed up priorities. I certainly hope the developers don't see what you've posted.

      • Hipcat

        Did you read my post? I highlighted higher cost games as a good thing while maintaining IAP/Feemium as a bad thing.

      • Hipcat

        Your post does not make sense my friend.

      • Hipcat

        Woops (@alec)! Right on man. You're right. (Removing foot from mouth now as I type) haha.

      • AlecShobin

        I'm not exactly sure what you guys are saying in this thread, so some clarification wouldn't hurt. Still, thanks for sharing. Your feedback is important!

      • Hipcat

        I misread Vestid's post and thought it was directed at me, but it wasn't. Vestid and I are on the same page. A game should cost what it is worth, without IAP (even if that cost is higher than a can of beer).
        I can tell this conversation is not going to lead anywhere because developers main goal is to be a business and milk the consumer for every cent possible without regard to product integrity (apparently), and for some reason many gamers don't see the downward spiral IAP creates for gaming.
        Freemium is the future I guess, so gamers:
        - Keep buying your smurfberries!
        - Keep buying bags of game gold!
        - Keep buying gems to speed things up!
        - Keep buying coins!
        You are collectively asking for this nonsense. I just can not understand how so many are unable to think.

      • AlecShobin

        Ah ok, thanks for the clarification. That said, have you tried our new update? Does it really ruin the experience for you? Our IAP is so unintrusive that people are literally asking us to give them instructions on how to buy coins because they aren't able to find anything in-game indicating they can do that. 

        Games are worth different amounts to different people, though. Someone might play our game for and hour, while another person could put in 300 hours. Doesn't that make the value of the game variable? Thanks for sharing!

      • AlecShobin

        Hey Vestid, not exactly sure what this statement means, but I wanted to leave a reply. Just so you know, I'm on the dev team for Fieldrunners 2 and my comment was just a joke. 

        Out of curiosity, are you saying you're in favor of cheap/free games with IAP or high priced games?

      • Vestid

        It was just a troll post Alec, directed at those who seem to rage against IAP. Sorry for any confusion. I understand this is important to you and not a game (pun intended).

        To answer your question, I generally prefer free games where I can decide when and what to pay for. This is generally because I don't spend to much time on a particular game given all the options. An example is Hero Academy which I did spend money on after playing and enjoying it.

        I don't think there is one right answer. Do what is best for your product and your customers. I have noticed though that the most negative reactions come when the business model for a particular game is changed during its lifecycle without some kind of handout for early adopters. Hope that helps and good luck.

      • Hipcat

        Vestid noooooo!

  • Jacob007

    I don't see why everyone is hating on the game all of a sudden. Everyone goes crazy when they see IAPs, but in reality, its just a button that you choose whether or not to tap. I'm keeping the game since I've had a lot of fun with it. The IAPs are only for more ingame currency to buy towers without waiting as long. I don't see why everyone is flaming the game.

    • http://profile.yahoo.com/H2EAIQ2GJPYXL72AT3RIHKHUPM Supernatural

      Main issue? With an IAP game you don't know if it's balanced for an actually enjoyable gaming experience, or if it's balanced to frustrate you just enough to hand over more cash. Imagine a classic game like Zelda: Link to the Past. Would it be nearly as fondly remembered if it kept pestering you to pay $20 for 10,000 rupees?

      And similarly, there's something deep-rooted in the gaming experience that taps into the need to accomplish something, overcome a challenge, etc. It's weird that we're at the point where so many people just want to hand over cash to bypass any challenge. And, it's just kind of irritating to have a game you paid for keep begging for more cash at every opportunity. 

      It would be great if a few more developers would take some pride in their craft and say "I created this game to be be played a certain way, all the challenges can be overcome with some skill and effort." But then I'd like to see games elevate as a form of art and entertainment, and I know that's not what most developers are in it for. Unfortunately. And yeah, they need to make a buck, it's just a shame this is how they're doing it.

      • Hipcat

        Right on. That is 1 of 100 reasons IAP/Freemium game modeling is terrible.

      • Phoenix24

        The game does not ask you to buy coins at all and is even hard to find the coin store. The game has alway been a tough one, and most people like me will either challenge themselves to achieve coins to buy the towers or move on after 30 or so hours game time. IAP is not evil when implemented in this way, similar to how Kingdom Rush added it. If the developer didn't tell anyone about the IAP I bet most people wouldn't even know it was there. The only IAP I would consider is a coin multiplier to speed things along. Top game, well worth the £

      • AlecShobin

        Thanks for sticking up for us :) A coin multiplier is an excellent idea. I think it appeals to a very different type of person than regular coin bundles since you still have to work for the rewards. 

        I was pretty certain that no one would ever find the IAP in our game, so it was kind of necessary to make an announcement about it like we did. Despite all the negativity, I'd rather announce it once and not mention it again than continually remind people about it. Also, Kingdom Rush is awesome! People better give them their upvotes so that game can get Greenlighted on Steam already :)

      • Hipcat

        - Even only a coin multiplier type IAP is only going to encourage developers to build a slow play mechanism into the next game (or update) to get you to once again purchase the multiplier. Don't you get that?
        - IAP turns every game that includes IAP into a marketing experiment. With each generation of IAP/freemium game the developers use what they have learned from their past experiments to squeeze every penny they can from stupid people, and this is now the gaming business model.
        - Out with creating a work of art that can be collectively shared among millions, in with providing mini shopping environments.
        - In-app-purchasers are marketers dreams. I doubt any developer will say the freemium avenue is bad; they make money off of these people using it! Even developers that have said they would never use have jumped on the IAP wagon. All of these developers ALWAYS say something to the affect of "our IAP is only optional, you can play the game normally without it and have fun." Ahhh, I give up for now. You people should really think about it. I could go on and on for pages, but I will stop here for now.

      • Hipcat

        Among other things (possibly) Punch Quest failed to implement a slow play mechanic or other IAP/ Freemium mechanic into the game to take advantage of ridiculous in-app-purchasers. Now that game is a flop. I guess they needed to better ruin the game with IAP tactics and then just say "you don't NEED to purchase IAP to have fun with our game" the same way all developers do.
        Thanks for proving my points in a unique way Punch Quest.

      • Gamer_Kev

        I agree, it completely defeats the whole purpose of the game to be able to pay your way through it. One common complaint that I see a lot from people who support this awful system is limited time for gaming, but really, that's what the save feature is for. If people want to do something that requires no effort on their part, it seams to me that their time would be cheaper and better spent in reading a book or watching a movie. While I have seen a few games that were not overly hurt by IAPs, for most, it really cheapens the whole experience.

      • AlecShobin

        On the plus side, by adding IAP three months after launch, after people lauded us for making a challenging game that really pushed them to their limits, I feel like we've pretty clearly demonstrated that our game has solid balancing designed for tower defense champions. 

        Of course, plenty of devs totally abuse IAP. But like all things, there's a right way and a wrong way to do things. Hopefully all IAP won't continue to be lumped together because not all of it deserves the bad reputation that a few pay wall hungry devs gave it. 
        Just my two cents, though. It's good to have a marketplace with lots of different consumer opinions. The more your voices are heard, the more likely you are to get more of the games you want.

    • AlecShobin

      We didn't even add an IAP button. You just click the coins. Probably should have focused more on the bidness side of IAP by adding pop up reminders every three seconds. Without that, there's now a good chance that people will never realize IAP is even in our game. Unless, of course, people who don't want IAP would rather just not notice it's in the game. If that was our angle, we totally nailed it.

  • Hipcat

    Haha there goes the legitimacy of the forum.

  • MarkyMarc

    Geeez, let the discussion of the IAP addition go. Maybe it'll assist the funding of a FR3. Nice update, a Christmas one would in December would be very nice. Hint, hint.

    • Hipcat

      Yeah, everyone should stop discussing aspects if the game and mindlessly look forward to purchasing the next installment. Also, we should be looking forward to purchasing the in-game currency of the next installment. This way we can get a head start on not playing the next game either: we could just buy the IAP to see the final credits roll up the screen. This will save a ton of time.

    • AlecShobin

      If the BOOM-kin tower goes over well, you can definitely expect to see more holiday updates :)

  • AlecShobin

    "Alec Shobin, Subatomic PR dude and TouchArcade forums public enemy number one, tells us that it's a "super cool" addition to the game. He would." Heh.

    • http://twitter.com/RubiconDevelop Rubicon Development

       Oi, get off. At least let me be #1 at something...  :)

      • AlecShobin

        Hahahaha :P

  • AlecShobin

    While that's a pretty common reaction, I appreciate your feedback. I think we've done a good job of not implementing IAP in a way that "cheapens the experience". Would be genuinely interesting if you could check out the game and share your feelings about it after seeing what we've done. If you do that, feel free to drop us a line and let us know what you think :)

  • evilsearch

    damn, still no iphone 5 support... guess i have to wait for another month? play on ipad3 : random crash!, play on iphone5 : black borders on both sides... most anticipated game on iOS!!!

    • AlecShobin

      iPhone 5 support should be out soon. If you're having issues with the iPad version, please email bugs@subatomicstudios.com so we can help you out. Sorry for the trouble!

  • HelperMonkey

    The game should have an "I-am-Totally-Hardcore!!!" button that automatically deletes the game out of courtesy to gamers who can't stand the concept of IAP.
    Seriously, how dare they change nothing except to make the game optionally more accessible to less-hardcore gamers. They should actually INCREASE the difficulty for people who do use the IAP. Then it would maintain its inaccessibility for the lame slackers who want IAP, and reiterate the hugeness of my brain and testicles for succeeding in the game by the pure fact of my being Totally Hardcore.

  • Duhbyo47

    Hey Alec, quick question for you! How do I get my iCloud data to sync? It is clicked on in both my iPad and iPhone app, but the only way data will push is from my iPhone to my iPad. I played for a couple hours on my iPad and now my iPhone data won't update. Any suggestions?

    • AlecShobin

      Try this: 

      1.  Ensure iCloud is enabled on both devices
      2.  Task switch out of the app on both devices
      3.  Kill the app on both devices
      4.  Open the app on whatever device didn’t get the iCloud game save sync
      5.  When it gets to the main menu, it should sync automatically

      • Duhbyo47

        I have done this repeatedly to no avail...hm...

      • Duhbyo47

        I can see the game save in my iCloud settings, but either my iPhone 5 isn't using it or my iPad isn't updating it!

      • AlecShobin

        Email us at bugs@subatomicstudios.com and we'll try to help you out. Sorry for the trouble!

      • http://twitter.com/Dazlm Dashawn

         im also having the same problem trying to get the progress from my iphone 5 to ipad "3" it shows in my icloud but progress on my ipad stays the same.

      • AlecShobin

        Shoot us an email and we can try to help you out. Sorry for the trouble!

  • snworf

    I bought the game >because< it now has IAP... I really wish I could find the screen from which you can make these purchases :-/

    • Duhbyo47

      Just click the plus button next to the coins!

    • AlecShobin

      Interesting. Kind of a bummer that we're getting so much hate while the IAP is so unintrusive that people who want it can't even find it. Certainly makes a point, though. I hope you enjoy our game!

      • snworf

        From which screen is there a '+' sign next to the coins?! Can't find the IAP (can turn on the 'directors commentary' though.

      • AlecShobin

        It sounds like you're playing the iPad version. There is no IAP in the iPad version, just the iPhone version. Sorry! 

      • snworf

        That's it -- I play the iPad version, though I have the iPhone version as well, I prefer the larger screen.

    • Hipcat

      - Your post feels like a "plant" to highlight the unobtrusive IAP addition, but if you are honest the post instead shines light on the mentality of "in-app-purchasers" in a true (negative) way :-) . - Bought the game just for the IAP? Haha. Can't even find the IAP? Hahaha. I guess that is a challenge. Maybe just give up and try fingerpainting or something because you can't really mess that up.
      - Gaming doesn't seem to be your thing if 1) you purchase a game BECAUSE it has IAP, and 2) you can't even navigate the menu to make it to the IAP hahahaha.
      - This is a good game: I only hate IAP, and feel the industry is worse off for catering to this type of consumer. Well, business will be better due to companies taking advantage of this kind of person, but the quality if the industry suffers for sure.

      • Hipcat

        Wow, I just read my post back and it doesn't come across as light hearted as I thought it would. Picture smiley faces all over it.

      • snworf

        You should start a new topic expressing your thoughts -- no interest in this one ;-)

  • dreamk1ll

    I'm dissappointed in the update. No 4 inch display support, but the developers had to add a IAP system? Come on. I love fieldrunners 2, but it needs iPhone 5 support immediately.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Seekacougar-Liu/100004433292016 Seekacougar Liu

    HAPP HALLOWEEN DAY

  • http://twitter.com/Retrogamesbloke Jason Moore

    I really loved the first game but update after update fr2 crashes, I've restarted my iPad (3), installed, reinstalled, thought the new update would finally fix the game yesterday, but two levels in and the crashing starts again. Amazed apple allow such bugged software to remain on he app store.


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