Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pivotol/id1286964368?mt=8 Pivotol Radiangames Welcome to Pivotol, the stylish infinite block puzzle game with a twist! Pivotol has an elegant design and simple rules… TouchArcade Rating: $1.99 Buy Now Watch Media DetailsWelcome to Pivotol, the stylish infinite block puzzle game with a twist! Pivotol has an elegant design and simple rules, but that simplicity leads to immensely satisfying and infinitely enjoyable gameplay. There are two things you need to know to start playing: 1) Press and swipe on any pivot to rotate the surrounding blocks. 2) Connect 6 or more blocks of the same color to destroy them. With just those two concepts, and a couple other twists and turns along the way, Pivotol is a unique and intuitive puzzle game that you can play for 5 minutes or 5 hours. Along with the elegant design, Pivotol has 9 stunning color schemes and 6 lovely background animations. The marvelous music and delightful sound effects of Pivotol further enhance the experience. Download Pivotol today and start enjoying the new modern puzzle game that's destined to become a classic. NEW WITH VERSION 1.1 The game now auto-saves your in-progress game, so it's even more mobile friendly. Stop playing at any time and pick right up where you left off the next time you fire up the game! Information Seller:Radiangames Genre:Puzzle, Strategy Release:Oct 18, 2018 Updated:May 28, 2020 Version:1.2 Size:99.7 MB TouchArcade Rating: User Rating:Unrated Your Rating:unrated Compatibility:HD Universal Subscribe to the TouchArcade YouTube channel smes3817 Well-Known Member Oct 15, 2009 1,122 10 38 Massachusetts, USA #2 smes3817, Oct 18, 2018 Wow, loving this one! Welcome back Radiangames! anthony78 Well-Known Member Nov 13, 2015 3,128 703 113 #3 anthony78, Oct 18, 2018 Last edited: Oct 18, 2018 Like this but the pivoting is a little weird. If you keep your finger on it to turn, it doesn’t continue to turn as you would expect it. I know it’s probably trying to seem like it’s using physics or something but for a game like this, it’s annoying because you sometimes end up not getting the position you were trying to get. radiangames Well-Known Member Patreon Silver Sep 24, 2011 158 60 28 Game Developer United States http://radiangames.com #4 radiangames, Oct 18, 2018 Hey anthony, just curious: Are you trying to turn the blocks by moving your finger left to right, or in a circle? Left/right movement is all that matters to the game. The game does use a kind of interpolation to get the blocks to line up where they will snap to. I could see that throwing off your turn speed a bit since the rotation doesn't exactly match your finger movement. I'll try disabling it and try it out on a device later today. If it feels good, I'll keep it as an option (or make it the default if it feels really good). Thanks for the feedback! Lull4by Well-Known Member Aug 21, 2014 767 313 63 #5 Lull4by, Oct 18, 2018 Game is really fun and addictive, though I spend some time to get used to the control. BTW I found the leaderboard is broken, I already signed in the gamecenter. anthony78 Well-Known Member Nov 13, 2015 3,128 703 113 #6 anthony78, Oct 18, 2018 I guess maybe in a circle? I’m at work so can’t play it but was basically thinking it was like, well, rotating it. That snap mechanism may be what’s throwing me off and probably am dragging my finger downward as if I was rotating it. Qwertz555 Well-Known Member May 22, 2010 2,318 29 48 #7 Qwertz555, Oct 18, 2018 The controls clicked after five minutes. I also tried to go in a circle at first. Simply choose a little circle, watch the little „watch“ that is opening up, and as long as you keep pushing, you can slide your finger left-right and keep turning the 4-blocks. If you want to choose another one, simply return to „12 o‘clock“ and let go your finger. Nothing happens, still your turn. Though i‘m missing some little twists/extra blocks/powerups, this is a great little time waster. Love the music, sfx sounds as well as the colors. Yep, a solid 4-star review is my choice as well. As a long time fan of Radiangames...A big welcome back, nice to see you again! radiangames Well-Known Member Patreon Silver Sep 24, 2011 158 60 28 Game Developer United States http://radiangames.com #8 radiangames, Oct 18, 2018 Leaderboards should be fixed, and controls are now linear by default in the next update. Hopefully that makes it more obvious to move left/right instead of a circle. Full list of changes for just-submitted 1.02 update (live as soon as it's approved): * Changed default control response to be linear (Smooth) * Added option to change control response (Hybrid is the old default) * Added Local leaderboards (12 saved scores) * Made continue wording more clear * Fixed iPhone X UI labels being under the notch * Fixed music volume being off by default * Fixed GameCenter leaderboards Hopefully won't need to update again for a while, and thanks again for the kind words. Luke Anotherkellydown and anthony78 like this. ShinHadoukin Well-Known Member Feb 20, 2015 970 141 43 #9 ShinHadoukin, Oct 19, 2018 I do wish the app would save where you are when you close the app. I hate losing my best run when I have to stop in the middle of a game. Anotherkellydown likes this. radiangames Well-Known Member Patreon Silver Sep 24, 2011 158 60 28 Game Developer United States http://radiangames.com #10 radiangames, Oct 19, 2018 Last edited: Oct 19, 2018 Shin: That's definitely a worthy request. I'll get that in the next update, though I'm not sure yet when that'll be. Wanna get some momentum back on Slydris 2. I'll add that feature to both games at the same time. Anotherkellydown likes this. fiskadoro Well-Known Member Jan 1, 2009 326 17 18 Chicago, IL #11 fiskadoro, Oct 19, 2018 Big fan of all your games, and I'm enjoying this one! I do like the game mechanic for sure. All your previous titles were pay-for games, and I'm assuming this is the first time you've done a free game with IAPs? I appreciate that this is pretty much common place now, but for a high-score chaser like this, it seems a little incongruous. From what I can gather, you can watch an ad or spend currency to buy more bombs (handy in-game to keep progressing), and you can buy or watch an ad for a continue... so essentially, those at the top of the leaderboard (if you're into that kind of thing) are likely those who have spent more or viewed a few more ads! I apologize if I'm completely off-track with this comment or I'm misunderstanding something... I still enjoy playing the game at its simplest level to pass the time as it's a fun dynamic with great presentation. Lull4by Well-Known Member Aug 21, 2014 767 313 63 #12 Lull4by, Oct 19, 2018 Yes that is what I am worried about, I don’t think the ad-reviving function is healthy for all high score chasing games, since this kind of game should reward players who are skillful. Game is still good and fun though. lezrock likes this. radiangames Well-Known Member Patreon Silver Sep 24, 2011 158 60 28 Game Developer United States http://radiangames.com #13 radiangames, Oct 19, 2018 I've done one free game before (Bombcats in 2013) and spent almost a year developing on it, but didn't know much about free games at the time. Was also nudged in that direction by the publisher, but I could/should have said no. Anyway, with Pivotol, you're right that there's no (current) option to just pay and always get 3 bombs + 1 super bomb. I think if I did something like that, it'd be a permanent IAP for regular Bombs only (always start with 3), and have the super bomb option through gems only (or ads, like now), but lower the gem cost to 300 or so. That would be a better balance where you'd be able to continue without doing anything besides playing if you do reasonably well (score 2,000+ I think). And if you paid for the IAP, it'd convert your existing Bombs to Gems. Does that sound reasonable? Would probably make it $2. Slydris 2 uses a different structure where there are no continues or external resources (aka completely skill based). It's got a one time IAP to remove every-5-or-so-minute ads, which can also be disabled for a while by watching a rewarded ad. I'll do some pre-launch testing of Slydris 2 in the forums here to get more feedback ahead of launch. Pivotol is definitely the "test things out and learn stuff" game for me this time around, and one thing I learned is I should do more external testing before launch I don't want to deal with a soft launch, but getting feedback prior to launch would have improved the game. Thanks again for the feedback and comments! Luke lezrock likes this. Jerutix Well-Known Member Nov 3, 2009 1,754 65 48 Male Ministry Oklahoma https://www.discord.gg/kingrabbit #14 Jerutix, Oct 19, 2018 Oh, duh. Left and right, not circular. That helps a lot. Any chance of sending these (Pivotol and Slydris 2) to Android? I'd be happy to test early builds. Guise Well-Known Member Jul 10, 2009 2,027 14 38 #15 Guise, Oct 20, 2018 Downloaded this and immediately bought one of the IAPs to support Radiangames. Personally, I don't mind ads as long as they're optional/can be removed via IAP. I'd happily buy the potential IAP you mention above for Pivotol and will definitely get the ad-removal one for Slydris. I am old(school) and find unremovable banner ads distasteful, but that does't seem to be an issue with this game and/or Slydris 2. Looking forward to playing this more over the weekend. Keep up the great work, Luke! retr0spective Well-Known Member May 24, 2011 915 17 18 Riverside, CA #16 retr0spective, Oct 22, 2018 Don’t know how I missed this one. Glad to see RadianGames continuing to release new material. radiangames Well-Known Member Patreon Silver Sep 24, 2011 158 60 28 Game Developer United States http://radiangames.com #17 radiangames, Oct 23, 2018 Version 1.02 is now live. Sorry for the delay (user error), but here's the changelist: * Changed default control response to be linear (Smooth) * Added option to change control response (Hybrid is the old default) * Added Local leaderboards (12 saved scores) * Made continue wording more clear * Fixed iPhone X UI labels being under the notch * Fixed music volume being off by default * Fixed GameCenter leaderboards Haven't worked on 1.03 yet, but I plan to this week. Trying to finish up Slydris 2 so I can get it tested ASAP, plus I have a new iMac coming today that should speed up builds a lot. Will do a blog post in a couple days talking about Pivotol sales/income compared to previous paid games (lower but hopefully steadier and better for cross-promotion). Guise Well-Known Member Jul 10, 2009 2,027 14 38 #18 Guise, Oct 26, 2018 Last edited: Oct 28, 2018 Oops. Didn't mean to post this. radiangames Well-Known Member Patreon Silver Sep 24, 2011 158 60 28 Game Developer United States http://radiangames.com #19 radiangames, Oct 26, 2018 FYI: I posted a long blog entry about the first week sales numbers if you're interested: http://www.radiangames.com/first-week-revenue-data-for-pivotol-on-ios/ Misguided Well-Known Member Jan 27, 2009 2,346 19 38 #20 Misguided, Nov 15, 2018 Luke, a couple of things I’d love to see if possible. 1) landscape support 2) an option to disable all the “flickering” sorts of effects (You must log in or sign up to post here.) Show Ignored Content Page 1 of 2 1 2 Next > Share This Page Tweet Your name or email address: Do you already have an account? No, create an account now. Yes, my password is: Forgot your password? Stay logged in
Like this but the pivoting is a little weird. If you keep your finger on it to turn, it doesn’t continue to turn as you would expect it. I know it’s probably trying to seem like it’s using physics or something but for a game like this, it’s annoying because you sometimes end up not getting the position you were trying to get.
Hey anthony, just curious: Are you trying to turn the blocks by moving your finger left to right, or in a circle? Left/right movement is all that matters to the game. The game does use a kind of interpolation to get the blocks to line up where they will snap to. I could see that throwing off your turn speed a bit since the rotation doesn't exactly match your finger movement. I'll try disabling it and try it out on a device later today. If it feels good, I'll keep it as an option (or make it the default if it feels really good). Thanks for the feedback!
Game is really fun and addictive, though I spend some time to get used to the control. BTW I found the leaderboard is broken, I already signed in the gamecenter.
I guess maybe in a circle? I’m at work so can’t play it but was basically thinking it was like, well, rotating it. That snap mechanism may be what’s throwing me off and probably am dragging my finger downward as if I was rotating it.
The controls clicked after five minutes. I also tried to go in a circle at first. Simply choose a little circle, watch the little „watch“ that is opening up, and as long as you keep pushing, you can slide your finger left-right and keep turning the 4-blocks. If you want to choose another one, simply return to „12 o‘clock“ and let go your finger. Nothing happens, still your turn. Though i‘m missing some little twists/extra blocks/powerups, this is a great little time waster. Love the music, sfx sounds as well as the colors. Yep, a solid 4-star review is my choice as well. As a long time fan of Radiangames...A big welcome back, nice to see you again!
Leaderboards should be fixed, and controls are now linear by default in the next update. Hopefully that makes it more obvious to move left/right instead of a circle. Full list of changes for just-submitted 1.02 update (live as soon as it's approved): * Changed default control response to be linear (Smooth) * Added option to change control response (Hybrid is the old default) * Added Local leaderboards (12 saved scores) * Made continue wording more clear * Fixed iPhone X UI labels being under the notch * Fixed music volume being off by default * Fixed GameCenter leaderboards Hopefully won't need to update again for a while, and thanks again for the kind words. Luke
I do wish the app would save where you are when you close the app. I hate losing my best run when I have to stop in the middle of a game.
Shin: That's definitely a worthy request. I'll get that in the next update, though I'm not sure yet when that'll be. Wanna get some momentum back on Slydris 2. I'll add that feature to both games at the same time.
Big fan of all your games, and I'm enjoying this one! I do like the game mechanic for sure. All your previous titles were pay-for games, and I'm assuming this is the first time you've done a free game with IAPs? I appreciate that this is pretty much common place now, but for a high-score chaser like this, it seems a little incongruous. From what I can gather, you can watch an ad or spend currency to buy more bombs (handy in-game to keep progressing), and you can buy or watch an ad for a continue... so essentially, those at the top of the leaderboard (if you're into that kind of thing) are likely those who have spent more or viewed a few more ads! I apologize if I'm completely off-track with this comment or I'm misunderstanding something... I still enjoy playing the game at its simplest level to pass the time as it's a fun dynamic with great presentation.
Yes that is what I am worried about, I don’t think the ad-reviving function is healthy for all high score chasing games, since this kind of game should reward players who are skillful. Game is still good and fun though.
I've done one free game before (Bombcats in 2013) and spent almost a year developing on it, but didn't know much about free games at the time. Was also nudged in that direction by the publisher, but I could/should have said no. Anyway, with Pivotol, you're right that there's no (current) option to just pay and always get 3 bombs + 1 super bomb. I think if I did something like that, it'd be a permanent IAP for regular Bombs only (always start with 3), and have the super bomb option through gems only (or ads, like now), but lower the gem cost to 300 or so. That would be a better balance where you'd be able to continue without doing anything besides playing if you do reasonably well (score 2,000+ I think). And if you paid for the IAP, it'd convert your existing Bombs to Gems. Does that sound reasonable? Would probably make it $2. Slydris 2 uses a different structure where there are no continues or external resources (aka completely skill based). It's got a one time IAP to remove every-5-or-so-minute ads, which can also be disabled for a while by watching a rewarded ad. I'll do some pre-launch testing of Slydris 2 in the forums here to get more feedback ahead of launch. Pivotol is definitely the "test things out and learn stuff" game for me this time around, and one thing I learned is I should do more external testing before launch I don't want to deal with a soft launch, but getting feedback prior to launch would have improved the game. Thanks again for the feedback and comments! Luke
Oh, duh. Left and right, not circular. That helps a lot. Any chance of sending these (Pivotol and Slydris 2) to Android? I'd be happy to test early builds.
Downloaded this and immediately bought one of the IAPs to support Radiangames. Personally, I don't mind ads as long as they're optional/can be removed via IAP. I'd happily buy the potential IAP you mention above for Pivotol and will definitely get the ad-removal one for Slydris. I am old(school) and find unremovable banner ads distasteful, but that does't seem to be an issue with this game and/or Slydris 2. Looking forward to playing this more over the weekend. Keep up the great work, Luke!
Version 1.02 is now live. Sorry for the delay (user error), but here's the changelist: * Changed default control response to be linear (Smooth) * Added option to change control response (Hybrid is the old default) * Added Local leaderboards (12 saved scores) * Made continue wording more clear * Fixed iPhone X UI labels being under the notch * Fixed music volume being off by default * Fixed GameCenter leaderboards Haven't worked on 1.03 yet, but I plan to this week. Trying to finish up Slydris 2 so I can get it tested ASAP, plus I have a new iMac coming today that should speed up builds a lot. Will do a blog post in a couple days talking about Pivotol sales/income compared to previous paid games (lower but hopefully steadier and better for cross-promotion).
FYI: I posted a long blog entry about the first week sales numbers if you're interested: http://www.radiangames.com/first-week-revenue-data-for-pivotol-on-ios/
Luke, a couple of things I’d love to see if possible. 1) landscape support 2) an option to disable all the “flickering” sorts of effects
