Btw, checking update history of original Aces of the Luftwaffe, it took HandyGames a whole year to add relative touch controls. Hope it’s not gonna be the same in this case though.
Well, I’ll be damned. We’ve got quite the sleuth here! Well, I mean, at least there’s hope. Honestly, now that I’ve spent more time with the game, I’m enjoying this immensely. Lots of good things to talk about and I’ll get to that tomorrow as I really need to get some shuteye. Looking forward to your impressions dude.
@anthony78 true, true. @metalcasket it’s 1:30 AM here, so stay tuned for my impressions tomorrow. Night.
Find it hard to believe anyone worries about touch control anymore with all the game pad options. That of courses though begs my next question, is it controller compatible? Definitely no for me if not. Just wish this was called out in the description!
If I wanted to play this with a controller I would've played it eons ago on my Switch. Look, I understand that iOS gaming has never been more accessible thanks to PS4/Xbone controller support, but it's my platform of choice solely due to the fact that I always have my phone on me and because I can game with no cables et al. attached. Also, physical controller support should NEVER be prioritzed on this platform. Never.
So. After an hour I spent in the game here are my impressions. First and foremost, to address the elephant in the room: the controls. I have no issues with the controls whatsoever! With plane distance set to default (lowest) value and joystick disabled, it works exactly as I imagined and hoped it should. It’s not relative touch per se, but it works exactly as I expected. It might slightly follow the finger instead of moving with it relative to its position, but it’s barely noticeable. It’s definitely nothing like moving my finger around the screen and plane follows with one second lag. It works just fine. I didn’t try the joystick option, but why would I? I’m more than happy with the controls. Unfortunately, I contacted HandyGames’ support before the game went live for me asking about implementing the relative touch scheme in the future. I already got the answer I want to share. Quoting: “Aces comes with two types of control schemes: One is the virtual joystick and the other one is what we call Tap or Drag Control, which basically means that the airplane always moves towards your finger. So you can either tap on either side of the phone to make the plane move towards the finger or, what we think is even better, you can drag around the phone with your fingers and control the plane that way. We are not quite sure how the control scheme you suggested would differ from the "Tap Control" or what you would expect from relative touch controls apart from the already implemented scheme. So if there are any more questions or feedback, don't hesitate to contact us again.” In retrospect, I couldn’t agree more. The controls works just perfect for my taste so let’s put this behind us a focus on the rest. Although, it should be fairly obvious they’re not planning to add any more control schemes atm. So if anyone’s hesitant to either grab it now or later, there’s no reason to wait. Oh, the last thing about controls: it works perfectly with Apple Pencil, LOL. I tried and finished a few missions that way. Dunno about you, but my finger is definitely thicker than Apple Pencil so this way I can see pretty much everything on the screen. For those with iPad and Pencil combo, this is the way to play! It’s just awesome, not to mention it looks like I’m working instead of playing. Alright. Game itself is gorgeous! Obviously. It has ridiculous amount of content. It has two different campaigns for both sides. Five chapters with 5 levels each - times two which makes it 50. There are additional planes to unlock. Skill tree for four characters to level up. Ton of achievements. Side missions. Pretty much whatever you craving for - it’s there. It’s fully narrated with great voice acting. Fantastic visuals with high resolution graphics. Hence the file size of 2,44GB. Worth it! I have only one issue with it. The auto-fire option needs to be enabled by tapping on fire button every single time I enter the mission. I mean, why? How hard it would be to have a checkbook in the settings to keep it enabled? This way I usually forget I have to tap on it first to start shooting automatically. That’s like my only nitpick and suggestion to the dev. Otherwise I couldn’t be more satisfied with the game. Great production value. Worth every penny. Highly recommended!
First and foremost, I'm glad you're not having any problems with the controls. Like I said earlier, I'm fine with them now. Regarding the "Tap Controls" in particular... Interesting stuff. I mean, I don't quite know how you're supposed to maneuver by tapping left/right but I'm certainly going to try playing that way in a while. Oh, and I definitely agree with an auto-fire toggle option.
It’s right up my alley. Although I understand different taste of other players. I was also perfectly fine with controls in Micro Breaker and yet, a lot of people requested relative touch and sensitivity option. I get it. Luckily for me, it works just fine. Perfectly suited for my needs. Couldn’t be happier. Most importantly, I’m glad it worked for you eventually. It would be a shame you couldn’t experience this beauty just because of controls issues, right?
I love bullet hell shooters, but I'm more of a shmup guy myself (as are you, I assume) but what I hate about most of the games under both of those sub-genres is that they're so short. I've always wanted a meat-on-the-bones shmup rather than an insanely difficult game with 6 to 12 levels and this is EXACTLY what the doctor prescribed. It may not be perfect and it doesn't necessarily bring anything new to the table (though I will say contrary to the complaints I've read elsewhere, I LOVE the sickness/handicap/whatever factor of the pilots), but I'd be hard pressed to say this isn't my favorite shmup on the platform so far...even with my complaints about the controls. EDIT: Yeah, no, it’s basically near impossible to play the game solely by tapping. I think it’s a way to make it easier to get your plane back to you when there’s some downtime, rather than having to swipe across the entire screen, but otherwise I don’t see any benefit from it.
Couldn’t agree more! I love these as well. It brings something different to the genre. And it’s a great variety to the gameplay. You suddenly need to adjust your tactics, be vigilant about your wingmen and their needs. It’s hilarious. My favorite is the one with the rage against germans, lol. On the other hand, I didn’t figure out how to adjust to the sleeping one. Seems very vulnerable during his nap. But I just started. I’m sure I’ll figure it out along the way. For anyone interested how the game looks and feels, here’s my short gameplay video against The Professor. First boss fight. Chapter I - level 5. Apologies for being lame. I’m still getting familiar with the game and its mechanics. I’m sure I’ll get better over time.
Pretty sure our sleeping buddy just needs to be protected while he naps. Oh, and one thing I find incredibly endearing about this game is the fact that even though the good guys are supposed to be American, they all have European accents, except for one of them. XD That said, the voiceovers are leaps and bounds better than those in Pascal’s Wager. >_>
@metalcasket I get that he needs to be protected, but dummy just sits there - vulnerable. How am I supposed to protect him against incoming projectiles? He’s not dodging them. The chick can activate the shield, but it’s just a temporary solution. btw, speaking about different perks and abilities of the wingmen. On consoles it has full co-op multiplayer for 4 players. How cool would it be to have that on mobile, right? For now I’m grateful for advanced settings for each NPC character when to trigger each ability. Although it’s too soon to make a verdict on how the AI actually is. Nice touch with the European accents by the way. It doesn’t bother me as much since my English isn’t that great anyway. But I found them hilarious nevertheless. Especially the one that sounds like Arnold Schwarzenegger.
1) I suspect it's just a matter of killing everything that could potentially hurt him before they fire their projectiles? *shrugs* 2) I wonder if more developers will delve into multiplayer on iOS now that the upcoming Kingdom: Two Crowns has seemingly rewritten the proverbial game, as far as controllers are involved. 3) Stop downplaying how good your English is mate. >_>
I find this response very odd as if they don’t understand what relative touch is. Maybe you could write back the controls you recommended are already used on the first Aces of Luftwaffe game?
I suppose I could do that, but are we sure the relative touch controls in their first game is actually the relative touch controls we’re talking about? Because I don’t own that first game, so I can’t be sure. In their patch notes they might be referring to anything tbh.
Oo your making the game sound really good now. How are the RPG like elements with ships to unlock and talents?
K, I just sent HandyGames a detailed support query regarding the RT controls, telling them they've already been contacted, but I too wanted to ask if there was any chance of implementation. I talked about how RT allows you to move your plane by touching anywhere on screen...independent of the touch point...and how the plane does not snap to the position of your finger. I brought it to their attention that the original Aces already has them implemented, and suggested checking out the Sky Force games for a working example if needed. Also thanked them for an incredible port. Will let y'all know if and when they reply. I'm with @macplash though...don't let this control talk dissuade you from checking this out.
That’s easy. Because it is just awesome. I’m 130 minutes in according my save file. So far I finished 2 chapters for Americans, unlocked 2 additional planes and reached overall player level 26. Upgrading skills is separate for each of 4 characters so there’s A LOT to unlock and upgrade. Progression is great. You feel the sense of accomplishment with each and every run. I’m playing on Normal and Hard, whichever feels right atm. There’s only 1 side mission I wasn’t able to complete yet (escorting and protecting the transport plane in chapter 2). If you like shmups like Sky Force, Sine Mora or Air Attack, just go for it. You won’t be disappointed. It’s bordering with bullet hell genre (which I’m not a big fan of), but so far so good. It’s not that crazy and the game’s actually quite forgiving. I’m still not sure if I can die and fail the mission. So far I’m being re-spawned constantly although I think I’ve glimpsed an achievement for dying on the list. We’ll see. If there’s anything else you’d like to know or see before you decide, don’t hesitate to ask.
I had forgotten they were the ones who published the Sine Mora port as well. In that case it only took two weeks for RT to be added despite the dev coming into the thread and saying it would never work, could break the game, etc. It seems they just don’t learn. Granted both those releases are ancient history now by iOS standards.
