Universal Air Supply - SOS (by Quantum Sheep) "Jeff Minter Meets Jetpac"

Discussion in 'iPhone and iPad Games' started by PeteOzzy, Sep 24, 2014.

  1. Andy C83

    Andy C83 Well-Known Member

    Oct 20, 2010
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    Over the Rainbow
  2. nightc1

    nightc1 Well-Known Member

    Oct 19, 2012
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    So any update on when the GC bug fix will be submitted (or if it has how many days has it been)? I'm planning to put a lot of time into this game, just want to wait for the leaderboards before I do more since sometimes everything doesn't sync up right after the fact.
     
  3. quantumsheep

    quantumsheep Well-Known Member

    Jun 5, 2009
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    The Head Cheese, Top Dog, Numero Uno Honcho, Quant
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    I chortled. Lots :D

    Heh - the game seems to help/create insomnia!

    WELCOME TO MY WORLD! :D

    Thank you for trying my game! I'll address the GC thingy in response to nightc1 a little further down!

    *waits for you to scroll*


    It's weird. I feel like I'm sometime the opposite - 8bit sounds actually *do* scratch my taste in my real music universe.

    You'd be hard pressed to hear it anywhere outside of games though! But as I mentioned, the musician for this is in Japan doing a gig.

    Some people really dig it :D

    *beeps*

    w00t! I hope you like it! As I mentioned earlier, it's *Exactly* for people like you! :)

    That would be lovely! I sent PG some details about the game about 2 weeks ago, but the only response I got from them was from their 'Sales' people asking if I wanted to advertise.

    I thought it over while rubbing the two coins I own together, and had to decline. As a consequence, the mention today was really unexpected and lovely!

    "Praise be to the Mothersheep" - Love it! :D

    Right - I know people are disappointed by the GC bug. I can assure you, and this is no exaggeration, no-one is more disappointed than me.

    I mean, imagine if it just worked. Wouldn't that be lovely? I wouldn't have to worry about it. You guys would be even happier with the game. Perfect!

    Alas, it was not to be. In fairness, I had to wait till the game was out before I could even look at the GC stuff (in case it wasn't me that screwed up).

    Well now, it looks like it *was* me that screwed up. Thing is I don't know why. It *should* work.

    I'll delve deeper into it on Monday and see what I can work out. The reason I'm leaving it till then (and apologies) is that it's only me here. A sheep in a field on his own.

    So while I'm answering questions here, on Twitter, sending emails, *trying* to get some attention for my game, making tea (this takes up the most time) and eating and *trying* to sleep - well, Monday is the earliest I can look at it properly :(

    Also, I'm going to the Eurogamer party thingy on Saturday - this was arranged before the game was finished (and if it had launched when I wanted it to originally, wouldn't have clashed!)

    I have had a look at the GC stuff - it *is* serious. But last time I submitted an update to my last game, Infinite, I broke the game :O

    So yes. I am bloody gutted about it. If you want to leave a review or rating on the app store and mention it, maybe dock a star for it, that is absolutely fine and I'd encourage you to do so. People should know about it before making a decision!

    But do know that I'll look at it on Monday. Maybe even start on Sunday.

    QS =D
     
  4. metalcasket

    metalcasket Moderator
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    Unless you get a feature from Apple in the near future under something like "Best $2 You'll Ever Spend", "Best Retro-like Games" or even better, "Coolest Devs Ever!", I'm afraid the boys in Cupertino are going to have to buy wellingtons to make it into the building every day...

    ...because yes: A lovely little pool infested with the putrid smell of feces, urine, vomit, blood, rotting entrails...the whole nine yards. :D

    *grins and slowly starts backing out of thread*
     
  5. Anotherkellydown

    Anotherkellydown Moderator
    Staff Member Patreon Bronze

    # I'm having almost as much fun reading these comments as I am playing SOS! QS, you're the coolest person I've never met! I hope your game does extremely well.
     
  6. PBSNellie

    PBSNellie Well-Known Member

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    #66 PBSNellie, Sep 26, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 26, 2014
    Oh that does help, Ill keep a look out for it. Also, regarding the music, this is one of the very few games that I play with the sound ON! It brings me back to my misspent youth in the back room of a smoky bar dumping quarters into the game machines.
     
  7. quantumsheep

    quantumsheep Well-Known Member

    Jun 5, 2009
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    :O

    :O:O

    :O:O:O

    Couldn't you just throw cuddly toys instead? Think of the mess! Eeek! :O


    Thank you very much! The cheque's in the post! :D


     
  8. CygnetSeven

    CygnetSeven Well-Known Member

    Feb 6, 2010
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    Misspent???? Sounds pretty righteous to me! :D
     
  9. cloudpuff

    cloudpuff Well-Known Member

    Sep 12, 2013
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    Just got oast wave 50, have to stop now as my battery is flat :)


    Don't be too hard on yourself about the gamecentre thing, you've been honest about it and are working on it, if you are worried about any backlash of it not working would removing it from the app info be a possibility? And then pop it back once you've figured out a fix? Probably much more complicated than that, was just thinking out loud mostly.


    I personally haven't paid any attention to my score, I've just been working my way through each wave, and having fun unlocking stuff, once I've unlocked everything I'll focus on kicking Andys arse (if I fail my daughter will try lol)
     
  10. quantumsheep

    quantumsheep Well-Known Member

    Jun 5, 2009
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    I couldn't agree more! :D

    Yikes!

    Taking it out is probably the easiest thing to do here actually - I just switch it off in the game and hide the GC button! :D

    But I'll see if I can fix it first - I actually really love the achievements and would like to let people show off their scores with friends.

    The game has a bit of a curve to it in that:

    1. You might start off just trying to survive and unlocking stuff
    2. When you get good at the game you'll want to get to the end (there's different endings for every character - it's just text really, but hopefully fun!)
    3. When you've unlocked all the perks you start to play more strategically and more for fun (the Jetpac mode for example).
    4. When you've unlocked everything, you might start going for the high scores.
    5. When you're going for the high scores, playing in 'Survival' mode will double your score.

    At 'end game', it's about the high scores - so I'd really like to get that fixed as soon as I can!


    Yep! See above!

    /hannibal on/
    I love it when a plan comes together!
    /hannibal off/

    QS =D
     
  11. drelbs

    drelbs Well-Known Member

    Jun 25, 2009
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    Late to the party as usual.

    While I download this, I thought I'd say a few words...

    I do remember the Speccy, but was having too much fun with my C64 to care much about it. Mostly it was it's on-board speaker sound that put me off. And the icky rubber keys.

    It had some fantastic games though, I would have been thrilled to see AticAtac on the C64. Jetpac was a good'un too. And the C64 version of Jet Set Willy is broken.

    Finally: I see that in this game the colours meet without artifacing, you need to fix that! :p
     
  12. quantumsheep

    quantumsheep Well-Known Member

    Jun 5, 2009
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    Hello, and welcome!

    GET OUT!

    ;)

    Atic Atac is another favourite, but for me and my bro' it was Jetpac and Tranz Am that kicked it all off!

    As to Jet Set Willy, I think it was broken for *all* computers:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet_Set_Willy

    Look under 'bugs' :O

    My one regret is that I haven't worked out how to do the 'Colour Clash' effect. Otherwise, you're completely right, I'd have fixed that ;)

    Hope you like it! (and there's even something for you C64 fans in there too, somewhere!)

    QS =D
     
  13. nightc1

    nightc1 Well-Known Member

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    #73 nightc1, Sep 26, 2014
    Last edited: Sep 26, 2014
    Ha@the star wars -williams video. That was good. I'm sure there are a lot of movies like that where take out the music and many scenes would be empty and how certain music can really make a scene. Kavisky's Nightcall at the start of Drive for instance was just perfect.

    As for games, while I enjoy game music... sometimes I kind of like to mute it. Especially when there are other things in the game to hear where hearing those other things may be of benefit. Or... if it's late and I don't want to put on headphones/earbuds muting the entire game makes sense. I have downloaded game music if I like it no matter if is electronic bits and bloops or songs from modern artists. I loved the Burnout 3 soundtrack, for instance... also listened to the Shenmue soundtracks quite a bit. Oh and I used the whole ripping took with my PC copy of Vice City to listen to those radio stations. Good stuff. I've listened to a lot of Castlevania music through the years... some remade into full blown hard rock songs.

    ..

    For GC, I was just wondering where it stood. I'm not upset about it or anything. I went ahead and deleted the game and then re-installed it. I wanted to see if maybe that corrected the gc linking part.... and of course it didn't. It's obviously code based then... and considering 1bit Run loads the GC welcome message as the main menu loads... I think the break here is probably around the same location. I'd start looking there. Apple though has had issues getting GC up and running for new releases over the last few weeks. Either way, you've got 1bit Run up and running with gc. Maybe compare the code between the two games and also check any authentication id stuff with GC to make sure it's all correct. Maybe it's failing in some simple way due to not getting enough time to make the handshake with GC or something else.

    Others noticed too that the settings don't stick with the volume controls and stuff... so maybe it's all in the settings and how it saves that data to the device? I mean if that's not working, then maybe it's not saving anything for gc connections either. I'm not 100% sure how the gc stuff works and if you need to write any data to the phone, but if you do then there's another place to do some bug hunting.

    Anyway best of luck to you. If you need an extra pair of eyes to look at some code, I'd be happy to help compare between both games.
     
  14. quantumsheep

    quantumsheep Well-Known Member

    Jun 5, 2009
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    *beeps*

    I'm right there with you - in fact, I used to write for a website over 10 years ago dedicated to game soundtracks - that was fun :)

    There are just some games, I feel, that the music adds so much it's not the same without it!

    One of my fave bits of music in a game, for example, is the 'Battle' music in Final Fantasy VII:



    It's my ringtone and has been forever - I just adore it. Just looking for it on Youtube to post here has made me v. teary eyed, I can tell you! :O


    Yep, waiting to see if the problem was on my side or Apple's was the first part - it obviously shows up on the device, but the game just isn't talking to Game Center.

    I just wanted to thank you, and others, for your patience. I do beat myself up about it, but I feel it's my responsibility.

    I still have some fixes to do for Infinite, and it's like a shadow over me all the time!

    I will get these fixed. And again, thank you!

    QS =D
     
  15. Andy C83

    Andy C83 Well-Known Member

    Oct 20, 2010
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    "The audio and visual elements maintain the retro quality that the Air Supply franchise holds dear; the action is fast, furious, and plentiful; and most importantly, there’s a ton of stuff to unlock. Air Supply – SOS is a sure bet for some quick gaming goodness, but don’t be surprised if you find it hard to put down."

    Full review: http://shar.es/1awPMB
     
  16. quantumsheep

    quantumsheep Well-Known Member

    Jun 5, 2009
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    That's a lovely review, and, full disclosure, the reviewer was on my tester list - mainly so he could get a good feel for the game as there's lots there to play through (I hope you'll agree!)

    He actually pointed out a few things I didn't think of - the 'skip this' button on the space section is down to him - I figured most people would enjoy a change - there's no risk of dying during the section and it only lasts a minute.

    But hey, there's no *harm* in putting a button like that in, right? And some people might appreciate it! :)

    What I'm waiting to see is if anyone mentions how long the unlocks take to, er, 'unlock'.

    Previously, players have really enjoyed the speed at which things unlock, but interestingly, a few journalists felt it took too long.

    So far no-one's mentioned it. Maybe I got it 'juuuuuust right' on my third attempt? :)

    QS =D
     
  17. Andy C83

    Andy C83 Well-Known Member

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    #77 Andy C83, Sep 26, 2014
    Last edited: Sep 26, 2014
    Personally, having played the game quite a lot and having unlocked pretty much everything I have to say that the rate that things unlock at is pretty much spot on. I definitely didn't feel as though anything took too long to unlock, though it'll be interesting to hear what others think.

    As for the 'skip this' button I would not use it when going for a high score because every point counts (and it's fun!) but I must admit that I have used it a few times when my main focus was on beating the 100 levels and I wanted to get back to it. :)
     
  18. cloudpuff

    cloudpuff Well-Known Member

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    I pretty much agree with Andy, the rate is spot on, your never too far away from unlocking the next item which is one thing I love about it, it makes you wanna have one more go to collect however ,any stars etc, I also like that it's possible to unlock stuff without having to get to higher levels, I'll have to check to see where I'm at with the amount, I've got all the perks but tried that many yet as I'm just working through.

    The skip this button, again I agree with Andy, I've used it when working through but won't be skipping when I'm going for points.
     
  19. Lazer Kat

    Lazer Kat Well-Known Member

    Sep 29, 2013
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    I can't believe I've held out this long with all of these great comments.
     
  20. drelbs

    drelbs Well-Known Member

    Jun 25, 2009
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    I played this a bit this afternoon, and the unlock rate seems good to me.

    Also: I like watching the baddies die during the beginning bits.

    Also also: that ship's a bastard, it'll happily fly off if you die right as you deliver the last sheep.

    Great game, it's got a great flow to it like Jetpac. I know someone said Joust (which it looks like, but does not play like) but if confined to old arcade games in the US I'd say Defender, but stuck on one screen.

    And I don't know why, but after playing this I am pining for an Air Supply Game & Watch title...
     

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