There's no need for you to explain it. The tapping worked on the first battleheart, it will work on this one.
This dragged on thread about controls is the main reason why Mika should've kept development silent in the first place. The idea was mentioned and Mika was polite enough to say it would be a consideration, however let's have some faith that the mikamobile team know what they are doing, have a shared vision of their project, and are willing to share that with us. At least wait to see the end product before you start getting all up in arms about what should or shouldn't be there as if you had spent the countless hours it took to create the app in the first place.
Agreed. People need to show a little faith. After all the awesome releases they have had, I think they have earned the benefit of the doubt.
I'm happily waiting for it. The first game was amazing and this one should be also. Yes I have skipped games because I did not like the controls, but I never felt the need or right to demand an explanation from the devs. It is their vision. Mika was nice enough to answer before, that should be enough.
Personally I don't see this discussion as "not having faith" in Mika - it's about expressing opinions to help them deliver the best game possible. As a huge fan of the original Battleheart, as well as ARPGs in general, I see this game as potentially being an all-time favorite on any platform. For me a tap to move/attack interface on a tablet feels most effective when I am issuing commands. This is absolutely perfect for BH because you need to micromanage 4 different characters. But BHL, as we've been shown, is NOT Battleheart 2. Controlling a single character in an ARPG-style environment, well, from the dozens of iOS games I've played, feels the best with a virtual joystick/D-pad. It's a more personal experience, and more importantly you have tighter control (presuming the interface is done correctly). Everyone I know who's played both versions of Diablo 3 agreed that the console version has a more natural feel to it. Mika mentions that Diablo was an inspiration, and the touch to move was inspired by mouse movement. But anyone who has played Diablo knows that it's not just a mouse interface, it's mouse + keyboard. A ranged character invariably needs to Shift-Click to effectively control positioning. This kind of "tight" control doesn't translate well to a standard tap-to-move/attack interface, but works great with a control pad (essentially it's not necessary because movement is inherently locked). One last point to consider: if/when Apple does open Apple TV to become a gaming console-ish experience (possibly using wireless controllers or even an iPhone as a controller), it would be much more effective if a controller type of interface is built into the game from the outset.
Cannot argue with D3 the console is much better. Personal preference and experience though, mine is quite the opposite. I do not like or enjoy the Vstick controls on my iPad at all. I have not had one instance where I preferred it over a touch system.
You are still issuing commands, though. It may only be one character, but you have a lot you can do, up to 9 active abilities + basic auto-attacks. Watch some of those battle sequences in the trailer and try to picture issuing those commands with your thumbs. How would that mage have teleported exactly where he wanted to if not by directly tapping the spot? How would he have bulls-eyed that guy he struck with a meteor? What could be more precise and straightforward than simply touching your intended victim/position? I do agree that the "feel" of steering your character around in a very direct way is great. But there's also something gratifying about issuing orders and watching the results. I don't think you can say absolutely that one is "better" than the other - I like kicking ass in Devil May Cry, but I also like watching passively as enemies crash against an impenetrable death trap in Fieldrunners. Every game has it's own feel, and I don't think there's a game that feels exactly like Legacy yet, on any device. It's not your typical ARPG, and I think it'll be apparent when you have your hands on it why you guys are really asking for sails on a speedboat. This is because Diablo requires constant clicking and reclicking on your target to continue doing your basic attacks. BH:L is actually more like LoL, dota, etc. where you lock on and continuously auto-attack, so accidentally moving when you intend to attack isn't a constant threat like Diablo. Also compared to Diablo, you're fighting smaller groups and the pace is slower and more tactical rather than a manic click-fest. You're mostly tapping the ground to move, your activated abilities, or occasional target swaps. This (and MFi controllers) is why trying a joystick-style control setup IS something I want to try eventually, because with a real controller you could potentially have easy-access to all 9 of your action bar items, between face buttons and shoulders. But in any case, the problem still remains that aiming "targeted" skills like teleportation and other ranged abilities with a controller is less than ideal.
The touch system is certainly what I will be using regardless of whether or not you implement a D-pad control system. I think that by the time we get to the release it won't matter to most of us which controls are available. Mika has clearly considered the D-pad and isn't going for it. If you don't play because of it then you're missing out on the fun of BH:L. The control system worked for Battleheart and it will work for Legacy. Points for Mika because they know what works.
Touch control system works great, i never thought there is need for another method. I wouldn't use joysticks anyway.It just wouldn't work
Just wanted to drop a quick status update: The plan was to finish all of the remaining enemies in January, and we didn't quite make it. That said, we've got almost all of them in the can, and should wrap up the rest this week. Then our to-do list is to simply building and tuning more levels/quests until the game feels big enough to release.
Some of you sound like you've already played the game, I assume you are beta testers? If so, then I'll have to take your word for it. Anyway, thanks again to Mika for addressing my comments in such detail, clearly you've put a lot of thought into the control scheme and I can't wait to try it out.
You should just release like the first 10 levels worth of stuff as a preview type thing then update later with the rest of the game! I can't wait to play!
In all honesty, we probably will release a version that doesn't have EVERY quest/dungeon/feature we want as a v1.0, and patch in some more zones to explore in the following weeks. We just want to make sure that the initial version feels beefy enough to warrant $5, the last thing I want it so spend 2 years on this thing and then release it a little undercooked.
