I solved my gamecenter problems. I reinstalled the app , quit the tutorial, and pressed gamecenter in the score session .. I got à message that gamecenter was started and everything was fine. The first i plande i hit the gamecenter button after i had played and scores just would-be not register. Maybe iT is a good idea to immediately ask the player when he starts up the game of he wants to use gamecenter ?
True, in any case, we need to track down this bug. We've put a lot of effort into Game Center. It would be a shame not everyone gets to enjoy it. By the way, don't forget, App Store reviews would really help us out.
Slightly off-topic: You know what's funny? I've been with Monkube since Day One, with 6th Planet...but right now, I have nothing but the utmost respect for these guys after reading this thread. Their stance on premium vs. freemium is just heart-warming and I sadly have to agree with Sven on the "Free + IAP" model not really working. Of course I love it and it is ideally the best model for the App Store, but (and I'm speaking from experience here) any game I've not INSTANTLY bought that way (and is kept on my phone so I can decide later) is destined to be deleted without a purchase. For example, I've lost count of the number of times I've deleted Pinball Arcade while hesitating to buy the Addams Family table. The table's amazing, but the app's generally a janky piece of poop compared to the other pinball games on the App Store. I finally, without any real intent of doing so, forced myself to buy the Pro version of the Addams Family table so that I would stop deleting the app.
Ive read this thread with interest, as usual, and again, as usual, the positive comments about the game enticed me to purchase it. No regrets. This is really a well-made game with a lot of depth, its going to take me forever to master it but I will have fun along the way. Thanks, Sven and team for a great game.
Now we're getting somewhere. I think the moving board should be a prime selling point, personally. You don't see that in many games. How about something like: Master the moving board to make 5-in-a-row, unleash special abilities, and create huge combos in this ultimate puzzle challenge.
Wanted to chime in and say I bought this based on this being premium and the talk about this having clever gameplay mechanics to master. Played a few games just now and at first it may seem like a lot to grasp, once you play a few games you get the basics down and can start thinking about strategy. Don't take that statement as the game being hard to learn, it has several nuances to it instead of being a game based on one basic idea. Been having a lot of fun with this game and am looking forward to discovering new strategies to make my score higher. My advice is this: if you like puzzle games a lot, this game will be a welcome addition to your phone. Don't hesitate, just get it. This isn't a simple mechanic that will get old after the first week, this is one you can play and take something from the previous game to get better the next time around. Really enjoying this one.
Hey, thanks. It's feedback like this that makes game development worthwile. And about the taking forever... Don't worry too much about that. The Mission system was built to point you towards the next step, and it doesn't take that long before players master each mechanic. How to combine them, and think ahead even more, that'll grow over time. Oh, and from day 3 on you get the 2x Bomb Defuse. That should be a change in planning towards bigger things as well
What everyone seems to forget, is that F2P require a lot of money to get off the ground through User Acquisition. As a company, you pay up to 2,5$ for one user that has the characteristics of possibly spending money on your game. So every new F2P game that advertises with "500.000 people are playing this", has probably just spent more than 500.000$ on acquiring users. So their game might be in the Top Grossing chart, but they've got an immense hole in their bank account. Some of these games become self perpetuating. but lots of them don't, and disappear because they never reach the tipping point (more money in from paying users, than money out through User Acq.) A big amount of F2P games never break even. So the F2P and Premium model are not that different. Devs who are new to the game, or don't do a lot of biz research should be informed of that. The saddest thing about F2P is not that their gameplay is bound by monetisation, but that most of the money gamers put in through F2P, goes to paying the User Acquisition bills. That money leaves game development and never returns. So it never gets re-used to make new & better games. It's bad for the development community (less $ means less room to invent or choose the unsafe route), it's bad for gamers (they get the same crap over and over), and it's bad for gaming websites (as that money could have gone to advertising).
this game is awesome!! much much better then those candy stuff puzzle.... i've been playing for like 2 hours with my gf, but the best score we could made was like 10,000 sth...can the developer give us some tips of how to get higher scores? as i remember the game center, developer score has reached like 200,000 in the first pace.....thanks~~
Yeah, Let me go and remove that score I'm trying not to play it to keep the Game Center score battle fair among the early adopters. (I played a few rounds to test the Game Center stuff, as someone here posted that his scores did not get uploaded. It turned out to be false alarm) About the hints: The game tracks your score and which tricks you already found, and depending on that, gives you a matching tip before you start a level. I could tell you more, but you're gonna need time to learn each level of gameplay anyway. You can't skip pieces of the progress players make in mastering the gameplay mechanic. What I can tell is this: the Missions have been designed in a way, so you're always pointed in the right direction. Follow those (you can access them while playing by pressing top right), and you should make steady progress. Cool to hear you like our game. I'd say spread the word (... and then trash your friends in the Facebook and Mission leaderboards) Oh, and I can't stress this enough: user reviews really matter on the app store. So if you can find the time to ad yours, muchos gracias!
There is most definitely a learning curve involved here which should not be under-estimated. After about 10 games (as game center: Blanchot) I feel like I'm only just starting to come to grips with the mechanics of the game and the need to visualise future states of the board... [1] after your shifting of tiles AND [2] what things will look like after you blast a line of balls (i.e. the ball effects/transformations). Highly recommended if you like mental challenges!
thanks for giving the tips, but can you explain a bit more of the multipier system ? like how many turns to trigger and does it have to keep the blast in a row to keep the multipier keep moving onto the next step?
Call me old fashion, but isn't "After about 10 games I feel like I'm only just starting to come to grips with the mechanics" what an actual puzzle game should be? Mega-games like Candy Crush have degraded the genre to a reflex-game, where the random factor almost totally kills the 'think ahead' or 'puzzle' aspect. Which is a real shame, as these games get pushed in to people's lives so hard, that we're forgetting how much deeper the joy is which Outwitters, Zengrams, or the recently release Auro: A Monster Bumping Adventure can bring (huge fan of that last one, you should really check it). I checked Game Center. You're at almost 20k, which means you got through the early stages pretty fast. The question is: where those early games fun, or where they confusing? You noted a good point here. There's a (i) sign on every screen, which leads to info. But the Multiplier info is too vague. We're gonna fix that in an update which goes out on Monday or Tuesday. So, this is how the Multiplier works: The Multiplier rises one tier every 2 rows you make. But if you don't make a row during one full turn, then it goes down a tier (full turn = placing a ball, and then sliding a square) Playing the game for 8 and 9 days unlocks two power-ups linked to the multiplier. One that makes it go down slower (2 turns), and one that makes it Max out when you make a row of 8.
I totally agree with you Sven (but then again, at my age I fear I AM old fashioned...) Yes well that is the thing with said learning curve... It is only now with a bit of understanding that the experience is starting to become 'fun'. BTW: I've spent quite a lot of time with Auro this last week, but I think I prefer your game. Interesting that both games have been years in development...
Sven - Monkube: I just saw the trailer for you game and that's the reason I bought the game right away. Just so you know we can have different reasons to be fascinated by something else. Now, I read 6 previous pages and I have to tell you I'm so glad I made that purchase. I didn't even try the game yet but for all you wrote, for all that explaining, the backstory and attitude I can honestly say you deserve as much recognition as possible. I'll be back with impressions about the game itself later, I just wanted to pay a tribute to the exemplar developer and for being honest and straighforward. Thank you and good luck with your game!
How funny would it be if I just wrote "mom, I think you're being too obvious" here Nah, just kidding. Thanks for the kind words. But do know that I'm just like any other average indie dev. During the (long) BlastBall dev cycle, I've been in contact with a bunch of them. Keith Burgun, the designer of Auro, as well as the guy behind Tiny Town, Osmos and so on. We're all on the same page when it comes to the topics discussed in this thread. And from what I read other threads here, so are most of the gamers that come here to talk. Enjoy BlastBall MAX
Since we're almost done with a small update (minor bug-fixes only) for BlastBall MAX, and we've got quite a few Promo codes left, why not hand some more. The Promo code counter is gonna reset when the update hits anyway. If you take a code, post it, so others know it's gone. Oh, and if you really like BlastBall MAX, gifting it to one friend will not only allow you to battle it out through Facebook, it'll also score you some karma REPP4WHX67PA 3T6WAFX9YLLK 6R9K3A37XYT7 R7377XJF4XYY KX3XXJJJRYYE HN63LNT7AFNT E996MA3KP47T KMMJY6NTPL64 4WNF4H9P44T7 E7KPR74JAEKX
