First Impressions Overview: I have owned versions of Slay for many years, first on the Palm Pilot, then on the PPC, then on iOS. I love this type of game. Conquest is indeed very similar to it, with some unique twists on the core gameplay. Negatives: 1. THE BUTTONS. Oh my, the buttons. They are enormous on an iPad! Maybe you think they need to be this big on the iPhone (and based on your previous comments regarding Battle Academy UI on the iPhone, I think this might indeed be the case). Trust me, the iPhone's buttons can be shrunk by 30%, and the iPad's buttons NEED to be shrunk by 75%!! Half of the screen is taken up by huge buttons! Particulars: a) Move the help and shader options buttons into the settings menu where they belong and free up more real estate. Or remove the shader button entirely, as each hex should ALWAYS be completely shaded in the owner's color (the border option is terrible and you really can't tell what belongs to who). b) Changing the type of unit and structure to buy is one of the most performed actions, and having to hold the (oversized) buttons for 3 seconds is REALLY annoying. After you make these buttons a LOT smaller, add a + button just offset from them that brings us to the unit/building select screen. c) Get rid of the (oversized) + and - buttons. Two buttons to zoom in and out that take up 5% of the screen?? Pinch to zoom! 2. Please add Game Center! 3. A unit and building on the same tile make it hard to see either. You need to put in a tile info button (that shows what the tile is, and what is on it). 4. Look up the difference between its and it's. It's (see what I did there?) disconcerting to see a developer of your caliber make so many mistakes in its (see what I did there?) tutorial! (I counted 4) The Positives: 1. Great strategy. The different unit types really shake up the Slay formula. As do the different types of buildings. Although, there probably should be a limit on the lesser economic structure, as a winning strategy seems to be to just drop one of these on every safe tile asap (barring hills or defensive/unit structures). 2. Being able to watch the AI if you choose is a great addition. I would often end my turn in Slay and then have to take a moment to see exactly what had happened. 3. Great content. I have only begun to explore conquest, but I LIKE IT! I also like that you have options for a quick skirmish too. All in all, I really like the game. I think a patch to address the UI will really make it top tier. I am really hoping for some GC achievements, and if/when multiplayer comes, please do include timer options, as not everyone wants to do a weeklong async match (I prefer a live game, but that might just be me).
It took me a bit of time to figure out how to switch to other units/buildings (maybe a separate button to scroll?), but I absolutely love this style of strategy game. I like my hex games a bit simpler in terms of mechanics than the average strategy buff I think, and this hits that sweet spot while still being challenging. Reccomended.
Thanks for the feedback guys. I know what you mean about the UI but this was a style choice - maybe a bad one! I'll talk to the team and see if we can maybe have all units/buildings available and make buttons smaller. I really wanted pinch zoom in but the team ran out of time so we'll see what we can do.
I've talked to the team and we're looking at better ways to lay out the UI. It was designed with the phones in mind and not altered enough for the iPad with hindsight. I dont have an ETA but hopefully its not a huge task. We're also exploring the multiplayer options. We're hoping to integrate the same PBEM++ server system we have in Battle Academy butt his is a bigger job. Saved games are also being looked at but again this is a big job. Thanks again for all the support and keep the feedback coming as it really helps to know what you'd like to see.
I'm really enjoying the game and think it's just the right amount of chrome added onto Slay. With that, I also agree almost exactly with Tinsel's assessment of things that need tweaking. As I was reading his post I was thinking I could have easily have written the same thing. About the only thing I could add is that something is funky is how the game registers plays. It seems like every time I go in to play it says it's my first time and wants to run the tutorial. Plus I beat a level in the Conquest mode but it didn't register and the flag thing was still red when I went back in. It looks like I'm joining the chorus of saying that the game is pretty darn close to being great, but there are a few hitches that tarnish the experience at the moment. Hopefully the game gets enough interest to warrant putting in the time to polish it up.
Same thing is happening to me. I've played three games in Conquest mode. My stats still say I have only played one game, and each time I go back into the Conquest Map the flag that I had turned green by beating is back to red. This rather defeats the point of trying to do a campaign.
Hi guys we've just submitted the 1.1 update to Apple. Hoping to release next week if all goes to plan. It includes Fixed a number of memory issues that could cause crashes on some devices. Fixed a bug that prevented the Conquest mode progress being saved. New and improved UI making it easier to enjoy the game. Added an option to take early victory at 60% or 80% or continue to 100% Fixed a bug where starting territories were not randomizing correctly. Fixed a bug were player stats was displaying incorrectly Just a note - this does not yet include mid games saves but the guys are working on it and we didn't want to hold back the update for that. It does also include Retina support but we haven't had time to resize all the art assets so you'll notice you can see more hexes if you want to but the UI wont benefit that much yet. Hopefully this addresses many of the concerns people had and you can properly enjoy the game now!
We know some people have had stability issues and we've been working really hard to fix them and we think we've got rid of the vast majority now. It also allows you to save and continue progress so if you do have a problem you wont lose your game, so far less (hopefully zero) issues and the issues will be less severe. The new update v1.2 has just released on iOS You can now save games in progress and continue later. Game now auto-saves every turn and resumes when you start again. Difficulty settings have been adjusted to give a greater challenge to advanced players. Conquest mode difficulty level now scales as you progress through the maps. Grab it and let us know if you have any problems!
Does this fit an iPhone 6+ screen without forming "bars"? I'd like to try it, but this kind of game needs all the screen real estate it can get, (which is why I got the 6+).
So is this kind of like the map part of Rome Total War? Building up economy and army ect to own the map risk style? Always proffered things like that even on a LOTR game my favourite was just playing the map rather than actual battles. My only concern reading here is about the UI sizes but I'll see soon enough. Edit: Purchased it anyway I'll take a look later. What's Legion of Steel? Can't find it on the forums?
So far so good, reminds me of Uniwar but with less units and some buildings. Although there are limited unit choices each type has different strengths within that choice that cost different amounts. So it all adds strategy and the choice of units and buildings along with managing your economy certainly give a lot of tactical choices.
