I don't post much but I really enjoy this game. To me it was a little confusing how to help your character survive or to get going because there seems to be no instructions but I'm not sure if its really needed. I say all to essentially say 4.5 out 5. It needs some work but with an expansion it could be a gem.
Ah - I thought it was purely 'Washington' and the 'DC' was just the second part of its address ;-) Is it always with the 'D.C.' then? Is this to distinguish it from the other 'Washingtons' in the U.S.? Jamie.
@Eoghann, @Solarclipse, and @Skymuffin, thank you for the information on the crashes. My guess is that there is some form of memory leak in the higher levels; rest assured this is the primary item I am looking into. @sweetdiss, good suggestion to support saving on the cloud, will look into it. @Quazonk, the tutorial was cut from the game in order to hit the release window. I am in the middle of a big move cross-country right now, so I had to get it out right before! @SkyMuffin, thanks for the heads up on the double-tap on the Character button crashing the game. @WooHooII, I just noticed that about the Constantine clue as well! @Saucepolicy and @Vovin, noted on "jovial", will correct. @Solarclipse, I just copy-pasted your suggestions into my to-do document, they are good ones! @Stustaff and @abodi, will look into requiring 5.0. I am new to iPhone development, so this is all a learning experience for me. @grenadedodger, @Chiller ONE, @badmanj, and @panama chief, as you progress into the lower levels, the RPG part of the game starts to become more important as the monsters become much less forgiving. Might I suggest you try different classes? For example, the Barbarian has an ability that dodges First Strikes, and the Ranger has an ability that dodges Ranged Attacks. In general, I did intend the game to be much tougher after around level 10, but I hope that the upcoming tutorial will help make some more sense of the mechanics. @Mars2406, thanks for the heads up on the Scoundrel's top tier abilities not leveling up. Will look into this. I want to genuinely thank everyone for your feedback and input. I am a one-man-team (plus the audio/music guy) and no matter how much I test/polish, it cannot compare to the feedback I get from actual players. Please accept my sincere apologies for any crashes or other critical problems you've encountered. As a player, I know how frustrating it can be, and as a developer, I'm concentrating primarily on squashing those bugs.
Thanks for the response Dev. Allowing 5.0 up seems like it would be worth it as your game looks like it should work with older devices so you just losing potential sales when it looks like publicity will be high. I admit I have no idea how many users are actually stuck pre 5.1
I want to get this. I'm hovering over the buy button. If I like it, I'll probably gift it to my work-crossword buddies, too. What's holding me back is the apparently short word list. This game will immediately lose its appeal if it becomes a memorization game and not what it appears to be. Any thoughts on if and how you plan to keep the clues from repeating regularly? If this isn't going to be a problem, I'll be very excited to pick this up for me and s couple friends.
I have the game and really really dig the idea of it. But honestly, it word repetition is gonna get to you, hold on a bit. even for me, its one of those, "leave it on the phone till it gets an update" sort of app. Great concept, probably going to be an awesome game. just really needs more words. and to put it in context, my third game I almost knew all the first 3 dungeons through memorization from my last two games.
I got it, as the TA news blurb says: "POTENTIAL", that's the key word. I woulda saved $2 USD , it's a .99 game and frustrating when you have to learn on the go what the heck to do, just drops you into the game with no explaination. Ugh. Nice and cute tho, has "POTENTIAL", but save your money for now.
Thanks for the insight. This is a monumental deterrent. Nolithius, thanks for your responses throughout the thread. I absolutely love active developers on these forums. Any thoughts about the need for a constantly updated word list?
See, I don't mind learning in the fly if the gameplay is fairly transparent and I'm having fun figuring it out. At this point, my only concern is keeping the game fresh with clues.
@McCREE, @turakm, and @Dark NRG, the current plan for the first update is as follows: 1) fix late-game crashes, 2) add tutorial, 3) add at least 100 more words. As far as addressing the constant need for more content, the second planned update will include a web-based content delivery service that will update the word list on the background, making it much easier for me to both add and modify words without the need for an update. @Dark NRG, my apologies that you felt that this game was worth $1 less than priced. I can empathize with this, as I have purchased many $59.99 full-price retail games that I thought should have been priced at $58.99. All joking aside, for small, two-man, or one-man teams like myself, $1 in price is a big difference. We are not selling several million units, so we rely on a smaller, more dedicated market for whom the difference between $0.99-$4.99 is trivial. I know I'd personally rather spend that money supporting an indie developer than Starbucks.
I like it I signed up just to comment on this game. I love the game, it's a fresh idea and addicting at that. I have noticed that a part of the strategy is having to occasionally guess a letter incorrectly to benefit from buffs and such. That's a behavior that's not readily apparent, but to be honest, you're playing a puzzle game so it's best that that stuff has to be figured out. That's why I'm not miffed about the lack of a tutorial like some others have pointed out. I haven't personally experienced any crashes yet (fingers crossed). But like others have pointed out, it's a bit limited on the questions, especially in the earlier levels. After a few play throughs I've gotten pretty acquainted with the capital of France. However, given that the dev has been all over this board answering questions and communicating with his customers I have no doubt in my mind that we'll get a solid update with more q's. And maybe a tutorial for you wimps.
Choosing the wrong letter to heal doesn't work at higher levels because the monsters deal more damage than you heal and yes I am using the barbarian solely because he has a chance to avoid first strikes. Regardless this game is still very much in the beta phase it just feels so rushed and unfinished (and plain broken at times) but apparently I'm the only one who cares.
@Dark NRG, my apologies that you felt that this game was worth $1 less than priced. I can empathize with this, as I have purchased many $59.99 full-price retail games that I thought should have been priced at $58.99. HA! That made me laugh. As far as addressing the constant need for more content, the second planned update will include a web-based content delivery service that will update the word list on the background, making it much easier for me to both add and modify words without the need for an update. This sounds awesome. I'm sure you're busy, with the game and, more importantly, your move. Any thought in when you expect to get the above system going? Thanks again for your responses.
After further testing it's only the Professional ability that does not increase. The answer SCUTE has a blank clue. On level 28, my scoundrel used a magic tile next to the green exit tile which made him fire an arrow and kill the monster on the exit tile. The letter got revealed, but stepping on the tile does not start the next level. Still having fun though! Gonna try and crash the game so I can restart the level haha.
I've been following this thread, as anything with RPG elements piques my interest. Add in word puzzling, and you've got originality. I was hesitant, reading the concerns that were had by users here, but seeing an active Dev makes a decision way easier. You've got my $2.00. Keep it comin'!
@McCREE, with the move underway, I hope to have the first update out within a month. That is, roughly 1-2 weeks of development, plus 7-10 days of review by Apple. This initial update will address some of the larger pain points most users have encountered, after which I can focus on balance, improved content delivery, and universal support. @Mars2406, thanks for clearing up the bug with the Professional skill and reporting the problem with "scute". I also thought I had tackled the issue with being able to descend if the monster on the exit tile was killed with a ranged attack; will address immediately! @Teh_Ninja, yes, Crossword Dungeon keeps generating procedural levels until the monsters get the best of you! I actually got a lot of the inspiration for that gameplay style from playing Dungeon Raid, which is similarly structured.
I love the game man! I'm just excited for new words. Have you ever thought of just starting a thread here or a group somewhere for word and clue submissions? I'd love to contribute and obviously all word acceptance goes through you. Sounds a lot easier than developing them all by yourself and it could get the community involved. Even could add an in-app suggestion spot... Just an idea for more content and to help you out!
Thanks for the quick reply. I'll definitely be picking this up tonight. Also, thank you for listening to our feedback, I wish you the best of luck on this thing, and I can't wait for future updates.
