Wow the graphics looks really beautiful in the new iPad and the controls seems to work ok till now.... More impressions soon!
Outstanding game. Beautiful graphics for the small file size (26.6 MB). I gladly paid the $.99 IAP to unlock the full game. Kind of a cross between Meteor Blitz and Super Stardust HD. And definately better to me than MB which I think is overrated. Haven't played a lot, but so far I'd easily recommend it for any DSS fan.
Thank you very much for the code, I specifically registered to get the code to the game, this is my first account, I'm sorry for my english =)
Was late for the party but your game looks amazing! I will definitely be buying/unlocking/whatever this one Tuesday. Cant wait and impressions from the early owners can't hurt either.
Well so far the game looks and plays, awesome!!! The mechanics of the game reminds me Vertex Blaster a little bit, but the experience is totally different. The graphics are beautiful, and the lighting fantastic (on the new iPad is a gem). The ship, the landscapes and the enemies have a lot of detail and are very well designed!!! The three game types (missions-arcade-survival) give to the game the necessary variety!!! In every mission (100 missions) you have different stuff to do (there is 4 types of objectives, Asteroids - Power - Evac - Crates)... The controls works fine and the joysticks are movable and you can change also the size... And the file size (24,8mb installed) for a such nice game is superb!!! And now few suggestions: I think maybe you can re-balance a little bit the difficulty... i feel that i have some cheap deaths in the beginning of some levels because the rocks are huge and don't have enough space to make maneuvers to escape from their explosions... Maybe you can make a little bit stronger the shield or begin with fewer rocks and as the level goes on to be more more difficult then. I d like the game to give the option to more casual players to make bigger scores and every game-round to last more (on arcade and survival mode - missions mode is fine as it is). Also i d like the option to adjust the sensitivity of the move and speed of the ship so it could fit better in the style of every player!!! And last but not least in future updates if your sales goes well you can add some upgradeable stuff to the ship (except the power ups that you all ready have)... I think some rpg elements could make the game much deeper!!! All in all the game is a little diamond and for sure an eye candy!!! For 0.99 to unlock the game is a steal (there is not iaps, only one for 0.99 to unlock the game and that's it). I suggest it when it comes out! Awesome work guys!
Got a code, thank you to the dev... Yeah, you're gonna want to see this. First, the game is visually gorgeous. You, the enemies/asteroids/etc., the lighting... it's just beautiful to look at. The gameplay is like things you've played, and yet not really like anything you've played. It's hard to explain, which is frankly a very good thing. There's a curve to the playing field itself which is satisfying in a way that's hard to put into words... The sound is also very well done. From the BGM to the effects, again everything is as it should be and very satisfying. I really enjoyed the BGM. If the mission path has more of the voiceovers I heard, I'll be very happy. My only complaint isn't even a complaint. I really wish I could have seen the mission structure, because that's really my thing, but for a dollar, based on what I've seen so far? I'm guessing I'll see the missions before too long... I played on an iPhone 4 running IOS 5, and the game ran perfectly. Playing this on an iPad? Oh boy, I bet that would be something to see... DBC
Thanks Sam and DBC for the awesome impressions. Much appreciated! Roll on Tuesday! This week is shaping up to be an expensive one!
Yeah, I agree with the others, this is a gorgeous game, and the arcade mode is one of the nicest shmup-style games I've played in a while. One suggestion I have is to make the price of the IAP known on the main screen. I have IAP turned off, so had to come here to find out what the cost was ahead of time, rather than go through the hassle of turning on IAP just for one little piece of info.
Game looks AWESOME! I can't wait! Any chance of a PM code? Yeah, that's the only way to give them out. Otherwise Lurkers take them all, don't post thanks and code taken, and suddenly they're all gone! Happens every day here. Think this game's gonna do really well, by the way!
Sorry ... I have no more promo codes ... the game's on the App Store this Tuesday though (free with a single 'unlock full game' IAP). I hope you'll all try out the game then : ) I've not played Meteor Blitz, but will give it a go ... as for Super Stardust HD, it's a long story which I'll keep for the main thread, but I can assure you this is not a clone ... just an amazing coincidence! Thanks, your English is spot on ... welcome to this forum, it's a great and friendly place! To be honest, the controls are what I'm used to, so I hope they work for most. If not, there's a full set of options to tweak the positioning, scale, transparency and left/right handedness. You can also unfix them so they auto-center on each tap! Thanks for the excellent write up and suggestions. Balancing the game has been tricky. For me, the default difficulty is a little too easy (hence the big end-of-level bonuses for the other settings). There is a few seconds worth of invincibility at the start of each level, but yes, you do have to get out of the way pretty quick on some levels. Another tip is not to start firing straight away, or concentrate your fire power on one asteroid at a time. I think this mainly affects the small levels btw, an early smart bomb can help on these! : D At the moment the game is intentionally a straight forward blaster, but changing your ships characteristics and having upgrades could be nice additions ... will see if there are many calls for this sort of thing. Thanks again! Thanks for that : ) The mission structure is linear, there are 100 set levels each with a single or combination of mission objectives. They have you running around a bit more that the arcade levels, you have to keep your eyes out for a bunch of things. Hi, thanks for checking out the game ... nice to have some of the Kitten Sanctuary crowd playing Darkside too! : ) That's a very good point about displaying the price. I wanted to get this first IAP system approved by Apple first (keeping it simple). I'll look into how to put price up front, and I also need to add a 'Restore Purchase' button (don't worry, you can still do this by clicking 'Full Version', it's just nice to have a specific button on view). - - - - Well, thanks again for all the feedback & requests ... and of course to all those who have bought it already! ... makes me feel a bit more positive for Tuesday's launch. Hope to get more feedback on the main thread (I'll post a link here when it goes up). All the best : ) George
Thanks for the advance peek at your game. Amazing. I feel like I'm just repeating whats already been said but this game offers a true and very enjoyable arcade experience with drop dead eye popping graphics that you'll drool over. Awesome fun. I'm not a big fan of IAP and I'd rather have a full version but I've been known to make exceptions when something great comes along and this fits into that category. I will be buying the unlock without hesitation. Thanks so much.
Thank you! ... I'm getting some nice quotes for my customer comments on the App Store description : ) I know what you mean about IAPs. My reason for this IAP is that the free version of Kitten Sanctuary did nothing, all the promotion went into the full version meaning players were forced to decide if they liked the game or not without playing it. For me, a single 'unlock' IAP is fine. I mean there are games out there that'll sell you 10 smart bombs for $0.99 ... with Darkside they're unlimited and come with two extra game modes for the same price! : )
Agreed. I genuinely hate IAPs, but a full-game unlock is fine. That way you're still getting to try a "lite" version of the game and just pay to unlock the full one. Enjoying this one more and more. At first I was worried that the missions were going to get overly repetitive (and there is some), but there's some nice ones there....including a bosses. Great game.
How's this for a quote? I hate IAP on principle. I gave up paying a quarter per play decades ago. Some of the devs should be embarrassed by what they call "FTP" games. We all know who they are. $5.00 guns, achievements based solely on spending money. It's ridiculous, and sometimes quite frankly disgusting. In this game, you get a complete game, free. If you like it enough after playing it for 1, 2, 5, 500 hours, you get the option of buying another complete game, the missions... for a dollar. This is quite frankly a really exciting spin on something a lot of gamers find distasteful, but something which appears to be here to stay, FTP/IAP games. What's different about your model, and quite frankly very exciting, is it bridges the gap between screwing consumers and screwing developers. Like the game enough to have your curiosity piqued by "what's behind the curtain?" Support it and the dev behind it. Period. It's the right thing to do, and you'll get another game! Honestly don't like it? Move on. Your IAP strategy is a good one, an honest one, and a fair one, and this is coming from someone who tends to delete most IAP games once the "paywall" becomes evident, unless the game really strikes me. I like your thinking, and I honestly hope you do well. Based on the product? I'm not overly concerned. Keep us posted! DBC
