Hey this was happening to me too Hi, I had this issue on my thread too, even I had to ask some one for help and then tried to copy paste what they had done. It didnt work and instead hyper linked it. So dont worry youre not alone
Dude! I know, right? But I figured it out! Check it out here: http://forums.toucharcade.com/misc.php?do=bbcode#youtube (read the sentence in the gray bar, then it totally makes sense)
Hey thanks! Glad to hear your interested. Thanks for posting. It's been kind of lonely in this thread. I've been starting to wonder if maybe no one is interested. Developing alone is like fishing in the void.
Services, services, services! I've been offline for a while working on services. Not much to share (advertising doesn't make for good screenshots, hah!). But most of it is done, Harah! Biggest accomplishment is Game Center connectivity. I created all the leaderboards and achievements for Adventure Mode on iTunes Connect. Then I made a code wrapper so when I do this all over again for Google Play on Android I won't have to mess around in the code as much. My game logic code calls my wrapper function to report all the various Leaderboard scores and Achievements progress. That's all done now (yay, the more leaderboards and achievements, the more you have to speckle this stuff all over the place). Video Replays were already working, but I've added a button to view/share and smoothed out the record/stop flow. Video Advertising is working, and disable-able. I'm using Unity Ads. It works and I have a button on the main menu to turn them off. Next task is to integrate IAP so you can pay $0.99 to remove ads forever. Then I have to look into purchase restoration, or cloud save so that you still have ads disabled if you ever remove the app and re-install it, or install it on another device. Demo of Leaderboards & Achievements, Video Replays & Ads: Here's a demo video of all recently integrated services. Subscribe to the TouchArcade YouTube channel Adventure Mode Leaderboards Breakdown: These are the current leaderboards (there will be more when Gauntlet Mode is finished): Total Score (higher is better, combined score of all rooms in Adventure Mode) Total Time (lower is better, combined time of all rooms in Adventure Mode) Molten Area Total Score (higher is better, combined score of all Molten Area rooms) Molten Area Total Time (lower is better, combined time of all Molten Area rooms) Frozen Area Total Score (higher is better, combined score of all Frozen Area rooms) Frozen Area Total Time (lower is better, combined time of all Frozen Area rooms) Gadget Area Total Score (higher is better, combined score of all Gadget Area rooms) Gadget Area Total Time (lower is better, combined time of all Gadget Area rooms) Magic Area Total Score (higher is better, combined score of all Magic Area rooms) Magic Area Total Time (lower is better, combined time of all Magic Area rooms) Adventure Mode Achievements Breakdown: These are the current achievements (there will be more when Gauntlet Mode is finished): Molten Area Escape 50 Molten Rooms Defeat All Enemies in 50 Molten Rooms Beat Speedrun in 50 Molten Rooms Purchase Molten Axes of Awesome (permanent attack buff item, Molten Area only) Purchase Molten Helm of Awesome (permanent defense buff item, Molten Area only) Purchase Molten Boots of Awesome (permanent speed buff item, Molten Area only) Frozen Area Unlock Frozen Area Escape 50 Frozen Rooms Defeat All Enemies in 50 Frozen Rooms Beat Speedrun in 50 Frozen Rooms Purchase Frozen Axes of Awesome (permanent attack buff item, Frozen Area only) Purchase Frozen Helm of Awesome (permanent defense buff item, Frozen Area only) Purchase Frozen Boots of Awesome (permanent speed buff item, Frozen Area only) Gadget Area Unlock Gadget Area Escape 50 Gadget Rooms Defeat All Enemies in 50 Gadget Rooms Beat Speedrun in 50 Gadget Rooms Purchase Gadget Axes of Awesome (permanent attack buff item, Gadget Area only) Purchase Gadget Helm of Awesome (permanent defense buff item, Gadget Area only) Purchase Gadget Boots of Awesome (permanent speed buff item, Gadget Area only) Magic Area Unlock Magic Area Escape 50 Magic Rooms Defeat All Enemies in 50 Magic Rooms Beat Speedrun in 50 Magic Rooms Purchase Magic Axes of Awesome (permanent attack buff item, Magic Area only) Purchase Magic Helm of Awesome (permanent defense buff item, Magic Area only) Purchase Magic Boots of Awesome (permanent speed buff item, Magic Area only) Secret / Global Die 1000 times in Adventure Mode Thanks! Thanks again for tuning in. There has been a lot of progress, but not much to show in the game itself. Working on services can be a little frustrating like that. You sort of get lost in it and forget about the game itself. There so much of it! But, it's all worth the work in the end. Leaderboards and Achievements are fun, and I hope the replay system gets people excited about sharing their accomplishments in the game.
Quick little update: The second draft of the game logo is done. We're going to move forward with this. Should be done soon. Other than that, I'm still working on boring stuff (in-app purchase to remove ads, and cloud save / purchase restoration). I updated my Apple developer/seller account to be a company instead of a person so it's officially "First-Order Games" now instead of just my name. I had to get a DUNs number and fill out some forms, but no big deal. Also updated my dev account with all my business bank info and set up the paid app contract with Apple. So, no cool game stuff to share unfortunately. However, once the purchase and cloud save is working, I'll be done with all the administrative and service related work! Then I can get back to just doing the fun stuff and finish designing the remaining 3 worlds (I forced myself to finish all this crap work first before going back to any more 'game' dev).
Better sooner than later ^^^ and it has to be done. Still watching this thread, just a little cheer up.
Thanks! Ya that's what I keep telling myself: get all the boring/tedious work out of the way so I can get back to the fun! IAP Progress I wanted to do a quick share to show progress on in-app purchases. My goal is to make this game possible to play totally free. There will be advertising so I can try to make some money (try). Hopefully the advertising won't be too bothersome though. For now there is a video ad (using Unity Ads) that shows every 3 successful room completions in Adventure Mode (haven't decided how frequent it will show up in Gauntlet Mode, probably every 3 deaths). There will likely also be a banner that shows in Adventure Mode when you beat a room and your score and challenges are being displayed. However, there is an option to pay once to remove all advertising permanently (thanks Qwertz555 for the suggestion)! A button on the main menu will be visible if you have not removed advertising. Clicking it takes you to the purchase menu where you can pick your price. I wanted to let players decide how much they would like to pay. Players can pay tier 1 though tier 5 price (how apple store works, tier 1 is $0.99 in USD and tier 5 is $4.99 in USD). The choice is up to the player. All options remove all advertising permanently. So this way, it is a "free app" and a "pay what you want app" and a "pay once to play app". You can play the whole game for free with ads, or you can pay what you want once to remove ads forever. I think this is fair. I've submitted the IAPs to Apple for approval, let's see what they say.
Wow... That pick your price option for ad removal sounds fantastic. From what i see on the video im leaning towards at least $3 for this, but i would be inclined to shell out more once i get this on my hands. This is really turning out nicely.
Wow, thanks for saying that. Honestly, I expect most people will just pick the lowest price (which is totally fine). But, since this is the only IAP in the game, I figured maybe splitting it into different (optional) prices could give people that chance to contribute more if they want. Looking forward to wrapping all this stuff up so I can get back to designing levels!
Video Devlog 12: IAP & Purchase Restoration Demo I uploaded a new video devlog. This one demonstrates and explains the Remove Advertising in-app purchase. This is the only purchase in this game. The entire game is playable for free, however there is advertising. So, you can remove the advertising by paying a price of your choosing (from $0.99 to $4.99). Also, the app now supports Purchase Restoration. So if you re-install the game, or get a new iphone, you don't have to pay again to remove ads if you had already done that. Subscribe to the TouchArcade YouTube channel Big Thanks I wasn't originally planning to add the IAP for removing ads. It was extra work that I was thinking maybe to do after release for an update. However, the positive response I've gotten from people in this community has encouraged me to do the extra work because it will make the game better. I have delayed my development to add all these services but I'm glad I've done it, and I thank everyone who encouraged me with their comments. Now services are done! Back to making the actual game! I'll be sharing progress on the remaining 3 worlds and Gauntlet Mode soon.
Social Share Social share is integrated for Adventure Mode now so you can share your performance using any of your installed communications and social apps. Shares a quick message with a link to the app store, and an image of the room summary screen. Question Integrating all these services (video replays, social share, leaderboards, achievements) is time consuming and really boring work. Working on any one of the features is no big deal, they just all add up. I can appreciate these features in games, but I don't really always need them "myself". I feel pressure to put them in my game because they are all kind of expected now in all games. How many people really use all this stuff and does it affect your choice of downloading or buying a game if it has these services or not? Thanks, just wondering!
Last edits are done on the Logo. Can you read it ok? It was updated many times to make each letter easier to read and to stand out more from the background.
Swipey Rogue has hit Beta! With the final service integration completed, I'm calling it and saying this project is at beta. I'm full feature complete and all that remains is a some game content and then polishing and testing. The core new game mechanics for the remaining 3 areas in Adventure Mode (Frozen Area, Gadget Area, Magic Area) have been created as well as many test levels. Designing those remaining rooms is a pleasure I look forward to. I will reveal those soon. As well, the core game mechanics for Gauntlet Mode are complete and just needs further polish and playtest. I will also reveal that soon! Video: demo of final service integration Quick demo of gameplay and the implementation of the video replay meta-data. Subscribe to the TouchArcade YouTube channel
Frozen Area Gameplay Preview The world of Swipey Rogue is divided into 4 themed areas with their own unique gameplay elements. The Molten Area has been shown already, next up is the Frozen Area! Video Devlog #13, Frozen Area Gameplay Demo: Subscribe to the TouchArcade YouTube channel Frozen Area Gameplay Mechanics These are the new gameplay mechanics that you'll encounter in the Frozen Area: (1) -1 health per second (cold damage) (2) falling icicles (get hit & die) (3) ice ball turrets (get hit & die) (4) slick ice (can't change direction) (5) freezing water (fall in and die) (6) cracked ice (cross once, then it breaks) Frozen Area Screenshots Falling icicles, and slick ice: Frozen water, falling icicles, and cracked ice: Everything mixed together:
Finalizing UI Getting some of the last pieces from the artist and integrating them now. The player and enemy health bars are now in. Just a few more menu elements and all the 2D art will be completed. I got a lot of player testing on the Motlen and Frozen areas this weekend (some friends' kids). I'm finishing last polish on those areas and making good progress on the Gadget area. I'll do a preview video showing the new gameplay later this week.
Loot System UI Finalization I changed the messages that pop up when you get a pick-up. It used to be a small number popup by your character. Now it's a large, center screen panel with an image and a text message. It communicates better and it's much more satisfying to see. I also changed the exit screen loot summary to use more images instead of text, also more satisfying. The changes feel great, but now I'm tempted to expand the looting system. I don't want to grow my scope any more, but I have been dabbling with having the enemies drop basic items that you don't use (you only automatically cash them in for gold). It feels like a good balance between adding more fun to looting but not blowing the scope of the game out of proportion. We'll see. You'll be the first to know! Gameplay Demo Showing off the finalized HUD elements: new health bars, loot pickup popup, and the loot summary. Subscribe to the TouchArcade YouTube channel
Game Mode Renaming Hey everyone, so after feedback and observation I've decided to rename the game modes. Adventure Mode - is now - Puzzle Mode I noticed many people assuming "Adventure Mode" would play like a traditional "Rogue-like" because of the word "Adventure". This mode was always the meant to be the puzzle mode with pre-designed levels meant to act like challenges/training for the core gameplay mechanics that you also use in the other mode. I used the term "Adventure" to reference the progression of designed rooms and their accompanying challenges (like how "saga" is used in King's progression based puzzle games). But, I've realized this is confusing so I've changed the mode name to be completely blatant: Puzzle Mode. Gauntlet Mode - is now - Rogue Mode Gauntlet mode is now called Rogue mode. The name was also changed for the sake of being as obvious as possible what the mode is. This mode (which I have not yet revealed publicly) is the more traditional "Rogue-like" mode that you would expect from a game with the word "Rogue" in the title. I've seen some criticisms of Swipey Rogue claiming "It's not a rogue-like!", blah blah, huff puff. I can see how someone might feel that way if they've only seen the Puzzle Mode so far. Fear not, I'm a rogue fan as well and I'm well aware of what they are. I hope you'll enjoy it. More Clear? Any thoughts on the name changes? Make more sense? Lemme know what you think!
