+1. Until they update the dual sticks, I'm going with a modified slider control setup similar to his.
Aside from fixing the obvious (dual sticks) I think that a transparent tap shoot area that can be moved would be beneficial to some people. Also a movable weapon change button area that is also transparent. I like the tap shoot and the buttons for jump crouch and action. One thing that really annoyed me once i got the sliders somewhat working was that it keeps hitting the tap shoot area. I ran out of ammo and wasn't trying to shoot anything. So i made the sliders smaller and it was a bit better but not nearly accurate enough. I then went to adjust the movement speed and it reset the positions of all the sliders. That sucked. Have it remember the players custom settings, same as wolf 3d. Actually if you make it like wolf 3d and just add the extra buttons needed for this game i think you will have a winner. Also the option to remove or hide the look up and down buttons.
I blame Apple, but for a different reason. Honestly...why do devs have to choose to release for all devices in the drop down menu before submitting in the first place? I understand that the 1st gen touch lacks bluetooth, so apps that depend on bluetooth would be incompatible...and I understand that there are targeted iPhone only apps...but, honestly now...how many apps are there that aren't compatible with ALL devices? The default option when submitting an app should make the apps available for ALL devices if that's not the case already, with the option coming to play only if the dev wants to target specific devices. From what I've heard/read, that isn't the case for some odd reason that only Apple knows. So I think it's a two pronged solution. Yours of automatically not letting people download incompatible apps by mistake (or at least warning them) and mine of just having the default option be "All iPhone and iPod touch devices". Will Apple listen? Maybe. But knowing them it will take a while. I mean...look how friggin' long the wait for cut and paste turned out to be.
yeah maybe I'm dumb but I don't get why the sliders are so different from wolf's controls (apart from the addition of look up/down). By the way, nice configurations you've got there...
have you guys seen this? Porbally posted already, not sure. It is by toucharcade to show how bad the controls are for now. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iURAvQ1hA8c
Anybody else have an issue where it keep registering movement on the casual controls even though you aren't touching the screen?
I don't know if pulling the game is even the best solution, Albie. I don't think there is a best solution in this case or those like this, tbqh. It's a catch-22. Leave the game there and take the lumps from some bad reviews, or pull the game and receive the lumps from some who bought the game before it's pulled and get whispers of lack of foresight and/or quality which also lower potential consumer confidence ("hey, I just heard about this game, and now it's been pulled? Hmmm...what's wrong/something's fishy/etc., etc."). IMHO, they've got to fix the issues ASAP, regroup, and maybe get a lite version out there once the issues are fixed. At that time, the increased exposure from the lite version to a greater pool of potential consumers may be able to minimize the damage to early in the life cycle. Unfortunately that plan hinges on how fast the turnaround vis a vis Apple's approval turns out to be.
Levi at IGN is very biased against unsatisfactory control schemes, yet he is even more biased towards big-brand games, which apparently trumps the former. There are so many games off which he took major points for controls alone. He plays it cautiously whenever getting his hands on any title from a major publisher, and only chips a tiny bit off the total score for poor controls in such games. One example of a very good asteroids-clone with accelerometer turning, that Levi slammed specifically for its controls, was "Oort Stormm," which I pwned after very few hours of play more than I would be able to adjust to Duke Nukem's controls, I'm sure. Bottom Line: Don't buy without trying a lite version, unless you're a hardcore gamer able to adapt to a twitchy scheme. And don't trust IGN's review of any difficult game. They will either minimize or exaggerate the pluses or minus of any control scheme, depending on business incentives.
Anyone try my method? Analog controls with strafe checked off. Right Stick is then look, and left stick is forward and backward movement. Press both sticks at once to turn, etc. . Kind of old school but works pretty well. Give it try!!
BTW, for those that have the game: Is it the "uncensored" version? With the strip club and XXX store, etc. Or has Apple pulled a Nintendo? The N64 version replaced all the sexual stuff. Apparently Nintendo felt it too offensive and potentially damaging to children. So the strip clubs and XXX stores, etc. were replaced with gun shops. Because, apparently, sex is bad, but guns are a-okay!
FYI the controls in PREY were DEFINATELY not good. It's the only implementation of virtual analogs I've seen on the iPhone that STOPS registering movement once you've moved your thumb off the hotspot. As an aside, MiniGore's controls aren't perfect either: While they look and act like silky smooth analog sticks, their response is actually digital, ie. you move full speed or not at all. Since there is also no (or very little) deadzone, as soon as you are 1 pixel in a direction, you start moving full speed ahead. That has caused me a few errors, and now I tend to tap it instead when I'm in a really hairy situation. IMO, iDracula had it right on with the "wheels" instead of analog sticks to represent 360-degree digital movement.
The video clinched it for me. I'm not throwing my money at a bad game, no matter how legendary it is.
This may be your only chance to get it at this price though, and the developer has already come on here personally and promised us an update with improved controls.
You're right, they are caught between a rock and a hard place. The problem I see from a PR perspective is you have to pull it because the reviews will undoubtedly be on the terrible side. Once you've pulled it, then you go into damage control and point out that due to QA issues or whatever reason, there are problems with the game we're trying to address. This is better than continuing to sell a game that is seriously flawed under the guise that everything is fine. Plus, the longer you leave a damaged game out there, the more damage you take from a company perspective which will have even longer term implications that go beyond one bad game. The cat's out of the bag that the dev knows about the controls, and if you leave it up for sale, you create an even more negative perception. My guess is that even if they submitted an update today, it would still take close to a week before approval.
I'll wait to pay the extra $2-$3 for actual 'fixed' controls rather than let them have my $3 for free in the interim. Obviously the game can't be played as-is.
*sighs iDracula wasn't the first with that scheme on iPhone/touch (it was Dropship). Besides, that scheme wouldn't work due to auto shoot alone. FPS like this have depleting ammo. Best schemes for FPS on this platform have been Wolfenstein 3D, but that scheme wouldn't work as is for this game due to lack of Y axis enemy placement, level design, and aiming in Wolf3D. Another option would be that used in Gameloft 3rd person shooters like Terminator Salvation and Brothers in Arms. Again, though...somewhat problematic. Best and quickest option would be to just optimize the dual stick method, or make the user modified slider method shown by some posters as the default control scheme.
I am a bit surprised it has not been pulled. Most people don't even know this game is out yet.. but they will soon.
Wow, what a bummer! I was so excited when I saw that it finally hit the store... I had almost forgotten about it. Now, with the reviews and videos, I've come crashing back to Earth....
And, Albie, that's why I think that little thought that popped in my head of George Broussard holding a ball bat in order to better "resolve" the "miscommunication" might not be that far off base This also points to how, especially on a platform that allows for such a thing, playtesting should be spread out to those not on the dev team or close to them. Sites like this allow for devs to come and ask for some gamers themselves to take part in playtesting. I don't know if this was done with this game...but if not, it should've been. And Mr. Broussard should have been in the loop as well. Who better to understand what needs be done than one of the people behind the original?
