Agree to disagree then. I'm just putting my old producer hat on- adding cloud saves isn't free, nor is it easy to do well (ie, ensure that the wrong device never clobbers your good save). Additionally, 2+ device homes are still an edge case in the grand scheme of things. But as I said, it really comes down to the financial performance of the game. You can set your team to do all sorts of things if you're turning a profit. I just looked the game up on AppAnnie, looks like they've sold just north of 2000 copies x 7 bucks (minus Apples 30%) = less than 10k. When I used to do work-for-hire, we budgeted at 10k a man month (this includes studio overhead). So in effect we're asking them to flush their only iOS profit down the toilet to bring us cloud saves, if one person could do it in less than a month. SteamSpy estimates that Ember has sold 10,008 ± 2,483 there, so considerably better at a higher price point. That's why I'm not holding my breath.
After reading so many positive feedback, I pressed the buy button again ! We are continuing to support the premium titles!
Then again, a lack of cloud saves may be holding back some people from buying the game. And the more support a game gets, word spreads about it. Just my 2 cents.
I agree with this statement. I for one still haven't decided on the purchase and although I'm considering it I know that I would've purchased it without hesitation if it had cloud sync between iPhone and iPad. I've read similar opinions in a Facebook group so I do think that sync features on mobile RPG games is always a major selling point, especially if the game is of good quality as Ember surely seems to be.
Same here, and the tiny print that people have been reporting on iPhone together with that is what's been making me hesitant. The way I see it, if a game is better on iPhone than iPad (or equal), I don't mind not having iCloud. But if it's a much better experience on iPad, I want to still have that option to take it with me on my iPhone, even if I don't play it on there *all the time*. Ember is clearly one of those games. Plus, it's 3GB, so being able to delete it whenever I need to, even if just for a bit, makes a huge difference. It's also not a game that I'll just play for a few hours and then delete forever. It's advertised at 30 hrs, so being able to play wherever whenever is a huge thing.
I like the game so far but I, too, really wish there was a virtual stick for movement in the lower left corner. I get that you need to tap some things and also drag lines for some things, but it's unpleasant to keep tapping to get where you want to go.
Believe me, I hear you and I would love cloud saves as well. But from personal experiences, I also believe you're vastly overestimating the the subset of people for whom this is a dealbreaker. If I was in their position, I would be spending money on marketing to let more people know this game exists, not building an edge case, iOS-only feature. I also see people asking for a D-pad. Where does it end? How do you prioritize? I'm simply thinking as an indie with limited resources. We also don't know if they investigated cloud saves and have legitimate reasons for abandoning it. One of their reps did mention that it would be difficult to implement in their code base, a few pages back.
Is there a dev on this forum? Either way, a few thoughts- I like the the idea of a dpad of sorts. Not super necessary but it'd be nice to at least drag on the screen to have the party move in that direction. An option to tap on the map instead of hitting the map button would be good too. And, having a gesture (two finger tap?) to pause would be helpful. Also it's interesting that you can hide the top and bottom bars, but you can't play the game without them The interface could use some refinement... with the option to turn on the character sheet and the inventory at the same time, the button for the inventory becomes fairly pointless, and can make healing confusing if you open that to heal someone with some food, instead of the button to open the character sheet and inventory one. Awesome game though and worth every cent!
One other thing- is it just me or is the game pretty tough? I've dropped the difficulty back to normal and a few wolves are still an epic battle for two fully grown men, one of whom is supposed to be the most powerful Lightbringer ever...
Re the inventory button, I think if that is opened by itself you are able to drag items in and out of it rather than tapping each item. I agree with the map tap for map display and also a d-pad at least as an option. Still the best game on iOS for a long time to come.
I am playing on normal too, and so far I find the difficulty (just working my way through the Barrow after getting the Ember companion) tough but okay. Earlier on I ran into a huge Grizzly Bear and it totally stomped me. Well, it had that skull sign over it, so I guess that should have been an indicator to stay away till later Two things to pay attention to: At least till now (level 4/5) I am running out of Mana *REALLY* fast. And Mana potions are too expensive and rare to chug them down like shots Have to be very economical about when you cast and when you better save it for another fight. Healing: Avoid using healing potions during fights whenever possible. Relying on constantly casting healing spells isn't such a good idea either - see above for Mana shortage. Try to survive a fight with the HP you have, and heal up with food items afterwards. Those seem to be very plentiful, I get way more than I gobble up after fights. You cannot eat food during combat, so run away if needed.
Re: Map tap & D-Pad Radar Map tap to open it: SufferinPup stated a few pages back that it interfered with people trying to move to the lower left/right of the screen (where the radar is) , which is why they removed it. @Pup: How about making that an optional setting? Like others here, I still tap on the radar frequently to get the map open, out of habit. And would prefer if it worked that way, instead of having the map button somewhere near the bottom middle. D-Pad / move control: I think it would already help if the group keeps moving when you hold your finger down, instead of having to tap constantly to keep them going. Bottom menu bar: There is this small red arrow above the Pause button, to hide the bottom menu bar. Personally, I find it extremely irritating and would really like to make it disappear. I'm not going to hide that bar anyways. Any chance you can make that an option, too? E.g. "fixed menu" or whatever you want to call it.
Options for all suggestions here would go down well! I like the idea of a tap and hold for constant walking. With the hiding menu, unless there's a reason on a computer to have it hide, it really is a pointless thing because both menus are needed to play the game... And Nullzone, I completely agree about the mana drain! It'd be great if there was a crafting recipe early on to help regenerate it, or have it renegerate after sleep. At the moment I feel completely useless because I almost never have mana. I pity the spell caster
@r10k re Mana drain: I actually like that, you don't often see the "magic is rare, use with care" approach in RPGs. It's just so far off the usual trigger-happy spellslinging of most RPGs, that treating your magic as a valuable and limited resource takes some getting used to. Quite well done actually, @Pup & Liza And unless my memory fails me completely, Mana and Health do regen to full when you sleep. UPDATE: Yes, they do fill up when sleeping. Just had to rest after one of those nasty "Ancient Tome" fights left me almost dead (those are *hard* still on level 5). Woke up with full health and mana.
Why the map can't be on top corner of the screen? For touch screen control, both thumbs usually on bottom corners.
I sleep after every fight, and since you can't use food during; I just sell it. Keeps XP boost at 100. After I got the third character and the White Ember Gaurdian's sword I stopped having to rest after every fight. Special ability combos started popping with my gear and It gets a lot easier. Playing on hard too.
Are there any drawbacks to sleeping? Any reason why someone wouldn't do it after every fight to regen stats?
Hhmm... 100% XP bonus sounds like a bug to me Yep, the White Ember Gaurdian's Sword rocks, and looks pretty nasty to boot. For special abilities, I mostly use Stuns, and have Healing on Corra and the Hero. Coren focuses on damage with White Ember Sword, and Stun as secondary, not going to burn his Mana for healing. I keep 2 Silencing weapons around for backup, in case I notice/think I have to fight a Mage before the mayhem starts. Sleeping after every fight breaks immersion for me. But I can be picky about that, so whatever floats your boat
