Awesome! Thanks for supporting the game! Premium games are a tough business right now with so much momentum behind Free to Play, so we could use all the support we can get. Please enjoy the game!
OK, so here I'm with some impressions. I just finished Chapter 1 with all 3 piggy banks obtained for each stage (and just 1 hidden trophy yet) so I was awarded with the Desert Dominator achievement which even sounds cool. From what I've seen so far there's plenty of content available. Visual style is impressive and everything feels so smooth and polished. It's just a pleasure to play this game. In the beginning I had some difficulties to place the barrels in the right place when trying to increase my time score, but I realized it's just a matter of practice. Now it just feels natural even when the time goals feels hectic. Not to mention I'm playing on iPad mini with retina so the screen's a bit smaller compared to my son's iPad Air. As I already mentioned, there's a plenty of content, great implementation with Game Center (a lot of achievements and different leaderboards) and really beautiful visual style with music which complements game's overall mood perfectly. But what I'm quite disappointed of is the IAP for one additional bonus chapter called LOST. Not because it's the content I was looking forward the most (as I wrote in one of my previous comments here after watching some youtube videos) but simply because of the principle that IAP like this doesn't belong to the premium app. I already paid 4,99€ (twice), why am I asked to pay additional 0,99€ (twice again?) for content I'd expect to be there from the beginning? This just doesn't feel right and it's kind of a letdown for me. Don't get me wrong, it's not about the price. It really doesn't matter if the game's 4,99€ or 5,99€, it's well worth its price no matter what. My complain is the very presence of any IAP there in first place. For the reasons I already explained. I understand it's a bonus content but why not make it available e.g. after completing certain portion of the game? Why ask for more money in a premium app with premium price tag? I'm just disappointed about it and it's a pity because my overall impressions about everything else are nothing but positive. To be honest, I'm not even sure right now if I'm gonna purchase this bonus chapter at all. That's just a fact. Why did you choose to do it this way? Can you help me to understand? I'm just confused, that's all.
Thanks for the feedback. I'm glad you're enjoying what you have played so far. The answer to your question is that it is an experiment. The Lost Levels aren't part of the main story line. If the game is successful enough that it warrants new chapters to the story levels, these will *always* be free updates. The Lost Levels are outside of that. They were extra levels we made that we felt didn't fit in the flow but wanted to make available if anybody really loved the content and wanted some bonus stuff. Originally, in it's original release, these weren't included and added later, so arguably as a fresh release I can see how that might be confusing now. So, I totally get your point of view. We'll see how people react, and maybe we will change this to be free in a future update. Thanks for your feedback!
Hey guys, since I promised to follow up earlier, here's a really nice shout out from MacLife.com, in their "Best New iOS Games" article posted today! Super grateful they found Gunpowder worthwhile! http://www.maclife.com/article/games/best-new-ios-games-ducktales-remastered-gunpowder-and-more#slide-6
Oh, I'm not confused at all about those LOST levels being just a bonus part with no connection to main story line. I totally get it. What I was confused about is the pricing choice whether it's a bonus content or not. That's why I'd suggest to handle this differently. Doesn't matter if it'd be unlocked by some progression through the main story, as a price for finding some hidden items or even as a gift for completing some specific achievements or fitting the place in the leaderboards. Any option feels better than additional IAP in already premium app. As I said, it's not a big deal, it's definitely not a price tag issue. It just doesn't feel right if you know what I mean. I strongly suggest to do something with it. I'm not saying to change it to be free per se, just to do it differently. Anyway, I might be wrong about this and others might not feel that way at all. So I guess it's just a smart move to wait for more reactions. There's still A LOT of content before hitting the bonus chapter so I'm fine to wait a few days and see how's this resolved even though LOST chapter's stages were the reason I bought the game in first place (as I wrote earlier after watching those youtube videos) But in the end, the most important thing is, you're clearly a developer who listens and cares and I appreciate that quite a lot! Thanks for that. I'm glad I bought this game and I highly recommend to do so to everyone interested in puzzle genre. The more premium apps like this (and from exemplar developer like this) the better.
Oh we DO care! A lot! =) Your kind words are much appreciated. Like I said before, these days trying to make a premium game succeed is *very* challenging, and ultimately, after the players like you decide it is good enough, it's really up to how much the fans are willing to share and help us get the word out. A huge percentage of the marketing channel is dedicated to free 2 play games only, so only through support by players like you can this become a success story! I will definitely talk about the Lost Levels with the team, and in the meantime, please help us get the word out! =)
Meanwhile, I've got issues with Trophies. They constantly disappearing when I leave the game. I have to find them again but when I quit the game and run it again, the Trophies room is empty after each start. So far I found 2, Spoiler Two pistols (1-6) and Cowboy Hat (1-15) but when I quit the game they're gone. Is it a known issue? Did anyone sent the report about it already?
Thanks for reporting that, I've heard this once so far before you, so it's definitely on our list of things to look at for next release. Sorry about that. I hope it's just a display issue and not a save game issue so when it gets fixed you don't have to go find them all again.
oh wow, awesome! I didn't even catch that til your post, thanks for that. I'm now even more convinced that we should change Lost Levels to a free earned unlock. Maybe even taking out optional early unlock IAPs entirely (? thoughts on that everybody?). To that point, to all of you loyal TouchArcade followers, you're the first to be notified, don't get the Lost Levels right now unless you really can't wait, I've been convinced that we should make that a free unlocked chapter! Will see when we can get a new version out soon.
That sounds like a smart move to increase current sales and encourage developer loyalty. The only thing I would suggest is that you make this transition known to as many as possible...post on the review, your FB page & your iTunes description. Then you will get less flack from the community. Even let the powers within TA know...do all of this ASAP! IMHO
Don't believe it's been mentioned in the thread, but are there plans to go universal or for a separate iPhone version?
Not at the moment, we made the decision to keep it iPad only for now because when we tested out the game on smaller phones, it was just too hard to play. iPhone6+ would probably be the absolute smallest that could be played reasonably, and even that's a bit tough. TA's review sums it up nicely: As with all things though, if it turns out to be successful enough, we'll find a way. =)
I'm sure you will, loving every minute of the game and just absolutely stunning visuals and gameplay! Great job!
Based on the score from Game Center not many people got past level 12, I am the only one I think, it's tricky, one cannon should hit one pig and the other should hit the wall, took me 15 minutes to see it for myself. Like the game so far, so thumbs up.
ROGER-NL there's something wrong with the leaderboards on Game Center cause I've got around 250K points and sometimes it shows there and sometimes (mean mostly) not. I'm in the middle of the 2nd chapter with all three piggy banks obtained so far, so don't mind the leaderborads ATM I guess.
hm. not sure what's going on there. I rely on the GameCenter leaderboards display, so it's kind of out of my hands unless I'm failing to send the scores correctly, but if it's SOMETIMES showing and other times not, I'm pretty sure that's not our game doing it... Will keep an eye on it.
