Latest screens... Game update for October.... -Bonus score system in place -A bunch of new levels have been completed -Power-up pickups in place -Tweaks to player fire power - basically you can now shoot faster (and more lazer bullets) which opens up the design choices for some of the later levels. Basically everything going smoothly at the moment, I'm spending most of the time right now building up the levels. Each one is different and unique. Just juggling my 'proper' job with game dev time Anyway.... you don't want the text, you want MOAR SCREENZ....
November update....and it's a biggie..... Development is still on track, and I'm starting to prepare for the final push and then some spit and polish. Oh, and the game now comes with an absolutely awesome rocking soundtrack by @FracturesAudio Hopefully I can start an early beta test-flight sometime around the end of this month. Not all game levels will be complete by that time and some features like GameCenter probably won't be enabled by then either....but it will be good to get some community feedback as the game moves into the final quarter of development I'll be asking for beta testers soon. So to celebrate, why not check out this awesome new gameplay trailer complete with loads of new content and awesome music...
This looks fantastic! I love how the ship is paper-thin. Gameplay looks hectic and challenging. Right up my alley. I would love to get involved when you decide to start picking testers. Thanks in advance.
Hi Rezn and thanks!! I'll let you know as soon as beta starts and send you out an invite Oh and yep the game will definitely give you a good workout as the levels progress... ....have another trailer on me
Awesome This looks fantastic. The Uridium vibe has got me excited as that was my all time favourite C64 game. Would love to beta test this.
Thanks everyone for the positive vibes it means a lot to me. I'm preparing for a beta build and can't wait for you guys to get hold of it....please hold tight and get your thumbs flexed!
As a Starseed fan i'm looking forward to this little beauty. The great music by Fractures is also a genious move, imho. I would be honored to be a part of your beta version.
Thanks guys. Getting a few extras in place to beta with... -Some fancy lighting. This will be available on iOS8. For iOS9 it will require 9.2 which is not yet released - but hopefully will be by end of month. Apple broke lighting effects for SpriteKit in 9.0 and 9.1 unfortunately. -Score multiplier (this is in addition to the skill and formation bonus scoring already in place) -Various nips, tucks, and polishing to make everything look super slick Special notes: Hyper Sentinel will require iOS 8 or later to play. I especially need some testing on IOS 8 as I am lacking devices at that version It is a universal app. Anyone with one of those fancy new big iPads would be very welcome to test (I don't have that device to test with!) Everyone who participates in testing will get their name in the game credits . I'll be asking each of you what name (or gamer tag) you would like to use. I'll put some instructions in the test flight for specific areas of test I'm most interested in. Finally... It'll be another couple of weeks before I'm ready as long as it gets through Apple beta approval in a timely manner! ...I haven't done an app icon yet - better get that done! I'll post more when I'm just about there and will be calling out names then.....thanks for the support.
Thanks Qwertz555 (is that your real name?) much appreciated. I'd like to compose more SID chip styled music for it, so if/when the game is a success, maybe I'll get the nod for an expanded soundtrack
Beta Now Open The early beta build is now up and ready for TestFlight and contains the first 7 levels unlocked. Everyone who would like to help out then please send me a private message with your TestFlight email address and also the name/tag you'd like in the game credits (please keep these no longer than 12 characters). Also when you pm me, can you let me know which devices you are testing on. It is open for anyone over the next few days - so get in and have a go The beta (and final game) has a minimum requirement of iOS 8 There are instructions in the TestFlight for specific areas of feedback I am looking for in this beta. Please feel free to post impressions directly to me by pm, or on this forum thread for discussion between everyone! Have fun..... Best F5SP
Think a bit outside the box (but inside my TA name) and think in spelling the letters in german (that's your problem ). Et voilà, you know my name, lol. And yes, i really hope this game gets more deserved recognition, because Starseed didn't. Shooters have a hard ios life. Maybe they should put the words rpg, final or quest in it... @ Dev Thanks for letting me test your game. I already sent you my first impressions via Testflight. This could, already is and i'm sure it will turn out to be a real intense and challenging spacy shooter pearl. That old style look combined with some great 8-bit soundtracks, lovely pure nostalgia. Right now, some of my lovely TA readers know me, i have the problem with the direction buttons. Well, here it would be the up/down buttons. I have to lift my thumb everytime to change the height, sliding between them isn't (yet, hopefully) possible. Besides that, the controls work very responsive. There is also a combo highscore possible, but i since i'm struggling with surviving the first level in general, i simply can't tell more about it, yet, but good to have it. Replay value comes to my mind. Fans of this genre will be in for a nice treat, i'd say.
Thanks dev for letting me test the game for now the game is unplayable as nothing apears on the screen when I run the app. I hear music but I can't see anything I'm currently using a iPad mini (1st gen)'hope this helps!
@Puke Aces, I think you are using the only device that hasn't been tested by anyone! Not sure why you are getting this though..... I've replied via email to you to see if we can dig deeper on this. Thanks for letting me know!
Beta update Thanks for all that have tested and reported back so far... here are the things that have come up: 1. Can the game have a slide control for up/down movement? This has now been implemented ready for next beta release. So, you can press the buttons in a 'digital' way by lifting the thumb between buttons or in addition just slide your thumb from one button to the other. 2. Game loads but doesn't show any images just a black screen with sound - iPad Mini 1st gen Not sure what is causing this and whether it affects just iPad Mini 1 (iPad Mini 2 is absolutely fine). The device tested was jailbroken so this may be the problem. No other devices (iPhone 4s, iPod Touch, iPhone 5, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad 2/3/4 Air) have shown this. 3. Can the 'start level' sequence be speeded up a little? This has been implemented for next beta. I've just removed some of the timing delays without affecting the 'launch entry' sequence 4. When the player fires, there is a slight judder and the player ship slows down a little. Is this intentional? Yes it is, the purpose is to give a recoil appearance of your guns and also acts as a mechanical air-brake to help the player maintain a little bit of control of the speed of the game. For next beta I have slightly toned down the 'judder'. Also the player won't slow down quite so much with rapid firing. I think this gives a slightly better visual and mechanical balance. I did take the effect out, but I think the game loses something without it - it has a more 'combat' feel to it with the effect. So, at the moment it won't be an option (but as above it is slightly toned down for better balance) I think that is it so far.... other than the iPad Mini issue, no other bugs, glitches etc have been reported. If you are not yet on the beta and would like to have a go and give some input in the game then please private message me (don't forget to let me know your device and tag name you'd like in the game credits). I'll probably release another beta with the above tweaks (and anything else that gets reported) sometime next week as I have limited dev time for most of this week. Thanks everyone. You are all awesome!
I was compiling my thoughts about the game and things I thought were off before I sent my feedback but it looks like others have beaten me to it. I was also thinking a slide control for up and down would be helpful and had questions about the ship slow down "issue". Another note on that though is that it seems like the ship gradually gets slower and slower as I play. I've even had my ship come to a complete stop several times and could only get it moving again by turning it around which cause it to take off again. Should it continue to get slower and stop moving at all? That made it hard to maintain my "flow" in maneuvering around the obstacles and impossible so far to defeat even the the first level. About the obstacles, are they supposed to be impassable? When I run into one the ship comes to a stop and I have to move the ship up or down to get around it. I wonder if just taking the hit but continuing forward at a slower speed wouldn't help keep the action flowing. Also, is it possible to make the obstacles more obvious? For me at least, they are kind of hard to tell apart from the stuff that doesn't get in your way. I think that's it for now. Thanks for letting me play your game and I eagerly await the update to see the progress. Thanks
@Sobriquet Thanks for comments. I'm aiming to get an update out next week. Hopefully the slide control will resolve your difficulty playing. I might add another control option too but I'll wait on the feedback of the updated controls. The game won't ship until the controls are right. The game is aimed at being a strategic shooter, so you need to learn where the obstacles are in short levels through a few replays of the level. The obstacles have longer. Hitting an obstacle will bring you ship to a stop like it would as it has hit a wall. Also hitting flying enemies takes some momentum out of your ship - which is maybe what you were finding when the ship slowed down. I can play with removing that and see how it works. General note - you guys know that your energy auto replenishes if you stay safe for a short while?
Hey thanks for the reply. So what you're saying to me is stop being a wimp and learn to play the game. Honestly though, I think that was a big part of my problem. Taking the phrase "strategic shooter" to mean I need to find the best way to play each level instead of just running in guns blazing, I did just that. I got past the first level, finally, and beat the second level on my first try. I'm getting better with the controls (it takes me awhile to get used to new/unfamiliar control schemes) and I'm learning to use the slow downs to my advantage. Now I'm seeing they may actually be an important part of the strategy. Seeing that the obstacles have shadows was a big help in that area. I did not realize the life metter refilled as it does. This has also helped improve my gameplay. At this point I'm really enjoying the game. That's about it for now. Once I've had a chance to play some more I'll be back with some more feedback. Thanks again for letting me play test Hyper Sentinel!
