I've been sick for about six weeks. There are a couple of bugs left to fix in the last level, but outside of that, the update is ready to submit to Apple! I'll be posting more about this soon (unfortunately I'm busy for the next 2 weeks). So I'm going to say that March could be the time... maybe
I know that it has been a long time since I started on this update, but I'm pleased to announce that all work is done. I'll be making a launch announcement soon
Some words to keep you guys in the loop... Back in January of 2016 I believed that Jack B. Nimble was going to be finished in the first half of the year, allowing me to focus on another project I had just started. Unfortunately, neither of these things happened. As I’ve mentioned in the past, Jack B. Nimble is a passion project. I don’t expect much in the way of financial gain, but rather the experience of shipping a game (mostly) alone. I want to use Jack B. Nimble as a barometer for future independent games that I create. Back in January I didn’t realise how much further I had to go, and it’s hard to even blame feature creep. It was more that there were so many base features required to distinguish the game from a simple post game jam release. If it wasn’t obvious from the reviews, it was from the feedback I received from fellow developers – the first release and two subsequent updates were bare-bones. Players had greater expectations than a polished game jam build. They wanted progression, variety, leaderboards, achievements – all standard within the mobile games, but mostly absent from Jack B. Nimble. Though I didn’t realise this at the time, this feature checklist slowly became the focus for the year. I started slow. I began updating the front end by adding missing features and improving the flow in and out of the game. By the end of February, along with the improvements to the map and menus, I had visually raised the quality bar across the project. Just by filing down some of the rougher areas as I fleshed out the aforementioned feature checklist. By April I felt that the core experience and game were complete, and I was ready to start building promotional material. However, I really didn’t account for the number of bugs and workload required to get achievements, stat tracking and the remaining leaderboards in game. It took months. But here’s where things get exciting. Now that the bugs are squashed, the game is done… Jack B. Nimble is done! Before I commit to a fixed release date, I need to work on a bunch of release material, hence why I’m not exactly screaming from the rooftops about it. I mean, finally, right? It really is a shame that I am building upon a released product; you only get one release, and one chance at reviews (if at all). So I feel like this huge update will pass a lot of people by – I’m not letting this get in my way though, because I still believe that the game could get a new lease of life on Steam. Though recent news of Steam Greenlight’s demise may have made that a little more difficult… Originally posted on Noonan.Design
Nice work! I'm happy that you are making improvements because I also was one of those who wanted a little more out of your game.
Working on the launch trailer now... won't be long. Until then, why not preorder the soundtrack? https://nostoppingepoch.bandcamp.com/album/jack-b-nimble-original-soundtrack
Game will be released on 26.04.17 Finally, the update is here! Jump in the shoes of Jack B. Nimble and master the whip in this cute, retro auto runner. Leap and dash across spooky hilltops, gothic cityscapes, dank dungeons and more! Whip candles to multiply your score, and use your environment to slow down and stay in control of the action; but watch out for obstacles that block your path! With a score system based on player accuracy and distance travelled, timing and skill are key to achieving a position atop the leaderboard. Are you nimble enough? Teaser Trailer: Subscribe to the TouchArcade YouTube channel Changelist: New Features and Additions - Added in-game and Game Center achievements - Added 6 new characters (some secret!) - Added 3 new levels - Added 3 new music tracks - Added 7 new color schemes (some secret!) - Added color selection screen - Added new character selection screen - Updated map screen - Updated title screen - Updated splash screen - New app icon - Added stats screen - Added frontend options screen - Added in game manual - Reduced game file size - Added some secrets..! Bug fixes - Fixed accuracy bug when whipping too close to the floor - Fixed cloud bug on Bitter Bluffs - Updated Jack B. Nimble sprite - Jack O. Lantern attack (animation length now matches Jack B. Nimble) - Fixed music volume bug on pause screen - Miscellaneous performance tweaks - And many more! ...and the soundtrack is out now! https://nostoppingepoch.bandcamp.com/album/jack-b-nimble-original-soundtrack
It's out Grab it from the App Store now: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/jack-b-nimble/id918891211?mt=8 Launch Trailer: Subscribe to the TouchArcade YouTube channel I hope y'all excuse the wait
Getting a lot of stuttering on my iPad Air 2 even when the weather effects are turned off. Also, I am supposed to get a high score of 4000000 to unlock to the last level? This is extremely high. I will be lucky to unlock even the second level.
Very glad to see this get such a nice update. Thanks Sean!! Hey @drmad - this is an auto runner that just requires taps, controller support isn't really necessary IMO.
Thanks everyone. Sorry it took me so long I'm sorry to hear that you're experiencing performance issues - I had tested extensively with the iPad mini, iPhone SE and iPhone 7. I was hoping that would cover the full range of specs. Regarding the unlock score, as soon as the game "clicks" you'll find that score more than achievable There could possibly be controller input registered as a hang over from the PC code - but I would not guarantee it. Also, there won't be controller support in menus. The game is single button though, so hopefully that is intuitive enough Again, thanks everyone. This is very much how I wanted the game to be on launch - I hope I've hit the quality bar that I was aiming for.
The game won't play through Bluetooth. It switches to speaker every time I open the app. Also, is the version of jack from the icon of the game unlockable? He looks nothing like that in the game, and I like that design. Thanks, great game.
