The game Fangz was released 4/09 and reviewed 5/23. . . . I think with Fangz they were waiting for the planned update. I would hate to see a review that said "needs a training mode" or something that's on the way. On the other hand Danmaku 2 never got reviewed and it's a huge game in the iOS shoot-em-up genre. The review SyntheticVoid wrote was great, I hope KD gets some more reviews like that one
Yeah, TA has been spending more time with games recently before reviewing them. I think it's a great thing since it means that those games get more thorough reviews. Hopefully the delay just means that they're taking their time with it and making sure that they get a really good grasp on the gameplay and mechanics before writing up a post. =oP **and thank you for the compliment. =o)
I really agree! I think the same of Wimp game: why confine a masterpiece to touch devices? Yes, there are a lot of indie developers there. Crossed fingers Deserved.
It is clearly my intent to turn Kinetic Damage into something bigger enough to go to consoles / PC, but thing is that right now, I don't have enough resources (financial, team, etc). That's why I started this project as a mobile game, to test a concept, a vision, and if it receives enough success (= enough revenue), I would pump it up step by step. First one is to change models to AAA ones, but it costs money. So in short, in order to go big, Kinetic Damage needs more exposure. But I won't hide that I'm quite happy with the current amount of exposure. Only passionate gamers like you and all cool guys in this thread are talking about it and giving feedback. That amount is of reasonable proportions for only a one-man team, as I'm able to answer instantly to nearly everyone. I like talking with you all, exchanging excitement, opinions, reading how the game is evolving in your hands. It's a small community, and I like it for now, because I can handle chatting with you all properly. By the time Training and Multi will be Live, I'll go full power on marketing plans and exposure requests. So nothing will be "missing" in the presented product. TL;DR : I wouldn't mind a bit more exposure right now so I can gather money to hire a good 3D artist as soon as possible, but on the other hand I'm not unpleased by the actual size of Kinetic Damage's community, until everything is "ready". Sidenote : there are still 2 other platforms to release KD on, Android and Windows Phone. Android representing 50% of smartphones, we can say that there is still some time before full worldwide exposure I spent a lot of time deciding on this one. You have a totally valid point of course, but on the other hand, giving anyone a "full fighter" would kill the purpose of fighter creation / evolution. Creating your fighter, making choices to buy combos, specials, dress him, and chose an implant, these different steps are playing a big part in how the game is "not your typical fighting game". So a full prebuilt would make the game lose a large part of its identity. Plus, players could feel proud to bring their own fighter, the one they created, against any incoming opponent. More than if they just chosed a generic one. If I give a "build full fighter instantly" button, there would not be any difference left, and no more pride. So I want to preserve this feeling If you know World of Warcraft's arenas, think of it like the difference between fighting with your char, your equipment, against a prebuilt one on tournament servers. That topic can lead to long debates, though, so I can understand either choices. To be honest, after the mention of KD in Toucharcade Show 107, I wrote to Jared, from TA staff, who also wrote this great article a while back about the game. I just thanked him for taking the time to test the game before talking about it, to dig the mechanics, features, and everything. Just like in your great, very professional review Syntheticvoid, the best thing a professional reviewer can give to a developer is the time he spent to fully understand the game, the mood, and the intent. So if Touch Arcade needs more time to write an accurate review, may it be positive or negative, I'd say power to them. Especially when you see how many apps are out everyday, it's crazy
Consider (of course you already know): 1. Android devices are VERY fragmented; 2. most of them are not used/suitable for gaming. IMHO is crazy lately they're reviewing 2-3 stars games instead of select best ones (i.e. KD). Anyway it's up to them.
I can see you worrying about android. Sometomes I can make heads or tails If a game will work on one. Some can't even run ludia's jurassic park game. Anyway here my strategy: I approach the AI with a run try to get a combo in. If I can do it, I play agressive. If not, I hold back. Pretty much it, rest is improvising.
Just like in SF the AI at highest difficulty will mash SRK against jump in at wake up and in SSBB it reads your input against air attacks and uses air dodges against them, here the AI, even while it's way better than in most fighting games, also has a pattern, and thus, a weakness. Instead of poking, the best way to defeat the AI is by getting defeated while understanding how it works. That's why now stunning AI in Legend isn't that rare for me ^.^ BTW Ben, did you think of adding replay management? Making and sharing videos about fighting games is almost only possible if you can record the matches. Otherwise you can only record some combos or setups in training mode or vs the AI. Since this game isn't about combos, once the training mode update gets released players will only be able to make videos about setups or silly/cool moments with the AI, and well, since YouTube is the biggest social network I think that adding replay management would make making cool videos easier, and thus sharing them and getting more exposure.
Observation: And there is 3: Android users are less willing to pay for apps, F2P or not. This is the most damaging. I am not the only one saying this. ReadWriteWeb has a series of articles reporting Google is holding talks on how to get the developers paid for their apps and next I would like to bring your attention to this: http://www.myextralife.com/comic/perfect-strangers/ Query: should I start with the report claiming (US) Android users spend more time on voice chat and most online shopping / web surfing are done on iOS dwarfing Android? (Holding my fire)
No. There have been quite a few (rather depressing, for someone who wants all mobile platforms to both succeed and treat developers well) reports to this effect. The Butterschotch Shenanigans fellas, in their now oft-quoted blog post, reports an average pirace rate surpassing 95% on Android (occasionally shooting up into 99% territory), as compared to iOS's 50% (a to me surprising number, considering the far lower number of iOS users who jailbreak, and who reportedly rely on piracing solutions). That said, I certainly believe an Android port worth the effort, and I would not begrudge Android users one of the most impressive feats of single developer game engineering, and perhaps the most sophisticated and entertaining fighting game, in mobile history But keeping above (and similar) numbers in mind might lessen the shock of the sales reports, and help temper expectations with realism (Something I generally don't recommend as a way of life or philosophical predetermination, but that might be especially useful to small-time developers )
Heck. Heres to hoping it sells. I know one guy at work who got interested. Hes waiting for the android version.
Would this be a good purchases for someone who's not a fan of fighting games? I still want to buy this because of how much work went into this. Just wondering.
It depends. If you can enjoy a two v two game just for the fun of playing a fighter, then yeah. Its highly customizable and really fun. Just set the graphics low enough to get the frame rate stable.
The move list is really approachable, and the specials are super easy to perform. There's no complicated D-pad inputs. Just hold the special button, and the punch/kick buttons will turn into your 4 specials. This game is about strategy and timing, not about hard d-pad inputs. The combos are pretty straight forward too. An example combo would be something like: Strong Kick, Fast Punch, Strong Punch. There's a lite version so you can "try before you buy", but I would fully recommend the full version for 2.99 even if you're not crazy about fighting games
Thanks both of you! After this NO MORE iOS games until Xcom... I have spent way to much on iOS as it is :/
DIS GAME..! I can't get enough! I f'n love it!!! Absolutely awesome fighting game and the best I've played before.
i'm really happy you enjoy it, don't hesitate to talk about it to your friends. KD needs more support
