I think we can all agree that it would be preferable to have an option whether as a universal update or as a separate app for this to be played on the iPad natively. The devs have made it clear that it will not be the case, at least at launch. It's really down to whether you will buy it regardless of that fact. I'm going to, although I play my board game adaptions pretty much exclusively on my iPad. Is it disappointing? Sure. Will it keep me from playing the game? Absolutely not.
Hi there! This is Martin from TheCodingMonkeys. Just to clear things up: The first time we publicly spoke about Lost Cities was in June, 83 days ago. Yes, we decided to bring the game first to the iPhone as it is a perfect game to be played on the go, I think. Make a few moves, complete a quick game, while waiting for the bus e.g. Yes, that means there will be a long wait until there is an iPad version, to be honest. And we're rather being honest than promising impossible things. Hope you enjoy Lost Cities on one platform or another eventually. All the best, Martin
Welcome to TA Martin! Coding Monkeys have certainly made a name for themselves on this platform. I personally appreciate your honesty in not promising something that you cannot deliver. It does seem clear that there will be some backlash on the decision to make this an iPhone only release (natively), since board/card games are so well suited to the iPad. Be that as it may, I know that we appreciate devs communicating with us on the forum.
Well, I bought a lot of IOS board and card games, and I can actually able to understand the thoughts of TheCodingMonkey. While I play most of the board games on iPad, I think some games (especially card games) is more suitable on iPhone. Especially if it has vertical display so that it is very nice to hold and play (just like playing real cards). Obviously, a game like Ticket to Ride or Neuroshima Hex is way better in iPad, but so far I prefer on playing Tichu and Phase 10 on iPhone, also to note that I don't think playing Swords vs Poker and Poison will be better in iPad (if there are any). Also for some games (like Keltis), the iPhone version is much more stabile and playable than the iPad. From the look of it, Lost Cities has vertical display only and I believe those kind of games are perfect for iPhone. I'm sold! Even when the iPad version will be released, I'm buying both because I respect TheCodingMonkey for their pricing policy.
Guess I don't have to fret about whether or not to spring for this one. Will be joining the crowded line waiting for an iPad or Universal version. So lame.
I understand that. Right now it's a great game on the iPhone (I'm a bit partial, of course). Making it a great game on the iPad will take time. We're board game geeks ourselves and glad to be able to invest that time to do the originals justice.
I'll buy it as I love your work and I definitely understand the iPhone is a more lucrative market, but still hope, at some point, you consider going universal or an iPad release (I guess I'll just play it a bit fuzzy on my iPad 3 if need be for now). You guys are among my favorite devs for creating board/card games with strong personality driven AI (each bot has its own playing style) and INCREDIBLY detailed stat tracking in your games!
One final question on the matter, will you be aiming for a Universal update rather than Lost Cities HD being a separate app? I fear I'll be buying the game in either case though...
Add me to the list of people that are disappointed that this is an iPhone only release. I don't buy iPhone games anymore. I play 99% of my games on my iPad. The only games that make it to my iPhone are universal, and even those hardly ever get played. When I heard this game was being released by the same guys that did Carcassonne, it never even occurred to me that they would be releasing a board game adaptation on iPhone only because they did such a great job on Carc. Seems like a really poor decision. Regardless, I hope it does well enough that they port it over to iPad...so all you iPhone-only guys, please buy this! I've got plenty of unplayed games, so I guess it's a good thing that I'll have to wait awhile longer for a chance to get this on my iPad (and not in 2X mode).
Spoken like a competent and confident developer who kknows that a good app is going to have good sales no matter how many people whine about it on TA!! Bravo!
I too am disappointed that it is iPhone only right now, but if they did half as good a job as they did on Carcassonne, it is a must buy. This is one of my favorite games ever, and I will be buying it, supporting the dev, and just happy to get it in any form. Maybe if enough people show interest, it will speed an iPad version to market. And really when you consider this last week that has brought us a complete travesty of several great board games, this isn't the end of the world.
Better than promising to make it universal like Kingsburg app did and never did two years later. But yeah.....not sure what I'll do but definitely want ipad retina games over iphone games. I play San Juan on iphone if I'm out and about but much prefer playing on ipad 3 though as you can see your opponents cards. I do applaud this having game center play from the get go though. So that lessens the pain. But I feel like it's like Quoridor which is one of my favorite abstracts but they just didn't do the app justice at all. I don't think Lost Cities will be bad but seems odd with this license an ipad version wasn't part of the contract. Guess I'll stick with Battleline (universal) till I figure out if I'll take the bait or not.
I will definitely be buying this tonight, but add me to the list of people disappointed it's not universal. Carcassonne is good on the iPhone, but awesome on iPad. I much prefer to play Carc on the iPad. Maybe this one won't be as affected by screen size, though - I don't know as I've never played it before.
While no iPad version is very disappointing, this looks perfectly playable on iPad. I just don't see why that alone should stop people. This isn't a case of on screen controls being poorly placed for iPad holders. People complain and moan how companies are ruining games like Dominion and Thunderstone. Here we have a case where pretty much everything looks to be good, except for one aspect. And people scoff at it. This is why those Dominion companies don't even try. They know no matter what people won't be happy. Therefore just throw something out there and get as much money as possible for it.
Ok, trolling aside, we have a vocal majority here with a strong opinion about universal apps. It would be sad, though, if people wouldn't buy a decent game just because it's not universal. I'm much more interested in the gameplay. Does this play good? Anyone tried it?
Wait........someone is actually asking how the game plays? I think Fimb needs to be banned immediately for asking such an irrelevant question.
Just created an Add Me thread for game requests - http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthread.php?t=149349
