Maybe Menneisyss can weigh in on this, since he has the beta on ipad. I think the animations are amazing on iphone. Sounds too.
I played Orions on iPad extensively and, personally, found no problem with the graphics. While of course not even close to the crispyness it would have if the graphics were specifically created with the iPad in mind, it looks just fine the way it is. I'm pretty confident the same will be applyable to O2.
iPad does anti-aliasing (as does the iP4 and the iPod Touch 4). While it's certainly not high-quality native HD level, it's still acceptable. And, after all, it's the game that counts - and, at least in multiplayer (the AI is far too predictable in duels; the real strength of the game is in multiplayer), it's just excellent. Just like in chess, where you concentrate on the game and the strategy itself, and not the visual representation.
Yup, exactly the same - as with all iPhone titles, anti-aliasing is applied, making the pixel doubling far more pleasing. (Anti-aliasing is NOT applied to screenshots made by Power + Home; this is why they're so damn pixelizated and ugly.)
I hate it too to run an iphone app on the ipad, the app experience totally different compared to a ipad version.
March is at our doorsteps... any info about the state of the game? Is the current build final? What needs to be worked on? The game cannot come out soon enough
I would think we are on the penultimate build. There was some controversy on the size of the hand of cards one would have available for online duels but I think that was resolved a few days ago. The final build (hopefully) could ready to go right now, for all I know. A number of other issues were resolved with current build but the focus is still on getting the MP right. Currently, we see that personal GC invites work, but not consistently enough. Anonymous match ups seem fine. I don't even know if Crystal is functional yet as we have been told to go only through GC at this point. Duels and drafts are available MP but I'm pushing/hoping for constructed decks for the initial release as well, otherwise it will have to wait who knows how long for an update. Everything else is ready for primetime. March certainly sounds right.
Exactly 2008! Deckmasters! THREE years later and iOS is only finally just now seeing it? We should already be looking at a new expansion. BTW for anyone who hasn't already played this old game through WinMo phones or a WinMo emulator, Enslave is pretty much required in every deck. It's that imba.
The iOS version of Deckmasters can be considered an expansion - it has TONS of new cards compared to the WinMo version and also sports real (read: GC) multiplayer, as opposed to the direct (and, therefore, useless) MP in WinMo.
And what the market was telling them was entirely based on how poorly managed the game was. Look, I probably love Orions more than anyone here. I wrote a review about it, made a video teaching people the basics. Right from the get-go it was pretty obvious Orions 1) needed some work around the rough edges, 2) needed multiplayer 3) needed a lite version and/or a lower price point. 5 bucks is too close to premium on the AppStore, a game without a lite version or a brand name will NOT do very well. It doesn't take a genious to figure that last one out, I think we all know this. They gave us neither of those items. They straight up promised updates and new cards that didn't happen. And I was fully willing to forgive them for this. In fact I did forgive them for it. Thing is, I now think they have a real problem in their hands. Shadow Era debuted, reached 100.000 users in two days (with practically no marketing campaign and no coverage from app sites), and brings much of what we always wanted from Orions -- multiplayer and more involvement from the developer. Orions had its foot on the door since 2008, they had over two years to improve on their product, and didn't. They could've cornered the market Shadow Era is now taking up. I will probably still buy Orions 2 when it comes out. But it's undeniable -- Orions 2 could have dominated the AppStore unopposed. Might be a little harder now to get momentum. This is a direct result of the fact that they chose not to listen to what we the fans have been saying for years -- get your act together, invest more time in the franchise and in the community, drop the price, take advantage of the fact that there's no competition to your game in the whole AppStore, etc. I PERSONALLY wrote several emails to Pavel. I urged, on these forums and on twitter, for other fans to write them and encourage them to see the potential and to invest in Orions. It all fell on deaf ears. They had two years.
I hear you so loud and clear Izzy and I feel the same way. Back before Orions was even ON the iPhone I was very vocal with Pavel about bringing it to the platform and giving it the support it deserved. Unfortunately he seemed to take my (and others) urging to mean that all they had to do was recompile the app for iOS and release it and the riches would come flowing in. Now, SE has me totally captivated and I've already spent over $40 on it. I will still buy O2 when it's released because I LOVE the game, but I don't see it holding nearly as much of my attention as SE. If they had gotten their act together O2 would be my main obsession right now instead of SE taking over that position in my gaming priority list. Between SE and working on 2 games for Realms Apart and having a full time job and a third outside company to run AND having a family, I just don't have time and O2 will likely sit on my phone mostly unused for the forseeable future once it's released. Sad, but true. Q
There's no way O2 will sit on your phone unused. No way. Hopefully, your kids won't suffer as a result. At least mine are fully grown.
I waited for so long for O2 - and now there's Shadow Era. I know Kyle Poole from Battle of Wesnoth (and his steadily coming big updates for it), so I'll stick with SE for now. I'm sure, Kyle brings continuously updates to SE, too. With SE and FF3 coming, Orions might be a game I grab in a few months at a sale, maybe.
I always wondered why so few games had multiplayer. I'm no dev myself but could the cost have been too high? This was in 2008 and aside from words with friends. I don't really remember anyone implementing a good multiplayer. Maybe it was too hard back the. ? iono. Loving Shadow era. And really looking forward to runemasters
I don't think it was cost, except perhaps in time. From what I can glean, it's not easy to program, especially if it's your first effort that includes GC. Menneisysy could answer that better. WWF is virtually the only thing I play with my wife. She hates games.
I played shadow era and it was boring and predictable as hell. I dominated the opponent. Orions I find to be much more fun. It was one of the first games I wanted when I had my ipod touch 2g but wouldn't buy it because of the $5 price point. I know its not much but compared to the rest of the app store there is a lot of value to be had in apps so I picked it up a couple months ago when it was finally on sale. I'll be getting O2 at $2.99 or below and getting my bro to get it too!
Couldn't agree more; I've already deleted Shadow Era. I absolutely do not get the appeal. I'll just leave it at that ... plus, there's plenty of SE threads here if I get the urge to elaborate. As far as Orions goes, I think others have said it sooner and better than I can, but I'll sum up my thoughts as: massive marketing failure with, perhaps, better things on the horizon. I do have a soft spot for Orions, though; it was one of the first apps I ever downloaded. It might have been the first premium app I bought; I don't remember specifically. In the end, it had some issues, and I detested a few aspects of it, but I would have to say I got my money's worth. I'll definitely be giving O2 a chance, provided the price point is reasonable. Hell, I'd probably take a shot on it purely for the sake of nostalgia, even if the reviews were mostly negative. I recently re-installed Orions to see how much of it I remember; that is a good sign in terms of interest level. Now all I need is a release date ...
While there's a lot to like about SE, there's a lot I don't like as well. I made a point-by-point list earlier to the beta test group. 1) SE was not made for iPhone, O2 is. 2) The music in SE does not compare and that Irish jig type tune has no place in the game at all. Huh? No sounds! 3) Quit factor. SE too difficult to come back so people quit. In O2, they can "surrender," and move on to another match. In any event, it's easier to come roaring back in O2 from time to time. 4) AI is SE has no chance against me. It does in O2. There's more. That'f for starters. NO ONE CAN ARGUE THIS POINT. Yup.
