Hmm, hey new here, found there wasn't a forum for Phoenix HD and found this thread as the next best thing just want to say love the game and the new ship, but don't know why on the latest update you left out the removal of double coins and the improvement of some AI (The 2-armed ship) and a little sad at the coins, it no longer rewards top-scoring players with consistent boosts which was why I bought the ship pack having gained my confidence. Now I have to make sure I earn over 1000 with the shogun or risk losing coins :/ (1000 as increased boosts and health are all you need for top scores) But those aside, great game! A request if you may (or quiery) I like the new display for high scores and was wondering if you could have a 7th high score which is the total of all ships added together? That would be really awesome
Welcome necrocat219 and thanks for your kind words, I'm glad you like the new update. We are planning to bring back the coin doubler in some shape or form. It was removed mainly because it could actually cost you coins, if your ship was destroyed before earning enough coins. Most of you (hardcore) players will probably say that's "part of the risk" and makes it "more exciting" to use. This is true, but not completely how we intended. It is actually not clear at all when you start earning coins and it is misleading when it's offered as a "boost" but can end up being a negative thing. If there's one thing in Phoenix HD we want to achieve is that it is fun and easy to understand for everyone... having to judge whether a single use coin doubler that costs 350coins is actually worth that price does not meet al of these criteria I don't think we'll do a meta score based on all your ships. We did consider this, but it has lots of implications. The core concept of these Leaderboards is the fact that they are location based, combining scores regardless of location goes against this whole idea and undermines it a bit. Sure you could say "the best of all ships for this country" but we think this will only make it more complex and does not provide a valuable extra layer of competition. The competition is currently hot enough as it is, we'll make sure it stays that way Please keep the feedback coming, we read, gather, discuss everything, even if I don't post about it. <3
Thanks for taking the time to read my comment and replying with how you are thinking about the game It makes sense and I have thought that only small % of players can actually make use of the coin doubler. May I suggest a (Affordable?) permanent boost that doubles coins permanently? I do see that would create conflict with the prices of buying coins, but it could also have the effect of players knowing it's a good deal, therefore more likely to buy it A bit sad that a metascore isn't possible, but it can't be helped if it would go against intentions or be too hard to put in, besides it's already the best highscore out of any game I've played on the gamecentre, with no cheaters, and the great competitive value with locations. Now there's one thing I forgot to mention, achievments. I am absolutely loving them so far, but theres one thing that's niggling me; at the moment only 1 person in the world has a diamond score. Is it possible to 'scale up' all the non-free ship's medals so they have at least one diamond player and a higher proportion of gems/plat/gold ect? Thanks again and it's really great to see indie developers so passionate about their game!
Over 10mil? That sir, is mighty impressive! That's one of the directions we're considering yes Thanks, in the end we're all gamers, we are making the games we want to play ourselves. We (at Firi Games) are both very competitive gamers, so handling cheaters and setting up a competitive environment was key for Phoenix. The medals are currently set up to reflect how many players you beat with your score. With this setup there is always going to be 1 of a certain type versus a million players (because we can). Whatever happens, we will reward someone for being 'the best of 1 million' (if not diamond, it would be something else) Our idea is, the more players you beat, the better your medal, the complete list is as follows: - Bronze: Best of 2 - Silver: Best of 4 - Gold: Best of 10 - Platinum: Best of 100 - Emerald: Best of 1.000 - Sapphire: Best of 10.000 - Ruby: Best of 100.000 - Diamond: Best of 1.000.000 The Phoenix ship currently has just over 1.6mil players on its leaderboard, so it's headed for a second diamond medal
Thank you! I shall continue trying to increase and improving my dodging skills I only realised how good the bullet-drone is. Nice to hear that, I just don't buy coin packs, apart from the bundle with the ships. I prefer more permanent boosts so I know how much I'm going to spend on a game. Thanks for telling me how your medal is determined, that's a real encouragement and makes me feel good about my emeralds! If that's the case for the Phoenix I should probably give it a shot, even with the insane scores for it. I appreciate you not using gamecentre and your own leaderboard to prevent cheating and improve competative feel, may I ask who is hosting you? (As in the leaderboard data)
We initially used Game Center next to our own leaderboard, sort of as a bonus/tryout. This was for "Phoenix" (non HD). It was riddled with cheaters in no-time and we couldn't do anything about it, so we disabled it. As a developer you're not allowed to take it down, so it's still there as a reminder of how terrible it is Our leaderboards are running on google's app engine and are pretty big, we have every session on record There are server costs involved, that's why Phoenix originally had a price and Phoenix HD launched with the online pass. During this time we set aside some of the income so we could eventually make it free for everyone, as it is now.
I came across this game only yesterday. Was reading another thread about a game called Mine are Sore (or something like that) and there was a discussion about relative touch which mentioned Phoenix HD. I liked what I read (it said it was rather splendid and could be sampled for free) so thought I'd give it a whirl. Glad I did. I felt rather pleased with my first run (which included getting the achievement for taking no damage for a minute). Since then I have read this thread and other stuff on t'interweb and brought my new knowledge to bear on the game. I have so far failed to beat the score I got on my first run when I was completely clueless. Now I am just confused. As I am having fun, however, I shall persevere.
Was it this quote? "Phoenix HD is the best example of a shooter iOS has to offer. It's native to the platform, has an excellent frame rate, perfect relative touch controls and top shelf visuals. It is The Benchmark." I've got your back, El Mine are Sore, LOL. Classic.
It might have been that very quote that prompted me to look at it. Posted by Spumo Slash (or something like that).
Thanks a lot for the mention Sumo. I actually do a regular search for Phoenix HD on these forums, so I do notice the activities of the army-of-PhoenixHD-lovers. The best part is that it's totally genuine, not like I'm urging you guys to do it. I feel I shouldn't take part in those conversations myself, unless I have something 'safe' to say or I'm being addressed directly (which never happens anyway ) Glad you like it! I think there is an explanation for this. We have an automated difficulty level, it increases with the higher score you achieve. It is possible that you got a really good result for your first run and it raised the bar a couple of notches for you (instead of just 1 ). This means the game will be more difficult, so it might be a bit rough if you're still learning the mechanics and such. Don't worry though, along with the difficulty, the score multiplier is also scaled up, I have no doubt you will exceed your previous high score by miles If you feel like it's still going too fast for you can always reset the difficulty to the easiest level (or see its currently level) in the settings available in the top-left in the main menu. Feel free to post any questions or comments, I love to hear them and consider every suggestion for possible future updates! edit: Ah right, I forgot to mention this. I've posted a gameplay video of Phoenix HD, just me playing from start to 'finish'. It turned out to be a 5.5mil score. It's clearly visible when I'm distracted, but ah well. I plan to do one of these for each ship. Let me know what you guys think! Subscribe to the TouchArcade YouTube channel
(I'm paraphrasing) Ah! Thanks for that. Makes sense. It's the way the game is designed rather than my ineptitude!! Starting to get to grips with the subtleties and have now managed to beat my initial high score.
El, I am assuming that the placement of the Trinity directly under the finger after transport is a result of the relative touch as having to put the ship exactly where your finger lands, correct? Not that this doesn't make sense. I only ask because my finger covers so much of the ship. And here's a riddle: Particle overflow--->Particle overflow bar directly under health bar--->Particle overflow bar is twice as thin as the health bar to be barely noticeable--->Particle overflow bar begins to accumulate once full health is achieved--->Particle overflow bar auto triggers a small Phoenix Wake when the bar becomes full!!!--->Particle overflow bar resets if your ship is hit. Ok, not much of a riddle. However, Tijmen the Invisible appeared to me in a dream last night and said he fully supports this idea. EDIT: Oh, and what are the gameplay videos for? To put in the game as example footage?
Yeah tricky situation with the Trinity. How else could you naturally select a teleport location, other than touching it? Applying any kind of offset just moves the problem, it's hard to judge and every player has a different preference of where the ship should teleport to. We have chosen to go for the most logical option. I like the overflow ideas, but I'm not thrilled about an extra bar/gui element. Trust me, especially Tijmen would not support any new GUI elements :] The youtube videos would be mostly educational. If someone wants to know: -What the game is. -What the gameplay looks like, without being cut/edited/filmed with crappy camera. -How a certain ship plays.
Yeah, I figured that's what the issue was with the Trinity and you obviously made the most logical choice. I think the only way around that is to have the ship be larger, so an average sized finger tip would cover up less of it. Actually, now that I am looking at it, my finger covers only the bottom half of the ship every time, so that the nose is always visible, and it looks as though the Trinity is a little larger (or shaped larger, from cockpit to engine) than the other ships. I'm sure this was intentional. It's weird though, sometimes I am able to move my finger away from the ship so that the whole thing is visible and have the same relative touch/proximity option that the other ships have. However, this is random when I am able to do this and difficult to replicate. This 'atypical relative touch' is definitely a small price to pay for the ability to disappear and reappear exactly where I put my finger. Such an awesome, awesome ship. The particle overflow is just RIPE with possibilities. My brain is like a firecracker thinking about it. My thought process was completely inspired from the Phantom, since the green particles are what powers the Overdrive beam. After the beam is at full strength, I kept looking at the green particles dropping and realized how pointless it was for me to keep paying attention to them. Which, might I add is hard, because those particles just look so damn delicious. If I were a space ship shooting powerful lasers and rockets, I too would like to consume delicious, glowing green energy particles through a process of hull osmosis. I also realize that seeing another energy bar is a long shot (which is why I suggested a super thin bar); I just know that seeing the overflow be applied to some type of super weapon shared between all the ships would be RIDICULOUS, and would add a universal dynamic to the game. It would definitely be a 'goal' trying to not get hit for even longer, just to see some mega-weapon unleashed as a reward. Of course the Phoenix Wake is the first thing that jumps into my head. That is simply TOO COOL to not be available as a weapon in the game SOMEWHERE. You tease me with you IAP!
Poetry is fitting for art in motion. The beauty of Phoenix HD makes the words flow from my lips like an Alpha Strike on a warm summer day *blush* The last I checked, Tijmen is not able to hear while invisible. This is an evolutionary trait of the Roberti clan that have allowed ten generations of programmers to concentrate and become one with the code. However, I do feel honored that he de-cloaked long enough for my powerparticle homage.
Hmm... Speaking of invisibility, maybe no visual cues at all would be necessary to demonstrate particle overflow. Maybe a sound effect could signify that it's full and that your ship is about to jump into a Phoenix Wake. However, how would Tijmen program this if he can't hear when he's invisible?! Well, whatever. It's good to see you're interested in doing something constructive with the particles. If a more grandiose scheme isn't possible, then they could always go towards score, which is better than nothing. I look forward to your brainstorming, which I'm sure you'll share with us in time
If i'd have to 'show' the player his ship is overflowing with particles, I would literally show just that. A 'cloud' of particles dripping from the ship, creating a trail while you move around Then again, that's what we did with ship fires, but players still wanted a health bar :<
