Universal Pixel Boat Rush (by XperimentalZ Games)

Discussion in 'iPhone and iPad Games' started by PeteOzzy, Oct 8, 2014.

  1. Andy C83

    Andy C83 Well-Known Member

    Oct 20, 2010
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    Over the Rainbow
    #101 Andy C83, Oct 15, 2014
    Last edited: Oct 15, 2014
    Hey guys, congratulations on making this very cool game. I've spent quite a bit of time with it and the amount of content here is really quite impressive. I love your visual style as usual, and each boat I unlock has a unique look.

    I like how you'll need to experiment with different boats depending on the challenge you're taking on, be it Endurance (staying focused for more laps), Carnage (ammo from the very start, crazy!), Demolition (most kills wins) or Ceasefire (no weapons, just skill) among others.

    Add in the different gameplay modes including Time Trial, with Game Center integration and you really have the complete package here. For it's worth, I know they are different types of racing games but Pixel Boat Rush is just more fun than Reckless Racing 3.

    I've rated the game with 5 well deserved stars on the UK App Store and wrote a few words about it. Very well done, guys.

    Now what's this I hear about a Plasma Sword sequel? :)
     
  2. sweetdiss

    sweetdiss Well-Known Member

    Jun 15, 2009
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    I posted earlier about how I was having a hard time getting into this, but I forced myself to play for a few more hours and it's definitely winning me over now.

    I stopped thinking of the controls like the opposite of Tiny Wings and more like a regular racing game where you have to let off the gas before entering a curve. Having a much easier time wrapping my head around it now.

    I just started the S league and can't wait to go back through the game afterwards and pick up all the golds I missed.

    Well done!
     
  3. XperimentalZ

    XperimentalZ Well-Known Member
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    That's awesome to hear! I'm glad you've progressed so far and made it to the 'heart' of the game. About the mechanic, the general idea was to capture 'slot cars' but in a sidescroller context: slow down or you'll hurl yourself out of the track!
     
  4. XperimentalZ

    XperimentalZ Well-Known Member
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    #104 XperimentalZ, Oct 15, 2014
    Last edited: Oct 15, 2014
    Very cool to hear, thanks!!

    Haha, I don't know if you're referring to the spoiler or the earlier post, but that's something which is in the air. The game felt as we had wrapped-up all we could do about it so it took a long time before thinking about another angle which could be interesting enough for a sequel.

    The first game was about levelling-up and evolving the gameplay through the game. This put heavy constraints on the level design.

    The general idea would be to preserve the core of the gameplay (jump, attack, dash, dive, slide, slide attack), get rid of the upgrades and have 10-15 environment arranged in a 'outrun' style progression. It would become a 'finite' runner where the goal would be to explore the various paths and try to make better scores. Oh, and switch to a pixel art style.

    At some point we'll try to get feedback from the community to figure out if this could make an interesting sequel or not.
     
  5. H4nd0fg0d

    H4nd0fg0d Well-Known Member

    Mar 30, 2010
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    Looks like PBR has pulled ahead in the gotw polls! PBR ftw!!!
     
  6. vonknut

    vonknut Well-Known Member

    Dec 5, 2013
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    Anybody figured out the energy thingy?
    -defensive powers cost energy, but where can you see the energy and how fast does it replentish?
    -like weapons, with powerups and when lapping?
     
  7. XperimentalZ

    XperimentalZ Well-Known Member
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    Yeah energy is exactly like ammo. It's mapped on ammo on the HUD, and it gets refreshed by ammo. For instance, if you have a shield on the second action slot, you'll recharge it every time you grab ammo or you complete a lap and you'll see the smaller ammo icon in the HUD get recharged.
     
  8. XperimentalZ

    XperimentalZ Well-Known Member
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    #108 XperimentalZ, Oct 16, 2014
    Last edited: Oct 16, 2014
    I'm not sure when we'll be working on the first update, but here's a few minor things on the list so far:

    - Reduced 'angle banking' which comes with acceleration/deceleration, on iPhone (seems all-right on iPad)

    - Removed the possibility to fail the 4th license by bouncing on the rock

    - Made the targets in the 5th license slightly easier to destroy

    - The license A unlock requirement will be to finish in the top 3 class B championship instead of top 2 (and for license S, top 2 instead of winning)

    - Added a blinking effect in the HUD when gaining ammos

    - Fixed the broken leaderboard (Sunset Islands B)

    Other considerations:

    - Check if we can add a few controls options

    - Pray so we can stumble on a solution for that touch input loss

    That's about it for now. Please let us know if you have suggestions!
     
  9. XperimentalZ

    XperimentalZ Well-Known Member
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    Just sent an email to all beta testers to thank them, offering a Promo Code for them or a friend. Please get in touch if you missed that email and you're interested!
     
  10. vonknut

    vonknut Well-Known Member

    Dec 5, 2013
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    Looking forward for the update if it fixes the lost touch.
    Impossible to complete the super series when you loose speed 2-3 times per race in awerage.
    -on iphone5

    Maybe You could try and detect for 'on touch' on regular basis, instead of checking for 'touch phase entered / ended' - or a hack like that?

    Is its a unity game btw?
    -they have issues with the build in ios touch management....
     
  11. Specter-X

    Specter-X Member

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    #111 Specter-X, Oct 17, 2014
    Last edited: Oct 17, 2014
    I LOVE this game! It was difficult to start with but I have kinda mastered it now.

    Just beat the S Class Final Championship and I aim to get 1st place for all the courses. I rated this game 5 stars!

    Here are some suggestions:
    - Boat Color Customization (This would add alot of fun! Not nice seeing CPU having a nicer color combo than your boat)
    - Paying wrenches to change some of the weapons and abilities may be?
    - Make the buttons visible, I am having trouble locating the first and second firing button on the left side while steering with the right side. That's why I always avoid two weapon-ed boats.
    - This is probably not gonna happen but I am so gonna pay more $$ for Multiplayer!
    - Randomly generated Courses?
    - Higher Difficulties?
    - Build a custom boat after beating the game?

    Cheers!
     
  12. XperimentalZ

    XperimentalZ Well-Known Member
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    Oh yeah so often? That's the first time someone reports such a high frequency.

    The system really only enters 'touch event'. It's something simple and standard, which makes the bug quite weird. There's no way to make 'multiple passes' as you suggest, at least from what I'm aware of.

    Nay it's based on Cocos2D. An older version though, as the project was started quite a while ago.
     
  13. XperimentalZ

    XperimentalZ Well-Known Member
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    Congrats for beating the game! And cool ideas :D

    In case this could help for the controls, you can imagine having a diagonal line running from the bottom left corner of the device toward the upper right corner. This defines the limit between the 2 button zones. So If you try touch close to the left side of the device with your thumb, you'll hit one button, and if you try to hit on the bottom side you'll hit the other.
     
  14. vonknut

    vonknut Well-Known Member

    Dec 5, 2013
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    Yeah, sometimes it does not happens, other times is several times in each race.
    -the shooting button also sometimes get stuck and keep firing...

    Ahh, so you keep accelerating if the touch event is started, untill its stopped?
    -and then somehow iphone 5 sends a stop event by error?

    Sounds odd...

    -but yeah, dangerous to update cocos, have a live game ourselve made in unity 3, last time we tried to update it, it 'exploded', so its still kept in ancient code :)
     
  15. XperimentalZ

    XperimentalZ Well-Known Member
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    At least that part is understood. If you touch a button and slide your finger to release on another button, the 'stop' event will never be received by the first button.

    Something like that, but since we never caught it ourselves it's hard to tell.
     
  16. Pipipitchu

    Pipipitchu Well-Known Member

    May 4, 2013
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    I'm color blinded and I can't tell the difference between 1st place and 3rd place trophy.

    Apart from that I'm loving this game!
     
  17. Zunda

    Zunda Well-Known Member

    Mar 6, 2014
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    So I got all the gold trophies and am looking forward to coming update.
    I wonder why TA has yet to review such a great game!
     
  18. XperimentalZ

    XperimentalZ Well-Known Member
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    #118 XperimentalZ, Oct 21, 2014
    Last edited: Oct 21, 2014
    Good question, it might have got delayed or even lost in the crazy number of releases.

    For those of you who got all gold or completed all races, approximatively how many hours did it take?
     
  19. XperimentalZ

    XperimentalZ Well-Known Member
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    I see a few cases where you'd be unable to get clear informations. If you find that issue too penalizing, please let me know and I'll see what I can do in the next update.
     
  20. Shaun Musgrave

    Shaun Musgrave Well-Known Member

    Jul 8, 2013
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    Freelance writer, teacher, business owner
    Ibaraki, Japan
    There is a review coming. It got stuck in between the wall and the refrigerator so I'm trying to coax it out using a Swiffer handle with some gum wadded on the end. Please understand.
     

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