I kind of like that there is IAP. It seems like you would rush through the game if it was easy to get money and resources. This way you actually have to work at it. But of course there is an option to buy coins if you don't. I have played only for like 30mins (game keeps crashing on me) but I like it and I'm glad I have to wait for a period of time to collect money. It's like a combination of those freemium zynga games but with a puzzle mechanic. I am one who likes playing those zynga type games (even though I don't spend a penny in them). It makes it much more rewarding and keeps me coming back to the game. I like the game and give it four stars. Would be 5 if it didn't crash so much.
Well, I have played for over two hours and have not been close to being out of gold. I have close to 300 right now. The game seems pretty balanced and gives out gold at a good rate. So far the timer hasn't limited me, I was still playing when the two hours passed and I got more gold.
Just lost two hours of my life and loved it. I started playing this about two hours ago and just realized that had gone all the way through the 2 hour timer and got more money. Wow. A good game. I sincerely like it and will have to keep myself from playing it too much. It's got the, I just need a little more of this, from minecraft with the match 3 and town building mechanic. Recommended! Oh! I haven't even thought about using the IAP yet.
I caved in and bought it because I love this type of match 3 games. I retract my previous comment on this thread, this game is actually pretty sweet... IAP not needed so far.
This. I don't mind the occasional IAP, I don't mind the occasional grind and I don't mind taking a chance with $0.99, but there are hundreds of iOS games that require you to wait for some kind of timer to expire before you can continue playing, and now I'm bored of them. I'd rather have control over how much time I spend plunging into the depths of a game instead of being told there are 45 minutes left before my energy is replenished.
2 hours in and I'd have to agree. I still don't see a need for IAP (to play continuously, that is) as long as you put a little thought into the play.
Okaaaay, I am now nearly 2,5 hours into the game and might be able to clear some things up. I am also wondering how some people are playing the game and if they're really trying to see the game mechanics and how they work. As I said, 2,5 hours into the game. I need yet to hit a pay wall... well, I don't see any. I have gathered enough gold to play on for quite a while. This said: the IAP are at this point of the game absolutely unneccessary and are only there to speed up the progression of your town. Some of you mentioning the 2-hrs-timer you see (and fear)... that mechanism might be explained in a simple way: the game is first and foremost a chain-3-or-more, which wants you to always build the biggest chains in the matching part (in the same way as Dungeon Raid requires it). Another big part is the intelligent and cautious use of ressources. The game leads you through the first steps with a very well done tutorial, never leaving you out of gold, until you've built your market place. Then it lets you slowly off, but still takes your hand from time to time. Now for the important part: there might be a point where you could accidentally make a wrong decision, leaving you without gold to go to the field and completely stop your progression. I assume that this is the time where the timer mechanism kicks in. You get punished a bit because you need to wait a short time to continue playing, but in the end, it provides you with enough gold to visit your field again, to gather ressources which you can sell at the market or use it to build stuff. If you aren't stuck in the other case, the game rewards you with a small heap of additional coins for good gameplay. You don't really need that gold, but you get it anyway to speed your progression up a little bit. But it would be stupid to give you this tax every 5 minutes, because this would lead to an overflow of gold, ruining the goal of the game: gathering ressources and "working hard" to build up a cool kingdom. The best of all might be, that if you make a mistake to leave you completely without ressources, the game doesn't end... instead it shows which mistake you've made but lets you play on. And that is - actually - really cool. But there's always a left-over ressource you can sell when you run out of gold. So that 2-hrs-timer for tax collection is only the last help when really nothing else works anymore. And of course, the game becomes more difficult the more you play. Better ressources are harder to gather but you always can play 1-2 turns to restock your cheap wares and bit and go for the better stuff after that. And the whole thing doesn't feel like grinding. So again: there was no need for me to buy IAPs yet. Looking at the game mechanics, there should be no need even in endgame. It all depends how well you're doing and if you get insight into the mechanics of the game. The two-hrs-timer doesn't limit you, if you don't run out of gold or ressources completely. And running out completely is not a simple task. A few last words about the game itself: crisp graphics with nice animations, highly polished, lots of details, smooth running and undisturbing musics and sounds. My buck was very well spent.
Yup, no sale for me. It's not the $1 cost, it's the fear I'll have to throw another $5-10-15 at it to actual play the game when I hit some arbitrary "wall". Oh wait, it's "optional" because I can just wait 3 hours and gain more in-game money. Nuts to that. Edit: Read Vovin's informative post, and I still don't like it. There are other ways to limit resources than a timer. And even if you can argue you won't usually need to fall back to this timer anyway, I'm still staying away. Any game with such a mechanic at all is one I'd rather not play. Sorry.
You're welcome! Hope you enjoy as I do. PS: that timer mechanism (or fail-save) is quite neccessary, in the end. I think that the devs don't want you to fail totally in the endgame, leaving you absolutely frustrated because you don't be able to finish PuzzleCraft and have to start from the scratch. This way, the 1-star-reviews would bloom.
Thanks for the updates. The initial responses weren't nearly as promising. I'll bite on this now. (BTW, re: the it's only 99c response, it's not that--it's that I might invest a couple of hours into the game, then find it unplayable. That's really, really annoying when you get surprised like that.)
I have that one. As I have a lot titles that do not require IAP. But I would imagine from a lot of the responses. If you had a game that still required a grind, no iap, but cost a little more, there would be a slight market from it. Especially with the amount of OCD that is occurring in most gaming now. Literally make a version without the IAP option and charge more. Heck even Itunes reviews ask for this.
I got the same experience as Vovin, 2.5 hours gameplay until my iPhone ran out of battery. I don't get the hate this game is getting here. Sure, there's IAP which is more of a gold cheat if you want a shortcut. I have yet to hit a paywall and the game is great! The fact that someone hit the paywall in 20 minutes blows my mind. I didn't even do trading in the market, just normal harvesting and I still have 300+ gold. Highly recommended for Match 3 or SIM fans. Oh yea, I had a couple of crashes but the game saves. Don't really know what's the problem.
Vovin's post convinced me. As long as there's no waiting for coins and I can keep playing, I'm fine with the IAP. Mindlessly hating on all IAP despite its numerous implementations having vastly different effects from one another is somewhat ridiculous. It's not my favourite business model by a long shot, but I'm still willing to face up to the fact that it CAN work.
iAP issues aside, how much actual varied content does the game have? Is there a real sense of progression?
The game works. You slowly gain more materials to build more buildings which in turn helps you gain more materials. You unlock new stuff when you level up. You can use equipment to help gather materials but it's not really needed. The game reminded me of Agricola with the farm SIM and resource gathering.
Hey all, If I liked 10000000 will I like this? That game was awesome, but I've finished it now... ;_;
