waiting for this since March makes me antsy but thanks for being up front with the 'Apple did it' information. i guess i'll just sit tight!
I bought this today, and the update has fixed a lot of the biggest UI issues so it's definitely worth buying now. That said, there are still some lingering rough edges. Two things in particular stood out during my first crack at the campaign. 1/ At the start of a turn, the UI pops up with all the available commands for the chariot. The trouble with this, is that the commands lay over the top of any nearby chariots. In a tight race, jostling for position, tapping around on the opponents to check the condition of their horses is very useful to highlight the greatest danger. With the commands being an immovable overlay, this means you sometimes are prevented from doing this, and at the time you most need to do so. Proposed solution: tapping on my own chariot to hide the commands UI, so that I could inspect the rivals and then select my own auriga to bring the UI back up. 2/ I played a solid 3 hours, utterly addicted to trying to get my Syrian legionaries up to snuff in Caesarea. Had some epic races, and had about 13k denari in the bank and two promising aurigas. My best man flipped his chariot and was being dragged, and died seconds later before I even had the option to try and escape to the stands. I'd never lost a man before, and the game offered the option to save him by paying 13.5k denari (presumably for the best medical care available in Syria). I knew it would just about wipe out my bankroll, but figured the investment in the auriga's skills outweighed the expense so I pressed the button to accept it. The very instant I pressed the button, I went to the "Vae Victus" game over screen. Wtf? Apparently I didn't have enough money to support my team and so it was the end of the line. This was ridiculous for several reasons. First, I wouldn't have tried to save my top dude if I had known that this could happen. Second, I shouldn't have been offered the option to press a button (with no way of checking my current balance) that would result in an instant game over. Third, I still had men and horses that I could have sold to keep my team running, but had no option to even visit the management screen to do so. Three hours of play, clawing my way into the ancient racing scene while learning how to drive these chariots, having the best possible time and being thankful that I took the plunge on the game, then a game over right out of the blue that SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE. It left a really bitter aftertaste to what had been a splendid afternoon's gaming. Proposed solution: The screen with an option to save a dead auriga should show the cost AND the current bankroll. It should NOT be possible to select it if funds are not available. And in all cases, there should be an option to sell assets to buy things/prevent bankruptcy. The game isn't over until I no longer have a single functioning chariot to put into the circus. It's a great game, it honestly is fun as hell. But it needs some more polishing Slitherdudes. In addition to the above, I would also like to add in a request to be able to pan around during a turn. Yes I can zoom out a bit, and yes I can pan around between turns, but sometimes there is action happening offscreen during a move and I can't move the camera to watch the AI battling it out.
So, anything new here? I'm a longtime sports sim enthusiast (especially PC game Front Office Football and the CM/FM series), and bought this on spec the first I heard of it. Totally sounds like my cup of tea. Now, after three times opening it up and seeing the credits, I still haven't started anything. Gripes here about UI and so forth...I'm still at ground zero. Worth it to try to immerse? Should I watch the PC videos? Or just muscle through early learning curve issues? Or just not bother?
Half price for who knows how long. If you were thinking about getting this (like I was) there isn't a better time like the present.
No patches since July 2014 though. No buy for me at any price since I've read about several issues needing fixed. Sad...
Yeah, I've played the game for around 50 hours and haven't had any issues. This game is a steal for $5, an absolute gem and truly a unique game on the AppStore.
I can't believe you've played this game without any issues. I like this game, I recommend this game, but you really do need to work around its very old-fashioned UI and design quirks. It's a unique gem, but it really could use some polish. I did post over on the Slitherine forums too but the original dev (not Slitherine, who ported it) is on record as pretty much considering the game "finished". I doubt it'll ever get any more patches or updates. I can't stress enough that it is a fun, strangely compelling and utterly unique game that I'm happy to own. I just wish any part of it looked or felt like it came from the last 10 years. Game looks like something you'd boot into from a Windows 98 command prompt.
One of my Aurigas has 5 wins which is enough for him to be list as one of the top leaders in the city I'm racing in, but he's not listed. There is an Auriga with 4 wins listed as the last name on the list and 9 wins for the top guy. Anyone have any idea why my guy wouldn't be listed?
I hate that I have to stop playing this, but I restarted and again my Aurigas are not showing up as leaders, so I guess that leaves me with no way to progress. I was really enjoying this too. Edit: I think I may see the issue. One of the leaders is of the same faction as me but has more wins.
