Ok here is the message he sent me “ I might have found the reason but I’m not 100% sure how to go about fixing it. First off, the game’s TOTAL FILE SIZE is a huge deal. I can cut it WAY down and I just tested it on an old iPad 2 and it works perfectly … BUT the catch is that all music has to be downloaded as you play, so it 1) adds load times (about 10 seconds when the music changes), and you must have an internet connection (which was required anyway to play the adventure mode). Secondly, and this is a problem I have NOT figured out how to fix yet, but the game totally crashes when you go to the big map now. The map is giant, and cannot be loaded separately. I will have to figure out some kind of workaround for this. The first problem is fixable and doable, but of course, the second one will require some investigation. I encourage everyone to play at www.retroknight.com on their browsers for the time being. Your save data will be accessible anywhere you play, so think of it as getting a head start. -Noah
Okay okay okay ... I'm here. Yes, I made Retro Knight. I had no idea this forum existed. Thank you to those who reported the issues on the site. 1) I do not own an iPhoneX to test on, so I don't know the screen size issues. I'll look into it. Apple's always messing with things. 2) I DID fix the lag issue with iPads (or at least my old, clunky iPad 2). Seems to run 95% of the time. The only times it seems to lag is when there are a lot of monsters on the screen, but otherwise nothing major. I had to rip out all of the music except for very specific tracks and tracks used in OFFLINE ARCADE MODE. The adventure portion MUST be online due to the sheer size of the game. I never thought FILE SIZE would actually affect the processor, but it does. 3) I CANNOT release this new version until I fix the map. The game just crashes when I try and go to the map, and believe me: the map is giant, esp after I added the sailing aspect at Level 3. I have, however, started to use more Lazy Loading, and I hope breaking up the map into segments will clean this up. Maybe. I don't know. It must be tested. 4) There will probably be no IAPs. I thought about it. Tested it. Couldn't get it to work. Gave up. If people want IAPs, I'll try again. 5) Graphics-shmaficks. Once you get into the game, its addicting as hell. All about gameplay (when it doesn't lag). This game can be played at www.retroknight.com for free, but its on Flash Player and I don't know how much longer Flash is going to live. Thankfully, your data can be moved from browser -> desktop -> mobile -> back again seamlessly. It doesn't matter where you play. You can always use the same data.
PS: If I get this fixed (I'm ditching work today to try and figure this out), you all have to go to the Apple Store and give Retro Knight 5 stars.
Very encouraging news! The point about using TestFlight for people here to help test a game might be worth considering for future games or patches. Regarding your point 4 above. Generally the people here have a low regard for iap’s if they form some sort of pay to win mechanic or affect gameplay such as energy systems or purchasing gold/gems to make the game easier. Iap’s such as extra characters, new areas, expansions however are readily accepted. But we are a small group..... free to play games seem to show that a whole lot of people out there are happy to have all sort of iap’s shinanigans in their mobile games. I hope the slow down issue can be solved for the iPad version. From the short time I was able to play the game it looks great and one I would really enjoy.
I am in no way using this game to get rich, which is why I stray away from IAPs. My day job pays me just fine and I'm comfy, but $2 for this game isn't too much to ask. However, one major IAP might be to instantly upgrade to Level 3 in the game because you can then get the boat and sail around to several islands. It takes a while to get to Level 3. Only 2 players are at Level 3, which is kind of a bummer to me because so many people aren't tooting around in their boat. The boat really takes the game to a whole new level of awesome. I've really narrowed down the MAP issue and I'm getting close to a test that might prove successful. With any luck, v3.3 could be submitted today! I'll even through in the COOKING mechanic I was saving for v3.5, but now it seems I won't bother with v3.5, get v3.3 out there so you guys can play, then really focus up on v4.0 which is due in May and will have the whole Mega Man-themed area.
I will willingly purchase new areas/characters as IAP not so much currency etc I’m pretty much a premium only gamer one of the few, the proud lol Thank you so much for looking into this for us Noah, you’re an awesome guy I’m revising my App Store review right now
YAY! Don't worry, the game is loaded with characters and areas to buy with game money (Gnit). One of the goals of v3.5 was to add more "Builder Bros." areas (unlockable with Gnit), but I think patching this issue is more important. I'll add more in v4.0. There are two major Builder Bros. areas worth unlocking, and one of them is relatively cheap considering all the cool stuff that comes with it. http://www.retroknight.com/guide_armor.php (I need to update that page with new armor parodying Ghostbusters, Ninja Turtles, Storm Troopers, Tron, Star Trek, and others)
Okay. I think I got it. It's running nicely now. No huge issues. Might be a few tiny graphical errors due to older devices, but if you take screenshots of them and post them here, I'm sure I can weed them out. If you still experience some lag, you can turn graphics down to "Simple" on the Options Menu. It will remove blood splatter and a few other extra things to improve performance. I will try and submit v3.3 to Apple today. Their turnaround is about 48 hours unless some stooge is reviewing it. Please keep the discussion going with any other errors you find, as well as ideas, suggestions, or questions about the game.
PS: Not that I dont enjoy the postings, and not that I wont respond... but I do have a discord channel set up for Retro Knight. https://discord.gg/fbe5EZw
Super excited for that update to drop one aspect of this game I look forward to is being able to buy and customize your own plot of home land. And was there a mention of 80s pop culture reference parody armor? Sweeeeet
yes you can design you own yard to some extent. I did notice the editor was quite laggy still on the iPad, but that might be something i can still fix later on. The House features the ability to buy a garden, as well as store more items and use a kitchen.
Really excited to see how the game now plays on iPad. While I have the pc version, my main gaming device is my iPad. It is great to see a developer being so responsive. The thing about the boat opening up a lot more of the game sounds good but I wonder how long it takes get to level 3, as you mentioned it takes a while. Do you have any idea about how much time a “while” might be?
Well, I did design the game based off of mechanics from Animal Crossing. Think of it as Animal Crossing with a sword. You can earn 2 badges/day if you do all the right quests and bonus quests, but then after that, your day is open and you're free to do whatever. I believe it takes 50 badges to get to Level 3 (along with some money and relics). So ... let's say a month of solid gameplay (30 mins per day). When you start, you can visit the main castle and go into the Upgrade Room to see what the next level costs. Only Levels 1-3 are currently available. Each major update will add a new level up to Level 8 (v8.0). Also of note: Level 1 = Mario Level 2 = Zelda Level 3 = Classics (Balloon Fight, Joust, Qbert, Space Invaders) Level 4 = Mega Man Level 5 = Bomberman Level 6 = Bubble Bobble Level 7 = Castlevania Level 8 = Metroid There are "Pac Zones" hidden in the game as well as "Konky Dong Dam" which you can unlock. There are references to many other games like Dig Dug, Blaster Master, and __(your idea here)___. I'm only doing classic Arcade or NES games. (Sorry, Sonic.) There's also this which I keep adding to: http://www.retroknight.com/references.php
Okay so v3.3 is now live. PLEASE LET ME KNOW if you notice improvements! Also PLEASE let me know if you notice any graphical errors. There seemed to be a few when I tested (nothing terrible, just some oddities) on the pause menu. Nothing that doesn't seem to fix itself after a few clicks. I'll try and figure out how to get rid of them for good. I've added a link to this forum on the official site as well. Happy Knighting!
Speeds are improved 100%! Thanks so much Noah! I am already addicted, I just got ramdomly sucked into the pac man inspired maze there is so much to do here, I am just having fun running around exploring trying to figure stuff out and I’m so glad I can actually run now lol What exactly is a patron and how do I become one?
WOOHOO!!! I'm still so confused/shocked that the problem was just "file size". Glad you can enjoy the game as I meant it. The game is indeed designed to be a "do whatever you want" game. Talk to people in the towns. Each town has different things to say about the surrounding areas, as well as just general game tips. There are also tons of random little nooks and crannies on the map. I suggest going due north to meet the Builder Bros up by the edge of the river. You'll need Gnit, but that's a pretty big unlockable area that also changes the map itself! I'm open to suggestions for future updates! I'm going to spend some time making another game for a few months, but v4.0 if Retro Knight is still on my radar for a May release. You can sees some ideas here: http://www.retroknight.com/comingsoon.php
Maybe more character customization? Like a female character? honestly this game is pretty awesome as is..a huge open world to explore with lots of weird random events and tons of stuff to collect/discover. Can’t recommend it enough!
There actually are 3 female characters. You can go back to the castle and see if the Secretary wants to join you. I voice an old lady named Angela Pimlot who can be found in Grumpy Town, and later you can find a gypsy/pirate named Selena Seaboots. I am considering a CHARACTER EDITOR loosely based on the one in Smash Bros which will let you pick gender, skin tone, hair color, and MAYBE some different voice options. The more audio I add to the game = more lag (it seems), so I have to be careful. UPDATE: Talked with my wife and she will do a Grudgette voice (imitating me as Grudge). I will add Saloons to the towns later on that will let you change the features as mentioned. Never heard of a saloon doing a sex-change, but whatever.
Game is now totally playable on iPad. I noticed a slight screen jitter on my iPad Pro, more noticable when moving left to right, but it’s not affecting gameplay. So glad you took the time to sort out the problem.
There are still going to be a few minor jitters sadly. The map might freeze for a split-second because it has to load the next big bitmap image. This also might occur during gameplay, but yeah, I still found it totally playable on my iPad 2. Glad we got this fixed too. All I want is more players! The more players = the more time I will take to update it and add more cool stuff.
