I'm a huge fan of the sentinel games but I'm not sure about this so far. I don't think the graphics are much of a step forward, I can live with that but I'm finding the new UI a bit confusing and it's been tricky to work out exactly what does what. I still haven't worked out what the 50 credits battery thing next to the stronghold is meant to do for example. The other thing I don't really like is the fact that when turrets take damage there's no way to repair them quickly unless you upgrade them and as far as I can tell if they're at their max you can't even repair them at all unless you've got repair droids going on - which are far too slow to be much use. I'm also not sure it needs the star fragments currency. I'm going to persevere and I do still like it I'm just not sure I like it as much as the others.
Thanks for the feedback orangecan. To answer some of your questions: - the stronghold battery thing is a power generator. This will speed up the rate at which your stronghold abilities charge for the remainder of the level. - As you progress through the campaign you will gain numerous ways to repair and protect your turrets. The repair bonus when upgrading is not really intended to be a main way to keep your turrets alive. Also, salvaging destroyed turrets will refund you a good portion of the cost of the turret, meaning that the monetary loss is not too devastating. Also, the armoury upgrades can be a great way to keep turrets alive. During beta, some testers were coming up with some great strategies such as creating a 'tanking turret' by choosing the laser turret and upgrading health and auto-repair to the max. During the game, these can then be placed around you main turrets to protect them, and draw the enemies fire and soak damage. As a side note, the UI went through many many changes during beta. It's very difficult to show how everything works without lengthy tutorials, and nobody wants those. If anybody has any suggestions for tweaks to the UI they would be gratefully received.
I was a big fan of Sentinel 3! I'm not that far into the game yet, but Sentinel 4 looks at least as good! Fantastic game! But as always, a few suggestions for improvements (mostly iPad specific): (1) An in-game restart option. Right now I have to quit the map and reselect it etc. (2) After you die there's an option to "continue" if you spent star fragments. There seems to be no explanation what happens if you select yes (everything repaired and full health?). (3) On the iPad there should be an option to permanently display the Sentinel weapons somewhere on the screen. (4) On the iPad here should be an option to not auto-hide the commander and stronghold menus (the ones after you long-press the icons). (5) You should be able to change drone behavior inside the above mentioned long-press menu without having to jump to the stronghold. (6) On the iPad the in-game controls could be smaller to save space (for 3. and 4. etc.) (7) On the iPad you should be able to zoom out more. (8) On newer devices the loading screen tips sometimes disappear to quickly to read. (9) A preview or more details of how upgrades change some stats would be helpful. At one point I spent credits on "turrent cost reductions" and nothing (relevant) got cheaper... (10) There's a limit on defense droid that's not mentioned anywhere beforehand. (11) For the slow turret it says duration instead of damage but it's not immediately clear what the numbers are supposed to mean (6/10/15/18). It's not seconds. (12) The in-game story pop-ups don't behave very well. I keep tapping to move on but sometimes it seems to hang or I have to wait or tap somewhere else. That's it for now Keep up the good work!
Some great suggestions there thanks! They'll go into the cooking pot for the first update. To answer some questions: - In-game restart was left out, as you now earn rewards even if you leave an unfinished game (credits/xp/fragments). - Continue kills all enemies, heals all barriers and your stronghold to full, and gives you some cash ($200 i think) - zoom has to be restricted to the map dimensions. You can zoom out until either the height or width of the map hits the edge of the screen. Otherwise you would have black bars/nothingness displayed if you were allowed to zoom out further. - slow turret durations are actually in 0.1 second multiples. So, 18 is 1.8 seconds of slow. - the cutscene dialogs can only be dismissed after any movement of cutscene characters has finished, this is denoted by the little blue arrow in the box. Thanks again for your great feedback!
I just don't get this mentality. Who cares if it goes on sale. It is 5 bucks for hours of entertainment that someone spent months working on. The other words I have for you will not be well received.
You bring up a fair point, but it is not smart from a PR perspective to drop the price in the first month, like other apps do.
I don't see why you couldn't show the rewards screen (like when you quit the game) and then automatically restart the map (at least from a UX standpoint).
While I do agree with your point, a new Sentinel TD game deserves our full monetary support. And Origin8 deserves the benefit of the pricing doubt. So let's not declare them guilty of something until they actually do it.
Thanks very much for the reply - I think some of my issues may be a case of shock of the new, hopefully things will click a bit more as I keep playing. I still haven't delved into the upgrade structure at all. What springs to mind immediately about the UI that I'd like to see is something telling me which levels I've finished missions on, whether I've completed them on easy, medium or hard.
Thanks. Early feedback is suggesting that some are frustrated with having their turrets destroyed, maybe the waves of soldiers in the early levels need toning down slightly until you get a few more tools in your belt. Also, I've been thinking about the possibility of adding a simple repair button on the turrets UI which you can just pay to fix you turret instantly. I originally left this off as I felt it detracts from using your other tools and gadgets to do the fixing, but maybe there is a case for it. Map completion blips are displayed above each map pin on the campaign map, and also at the top of the screen when a map is selected, so you can see which difficulties you have completed for each map
I'm up to level 12 atm and think the game is great so far. I have to agree that the turrets getting destroyed all the time is annoying however that won't be so bad once I've gotten to upgrade the laser further in health and auto repair. Perhaps lowering the orbital repair power down to 2 energy bars from 3 would help as I find myself always using missiles instead of it. And just one small issue with the UI, a toggle button would be nice so that when I click the commander or stronghold button at the sides it doesn't zoom me all the way back out but instead jumps to that location.
Thanks for the suggestions. I do think the Orbital Repair needs to take more power than the missiles though, it's one of the most effective Sentinel abilities The zoom thing is one of those irritating things that you want sometimes and not others, but we do try and keep the number of extra buttons down to try and keep the UI as simple as possible. If you don't want to zoom the camera you can always use the shortcut menu buttons instead by holding on the commander or stronghold buttons.
First Update So, after collecting the first few days feedback we've had a few surprises and have begun working on the first update to Sentinel 4: Dark Star. The main issues seem to be: - Frustration from getting turrets destroyed. It would seem that even though it's been balanced with the salvage system to cause little monetary loss, the frustration from actually having to rebuild is off-putting. To rectify this, I'm currently experimenting with an instant repair button which you can use to repair turrets for a fee. I'm also reducing the difficulty of the offensive waves in the first few levels so players have a few more options in the armoury first (mainly the Shielder Turrets, unlocked after level 5). - Not finding armoury upgrades. We've had reports that some people haven't seen them, and assume we've removed the top tier turret upgrades from Sentinel 3, or have a very low repair drone limit. I'm adding extra info in-game to make it clear these things are available but must be unlocked first. As a side note, the design idea to have enemies damage your towers was a new feature aimed directly at our main criticism of Sentinel 3, which was that it felt too 'passive' and that you could just set up towers and kind of leave the game alone. With Sentinel 4 we tried to make it more dynamic by having a whole new damage/salvage/protect system for your towers to balance along with the usual decisions of what to spend your money on. Also, if anyone has any other feedback about the main points above, or would like anything else implemented into the first update, then now is the time to make your request A massive thank you for all your support and we are committed to making this the best TD game it can be.
All previous Origin8 games (at least what they would consider "legacy apps") have had advertisements inserted post-purchase. No...I don't forget.
First impressions I've never waited for a release the way I waited for this one and I've sunk more time than any other game on Sentinel 3. Here are my impressions after playing for a couple hours: 1) zero help or information in-game. I've played Sentinel 3 and even I have no idea what "UI" means or why I'd turn it off. I also have no clue what star fragments are or how you'd use them. Seeing as how that's a major feature don't you think you'd have some explanation? The list of unexplained features is endless and frustrating. I still have no idea what the base does or why I'd want to buy a battery for it. I can't believe anyone would make cool features and give players ZERO information in what it is or how it's used. 2) I'd like some info in how much an upgrade something is. For example, if I'm spending credits in increased barrier health, why can't I know how much that is? The same goes for virtually all upgrades. Zero information. 3) I've heard the developers say they have retina graphics. Are they hiding them in a box in their garage because they certainly aren't in this game. In fact, I'm using the best IPad Air you can buy and the graphics are worse than Sentinel 3. The first level aliens look like blue smudges. Seriously? 4) The story doesn't make sense. Ever bought a book at Half Priced Books only to find out the first 17 pages are missing? That's what it feels like here. I start the game and I have no fearing clue what "Dark Star" even refers to. Then I start getting dialogue that feels like I walked into a play mid-performance. Wait, who are you and what am I doing here? Oh wait, you're an alien and now your on my side. That's great, but where are we again and why am I here? Was I fighting you just now or are you some other race? Hey, a big ship came! Oh wait, no it didn't. It ran away. Does all my base are belong to you? 5) soundtrack is awesome. By far the highlight of my experience. I jacked up the volume, put the game down, cracked open some glow sticks and had a mini rave in my basement. At least that way I knew I'd have fun for 30 minutes. 6) I tried the game sober, couldn't get into it. So then I tried it while drinking a few beers, still couldn't get into it. My last ditch effort was a liter of vodka and a gaming nest on the couch with pillows, blankets, and The Matrix on TV. Every couple minutes I was reminded why I can't stand this version and just went back to playing Sentinel 3 and Kingdom Heroes. Playing this game is like reconnecting with an old girlfriend who got ugly and out of shape. You start the date sober, realize you need to drink a bit before hitting it, then realize far too late that no amount of booze is going to make your junk work. 7) I don't mind having turrets get destroyed. I really don't. But if a few shots from an early level alien is going to kill a fully upgraded turret, what would happen in later levels I wonder. I have to wonder because the chances of me making it to late-game levels are the same as me stealing a box of cigars south of the Mason-Dixon Line. 8) ? Button. Ok, so I'm frustrated and I'm FINALLY willing to admit I need help in the game because, as stated before, there is no information provided in-game. Just like the messed up playground set in my back yard, I'm finally admitting defeat and willing to read the instruction manual. So I click on the ? Mark button--the universal sign for "help" by the way and guess what I find? A list of credits. On what planet does ? mean "credits"? If you say "Dark Star" I'm going to commit suicide by wearing a hoodie in Florida. It's like being stranded in a lifeboat and opening a can marked "food" to find a kick-ass recipe for lemon chicken. It's toying with a desperate man's hope. 9) Droids. Apparently you can put a droid down in the middle of the path, which seems kind of cool--a blend of sentinel and field runners-- then you realize they can run right through the droids like they were nothing. So, what's the point of droids if they cant stop a runny nose? Their damage is weak, they get killed easily, and they don't stop squat. Maybe if the maps had more open spaces and the droids worked like field runner towers and you could create pathways that would be useful. As it is, however, there's really no point. 10) Repair drones: I imagine the developers' conversation went something like this...."you know. The repair drones were really useful in Sentinel 3 and easy to control. I got an idea for Sentinel 4! Let's make the drones super fast but do practically nothing. They'll zip around the screen like mosquitos and hover around crap that doesn't need repairing and ignore the main gate that's about to fall. What about gathering resources in their off time? Didn't I tell you last night that I programmed all towers to be damageable so there is NEVER a time they'll gather resources!"
1. Agreed to some extent though it's really not that hard to figure out 2. Agreed 3. Meh, the graphics are fine imo 4. Have you finished the game? If you haven't you really shouldn't judge the story 5. Uhm ok? 6. See 5. Less failed attempts at being witty please 7. l2use shield towers. I didn't have this issue. Classic PEBCAK 8. Agreed but again, failed attempts at being witty/sarcastic does little to help your point 9. Agreed 10. So far i've had the droids gather resources on every single map. Again, a l2play issue So to sum up, that was quite a long rant just because you apparently aren't very good at the game
Thanks Wignifty, I appreciate the time you've spent constructing all of this feedback. With such a complex game, explaining all the buttons and systems to the user is difficult without lengthy tutorials and screenfuls of text. The Stronghold Generators is something that a few people have been confused by since release, I'll be adding something to explain these new systems more fully. The droids can each stop one enemy and have much more health and are much cheaper than a tower. So, used just in front of your first line of towers and used in large numbers, they can soak offensive damage effectively as well as thin the enemies numbers reaching your main turret defences. The repair drones do repair slower than in sentinel 3, but this is because you can get so many of them with the armoury upgrades. It's also true that there is much more stuff to repair, but you can always switch their priority to repair buildings, or just to harvest if you like, by using the buttons on the stronghold.
