Sine Mora wasn't designed for iOS, and the sheer number of positive reviews given to it on the various platforms speak to the effectiveness of the very deliberate design choices; not one of the many reviews I looked at complained about the lack of 1:1 movement. The truth is that 1:1 movement isn't "always best", it's just what you personally prefer, even if it doesn't benefit the game. There's absolutely nothing special about the iOS platform that warrants (let alone necessitates) special treatment that has been shown to none of the other platforms on which the game has been released (the developers have already made concessions that were nice of them, but unnecessary). There's no reason why the iOS shouldn't maintain the same deliberate aspect ratio presentation as the other versions, and there's no reason why the game should have its core control scheme and movement method fundamentally altered from those offered on the other platforms. This really is one of those situations where the developer has made the right call by not caving in to noise and fundamentally butchering their game in an attempt to cater to self-serving complaints. Adding the different control schemes while maintaining the same actual gameplay was the most appropriate compromise for the situation; 1:1 movement is something the game has demonstrated over and over again on multiple platforms that it simply doesn't need. As for complaints made by some about repeatedly losing powerups and finding it hard to dodge bullets, that has far less to do with poor or unbalanced design than it does do with you simply needing to learn to play better. It is entirely possible to make it through a level without constantly getting hit if you're actually skilled at the game, so if you're having trouble in this regard, the obvious solution isn't for the developers to dumb down the game or give you control methods the game wasn't designed for, the solution is for you to improve.
Yeah I played a bit the 360 version last week...I noticed more shadows and a different lighting/fog...but I must say it's simply GORGEOUS on retina iPad. Underwater level is my fav, hands down, followed by the factory and the Libelle canyon. The update added soooo many effects!!!! Some effects that weren't here before are pretty important too...for example on the observatory boss you can now see where the huge rays from the sky will land (I had to memorize those pattern before!!!). Last bosses have a pletora of really cool new effects too (glowing barriers, electrical fields and such). I must add that I'm really impressed at how well it works...they got rid of the cutscenes huge explosion stuttering in last update too. Technically it's amazing. Considered what they have done here...I wonder why we aren't already invaded by clones of Shadow Complex or Deadlight games too.
Space Tripper doesn't have 'instantaneous 1:1 controls'... This thread has killed my hope... Not only for iOS gaming, but TA's forums...
Thats ridiculous. You go through this thread and there wasnt huge anger/swearing/throwing toys out of the pram. Just people wanted another control scheme. I dont remember the same people getting this upset in the Older Brothers thread when people wanted alt controls. What next ? We cant criticise an app icon, cant moan its not widescreen, cant criticise filesize etc ? Its a forum, you get feedback, you might not agree with it all but we all have different tastes This is a thread about adding more control options to a game, its not about invading the middle east or that. Killed your hope for ios gaming ? Come on
Considering I am the only person who has mentioned the issue of losing power-ups, I will respond to your comments. My ability to play the game has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I will never be in favor of losing or having firepower reduced due to getting hit, ever, and this goes with any game, not just Sine Mora. Simply put, there are other ways of being penalized that don't involve being forced to take a step backwards, then a step forwards, then a step backwards again, simply for taking damage. I have passed boards in this game and barely gotten hit at all, but this does not change the fact that I find it to be an archaic mechanic and an overall distraction. In fact, I could hypothetically be the best Sine Mora player on the planet and pass each board and never get hit or lose any power-ups and I would still find it to be ridiculous in concept. I prefer a construct where your ship is in a constant state of advancement--for example, Phoenix HD or Dariusburst--where your weapon upgrades only move forward and become a permanent fixture as you advance, not a state of flux where you have to constantly worry about regaining your ground and chasing orbs around to do so. This situation is made worse in Sine Mora in particular on iOS due to the controls as acting as a hinderance (at least from my perspective on them). So, not only do I find the mechanic to be annoying inherently, but it is doubled when I am not able to work with the mechanic due to a dubious sense of movement. A situation where you lose your orbs, go to chase them, reacquire them, lose them again immediately after by getting hit during the pursuit--this type of cycle would be more easily avoidable with more favorable controls. I made this point clear in my other posts, that this mechanic would be more negligible on the consoles due to the lack of virtual controls. Either way I'm going to dislike it, and improving my ability to play the game better will not change this.
Well, that is true, in Space Tripper it is kinda a funky sometimes fast, sometimes delayed relative touch. Guess just saying a funky kinda fast but sometimes delayed relative touch is fine. But Sine Mora is way different, it is a much more delayed relative touch almost joystick like relative touch (which basically it is). Ok, and to make everyone happy, I edited the original post with the stuff in parenthesis. http://forums.toucharcade.com/showpost.php?p=2916553&postcount=600
I dunno, I just think we are all talking about apple and oranges in this thread, and I too like syntheticvoid am very discouraged by this thread. Anyway, carry on.
Think its gone OTT. This is a great game, i liked it when it first came out, hoped they would add relative touch (other review sites thought the same), they've added relative touch. No problem now at all. I like devs who listen to feedback and specially from the majority. This is a great game, hope it sells well.
Space Tripper doesn't have RT at all. They created a sort of unique relative swipe for it. Since scrolling in the game is always based on your own movement, RT wouldn't really work since your ship's position onscreen never changes. Their implementation of tilt movement is probably the best I've seen and the unusual relative swipe worked quite well, but the game is a bad example to use of a game that worked without RT. Even though some people on TA love it, the game was a financial failure, and I think that's mostly because there was not a good touch screen control method (like RT) possible for the game.
Yes, I will make my statement short too cause otherwise the pro side will pick it apart. Thank you dev for the improvements, since I am new to this thread, please consider my request for instantaneous touch, the ability to skip cutscenes, and icade joystick support. Thank you, please look at my title for the hdmi and icade thread links, hopefully if possible you can add some kind of joystick support to this game. The bosses are awesome in this game. Thank you for listening to our comments.
You can skip cutscenes tapping the upper part of the screen to fast forward them. If you want to play without any cutscenes at all, that's what arcade mode is for (but you can select only hard difficulty, not normal as far as I can remember). Now that you mention it, GREAT IDEA!!! First thing I'll do back from work is trying the game on the big screen using the iphone with floating stick as a controller (maybe I'll put some stickers on the buttons to find them without looking).
You know, it wasn't me that brought this whole Space Tripper issue into this thread, but yeah, bottom line, the relative touch in ST is the most funky relative touch there is, but it still works for me. I still stand by my statement and always will, that on ios touch screens, instantaneos touch options should be an option. I am not saying they are the best for everyone, personally for me, I like it the best. Joystick use is good too. Anyway, I could really care less about it, I am just requesting that it be put in, and it seems like in this thread there are like 50 different arguements going on about different things. I don't care, and I'm not about to read all 60 some pages to find out what everyone is argueing about. This thread to me is almost like a RR3 thread with a very vocal pro side, and large majority that are afraid to post or be jumped on. Just my 2 cents worth, cause that's all it is. I find it kind of sad. But anyway, I don't really care. Just something to think about.
Sounds like you've misunderstood the current discussion. Right now people aren't debating the merits of joystick controls versus relative touch (most people have shown they're quite happy to have both options available even if they prefer one over the other), they're discussing the existing deliberate fixed movement speed versus the alleged "need" for a brand new 1:1 movement scheme that no other version of the game has, that the game has not been designed or balanced around, and that would be a fundamental change that has yet to be shown as being in the game's best interest. Well, no, you're not the only person who has made such comments in this thread. And your personal preferences are your own, but in your posts on the matter you have attempted to portray almost every aspect of the game from the level design to the powerup system to the aspect ratio as being poorly designed, a viewpoint disputed by the overwhelming majority of the hundreds of posts and reviews to the contrary across five separate platforms. It makes a great deal more sense for the developers to simply point you towards another game that has what you want than it does for them to fundamentally change their own in order to meet your particular expectations, especially when so many people are happy with the things with which you've taken issue. Other ways, certainly. Whether these are objectively better ways, though, you haven't established, and the fact that you just don't like something doesn't mean it is poorly designed, badly implemented, or needs to be changed. Improving your skill will mean it is far less relevant, however, whether you choose to continue to blame the controls or not. By definition, a player simply will not get stuck in the sort of "vicious cycle" of losing powerups you claim to keep experiencing unless they're not very good at the game; you can't lose powerups if you're not getting hit. Your personal anxiety over potentially losing powerups isn't a valid reason for the developers to change the system they've chosen for their game.
Oops fair enough. With so many pages in this thread i just havent gone back over the last 10 or so ! Thought we were on the original moan I'm getting lost with what we're arguing about !
Well, I'm the other person who wrote about my dislike of losing power ups when being hit in this game. I've felt this was a big drawback of the game on Xbox 360 too. In my opinion, it's a flaw in the game design, which is exacerbated by the not very good controls, too small bullets, hard to see missiles, a very large hitbox and a general confusion in the game design itself. I've played it quite a bit on the Xbox and I absolutely hated the fact that I spend so much time chasing power ups, half of which was out of reach within a second or two, and found that it often made things even worse when trying to retrieve them. Whether its because I suck at the game, I don't know, but it's an opinion, and I'm not the only one. Just take a look at Shmups forums where there's a huge thread debating the points I've made. This is more a critique of the game in general, not of the port, which in itself is excellent, especially now with RT controls, and not something that can or will be changed, but an interesting discussion on game design in general and Shmups in particular. If its deemed inappropriate to discuss this here, I'll retreat, but I do find some comments here bordering on angry posts whenever there's critique of this game.
Ugh... Dude you're just looking to argue and prove your point, even though everything I have said has been my opinion. Whether my 'portrayal' of the game offends you or not, there is no need to be so defensive. Too tired to deal with this now, and I'm sure you'll be around to argue it some more later.
Yeah, the console versions are a step up again but this is as you say a gorgeous version. The new update has added so many graphical touches and particle effects on A6 devices, only the second stage where you fly above water around the grass topped rocks stands out as inferior to the console versions due to the water. For £3.99 on an iPad though? It's a great port of a great game. And people comparing it to the likes of DoDonPachi should just delete Sine Mora and get out. Completely different games.
"because the controls are wrong, some of the bullets are too hard to see, the audio is rubbish, the mode with fun bosses and levels forces you to sit through story sections, the time mechanic is irritating, the weapons are too weak, power ups fall off the screen sometimes before you have any chance of getting to them (and i dont mean medals), the hitboxes are weird, and probably other things." LOL.
