Space Barrage Arcade - Announcement and Beta

Discussion in 'Upcoming iOS Games' started by aaronsullivan, Dec 10, 2013.

  1. aaronsullivan

    aaronsullivan Well-Known Member

    #21 aaronsullivan, Dec 11, 2013
    Last edited: Dec 11, 2013
    We are planning on implementing an optional system for the iPad so the targetting reticle moves twice as fast as your finger. As it is right now I find that using my thumb for the buttons and my finger for pointing works best, but we'd like people to be able to play with thumbs.

    Tip on the shield building: When you are first getting used to it, just ignore the rotate button. You can do more faster without it. Eventually, when you are comfortable with it, you'll want to get some of those precise fits. Also, don't be afraid to spam that place shields button as you move it around. :D
     
  2. aaronsullivan

    aaronsullivan Well-Known Member

    Just wanted to make a general announcement that we are going to try hard to release a new version of the beta this afternoon. It will have some tips about how the game works at the end of the tutorial and we are not only interested in what our current testers think, but a couple fresh perspectives would be great as well.

    If you are interested in joining the beta testing team you can click this link:
    http://tflig.ht/1fDnynO

    If you haven't seen it yet, there's more information in the original post at the top of this thread, too. :)
     
  3. aaronsullivan

    aaronsullivan Well-Known Member

    Next beta version is up. As a direct result of everyone's helpful feedback we added a single screen summary of the basic game mechanics that shows up at the end of the tutorial. There's a picture attached.

    Thanks so much for all the feedback so far. I'm starting to check out the leaderboards and I want to see more of you on there!

    Also, it would be helpful if anyone checked the achievements. Did the tutorial achievement show up for you? We might have a glitch there to work out.

    Barring anything major we'll be submitting to Apple soon, so if you haven't contacted us about an issue or concern, please do!
     

    Attached Files:

  4. djstout

    djstout Well-Known Member

    Jul 21, 2011
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    Sportscaster & football (soccer) coach
    Taiwan & Japan
    Thank to the dev for letting me test this game, I enjoyed playing it and found it pretty challenging. At first I didn't really understand how to play it and it took me a little while to get it right, a bit confusing, but thats mainly because I didn't read properly the explanations. The game is pretty simple and actually well explain, the gameplay is well designed and the colours are pretty warm which make it easier to see what is happening. I didn't play enough to see how much the game has to offer, but from what I have seen, its challenging, addictive and enjoyable. Beautiful work and well done! I will keep playing it and will send you more feedbacks
     
  5. aaronsullivan

    aaronsullivan Well-Known Member

    So glad you are enjoying it and thanks for the kind words, it's very encouraging. Did you go back to the "How to Play" more than once? Just curious.

    I'm biased of course, but I've played this game a gajillion times myself and I'm still not tired of it. This goes back to 2004 when I made the original and simpler vector-based version for an online contest.

    There is still a bit of a steep hill at the start, especially with the precision control method, but we've been working to smooth that out. I think people who like that arcade experience of perfecting their skills and looking for strategies to get higher scores or trying to get just one more stage farther are going to be the biggest fans. If we end up having fans, of course. :D
     
  6. Dr. Woodenstein

    Dr. Woodenstein Well-Known Member

    Dec 5, 2013
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    Just signed up to be part of the beta testing group, I'm using an iPad mini. Game looks pretty awesome from what I've seen, can't wait to test it.
     
  7. aaronsullivan

    aaronsullivan Well-Known Member

    Thanks! You are on the team and you should get an email for installing. If you haven't done any ad hoc testing before, be sure to create a new GameCenter account when it asks you. It's linked to your regular account and is used whenever you test Ad hoc distributions (like this beta).

    Hope you enjoy it, let us know what you think and especially if anything goes wrong. :)
     
  8. Dr. Woodenstein

    Dr. Woodenstein Well-Known Member

    Dec 5, 2013
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    Well I've started testing it but it didn't ask for a GameCenter account.
     
  9. aaronsullivan

    aaronsullivan Well-Known Member

    I've only got a few guesses because I'm not too familiar with how Apple works this, but you'd have to be connected via wifi or cellular data of course, but also be logged into GameCenter with your regular account before you start (pretty sure about that one), and if you had already done an ad hoc install before with GameCenter you could already have an account set up.

    That's the best I can think of but I admit I'm awfully tired right now. Let me know if you figure it out and I'll see if I can think of something else tomorrow.

    I do wish more people were on it because once you get the game mechanics down, progressing through the achievements and fighting for a place in the leaderboards is fun. :)
     
  10. Dr. Woodenstein

    Dr. Woodenstein Well-Known Member

    Dec 5, 2013
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    Well let me give you a little of my GameCenter background as that may help you walk me through the problem. I have no GameCenter background. Never used it. Feel free to make faces of surprise followed by disgust haha. Anyways I just signed in to it and accepted the agreement. That's all I did, I don't know if I was supposed to do more or not. I then opened Space Barrage and still nothing. One point of note is that only the settings button at the top of the title screen of Space Barrage works. The other two click like they should be working but nothing pops up.

    Finally it could be my wifi I guess. I'm not really sure, I was having issues with Lego Star Wars earlier. Oh and also I am jailbroken so I haven't updated my device to iOS 7.

    Hope that helps. Even without GameCenter I can still test the game and give you my feedback/impressions, but obviously being able to use GameCenter would be optimal.
     
  11. MrMojoRisin

    MrMojoRisin Well-Known Member

    Jul 27, 2012
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    Woah, this looks like Ramparts in space. I just applied for the beta.
     
  12. aaronsullivan

    aaronsullivan Well-Known Member

    Not clear about how jailbreaking affects GameCenter, but it's not a problem, you don't need GameCenter to enjoy the game it just makes it more fun when it's working. Hope you enjoy the game. :D
     
  13. djstout

    djstout Well-Known Member

    Jul 21, 2011
    2,672
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    Sportscaster & football (soccer) coach
    Taiwan & Japan
    I like the Tron style, beautiful
     
  14. aaronsullivan

    aaronsullivan Well-Known Member

    Yes, if you remember and enjoy Rampart from Atari you will feel right at home. I always thought that game didn't get as much recognition as it deserved but it was partly because game consoles couldn't replicate the roller ball controls very well. :) Did you get approved and did you get to install yet? I've approved everyone on the recruited list but just wanted to make sure.

    Originally we had only one enemy (who isn't added to the game in this version) that had that style, but then everything just evolved into the bright outline look as we needed to differentiate the ships better because everything is so small on the screen. The funny thing is that it resembles my original vector based version of the game again. It has been fun to evolve the look, but it might make it tough to get iPhone 4 working smoothly enough. Glad you like it. :)
     
  15. JCho133

    JCho133 Well-Known Member

    Jul 27, 2012
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    So I was playing this morning and I got to Stage 3 wave 1, Yay me!

    One thing I found was becoming more apparent was that the screen switch was feeling rather clunky. I'd be using a thumb to place my shields, but them when it switched to guns, because my thumb was over on the other side of the screen, the controls would switch. And I'd have to readjust, losing valuable seconds

    Do you think an option where you lock what side you use is possible?

    Also, I noticed the explosive canisters still move even during the building sessions
     
  16. aaronsullivan

    aaronsullivan Well-Known Member

    Excellent work getting to Stage 3. Watch out it gets addictive. :D

    The issue with switching button sides between waves is already fixed in the latest build. It wasn't as apparent without the "fast point" option, but once I started using it the issue you described was driving me nuts! It was an easy fix and it works like you'd expect now. Please check your inbox for the update email, though I think you can update if you just go to testflightapp.com , too.

    What do you think about the canisters continuing to move? We left it that way intentionally, but I'm curious about what you all think about the pros and cons. Sometimes it's bad because they drift out of play, but depending on the direction and how good you are you can time it so you are beginning your next battle wave right when the canister is along the front the enemies come in. I like the extra element of strategic opportunity. :cool:
     
  17. JCho133

    JCho133 Well-Known Member

    Jul 27, 2012
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    When you say that I can time it just right, does that mean I can prematurely end the building rounds? Because at the moment I would be forced to continue them as the canisters drift past an opportunity
     
  18. Dr. Woodenstein

    Dr. Woodenstein Well-Known Member

    Dec 5, 2013
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    Yeah from what I've read online it shouldn't actually affect GameCenter. I was just letting you know everything I could think of in case it was some kind of glitch that needed to be worked on. I am enjoying the game by the way, just wish I was a little better at it haha.
     
  19. aaronsullivan

    aaronsullivan Well-Known Member

    Please do comment on anything you think is a glitch and even if it's not we're genuinely interested in what people think of gameplay as well.

    If you are done with a phase and there is time left, you might notice a stop watch button above the big action button. It's there next to the pause and camera buttons. The stop watch skips to the end of the wave.
     
  20. Dr. Woodenstein

    Dr. Woodenstein Well-Known Member

    Dec 5, 2013
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    Well I updated this morning and it seemed to have fixed the gamecenter issue I was having, but I think it created another glitch. On my iPad mini I can't seem to move blocks into the very last tile on the left side. Sometimes if I move them into the second to last tile and rotate them it will move into the last tile but that takes to long. If any of what I just said was unclear let me know and I'll try to explain it better.
     

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