Universal Starsceptre (by Richard Morgan)

Discussion in 'iPhone and iPad Games' started by TouchArcade Bot, Jun 18, 2017.

  1. 8bitmagicgames

    8bitmagicgames Well-Known Member

    Jun 23, 2017
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    Hah hah, efharisto my friend! I have the Guns of Navarone to thank for some (the Endaxi part will always stay with me) and a couple of visits to the beautiful islands and mainland once always help!

    Kalimera!
    Rich
     
  2. ramzarules

    ramzarules Well-Known Member

    Sep 13, 2014
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    well, it actually seems hard, i keep losing (by the power of the scepter!) being in my 30s it hits the nostalgia notes (star sherifs, thundercats etc) with its style.
    However, please make the controls fully standard shmup - that is, take away the need to have a second touch to fire. This is why i keep losing, my one finger doesnt have enough space to move properly with the second one next to it. And make the powerups non bouncable from bullets.
    After my brief time with it, i cant play until you switch the move and fire to the same finger(hope you make it) but i believe fully you can make a kickass shmup if you do decide!
     
  3. 8bitmagicgames

    8bitmagicgames Well-Known Member

    Jun 23, 2017
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    Ah you see thats part of the challenge. Sometimes you don't shoot (you'll see in later levels, your ability to survive depends on it.)

    I play with my thumbs. on the screen, holding the device in both hands. Take a quick look at the how to play section on the main screen, you'll see what I mean. Also, there is a sensitivity setting to the move controls so you can turn them up higher and that will help your ship move more meaning you won't need to move your thumb as much.

    See how you get on with those. I know what you mean with auto, but the game is also about not shooting some times. ;)

    I'll have a think anyway and see if I might change it.

    Thanks!!!
     
  4. retrogamOR

    retrogamOR Well-Known Member

    Aug 4, 2013
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    Just got this,and from what i've played so far,i really like it.

    I have a couple of questions.

    1- How do you make your ship loop? I've tried everyting control wise.Is it achieved by picking something up?

    2- Do you ever die? I seem to have infinite lives.
     
  5. 8bitmagicgames

    8bitmagicgames Well-Known Member

    Jun 23, 2017
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    Hi, thank you so much!

    To answer your questions

    1. The new update with the touch to move everywhere negated the need for the loop the loop - although many love that animation! So we had to drop it as it didn’t work well with moving up and down the screen. plus triggering it was a real pain for the user.

    2. “By the power of the sceptre” infinite lives indeed. You can just keep on going!

    The good thing is the game saves progress automatically for you if you need a break ;)

    It’s all to do with the time rewinding power the Starsceptre has!

    Glad your enjoying it. Just wait til you get that good that you find you don’t die on a level ! Super skills!!!
     
  6. dnk

    dnk Well-Known Member

    Apr 15, 2010
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    Decorative border examples: cave games, ghost trick or most retro games that still have 4:3 ratio. They just added graphics on left/right or top/bottom so the screen is filled up.

    Letterbox on the other hand is the default where it’s just black bars.

    If there’s plan for true full screen I’ll buy it sraight away! :)
     
  7. ramzarules

    ramzarules Well-Known Member

    Sep 13, 2014
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    left you my review :
    “The dev clearly knows how to make a kickass shmup. But i give it 3/5 stars because of the annoying mechanic needing both thumbs to shoot and move. This on a portrait iphone is very difficult unless you have really tiny thumbs. If it ever gets changed, 5/5 for sure. ”
     
  8. 8bitmagicgames

    8bitmagicgames Well-Known Member

    Jun 23, 2017
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    Thank you so much! That means a lot to me. Thank you! I will most definitely consider that in a big update. Also as there are plans for Special Missions so I will definitely make those one touch with autofire!

    Very much appreciated!!!! Thank you
     
  9. 8bitmagicgames

    8bitmagicgames Well-Known Member

    Jun 23, 2017
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    Ah I see. That’s where I’m confused as it is full screen on all devices. I use scale techniques to ensure the graphics are placed best for the different screen sizes (iPad 3x4, iPhone 9x16 and iPhone X 11,21). There is a little bit of stretching but the game runs full screen.

    Check out Codea.io and when you scroll down you’ll see an example on the X (although since this video the graphics at the top have been moved slightly lower to avoid the camera built into the screen).

    Codea is the app I used to code it.

    Hope that helps!
     
  10. psj3809

    psj3809 Moderator

    Jan 13, 2011
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    Re-downloading as i heard about the new touch controls (Why oh why do devs release just tilt only games though ?)

    Love the graphics and now enjoying this due to the new controls. Just had a quick go, love the way you can touch the screen and keep your finger on it as a fire button.

    Again the graphics are superb, cant wait to see more
     
  11. sebgo

    sebgo Well-Known Member

    Mixed feelings

    I've always liked shmups and this is no exception, though I've got to be honest... I hated it at first as much as I loved it. The tilt system was just too hard and couldn't get into it leading to frustration and finally abandoning the game.

    Redownloaded it a few times and always had the same issue, even with the new control mechanics (virtual joystick), it was a hard shmup, it felt almost unforgiving... deleted.

    Now, with the most recent version I get the possibility of playing like most shmups on iDevices, using relative touch, with added vertical movement which makes evading bullets a little easier... but guess what?

    I MISS THE ORIGINAL TILT MECHANICS!
    I actually deleted the most recent version, searched through my hard disk (to no avail) and then I realized I had a previous version installed on my previous iPhone... extracted and then installed it on the new iPhone and YEASSS!! Tilt mechanics are back... and I even cleared Stage-1!!!

    So, yeah, if possible, I'd like to have original mechanics back in the game... that'd cover everyone's wishes!

    This game is great even if I kinda hated its difficulty (mainly because of the restricted horizontal-only movement) at first

    Cheers!
     
  12. 8bitmagicgames

    8bitmagicgames Well-Known Member

    Jun 23, 2017
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    Hah hah, awesome. How did you get on with the new controls after the quick go?

    With regards to the tilt controls, yeah it was because I thought I had hit on something untapped before. But it divided people. So much so, if you read the post after yours. Lol!
     
  13. 8bitmagicgames

    8bitmagicgames Well-Known Member

    Jun 23, 2017
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    BWA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, that's too funny. A change of heart? Awesome.

    I tell you what, I'll explore to see what's possible with adding tilt option once again (super hard at present as the game has been redesigned to move all around the screen. If I luck out I'll let you know.

    Thanks for the heads up and glad you like at least one of the versions.

    Any chance of a review and rating on the app store? You can either write into your review that you're enjoying the original tilt version more.

    Thanks!
     
  14. 7lilwhitewolf7

    7lilwhitewolf7 Well-Known Member

    Feb 1, 2012
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    Not hear on earth
    Georgia,Cleveland Ohio,Texas,New York
    Tilt n Shmup

    I’m on my way to a third Victory with Onalee & Ensign Rook. That ending has me laughing at the possibilities of a very nice sequel. I will be supporting everything you release. Seeing you get your Bob Ross on iz super dope too. Thank You My Friend for a great adventure in space for an Awesome story

    ###SHMUP###
     
  15. sebgo

    sebgo Well-Known Member

    Really looking forward to having tilt controls being added again. After all, that's how this game came to be. When I saw one of your Tweets about version 2.0, I was like "THEY ADDED VERTICAL MOVEMENT! YEAAAAH" and then when I downlaoded the updated version I was like "This plays awesome with relative touch, gonna switch to tilt controls..."

    And then I posted here.

    Sure! I'll post a review :D
     

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