Well love so much about the game but yeah the d-pad ruins it. Keep your finger on it and you can play it well but too many points you need to take your finger off (eg on a lift) so then you have to 'refocus' again when you start playing Died too many times when the d-pad didn't seem to go where I wanted. Everything else looks great but as usual it comes down to controls. Sure an update will sort the issue but shame there was an option to check on/off in the settings for a static d-pad I do like the non linear levels. Fell down into some water which seemed like a type of bonus stage. Looking forward to the later levels Edit - just saw the devs post two pages earlier so hats off to him for listening
Great looking game. But for me, it's absolutely unplayable on the iPhone and barely playable on the iPad (because of larger screen space for the direction pad to move and go bonkers). I understood your 'philosophy' behind the floating controls but for me they're worse than the swipe controls in the He Man game. I found it very hard to do precision jumping with this setup.
Some of the features you will get in the next update (and we're using one of our precious tech support tickets to push the update to you sooner): - iCade (although that will depend on how fast they deliver the device) - Scale your controls! - Fixed non moving dpad with optional analogue or digital feedback. I do hope you will all still get the game today though because I really am pushing hard to get this to you guys in record time. I listen to every bit of feedback (but pm me if you want to go in depth as I do not want to get in the way of peoples discussions) and I hope that you will all still give it a good go - just remember, that the dpad can be rocked with your thumb as if it were a physical device (same with buttons if you need to press both with just your thumb) Then another update with many more achievements (for example you can rocket jump off explosions but this is hard to do - so it deserves an achievement!) Then another episode packed full of great content The lesson I learned here was that people really love new things including new control ideas and options to try and innovate - but not at the expense of providing a classic fallback. Thank you for your patience everyone, and for those undecided - give it a try and let me know PS. you can try pop culture hunting - enemies will often talk to each other or just say things if you hunt them. They also have a large amount of different things they'll say if hurt, killed or otherwise attacking you. There are almost 200 different pop culture references in the game from what they all say alone... Perhaps we could make it an achievement to have heard them all
Man, I'm sorry- but I don't get the hype, at all. I almost always end up liking games pushed by this website, but this one is not clicking. It's not just the controls, I think the physics are week too. The way the character interacts with the environment seems off to me. For example, at the end of the first level, when you can climb up the spinning cog, the interaction feels weird. Obviously, I haven't played it much, but so far I am not getting it.
Yup, this. While I completely got what you intended with the controls, the thing (at least for me) is... I can play this while my thumb is always on the screen, but I find it very uncomfortable to keep your thumb all the time on a screen. It's different in the case of a physical stick since they're usually ergonomical and stuff. For example, when playing Super Crate Box, which is much more frantic than this and other platformers, I don't keep my thumb on the pad all the time, it's very uncomfortable for me. Thanks for hearing us btw!
Yeah, unfortunately the game is nearly unplayable because of the controls. Was really looking forward to this as well but will hold off until an update. Won't review on the App Store until you fix the controls out of fairness.
Just got this. I found the D-Pad comfusing till I read on this thread about it being an analog control XD. Thanks for the great game devs!
Great game, but can't wait for the fixed d-pad and Game Center achievements update. Surprised these aren't in the game already, but better late than never I guess...
Thanks for listening to the feedback. I really look forward to a non-sliding d-pad. I really appreciate the effort that went into designing an improved control scheme, but so far I have to agree with the general consensus that the controls are bad. I find that my thumb ends up sliding past the middle of the screen when I'm running right or off the screen when I'm moving left or up. A d-pad that re-centers on where I touch is great, but its slidiness is a bigger con than the pro of being able to rock back quickly. I've beaten the first three levels. I think the biggest problem with the controls are that there isn't a need for quickly rocking back. The enemies are so bulky and hard to hit without being hit that precision just doesn't feel possible. I dislike the openness of the levels. I have no idea where I am supposed to go. I'm adapting to this, but I was expecting more precision platforming like Mario or Rayman rather than clunky platforming with a lot of exploration. Anyway, this is more a statement about my expectations than the quality of the game. The art is gorgeous. They're really fun and I love the modern take on pixel art. The dialogue is humorous as well. I'm going to keep playing this tonight and tomorrow (if it takes that long to finish). It's fun and certainly worth a dollar. I'm hoping that the sliding controls will click soon!
I had no issues with the controls. Really fun game so far. Look forward to more content updates. Support the dev. It's totally worth a dollar.
I'm really liking the game. But I do agree, a game like this a non static dpad would have been a lot better. I've fallen off places quit a few times cause of the controls. But aside from the control issues, this a really great platformer and there's a lot to like about it. Hopefully the control update will be released soon and media reviewers won't bash it down too bad for the controls. Good job guys, hope this does well
I'd just like to say, that the iCade 8-bitty has the worst button mapping of all of the iCades. Just make sure it the button mapping will work well on the normal iCades (find the mappings online). Also, remember that buying an iCade isn't completely necessary if you use simul80 I'm really excited for iCade support though. The controls aren't horrible like people are saying but they aren't very good. They don't make the game unplayable, but they do make it a bit unenjoyable.
Thanks for mentioning simul80, that's awesome. Always have my laptop and iPad at work. Playing my iOS only games with iCad support will be more fun.
That link is AWESOME. I've decided to call you guys 'honorary developers' since you're actually helping in the development really! simul80 sounds perfect actually! Can't believe I didn't know about it. I must have lived in a cave for the past year.* *Actually that's true. I've been coding TOB for a year in my grotty cave. Sigh.
