Universal Tiny Bombers (By Ahoy Games)

Discussion in 'iPhone and iPad Games' started by Boardumb, Mar 23, 2017.

  1. DenizPiri

    DenizPiri Well-Known Member

    Feb 2, 2016
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    Our update just went online. Version 1.4. This updates improves controls quite a bit. We basically added more input prediction. So chances of a swipe not registering because of being blocked etc is minimal at this point. Game in most case will turn a single swipe into 2 swipes to do The Right Thing ™. :D

    We never tested the game on controllers :( Simply because we don't have one at the office at this point. However we are planning to get one next week and test with it. I assume currently it should already be working with DPad presses being mapped to swipes. However, we don't have free control with left pad, and we are not planning to add that for this version of the game. That will come in the next installment of Tiny Bombers :D

    New 1.4 update also includes optimizations and mostly gets rid of the hiccups (especially starting after first death).

    We are working on one more update, which will shorten the game's initial load time a lot.
     
  2. Yanagi

    Yanagi Well-Known Member

    Sep 30, 2015
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    Should've bought all characters right from the get-go but since that thought came to me around halfway to my collection, I just persevered through with coins. Having said that, is there any possibility of having iCloud saves across devices, if only to keep a permanent save of our unlocked characters? I wouldn't have that problem if they were purchased, but alas it's too late to buy the pack for only 3 of the remaining golden box characters.
     
  3. ColeDaddy

    ColeDaddy Silver Supporter<br>Moderator
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    Mar 20, 2010
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    Okay. The game crashed on my twice. In both circumstances, I set off a bomb with multiple baddies within range of being destroyed. The game shuts down once the bomb explodes and when I relaunch it, all of progress is lost.
     
  4. DenizPiri

    DenizPiri Well-Known Member

    Feb 2, 2016
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    That is quite strange. You use an iPad Air, right ? We heavily test the game on iPad Air and Air 2, and we never issued any crashes on those platforms. To me it sounds like iPad Air runs out of memory and iOS ends up killing the app. However, no idea why this happens in your case.

    One question, does this happen every time you blow up enemies or rarely ?
     
  5. ColeDaddy

    ColeDaddy Silver Supporter<br>Moderator
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    Only when I destroy more than one enemy at the same time. If I get rid of them individually, no problems occur. (Also, I purchased an iap to show some support)
     
  6. DenizPiri

    DenizPiri Well-Known Member

    Feb 2, 2016
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    New v1.5 Update

    We just pushed another update, waiting for Apple's review. Hopefully should be out on Monday. This update fixes the super long initial load time of the game.. Very very sorry about that..

    Update brings down the 22 secs (shame on us :D) loading time on an iPad Air down to 6 secs. Really hoping for a quick approval by Apple for this update...
     
  7. DenizPiri

    DenizPiri Well-Known Member

    Feb 2, 2016
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    Hmm, very strange. We didn't experience a problem like this during our testing before release. But we will get to testing again ! :D We will make sure to fix it as soon as we can.

    Thank you so very much for the support! :D :D :D
     
  8. DenizPiri

    DenizPiri Well-Known Member

    Feb 2, 2016
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    iCloud save is on the top of our feature to-do list. But when we implement it we want to get it right so that it will properly resolve conflicts to allow even simultaneous play from multiple devices with 1 account, merging things without problems.

    You mean that if characters were 0.99$ each ? Hmm, we thought about that but decided to go with coins to make a game that is enjoyable without any IAPs. But now that you suggest this, you are probably right. Actually, we already have code in place for IAP based characters, because initially that is how we made the system. Therefore, it shouldn't be difficult for us to add new future characters with IAPs. Not sure how users would feel if we convert the characters to IAPs now. :/ So, we will not be doing that.

    However, one advantage about purchasing Unlock all characters IAP is that it unlocks all existing characters and all the future characters to come. This is quite useful considering that future characters will likely be added as gold box characters and have higher and higher coin costs.
     
  9. Yanagi

    Yanagi Well-Known Member

    Sep 30, 2015
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    Oh? That's actually pretty great to know. That's a good incentive to unlock them all via IAP.
     
  10. DenizPiri

    DenizPiri Well-Known Member

    Feb 2, 2016
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    v1.5 update, again

    We pushed the v1.5 update once again.

    Update brings down the 30+ secs load time on iPhone5S to a reasonable ~6 secs. And during this 6 secs, we show a loading screen with Ahoy Games logo right after Tiny Bombers logo. This removes the frozen game feeling.

    We also decided to make golden box characters purchased via IAP. $0.99 for all except for Senor Presidente, he can be acquired for $1.99 :D

    We realized that some of our players didn't realize that a single tap stops the character and snaps to the nearest tile. In the new update we now show "Tap to stop" and "double tap to place a bomb" tutorial animations after each game start. Previously, we were showing "double tap to place a bomb" only.

    We added "Rate Us" offer after death, shown only after certain number of gameplays with a random chance. So yeah,, please rate us :D

    I assume this update will be approved by Tuesday.

    More characters will be added soon. We have 16 planned in our todo list :D
     
  11. DrlRage

    DrlRage Well-Known Member

    Nov 15, 2012
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    #31 DrlRage, Mar 26, 2017
    Last edited: Mar 26, 2017
    Thanks for the informative answers! :)
    This game has great support, seeing how quick and well all these forum questions have been answered.
    So far I have played TinyBombers on both iPhone and iPad. This game is a dream come true. There's something fresh about it and I feel invested in the game already. The unique characters, shallow depth of field camera effect and varying level designs make this game the benchmark of a Bomber-man/Crossy type game.

    The swipe and tap controls at first play feel fluid and well thought out, but after more time playing, it feels like it's working against me and a cause of great frustration.

    A simple joystick and a button to drop the bomb would be enough to get the job done.
    That or even a bomb button so I don't have to double tap to drop it. The way the controls work now, feels cluttered, unresponsive and hit or miss which is no good when you have bombs, spikes and a crumbling stage all in the mix. The controls don't completely suck but it doesn't work for what the game requires.

    You said there are no plans for alternate controls unless there is a demand so I'm asking that you add my name to that list of people requesting it. Keep up the good work.

    Ahoy matey!!
     
  12. DenizPiri

    DenizPiri Well-Known Member

    Feb 2, 2016
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    Thanks a lot for the great feedback ! :D

    I added an experimental bomb placement button already. It is just a mockup at this point:
    [​IMG]
    I am yet to test it on devices, but it should be good, especially given that even if the player will not use it, it goes grey if you can't place a new bomb because of bomb capacity. This should be helpful as a visual aid. So, i feel like this will definitely make it to the app store version very very soon, mid next week I assume.

    As for the virtual joystick controls. It is going to be a bit more difficult to maintain 2 very different control mechanisms. However, we will try to do our best to come up with some alternative controls.
    Some questions:
    - Right now I added the drop bomb button in a way that, when it is pressed it stops the player and drops a bomb. Would you rather have it in a way that it just drops a bomb and doesn't stop the player. I am just worried that it might allow for situations of locking yourself into a corner with a bomb.
    - If we add virtual joystick, would you rather have it be stationary at a single spot in screen at all times, or always originating from the initial screen location you tap down.
    - Would you like to become a test flight tester for the game ? Would be very very helpful for us to get your feedback, especially if we do the alternative controls.

    Would be great if other people can contribute their answers as well :D

    Thanks ! :D
     
  13. DenizPiri

    DenizPiri Well-Known Member

    Feb 2, 2016
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    I understand :( If you have some ideas about how we can destroy the generic feeling, it would be great!

    One thing though is that after certain number of rows, game changes the way map is constructed drastically. Above 1000 rows for example is completely constructed out of challenge pieces. So basically, saw blades, lasers, cannons, button/gates, speed up pads, slow down pads. These things spice up the game quite a bit. However, we kept those to later stages in game to allow players to enjoy the game without much effort but get more out of it when they spend the time. These expert map pieces starts showing up after 400 rows. Below 150 rows, we only spawn basic map pieces, so not much of a challenge there except for the common enemies. Please let us know if you don't like the difficulty curve, we could change things to improve the experience.
     
  14. DenizPiri

    DenizPiri Well-Known Member

    Feb 2, 2016
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    Joystick and button control scheme is almost complete. Only few things are left, so hopefully it should be out until Friday. With this we will easily support game controllers as well :D

    On another note, the new V1.5 update is out! Enjoy :D
     
  15. DrlRage

    DrlRage Well-Known Member

    Nov 15, 2012
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    Oh wow Deniz! That was very fast mockup. I'm beyond impressed and excited for it!

    I think that Drop/Stop is the way to go. I've had no problems dropping the TNT and I'm not sure if that's Drop/Stop or Drop/NoStop but it works well. I would like to try both. For a virtual joystick I think origin from initial tap would be best.

    Yes, I'd gladly be a TestFlight Tester and give you feedback on the alternative controls. :)

    Oh goody!
     
  16. DrlRage

    DrlRage Well-Known Member

    Nov 15, 2012
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    Great news! I'm ready to get to bombing!
    If you were to change anything gameplay-wise I would say, Two words: Bomb Kick! Other than that more item drops. I love the star item. Love the spin moves they do when grabbing a new item. Love how the character you choose changes up the level design.

    In terms of pacing I would say try giving two bombs drops by default. The momentum is lost having to start-over dropping one bomb at a time after finishing a run where you can drop 4 of them. It's the first thing I'm looking for to get things going!

    Maybe there can be a feature where you spin a slot machine at the beginning of a run for a random starting item, that'll create that One more try vibe.

    How is the co-op?
    I don't have an Apple TV to try it, but that's an exciting feature to me. I can imagine it being hectic and fun. These days Co-op in a game is a rare blessing.

    I'm off to that grid in the sky now. Hopely I pass my last distance for that Fireworks show! :)
     
  17. Jost

    Jost Active Member

    Mar 27, 2017
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    great gameplay, graphics, sounds...

    This game has great gameplay, graphics, sounds, characters ... and cool tutorial. I really recommend this game to a game community... You have a choice. But my choice will stop on this game now. I will play it day and night now. Thank you developers!
     
  18. zohaali146

    zohaali146 Well-Known Member

    Jan 5, 2017
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    wow !! cool , gonna try this one for sure :D
     
  19. Jost

    Jost Active Member

    Mar 27, 2017
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    Germany
    Guys, i can't stop playing this game... but please make a controls more sensitive! Sometimes its hard for me to move to the right direction. But in general, i want to say THANK YOU, THANK YOU. I love this game!
     
  20. Jost

    Jost Active Member

    Mar 27, 2017
    37
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    Germany
    you should do it definitely! Its amazing!
     

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