I have played two of the five new levels, and both were excellent and multi-screen. This game is so charming
Could just have a "cheapskates are RUINING iOS gaming" thread where spleens can be vented in a show of self-righteousness on both sides, good popcorn show. Back on topic though and I'd say the levels are worth it, multi-screen and pretty fun as you'd expect.
I don't think people are whiners when they are expressing a fact... I paid for the game before it became free and now the game is free and they are charging $2 for 5 levels? The fact is that it is a bit strange to think they now are giving the while game away for free but those who initially bought it are being charged a fairly steep price for a limited amount if levels. I am disappointed since I would have hoped the developers could see why it makes no sense to piss off your existing purchasers who bought the game for the levels it had and now charge your existing customers for a low amount of new content. Oh and to make it even more of a slap In the face if existing customers who paid for the game lets make the game free. Double whammy for early adopters.
Not sure if I'm one of the "whiners" that some self-righteous, sanctimonious people are complaining about, but I buy 3-4 iOS games each week and think the devs can set whatever price they want. Personally, I doubt I'd play these levels even if they were free. I enjoyed Tiny Thief but found that some of the later levels dragged a bit and don't feel a really compelling urge for more, so I'm going to give this a miss and save that $2 to go towards a different game. I just thought it was an interesting psychological phenomenon that by pricing the first 25 levels at $3 then dropping the price to $1/FREE, the devs have set a "value" for their work which was already fairly low then devalued that further with their sales. $2 for 5 levels now seems odd because of the pricing stucture THEY created. I wondered if others felt the same so came to the forum. Some of the abuse levelled is out of order. It sounds especially ridiculous from Eli, as I assume he gets promo codes for many releases and his app purchases are business expenses in any case. I hope karma comes back to him someday and he finds himself with limited income and people hurl abuse at him for it. The cup of coffee/movie ticket argument is ridiculous too. I rarely buy coffee from coffee shops and I've not been to the cinema for 5 years because it's overpriced. I'll wait for it to come to TV/Netflix or for the Bluray to go cheap and use that money to buy something else like books for my kids. Does that mean I should be criticised for not valuing the output of the movie industry/Starbucks baristas?
Hi, I see a lot of confusion here on the forums and I'm part of the 5 Ants team which created the game so wanted to clarify some facts. -The 5 new levels took 5 months to develop to a team of around 6 people. -The gameplay length of the 5 new levels is around 90 mins. 5 levels seems very little but you won't breeze through them, they will take time to complete. -The game is now free, BUT only the first 3 chapters. A free player will hit a paywall and can choose to unlock the whole game for $5. We thought this would help new players get a taste of what the game has to offer. -There are 20 new characters in the 5 new levels and hundreds of new and specific animations. In order to keep adding levels we have to charge for this content. I wish new levels could be created easily but the charm of Tiny Thief is precisely the fact that each level has been crafted with detail. But of course players will decide if the content is worth the price we are asking. We hope at least those who bought the new Episode are happy with the purchase, thanks for your support!
Thanks for clarifying.With this,I am more open to buying the new levels.I am one of those who paid the original full price for the game so you know how it feels when the game price drops to free and you get really upset that it does.I was thinking that if the game is now made free,that we should wait until you do the same for the new levels too but by you guys letting us know the math of what is behind the new scheme of things,I will most certainly consider buying now. Cheers!
The reason the whiners are becoming such a problem for us is that they're often by far the loudest, and are creating an environment that is hostile for game developers. That was the #1 piece of feedback I got from developers at GDC that killed me, was how few of them actually enjoy posting on TouchArcade anymore because if you try to monetize your game in any way beyond just not monetizing it at all and giving it away for free you're dog piled just like this. The strength out forums have is open communication with developers, and we really need to do something to change things around if the entitled hostility and unreasonable negativity towards them is giving developers pause. It'd be a terrible thing if developers go from "I don't like posting on TouchArcade" to "Eh, I just won't post on TouchArcade." Given the choice of getting rid of developers or getting rid of the whiners... It's pretty clear which would be better.
All of this is true, but attacking anyone who doesn't like the price as an unemployed soda guzzler who deserves karmic retribution isn't my idea of the best way to make the forums less hostile or negative. Try to practice what you preach.
Eli, dorry if I go ot , but wouldn't it be à good idea to give the remarks you heard from the devs ( about the hostile remarks etc) a bit of front page exposure? I am sure a lot of people aren't even aware that their remarks are causing the devs to be hesitant to contribute in the forums. And I think we can all agree that the contacts/ interactions with the devs makes this community special.
If you're serious about making the forums more developer-friendly, you should start by eliminating the Starbucks promo code and hotlink begging threads. Heck, one of those was started a full two weeks before Starbucks actually featured the app, was four pages long after 20 minutes, filled with requests for codes that weren't going to be filled for at least another two weeks. Threads like that actively discourage people from purchasing a developer's app far more than whining about perceived value of pricing and content. A side note: When I comment in a 'perceived value' thread, I don't get PM's asking for promo codes from clueless users, but when I comment in a Starbucks thread, I typically get several PM's asking me for codes. The developers of Tiny Thief could have and should have done a better job of presenting this new content so that their target audience was better able to understand and appreciate what they are getting. There's a big difference between 'hey, we have five new levels you can buy for $2 and we're setting the app to free', and 'hey, we're releasing 90 minutes worth of new content as a $2 DLC, plus changing our app pricing model to trial-with-IAP unlock'. Either way, I can't take advantage of the changes/DLC because they've gone to iOS 7 only. Instead, my game now permanently claims that the new Bewitched levels are 'coming soon'. That's a far bigger impediment to me, personally, than whether they are or are not charging for additional content!
Thank you for clearing it out. Keep up the good work guys. Please continue with another chapter. I tried yesterday "Tiny Space Adventure Lite" and comparing to Tiny Thief was like a beta game or an alpha or worst Your game is brilliant in design and it's very much appreciated!!
Good heavens! Why wasn't this info posted in large friendly letters at the top of the app description? I, too was irritated at the apparent (but incorrect) price/content ratio of the new levels until I read this. JUST NOW. Somebody needs a new Marketing/PR Guy... Edit: I left a detailed review on the App Store with the above information. Don't know if it will do any good at this point, but it seemed like the right thing to do. I'm not a fan of freemium, but I will gladly pay for content. For what it's worth, I've already unlocked the new levels for my son - he's in heaven; it's his favorite game.
I just wrote a brief 5 star review in the App Store. They usually take awhile to appear. Kudos, 5 Ants, on the completion of your excellent puzzle game!
Wow. Seriously? To those of you who are saying you got the game for $0.99, the expansion is overpriced: The game is usually $2.99. Why are you treating a discounted price like that's the game's actual price? Sadly it seems like the App Store has conditioned people to think new content should always be free.
I agree with all that you have said.I'm not sure if 5Ants could insert a brief description of how this new pricing system works just to inform the previous customers as not everyone who plays the game comes to this forum.This clarification alone justifies everything and I bought it this afternoon and have been happily playing the new levels for an hour already.I have to say,with what it is worth,the new levels remind you why you started playing in the first place.
