Sorry not including multi player in a game that usually requires multi player is no excuse. Seems to be the trend of not including it in initial release in the past 6-9 months. And yes I know how to program and have done so in the past. Sure it is a challenge but if the programmer/development company doesn't include multiplayer it will suffer since playing any game via bots gets old quite quickly. So yes there is no excuse since it will suffer in one way or another - either from lack of sales or reviews from folks who will say that it should have online play. Like other folks, I was looking forward to this app, but no online play kills it for me. Sure other apps like Ticket to ride and Small World have online play but they also implemented in initial release (I know ticket to ride did, don't recall about small world).
After playing some more, this is one of the best boardgames currently on iOS. It's relaxing, competative, good AI (3 difficulty levels), 3 game modes, nice sounds and beautiful animations. Perfect for relaxing nights at the couch. And I only played 1 of the 3 game modes so far, as the default game mode is already perfect for me. It even has a turbo setting for faster gameplay (limiting animations) and a battery saving setting for 'economic' graphics.
I was looking forward to this because I enjoy playing Carcassonne with friends. Required Facebook for multiplayer is a deal killer for me.
Yeah. I had $6.06 in my Canadian account (via iTunes gift card) so i thought I could get the game as it is $5.49. But no, the app store asks me for more money. I guess it is Canadian sales tax taking it over the $6.06 Credit I have.
Btw, anyone playing and looking for FB friends to play against? I connected my AppUnwrapper account to it.
Even RPG are launched without localization. Is not that the game is in Chinese. There are a lot of fans of boardgames in Europe, Mexico and latin america. The developers should rectify this strategy if the want to become successful in the AppStore
Hi everyone, Dan from Thunderbox here. First of all, thank you for all the kind words about Tsuro - we worked really hard to bring this great board game to the App Store and are glad you are enjoying it. Transparency and honesty is a big deal for us, so I'd like to answer some of the questions, and give you a little insight into our thought process... ENGLISH LAUNCH The written words in Tsuro are extremely important to the experience - we wanted to keep UI and text to an absolute minimum, so everything has to be ultra crystal clear. This meant that the text was being tweaked and improved right up to the last moment... we couldn't start localisation until all text was locked. Everyone deserves the most polished experience, and not everyone who downloads Tsuro will be familiar with the original board game. Apologies for the wait, but we hope you will appreciate the extra quality and clarity that localisation brings. We're expecting to launch more broadly in just about a month. If you speak French, Italian, Spanish or German, please visit our website and send us a mail - we will make sure you are on the localised beta! FACEBOOK MULTIPLAYER This was possibly the hardest decision in the entire development process! How to deliver a safe, cross-platform, multiplayer experience without bankrupting our tiny little studio? We considered all the options. Game Center would have meant redeveloping multiplayer all over again for Android, and no cross platform play. Third party solutions were investigated, but they all charge a monthly fee based on subscription or traffic and we have no way of predicting the monthly expense to our studio. Custom solutions imply server costs, data security issues, development time, inflated budget, etc. And there was no way we were shipping without multiplayer, it's the soul of the Tsuro experience! So Facebook... here was something that we could use to provide a safe, easy, fun experience, with little to no extra cost to players. Tsuro takes a quick peek at your friends list to see who else has the game, and that's it. We don't look at anything else, and we don't store any data (BTW the camera is only accessed only for pass-and-play selfies). I hope that gives you a better idea of the reasoning behind our decisions... Thanks once again for all your feedback and support. Have fun playing The Game of The Path!
So does that mean you don't plan on implementing game center multiplayer? That's kind of a f you to everyone who doesn't use Facebook.
+1 for no Facebook multiplayer. I would also like to see an over head view if the board. I hate the isometric view.
The game is exquisite. Beautifully designed and so much fun to play. I love the different modes. This is one of those games I put on both my iPad and my iPhone because I want to enjoy it at home on the bigger screen and take it with me on the phone to places I don't take the pad. I can see this being a game I will keep playing for a very long time. The Facebook thing is an unpleasant issue for me. Some of us would like to play a game with another person once In a while, but dislike/don't use Facebook. I understand your well-stated reasoning, and I like the game so much I will certainly continue to play it. By myself. It's just too bad some other way of allowing players to connect couldn't have been worked out. It truly is lovely, though. Congratulations on releasing a very fine game.
Make sure your billing address is in Alberta. They made a very good case for multiplayer. We ask for a lot on these ports. A LOT. If you were around you probably remember the Ticket to Ride endless asynchronous debate so it could be akin to Ascension, etc. And when the dust settled and they added it? Did anyone really use it? Multiplayer is a very challenging decision. This is a small studio. They do Gamecenter, that means having to do something totally different for android and no cross platform. Do something on your own and you run the risk of fees you aren't capable of sustaining (they're paying a cost every month that it is used, while we pay them once.) or develop something from the ground up and end up with who knows what problems and you're in the hook for fixing it. We should be very thankful any of these games exist and that the smaller ones have multiplayer of any kind. Yeah, Facebook sucks and it's requirement is seriously limiting (I'm not creating a new account for my games and I am a very private person so those on my friends list are there for a reason.) but I also understand the reasons they chose it. And if I'm not mistaken, Tsuro doesn't even have a large slew of expansions like Ascension/Waterdeep, so it's very possibly a one time cost. I'd love for them to add GC in the future, and my dear devs is that ever going to be on the radar assuming this does well? now before anyone thinks I'm just hear to blow smoke Up the devs butts, I agree that the isometric view is HORRIBLE. I understand it's purpose but I also need to be able to change it. Im having to weirdly look at things and try to turn the board to get a good idea of what's going to happen. And the closer to the Center you get, the more confusing it also gets. I know it's unlikely to be changeable, but please make it changeable. Please. I don't know if I can really commit time otherwise. It's really a challenge.
Thanks for the explanation!! I appreciate developers and studios who risk a lot every time launch a game. About FB I really understand. If you enjoy the game you are 3 min away of openind a FB account for games. About the localization, you can always relase tge game with the warning about English language and then send the localization as an update. I even prefer English to spanish when playing games. Hope spanish version is launched soon!!
Additional thoughts: I'd like to add my voice to that of those requesting stat-keeping of some sort. I'd really love that. The isometric view is fine with me. I thought the instructions were clear. I LOVE the turbo setting! Seriously, love it. Love the achievements, too.
Hm yeah that's what I guessed already. It's too time consuming to localize for the whole world. Those are indeed popular languages, but what about allllll others? Dutch, Nordic languages, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Brazilian, Arabic, Korean, Turkish, Polish, Romanian,Thai, Ukrainian. Are you gonna localize that all? If yes, that would be a waste of time to be honest. If no, most likely, do you cut them out of the game? I understand you want the instructions as clear as possible, but I'm not a native speaker and the instructions were very clear and basic. So I really don't think non-native English speakers would have problems with it. Releasing globally in English would boost your sales way more than localizing one for one. Just.. rethink about your decision. Apart from that, I'm very much enjoying the game!
I'm really sad it's not out in germany! Instead i bought puzzle strike: it was realesed worlwide in english: and those rules are tough! They will translate it later! I really do not understand the decision the devs of tsuro made! Their explainings makes no sense for me!
+1!!! The rules of Tsuro are very simple, the tutorial is well made. In Germany everyone has English at school ... and that simple text will everyone be able to understand. Sorry devs, this was very stupid way and who ever gave you the advice to do it this way ... you should fire him! Because it is impossible to translate a game in every small language. And by the way: I prefer most games in English because most translations into German are bad ... It would be much better to improve the game ... Stats, better AI and things like that! Sad, real sad ... Oh, and it is great to make a discount launch sale this week ... for English countries only ...
I'm testing out the FB compatibility and it seems it might even let friends of friends join a game. If anyone is looking for a game, you can add me as a friend on Facebook (App Unwrapper). I want to see if I can get a game together of 8 humans.
