hmm, with the dual stick sceme, you can have the stick to the right of the screen perform these maneuvers. Like, push to the left to twist left, push right to twist right, and even reach upside down position. For sure i will give the controls more tries, and i think i will be able to get the hang of it. But seeing how games with different / intuitive controls (the most recent : "Shark Eaters, Rise of the dolphins") don't do great for most gamers, even if they are beautiful, i would think the "normal, plane flight" control scheme should definitely be an option from the get-go, for a better reception of the wide audience when fugl is released. This is only friendly advice however, do your game how you think you should
I'd like to second this. The conventional plane flight would be the best to go with for initial launch
I have uploaded a new build with improved controls to the webpage. Pull thumbs apart to air-brake, push them together to flap harder! I reworked the terrain a bit also... Happy flying! Ps. I will probably add flight sim controls to as an option, but would like to get my control scheme working first! (hopefully... ) Cheers, Johan
Not sure how I feel about the new build. The speed control seems like a step in the right direction, but I feel that overall the controls took a hit. One thing I definitely notice is that sensitivity feels too high for me. Turning all the way left or right makes the bird turn so far that it's wings clip through its own body and it nearly faces the camera. I actually prefer the sensitivity as it was before, I think the reason it didn't feel sensitive enough before (for others and me) was because we couldn't turn quickly enough without control of the bird's speed. Also the bird feels like it has a lot of momentum. This makes it pretty difficult to make turns even when flying at a normal speed. As you approach a bend and begin to turn, your momentum will just keep the bird going forward, smacking it into a wall. It's like the air equivalent of a really drifty car. I'm not sure if this was toned up in this build, but I definitely notice it a lot more than I did before. I think my experience with the new build might improve though as I spend more time with it and recalibrate my brain.
I turned the air resistance way down, probably too much! You have to brake before turning or you'll drift all over the place! Maybe I can add some air resistance when turning, it will make it easier to turn without crashing... I mostly agree with your observations though, I made it very hard. Less air resistance = more soaring bird, that was my motivation... But I'll iterate on it and send out a new build later today. Thanks for the input!
I have an idea on how to increase air resistance while turning without "cheating" the physics-system. The problem is that the bird is currently completely flat, aerodynamically speaking, so I'll add a body under the wings that will give a lot of air resistance when turning. I will also implement a traditional control scheme as an option, like Sky Gamblers-series. It's trivial to do as all the underlying work has already been done. I just want to say that I really value your input, and that I hope that as many as possible keep helping me testing Fugl! I hope to have a new build ready in a few hours!
Thanks for your input! The animals will of course move in the final version! They are also the wrong kind. Just wanted to put them there so people could get a sense of the scale... I'm reworking controls a bit now, should have something ready within the next hour!
Third build is out! - Fixed physics, bird will no longer "drift" when turning (added a body that gives it air resistance in the turns) - Tweaked controls - Lowered max turning - Lowered sensitivy a tiny bit on ipad, quite a bit on iphone. - Tweaked terrain - Added experimental tilt controls with thumbs for speed and yaw (read about at the download page). I tried to implement dual stick flight sim style controls, but they were not working (hard to coordinate both thumbs at the same time with this setup), so i implemented tilt-controls instead. Hope that is ok? As always all comments, good or bad, is very much welcome! I really think the added air-resistance does a lot to easy the flight. IMPORTANT TIP: Don't hold your thumbs on the device at all times, re-calibrate often by releasing the thumbs, glide for a bit and then steer the bird again. Much easier this way.
Ok, (fugl 0.2) i couldn't activate the tilt controls, so i have no comment on them. Touching my finger as soon as the game starts after the initial screen doesn't do it. This version controls much better, i could pass through holes in the rocks i couldn't before. but it has the added confusion of having to keep both your thumbs towards each other to move forward, then move them left/right.. It controls better but it's much more compicated. However, I still believe the dual stick would work best and easiest. Could you leave them as an option in the next build for feedback? Left stick would be (yaw left/right, pitch up/down) and right stick would be (roll left/right, speed up/down) Also, in this version i could see a lot more animals!
Are you 100 % sure? Just one tap within one second should do it! I re-installed from the website and tested it myself... Good to hear, I agree the scheme is a bit complicated... Any ideas how to simplify? I could of course make flapping the default behaviour, would that be better? Ok, I'll give you a build just to prove you wrong! (or me wrong...) I had it pretty much implemented, but you have to be able to calibrate each stick independently I figured, so it needs some more work. I checked Sky Gamblers, and they don't even have it as an option, so I figured tilt-controls.... But I'll try it out. Won't be before next week though. Please test it some more and see if you can get control over the controls in the meantime... That's one thing I left untouched...
Ok, tilt works but it's really hard. hmm, yeapfor less complications: maybe the normal speed flap should be the default, and pull thumbs in to accelerate or apart to break. Also, the bird should keep its current speed, not needing our thumbs to be constantly in or out. Pull in once - it flaps faster, pull apart once, it breaks to normal speed. Pull out again, it breaks to a stop. Pull in, accelerate to normal etc. That way, we can "set and forget" the speed for a while in the 3 scales 0, normal, fast. Glad to hear you will give us the dual stick options. Yes, sky gamblers doesn't do it either sadly. But let's hope you will!
Ok, I will give it some thought... Of course, I'll even let you choose what side of the screen you want the main stick to be at!
Controls feel a ton better in this build. Sensitivity and drift is much more manageable. I tried gyro controls - a little disorienting but I think it has some potential (I don't think you should need to use two fingers though). I like the current controls, but to please those who want dual stick controls I would refer you to the game SimplePlanes. It has good dual stick flying controls without reliance on the gyroscope. The left stick controls pitch and roll, and the right stick controls speed and yaw. You should look into that game, I think those controls would work well as an option in Fugl.
Yeah I also feel the flapping should be permanent as well (even at the slowest speed) the soaring part might be a separate thing all together, maybe just using 1 finger to steer the bird through the air. This way the bird wouldn't flap unless there were 2 fingers touching the screen. I'm still in love with the initial basic controls from the first build. Maybe we could have that same intuitive feel when adding the speed and air break, keeping the bird flapping until one of the fingers let go of the screen. This newer build definitely made some progress. Ideally to keep the controls intuitive (easier to use) the speed difference should be gradual and clean. Keeping the margins between the lowest and highest speed fairly close, or else the control's sensitivity becomes an issue (specially when turning the bird from side to side). Personally when I'm flying around, I tend to move my thumbs all over the place to go through most crevices,just to challenge my self. Naturally since my thumbs are all over the place reacting quickly with the terrain, a big speed margin might actually hinder how much control i have over the bird. In the end, the game should be easy or hard because of its terrain not its control scheme ;D We can do it! It's just a matter of polishing it up...
Thanks for all the input! I'm taking the weekend off, but next week I'll make a new build based on the feedback. I agree that the speed-control complicates things too much. I will simplify and also implement the dual stick scheme like in simple planes. I'm also working on making the bird less floaty. I hope you guys still want to be a part of this early testing, as the input you provide is very valuable to me!
No, not at all, just send a mail to [email protected] with the following info: 1) device type 2) udid for that device (see whatsmyudid.com if you don't know what a udid is) 3) toucharcade-name
