TA needs backup for ngmoco:) Star Defense "Mayday! Twitter Challenge!" !! !! !

[Eli]

ngmoco just released a special preview build to a few sites of their highly anticipated tower defense game, Star Defense this afternoon. I've got about a half hour or so clocked in to the game so far and all I can say is wow. ngmoco managed to take a saturated genre which was on the verge of being played out on the App Store and took out their massive sledgehammer of ownage and obliterated the competition.

I'm a huge TD buff, and Star Defense is one of the best I've played.

That said, the other people competing (http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23stardefense) are already warming up their Twitter crews, so let's show them that Touch Arcade is a force to be reckoned with!!!

The challenges will be posted daily to http://twitter.com/ngmoco

I will be doing my best to beat the other people competing at http://twitter.com/hodapp

I'm currently beating the only other score that was submitted... but I'm not sure how long that will hold!!! I'm still refining my strategy, this game is something else!

More information: http://stardefense.ngmoco.com/

[Stykman]

did challenges start yet?
what do you win??

[Eli]

Yes, started this afternoon. I don't know what you win aside from FAME AND FORTUNE... which is all an iPhone site could ever ask for. ;)

[Stykman]

so you want us(me) to win for TA?

[dogmeat]

So I don't get it, what do you need us to do?

[dannys95]

so you want us(me) to win for TA?

yeah what can WE do?

[Stykman]

yeah what can WE do?

correction
what can we(ME) do?

[aboll2009]

FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS GOOD AND RIGHT, DON'T WIN!!!We have enough lurkers as it is:p

[Big Albie]

For the love of all things Apple, what do you require of us Hodapp?

[Eli]

For the love of all things Apple, what do you require of us Hodapp?

How quick can you mail me a lucky rabbit's foot?

[dannys95]

How quick can you mail me a lucky rabbit's foot?

I'll send an indian running really fast your way :D:D

[dogmeat]

I'll send an indian running really fast your way :D:D

Don't get the joke. Must be a demographic based racist joke.

[Stykman]

hodapp id say around 3-5 days

[dannys95]

Don't get the joke. Must be a demographic based racist joke.

Was flipping though HBO channels and noticed a movie called "The Fastest Indian on Earth". Then I saw this. Sorry if it was offensive to any of you.

[Stykman]

Was flipping though HBO channels and noticed a movie called "The Fastest Indian on Earth". Then I saw this. Sorry if it was offensive to any of you.

HBO has the most random things on TV at times

[dannys95]

HBO has the most random things on TV at times

I think we should get back on topic. Hodapp, seriously what do you need us for bro?

BTW: I don't think it's a good idea to mock the opponents on Twitter

[Vester]

yea, idk we got lurkers here

[Eli]

I was just posting about the contest, you guys don't have to do anything. :P

I am currently #1 in surviving 29 rounds. I know some mistakes I made and will be fixing those on my next attempt!

[Stykman]

I was just posting about the contest, you guys don't have to do anything. :P

I am currently #1 in surviving 29 rounds. I know some mistakes I made and will be fixing those on my next attempt!


what are you playing and where?

[Eli]

Star Defense Challenge mode, sitting at my desk.

[Vester]

Star Defense Challenge mode, sitting at my desk.
beta?

['Jeep]

Someone send the boy a crate of red bull!

If you loose this Hodapp you won't dare post around here anymore! I certainly won't be moderated by someone who would know such failure. It's me or you. Us or you. Win, or don't log in here anymore.
:p
Anything else we can do for you?:D

Give'm hell!!!;)

[Eli]

Haha, well, the way it works is the challenge gets posted in the morning, then we have until the afternoon to get our scores in. Soo... Redbull won't be required as much as just clearing out my day schedule as much as I can. ;)

[Stykman]

Haha, well, the way it works is the challenge gets posted in the morning, then we have until the afternoon to get our scores in. Soo... Redbull won't be required as much as just clearing out my day schedule as much as I can. ;)

aww morning im in school then......

['Jeep]

PS: You're not going to call it a day without beating that 34, are you????

[Eli]

PS: You're not going to call it a day without beating that 34, are you????

NO!!! I was just about to finish writing up my Star Defense article and get in the shower but... ugh!! http://emoticons.a-13.net/emot-argh.gif

[worldcup1100]

NO!!! I was just about to finish writing up my Star Defense article and get in the shower but... ugh!! http://emoticons.a-13.net/emot-argh.gif

Danny has created a monster with all these emoticons.

[Eli]

PS: You're not going to call it a day without beating that 34, are you????

http://twitter.com/hodapp/status/1700677808

How's that ;)

[DHrox]

This seems like a useless thread. For a moment there I thought I actually had to do something.:p A sad sad day it is.

[Eli]

Good thing Touch Arcade has no shortage of useless threads!

[randomdude]

-edited-

[DHrox]

Good thing Touch Arcade has no shortage of useless threads!
I account for at least two of those.
Wait where do we go to play this?

You can't. It was specifically sent to an elite few.

[randomdude]

o alright

['Jeep]

http://twitter.com/hodapp/status/1700677808

How's that ;)

I thought you might come up with a 42 before I sign off! But I'd double check what the competition is doing before you turn the lights off! Good going!

[Coral]

Looks like you have a pretty solid position. Is this a $9.99 game? I mean that by value because you probably don't know the actual planned price... do you?

[Big Albie]

This will be priced at premium price level so think $4.99 or up.

[MojoArcanus]

I'm just jealous that you have a copy of the game and I don't!!!:mad:
LOL!!!! Kick some arse and we'll do our best to cheer you on!!! How's that???

[Eli]

This will be priced at premium price level so think $4.99 or up.

Yeah, honestly I wouldn't be surprised if it launched somewhere in between $6 and $10. The version I have is only challenge mode. All I can do with it is click the Twitter challenge links to compete. While I have no idea of the depth of the single player game... the foundation is definitely there for something remarkable.

With how long they've been working on this game, I'm sure it will be more than worth whatever they price at.

[Big Albie]

Yeah, honestly I wouldn't be surprised if it launched somewhere in between $6 and $10. The version I have is only challenge mode. All I can do with it is click the Twitter challenge links to compete. While I have no idea of the depth of the single player game... the foundation is definitely there for something remarkable.

With how long they've been working on this game, I'm sure it will be more than worth whatever they price at.

Well, I'm looking forward to hearing your review of this. On the other hand, I've been playing around with Defender Chronicles so take that ;)

[theone1007]

So this is pretty much a cheer for Hodapp thread and get him pumped up?

You can do it Hodapp! Finish and kick them out of the water! WOOOOO...

[Eli]

So this is pretty much a cheer for Hodapp thread and get him pumped up?

You can do it Hodapp! Finish and kick them out of the water! WOOOOO...

It's a post whatever you feel like because this is probably all we're going to hear about Star Defense until it actually drops on the App Store thread. :P

[randomdude]

Cmon Hodapp you can beat all of those noobies out of the water!!!! Let's hear it for Hodapp and TA! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT! So beat all of those other people out of the water and propel TA to the number one spot!

[theone1007]

Cmon Hodapp you can beat all of those noobies out of the water!!!! Let's hear it for Hodapp and TA! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT! So beat all of those other people out of the water and propel TA to the number one spot!

This guy knows what he's talking about. I can't wait for this game, it looks so beautiful.

[iFonePhanatic]

I thought I saw someone on Twitter that beat 49 waves on Challenge mode:confused::confused:

[Eli]

More info about the game and what's going down- http://toucharcade.com/2009/05/04/star-defense-hands-on-and-mayday-twitter-challenge/

['Jeep]

Hodapp, Hodapp, wake up!!!! WTF 85???? Foresmac's thrown down the gauntlet, you sleep too much! :D

[Eli]

Hodapp, Hodapp, wake up!!!! WTF 85???? Foresmac's thrown down the gauntlet, you sleep too much! :D

Haha, I'm running around like a crazy person trying to get everything done for my day job so I can do nothing but play Star Defense the moment the challenge gets posted! After hours scores count for nothing!!!

[dannys95]

Challenge is posted on Twitter

[Eli]

Challenge is posted on Twitter

Where? All I see is a tweet from Stephanie talking about it. Shouldn't be posted for another 5-10 minutes at least.

[dannys95]

Where? All I see is a tweet from Stephanie talking about it. Shouldn't be posted for another 5-10 minutes at least.

Oh sorry. I thought thats what she meant.

[dannys95]

OK I think it was posted now

[Eli]

Yeah, let's see if I can beat the guy from Ars Technica :P

[dannys95]

Hodapp is currently number two I believe. Right after John Davison — What They Play

[arn]

we're falling behind.

any TD experts out there able to give advice to hodapp? :)

arn

[dannys95]

we're falling behind.

any TD experts out there able to give advice to hodapp? :)

arn

Ouch. I don't understand what' so hard about TD's though.

You may want to have a few weapons out there scattered though the path. Not all have to be really strong as long as they are keeping the (aliens?) away from the goal quickly.

With that said I've never played a TD so that could be the worst advice. lol.

[Big Albie]

Ouch. I don't understand what' so hard about TD's though.

You may want to have a few weapons out there scattered though the path. Not all have to be really strong as long as they are keeping the (aliens?) away from the goal quickly.

With that said I've never played a TD so that could be the worst advice. lol.

Danny may be the maze king, but he's in the dungeons when it comes to TD. **raises the drawbridge**

[Eli]

I got it under control, there's still four hours to go to submit a score.

[arn]

With that said I've never played a TD...

thanks for your valuable insight. :)

arn

[dannys95]

thanks for your valuable insight. :)

arn

LOL! By any chance did I do this and you and Albie then hit me?

http://www.mysmiley.net/imgs/smile/animated/anim_24.gif

['Jeep]

Hodapp you better stop playing NFS and get back blasting some S'rath into deep space RIGHT NOW! At this time of day you should be well beyond 100 waves! See if upgrading your towers to the max gives you some tactical advantage, otherwise make the best use of the terrain.

Watch out there's one behind you!!! (I think I'm more revved up by this than NFS that some Dutch honeycake baker can't get even on iTunes when he's asked to)

[Eli]

lmao, well I've been playing this game since about 11:00 AM. The game is balanced in a way that really keeps you on your toes, a lot of normal TD tactics with resource management don't really seem to work. I'm reluctant to post any strategies in case there are spies watching this thread from the other sites.........

[Vester]

Go win!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Eli]

http://emoticons.a-13.net/emot-smithicide.gif

66 waves with 80% wall health and I get an SMS popup in the middle of selling/repositioning/upgrading some towers to deal with an incoming swarm wave and they all ran by.

I really wonder what iLevi did to get to 100 waves.

Back to the grindstone, still another couple hours to submit scores. :)

[Vester]

http://emoticons.a-13.net/emot-smithicide.gif

66 waves with 80% wall health and I get an SMS popup in the middle of selling/repositioning/upgrading some towers to deal with an incoming swarm wave and they all ran by.

I really wonder what iLevi did to get to 100 waves.
yea, saw that, idk thats crazy

['Jeep]

225, and you spend your time playing with NFS??:confused:

Oh I see, you just let them fool around until you show everyone who's boss in the final round... :p

[dannys95]

Day 3 challenge is about to begin. Get ready Hodapp!

[Eli]

Yep. ;)

Taking care of some stuff for my day job first...!

[dannys95]

Go Hodapp. Challenge posted!!!

[Eli]

Welp 86 waves has me in #1 for today, but I have a feeling the dude from IGN is going to get even more than 100.

['Jeep]

Welp 86 waves has me in #1 for today, but I have a feeling the dude from IGN is going to get even more than 100.

If you know it, why do you waste time posting here instead of trying HARDER!

Levi's at 95 and Chris at 82. Have a cuppa tea and get back to "work"!

Are you still enjoying the game, or has it already become a chore? Can you tell us what are the biggest selling points of Star Defense compared to other TD's?

[Eli]

Nah, I'm still enjoying it. The 3D view and positioning towers on a sphere is what sets Star Defense apart. It really makes for some pretty neat tower placement dynamics that can't exist in a 2D tower defense game.

[Vester]

Nah, I'm still enjoying it. The 3D view and positioning towers on a sphere is what sets Star Defense apart. It really makes for some pretty neat tower placement dynamics that can't exist in a 2D tower defense game.
dang that ilevi guy must play for HOURS, am i right? how long does it take to get to wave 50?

[Eli]

dang that ilevi guy must play for HOURS, am i right? how long does it take to get to wave 50?

I'll time my next game, quite a while though. One thing the build of Star Defense I have lacks is a fast forward mode. The only thing you can do is start the next wave early, but not speed the waves up. I'm currently stuck on wave 86, played four games today that all ended then.

Wave 87 is this super fast swarm that runs past all your towers so fast that they all just slam in to your barrier wall. I've tried massing slowing towers, but in doing that you don't have enough money to build the high damage towers (similar to the sniper towers in Sentry) that you need to kill the previous wave which is slow immune.

I have a feeling once you get past wave 87 there isn't a big kick to the pants wave until the high 90's/low 100's where iLevi is getting stuck.

I've got to hand it to ngmoco, this game is masterfully balanced and requires more micromanagement than other iPhone tower defense games. Not being able to see the whole maps only adds to how hectic this gets in later waves.

I really just can't say enough good things about this game, and I only have the stripped down pre-release build of it.

[Stykman]

lets go hodapp beat that loser ilevi(obvi has no life)

[Coral]

Is there a sort of placement grid or are you free to place your towers wherever you want? So far most TDs on the iPhone have a slight limitation because of a grid.

['Jeep]

I'm looking forward to playing this myself now. I know I'm more likely to get stuck around 24 waves than 93. If it wasn't for winning a contest I wouldn't care much either. A shame we can't help get you passed that 93 mark. You could spend a night on it (like some probably did on the first day, to get into 100 and 200's), but then it's also about how badly do you want this and what price are you prepared to pay. I'll probably never get to 6000 on flight control either.

You're still doing fine, keep at it, they might still twist a thumb and have to forfeit! :D:D

[Eli]

Hi everyone,

Congratulations on making it through the fourth day of the Star Defense Mayday! Twitter Challenge! Tomorrow, Fri. May 8, marks the fifth and final day of the challenge, and important updates follow below.

Twitter Down 2-3pm Fri. May 8
Twitter will be down for maintenance tomorrow from 2-3pm Pacific – if you are post any updates during this time please also take a screengrab of your score just in case Twitter is unable to record it. The update can be found here: http://status.twitter.com/post/104738920/planned-maintenance-tomorrow-monday

Crash Report
Apologies to anyone who might have experienced a Star Defense build crash. The dev team reports that turning off the in-game music should keep the game from crashing after the hour+ playtime point. Music can be turned off by going to Options on the main menu and tapping "MUSIC ON" to set it to "MUSIC OFF". Hopefully this solves the problem – if your build still crashes, just send me a screen capture of the last wave and your score will still be counted.

Grand Prize
Finally, we will announce the first, second and third place winners tomorrow afternoon. To up the ante, the grand prize is an iPod touch loaded with ngmoco games and engraved with the message "2009 Champion - Star Defense Mayday! Twitter Challenge"! Feel free to spread the good news J

Happy defending!

I knew I should have taken the week off work to do nothing but practice this game!!!

[Vester]

I knew I should have taken the week off work to do nothing but practice this game!!!
hey, not to be the downer but unless something crazy happens Tracy will win, but u did a great job! I have a feeling when i get it i wont be able to pass wave 15. Maybe a come from behind win?

['Jeep]

I knew I should have taken the week off work to do nothing but practice this game!!!

You done great Hodapp! Don't rule out that twisted thumb, just stay kewl and give it all. Tracy is a geek and Levi an anorak. (And Chris... well just take a look at his picture! :D) Say it a few times out loud, You'll feel instantly better!

Will the challenges be levels of the actual game, or be available at all in the game so that we can find out how we measure up to you wonder-kids?

Finally, I would like to remind you that there is a marked difference between the first and final upgrades of the basic gun. What seems like a worthless tower after 12 stages suddenly becomes essential to keeping the aliens at bay if properly upgraded. The slowing tower must also be a core part of your strategy, especially when dealing with the ultra-fast Scion, which are bird-like creatures that are resistant to fire damage. You must line your path with enough of these towers to keep them from screaming toward the shield wall. If you find just the right combination of slowing towers, cannons, and electric towers, you can last a long time.

(OK, That's from the half -god Levi himself 2pocketgamer! ;) )

[dannys95]

Today is the last day. What's your standing Hodapp?

[yourofl10]

Look at the first tag >_<......

*facepalm*

Anyways, Good Luck Hodapp, make TA look good (as if Ta didnt look good) lol.

[dannys95]

Look at the first tag >_<......

*facepalm*

Anyways, Good Luck Hodapp, make TA look good (as if Ta didnt look good) lol.

LOL! And who is Vester?

[Vester]

LOL! And who is Vester?
dat be me, i didnt put them there 0.o

[Eli]

dat be me, i didnt put them there 0.o

Hmmm.............. ;)

Man, I have been playing this game since I woke up this morning. 136 waves is insane!!!

[Vester]

Hmmm.............. ;)

Man, I have been playing this game since I woke up this morning. 136 waves is insane!!!
U did 136 waves?!?!?!?

[Eli]

U did 136 waves?!?!?!?

No, that's the current high score. I think my highest is 95 right now. The problem is the alpha build I have seems to have a memory leak and the game really starts to get laggy and crashy around wave 90. Getting to wave 90 takes 30-45 minutes so it's a huge kick in the balls when it crashes around then.

Despite the issues I've had, it's still a really fun game. I'm really glad ngmoco decided to include us in this tournament and I'm sure the bugs will be fixed by the time Star Defense is released.

[Zincous]

Did you turn the music off and sounds like they said to do?

[dmbfan1192]

Did you turn the music off and sounds like they said to do?
if not he's going to be kicking himself :eek:

[Eli]

Did you turn the music off and sounds like they said to do?

Yep.

[Vester]

that vester and hodapp <3 tag is not cool lol

[Zincous]

Yep.

Oh -_-

Thought I had cracked the case! :p:o

[Allen at ngmoco]

No, that's the current high score. I think my highest is 95 right now. The problem is the alpha build I have seems to have a memory leak and the game really starts to get laggy and crashy around wave 90. Getting to wave 90 takes 30-45 minutes so it's a huge kick in the balls when it crashes around then.

Despite the issues I've had, it's still a really fun game. I'm really glad ngmoco decided to include us in this tournament and I'm sure the bugs will be fixed by the time Star Defense is released.

Sorry Hodapp, was really hoping the music off fix would have worked better. We do have a bead on the bug though and will definitely not ship with it present.

I had a blast following this thread this week!

Cheers

Allen

[dmbfan1192]

Anybody have news about this? Are they going to release right after the crash problem is fixed or will it be longer? I'm getting that ngmoco crave again!

[Spartan12103]

I really can't wait, TD games are my favorite genre on the iDevices.

[Stykman]

is this over yet?