"Space Galaxy Rogue" Game - Looking for beta testers

Discussion in 'Upcoming iOS Games' started by ronny.deicke, Dec 8, 2016.

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  1. ronny.deicke

    ronny.deicke Member

    Dec 8, 2016
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    Berlin
    #1 ronny.deicke, Dec 8, 2016
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 14, 2016
    Hi,

    I'm Ron and for the last year I worked on my first iOS game called "Space Galaxy Rogue". A few days ago it finally reached the beta status and I am happy if some of you are interest in testing the app.

    What is "Space Galaxy Rogue"?

    It's an old-school arcade space shooter like in the good old days, with big pixels and handmade graphics. The game has, as the title implies, a rogue-like background, so you collect experience and coins playing the game to unlock new spaceships, skins and upgrades for your ship.

    Concept, design, animation, development, ... was all done by myself, even if I "just" have a background as a JAVA developer, so it was a hard and long way to go for me to reach the beta status of this game and I appreciate any feedback and help to finish the game.

     
  2. BC1377

    BC1377 Well-Known Member

    Aug 23, 2016
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  3. LordShad0wz

    LordShad0wz Well-Known Member

    Nov 19, 2014
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    #3 LordShad0wz, Dec 9, 2016
    Last edited: Dec 9, 2016
    Holy shit!!

    Ok I started testing and I freaken LOVE this damn game. I love the retro pixel style!!! I love the gameplay!! I love The controls!! I love the different types of weapons!! I love the huge bosses and all of the enemies!! I love the IAP options. For sure upon release I'll be buying both max upgrades and all ships. Yes the game is worth $10 to me. That's how much I enjoy playing it and it's only in beta. I love the explosions!! Now for some critiques to make things a bit better.

    The buttons with the different weapons on the left side are way way way way too massive and hamper gameplay. The enemy get behind them and you can't seem them well as well as their bullets. The buttons don't need to be so big since you only interact with them once in a while. Can you make them much smaller please? They need to be a bit more transparent as well.

    IAP options. You really should think about adding 2 things. The first is an IAP option that allows us a permanent continue. I'd pay for this. The second is a primary and secondary ad network that rewards on VIEWs not installs that we can watch if we want to continue a game or for coins. You will make some revenue this way as a lot of people who can't afford or won't buy IAP would watch the opt in ads. Since they aren't forced to watch ads usually more people will. I know I got out of my way to watch them even if I paid money if the rewards are good and I really like the game.

    Ok next up is the enemy bullets. They need to be brighter. They are extremely hard to see. They are small and dark. I don't mind the size but being so dark I've died from not even seeing them when lots of explosions are happening. Can you make the enemy bullets more visible please??

    All you old school gamers and Shoot'em up fans are going to love the shit out of this game. I would definitely try to get in on this beta and give your feedback. It's a great game. I'll be playing this all day today for sure. I want to try all of the ships.

    Awesome job dev. Really! Thank you for letting me participate.

    Billy
     
  4. LordShad0wz

    LordShad0wz Well-Known Member

    Nov 19, 2014
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    Oh I forgot one more thing.

    Please add a way we can share our scores to Twitter and Facebook. Preferably with a screenshot taken before our death. Like an action shot. The best way for game recognition is word of mouth. I have a ton of people and devs on my Twitter that all do IOS gaming. Even Susan, the voice of Siri follows me. I would be sharing the beta screenshots if it was in the game right now. Could you please add this functionality?

    Billy
     
  5. LordShad0wz

    LordShad0wz Well-Known Member

    Nov 19, 2014
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    What does leveling up do? I've been watching and I'm over level 20 but my max health on my ships hasn't increased. I haven't noticed any differences.

    What am I missing?

    Also I understand why the Phoenix is huge but I think it might be a little too huge. I mean it's massive. What do you think dev?

    Billy
     
  6. ronny.deicke

    ronny.deicke Member

    Dec 8, 2016
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    Berlin
    #6 ronny.deicke, Dec 9, 2016
    Last edited: Dec 9, 2016
    Hey Billy,

    first of all thank you very much for this incredible feedback, you're points are really good and I'll see if I can add them soon. In general you made my day, after developing for more than a year after work and going public now with the first beta, I am really happy that it's not just me liking the game :)

    Leveling up increases shoot frequency and damage you do, there is always a small pop up text telling you what increased when you reach a new level. Maybe to subtle to see that during the action? The XP also counts for leveling up the "player" after the game und to unlock new stuff.

    Edit: Yes, you're right about the Phoenix, it's a bit too huge... I usually play with "Rogue" during development, so I rarely run into this problem :)
     
  7. LordShad0wz

    LordShad0wz Well-Known Member

    Nov 19, 2014
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    That's what I meant, the character level ups after the game ends. I saw what the country level ups during the gameplay was doing. I actually really like that system. I also like that you have the starting upgrade for 500 coins. Every once in a while you can try to play a game to go really far.

    The only thing is with the player level at the end of the game once you've unlocked everything it's worthless. So for people like myself who plan to buy the two IAPs to support development and buy you lunch (lol) maybe after you've unlocked everything leveling up can also raise some stats but very very slightly per level. Maybe one level would be health, another damage etc etc. it would promote longevity maybe. I don't know what you or others think.

    Is there an end to the game or is it endless?

    And you deserve the praise. It really is a fun game. I was hooked on my first play. I really was. I love Shoot'em ups but not all of them are great. You can tell when devs are looking more to cash grab and you can tell when a dev actually makes a game that they care about that's balanced. This is one of those.


    Billy

     
  8. ronny.deicke

    ronny.deicke Member

    Dec 8, 2016
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    Berlin
    It's endless, enemy stats increase slightly faster than the players, so there is an end one way or another :)

    I also thought about keeping the player hooked to the game after unlocking everything, of course there will be more ships/skins in the future, but I like the idea of slightly increasing stats (lets call it paragon level ;)), I'll look into it.

    And yes, I started developing this game because I am a gamer and I wanted to make something fun. In the beginning I wanted to just sell this game for a small fee and thats it (you have no idea how many hours went into this), but in these days I have the feeling no one is buying games anymore, at least for mobile, so I had to make it "Free" to reach a wide audience enjoying the game.

     
  9. LordShad0wz

    LordShad0wz Well-Known Member

    Nov 19, 2014
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    #9 LordShad0wz, Dec 10, 2016
    Last edited: Dec 10, 2016
    No you are right to do it this way. That's why I said you should put in opt in ads that pay out per view. It's tricky because some ad networks are aholes and want to pay on installs. You won't make a dime on installs because no one installs from ads. So the best bet is to do the pay per view and have a primary and secondary network or have one of those that do the ad switching for you so each player can watch a large amount of ads per day. People will definitely watch ads for coins and for continues. There's a lot to upgrade and lots of ships to unlock.

    Then you have word of mouth to spread the name of the game around. People will share their scores to Twitter and Facebook. If you add a link to the AppStore it will help get some recognition for the game. It's free advertising.

    Thank you for listening to my feedback.

    Billy

     
  10. tintin888

    tintin888 Well-Known Member

    Apr 18, 2016
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    Do you need any more beta testers. If so, I could!
     
  11. ronny.deicke

    ronny.deicke Member

    Dec 8, 2016
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    Berlin
    Thank you for your interest in testing the beta, just send me your iTunes email to participate.

     
  12. LordShad0wz

    LordShad0wz Well-Known Member

    Nov 19, 2014
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    See Pic!

    Epic battle! I am loving this game so much. I've been playing it for two days straight lol.

    I can't wait for you to make the changes. I really like the Phoenix with the color schemes and design. I like the starting fighter my favorite though even though it doesn't have the best stats.

    Billy
     

    Attached Files:

  13. LordShad0wz

    LordShad0wz Well-Known Member

    Nov 19, 2014
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    Ok more feedback.

    So really all of the ships except for the starter need to be made a bit smaller. They are all way oversized even if you compare them to the enemy ships. The Phoenix is the worst offender although being the best stats it has to be the biggest so I get why.

    The hit detection might need some adjusting. It is way too easy for the bullets to hit your ship. Not only that but when you have the shields up its even worse. If a bullet even comes near your wing it scores a hit.

    Where are you other beta testers?? Let's get to talking here. What do you think???

    Billy
     
  14. ronny.deicke

    ronny.deicke Member

    Dec 8, 2016
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    Berlin
    I adjusted all ship sizes for the next update, the hit detection should be ok, I just made some small changes, but I think by adjusting the ship sizes this problem should be gone.

     
  15. ronny.deicke

    ronny.deicke Member

    Dec 8, 2016
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    Berlin
    New beta update is available with some major changes and improvements, including the following:
    * spaceship sizes adjusted
    * level up increases stats (starting level >20)
    * setting to disable automatic weapon selection after unlock
    * enemy bullets visibility enhanced
    * show starpower duration in hud
    * background music from other apps enabled
    * social media sharing enabled (account needs to be in the iOS settings)

    Thanks for all the feedback, either via thread or PM.. Spots for beta test are still available, but don't forget to send me your iTunes email if you want to participate!

    Looking forward to your feedback, we made some great progress together since the start of the beta!
     
  16. LordShad0wz

    LordShad0wz Well-Known Member

    Nov 19, 2014
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    Oh hell yeah!!!

    Wow what a difference my friend!!!!!! I can definitely see the enemy bullets now!!!! I like the sizes of the fighters. They are much much better. I love the stat increases after level 20. Really nice update my friend. Thank you!!

    Billy

     
  17. LordShad0wz

    LordShad0wz Well-Known Member

    Nov 19, 2014
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    Ok.

    I tested out the share button to Twitter. Check it out. I'm @wgreklek

    I have a question. Is the ship supposed to take damage when the shield is active because I was just playing and both my shield and health were being lowered at the sametime. When the shield was fully gone I was at half health.

    Billy
     
  18. ronny.deicke

    ronny.deicke Member

    Dec 8, 2016
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    Berlin
    Wow, almost 100k in coins, and you beat my score :)

    I'll look into this behaviour tomorrow, it's not expected loosing health while having a shield, I thought I fixed that long time ago...

    @all beta testers: Do you think, it's too easy to earn coins, level up and unlock stuff? I want to check if there is any "need" to buy coins via IAP... Sadly I have to optimise the game also for that :(
     
  19. LordShad0wz

    LordShad0wz Well-Known Member

    Nov 19, 2014
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    #19 LordShad0wz, Dec 14, 2016
    Last edited: Dec 14, 2016
    Nooooo. It's part of my testing. With each beta update I fully reset. I tested the IAP. I bought the coin pack.

    Leave things as they are. The progression is just fine. I tested that first.

    The score however was earned. With no bonus at start muhahaha. There were some really intense moments. I had to keep switching to the 4 way weapon as even the boss went to the bottom of the screen and stayed there. It got really intense and difficult.

    God I love my Phoenix. I really love this game. Lol oh also can you do one other thing. It's an annoyance really. Can you have the game remember the last ship and color scheme we used so when we go back we can just go to play if we want to use what we were using? Can it remember the color scheme of the fighters we've chosen instead of defaulting everytime so we don't have to pick them everytime?

    Billy

     
  20. ronny.deicke

    ronny.deicke Member

    Dec 8, 2016
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    Berlin
    Great idea, this will be in the next update!

     

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