Thumb Space - Pixel Art SHMUP (Launching 05/05/16)

Discussion in 'Upcoming iOS Games' started by 0Hayes, Apr 16, 2016.

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  1. 0Hayes

    0Hayes Well-Known Member

    Apr 16, 2016
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    #1 0Hayes, Apr 16, 2016
    Last edited: May 5, 2016
    Hey Folks!

    Thumb Space has launched! With the help of @Boardumb we've moved things over to here

    Check out the trailer:​



    [​IMG] [​IMG]

    [​IMG] [​IMG]

    We need your help designing the next ship that will be added to the fleet!

    Slap the creative grease onto your thumbs and start tinkering. The design must have an area to place your trusty thumb, fit neatly into a square and of course, keep it family friendly. Anything else goes!

    [​IMG]

    It doesn’t matter if you have the drawing skill of a two thumbed human or a 4 thumbed chimp we’d love to see what you come up with.

    Post your designs bellow and we'll choose a winner in 2 weeks! (14th May)

    Good luck, Thumbkind is relying on you
     
  2. 0Hayes

    0Hayes Well-Known Member

    Apr 16, 2016
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    #2 0Hayes, Apr 17, 2016
    Last edited: Apr 17, 2016
    We'll be launching for open beta very soon!

    [​IMG]

    let us know if you're interested.
     
  3. deadjam

    deadjam Well-Known Member

    May 9, 2010
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    Hi TA'ers

    DEADJAM here aka James Bolton. I first saw and played a mini prototype for ThumbSpace at the end of last year and I immediately was hooked by the control mechanic and game play. It was hard but very fun.

    I approached Rob to ask if I could help out and fast forward a few months and ThumbSpace will be with you very soon.

    Essentially Rob has done everything, the code, art, sfx and I've just been there to bounce ideas off and help create the trailer which launches in a couple of days - stay tuned for that!

    That's all for now.

    DEADJAM
     
  4. kripa1415`

    kripa1415` Well-Known Member

    Nov 30, 2012
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    the gam looks actually very cool ! Any game teaser on youtube ?
     
  5. 0Hayes

    0Hayes Well-Known Member

    Apr 16, 2016
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    Thanks very much! As it goes, we'll be launching the trailer in 2 hours so stay tuned!
     
  6. 0Hayes

    0Hayes Well-Known Member

    Apr 16, 2016
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  7. 0Hayes

    0Hayes Well-Known Member

    Apr 16, 2016
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    We're starting our search for beta testers! Get in touch if you would like to be part of the action.

    [​IMG]
     
  8. deadjam

    deadjam Well-Known Member

    May 9, 2010
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    There are lots of awesome ships for your Thumb Pilot to unlock that Rob has created.

    If you have any ideas for a new ship design then please let us know!

    [​IMG]
     
  9. 0Hayes

    0Hayes Well-Known Member

    Apr 16, 2016
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    Huge thanks to everybody that has helped test so far! I've uploaded a new build to testflight which will be available soon.

    The update includes:
    - Either Ray is now correctly called "Ether Ray"
    - Spelling mistakes on the credits menu have been fixed
    - Prize button can now be accessed from the game over menu
    - Added a quick tutorial that lets you know how to reload for the first time

    We're still looking for more feedback on the unique control mechanic so please get in touch if you'd like to help!
     
  10. 0Hayes

    0Hayes Well-Known Member

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    #10 0Hayes, Apr 20, 2016
    Last edited: Apr 20, 2016
    Just received and finished implementing some really great feedback from Teaboy Games; @frazermerrick (developers of fallen) and A4man (artist behind chain quest)

    The changes to the latest build are:

    - Slowed down the timer on the drone spawning
    - Made the drone hit box a little more friendly
    - Chance to fight an elite drone 5 seconds earlier!
    - Made the sparrows collision a little larger
    - Made a larger replay button on the game over menu. It's now even easier to get back into the action!
    - Other minor tweaks to the game over menu

    Hopefully these tweaks make the game just that little more accessible!
     
  11. 0Hayes

    0Hayes Well-Known Member

    Apr 16, 2016
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    The new testflight build should be live soon so let us know if you're interested in testing!

    [​IMG]
     
  12. 0Hayes

    0Hayes Well-Known Member

    Apr 16, 2016
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    Quick update: To all testers or soon to be testers, the new build with your suggested tweaks is live! Get in touch if you want to try it out.
     
  13. hvianna

    hvianna Well-Known Member

    Jun 14, 2012
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    Thanks for the invite! I'm enjoying the game, my best score so far is 1315.

    Is it ok to post comments/screenshots in this thread? Or would you rather receive feedback via PM/email?
     
  14. 0Hayes

    0Hayes Well-Known Member

    Apr 16, 2016
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    Anytime, glad to hear you're enjoying it! Comments and screenshots are always welcome. Love to hear what you think.

    Great score btw!
     
  15. hvianna

    hvianna Well-Known Member

    Jun 14, 2012
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    #15 hvianna, Apr 22, 2016
    Last edited: Apr 22, 2016
    First of all, I really like the pixel graphics and the chiptune soundtrack! I also love the great variety of ships, weapons and backgrounds. The controls and gameplay are simple but quite original, so lots of potential for a great game here!

    Possible bug: I noticed that when I exit the game (to iOS springboard) and return to it a few seconds or minutes later (game still in memory) there's no sound whatsoever. Doing it a second time restores the sound. I've been playing on an iPhone6 and an iPad mini 2, both with iOS 9.3.2 beta 1.

    Not sure if this is also a bug, but the elite drones stopped showing up after a couple of runs. On my iPad I only encountered an elite drone on my first time playing. Played several times after that and no elite drones. Are they supposed to appear randomly or after a set number of regular drones?

    Other than that, the game doesn't seem to become more challenging as I advance. On my second playthrough I felt it could go on forever, I died just because I got impatient, went ahead too much and touched a drone as it was entering the screen. I realize that with more elite drones it wouldn't be so easy, but I think the regular drones could improve over time as well.

    Also, is the default weapon actually supposed to pierce through drones? Because that makes it too powerful, and the game too easy! For example, what is the advantage of the missile over the default gun? The rainbow ray is pretty cool though!

    Some suggestions to increase difficulty as the player progresses (or for a "nightmare mode" maybe):

    * Default shot destroys only one drone;
    * Make drones increasingly harder to destroy (more shots per drone - special weapons would be useful);
    * Add one or two extra positions for drones - if I keep shooting at those three pre-determined positions I can destroy drones before they even enter the screen;
    * Or make their position completely random within the lines;
    * Moving drones!
    * Drones that fire back at the player!!

    And a some UI-related suggestions:

    * Add a "Tap to fire quickly" hint to the tutorial - it's kinda obvious, but it took me a while to realize :)
    * Add a pause button with an option to quit the current game. Also, add a home button on the ship/weapon/theme selection screen;
    * Increase the touch area for controlling the ship - I guess sometimes I miss the spot slightly and the ship won't follow my finger;
    * Add an option for relative control - it's hard to play using my thumb with the direct control, even on the iPhone;
    * Let the player know that there's a cost for opening a loot crate (the cost is only visible when you don't have the funds);
    * On the selection screen gray out the locked ships (not just the ship's name) to make it easier to spot the unlocked ones;
    * Add options for random selection of ship, weapon, trail, background and mod.

    Ok, I think that's it for now! Sorry for the super long post, I got carried away, but I hope this helps improving the game even further.

    Thanks for the opportunity to test your game!

    Edit: I see some of my suggestions for higher difficulty drones are already implemented as "mods". I still think it would be nice to have this stuff applied dinamically as we progress. Also, battery drain seems high and my iPhone gets hot after a few minutes playing, maybe there is something you can optimize.
     
  16. 0Hayes

    0Hayes Well-Known Member

    Apr 16, 2016
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    #16 0Hayes, Apr 22, 2016
    Last edited: Apr 22, 2016
    Fantastic feedback, really appreciate it!

    Can highly advise trying out some mods as they'll really pump up the difficulty. As you're not the first to miss the mods option I'll add a prompt when your best score is above X.

    The audio bug I'm afraid is part of construct 2 that they're working on fixing. From my end it's just a waiting game.

    The elites spawn between 10-60 seconds though I'll keep an eye out for them not spawning.

    Been wrestling with adding a pause button, personally I don't think they work in this kind of game, but I equally get how it would help. I'll keep an eye out on more feedback.

    I'll tweak the touch area, mind me asking what ship/s you noticed this on?

    The relative controls go against the whole Thumb Space thing, but I can't deny that some people would like that.

    I was worried about graying out the ships, but it probably is a good call.

    Again, really grateful for the feedback! You're helping improve Thumb Space
     
  17. 0Hayes

    0Hayes Well-Known Member

    Apr 16, 2016
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    [​IMG]

    We're still looking for more thumbs to help test our game!
     
  18. LordShad0wz

    LordShad0wz Well-Known Member

    Nov 19, 2014
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    Ok I got a few minutes to play.

    Really fast I suggest two things:

    1) relative touch controls.

    2) a pause button

    Relative touch is a must! I absolutely hate not being able to see the ship. I can't play right when I can't see the ship.

    So far it's a fun game! I see that the above has been brought up but I wanted to emphasize it from a brand new player. I'm going to dig into it more later tonight. I really love the artwork!

    Billy
     
  19. 0Hayes

    0Hayes Well-Known Member

    Apr 16, 2016
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    Well I can't argue with the figures! I'll get relative controls and pause option in the next TestFlight build. I'll keep you posted on when it's releasing.

    In the meantime, if there's anything else you can think of I'd love to hear it.

    Huge thanks for the feedback, really appreciate it!
     
  20. 0Hayes

    0Hayes Well-Known Member

    Apr 16, 2016
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    #20 0Hayes, Apr 24, 2016
    Last edited: Apr 24, 2016
    Hey just spotted your edit! I think what I'll do is keep the mods as a fast forward to the hard parts and incrementally add them over time.

    For example when your score is over 250 I'll start increasing the offset randomiser. When the offset randomiser is at full I'll start increasing the chance for the drones to have shields and so on

    What do you think?

    I'll look into performance btw =]
     

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