iPhone Battle Academy by slitherine Ltd.

Discussion in 'iPhone and iPad Games' started by Werechihuahua, Mar 14, 2012.

  1. PipFromSlitherine

    PipFromSlitherine Well-Known Member

    Mar 15, 2012
    157
    0
    0
    Just as an FYI, there is a new multiplayer map on the User Content system - City River. Includes some interesting new mechanics, and there is already a tournament running for it :).

    Cheers

    Pip
     
  2. JohnSimond

    JohnSimond Active Member

    Sep 6, 2012
    40
    0
    0
    looks quite compelling, love this kind of strategy game, does this take a lot of time?
     
  3. DotComCTO

    DotComCTO Well-Known Member

    Feb 17, 2009
    477
    0
    16
    Chief Technology Officer
    Westchester County, NY
    It's a turn based strategy game. In a single player game, how long a game takes depends on how long you take to review the situation/make your moves after the AI responds to your turn. The time it takes for the AI to make a turn isn't long.

    When playing against another player, you're using the "play by email" (PBEM) system. The time it takes to take a turn is dependent on you, but also on how long it takes for your opponent to take their turn. The PBEM approach allows someone to take as much time as necessary to play their move. For example, I've had a single turn stretch out over a week or two when my opponents or I were very busy or on vacation.

    Make sense?

    --DotComCTO
     
  4. Parkingtigers

    Parkingtigers Well-Known Member

    Apr 6, 2010
    156
    0
    0
    Hey

    Hi there. Just found this thread and wanted to add myself to the list of extremely satisfied customers for this game. Totally worth $20, and as a long-time player of tabletop wargames I really feel this delivers a tactical experience that is as deep as any grognard could hope for.

    If the Slitherine guys are still lurking this thread, I've got a couple of questions/requests.

    Eastern Front content? I'm desperate to get some Stalingrad/Kursk action going. Will pay money for this day one it appears in the store.

    Adding a request for a full replay option if it is possible.

    Also, could you make it that the iPad remembers my login details for the server? Entering a username and password every time I want to retrieve a turn seems a bit odd in this day and age.

    Basically the only thing I really want to see added is a better way to issue challenges to specific opponents. Right now I need to put up a challenge, then post in a forum thread for the game where my regular opponents might be lurking. Even just an option to send a challenge to a previously played opponent would be enough, as other than a few randoms I'm mostly playing with the same small group of like minded souls from another forum I go to. If you could find a way to send invites, or issue challenges from WITHIN the game then it would be just perfect. That's actually probably the only thing that would make Gamecenter worth messing with.

    Also, if possible, an in-game encyclopedia of the units would be very handy for new players. Just something simple you could page through, showing a picture of the unit with the stats, movement ranges, firing ranges, and possible upgrades. A little database like that shouldn't be too hard to code up, and it would take a lot of the steepness out of the learning curve. Some of my opponents (newbies that I bullied into buying and playing this game) have no idea about some of the units and they can only learn by experimenting in the heat of battle. Which is fine, most people are cool with that, but most of them WANT to study up before playing.

    By the way, by constantly banging on about this game, and posting screenshots and mini-battle reports, I badgered about half a dozen people into buying this game. You're welcome. :D Pure self-interest though as I was just recruiting people to play against, but it seems this is a game where word of mouth is essential, especially with the high (but totally well-deserved) price tag.

    Game owns though. I'm barely to the end of the first campaign as I'm mostly spending my time on the multiplayer, which is just the best thing ever. I've waited a couple of decades for this exact gaming experience. Couple of minor rough edges aside, it's just magic. Looking forward to buying all the IAP campaigns further down the line, I want to throw more money at you guys.
     
  5. Slitherine Iain

    Slitherine Iain Well-Known Member

    Apr 10, 2011
    257
    0
    0
    Thanks for the feedback and recruitment! Some interesting ideas there.

    On the replay we will soon be releasing an update that allows you to replay it multiple times. A rewind control isn't possible because of the way the model works so this is probably as good as it can get.

    More content is in development but at the moment we're focussing on the Western Front. We have 3 expansions on the way - more info soon.

    PBEM should remember your login. It does for me on my iPad. Can you post to our tech support forum so the guys can check out the issue?

    We're adding a challenge system but this is intended for recruiting new players not to challenge existing players. I'll see if it is something that can be expanded upon to get the feature you're looking for.

    The encyclopaedia is a nice idea but not sure if we can do that. There are a lot of special case stats and the way they are combined to get a result is a little complex so hard to show to users.

    Thanks again and keep recruiting!
     
  6. Parkingtigers

    Parkingtigers Well-Known Member

    Apr 6, 2010
    156
    0
    0
    Thanks for the info Iain, and also thanks for being a company that's cool with dealing with the punters on a public forum. Must be especially trying when you are selling a premium priced product, and dealing with a place full of people used to $0.99 junk titles. I'm glad you guys have my money. I'll check out your tech support dudes and report my login issue.

    3 more expansions is great news, and will be watching for details of what they are. I'm fine with more Western Front stuff first, and I'll be grabbing it all, just impatient to head east. Just knowing that more expansions are on the way shows that the game is still growing so I'll leave it all in your capable hands.

    One suggestion though: multiplayer aside, the content so far all seems to have the player controlling the Allies in all the campaigns. I'd like to see at least one campaign where I get to play as the Wehrmacht. Sometimes it's fun to be the bad guys, and it's an option that never comes up in the single player of other genres of WWII videogames. (I'm not evil, I just want to order Panthers around rather than shoot at them.)

    As regards the challenge system, I'd recommend (if it hasn't been suggested already) that you just copy how Hero Academy does it. That (free) game sets the gold standard for asynchronous multiplayer, though I do still love your email notifications. The way you just issue a challenge to a username, and they accept or decline, is very elegant and simple. After all, all the Battle Academy players have a registered username, so anyone who wanted to fight me would just type "Parkingtigers" into the opponent field and it would get to me.

    If the encyclopaedia isn't viable, then perhaps you could put in a very simple map as part of the tutorial section of the game. Just a "meet the units" kind of thing. Could have one for each force, so a new player could choose say "Western Desert - Allies" and just be presented with one of every unit. The tutorial pop up would tell players to tap on the units to check their AT, HE and armour stats, and they could try moving them around to see how fast they are. Advanced option would be to give them a few static targets to shoot at, to test guns. Could even just give them control of both sides, so they could check out the forces available on both sides of the conflict so the could check out friend and foe.

    When I mentioned replays, I guess I was hoping to be able to keep record of the entire battle to watch back, not just show the last enemy move again. If it was possible to store that as a file offline, both to avoid pressure on your servers and for convenience, then that would be awesome. Just a nice thing to have, but totally understandable if it's a no go.

    Oh, and I can't believe I never mentioned hot-seat multiplayer! Is that coming, or could it be put in? I mean I love that you have asynchronous mulitplayer, which for me is far more valuable, but local hot-seat games would turn this into the ultimate boardgame for iPad owners. Also, if you were to include that, then it would serve the purpose of allowing players to mess around with units to check them out as I mentioned earlier, so you could scratch that idea off the list. I'd love to load up a hot-seat game, solo, and play both sides just to test strategies and stuff.

    Ultimately though I can't stress enough how much fun I'm having with this game. Any requests from me aren't because the game is bad, but because it's so brilliant I just want more of it. Thanks again, I'm off to spread the news about those three content packs that you are working on. I'm guessing that if you follow earlier trends that these will contain more multiplayer maps too. Can't get enough of those.

    As I think I mentioned before, this game owns.
     
  7. PipFromSlitherine

    PipFromSlitherine Well-Known Member

    Mar 15, 2012
    157
    0
    0
    Always great to hear from someone enjoying the game so much!

    One thing I would note is that you can indeed play hotseat (although it's not as fully featured as we might want). Simply start a MP game with yourself. You can then either play yourself (a good way to try out things) or pass the iPad back and forth with another player when it is your side's turn.

    Cheers

    Pip
     
  8. Parkingtigers

    Parkingtigers Well-Known Member

    Apr 6, 2010
    156
    0
    0
    #448 Parkingtigers, Oct 6, 2012
    Last edited: Oct 6, 2012
    Holy crap, really? Well, that is very interesting to know. Thanks for that Pip, I'll be trying that out alright.

    (Edit: Hah, just noticed that I joined this site two and a half years ago, but only finally posted here on this game's thread. I think that says a lot.)
     
  9. sladeums

    sladeums Well-Known Member

    Feb 2, 2012
    607
    0
    0
    Omaha, NE
    Lite version now available


    Battle Academy LITE

    Number#1 Strategy game in 17 stores.

    * PocketTactics – 5 out of 5 - “In price, content, and execution, Battle …
    Free
    Buy Now
    Media
    Details
    Number#1 Strategy game in 17 stores.

    * PocketTactics – 5 out of 5 - “In price, content, and execution, Battle Academy is a proud game from another time. And worth every penny.”
    * DigitallyDownloaded.net – 4.5 out of 5 Stars - “Really, when you buy this game, you’re buying into the excellent, competitive, online environment, and it looks like a healthy community at this stage.”
    * NoHighScores – “…you’d be hard pressed to find a richer, more satisfying turn-based wargame on the platform.”
    * TouchGen – 4.5 out of 5 Stars - “Battle Academy is a welcoming but challenging experience.”
    * StrategyPrime – 4.5 out of 5 Stars - “Probably one of the finest strategy games you can find on the iPad just about now, and definitely a must-have.”
    * FortressAT – “Battle Academy is…a real game, a proper game…”
    * Esquire - “…this is the best game we’ve played yet on the iPad.”
    * Plughead.net – 82% - “A proper wargame! On the iPad!”
    * PCDome.hu – “…the ideal tactical casual wargame for iPad.”
    * SlideToPlay – 3 out of 4 - “…for those of you who are willing to take the challenge, you’ll encounter a highly engaging, absorbing and lengthy experience the likes of which has rarely been seen on iOS.”
    * BoardGameGeek – 3 of 4 Stars - “Hands down this is the most impressive war game yet on the platform.”

    *****************************************
    Description

    Approachable, absorbing and visually impressive yet detailed, Battle Academy aims to revolutionise the strategy games market with a blend of intuitive design and compelling game play driven by cutting edge technical innovation.

    Inspired by an original online game concept devised by the BBC, the game has more than 30 battles in a range of theatres of war from the North African desert through D-Day to the to the snowy Ardennes mountains where the Allies battled to repel the final German offensive.

    The team at Slitherine worked with Professor John Buckley, Military Historian at the University of Wolverhampton and a keen wargamer himself, to make sure that the strategy, tactics, scenarios and available firepower of the battles fought in WW2 were turned into realistic AI behaviour, powering expertly crafted battles.

    The revolutionary server-based PBEM++ Slitherine system completes the package, for a gaming experience that will certainly please both hard core wargamers and newcomers. This revolutionary system allows iPad, Mac and PC players to play against each other, and even allows you to play 1 turn on your PC at home, continue the same game on the iPad on the train to work and play a turn at work on your Mac, all without you having to do a thing - the server handles it all!


    *****************************************
    Features

    Control British, US, Polish, Canadian forces in 3 epic campaigns covering more than 30 varied battles or take control of Italian and German forces in multiplayer.

    Select from a vast array of equipment including 100 units from 6 nations - Shermans, Fireflys, Panthers, Tigers, Stukas, Hurricanes, P47s and much more!

    Gameplay features include ambushes, line of sight, artillery barrages, airstrikes, scouts, morale, APCs, flame throwers, heavy bombers, snipers and suppression.

    Your units gain experience as they fight. Get promoted to Veteran and Elite status and gain new skills.

    Addictive multiplayer modes using Slitherine’s revolutionary multiplayer server that’s linked into an online ranking system.
    Information
    Seller:
    Genre:Board, Strategy
    Release:Oct 25, 2012
    Updated:Nov 30, -0001
    Version:
    Size:0.0
    TouchArcade Rating:Unrated
    User Rating:Unrated
    Your Rating:unrated
    Compatibility:HD Universal
     
  10. DotComCTO

    DotComCTO Well-Known Member

    Feb 17, 2009
    477
    0
    16
    Chief Technology Officer
    Westchester County, NY
    Very cool...but where's the update with the multi-replay system?

    :confused:

    --DotComCTO
     
  11. MetaGonzo

    MetaGonzo Well-Known Member

    May 7, 2009
    1,436
    256
    83
    Well; that's me finally sold. Roll on payday.
     
  12. Slitherine Iain

    Slitherine Iain Well-Known Member

    Apr 10, 2011
    257
    0
    0
    The 2.0.6 update is approved and releasing later today. There are 6 versions of BA releasing today across 3 format so bear with us while we juggle!
     
  13. Farmer Harv

    Farmer Harv Well-Known Member

    Oct 20, 2009
    293
    0
    16
    Great that there's a Lite version available! Should work wonders in bringing more players in.

    However, you might want to use actual iPad screenshots in the iTunes description, as they currently show units have shadows and that (sadly) isn't the case (yet?).
     
  14. Slitherine Iain

    Slitherine Iain Well-Known Member

    Apr 10, 2011
    257
    0
    0
    v2.0.6 has been released and is processing for the app store. Should be there soon!
     
  15. DotComCTO

    DotComCTO Well-Known Member

    Feb 17, 2009
    477
    0
    16
    Chief Technology Officer
    Westchester County, NY
    Woo hoo! And I'm updating right now! Thanks Iain & Pip!

    :cool:

    --DotComCTO
     
  16. sladeums

    sladeums Well-Known Member

    Feb 2, 2012
    607
    0
    0
    Omaha, NE
    It's worth noting that Lite version not only gives you a taste of the single player, but will allow you to accept an invite to a multiplayer match from another player that owns the full game.

    Kinda cool.
     
  17. Slitherine Iain

    Slitherine Iain Well-Known Member

    Apr 10, 2011
    257
    0
    0
    The new version lets you send out invites to play others at multiplayer, who don't even have the game. Why not post an invite here and have other TA forumites accept it and try out the game!
     
  18. Emos

    Emos Well-Known Member

    Dec 2, 2009
    478
    0
    16
    I implore ANYONE who is even remotely interested in turn-based strategy or anything regarding WWII to run to the nearest wifi spot and download the lite version now! This is the standard by which all other TBS on the iPad should be judged, and I think the $20 won't seem like a lot once you actually give this gem a whirl.

    *ahem* Now where is our iPad Panzer Corps!!!!!11 :D
     
  19. scarypharaoh

    scarypharaoh Well-Known Member

    Aug 26, 2009
    889
    0
    16
    Medical Professional
    With Carmen Sandiego
    Emos, I own the full version. Just saying ;)

    How does the demo invite work? Cos when I press the button it sends me to slithering web page and asks for a serial number?
     
  20. DotComCTO

    DotComCTO Well-Known Member

    Feb 17, 2009
    477
    0
    16
    Chief Technology Officer
    Westchester County, NY
    My name is DotComCTO and I approve this message.

    :D

    --DotComCTO
     

Share This Page