iPad Lost Cities - (by TheCodingMonkeys)

Discussion in 'iPhone and iPad Games' started by Sanuku, Aug 22, 2012.

  1. Appletini

    Appletini Well-Known Member

    Jan 8, 2011
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    I have this for my 4th-gen iPad, and on a Retina-based device, with the exception of the standard small black border that appears with iPhone-native apps at 2x, this is pretty much what a native iPad/universal/HD version would look like.

    There is very, very minimal aliasing on most text and numbers (and I mean minimal to the extent that you'll barely even notice it, let alone be bothered by it, unless you're extremely neurotic about such things), and the game doesn't even come close to being "blurry" or any such exaggeration. If you've ever played the non-HD version of Cut the Rope in 2x on a Retina-based device, you know that visually it is almost entirely indistinguishable from the iPad's native HD version other than the border; this is a very similar situation here.

    Honestly, with the polish involved in the art, music and gameplay, if this title strikes your fancy and seems like something you might want to try, and you have a 3rd or 4th-gen iPad (iPad 2 and iPad mini use non-Retina assets for games in 2x mode, so they're not quite as good here), I'd suggest picking it up. I have a sneaking suspicion that if you're holding off just because you're worried about how it plays on the iPad, or have concerns about the artwork being "low-res" or "blurry", you'll be pleasantly surprised.

    Finally, even though it should be obvious, I am constantly surprised by the number of people who don't grasp that the game only uses one deck of cards - i.e. if somebody already has a particular card of one colour, there isn't going to be another copy of that card in the game for you to claim. If somebody plays 2, 3, 4, 5 of red, there's no point hanging onto the red 6 hoping you'll get a lower number to start your lane with, because all of those cards have already been played.
     
  2. FPE

    FPE Well-Known Member

    Sep 25, 2010
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    On my ipad2 iris clearly blurry. Huge difference in sharpness in 2x.
    Not that I regret it, but honestly annoying a bit.
     
  3. FPE

    FPE Well-Known Member

    Sep 25, 2010
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    Btw does anybody play it online ?
     
  4. GeekyDad

    GeekyDad Well-Known Member

    Jan 14, 2012
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    Async is very active, yes.
     
  5. currymutton

    currymutton Well-Known Member

    Oct 16, 2008
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    Here here!
     
  6. currymutton

    currymutton Well-Known Member

    Oct 16, 2008
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    GCID, please.
     
  7. Appletini

    Appletini Well-Known Member

    Jan 8, 2011
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    Ankh-Morpork
    Mm-hmm, as I said, the 3rd and 4th-gen iPads use high-res Retina iPhone assets if available (960x640), but non-Retina iPads (1, 2, mini) always use the lower-resolution mobile assets (480x320), so artwork on the latter devices definitely isn't as sharp as it is on the others when blown up in 2x mode.
     
  8. FPE

    FPE Well-Known Member

    Sep 25, 2010
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    Should have read better, but as I said zero regret!

    Anybody feeling like playing wth a noob, add me. I am FPEX
     
  9. GeekyDad

    GeekyDad Well-Known Member

    Jan 14, 2012
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    Really enjoying this game, but there seems to be no option to shut off notifications, either in-game or in my settings. I'll be giving this a 1-star on the App Store until this is rectified. Not a fan of that sort of s***. :mad:
     
  10. the9quad

    the9quad Well-Known Member

    Apr 27, 2011
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    Yeah totally worth one star because of that, how dare they miss something! At least your not being petty and over reacting.
     
  11. GeekyDad

    GeekyDad Well-Known Member

    Jan 14, 2012
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    Yeah, how dare I use the one tool a customer has at their disposal to communicate their dissatisfaction.

    And btw, I was woken out of my sleep several times due to my phone lighting up when the game was sending me an alert. That may be petty to you, but I work for a living -- thanks.
     
  12. Pitta

    Pitta Well-Known Member

    Oct 19, 2008
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    After waiting for too long (dismissed the title for not being universal back in the day then other things kept me busy) I finally picked up the game and...oh boy...I'm addicted.
    I'm addicted much more than I thought I would be...expecially after the game strategy clicked and I started to win consistently almost negating the luck effect.
    Presentation is top notch (CodingMonkey standard, so we are talking about the best of the best here)....best tutorial I ever saw (and heard) and so many little touches here and there...not to mention the best stats tracking I ever experienced.
    I must confess that contrary to my initial feelings, even if the 2X app on a retina iPad seems almost native, I would never play it on the larger screen....it fits PERFECTLY the iPhone, you do not have to read cards or anything like that (like Ascension or Nightfall for example) and it's just perfect (besides, I HATE portrait games on iPad).
    If anything...the only thing I wish for the future is a Universal update to have my iPad-only friends pick it up to play togheter (non Universal, meaning not able to play iPhone vs iPad, would be meaningless and condemn the iPad version to oblivion).

    The only thing I wished it was more developed is a sort of background story...ok...you are supposed to be an explorer and maybe the 5 lanes are different ancient cities...but it's just my guess...you can't find any info about this.
    It's a very minor thing in a super slick package.

    The fact you level up doing specific tasks (like in a endless runner) keep you playing the single player game (it's an achievemnt galore)...just in time when multiplayer opens up.
    Then it's endless, fast and addicting.

    Highly recommended.
     
  13. currymutton

    currymutton Well-Known Member

    Oct 16, 2008
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    My GCID is griffin611 and is always open for a MP...
     
  14. Pitta

    Pitta Well-Known Member

    Oct 19, 2008
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    Well actually I invited you (we play BotB too...I'm Pitta :p) yesterday but got no answer :p
    Did you receive my invite?
    Same with Tecwrtr which I used to play Ascension and a bit of Nightfall LOOOOOONG ago.
     
  15. Capronissimo71

    Capronissimo71 Well-Known Member

    Sep 5, 2011
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    I'm playing with Lost City everyday, trying to develop new strategies (bad luck not included, of course!), and I find it one of the most addicting card games on the Store. Sure, it's theme about ancient civilizations is only a background to play on, but the game pushes you match after match to improve your skill level and climb the ladder of the leaderboard.
     
  16. Talbs

    Talbs Well-Known Member

    May 1, 2011
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    This keeps getting good reviews. Is it really THAT good? I still haven't picked it up yet. Been waiting for a sale, because to me, judging a book by its cover, the photos just look like a kind of solitaire or something. I didn't realise it could push u along to play so much?!
     
  17. GeekyDad

    GeekyDad Well-Known Member

    Jan 14, 2012
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    Yeah, that's kinda what it is, a two-player solitaire. It's good for what it is.
     
  18. cprloe

    cprloe Well-Known Member

    Oct 17, 2009
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    Referring to it as merely two-player solitaire is selling it short. Lost Cities is my second most played iOS app, behind Ascension.
     
  19. the9quad

    the9quad Well-Known Member

    Apr 27, 2011
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    It's very intuitive if you've played solitaire. On the other hand, it is much more adversarial and strategic then something like ascension, luck plays less of a factor that's for sure. It's really one of those times when simple to learn but complex to master is totally true.
     
  20. Pitta

    Pitta Well-Known Member

    Oct 19, 2008
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    Well I can give you my experience.
    At first I didn't buy the game for the whole non Universal debate (I had just bought an iPad back in the day so I was sensible to the matter)...then I looked elsewhere.
    But the game still occasionally pop up in my mind and some days ago I bought it.
    Now I think I was just plain dumb.
    After 3 days of playing and, above all, starting playing consistently multiplayer, I'm loving it.
    First day was: yeah it's really good.
    You will notice immediately the slick interface and the awesome soundtrack as a standout...gameplay is like solitaire.
    Then I started to win consistently against the first AI (there are four, the game has TONS of achivements to level up that 'force' you to play single player) and then I lost again against the other AIs....so while at first I thought it was just 'strategy-light' and much luck dependant I started to realize that there is a lot of strategy involved to actually win against all odds (in particular during the givaway part...lot of risk taking sometimes).
    Then I started playing online async and a whole new strategies opened (while I lost hopelessy).
    Now the game is really awesome in my book and I can really say I'm addicted as I was in the first months of Ascension and Lost Cities will be now part of my daily routine.

    On a side note...the devs are still the masters of the async interface.
    This game oozes polish and interface tweaks to work wonderfully.

    Sometimes I really wish other devs just played Carcassonne and Lost Cities more and take notice (like the NEXT game button).

    A personal request to all reading this and actually playing against me...PLEASE...add a picture, whichever pic you want, to your Gamencenter profile!!!!
    It's too cute to see it inside the game :)
     

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