Hey Everyone! ** UPDATE Feb 4th ** It's close now folks! Game is now gold and has been humbly submitted to the altar of the App Store gods for approval. We anxiously await their approval... In the meantime, we also finished something else - our new trailer! Hope you enjoy it! Next update from us will be in that other forum, the one for games that are no longer upcoming, but rather, here. Subscribe to the TouchArcade YouTube channel ** UPDATE Jan 25th ** Curious about how a game like Space Miner comes to be? If you want to learn a bit more about Space Miner and the story behind the game, one of our designers just updated our blog with a good discussion of that very subject. Check it out here: http://blog.venan.com/ So we've had a few people post in this thread with some FANTASTIC comments. But my question is - where are the rest of you wonderful iGamers? What do you like in your games? Awesome Graphics - CHECK! 138MB of incredible sound and music - DOUBLE CHECK! Epic iPhone experience that doesn't exist anywhere else - YES! Beautiful, glistening, shiny ORE - HOO DAISIES! Sorry, I was channeling Uncle Jeb there at the end. Speaking of which - let's meet him! Stay tuned for more info as we get closer to submission! ** We're about to finish up our first independent title for the iPhone, Space Miner: Space Ore Bust. Check out this trailer from early December we put together. A new one should be ready soon. Background A simple job mining space ore for your Uncle Jeb goes horribly wrong when the evil Mega Space Corporation hoodwinks your uncle and attempts to take over your family asteroid field. With their army of mining drones behind them, they will stop at nothing to drive off Gritstone Mining and claim this section of space for themselves. Determined to stop their sinister plans, you climb into your dadÂ’s old mining ship, head out to the fields, and do what space miners do best. Blow stuff up! - Bust huge asteroids into pieces of beautiful, shiny ORE to earn huge space bucks - Explore and unlock the 48 different sectors of the asteroid field, filled with hidden dangers and treasures - Customize your mining vessel from seven different hulls with over 75 upgrades - Defeat the increasingly deadly enemies of Mega Space Corporation as you forge deeper into space - Uncover the mystery behind the asteroid field while interacting with the eccentric characters of the Gritstone Mining Station - Conquer 50 Plus+ awards and share your score on the worldwide leaderboard - Experience gorgeous 3D graphics, spectacular particle effects, cool physics and over 30 channels of movie-quality sound effects What is it? Space Miner is an arcade/action/RPG hybrid. We don't like sticking to conventional genres when we don't have to, and Space Miner is anything but conventional. Featuring a funky bluegrass soundtrack (yes, that is a live banjo player), retro asteroids style gameplay, lite RPG elements, an extensive storyline, and an unhealthy fondness for ore puns, you're not going to find another game like Space Miner on the App Store. Space Miner is currently in beta and is scheduled for submission to the App Store around the end of the month. Who are we? Venan is an independent developer that's been making games for over seven years now. Normally we lurk in the shadows behind companies like EA, but every now and then we'll make a game just for ourselves. Other titles we've done for the iPhone include Monopoly and NBA Live, and for the DS, one of our favorites, Ninjatown. Thoughts? Opinions? We love feedback! Follow Us: Space Miner Company Twitter Facebook
Stunning! It assiciates me I Dig It, but in 3D, with more developed gameplay (enemies). I was watching Your trailer with a smile on my face at the beginning but in the moment Hangar was present my eyes opened widely. This is something I have been expecting for a long, long time in space shooters: 3D hanger with free view, all upgrades have own 3D models. All I can say at present is I wish You good luck and quick submission to AppStore in the end of the month.
He should be, it is great piece of 3D modelling art, especially on such a small screen with rather low resolution as iPhone / iPod touch has. I would be eager to play this game as soon as it will be out, but due to region limitations, I am not able to. That's why, modesty, I am hoping for LITE version... Despite, could You share some information about pricing?
The pricing question! No! I've been having sleepless nights trying to figure out what the price point should be. I'd be happy to hear your opinion of what you think based on the movie though Will there be a lite version? You bet! Just not at launch. We're planning to do a localization update pretty much right after the submission goes in, and we'll be launching a localized lite version at the same time. So hopefully a couple of weeks later.
From the movie? With full 3D graphic, 3D hangar, nice soundtrack (as You have posted on Tweeter), many enemies, upgrades... I guess it maybe 4.99$. Just as the starting line: 1 update = a few new features / items = price raise. Couple of weeks sounds to me like ages. How about... beta testing?
I HAVE TO ASK! Will the levels have enemies from randomly chosen spawn points or be fairly pre-scripted (while I have issues with pre-scripted, I can see how that might work better if your trying weave the missions together in some sort of campaign with an ongoning storyline).
The game format is non-linear - your asteroid field has 48 different sectors to explore on a 7x7 grid (your home base is the middle), and you choose where you go. Each sector is an area full of asteroids, enemies, and perhaps other goodies The sectors themselves are randomly placed on the grid so each game has a different layout. In addition, the grid is initially undiscovered except for four sectors, and you reveal the map by finding and activating nav buoys you find when exploring them. Here is a screen shot of the grid and basic details you'd see: There are missions, but they need to be found on the map like anything else. Although there is a general order to things, in many places you can just leave things and come back later. That's especially helpful if you get in over your head and need to mine some more to get better parts for your ship.
It seems like ages to me too. I think I'm going to go in the other room now and tell everyone to work faster We're pretty low on ad hoc codes, so we aren't doing any more betas for the time being. Sorry...
Consider me already sold then! If for no other reason wanting to see how that good-for-nothing telepathic alien fits in.
I understand. As time passes, maybe You will get some spare ad-hocs... In the future. Matter with missions and mining grid sounds very promising. Similar solution was used in Galaxy on Fire (by FISHLABS), where whole Universe was shared in 4 quadrants, each filled up with stations and planets. It made game very long, interesting and motivating to discover. I hope it looks similar in Space Miner. Me too. This is the game I am deifinately going to buy.
Wow, this looks killer! Sort of like a mix between several different styles of games that I like. The art style and atmosphere seems great as well; I'll be looking forward to this one.
Hey everybody, Alex here - one of the designers on Space Miner: Space Ore Bust. Just dropping a line to let you know that the game is in the final stages and we plan to submit it for App Store approval this week! We'll be doing a lot of promotion for it this week with a new trailer, new screenshots, character dossiers, and even promo code contests. We'll be posting links to all Space Miner-related news in our Twitter feed and on our Facebook page. And of course, we'll be posting stuff in here as well. As always, if you guys have any questions about the game, just ask! Opinions? We love those, too!
Me too. I love this game and I am definately going to take part in promo codes contest! Of course, exclusive, V.I.P. pack of "Proffessional feedback + (eventual) Suggestions + iTunes review + iTunes rate" You are going to recieve as only game is relased!
Hi again, folks! The new Space Miner: Space Ore Bust trailer will be put up soon for your viewing pleasure, but until then I figured I'd drop in and share some new screens and a quick snippet of gameplay footage. Enjoy!
