Hi there! We're working to release a Silent Swords update in the coming weeks. (If you don't know what Silent Swords is you may want to check out the release thread). This is meant to be a quick update to address some of the request we've received and also to kickstart the community leves. Here are the confirmed features: New control options: alternative controls to walk and jump A community level pack We want you to help us with coming up with the ideal controls for the game. Based on the opinions we've received we're planning on letting players choose independently an alternative way to jump and an alternative way to walk (instead of making two separate control modes). The options we're thinking about are: Walking: Use the current corner arrows. Tap once and hold to walk. Tap twice and hold to run. This is a nice solution and quite easy to implement. Use an analog speed bar a la Assassin's Creed 2. This would be a little bit more difficult to implement as we'd need to change the interface a bit, but it's an interesting option as it gives you more speed levels. Jumping: Tap between the two arrows (or a button on the left for the 2nd move option) to jump. Really easy to implement, works just like the shake does today. Slide up from the movement arrow to jump (this one would only work with movement option 1). Slightly harder to implement, but doesn't require rearranging the GUI like the 1st option. Would have two jump directions instead of jumping in the direction you're facing like with the other option (could be an advantage?). Besides commenting on these options, feel free to suggest any other alternatives you can think of. If there's no agreement on what's the best control we'll probably do a vote to decide (no time to implement all the options...) Also, we want to encourage you to send your custom made levels through the Community Level site (www.communitylevel.com). The best levels we get will make it into the next update's level pack. We want to get this update out ASAP so, if you want to be included, send your levels soon. You'll find a template in the CL webpage if you want to make your level using a graphics software, but drawing it in a piece of paper and scanning it is ok too. If you want, you can post your level here too for comments. Finally, we're looking for new betatesters to help us with trying out the new functionality and levels. Let me know if you're interested and we'll contact you if you're selected. I look forward to your input!
I'd like to see some more kill moves, perhaps some jump+slash moves? Also (I'm not sure if this comes later in the game or not) I'd like to see boxes that are placed in the light that you may duck behind to avoid being seen. Then certain levels could be flooded with light and you have to use the smaller boxes as cover.
how about something like....... touch anywhere controls -- no on screen buttons or interface at the bottom of the screen: to move left -- tap & hold to the left of your ninja anywhere on the screen and the ninja will move left, lift your thumb off the screen and the ninja will stop no need to tap tap tap tap just touch and hold to move tap and hold to the right of the ninja anywhere on the screen and the ninja will move right, lift your thumb off the screen to get the ninja to stop gestures: -swipes: left and right swipes can be used for lunges, dashes, or rolls as well as an attack or slash or combination of both in the direction of the swipe -when holding your thumbs on both the left and right side of the ninja an onscreen HUD or GUI pops up allowing you to adjust the speed of your ninjas movements by pinching in/out pinching in slows down to a tip toe, pinching out speeds up the to walking and then running/sprinting as represented by on screen GUI/HUD lift one thumb off the screen and the speed is set the menu disappears and your ninja is moving in the direction of the thumb thats still on the screen easy right? -why adjust speed? -because if your tip-toeing when you lift your thumb off the screen the ninja will immediately come to a stop but the ninja moves really slow, if your walking the ninja will stop after x amount of secs because of more forward momentum the ninja will not immediately stop same thing for running/sprinting increases the forward momentum means it takes the ninja longer to come to a complete stop meaning its easier to get caught jumping -tap on your ninja and hold for a brief mili sec then swipe or draw a line to designate where you want to jump then release and the ninja jumps in the direction you specified and holds onto a wall or ceiling Conclusion and general feedback with this scheme you can drop the bottom GUI off and have the level cover the entire screen since everything is touch anywhere and you can use icons to represent how many ninja stars you have and use icons that allow you to quickly switch weapons if there are any other kinds of throwing weapons or melee weapons that is.... you might also want to put an icon on the screen that represents level information and shows the title or name of the level then by tapping on this icon you will bring up more information like the user who created the level especially if its user generated and of course right here in this menu you can browse other levels created by this user or similar levels or most popular levels and levels recommended by this user right here and download them to your device from this menu while the game is paused which when its finished downloading it will be automatically added to the game live in real time and you can wander seamlessly from user generated levels to developer levels as if the level was always meant to be there if you can do that with some sophisticated AI then your set with this product your going to want to have a button to pull up a game menu where you can save check out a map ect a map would really be cool especially if you have multiple entrances and exits on each level as well as hidden treasures, different outfits, memo clips, diaries, stories and lore and what not that can be collected explaining where you are and why you where captured and make it easier to seamlessly wander from user generated levels to the developer levels for user generated content set up a market and leverage in app commerce so users could buy and sell levels for a profit on the app however you get a cool 30% cut of that transaction needs boss fights, story and level progression I would plan for new and upcoming episodes/updates first one should be where you can explore new areas of the facility where you can find different ninjas that are also locked up free them and they join your party some levels you will need to switch your ninja on the fly in real time to get past an obstacle, like a tech ninja, stealth ninja, warrior ninja, magic ninja ect each ninja will have their own unique capabilities and weapons which means to progress to thru the new levels you will have to tag ninjas in and out to explore the whole facility and unlock new areas and if you have multiple ninjas and great level design then you should be able to easily pull off..........drum roll please.......................CO-OP MULTI-PLAYER!!!!! and down the road schedule a ninja arena update or DLC (in app purchase) optimized for competitive multi player experiences the game engine you have could be slightly modified and with the controls i designed above it would create an interesting competitive multi player game play experience for instance each ninja has a set amount of hp there will be power ups, different weapons to collect and food, candy, drinks to replenish hp but watch out some of the food might be spoiled the throwing stars doesn't instantly kill an opponent and the star is slow and can be dodged or deflected back at the ninja since you don't have to adjust speed your ninja will always run on this deathmatch mode you can use the holding on both sides of the ninja for a generic block which will block most attacks but not always and you can use pinch in/out gestures for parry or deflecting stance by oscillating the pinch gesture in and out back and forth which will correspond with the animation of the ninja basically spinning or flailing swords around in the air or whatever weapon is equipped this will basically deflect throwing stars and parry every attack but you have to oscillate the pinch in and out in sync with and on screen gauge which will keep getting harder and harder the longer you hold this stance but be careful mess up and you will end up hitting yourself in the face with your own weapon damaging you and leaving you wide open for attack for x amount of secs there will of course be traps and different obstacles that an opponent can activate on the level so yea very interesting competitive multi player experience what do you think? D
About the controls, I think having to press on something and wait for a menu to pop up to adjust things is not a good idea for this game. Im playing close to the end of the game and you hardly have time to even sneeze. Lazers all over the place and you have to jump and cling on to walls for dear life.
yea your right it would be kinda hectic to micro manage the ninjas movement speed in the manner i discussed in my previous post......while trying to get past the obstacles in the game at the same time but i still think such a mechanic (where if you tip toe or move slowly you come to an immediate stop but if your running your ninja takes longer to come to a complete stop) would benefit the over all gameplay not to mention offer the flexibility to facilitate a touch anywhere control scheme with no on screen buttons maybe if..... holding your thumbs on both sides of the ninja will automatically enable running mode where you can then use tilt to control your ninjas movement and the tap and hold method (tap on the right or left side of the ninja anywhere on the screen to move in that direction) is always going to be a tip toe slow movement that might work? D
Hi, thanks for your input. It seems there's an agreement about the best contol option. Great! More kill moves would be nice, but they'll probably come in later updates. Right now we want to address the new control options request mainly (while at the same time providing some value with new levels), so no big changes or additions right now, sorry. About the boxes, there's something like that already in the game. You have lockers you can get into to avoid being seen under a light. And there's also a barrel you can use as camouflage: while you stay still you're hidden even under the light. Wow, you practically redesigned the whole game there, cubytes. You've got some interesting ideas and multiplayer coop would be sweet! We have some ideas of our own on this, but to justify such a big update we first need to get more people to buy the game (help us spread the word! ) I think, so too. While this is mainly a stealth game, some parts require some dexterity and such a control wouldn't be quick enough. I don't know about that. I'm not a fan of using the accelerometer as a means of moving your character, it doesn't give you enough precission. Plus having two movement controls that are so different might be confusing. Don't you think? I'm also not very keen on having your fingers cover parts of the play area. Being able to see whats happening around you is very important in a game such as this one. Tapping on the sides of the ninja to move will necessarily mean obscuring some of the action with your finger. Anyway, we're not ready to get rid of the black area below as all levels were designed that way and adjusting them would need a lot of work, but it may be a possible addition in the future. Keep your suggestions coming! And don't forget to send your levels through the communitylevel.com page!
You don't need a Mac, just an iPhone or iPod touch and iTunes. Please, send me a PM so that I remember to include you among the candiates. I'll let you know when we make the selection.
