Tactics Maiden

Discussion in 'Android Games' started by undeadcow, Aug 27, 2014.

  1. undeadcow

    undeadcow Well-Known Member

    Dec 4, 2010
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    #1 undeadcow, Aug 27, 2014
    Last edited: Aug 27, 2014
    Live on 28th for Android.

     
  2. undeadcow

    undeadcow Well-Known Member

    Dec 4, 2010
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    #2 undeadcow, Aug 27, 2014
    Last edited: Aug 27, 2014
    I’ve sent over 80 hours playing Tactics Maiden in the past month, but maybe biased since the Kingturn series (from same developer) are favorites of mine and from beta participation. In my opinion Tactics Maiden is one of the best mobile releases so far this year. You won’t find a game with more capacity to challenge, ability to customize solutions, and depth on mobile.

    Levels are puzzle-like with environmental barriers requiring different solutions (you can’t just bash your way through but need to be smart due to enemies on all fronts or other details). One of the coolest things is how devious the enemy artificial intelligence is; beneath all the strategy elements Tactics Maiden might be an enemy AI simulator most of all and the developer seemed especially focused on crafting a smart intelligence system. There are 80+ scenarios, which can be played in bit sized chunks – most levels took me 15 – 60 minutes to play. Autosave is great so if you need to pick up a game where you left off later it’s seamless.

    The diversity of character classes makes it feel like there are plentiful options; it’s impossible to use all accessible characters in one level. Tactical variety is highlighted by all the equipment (there are multiple types of same tiers items – ex: with armor you can protect against two but not all of the damage types so need to chose wisely because there is often a weakness – bows, physical, or magic); nevermind loot giving bonus abilities/buffs at times. There are a ton of special abilities (based on MP) that offer different styles even within the same character class along with certain class buffs (i.e. mages have a chance of surviving otherwise fatal blows with 1HP). Plot-wise I found the story to be good but at times stalls with so many scenarios.

    Tactics Maiden is essential to try if you enjoy mobile gaming; for $4.99 it’s a bargain but it may not be for everyone. One key is the ability to adjust difficulty to your taste (I recommend 4 for strategy fans, you can decrease/increase at any time). After each level there are plentiful statistics. Definitely give Tactics Maiden a shot, highly recommended - it's better than the Kingturn games were (and Kingturn/etc is great).
     
  3. niebau

    niebau Well-Known Member

    Apr 5, 2011
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    Skill Point System

    Thanks a lot for creating a dedicated Android thread, undeadcow.

    One of Tactics Maiden's central features is its skill point system.

    Leveling up through combat experience yields 1 skill point for even levels and 2 skill points for odd levels.
    These skill points can be used to boost either the unit's attributes (HP, Atk, Pow,...) or one or more of its 4 class skills (in this example 'Charge', 'Shield Allies',...).

    Each skill or attribute can be boosted up to 3 times which results in 4 stages:
    Stage 0: no skill points invested
    Stage +1: 1 skill points invested
    Stage +2: 2 additional skill points invested
    Stage +3: 3 additional skill points invested

    In other words, 6 skill points are needed in total in order to max a particular skill or attribute. While stage 3 is usually the most rewarding one, the player is often better off with splitting skill points among several skills and attributes instead of maximizing just 1 or 2. This is especially true during early levels where fewer skill points are available.

    It is also noteworthy that skill points can be reset and redistributed whenever a unit is out of combat.
    Especially on harder difficulties, players might find themselves tweaking their units via skill points (and items) quite frequently.

    Let's have a look at the 'Knight' class to see how this works in practice:

    [​IMG]

    Should I invest more skill points in HP or defense values to make the unit more durable?
    Or maybe some skill points in MP to avoid running out of 'mana'?
    Increase Atk to do more damage?
    Increase Pow to further strengthen 'Shield Allies' and better protect your other units?
    Invest skill points in 'Cleave' for devastating damage against leather wearing armor units?
    Increase Retaliation damage for a 'counter attack strategy'?
    Or maybe in Mov to make the unit move faster?

    Of course there is no 'right' answer to theses questions.
    Everything depends on the player's preferences, play style, the kind of challenge lying ahead, as well as other available units.
     
  4. Bewi

    Bewi Well-Known Member

    I have loved all the Kingturn games on Android and iOS. I'm glad there's this new one.

    Those are great games with depth and love in the making.
     
  5. niebau

    niebau Well-Known Member

    Apr 5, 2011
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    Patch 1.8.1 live

    Patch 1.8.1 is live now on Google Play:

    - Once units are finished talking in a (starting) dialogue, the camera zooms automatically back to the initial distance.

    - Armory: There is a new screen where the player can select the unit which is supposed to equip a specific item from the inventory (instead of only suggesting the 'optimal' candidate)

    - Items bought for individual units are automatically equipped now without an additional yes / no query.

    - Difficulty slightly lowered for scenarios 100, 103, 104
     
  6. lallous

    lallous Member

    Sweet, I am going to check the previous ones then.
     
  7. Bewi

    Bewi Well-Known Member

    I've finally decided to buy Kingturn Underworld as I want to play all Kingturn games from the start before playing Tactics Maiden.
     
  8. niebau

    niebau Well-Known Member

    Apr 5, 2011
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    Kingturn Underworld is probably my favorite part of the 3 Kingturn titles, so good choice ;).
    After completing the whole Kingturn series, I felt that there was a small gap in the story, so I've added a mini campaign comprising 6 scenarios to Kingturn Underworld in one of the patches (automatically included in the full version).
    The campaign is called 'Twelve years after' and was meant as the final highlight of the series, being even more challenging than the rest of the game.
    So once you have finished the main campaign, don't miss out on this part that can be accessed via 'New Campaign' --> 'Twelve years after'.

    For players new to our titles, it should be noted that playing Tactics Maiden is completely independent from Kingturn (e.g. different world and story, and slightly different game rules).
     
  9. Bewi

    Bewi Well-Known Member

    I had noticed that Tactics Maiden was apart from the Kingturn trilogy and maybe I'll begin playing it before I finish all the Kingturn, because I believe that will take dozens of hours to accomplish !

    I find Underworld to be very challenging. I play it in 3rd level of difficulty (the default one). But with good strategy and planning, I have managed to beat the scenario until then.
     
  10. niebau

    niebau Well-Known Member

    Apr 5, 2011
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    #11 niebau, Oct 3, 2014
    Last edited: Oct 6, 2014
    Patch 1.9.1 - October 3, Android

    Patch notes 1.9.2
    --------------------

    Amory: User input doesn't freeze any longer after canceling a purchase


    Patch notes 1.9.1
    --------------------

    - Battlefield sprites are used as replacement for character portraits as a default (can be reset to character portraits via Game Settings)

    - Spiced up the following scenarios: 19, 20, 112, 143, 144, 145, 161

    - Spider merc available in scenario 112 (scene 112 is unlocked after scene 19)

    - Another ranger merc available in scenario 12

    - Spiders can wear amulets now

    - Units in stealth cannot loot chests

    - Improved 'Battle Cry': For units that have finished their turn already, the Atk boost will be carried over to the next turn.

    - Fixed 'Rabid Bite' sound and animation

    - Damage increased for Rend Armor +3 from 105% to 110%

    - Commoner's 'Throw Knife' cannot be countered any longer

    - The retaliation buff of the skill 'Counter' last 2 turns now instead of 1

    - 'Queen Difficulty': Changed unit restriction from 18 to 24.

    - AI tweak for poisoned units: They won't try to recover lost HP on outposts or pillars anymore but attack instead.

    - A few UI inconsistencies fixed

    - A crash issue fixed for high level units in repeatable scenario 200
     
  11. niebau

    niebau Well-Known Member

    Apr 5, 2011
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    #12 niebau, Oct 15, 2014
    Last edited: Oct 15, 2014
    Release Notes 1.9.3

    Tactics Maiden - Release Notes 1.9.3:

    - Move and attack range of non-player units can be visualized on the battlefield now (just tap on a unit)

    - Unit overview: XP progress bar added. Atk will be shown in purple in case of legendary weapon

    - New class ‘Undead Rider’ (added to several scenarios)

    - Unit limit for Queen difficulty raised to 24

    - Julien’s apprentice Jennifer is an elite unit now

    - All non-elite units can be released now (new play through only)

    -‘Head Shot’: The chance for a critical hit will be displayed at the cursor now

    - Sort button added to unit specific ‘Buy’ screen

    - Fixed: Sort button showed up in the Armory sometimes when it wasn’t supposed to

    - Fixed: ‘Escape Shot’ cannot be countered any longer if escape was successful

    - Fixed: Enemies won’t use ‘Web Haul’ any longer if the victim would end up on an outpost or pillar

    - Units using ‘Bewitch’ draw more attention now, so they will be attacked more frequently

    - ‘Unhorse +3’ damage increased

    - ‘Holy Fire’ damage slightly reduced

    - ‘Fire Bolt’ damage reduced

    - ‘Beast Shot’ damage slightly increased

    - ‘Escape Shot’ damage and escape chance increased

    - Gorgon defense values decreased

    - Troll physical defense increased

    - Vampire HP regeneration slightly reduced

    - Julien’s basic Pow increased by 4

    - Vance basic crit chance increased by 5%

    - Several scenarios visually overhauled

    - Scene 26, 114, 115: enemy level reduced by 1

    - Scene 27: Lich boss added

    - Scene 111: Further increased defense buff for neutral priest Goldyna

    - Scene 121 (Deadly Ann): Reduced spawn chance of Vampires

    - Scene 125 (Trolls): Enemy pillar added

    - Scene 136: Overhauled. More effort to win, but easier to save the padlock units

    - Some scenario rewards changed (e.g. legendary items granted in scene 123 and 163)

    - Exchanged icons for some of the spears

    - Plenty of small dialogue improvements (kudos to Stephen)
     
  12. niebau

    niebau Well-Known Member

    Apr 5, 2011
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    Patch Notes 1.9.4

    - New button 'Zoom Back' that can be used to snap the camera back to the previous distance
    - Zoom speed configurable via Options now
    - Improved visualization of enemies' walk & attack range
    - ‘Summon’ and ‘Ally Call’ won’t end the turn of a summoned unit any longer. Instead a movement debuff is applied for 1 turn.
    - Fixed: ’Stats' screen instead of 'Gear' screen is set as default now in case of unspent skill points
    - Fixed AI bug which prevented enemy Assassins from using Flurry if standing on outposts or pillars
    - 'Beast Shot' damage substantially increased
    - Star Burst damage slightly increased
    - Spin Attack damage slightly increased
    - Unhorse damage further increased and required MP reduced
    - Bewitch chance capped at 90% (instead of 100%)
    - Vampires: HP gain per level lowered by 1
    - If a commoner uses ‘Replace’ he has to rest for 1 turn in the outpost
    - Aggro increased for using 'Shelter'
    - Aggro increased for using 'Send Home'
    - Mov+1 added to all legendary boots
    - Scene 138 overhauled and Bear Companion available now
    - Scene 29 (Newshore): Fixed dialogue, hints added, better reward
    - Scene 116: Fixed: Houses are blocking a unit's path properly now
    - Scene 126 (Ambush): Difficulty slightly lowered
    - Scene 119: Completely overhauled to make it more interesting
    - A few minor changes to make the following scenarios more challenging: 27 (The Holy Church), 117 (The Island), 120 (Handicapped), 137 (The Druids)
    - Scene 123 overhauled
    - Scene 30 increased enemy max, a few minor changes
    - Scene 31 a few modification to make it a little bit easier
    - Scene 32 better reward, visuals of 3 trees fixed
    - Scene 33 overhauled to make it much more challenging
    - Scene 35 overhauled to make it more challenging
    - Scene 36 slightly modified to make it more challenging
    - Scene 127 (Old Armory) overhauled
    - Scene 163 (Whispermaw) overhauled
     
  13. niebau

    niebau Well-Known Member

    Apr 5, 2011
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    Mangobile. Designer & Developer
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    Tactics Maiden suspended on Google Play

    Tactics Maiden has been suspended yesterday on Google Play for 'keyword stuffing' in the description.
    I have filed an appeal already which was rejected without further ado.
    In an automatically generated mail Google suggests to republish the game with a different package name which would basically mean:

    - All statistics (comments and ratings) reset to 0
    - All links to the game from websites / reviews broken
    - All buyers of the original version won't receive future updates, and they see a game in the store which they have effectively not bought and they won't understand why
    - The flood of 1 star-ratings to be expected from original buyers if I republish the game would kill any chance of even a modest success

    I'm still too annoyed about this imho questionable decision and process, so I'm not sure yet what to do next.
    A fellow indie developer has experienced the very same and has said everything that needs to be said, though:
    Suspension for keyword stuffing

    And here's another interesting article on this topic:
    Phandroid suspension
     
  14. Nullzone

    Nullzone 👮 Spam Police 🚓

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    Awh sorry to hear that, bad news :(
    I didn't see your Google Play description, but if it's anywhere like the one in the Appstore I have no clue how they get that idea. Sounds a lot like an automated system not working too well.

    Do you have another place/person at Google where you can send a complaint/appeal? Head of Customer Service or something like that?
     
  15. niebau

    niebau Well-Known Member

    Apr 5, 2011
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    'We have reviewed your appeal and will not be reinstating your app. This decision is final and we will not be responding to any additional emails regarding this removal. ...'

    It's an automated email plenty of other small Android developers have received during the past two months.

    The game description was identical to the one on the Apple Store.
    Since Google Play doesn't offer keywords, I have added a final line in the Google Play description, though:
    Keywords: RPG, strategy, fantasy, sword, turn-based, combat

    This was common practice in the past, but seems to violate the latest version of Google's policy now. I assume this was the reason for the suspension, although I'm not entirely sure because the automatic mail was not very specific.

    I don't mind the suspension itself, but the whole process.
    In such a case it would be reasonable to suspend an app until the developer has changed the app description accordingly.
    Just shutting down apps and accounts with an automated process requires less manpower, of course.
    But it's not exactly what I would call a developer- or consumer friendly practice.
     
  16. niebau

    niebau Well-Known Member

    Apr 5, 2011
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    #17 niebau, Dec 2, 2014
    Last edited: Dec 3, 2014
    Tactics Maiden republished on Google Play

    I have republished Tactics Maiden on Google Play now:
    http://bit.ly/1CD54Af

    If you end up with both the new and the old Tactics Maiden version on your device, you can distinguish them in the following way:
    On the main menu the new version is labeled as 1.9.4 R (R for Relaunched).

    If you want to switch to the new version one day (e.g. because of an update), you can buy the new version and drop me an email.
    Then I will refund your first purchase.
    Both old and new version access the same Dropbox repository, by the way, so it is possible to transfer game saves from the old to the new version.
     

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