EDIT 2: The update is out! It's not on all servers yet, but some people are starting to get it now. EDIT: The update has been submitted! More info here Hey Everybody! While I'm celebrating the one week anniversary of BoPB being live on the app store, I just wanted to drop a quick word to say that we're putting the finishing touches on the first update for The Battle of Pirate Bay (itunes link). So what's new in 1.1? * First, the results of the poll! The community voted for powerups, and we've added 3 in this update. There's a speed powerup, a base cannon powerup, and a speed decrease powerdown. Make sure you avoid that last one! * Difficulty modes! For those who thought the game's difficulty ramp was too aggressive, we've added an easier difficulty mode named "Landlubber." You get more ammo, more base health, and a better base cannon if you play on landlubber, and it also reduces the overall number of pirates. * Multiple leaderboards! We figured it wouldn't be fair if all the difficulties were competing on the same leaderboard, so we split them out into their own separate leaderboards. We've also increased the number of rows listed in the leaderboards so you can see 5x more than you could before. * Leaderboard Rank! Not on the main leaderboard? Now you'll know exactly where you stand, even if you're not in the top of the list. * Updated ship art! We've updated the ships a bit so they all feel a bit more distinct. * Bug fixes and performance improvements Below are a few screens to show off the new ship art and a couple of the powerup items. Hope you're having fun on the high seas! Ryan
Wow, this looks (ship art) and sounds (Leaderboard rank) really good. Can't wait to use the new powerups.
Thanks a lot for the update. I donĀ“t like much the arrow graphics for the powerups maybe just with green and red color for the powerup is enough but just my opinion
Thanks for the feedback, everyone! Shinto: We went with the arrows for speed up and speed down because they're clear icons that are easy to recognize even when the gameplay gets frantic. We tried some more intricate graphics but they just felt muddled and hard to read during play. Given that, we made the decision to go with gameplay over graphics and went with the arrows. Hopefully you agree with the decision! As with all aspects of the game, we're willing to listen to the community and change aspects of the game. So if a bunch of people end up wanting new powerup graphics, that's something we can look at down the line. Best, Ryan
Looking great and, with just these few subtle tweaks, I think you'll make your already 5 star game a 6 star one.
This does sound great, I have a review almost ready, but wondering if I should wait for the update, I think the score will improve with the update. With the new update will there be a vote for the 1.2 update?
Hey macdts: Yes, there will be a new poll with the update, and that poll will correspond to the new community feature that gets put into 1.2. As for your review, I can't give you an exact landing date for the update but assuming all goes well I hope it'll land sometime next week. Thanks! Ryan
Submitted! Hi Everybody, Just wanted to pass on the good news that the 1.1 update got sent to Apple this morning, so hopefully it'll be approved and in your hands soon! The final list of features ended up being pretty much what I described at the top of this thread, but we spent a bit of additional time this weekend tweaking how the leaderboard screen works and the difficulty modes. I'm really happy with how they turned out! Finally, I wanted to mention something regarding the next poll: Given how popular the option for "More Maps!" was in the first poll, we've decided to do that in the next update. So the next poll you see will be for the update after next. It'll give everybody a bit more time to vote/discuss the poll options too, which I think is a good thing. Feel free to give me feedback on this! We made this decision thinking it's what everyone would like best, so if you disagree I'd love to know. And since I never make an update post without screenshots, here are 3 that show off some of the new functionality: Difficulty selection screen. Seaworthy is the difficulty level in the game currently, Landlubber is a new easier mode if you're having trouble getting your sea legs. The anchors on the left and right act as buttons to page between the different leaderboards. The boards now show the top 40 instead of the top 10, and you now also can see your personal ranking. The chaotic battles have a new twist with powerups, and the boats look 137% more boatlike than before! I'll keep you posted as to its submission status, can't wait to get the update out to everyone! Ryan
I was thinking more along the lines of 129%, but if thats what you really think... Anyway, will the new maps have little sections of land, and if so will you consider making it a hazard or having backup cannons that only go so far on them. Thanks!
aboll2009: The maps will definitely have different land configurations, we've got several ideas kicking around the office. If you have specific map concepts we'd love to hear them! as for the percentages, I'm going to add an error margin and call it 137%+/-10%. There, now everyone is taken care of! Ryan
Hi AE_GLOOM, Our update is still in Apple's hands waiting for review. I'm hoping it gets approved soon! In the meantime, we're making great progress on the 1.2 update, should have more info and screenshots this week. Best, Ryan
Great news! The 1.1 update is live! It's not all the servers yet, but we're starting to see it across the majority of US servers. Looking forward to hearing what everyone thinks of it!
Could we have a feature that you can somehow replenish your base's health? Maybe friendly cargo ships enter the map and you need to escort them as such to the base? Also as previously mentioned different maps would be nice!
Isn't this already in there? If a Supply Ship makes it all the way to the base you regain some health.