Hi all, Pitta: Thanks for chiming in with your first impressions! We're super honored that you found time to try Spymaster for it indeed has been an amazing week for games on iOS. I'm still trying to find some proper time to sink on Hearthstone We're definitely going to up the polish level as we go and more B&W style illustrations are one of the possible directions. Before that we still want to have a look at how people like to enjoy playing Spymaster and most likely add more content that fits. After all we can only do one thing at a time but want to to twelve! --- Hobbesian: I'm sorry that you feel like there is a paywall in Spymaster. It would be helpful if you could point out when/where it happens so we can tweak the balance to be better in future updates. Right now the system follows similar patterns to RPGs where higher level drops are vastly more valuable to lover level ones and thus what seems like expensive right now will actually be very cheap a few levels later. The economy curves are (meant to be) balanced to be fun for players who prefer not to (or can't!) spend real money. More permanent style purchases are on the list but honestly it takes a lot of time to make them and we wanted get feedback on Spymaster as fast as possible! Meanwhile I encourage you to enjoy the game without spending or maybe waiting a few updates for us to develop the game further Also thanks for the kind words on the premium feel! We do try --- MrMojoRisin: Thanks for tapping the conversation! There are a vast many audiences playing on tablets today and even larger in the future. We believe strongly that the expectations of games are going to change drastically in the near future as they have for the past few years. Not just for casual people but for more dedicated gamers (like me!) as well. There definitely isn't a very apt example of games being done like we are at PlayRaven, but that makes it all the more exciting, no? In all seriousness I appreciate your concern for our market positioning, but it's impossible to have an in-depth discussion about it here because we would have to touch on a lot of market data and actual sales/download/engagement numbers from other games that not for me to share publicly. Maybe we will have a chance to talk about this via some other channel in the future! --- Best75: Have you considered hiring a few extra agents to play with while others are recovering or maybe adopting other strategies that cause less injuries to your agents? Or then again you can just take a break and play more later with fresh eyes and clear head for new challenges! Cheers, -Teemu
Oh and a fun fact from this past week. There's been a very large amount of people trying to hammer our servers to hack the payments and other things. Most common hack attempts seem to use a receipt from Zeptolab's Cut the Rope to fake a purchase in Spymaster. Some of our team members are friends with Zeptolab's guys so we're finding it quite funny The +90% of piracy rate from PCs is about the same as on iOS and we're definitely seeing all of that even with just one week of being live in NZ! Quite a lot more to making games than just making games Luckily enough we take information security seriously and don't let the enemy spy on Spymasters!
Okey I did a mission with injured agents cause I could not wait that long for them to heal and during the mission one of my agents got captured. I rescued him but during the rescue mission another one of my agents got captured so I had to rescue another agent with less time and intel then I had before. I set up a spy ring in Paris and I did the rescue mission on the last turn before the mission ended and failed. After seeing that to rescue the agent I need to use 80 gold bars I deleted the game quickly without thinking about it While I may have deleted the game without really thinking about it I am not willing to redownland the game in its current state but I will keep a eye on it
As regards to the monetisation model, the feedback from the users here has been consistent, it's up to you if you wish to listen to us or not. The paywall areas are obvious - the cost to recover agents is punitive, and the cost for opening up agent slots (necessary to allow for extended play or larger missions) increases in exponential fashion, far outstripping the rewards given. Paying for consumable currency in this game will only serve to hurt you in the long term, regardless of the short term sales figures, as the video you linked rather eloquently demonstrates, there comes a point where the player goes "sod this" and walks away. The poster above just did that. But if the Devs won't listen... - H
No mission targets Hi. One of my missions is to raid 4 factories. I am stuck at 3/4 and have been to every city. There is no more factories on the map. Am I missing something? Please advise
It looks great, but I'm also on the side of those that wish it was premium. I'm downloading and will try it, but straight up, I never buy consumable IAP. Ever. Any game that can't be played without it, I will give it a try until I hit that wall, and then I delete it. I have to pay for enough real life consumables like gas, groceries, electricity, water, etc, that I'll be damned if I'll start paying real money for fake gold that disappears in a game, just so I can play it a little longer.
I think freemium is a really bad call on this game simply because the type of people that would be attracted to the theme and gameplay are not the type to spend for consumable IAPs. It's a measured thoughtful game and isn't the type that would whip up the young or the dumb into a buying frenzy. Having said that, it's a beautiful game and the mechanics match the theme nicely. I'd have paid 4.99 for sure, but I'll never buy a consumable. Wish the devs the best and congratulate them on a great game.
Agree with the theme of comments. Premium title potential, no doubt about it. Only happen to stumble across this and wouldn't have downloaded instantly due to the FREE tag. Gave it a shot due to comments. I doubt many others would even bother after seeing it as a Free / Freemium title. Fantastic game with potential and it would be a shame to see this falter due to poor choices with regards to the payment model and eventually disappear and go unsupported I don't ever post, but felt the need, as I see this as one to slip away with a resistant dev!
This. This is not a casual game that a lot of kids are gonna play like Candy Crush or Clash of Titans. The people who are going to play Spymaster are more serious and want to play a complete game for a set price without being nagged for more money around every corner. It's a really beautiful game and fun to play but the freemium model really harms it. I only played a few missions but I can see the paywall looming on the horizon. Injuries cost gold, recruiting new members costs gold, leveling up costs gold and I assume it's only getting worse later on. When that happens I'm going to delete it, no matter how much I enjoy playing it. The fact that there is an option to buy 2100 gold for 89,99 euros and an option to upgrade your characters (but only for 2 or 7 days) in the store makes all kinds of alarm bells go off. So please listen to everybody here and make a premium version (maybe next to this version) or a one-time sale that will get rid of all the micro transitions.
i'll add a comment in the same vain as everyone else asking them to offer a premium game but i seriously doubt Dasinf will do anything but let it go in one ear and out the other. the game is offered F2P because that's where the data suggests the most money can be made. every frickin' developer tells his or her little white lie by saying "oh, you can enjoy the entire game without spending any real money" when those who don't intend to spend any money know that's cow poop. it's too bad you can't just sell me the game for $6.99 and let me play the whole thing on an even playing field. maybe offer added content as IAP but this will be falling on deaf ears. the idea is to string people along until they are well engrossed in the game and must spend money so they can continue to show off to their friends that they are ranked 10th or something. most kids today are that shallow minded and will do it, Dasinf knows this.
I was going to pay for this and get stuck in. Then I see ....... Freemium. Nope, not going there. Been burned once, never again. I'm not even willing to download it. Seriously, you devs need to stop being so greedy. This isn't Candy Crush. Why would you think anyone playing a game like this would want to wait on timers and pay for gold to progress? Just slap a £3 price on it and we'll all be happy. Such a shame. This looks like a wonderful game. But, no. I'm not playing freemium games. Ever.
As someone else said freemium works fine on Clash of Clan type games. But games of this quality fall more in the realm of games like Warhammer Quest and say Space Hulk. Both of these had a reasonable up front cost and if you wanted could purchase extras like additional missions, weapons, characters etc. but none of these impacted the original game but still gives the dev opportunity to make more money from the game. Breach and Clear also did that very well. Generally once invested into the game most of us, I certainly did in all cases, bought extra stuff to extend the enjoyment. You've created a polished game somewhat belittled by the freemium method.
The game normally it's really interest. But the InApp destroy everything. Here is a good review: http://www.pockettactics.com/reviews/review-spymaster/
Yes, that review is pretty spot on. I wonder if the dev will come back here to defend his game-cripling decisions, but I think I'm done with Spymaster. Deleted.
This could have been an enjoyable game if it didnt try to squeeze me for every cent I own. I would have paid up to $10 (more if I was super impressed) for an iap-free, timer-free premium version but as it is deleted. Devs deserve fair financial rewards for their work but this extreme monetization attempt displays such utter contempt for the customer that PlayRaven will likely never darken my iPad again.
PT is right. The IAP takes away logical event progression. So little if any continuity to the story line. Sid Meier's Ace Patrol game, for instance, handles wounded pilot situations much better so the balance is fair. Play badly and your pilots get injured for awhile but at least you have other pilots to take to the skies
Hi all, Just wanted to pop by and say that yes we are trying to keep up with feedback from all the different people playing it right now. I'm sorry many of you have had a negative experience but also I'm taking heart in how much passion there is in the comments about the genre and thematics on iOS. We expected less people to be interested in the first place. Thanks for that Honestly I'm a bit busy with our upcoming games right now but I'll try to answer any (polite) questions every few days if you have any!
i guess the upcoming games are more important than the latest game you released then? i feel your philosophy and i am sorry for that. i'm outta here:/
Don't worry about the negative comments guys. As is the rule of life: you can't please everyone. You could discover alien life, show it to people, and some would choose not to believe it. Fact is, you guys have made a cool game, and although it has freemium, it barely lets the freemium nature touch the actual design of play. So well done. With that said, I do have some thoughts... There is an unfair (or rather, too random) success rate when sending spies on missions. I've had a team of 3 spies plus locals infiltrate a HQ, with an abundance of intel to ensure a 'perfect plan'. The result: all spies and locals wounded, mission failed, plus one spy captured. Perfect plan. Now while unfair, this wouldn't be a problem if it didn't offer to use premium currency to heal spies (which at this point you need to). It effectively turns the mission design into a flat out gamble, with the odds being determined by an unreliable planning screen. There's no game design in that. It's a simple yes or no check-box with premium currency as the forfeit. This game has a decent turn-based board game design, but the complete chance payoff makes the former-mentioned board game strategy seem pointless. The planning screen needs to be dead-on accurate, so players know what their pre-plan spending will do, if the board game strategy part is to be made to feel worthwhile. As for the controversial freemium nature, I totally understand. You guys need to get paid somehow. Letting me try this for free showed me that there's a decent game in here somewhere. And if you had blocked the game after the first campaign, and offered me £7-8 to buy the thing outright with no freemium currency or wait times, I definitely would have jumped in. If you were to update the game to include just that, and perhaps expand the objectives a bit, then yes, that's a sale from me. But as it is, I can't justify repeated spending on this game based on those long wait times and the secretive gambling design. So while I don't mind saying "here's £1.50 for letting me play", I won't be putting extra payments into the game at this rate. Thanks if you've stuck through to the end, I tend to go on a bit sometimes. But I only write because I like what I played. And there's a great game in here somewhere. It would just be a shame to see it lost to the freemium plague that hinders a lot of mobile titles.
