Book Of Heroes [Out Worldwide Now] by Venan

[jonnycache]

Originally Posted by strivemind

More annoyances I can add to the list:
- not being able to see which status effects (and their lengths) you've placed on an enemy, although you CAN see which effects they put on you.
- Not being able to specify targets in multiple-monster encounters

I'm pretty sure you can see them in the upper right hand corner of the enemy card along with a little timer showing how long is left.
You can also specify targets simply by tapping on them, the selected target has a yellow outline.

Seems like a really nice little game to pick up and play for ten minutes or so, I think the actualy game design is nicely done. What I've found disappointing is the incredibly generic set up and story, I'll continue on to see if it gets anymore interesting but this was the last thing I was expecting given just how entertaining the writing was in SM.

[New England Gamer]

Originally Posted by krautboy

@New England Gamer:
That's not blackmailing,that's responding to his own comments.When Space Miner Blast came out he said that the iap incomes would be nescessary for space miner 2 to come out.So obviously that wasn't enough even though i invested in that.So i'm willing to invest again for a Space Miner 2 trough this game,no blackmailing at all.

As I said, anything is possible on the app store and the very unstable iOS market. To get them to agree to anything is unfair. Try this game since it is free without any expectations for the future. Believe me, we will all live more peacefully if people's purchases are on face value and without any thought for upcoming releases.

Blackmail, extortion, coercion aside, it is completely unfair to say - I will only get this game if you promise.....

[Elsten]

Great game so far ... although being at work, I've only been able to fiddle with it for an hour-ish during lunch

As someone mentioned before, it feels a lot like a Facebook game where you play a few quick rounds and have to wait for more energy (or recharge as an IAP). Generally OK, although there are moments where you wish you could just get to the end of the quest rather than waiting.

So far, the only thing that irks me is the Blessings. It seems that the timer continues to count down even if I'm not playing ... was that intentional? It seems to be a bit unfair that something you've bought (theoretically with IAP-funded gold shields) would wear off while you weren't actually using it. Granted, that could be an incentive to purchase more energy in-game, but I think it'd be more likely that players would just ignore the Blessings altogether in this fashion.

I'll play more later tonight (as much as time and energy bar allows) and leave some comments on difficulty and such after.

[Mormoop]

I don't begrudge IAPs really, I just wish being able to do a one-time payment to have the whole game (or however that would work, maybe that means "unlimited energy" here) was a standard option when IAPs are used. I want to play a dungeon crawler and this sounds like a well made one, but it also sounds like it has an arbitrary amount of "free to play" rules.

This game seems up my alley buy IAPs always give me a sinking feeling, like "what am I getting myself into." It's not even the cost itself, it's just the unnecessary complication IAPs bring. In this game for example, I really have no idea what the IAP setup is from the description and this thread, or at least how it will actually apply to me playing the game. Again, I just wish I could lay out $6 or whatever instead and have full access without having "am I about to run out of Book of Heroes Dollars" in the back of my mind while playing.

But then I'm the kind of person who will pay a few dollars more for a month-to-month phone plan rather than take a two year contract that may seem cheap on paper but has who-knows-what fees and rules involved. I have enough disposable income to play some games here and there, but I just want it to be as simple as possible to acquire them. Because y'know, games are supposed to be, above all else, just fun.

On a side note I think there's also an immersion factor that IAP ruins as well, especially with rpg-type games. If the microtransaction element of the game is always in the back of your mind it's really hard to lose yourself in the game world. I think that factor is also why it's turning me off in this case.

[aricall]

Like the game so far. But can I somehow play the same character on both my iPad and iPhone?? Thanks

[New England Gamer]

Originally Posted by Elsten

Great game so far ... although being at work, I've only been able to fiddle with it for an hour-ish during lunch

As someone mentioned before, it feels a lot like a Facebook game where you play a few quick rounds and have to wait for more energy (or recharge as an IAP). Generally OK, although there are moments where you wish you could just get to the end of the quest rather than waiting.

So far, the only thing that irks me is the Blessings. It seems that the timer continues to count down even if I'm not playing ... was that intentional? It seems to be a bit unfair that something you've bought (theoretically with IAP-funded gold shields) would wear off while you weren't actually using it. Granted, that could be an incentive to purchase more energy in-game, but I think it'd be more likely that players would just ignore the Blessings altogether in this fashion.

I'll play more later tonight (as much as time and energy bar allows) and leave some comments on difficulty and such after.

Yes the blessings seem out of kilter - get them and they are only good for an hour or I think one is for 2. But there is no way you can PLAY this game for an hour without the bolts running out in 15 minutes (or less). And yet the blessing is for real time. So forget those.

The balance is way off this game. I really am trying to keep at it and like it but it's getting more and more neglected - and that is after less than a day.

And yeah, I am getting notifications that I am ready to go no matter what notification set up I have tried.

Jeez Venan, what a tease - such potential is getting killed. I try to do a quest, and now they are getting to need more and more bolts. I worry what my next enemy might be and HOPE that it is the right one because I will have JUST ENOUGH bolts to complete the task and if some random enemy appears I feel like I wasted a bolt. This is not fun. This is not a way to play an immersive game. Then, I come back after the bolts have recharged and I have to remind myself - oh what was that story about again? I do that enough on full fledge RPG's, there is no way I can keep track of all the quests and side stories in a game like this. Well I guess I can, it's just the enjoyment part that will suffer.

That is why the farming, building, Smurfing, games work - there is no story so you can pick it up and play it whenever you want and have time. An RPG needs time to allow you to sit and get engrossed. The way it is set up now, there are not enough resources to be able to enjoy it. I wish I could like it. It just gets more frustrating each time I open it though.

[Elsten]

Originally Posted by Mormoop

I don't begrudge IAPs really, I just wish being able to do a one-time payment to have the whole game (or however that would work, maybe that means "unlimited energy" here) was a standard option when IAPs are used. I want to play a dungeon crawler and this sounds like a well made one, but it also sounds like it has an arbitrary amount of "free to play" rules.

This game seems up my alley buy IAPs always give me a sinking feeling, like "what am I getting myself into." It's not even the cost itself, it's just the unnecessary complication IAPs bring. In this game for example, I really have no idea what the IAP setup is from the description and this thread, or at least how it will actually apply to me playing the game. Again, I just wish I could lay out $6 or whatever instead and have full access without having "am I about to run out of Book of Heroes Dollars" in the back of my mind while playing.

The only differences between IAP and free-playing so far is how long you can keep playing for, and how powerful your equipment is. There are 2 currencies in the game: silver coins (game money, like gil in Final Fantasy) and gold shields (bought as IAP or earned rarely in-game).

Gold Shield equipment is maybe 2-3 times more powerful than what you can get with Silver Coins. Other than that, if you want to refill your energy bar quicker, you can pay Gold Shields to do so. That's it; you're not really missing out on any of the game content otherwise.

Originally Posted by Mormoop

On a side note I think there's also an immersion factor that IAP ruins as well, especially with rpg-type games. If the microtransaction element of the game is always in the back of your mind it's really hard to lose yourself in the game world. I think that factor is also why it's turning me off in this case.

Sadly, this is very true. The part that most people are complaining about is the lack of energy ... it costs (for example) 3 energy (out of 12) to jump into a "dungeon" (for lack of a better explanation). Each battle inside costs additional energy to start. While you're in there, you have regular skills/abilities, and then some that cost energy to use. It doesn't take very long to run out of energy, and you'll have to stop playing and wait for it to recharge, which is a rather significant killjoy. IAP or you'll just have to wait it out.

[Gabrien]

Wow, don't you get it? You are supposed to feel that way. They want you to buy the IAP. It might only frustrate you, but many others will cave and purchase. Apparently. Isn't that why this system works?

It's laughable to read people suggesting "alternatives." Not giving you an alternative is the whole point, and Venan know exactly what they are doing. And shame on them for it.

Originally Posted by New England Gamer

Yes the blessings seem out of kilter - get them and they are only good for an hour or I think one is for 2. But there is no way you can PLAY this game for an hour without the bolts running out in 15 minutes (or less). And yet the blessing is for real time. So forget those.

The balance is way off this game. I really am trying to keep at it and like it but it's getting more and more neglected - and that is after less than a day.

And yeah, I am getting notifications that I am ready to go no matter what notification set up I have tried.

Jeez Venan, what a tease - such potential is getting killed. I try to do a quest, and now they are getting to need more and more bolts. I worry what my next enemy might be and HOPE that it is the right one because I will have JUST ENOUGH bolts to complete the task and if some random enemy appears I feel like I wasted a bolt. This is not fun. This is not a way to play an immersive game. Then, I come back after the bolts have recharged and I have to remind myself - oh what was that story about again? I do that enough on full fledge RPG's, there is no way I can keep track of all the quests and side stories in a game like this. Well I guess I can, it's just the enjoyment part that will suffer.

That is why the farming, building, Smurfing, games work - there is no story so you can pick it up and play it whenever you want and have time. An RPG needs time to allow you to sit and get engrossed. The way it is set up now, there are not enough resources to be able to enjoy it. I wish I could like it. It just gets more frustrating each time I open it though.

[krautboy]

Maybe New England Gamer is right,i shouldn't ask or excpect anything in return for the things i buy.
Still,i was hoping for something awesome from Venon and all the comments don't fill me up with much hope for that.
I'd really like a setup like frisbee forever where the iap is completely optional,but very rewarding if you're a collectionist like me or just don't wanna spend countless hours to grind.
Anyway,will download and try this as soon as it hits Holland ,but don't think i will sink money in to it and thus won't play it very long.

[New England Gamer]

Originally Posted by Elsten

Sadly, this is very true. The part that most people are complaining about is the lack of energy ... it costs (for example) 3 energy (out of 12) to jump into a "dungeon" (for lack of a better explanation). Each battle inside costs additional energy to start. While you're in there, you have regular skills/abilities, and then some that cost energy to use. It doesn't take very long to run out of energy, and you'll have to stop playing and wait for it to recharge, which is a rather significant killjoy. IAP or you'll just have to wait it out.

Wait til you get further and it takes 4 and even 5 and you need to kill 4 or 5 enemies and in between are some randoms, and you need to heal, and well, you can't finish one battle in one sitting.

@Gabrien - I get it, I just wish I didn't. Clearly an alternative model won't even be considered because as I said before, Venan believes this is the way to earn lots of money. I don't blame them as you see games like Poker by Zynga, Smurfs, Crime City, Dragonvale, Texas Poker and World War all in the top grossing games top ten. 6 of the 10 are free to download games. That is some pretty strong argument right there. But is this what this platform is coming to? An extension of Facebook? The single developer whose IAP I find a pleasure to play and actually buy IAP because I WANT to not because I need to is Nimblebit. That is some IAP gaming done right right there.

And I am sorry, but I can't be the only one that loses connection to the server randomly. Right after the front page article appeared I lost connection 3 times in less than 10 minutes. In that time I lost a drop I was supposed to collect for a quest, had to redo it and use MORE bolts.

Why am I torturing myself still is what I want to know.

So much work here Venan, and yet, for what? For those that will spend lots of money on IAP cuz that is what they are used to? All for us to MAYBE get Space Miner 2? This was not a quickly coded and put together game. So this was developed for its own sake. I am losing faith here that you are trying to do what you can to give the people what they want with Space Miner 2.