RAVENMARK: Scourge of Estellion (by Witching Hour Studios) Universal

[soldat7]

Originally Posted by Tebius

Since it's a universal app, everything for all devices is stored in the same app. This means that someone using a 3GS would need to download all the iPad Retina assets even if he never uses them. I'm more inclined to do a new iPad app if enough people ask for it.

You'll see many, many more sales on the iPad than on the iPhone 3G going forward, I'd be willing to bet. And if you support high res iPads, I'm guessing the gap will increase further. It's great marketing. Heck, I'd give you guys more money to support this via the tip jar.

[carlisimo]

Originally Posted by Tebius

Heya Carlisimo, thanks for support and the feedback. I'm always glad to hear what's on our players' minds.

I can see where you're coming. With regards to battle mechanics, we've actually added a 'Gameplay' section to the codex under 'Lore', so you'll be able to figure out what's going on and refresh yourself if you've been away from the game too long. Also, the dark blue tiles were added in much later as we were trying to improve gameplay - that's why it didn't make it into the tutorial.

Movement wise - yes, I'm aware. I can't do much without breaking the game right now, but it's on a stickie note I keep by me so I can address it while I'm designing multiplayer. For movement paths, we took it out since it would be an inaccurate prediction of the movement since the battlefield changes so dynamically with Elements moving about.

I've also learnt my lesson with tight maps, so that shouldn't happen any more. I wanna challenge you guys, not frustrate. =)

All in all, I'm glad that the world has entertained you, that's one thing I really hope for - people really getting into the world of Eclisse. I hope tell many more stories there!

The gameplay codex section is very helpful, thanks! I’ve also noticed markers showing you where you’ve told other units to move. I love that.

I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable with the game mechanics. Sometimes I wish I could swap the initiative values of two identical units (when I break up a formation), but it’s not a big deal. Having to scroll around and find the little X to cancel a move is probably my most frequent annoyance right now, but it's nothing major.

If you guys ever run out of things to do, please consider speeding up the map sequence where it shows the character(s) moving from one place to another, and allowing us to play our own music while we play. I do like the in-game music, but I've had to retry certain missions quite a few times... but help the people with bugs first!

[PrayForDeath]

Im buying this game as soon as it gets retina love for the new ipad.

[Quantus]

What kind of battery life do you guys get when playing this game on the new ipad?

[witchinghourSG]

Folks, please try the new v1.06 build that is live on the App Store! We should have addressed the display issues for the new iPad now - after some harried debugging and testing over TestFlight - but please tell us so we know that everything is finally in its place. Thanks!

[Uberskooper]

I have really been enjoying this game since I found it right around the time that the Suneater campaign came out. I liked it so much that I even donated five bucks to you guys. Keep up the good work.

My general impression was that the Suneater campaign was superior to the first two. This was in large part because I really enjoyed the larger pitched battles. It felt like I was commanding an army rather than a small rag-tag group. I know that in the first two campaigns smaller battles fit the narrative better, since you are running away from invaders in both story arcs. Still I would really like to see large pitched battles in future campaigns. The music in the Suneater campaign was also superior.

I don't really like anime, but you made it work. I know enough about it to know what I dislike, and to me several of the characters smack to much of anime stereotypes.

In particular the main guy we're all supposed to sympathize with in the first two campaigns (Calius) comes off like an enormous ineffectual weenus. He gets bullied a great deal, which also in itself feels a bit contrived. It gets even more contrived when •••Spoiler:  the woman that's bullying him has a romantic crush on him in the end. I ended up disliking the character so much that I found the antagonists in the Suneater campaign more interesting and likable. At least the Prior knows how to be a good villain.

That said, I really like the setting. I like the world you created along with the little map and lore that I can browse. I especially liked your take on elves as greedy, feral, and looked down upon by the humans. It's a breath of fresh air from how they are usually depicted.

All in all though, I really like this game and I would be glad to pay for future installments.

[the9quad]

Über that might be the single best first post I have ever seen someone make, nice.

As far as making this retina, I think a happy medium would be to just make text and such retina, and save your manpower for your next update. On that note, I honestly wouldnt mind if you start charging for updates as this is easily one of the premier games on iOS. To those who refuse to purchase this unil it gets retinafied, it is truly your loss. There really are only a handful of games of this caliber on ios.

[Uberskooper]

Originally Posted by the9quad

Über that might be the single best first post I have ever seen someone make, nice.

As far as making this retina, I think a happy medium would be to just make text and such retina, and save your manpower for your next update. On that note, I honestly wouldnt mind if you start charging for updates as this is easily one of the premier games on iOS. To those who refuse to purchase this unil it gets retinafied, it is truly your loss. There really are only a handful of games of this caliber on ios.

I registered just to post my thoughts on the game. It's that good.

[Tebius]

Heya all, wanna take the time to apologize for the 1.05 muck up as well. It really shouldn't have happened. I hope everyone's enjoying the new update. =)

Originally Posted by Pitta

Separate apps is IMHO always a bad idea.
What happens to many who buy the game now and upgrade to a different device later? Double dip and restart from scratch? Not to mention (maybe not in this case) separate achievements, leaderboards, iCloud saves, async play not possible among different apps....and so on.

To solve the 'huge download' for everyone problem, simply make a 'base universal' app that on first load simply download additional HD assets if a certain device is detected/the user say so....many apps do that but I always wondered why EVERY APP doesn't do that (if it was for me, Apple should force Universal apps and iCloud support everywhere). You get a universal build and everyone is happy with their assets without forcing older devices to have those not needed.

Just my two cents.

This would also mean we'd need our own servers and we'd have to pay for bandwidth. Also, on player psychology, no one likes to find out they need to download another few hundred megs right after they get the game. Immediate gratification, as much as we scoff at it, does affect people's experience and as a developer, we need to keep that in mind.

If Apple hosted everything.. now that's a different story. =D

Originally Posted by soldat7

You'll see many, many more sales on the iPad than on the iPhone 3G going forward, I'd be willing to bet. And if you support high res iPads, I'm guessing the gap will increase further. It's great marketing. Heck, I'd give you guys more money to support this via the tip jar.

Originally Posted by mavere

If the only way to get updated graphics is through a separate app, I'd be okay with that (I have to be ).

There are already precedents for this (Violet Storm and Climber Brothers), so as long as the distinction is made clear in the app store, I don't see a problem.

Originally Posted by the9quad

As far as making this retina, I think a happy medium would be to just make text and such retina, and save your manpower for your next update. On that note, I honestly wouldnt mind if you start charging for updates as this is easily one of the premier games on iOS. To those who refuse to purchase this unil it gets retinafied, it is truly your loss. There really are only a handful of games of this caliber on ios.

I think 9squad's suggestion sounds like a good middle ground. I'll talk to my UI person to see how long it'll take to implement. =)

Originally Posted by carlisimo

The gameplay codex section is very helpful, thanks! I’ve also noticed markers showing you where you’ve told other units to move. I love that.

I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable with the game mechanics. Sometimes I wish I could swap the initiative values of two identical units (when I break up a formation), but it’s not a big deal. Having to scroll around and find the little X to cancel a move is probably my most frequent annoyance right now, but it's nothing major.

If you guys ever run out of things to do, please consider speeding up the map sequence where it shows the character(s) moving from one place to another, and allowing us to play our own music while we play. I do like the in-game music, but I've had to retry certain missions quite a few times... but help the people with bugs first!

I'll see what I can do about the small X to cancel, music and the map movement. =)

Originally Posted by Uberskooper

I have really been enjoying this game since I found it right around the time that the Suneater campaign came out. I liked it so much that I even donated five bucks to you guys. Keep up the good work.

My general impression was that the Suneater campaign was superior to the first two. This was in large part because I really enjoyed the larger pitched battles. It felt like I was commanding an army rather than a small rag-tag group. I know that in the first two campaigns smaller battles fit the narrative better, since you are running away from invaders in both story arcs. Still I would really like to see large pitched battles in future campaigns. The music in the Suneater campaign was also superior.

I don't really like anime, but you made it work. I know enough about it to know what I dislike, and to me several of the characters smack to much of anime stereotypes.

In particular the main guy we're all supposed to sympathize with in the first two campaigns (Calius) comes off like an enormous ineffectual weenus. He gets bullied a great deal, which also in itself feels a bit contrived. It gets even more contrived when •••Spoiler:  the woman that's bullying him has a romantic crush on him in the end. I ended up disliking the character so much that I found the antagonists in the Suneater campaign more interesting and likable. At least the Prior knows how to be a good villain.

That said, I really like the setting. I like the world you created along with the little map and lore that I can browse. I especially liked your take on elves as greedy, feral, and looked down upon by the humans. It's a breath of fresh air from how they are usually depicted.

All in all though, I really like this game and I would be glad to pay for future installments.

Originally Posted by Uberskooper

I registered just to post my thoughts on the game. It's that good.

Heya Uberskooper, thank you so much for the support!

•••Spoiler:  I guess there were many nuances with the Calius/Livia story that I would've liked but there just wasn't an opportunity to explore it in between the missions. Perhaps I'll explore it in another medium.

Hehe.. yes, I took that direction with elves since I was tired of how they were always depicted as 'betters' of all the other races. The Sotran dwarfs are meant to be depicted differently as well, but it was much harder to put across. Instead of the beer guzzle, rowdy dwarves we're used to, they are more akin to the posh British - prim, proper and airy.

[devensega]

Originally Posted by Tebius

they are more akin to the posh British - prim, proper and airy.

Are you referring to me old bean?

In all seriousness, how do I start the Suneater campaign? I am on the suicide bridge level on the other campaign but would rather gouge my eyeballs out than attempt to play it again.......can I not just skip to the other campaign?