Amoebattle by Grab Games [RTS] (Universal)

[smes3817]

This game looks SO amazing and I love the graphics but I'm hesitant to pick it up because I've never played a RTS game before and don't really know what to expect. I read reviews and watch the trailers but still remain a little confused about what I'm supposed to do. I'm afraid I'll be just as confused even after I start playing...

Well, as with all iOS games, I can only resist so long with games that interest me before I take the inevitable plunge. We'll see how long I last with this one

Congrats devs on such a successful release and with all the universal praise!

Edit: This and Ant Raid are both RTS (I think?) that I've been tempted to get because of their art style. I guess I'm more into the 'cutesy' style than the usual 'space' or 'fantasy' themes...

[Drexiel]

i bought Starfront HD, but damn... 1 gig.... i only have like 500 megs free on my ipad...

and for 148 megs this is looking good...



how does this compare to Starfront?(i haven't even played it yet)

[IntrinsicGames]

Hey everyone!

Originally Posted by Big Albie

Albie Meter: 4 Stars (imaginative RTS with intuitive controls; line drawing controls tied micromanaging units work well; elegant interface and beautiful graphics and animation; good depth in terms of content; well-balanced campaign-only mode although later missions can be difficult for new players; GameCenter support/achievements; lacks skirmish mode but promised in a future update)

Wow, thank you so much for your terrific review Big Albie! I'm really glad to hear that you enjoyed the controls and interface, since that can often times make or break a game, and we wanted to make sure that was as intuitive as possible.

Originally Posted by Drexiel

i bought Starfront HD, but damn... 1 gig.... i only have like 500 megs free on my ipad...

and for 148 megs this is looking good...



how does this compare to Starfront?(i haven't even played it yet)

So Starfront is pretty much Starcraft on your iPad, with all the names changed in typical Gameloft fashion that we've all come to love them for. Amoebattle we built from the ground up for mobile as you can see in the below paragraphs. Granted, Starfront has more modes like skirmish and multiplayer (for now, hopefully!), but I'm also pretty sure that it wasn't built by a 3 man team. With Amoebattle, instead of building bases and units, you replicate and mutate. Also, Amoebattle is Universal, Retina support for the new iPad and iPhone, and has iCloud support. None of which Starfront has. Go us! If you're an RTS fan, just read through some of the posts and impressions in this thread - I think you're gonna like the game.

Originally Posted by smes3817

This game looks SO amazing and I love the graphics but I'm hesitant to pick it up because I've never played a RTS game before and don't really know what to expect. I read reviews and watch the trailers but still remain a little confused about what I'm supposed to do. I'm afraid I'll be just as confused even after I start playing...

Well, as with all iOS games, I can only resist so long with games that interest me before I take the inevitable plunge. We'll see how long I last with this one

Congrats devs on such a successful release and with all the universal praise!

Edit: This and Ant Raid are both RTS (I think?) that I've been tempted to get because of their art style. I guess I'm more into the 'cutesy' style than the usual 'space' or 'fantasy' themes...

Thank you for the kind words smes! I think you're going to quite enjoy Amoebattle, even if it's your first RTS - in fact, our artists and several other people we had test the game had never played an RTS game, and they all absolutely loved it. To quote directly from an email our lead artist sent us:

Friends!

Tonight I have beaten Amoebattle.

I enjoyed it immensely and I am satisfied :B It was a challenge, although surprisingly not as brutal as I anticipated since I hadn't played many [any] RTS's before, but I felt like the difficulty curve was very smooth and the accomplishment I felt after completing each mission was really gratifying.

If you don't mind, let me go into a bit of the development and gameplay of Amoebattle, to explain why newer RTS players like yourself will enjoy it. Giant wall of text warning!

Tl;dr: As a new player, you're going to enjoy Amoebattle because of the touchscreen controls and removal of bases.

To start, the general, overall goal of an RTS game is to lead your units to complete a given objective. With Amoebattle, we wanted to keep the different missions interesting and varied, so some of the different objectives are "Don't let a single enemy escape" or "Find the Proteus Fossil".

When were first started prototyping Amoebattle, we played around with a few different handheld/mobile RTS games, but weren't really happy with them - either the controls didn't feel intuitive to us, or they tried jamming an entire PC RTS into a 3.5 inch device :/

With Amoebattle, we decided to completely break apart the RTS genre, and rebuild it around the touchscreen. The goal was to maintain the strategy and depth associated with the genre, while updating it for a new interface and making it intuitive to newer players.

Let's start with the controls. Traditional PC RTS uses the somewhat intimidating keyboard+mouse set up, where you have to memorize the keyboard shortcuts for various commands in order to successfully play. Amoebattle, however, uses the touchscreen to make basic controls as intuitive as possible. Want to select a unit? Tap on it. A group of them? Draw a shape around them. Attack an enemy? Tap on the enemy. We did a lot of playtesting, tweaking, and iterating to make sure that the controls were perfect and easily understandable.

With regards to the gameplay, one of the biggest differences is the removal of bases. In the majority of RTS games (Starfront and Red Alert on iOS included), you have to not only command your units to attack or defend, but also build and manage a home base. This means collecting resources, creating new units, and researching upgrades at your base, while also controlling your units to mount an attack. Amoebattle, however, completely removes bases, allowing you to focus completely on your units. Part of it was because of the platform - we didn't think it made sense to constantly scroll back and forth between your units and base on a mobile device. Part of it was because the units are amoebas, and we wanted to keep an organic, constantly moving feel. And part of it was to allow new and casual RTS players a chance to really enjoy the genre, rather than force them to try to do 50 different things at once.

There's also AMI, your neighborhood friendly software assistant, who instructs and guides you throughout the game. She'll teach you everything you need to know, from the beginning tutorials teaching you to move to advice on how to defeat different types of enemies. Plus, she's pretty funny

To be fair, the game can get pretty challenging, as you've probably read from other posters. There's still a lot of strategy and depth for RTS fans. But more importantly, we've also done our best to make it accessible for new players like yourself. If you're interested in RTS games, I really do think you're going to enjoy Amoebattle. Hope you give it a go!

[eAdvisory]

how long is the campaign?

[IntrinsicGames]

Originally Posted by eAdvisory

how long is the campaign?

It's about 8-10 hours (though of course can vary with your skill level)

[Drexiel]

Originally Posted by IntrinsicGames

Hey everyone!


So Starfront is pretty much Starcraft on your iPad, with all the names changed in typical Gameloft fashion that we've all come to love them for. Amoebattle we built from the ground up for mobile as you can see in the below paragraphs. Granted, Starfront has more modes like skirmish and multiplayer (for now, hopefully!), but I'm also pretty sure that it wasn't built by a 3 man team. With Amoebattle, instead of building bases and units, you replicate and mutate. Also, Amoebattle is Universal, Retina support for the new iPad and iPhone, and has iCloud support. None of which Starfront has. Go us! If you're an RTS fan, just read through some of the posts and impressions in this thread - I think you're gonna like the game.

You guys made Penguin Patrol right?

considering how good that game is, all the details and polish on that one, it seems like you guys really want to make a game that people will love, not just a game that ppl play cuz it reminds them of another game.

In my opinion a 3 man team will make a better game than a company after money can, since that 3 man team will most likely pour all their efforts in.

And taking into account the reply you guys gave me, even if STarfront has more modes, i will support you guys.

Replicating and mutating sounds interesting(more interesting than making bases actually)... SO once I'm done with my current playlist, this will be the first thing I'll buy

[IntrinsicGames]

Originally Posted by Drexiel

You guys made Penguin Patrol right?

considering how good that game is, all the details and polish on that one, it seems like you guys really want to make a game that people will love, not just a game that ppl play cuz it reminds them of another game.

In my opinion a 3 man team will make a better game than a company after money can, since that 3 man team will most likely pour all their efforts in.

And taking into account the reply you guys gave me, even if STarfront has more modes, i will support you guys.

Replicating and mutating sounds interesting(more interesting than making bases actually)... SO once I'm done with my current playlist, this will be the first thing I'll buy

Yup, Penguin Patrol is also us

Awesome to hear, appreciate the support!

Hope everyone else is having a good weekend and discovering new types of amoebas for their army!

[Sanuku]

Low bandwidth Version | Pop Up

[IntrinsicGames]

Originally Posted by Sanuku

Gameplay Footage

Hey Sanuku - thanks for recording and posting the gameplay video!

Also thanks to syntheticvoid for his TheAppShack review of the game - check it out! http://www.the-app-shack.com/2012/04...rames-499.html

Hope everyone's having a good Easter and enjoying the game! We really appreciate your support and telling your friends about the game, and we're always looking out for your ideas and feedback for the game.

[beast_skillz_86]

wow! congrats on the great review! Its devs like you guys that make ios AWESOME! nice job! i hope my lil 5 bucks goes far in making this a great game!