Hexius - Version 2.0.0 - (by Phasic Labs)[Universal @ $0.99]

[PhasicLabs]

Hi all,
Version 2 of Hexius is now live on the App Store.
It's an update from the previous version, so it's free to everyone who has already bought Hexius.

It's been a while coming due to other projects, but Hexius now has improved graphics, full iPhone and iPad Retina display support, and iPhone 5 full resolution support.

It also plays more smoothly, and now uses Game Center for leaderboards and achievements, instead of OpenFeint!



I'm just finishing off a promo video which I'll post soon!

Also, I have a Mac App Store version in the review queue at the moment - I'd be interested to hear about whether people are interested in Mac versions of iOS games?

Cheers,
Paul

[iPadisGreat]

I don't have a Mac, so no. However, you have piqued my curiosity. What is the advantage or point of playing an iOS game on a computer?

[PhasicLabs]

Originally Posted by iPadisGreat

I don't have a Mac, so no. However, you have piqued my curiosity. What is the advantage or point of playing an iOS game on a computer?

Actually, I've tried to make it so that there is no advantage, as the Mac version will share the same Game Center leaderboards as the iOS version.

I'm just interested in how many people will actually prefer to play Hexius on their MacBook (for example) as opposed to their iPhone or iPad.

Due to the nature of the game, it's as easy to play with a mouse as it is with your finger, so there isn't any real difference.

[pluto6]

Hexius is a GREAT game - continue to enjoy it every now and again. Great pricing on it as well - I think I got it when it was more expensive. The true joy comes when things just keep blowing up... And you have good balance for trying to get a higher score.. Seems that most of the new improvements are graphical, but I'll look forward to trying it out.


On the Mac side - I DO have a Mac, and really don't use it playing games. I have bought a bunch of humble bundles, and some things off the App store, but things are just so much easier, and portable with the iPad, that I have pretty much given up playing anything on the Mac anymore.. I suppose if I did not have the ipad, I would use the Mac - I used to play lots on the larger computers - that all changed with the iPad... Still play a fair amount on consoles though - PS3 primarily...

[PhasicLabs]

I'm glad you like Hexius! You are right that most of the new improvements are graphical - the game was starting to look a bit wrong on newer devices, as it didn't properly support iPhone Retina, and really didn't look good on iPad Retina. Also, it was letterboxed on iPhone 5 - it looks much better when using the full screen.
The art assets have been fully recreated, and the effects have been significantly improved.

The other main update is to replace OpenFeint (because they shut off their servers) with Game Center (both leaderboards and achievements).
Unfortunately that means that the old high-scores were lost, but on the plus side, there is room for newcomers to hit the top of the tables!

I suspect your opinion about Mac games is shared by many people. I'm going to release it anyway though, as the port was very easy to do.

Cheers,
Paul

[pluto6]

Graphics are gorgeous. Glad that you are addressing the slowdowns, they are maddening. Thanks for supporting a great game.

[PhasicLabs]

Originally Posted by pluto6

Graphics are gorgeous. Glad that you are addressing the slowdowns, they are maddening. Thanks for supporting a great game.

Yeah, the slowdowns are really annoying. Fortunately they only happen when the scores are synced, so if you wait 10 seconds before starting a game (the first time you launch Hexius), it shouldn't affect the playing of the game.

They were easy to fix once they happened, but you need all of the score tables to be full to see the problem.

Unfortunately, the way Game Center works, it's not easy to set up loads of test data for a game - I would have needed to create at least 50 Apple IDs, the log in with each ID, and then play a game of each game mode.

The update is now in the review queue. It will also fix an issue with displaying the correct rank for scores outside the top 50, and a very occasional crash that happened when leaving the score table menu screen.

Cheers,
Paul

[Misguided]

Originally Posted by PhasicLabs

and a very occasional crash that happened when leaving the score table menu screen.

Cheers,
Paul

Is this the crash that sometimes occurs if you hit the button to start a game before the high scores finish scrolling? If so, it has been more than "occasional" for me.

Playing and enjoying the strategy mode. Still trying to figure out the strategies. Some of the scores are *really* high. 286 million?

[pluto6]

Originally Posted by Misguided

Playing and enjoying the strategy mode. Still trying to figure out the strategies. Some of the scores are *really* high. 286 million?

Yeah, I am sure that these are somehow hacked. I would believe a few million, but higher than that gets to be questionable. I don't remember my high scores under open feint, but seem to recall I got one around 8 or 900K, and was thinking I would be way high on the leader boards, but was not.

[Capronissimo71]

Just bought! However, i hope that fake scores will be deleted as soon as possible.