I, Gladiator By Burlington Trading Limited

[squarezero]

Originally Posted by skarsnik

@workingman - not sure how it would change things for you if the price was increased by $5 with no IAP. Wouldn't you still struggle to beat the early levels? I agree that having some form of gold -> silver conversion and vice versa would be nice, so at least all the gear will be attainable eventually.

Anyhow, wanted to share some observations from my own playthrough (currently at Chpt II/VIII, dual-wield swords):

1. Play I, Gladiator scratch and win - downloaded it and gave it a spin after the dev mentioned it, and it consistently gave me 100+ silver for my activities (awarded when you load up the workshop in actual game). More importantly, I was gifted a Kolhid Sword which can't be purchased in game, Atk:250, bleed:30%, Dura: 200, and that made chapter I a breeze.

2. Know the strength/weaknesses between weapon classes
a. I find that swords are faster than maces which are faster than spears.
b. Early game when your gear is weak, you're better off dual-wielding 2 x swords so you can kill faster.
c. swords bleed, maces randomly stun, and spears seem to have unblockable strikes, can attack more than 1 target, and have longer poke reach (from observing enemies) such that a block + down swipe disengage doesn't work.
d. Fights have different requirements (some have time limits etc) and earning some laurels may require you to downgrade your weapon (e.g. so you can stun/knockdown more often without killing)

3. Know how many swings it takes to set up a stun lock - weaker weapons take more hits to make the star outlines appear, allowing you to swipe up or down to stun the opponent. Once you are used to your weapons, you can set up a permanent stun-lock on a single enemy by recovering your stamina when he is stunned. It's a little more tricky when you have 2 enemies locked on you.

4. Use the environment - that means traps, dropped weapons which are most likely to be more powerful than what you are currently using, dodging to keep one enemy behind your current target when facing 2 of them, using doorways as choke points, etc. Another way is to damage the enemies enough so they start limping, then run away so they get separated and can't gang up on you (useful when you get to the totems in chpt II).

5. Earn some money + skill points
a. Money - that means dismembering whenever possible (I do 2 round of stunlock then powerstrike for a fast kill on the skinny ones) to boost your glory meter, running around the arena to pick up loose change that are sometimes scattered around.
b. I think you get 3 gold for completing tournaments with 2 laurels, and 1 skill point for all 3 laurels.

6. Know the enemy
a. Go to igladiatorgame.com and read the enemy descriptions (skinny, normal, fatty, giant, lion) which gives hints on how to manage them.
b. When faced with multiple enemies, I almost always take down the dual-wield/spear enemies first since they have the propensity to do the most damage.
c. If you notice that the enemy has a weak weapon setup, you can spam attacks (subject to stamina limits) to 'break' the enemy's weapon/shield (useful on those fatties).
d. continuous sword pokes and powerstrikes at zero stamina can keep fatties as bay (they are too slow)

Requests for the developer:
a. icloud please!
b. have more documentation in game to explain some of the game mechanics e.g. glory meter, the red level thing on the bottom right, glow on block button that hints at durability, difference between a grey glory activation vs red, what's with the flower petals + how to keep the crowd entertained, how to avoid provoking tears and making them bored, stuff covered in the tutorial needs to be documented as well e.g. how to stun.
c. allow for locking on to the lions before they charge
d. make it such that an enemy that has been knocked back into a trap (hades, vortex) is damaged straight away, rather than just lying down on the trap, and conveniently rolling away from it as they get up.

Anyhow, thanks for putting out this gem of a game, it's currently keeping me away from my previous obsession (heroes and castles, which I've yet to complete!).

Funny -- doesn't sound like a shallow game at all.

Seems to me that the IAP discussion is basically three guys who (no offense) suck at the game. They've had their say already and should consider moving on. This is not the thread to discuss your pessimistic views about iOS gaming or how some other game was "ruined" by IAPs.

[workingman]

Originally Posted by skarsnik

@workingman - not sure how it would change things for you if the price was increased by $5 with no IAP. Wouldn't you still struggle to beat the early levels? I agree that having some form of gold -> silver conversion and vice versa would be nice, so at least all the gear will be attainable eventually.

Anyhow, wanted to share some observations from my own playthrough (currently at Chpt II/VIII, dual-wield swords):

1. Play I, Gladiator scratch and win - downloaded it and gave it a spin after the dev mentioned it, and it consistently gave me 100+ silver for my activities (awarded when you load up the workshop in actual game). More importantly, I was gifted a Kolhid Sword which can't be purchased in game, Atk:250, bleed:30%, Dura: 200, and that made chapter I a breeze.

2. Know the strength/weaknesses between weapon classes
a. I find that swords are faster than maces which are faster than spears.
b. Early game when your gear is weak, you're better off dual-wielding 2 x swords so you can kill faster.
c. swords bleed, maces randomly stun, and spears seem to have unblockable strikes, can attack more than 1 target, and have longer poke reach (from observing enemies) such that a block + down swipe disengage doesn't work.
d. Fights have different requirements (some have time limits etc) and earning some laurels may require you to downgrade your weapon (e.g. so you can stun/knockdown more often without killing)

3. Know how many swings it takes to set up a stun lock - weaker weapons take more hits to make the star outlines appear, allowing you to swipe up or down to stun the opponent. Once you are used to your weapons, you can set up a permanent stun-lock on a single enemy by recovering your stamina when he is stunned. It's a little more tricky when you have 2 enemies locked on you.

4. Use the environment - that means traps, dropped weapons which are most likely to be more powerful than what you are currently using, dodging to keep one enemy behind your current target when facing 2 of them, using doorways as choke points, etc. Another way is to damage the enemies enough so they start limping, then run away so they get separated and can't gang up on you (useful when you get to the totems in chpt II).

5. Earn some money + skill points
a. Money - that means dismembering whenever possible (I do 2 round of stunlock then powerstrike for a fast kill on the skinny ones) to boost your glory meter, running around the arena to pick up loose change that are sometimes scattered around.
b. I think you get 3 gold for completing tournaments with 2 laurels, and 1 skill point for all 3 laurels.

6. Know the enemy
a. Go to igladiatorgame.com and read the enemy descriptions (skinny, normal, fatty, giant, lion) which gives hints on how to manage them.
b. When faced with multiple enemies, I almost always take down the dual-wield/spear enemies first since they have the propensity to do the most damage.
c. If you notice that the enemy has a weak weapon setup, you can spam attacks (subject to stamina limits) to 'break' the enemy's weapon/shield (useful on those fatties).
d. continuous sword pokes and powerstrikes at zero stamina can keep fatties as bay (they are too slow)

Requests for the developer:
a. icloud please!
b. have more documentation in game to explain some of the game mechanics e.g. glory meter, the red level thing on the bottom right, glow on block button that hints at durability, difference between a grey glory activation vs red, what's with the flower petals + how to keep the crowd entertained, how to avoid provoking tears and making them bored, stuff covered in the tutorial needs to be documented as well e.g. how to stun.
c. allow for locking on to the lions before they charge
d. make it such that an enemy that has been knocked back into a trap (hades, vortex) is damaged straight away, rather than just lying down on the trap, and conveniently rolling away from it as they get up.

Anyhow, thanks for putting out this gem of a game, it's currently keeping me away from my previous obsession (heroes and castles, which I've yet to complete!).

I certainly do appreciate you taking all that time to share your thoughts and advice. Maybe I do suck but I'm gonna install it again and follow your advice to see if that changes how I feel. I'll let you know how it goes in a couple days

[Mfox76]

@skarsnik

Thanks for the articulate post you basically and clearly outlined everything I have been trying to say but lacked the verbiage and patience!

[Pocketnova]

Should I get it?

[september]

Originally Posted by Pocketnova

Should I get it?

Games production values are top notch, art and styling is great, animations can be a bit janky but are decent overall. I haven't found it too difficult but earnings are pretty tight and pay model is a bit confused, it's premium with heavy orientation towards consumable purchases. You aren't forced to buy additional IAP but it would be realistic to say you would have to, to get everything in the game unless you were prepared to grind seriously. Tapjoy is included for free coins but unlike its implementation in Dead Trigger there are no free offers as they're all paid options.

Combat isn't quite as deep as Bladeslinger but they have a similar feel and it is still satisfying. The story is interesting so far and the game is well crafted. It's really going to boil down to whether or not you had issues with Dead Trigger or Bladeslinger, if you didn't like their accompanying post purchase models then you're probably best to steer clear, if they didn't bother you or you don't mind trading time to circumvent them then you'll have no problems with this.

IMO it's a good arena fighter marred a bit by the freemium structure in waiting, I don't fully regret my purchase and I'm enjoying it, but it does tarnish my feelings for the title a bit. Forgetting IAP, it would be up there with the best of this genre.

If you want a taste of artwork and the type of thing you can expect from the developer, download the free scratch and win app. It really says it all to be honest.

[Pocketnova]

Originally Posted by september

Games production values are top notch, art and styling is great, animations can be a bit janky but are decent overall. I haven't found it too difficult but earnings are pretty tight and pay model is a bit confused, it's premium with heavy orientation towards consumable purchases. You aren't forced to buy additional IAP but it would be realistic to say you would have to, to get everything in the game unless you were prepared to grind seriously. Tapjoy is included for free coins but unlike its implementation in Dead Trigger there are no free offers as they're all paid options.

Combat isn't quite as deep as Bladeslinger but they have a similar feel and it is still satisfying. The story is interesting so far and the game is well crafted. It's really going to boil down to whether or not you had issues with Dead Trigger or Bladeslinger, if you didn't like their accompanying post purchase models then you're probably best to steer clear, if they didn't bother you or you don't mind trading time to circumvent them then you'll have no problems with this.

IMO it's a good arena fighter marred a bit by the freemium structure in waiting, I don't fully regret my purchase and I'm enjoying it, but it does tarnish my feelings for the title a bit. Forgetting IAP, it would be up there with the best of this genre.

If you want a taste of artwork and the type of thing you can expect from the developer, download the free scratch and win app. It really says it all to be honest.

Thank you for letting me know. Dead trigger I got when it was 99c, so I got more free stuff then those who got it for free. Bladeslinger was more the controls then the iAPs (are the controls the same style here?). Also, the scratcher app has nice art, and now it seems you can transfer your winnings via the latest update. Would that help money wise?

[september]

Originally Posted by Pocketnova

Thank you for letting me know. Dead trigger I got when it was 99c, so I got more free stuff then those who got it for free. Bladeslinger was more the controls then the iAPs (are the controls the same style here?). Also, the scratcher app has nice art, and now it seems you can transfer your winnings via the latest update. Would that help money wise?

The swipe controls for combat are similar, I find changing focus on an enemy a little less refined, movement is just press a button and swipe with the other hand to change direction (but you don't really have the free roam of Bladeslinger, it's all arena based so there's not a lot of it). Dodging is done by pressing a button and then swiping the direction you want to go, rather than the double tap from Bladeslinger. You have a stamina meter too, but that recharges quickly.

Yeah it helps, I got 300 silver plus the sword which everyone gets with the app, puts you in game with dual wielding swords from the get go. But with the way luck decreases and because you can loose money too, I can't see it helping a lot. They have a 'thoughtful' improved luck in app purchase though so who knows, not something I would buy.

[Drummerboycroy]

Originally Posted by september

Games production values are top notch, art and styling is great, animations can be a bit janky but are decent overall. I haven't found it too difficult but earnings are pretty tight and pay model is a bit confused, it's premium with heavy orientation towards consumable purchases. You aren't forced to buy additional IAP but it would be realistic to say you would have to, to get everything in the game unless you were prepared to grind seriously. Tapjoy is included for free coins but unlike its implementation in Dead Trigger there are no free offers as they're all paid options.

Combat isn't quite as deep as Bladeslinger but they have a similar feel and it is still satisfying. The story is interesting so far and the game is well crafted. It's really going to boil down to whether or not you had issues with Dead Trigger or Bladeslinger, if you didn't like their accompanying post purchase models then you're probably best to steer clear, if they didn't bother you or you don't mind trading time to circumvent them then you'll have no problems with this.

IMO it's a good arena fighter marred a bit by the freemium structure in waiting, I don't fully regret my purchase and I'm enjoying it, but it does tarnish my feelings for the title a bit. Forgetting IAP, it would be up there with the best of this genre.

If you want a taste of artwork and the type of thing you can expect from the developer, download the free scratch and win app. It really says it all to be honest.

Thanks for posting an honest assessment.

The game looks awesome and I was tempted, but I'm really not in the mood to struggle through another paymium-modeled game while trying to enjoy it atm...

DBC

[squarezero]

Originally Posted by september

The swipe controls for combat are similar, I find changing focus on an enemy a little less refined, movement is just press a button and swipe with the other hand to change direction (but you don't really have the free roam of Bladeslinger, it's all arena based so there's not a lot of it). Dodging is done by pressing a button and then swiping the direction you want to go, rather than the double tap from Bladeslinger. You have a stamina meter too, but that recharges quickly.

Yeah it helps, I got 300 silver plus the sword which everyone gets with the app, puts you in game with dual wielding swords from the get go. But with the way luck decreases and because you can loose money too, I can't see it helping a lot. They have a 'thoughtful' improved luck in app purchase though so who knows, not something I would buy.

Not to be polemical here, but the combat in I Gladiator is a big step up from Bladeslinger. First, Bladeslinger is free-roam only in the most narrow sense of the word. The game basically takes you from one arena to the next, often in cramped environments that make movement and dodging awkward. The controls are a confusing mess of swipes, taps, double taps, etc, combined with nonsensical finishing moves that involve tracing patters that bear no relationship with the action on the screen -- you essentially do a puzzle while all other enemies freeze. The enemy switching mechanic is another awkward compromise that could have been easily avoided by good design (your character simply takes up too much space on the screen). Many of these issues came up during the beta test and could have been avoided by adding a single button to the controls, but the developer wanted to keep the system "pure." Which is, of course, their prerogative.

By contrast, I Gladiator, makes use of a button and a clear engagement mechanic to make combat a lot more defined and manageable. Dodging is realistic and specific (instead of a disorienting roll), and attacks have an internal logic, with particular swipes having particular effects. Engaging multiple enemies feels natural and intuitive without requiring alert icons that continually take you out of the action. Add to that enemies with unique abilities and behaviors, environmental hazards/weapons, and the ability to pick up enemy equipment, and you have a combat system that's way more sophisticated than that of other "swipe fighters."

The only reason not to pick up this game is if you are not willing to put in the effort to learn the nuances of the combat system. Which is fine: personally I prefer the simplicity of Arkham Asylum to the mess of combos in Devil May Cry.

As to the IAP system, it's tough to evaluate at this point since I have yet to spend any in-game cash. In my last fight I defeated a mini-boss that was four levels above my character, with only a wisp of health left. The mini-boss switched weapons mid fight, dropping a shield that I picked up and may very well have kept me alive. It was one of the more exhilarating moments I've had in an iOS action game, and it did not require a single purchase.

[september]

Originally Posted by squarezero

Not to be polemical here, but the combat in I Gladiator is a big step up from Bladeslinger. First, Bladeslinger is free-roam only in the most narrow sense of the word. The game basically takes you from one arena to the next, often in cramped environments that make movement and dodging awkward. The controls are a confusing mess of swipes, taps, double taps, etc, combined with nonsensical finishing moves that involve tracing patters that bear no relationship with the action on the screen -- you essentially do a puzzle while all other enemies freeze. The enemy switching mechanic is another awkward compromise that could have been easily avoided by good design (your character simply takes up too much space on the screen). Many of these issues came up during the beta test and could have been avoided by adding a single button to the controls, but the developer wanted to keep the system "pure." Which is, of course, their prerogative.

By contrast, I Gladiator, makes use of a button and a clear engagement mechanic to make combat a lot more defined and manageable. Dodging is realistic and specific (instead of a disorienting roll), and attacks have an internal logic, with particular swipes having particular effects. Engaging multiple enemies feels natural and intuitive without requiring alert icons that continually take you out of the action. Add to that enemies with unique abilities and behaviors, environmental hazards/weapons, and the ability to pick up enemy equipment, and you have a combat system that's way more sophisticated than that of other "swipe fighters."

The only reason not to pick up this game is if you are not willing to put in the effort to learn the nuances of the combat system. Which is fine: personally I prefer the simplicity of Arkham Asylum to the mess of combos in Devil May Cry.

As to the IAP system, it's tough to evaluate at this point since I have yet to spend any in-game cash. In my last fight I defeated a mini-boss that was four levels above my character, with only a wisp of health left. The mini-boss switched weapons mid fight, dropping a shield that I picked up and may very well have kept me alive. It was one of the more exhilarating moments I've had in an iOS action game, and it did not require a single purchase.

Yep, 'free roam' was to distinguish between the amount of movement required with the run/look system but probably not the best choice of words, seeing as Bladeslinger had been played I felt the op would know the difference so didn't think it was problematic terminology as a descriptor. As for which system I felt was better (apart from the enemy switching), I purposely only described the differences and didn't get into what I felt was best implemented as that's only opinion. Some people enjoy complexity, some don't, some prefer on screen buttons, some don't - that wasn't really what I was asked, so I only described the differences.