This game is good enough that I'd have no problem shelling out money for map packs and such as the game as is feels like such a complete package that it wouldn't feel like it is crossing that line of nickel and dimeing. I consider myself a biased party as I am truly a fan of the game this on aspires to be and of this game itself. This is an awesome product and I can totally understand supporting it further in either direction it goes.
I'd be glad to give more money towars Aliens Versus Humans; it's come a long way with comprehensive updates. It was great when it first came out (before 2.0 which added bases and research) and I've definitely gotten more than my money's worth already. My unsolicited opinion is PvP and online modes are a waste of time because games often have to be insanely popular to support it and even then that's difficult to sustain (AvH could maybe pull it off but I'd much rather have single player content - IAP is no problem here). The only caution I'd offer is against IAP weapons because weapons would feel like I was buying victory or that they might be perceived as compulsory (weapons would have to be cool/powerful to be worth IAP then might break balance). Add tip IAP and I'd probably just give the developer money.
I second that opinion. 1. IAP weapons need to be more powerful than regular weapons to sell. 2. The rhythm of the game is broken and players get bored. 3. Introduce stronger enemies. 4. Suddenly the optional IAP weapons are no longer optional...
Ok. That has definitely given us some things to think about. We are gathering up "features" from our feedback email, from here and from our FB page. Do you think it would be useful to post them in one place and have people rank what they want to see the most to least? Al(ien)
Not sure if I'm reading the other posts right but please do NOT add iap weapons or anything consumable. As much as I like the game I would probably delete it. I understand you need to make money, please find another way.
Just found this title 2 days ago and I am loving it! Glad I paid full price this game is fantastic! Aleady have sevaral hours in the game and after 2 months of losses I am in the profit again and I am confident I can beat the game on this difficulty (2nd difficulty forgot how it is called) Some gamesites defenitly need to have another look at this game and promote it!
About ready to buy this game but a few questions first: - Can you order your soldiers to get behind cover? Is there partial and full cover? (Your team always seem to be standing in the open in the videos and pictures I've seen) - I've only played the new X-Com and Hunters 2. How does this compare, in terms of tactics and depth? - Read there is a mission editor. So we can play missions created by other people? - Are there destructible environments? - Does it have those "Oh shit" moments we all love? Like when things happen unexpectedly and messes everything up and you have to adapt, etc. I've never played the original X-Com so I'm just trying to get any idea of what to expect Thanks
Watch this, it was uploaded by Toucharcade: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6LyMJL6qFw I am not Toucharcade...
Aliens versus Humans is based on the original X-Com from 1994. It is nothing like the new X-Com released last October. To answer your questions: You can use terrain to hide your soldiers. Trees, bushes, fences, walls, furniture, etc, all provide some sort of cover. You can also get your soldiers to kneel to make them harder to hit. There are two parts to the game. There are 25 training missions where there is a story arc that you follow. In that part of the game, you can design your own missions to play. This feature never really took off though. We had considered allowing people to design a mission and share it with others but we didn't get feedback to do that so we didn't. The mission editor does allow you to choose, soldiers, weapons, terrain, night or day. You can destroy most things in environment. Some missions are designed so you cannot destroy different types of objects or walls but for the most part, you can destroy the environment. "Oh Sh-t" moments definitely happen. I'm the main tester and I've logged a lot of hours of testing. I still have moments where things go terribly wrong. From the feedback we've received from our many players, we think we nailed that part that everyone liked from the original game. Although the graphics are not current (it is based on a game from almost 20 years ago), the gameplay, we think, is pretty good. We do get lots of feedback wishing the graphics were better but anyone who played the original game feels at home playing it. Al(ien)
Hey everyone. Aliens versus Humans 2.0.8 should start appearing in the AppStore later today. This release represents a minor update which includes these changes: iPhone5 support. Yes it took us a while but it is there. Color coding of soldiers. Now on the soldiers screen, you can change the color of the soldier's uniform. This was an often requested feature as all the soldiers looked the same and there was no easy way to tell a rookie from a commander. You now have the ability to easily choose a color so you can distinguish your favorite gunners from rookie fodder. Or maybe, dress your grenadiers in a single color for easy at a glance positioning on the screen. I should mention that changing the color of the uniform doesn't make the soldier easier/harder to hit by aliens. Dressing your jarheads in green on jungle missions only makes it harder for YOU to see them. Toggle "Line of Fire" check on/off. I play Aliens versus Humans a lot. So I too was irritated by the message telling me there wasn't a clear shot when I was trying to shoot at something. Now, from the Geoscape, if you touch OPTIONS, then SETTINGS, you can flick down near the bottom and toggle this check off. I know during testing, this resulted in friendly fire incidents where you turn on opportunity fire and your soldiers are grouped up. Any soldier will shoot through other soldiers if they react to seeing an alien during the alien's turn. Hey, you've been warned. In addition, we have added two optional In App Purchases. Yes, I'm expecting some backlash. But, we didn't change the game mechanics, the funding models or the balance of the game at all. So they are absolutely optional. They are not necessary to win the game. Our first In App Purchase option is we allow you buy in game currency. I've never had to use it but I'm super elite (except for those friendly fire incidents I mentioned above). For those that had a rough month and need some quick cash, the option is there. I should note that if you save your game often and play smart, you'll never need to buy in game currency. If you are looking to get up and running quickly and want to build out multiple bases from the start, build out your research team and pimp out some gear, the option is there. Our second In App Purchase option is that if you lose one or more soldiers during a mission, you will now have the option to resurrect them on the Debriefing screen. Again, it is there as a convenience. If you play smart and save during your game, if you do end up making a mistake and losing your favorite soldier(s), you can load from a previously saved game. Aliens versus Humans first appeared in the AppStore on November 24th, 2011 and we have kept up adding content all for your original purchase price. We are at the point where if we are going to make a further investment in this title, we need other ways to fund that development. Wading into In App Purchases is an experiment. If you hate us for it, we're sorry. Al(ien)
Thanks for the update espcially 5G widescreen support and color coding option. As long as Alien Vs Humans has not suffered any balancing changes optional IAP is fine in my opinion. I know a lot of people are flatly anti-IAP, but my opinion is that's unfair. Cheers! I appreciate the consistent updating and sizeable free content. You guys have an obvious love for turn based strategy games (and hatred of aliens). It's too bad people don't continue to download quality "older" games. I'm sure there's a ton of people who would enjoy Aliens Versus Humans as much as I have but overlook it, perhaps in part because it's not new. You should consider porting to Android / Google Play too if possible, maybe there would be a wider audience.
I guarantee that nothing related to funding or the balance of the game was changed. This is not a gouge. If you play smart (this is a strategy game after all), you won't need IAP to win the game. I've played through from start to finish on every difficulty level (including cruel) and if you are careful with your money, you'll be fine. I will agree that on cruel difficulty, the first 5 months are brutal. I find that if I squeak through April, I'm golden to the end. When I play through on n00b, I will have over $50M in the bank when I play the final mission. As I said, this is an experiment. Some people may appreciate the helping hand. I suppose if people *really* hate it, in a future release, we could always add an option under settings to disable IAP so you won't see the BUY button or the RESURRECT button. Al(ien)
Now that XCOM has been released, maybe Aliens versus Humans might get more attention. I'm tempted on buying it, but I'm not sure if it will hook me. Gameplay wise, are XCOM (2012 release) and Aliens versus Humans similar? I know graphics are different (obvious), I want to know about core gameplay before I decide on buying. Thanks.
Its closer to oldschool xcom using a grid. Its definately similar, but only because it is inspired by new xcom's ancestor. I fully reccomend it.
I actually haven't played the new XCOM. Obviously we like that Firaxis has reimagined what was my favorite game growing up but sadly being a game developer leaves me little time to actually play games. Aliens versus Humans is like the old X-Com from 1994. I think we have captured the solid strategy part of the original and we've had a huge amount of feedback thanking us for making it available on iOS (I suspect from people that grew up with the original as I did). We've stuck with this title adding content and features since November 2011 when it first came out. We still see a lot more to be added to this title to keep it advancing. We get some comments about our "horrible" graphics and we suspect they come from people that expect "current" graphics. But having retro graphics was part of being true to the original. Al(ien)
