Hmm, well I just collected my 7th shard and then checked the time it took me to do each of the levels (just stand by the door to the level and it shows the the time) and it apparently took me a sum total of 35 minutes. I guess the 30 minute levels are later on. In any case it's not the possibly-low total play time that concerns me, it's the lack of challenge. I'll post more impressions later in the game.
I haven't been able to play much more and am not as far as metalcasket, but sounds to me like he was saying he thought it was the 7th level (not the 7th shard since there can be more than one per level). And while it hasn't yet been incredibly challenging to me, sounds like the slider puzzles in particular get more difficult so it may depend on your level of gameplay in those types of games. Guess we'll see. I -- at least -- have enjoyed what I've played so far.
In case the devs read this thread: the limit on how far you can move your camera around is very annoying IMO. Why not let us move it all around the level?
This game is so immersive. Part of me wants to play through in one setting and part wants to savor it one a period of time. what a treat.
Anyone else having problems with gamecenter? Some of my achievements aren't registering and those levels also don't show my completion time. It does show that I got the shards but nothing else
Hi guys! Seems that most of you are really enjoying the game, which is great. We wanted to make something exceptional and I think we have succeeded at that, and we have learned so much along the way. The viewable area is limited so that you can't spoil the whole level We have had problems with the completion time not registering properly, but the achievement should register when the last shard is collected. We are investigating the problem and fix it in the first update. About the future of Shardlands, there are some stuff we'd like to add: - Extra levels - iCloud support for saved games - Secret areas - New monster type - Something else? What would you like to see in the upcoming updates? Thanks for the feedback so far, keep it coming!
I'd like to see different and slightly more difficult challenges. Also, are the updates free or IAP? I remember reading somewhere they'll be IAPs.
How far are you into the game? The first 5 levels that you can access from the Hub are basically still part of the tutorial and were designed so that each introduce a new game mechanic or feature. I personally have had worries that some of the beginning levels are too linear and easy. We could maybe add options for the player to choose different paths right after entering the Hub for the first time if he/she wants more challenge. About the updates, by default everything we add in the game will be free. We have also thought about a hardcore level pack, which would probably be an unlockable IAP. If we decide to do that, it would unlock a completely new hub area and have some other special features. By the way, has someone already seen the boss level and finished the game?
I'm glad to hear that you guys are on top of it, this is a really great game. I'm a good 15 levels in or so but I'm gonna hold off till the update comes so I don't have to redo too many levels. As far as future updates go more levels and secret areas are awesome! Like a previous post brought up I would like to see a little bit more freedom with the camera, I understand not being able to scroll the entire level but there have been a few spots where a couple more inches would've helped. I think some hardcore challenge levels would be nice after you beat the game with a ridiculous amount of physical obstacles and head scratching puzzles. I like the challenge and pacing for the main game so far but I know there are some of us out there that are masochistic. With all that said, you really don't have to do anything but fix a few bugs and I'd still consider this a great game!
Loving the atmoshere of the game so far. Only a couple of levels in but have some free time today so I look forward to making some good progress. I have a question though-- how do you restart from a checkpoint within a level? I don't want to replay the whole level from the beginning but it seems like that is the only option. Am I missing something?
You can't, at least not currently. Well, actually you can always press the home button, kill the app and restart it and it will continue from the previous beacon. But in the first half of the game there shouldn't really be any situations where you'd need to do that though. In some of the later levels it is possible to miss some of the orbs in which case you wouldn't get the last shard. But then again it's not necessary to get all of the shards from every level to finish the game. Overall I think the game doesn't punish the player all that much anyway. If there's a point where the player can get stuck and the only option is to restart the level then that's a bug and we'd be very interested to hear about it. (and to see a screenshot)
To be honest, we still don't know why this happens so any detailed info about the bug could be very helpful. In which levels did this happen? Did you have an internet connection at the time? There's a track that starts playing always when you collect the very last shard in the level. Do you remember hearing it when you didn't get the achievement?
I've now collected 14 shards over the course of 9 levels and I'm thoroughly bored of this game. Nice graphics and music. But no story, and no atmosphere. Worst of all, tedious gameplay with drudgingly easy puzzles. Relegated to my "play later, maybe" folder.
I did get the music on every level (I remember because it's a very nice ambient track) As soon as I transported out I noticed no time registered and that's what prompted me to check gamecenter. I did have internet connection the entire time, it's something I make sure of so my achievements register. Out of all the levels I've completed 'Station' and 'Breeze' don't show the time and achievement. I hope this helps!
Thanks for the detailed info. I think I cracked the problem. We have some achievements in the game which aren't yet added into Game Center's list on Apple's servers. The missing achievements stalled the reporting of other completed achievements, my bad. For example, if you play through the level 'Stone' without killing the monster, you should get an extra achievement when finishing the level. This will be added in the update. About the "best time not registering" bug, I think we still have to check if there is some case where it happens. It has happened to me too. Also, I'm glad you like the music (made by me)
I'm really really enjoying this one... it's got some great puzzles, and the atmosphere is fantastic. But I can't get it to run on my 4th gen touch, running iOS 5.1.1 - not jailbroken. tried clearing the multitasking bar and doing a hard reset, but it just crashes at the main menu. =o/
Oh bummer, sorry to hear that. I thought this only happens on the 1st gen iPad. We played the game all the way through on the 4th gen iPod touch, but I guess the difference that matters is that our iPod didn't have almost any other apps installed. Those tend to take up some memory even if not running. The first update will issue memory optimizations which will help the low end devices.
Ah, that makes sense, I thought there were some achievements missing. Yes the music is excellent; I'm somewhat of an audiophile and I love quality ambient ala Brian Eno. Can't wait for the update, keep up the good work!
My Game Center achievements didn't register at all either and I also noticed that Game Center has no achievements listed for this game as you said. My concern is that when the update comes out, will all my achievements be registered? I DO NOT want to play all those levels again just for the achievements as good as it was. I finished the game and obtained 34 shards. Now there is a section of the hub in purple that I can not access with two warps, but it says I need 6 more shards. I searched and searched and even replayed a level to see if I had to do that to obtain more, but to no avail. Is this an unfinished section of the game that will be open in an update? All in all, I thought it was a good game and had great graphics. Played it start to finish in one day, but it took quite some time. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I'm really enjoying Shardlands, as a game I can dip into and play a level or two here and there. I've just completed the Enigma level, and I'm finding it quite a tough challenge at this point in the game. (for me anyway, not being a huge puzzle player) Currently on 26 shards and 4 of 5 glyphs.
