Universal Spellsword -(by Everplay)

Discussion in 'iPhone and iPad Games' started by Sanuku, Apr 25, 2012.

  1. Eli

    Eli ᕕ┌◕ᗜ◕┐ᕗ
    Staff Member Patreon Silver Patreon Gold

    I'd effortlessly give this game five stars if it just relentlessly stole the control scheme from Mage Gauntlet. These giant virtual buttons on the iPad are seriously no bueno and not a whole lot better on the iPhone. :(
     
  2. Everplay

    Everplay Well-Known Member

    Jan 21, 2012
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    Alright, will do. Funny enough, Kepa has already given us a few pointers that we are implementing over the weekend.

    And for those of you with iCade/ControlPad, it is supported if that helps.
     
  3. Kepa

    Kepa Well-Known Member

    May 16, 2009
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    #123 Kepa, Apr 26, 2012
    Last edited: Apr 26, 2012
    Ya

    We're thinking about making our control scheme freely available to other developers. We'd just need to make the code more modular. Will probably do this when development dies down a little on the games we're working on.

    Spellsword thoughts (repeating what I said on twitter after playing):

    - The first arena, Trap Forest, is really fun. Gives a great first impression of the game. The monsters work well together, and the landscape is fun to run around in. The swinging traps give you another layer of things to pay attention to. It proves that the game concept could work really well, and I'm guessing this is what most of the development time was focused on.

    - The other two arenas are kind of clumsily designed. In both cases, it's simply because the enemy AI doesn't fit well with the platforms, at all. It's especially bad in the third arena. In the Mine, enemies will often just fall to their death if you avoid them. In the Hot Spot, enemies will perch on the upper platforms and just kind of hang out up there. They'll only drop to the lower platforms if the upper ones get full, and at that point you have no hope for recovery. It's boring, then suddenly you're doomed, with no real middle ground.

    - Cards can spawn in an area where enemies also spawn. This was annoying in Super Crate Box, but at least you had a chance, because enemies dropped downward instead of teleporting right on you. In Muffin Knight and this game, enemies can literally spawn right on top of a card sometimes. Arena 3 is particularly bad about this, especially due to the enemy spawn platforms being both super tiny and also sometimes the only obvious way to get on the perches.

    - Enemies should probably have a clearer attack-warning. At the very least, the big eyes should have some sort of indicator before shooting. Sometimes it can be really hard to tell what's going on.

    Edit: Arena 2 and 3 do work better in Endless Mode. Mostly got a bad impression of them due to some of the missions. But still, the first arena does seem like the most cohesively designed to me. The monster AI works well in the level (enemies still tend to perch sometimes, but the perches are a small part of the total level), and the monsters themselves are challenging. In Arena 1, the monsters swarm too thick and kill me. In Arena 2, I just kind of slowly lose health due to monster hits that seem accidental to me. In Arena 3, I eventually just kind of fall in the lava after I become tired of playing.
     
  4. spott96

    spott96 Active Member

    Nov 8, 2010
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    Any chance of getting Joypad support?
     
  5. chickdigger802

    chickdigger802 Well-Known Member

    Apr 14, 2009
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    Atlanta GA
    Liking it so far. I do wish your swing is a bit higher. is a bit frustrating when you can't 'reach' a hornet that's at eye level.
     
  6. Zinger314

    Zinger314 Well-Known Member

    Apr 3, 2011
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    A great game, aside from one glaring design flaw: equipment that enhances only one card attribute. Since the elements of cards are generated at random during play, there's little advantage to boosting only one of the elements. Therefore, people will mostly use the Boost All, Boost Rupee, or Boost Heart equipment.

    A good fix would be to proportionally boost the appearance rate of an element if wearing the appropriate corresponding equipment. :)
     
  7. ItouchBrett

    ItouchBrett Well-Known Member

    Dec 28, 2008
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    Ok so... What does the +1 earth ring do? Or the light? I equip them and still only get the 4 element cards still...fire ice poison and wind. Any other cards? What does the "light" do. Still on the first world.
     
  8. Eli

    Eli ᕕ┌◕ᗜ◕┐ᕗ
    Staff Member Patreon Silver Patreon Gold

    A true champion of the people.
     
  9. Zinger314

    Zinger314 Well-Known Member

    Apr 3, 2011
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    You get Earth and Light in the second world.
     
  10. Jdragoon19

    Jdragoon19 Well-Known Member

    Nov 29, 2010
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    Area 51
    Lol, I'm blown away. How did this game NOT win GOTW? What's wrong with you, Apple?!

    Spellsword didn't make Top 5? And I haven't even heard of the games that are in the Top 2 and 3 spots... That's bad. Horrific choices IMO.
     
  11. Talbs

    Talbs Well-Known Member

    May 1, 2011
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    Bought it, played it, and I'm not a fan tbh. I think muffin knight and scb are better, personally. The sword doesn't leave you with a great deal of confidence with its swing range being so small. I find my character getting hit on the head even though I've swung my sword. To me this type of thing makes going for a high score rely on luck.

    At $1 it's an ok buy.
    Just putting out an alternate view.
     
  12. Electric_Shaman

    Electric_Shaman Well-Known Member

    Jul 22, 2009
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    I must be missing something here, I've completely finished the first 40 levels and some of the last world, and I still don't know what the Spellsword upgrade does. Says it increases spellsword duration? How do I activate it in the first place?
     
  13. Jdragoon19

    Jdragoon19 Well-Known Member

    Nov 29, 2010
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    What do you mean activate? The Spellsword duration is how long the effects like ice and fire swords are in effect.
     
  14. Electric_Shaman

    Electric_Shaman Well-Known Member

    Jul 22, 2009
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    #134 Electric_Shaman, Apr 27, 2012
    Last edited: Apr 27, 2012
    Oh. When does it explain that? :D

    Thought it was some kind of skill or something cause it was talking about duration, didnt know what it was meant to do

    edit: also is that why the invincibility stays on for longer than the duration it says on the upgrade? It is staying on for the same amount of time as my spellsword upgrade
     
  15. eAdvisory

    eAdvisory Well-Known Member

    Nov 22, 2011
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    Detroit
    why does this game feel like a complete lag fest. the pauses are killing it.....
     
  16. h_A_Z

    h_A_Z Active Member

    Oct 29, 2011
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    Enjoying the game so far. Any plans for iCloud support? Don't like that my games don't sync btw devices
     
  17. syntheticvoid

    syntheticvoid Well-Known Member

    Jun 20, 2010
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    Musician & factory worker.
    a[V-O-I-D]
    ^^this
     
  18. DeNovoHope

    DeNovoHope Active Member

    Apr 8, 2012
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    I think this has potential to be a very good arena fighter. This game would be greatly enhanced by adding more character customization options (only aesthetics, no upgrading) and/or alternate characters. I also think there need to be more types of enemies, even if only simple modifications like a different color slime that has more health. With these enemies with extended health, you could add new weapons into the shop, either sword that do more damage or weapons that handle completely differently, something like a ranged weapon. However, the thing that would help this game the most would be better arenas. The first arena is by far the best, although it could use minor adjustements, such as only one swinging ball in the middle so you can jump from platform to platform. The second arena is just bad, due to how easy it is to stand in one spot and spam the attack button to kill lots of enemies. All in all however, I still consider this one of the best arena fighters on the app store, and in my opinion surpasses SCB. Thanks for reading now get back to making great games!
     
  19. Everplay

    Everplay Well-Known Member

    Jan 21, 2012
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    Will do!
     
  20. Everplay

    Everplay Well-Known Member

    Jan 21, 2012
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    We are working on iCloud support now as well.
     

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