Spent some time on track 5... and I have not been able to improve on Mikey's time!! It took me a few tries (quite a few!) to equal his time, but haven't been able to do better. Will give it a final try this evening, but otherwise I'll settle for that! I bought the Diefenbach track on iTunes to calm myself down! I don't seem to be able to find the CD online. Glenn do you know if the album has only been released in digital format?
I don't think that Dark Spinner (The album featuring a Rock in a Pond) was available worldwide until after we knew we were using the track for Ground Effect. They kindly made it available so we could link to it on iTunes from inside the game.
Thank you Glenn, I'll keep my eyes peeled for when it comes out, good stuff. Now even better stuff! I was trying to improve on Mikey's time on track 5, and I found not 1 but 2 tactics to do so after some more (soul) searching! Managed to shave 3 tenth off, and it wasn't a perfect lap so there is room for more. The gameplay is SO solid, there must be dozens of different ways to fly these tracks faster, I really thought I had hit a wall but no, it's just about always possible to go one better!
Do we have any hints about what the first update is going to conclude? I haven't been able to get much game-time in lately, since my 4.5 year old has taken to playing it. He's earned 3rd on the track one, and 5th on tracks two, three, and four.
The first rev will contain at least one new level, several minor bug fixes (menu click-through and sound related), switchable cameras, unlockable free-cam in the menu. Maybe opposing craft that reacting to and avoiding being hit. I'm also toying with OPTIONAL Stereo 3D (red/blue anaglyph glasses) like we did way back on Magic Carpet. Unlike Magic Carpet I will not be adding a "magic eye" mode Beyond that, in order of how much work it'd take. Some kind of online hiscores (possibly Openfeint), Different craft stats (not sure if i'll go as far as making them fully customisable) and lot more levels with new code to support this. I'm also wondering if I could do a light version that isn't actually a race. Maybe "Ground Effect Cruising" or something. A 4.5 year old playing GE is pretty impressive. That said, my eldest son Jack finished the original Tony Hawks pro Skater the day after I did when he was six. He's also been able to skate better than me in real life since he was 8...
play the game in 3D? That would be awsome! Then I've got another game to use my TrackMania glases with!
Maybe lite version has just two tracks - say tracks two and five or something like that. Wouldnot use just one and two cause game feels too much like Aqua Moto up to that point. Has update been submitted to apple?
Wow, that update sounds awesome! I think being able to bang into other vehicles sounds good, as long as it doesn't turn the game into a combat-fest. I love the feeling of it being an almost solitaire-esque racer...you against the clock/terrain, with the other vehicles serving as markers of your progress. I guess any changes could be optional in the menu, and then people could either enable them or not. One crazy idea I had was a level like a mountain, where you start at the top and race to the bottom. You'd be in the air perhaps more than on the ground, but landing would give you gates and chances to turn or reangle for the the next jump. BTW, my kid plays this with no brakes and no boost. The controls are so natural, and the physics so good, he "gets" how to drive without me teaching him...though on the higher levels I notice a significant about of racer-meets-cliff incidents.
I'd say 2 and 6. The big jumps will probably impress the lite-version players so much that they will buy the full version!
Just had an idea! You should make a level that's abit like those in jet car stunts! So there'd be some platforms and you'd jump from one to the other!
I really want any "light" version to be something that eases the player into the controls. In the early days of testing where all the levels were unlocked, in a random order and there were no easy ones all I had was people waving the device around like maniacs unable to get through two gates in a row and torrents of abuse from people who "keep falling off the edge" It took a lot of tuning and a couple of very easy levels to make the game gently guide the player into learning the controls. I was incredibly relieved when the TA beta testers barely complained about "falling off" and then even more relieved that the iTunes reviews don't even mention it. This makes a two level lite version difficult. Level 1 and 2 would be very uninspiring. Other combinations like 2 and 6 would, I think, be insanely frustrating for more casual gamers. Better, I think, to provide a big open level with islands to swerve around and an increasingly treacherous path up a big mountain to throw yourself off. Just something to play around with. What do you think? Whatever I do for this will be added to the full version of the game of course. Thanks for all of the suggestions though guys, I really appreciate it. Glenn.
This sounds great. I would still try to include a couple levels to get a feel for the races, but this type of mode would be great for newcomers, and also please many customers who are clamoring for a free mode
As far as I understand it, that sense of interacting with the environment was exactly the vibe Glenn was trying to achieve, ie he wanted it to be a very pure racing experience. And I agree that as soon as you introduce combat, it becomes a very different kind of game. Not to say (between me and you) that he's ruled out combat in future offerings...
You don't say if you'd want it more or less sensitive. Which way do you think? I've not had much feedback on this so any input is invaluable. Are you playing on Touch or Accelerometer? We spent a lot of time tuning both systems but I guess there are always people who appreciate options. I will include sensitivity options for both control modes in the next rev.
