Looks is the least of concerns; the game is unplayable currently on the iPad due to the size and placement of controls.
That's a catch 22. Being universal in the first place is a significant reason for many to buy a copy. Developers saying "we'll add this and that if it sells" is weak. They aren't giving their game the best chance it could have of being a success by withholding features that influence people to buy a game in the first place. I'm not in the habit of pulling punches and don't intend making any concessions here: it's a lazy release, laden with IAP in a shot-in-the-dark hope to make a profit. It's also getting entirely too much attention. Numerous releases with forethought, polish, standard and beyond standard features and no IAP get completely ignored daily. Yes the game has tremendous potential, but let's please look at the whole picture.
And I completely agree. Releasing a game that is universal from the start could result in a lot more sales. And that is especially true given the growing number of iPad users. Maybe developers should focus on creating a universal game instead of IAP, ads, etc. I guess I take issue with folks believing that adding universal (and iCloud) support is a trivial amount of work (and then expecting a bargain price).
Yeah, I totally agree. There's two big things that help sell a game in the AppStore: Universal support and Game Center support (primarily achievement based). Apple has been slow. Stars for reviews might not show up until a week after a game is released or it has quite a few reviews. If I write a review in the AppStore it takes about a day (sometimes more) for my review to show. Anyways, if you click on reviews, you'll see them...they're there, I was looking at some earlier.
Here's my 2 cents for the universal mix: I'm not buying any game anymore if it isn't native on the iPad. I'm done with squinting my eyes at the iPhone screen (I have a 4S but still) when I have a perfectly good iPad 2 at hand.
Definitely don't earn crystals as often as required. I could just be completely terrible, but I can't even buy upgrades or unlock new weapons just trying to keep a few stimpacks in my inventory...and STILL having a tough go of it.
Thanks, but we can get game suggestions from this board. We don't need them IN the games. I dunno about you guys, but when I open Star Marine, and am ready for some testosterone-pumping, alien-ass kicking action, the moment can be killed just liiiiiittle bit by... ........SOCIAL GIRL?!!?! THAT'S your "suggested game" to the Star Marine audience?! Thanks, but no thanks. These commercials are annoying, not to mention total overkill in a paid game. Please remove this.
.....OK, I'm not going to go nuts over this or anything, but after closing the ridiculous Social Girl ad, and opening my player profile, before even clicking on my profile, what do I get? ANOTHER Social Girl ad. Twice before ever firing a shot. Man, I'm having a hard time expressing how much the immersion in this game is just smeared all over the place by all the added-on BS. It sucks that someone out there has the power to change this game to make it play to it's full potential, and here I am, closing Social Girl ads.
Why are you getting so many ads? I'm only on the 4th level due to a little grinding and playing other games, but I only get the Destructopus ad when the game initially starts up.
The majority of gamers don't visit the forums of gaming websites at all, let alone this specific one, so that's not really useful to a developer trying to spread awareness of their products. That said, intrusive ads - especially for diametrically opposed products - are annoying, and just don't make sense if you're trying to attract consumers, rather than repel them. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a developer advertising their other products within an app, but these should be on an "Other games" page, and not popping up all throughout menus or, worse still, during gameplay.
I was using this forum as an example. There are other places to get suggestions for games. Friends, magazines, the App Store front page, and so on. I don't want them popping up in my games while trying to navigate the menus. It's annoying.
The best place is still within the app itself; a consumer shouldn't have to rely on outside sources to find the developer's products if these can be located immediately. With direct links to the app store, there's no reason a player shouldn't be provided the ease of accessing these directly from a page in the app. Totally agree with that, just not the short-sighted "no advertising at all" mindset. Should add that I also agree that advertising random games by other developers solely as a moneymaking venture isn't something we should be seeing (in a paid game, anyway), but the developer advertising their own products is fine.
The ads that Quazonk are not made by the developer. They're there to increase revenue for both the dev allowing them in a game and the dev paying for the ad. The G for Glitchsoft or a 'more games here' section should be how you find their other games anyway. He's saying that he bought a game, therefore he shouldn't be hassled with any ads and I fully agree. It's extremely annoying for ads to be in a paid game...it's borderline atrocious.
Mm-hmm; in fact, I'd just edited my post to make my position on that kind of situation a bit clearer, because I agree that it's not desirable. However, we've frequently seen the same argument made about developers' own ads (in terms of banners, popups, or fixed links in main screens/menus), so my point stands there. If it doesn't interfere with gameplay, it's fine.
Maybe it's just how I perceive things. If you really like a game that a dev made, you would click on more games...I know I do! Honestly, I don't like anything that I have to x out of. But yeah, if it doesn't interrupt gameplay, I guess it's not a complete sin.
^^^ My view. An unobtrusive "more games!" tab is sufficient. If I want it, it's there. Don't like clicking X to close pop-ups on paid games, especially ones that aren't to advertise the dev's own games. EDIT: OK, now I'm starting to get pissed. Just tried to equip a weapon, and what happens? TAP ZOO 2 pop-up, and it came in with such slick timing, that I clicked it. Now I'm suddenly in the App Store. FFS Glitchsoft, do something about this please.
The thing is that there is a G that serves this purpose. I think they should change it to 'more games' though. The game itself is premium and it feels premium. I'm not having a problem progressing in the game, but ads will/do give it a freemium/lite version feel. People seem to still like freemium games currently and we obviously still see IAP in games. Here's my proposition: Make two versions of the game; a freemium version and a premium version. Let all the cheapskates download the freemium version which includes IAP, ad banners, pop ups, movies, and OTT grinding. Then let it be known that you can get rid of all that crap by simply buying the premium version. So, I'm pretty much saying, make a full "lite" version that's a hassle. Take GL's model and amp it up, but offer a premium version that can get rid of all your pain. I don't think this has really been done with games like this, unless one has slipped my mind or I missed it completely.
