[GAME] Teragati: casual arcade/action genre

cocos2d for iPhone » cocos2d games

[GAME] Teragati: casual arcade/action genre

(23 posts) (6 voices)

Started 1 year ago by sowbug
Latest reply from sowbug

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sowbug
Member

Here's the App Store link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/teragati/id355132533?mt=8

Gamer details: Top-down scroller, one-handed play (mostly tilt with an occasional tap), brief learning curve, typical game <60 seconds. I tried to give it the aaaargh-just-one-more-time quality that I love about Doodle Jump and Canabalt. I know that because it's a space theme, I probably cut my demographic in half. Perhaps I'll re-skin with ladybugs and flowers and launch it as a separate app. :)

Developer details: Box2D, sfx from Soundrangers, music from uber-cool Finnish musician Jani Rantanen, artwork from the wonderful Creative Commons CC-BY library on the web, buttons generated on cooltext.com, source control git, main snack mozzarella sticks, development time about 1 month. Helpful code snippets from many of you on this forum, including John Hartzog's website that helped get me started with Box2D/cocos2d integration.

Riq and cocos2d-iphone both got a special mention on the About screen.

And last but not least, the promo codes:

RM7PR9F3433A
633L4MX9E6FN
X9YTTFP6AELM

REMEMBER the forum honor code: if you use up a promo code, please give your honest rating and review in the Store!

Thanks everyone for your help and support!

Posted 1 year ago #
Tim
Member

ugh, took RM7PR9F3433A and just realized it needs 3.1. I'll try it out and provide a review once I upgrade from 3.0 probably by week's end.

Posted 1 year ago #
sowbug
Member

Thanks, Tim. I built for 3.1 because that enables a better CCDirector, according to the comments in the cocos2d/Box2D template.

Please upgrade soon so you can start enjoying the game!

Posted 1 year ago #
LongJohnnyE
Member

Glad to hear that my posts helped you out! Good luck with your game.

Posted 1 year ago #
sowbug
Member

Promo code refresh for 1.0.1 (thanks in advance for your reviews on the App Store):

JJ93TMPW3FRW
9YLTWNM4A673
PM3FWY9FXE3P
F4ETMXWAXRYJ
MEEWR3LX47L7

I can't believe the App Store approved my update in less than two hours! Everyone said updates take just as long as the original submission.

Tim, for 1.0.1 I rebuilt the binary to require only 3.0, so you can continue to postpone your 3.1 device upgrade.

Posted 1 year ago #
sowbug
Member

I made a video for the game:

Get the Video Plugin

Many of you will notice extensive use of particle effects, in particular CCParticleFlower when running over powerups.

Posted 1 year ago #
Tim
Member

@sowbug,

I tried the game and added a review to the Store. Just an FYI in that on my 3G w/ 3.1.3 it can be kind of choppy in game play sometimes. I found that if I do an extreme tilt of the device while trying to avoid a lot of asteroids all objects would skip maybe 20-30px instead of smoothly scrolling to the side. I'm wondering if your loop to check for accelerometer input and position update is not granular enough?

Posted 1 year ago #
sowbug
Member

Tim,

Thanks for the review and the feedback. In my own play, I use the shields more than extreme tilt to avoid stuff, so I didn't see what you were describing. I tried playing your way, and I do occasionally see the skip that you describe. I cranked the accelerometer up to 1/60 second (previously it was 1/15), and it didn't make a noticeable difference.

It's possible that you're simply seeing plain old inner-loop-too-slow stuff that's noticeable only when objects are going fast; in other words, perhaps it's skipping all the time, but only by a pixel or two. I am committing the cardinal sin of removing children from the CCSpriteSheet when they leave the game (rather than marking them invisible and recycling them later), so I might be stressing the system too much. I'll do some profiling and experimentation, and if I get some results, I'll get them out in the next release.

Thanks again for the helpful feedback. I'm adding more powerups and enemies to the game now, so I'm going to need to make every CPU cycle count!

Posted 1 year ago #
Tim
Member

For sure on one occasion when I had several large asteroids along about a 45 deg angle across the screen and the phone tilted at probably 45 as well everything seemed to skip as it was moving (although briefly). Also, I ran all the way to the edge of the map (either side) and the scrolling really slows down and the ship's position becomes erratic.

Posted 1 year ago #
sowbug
Member

Also, I ran all the way to the edge of the map (either side) and the scrolling really slows down and the ship's position becomes erratic.

Tim, for the game I picked a part of space nicely delineated by a stream of eddies in the space-time continuum. You're actually traveling at the same speed objectively, but from your subjective point of view you seem to be slowing down. You can verify this by checking any of the atomic clocks on the ship (there are three, just like standard GPS satellites) after dragging for a few kilometers and finding that it has deviated by as much as a femtosecond from reference clocks. The behavior is as-designed.

(You're hitting the Box2D high-friction static bodies on either side. I decided not to address it explicitly within the game because people who are playing the game to get a good score (in other words, everyone but fellow iPhone developers) don't travel that far to the side. When I get around to it I might make sure someone zaps you before you get there. Maybe I'll name the guardians Riq and Erin.)

Posted 1 year ago #
sowbug
Member

Tim, I submitted Teragati 1.1.1 for review last night. It has several improvements that ought to fix the stutter. When the update arrives on your device, I'd appreciate your feedback.

Posted 1 year ago #
pfg2009
Member

I took 9YLTWNM4A673. I will post a review soon.

Posted 1 year ago #
pfg2009
Member

Nice and simple! I like it. The only thing I'm not sure about is whether I'm doing everything I need to be doing. So far I've just been collecting saturns and avoiding asteroids. Also, what is a "friend code"?

Posted 1 year ago #
David994A
Member

@sowbug fun game! If I have only one complaint it is that it would be nice to know how much shields are left (some kind of shield level indicator) - otherwise, lots of fun!

Posted 1 year ago #
sowbug
Member

@pfg2009 - Thanks! There are definitely more things to do (for example, try bouncing a single green rock a few times, and try lasting more than 40 seconds to see what happens next). I was hoping to extend replayability by burying lots of secrets, but it's possible that people need a bit of help, so for 1.1.1 I'm including a carousel of hints on the title page.

The friend code is a series of non-point bonuses that are unlocked when you find another person with a copy of Teragati and enter that person's code. If you can't find such a person, may I humbly suggest that you recommend purchase of the game to a friend? :D

Posted 1 year ago #
sowbug
Member

@David994A - Thank you very much! I'm glad you discovered the shield and are using it to your advantage; it's very hard to get past the intro levels without it. I had a shield indicator in the early alphas, but the feedback I got from users was that it made the game seem much more complicated than it was -- were they supposed to be watching this gauge? What did the gauge do again? I thought you said it was easy to learn!

So I tried a compromise: I removed the gauge, but made the shield gradually fade when it's nearing depletion. It's a very subtle cue, but a good player can notice it and concentrate on defense by maneuvering rather than using shields for the next few seconds while it recharges.

Please try looking for the fade and let me know whether it scratches your itch. If not, I'll consider another approach.

Again, thanks for the great feedback! Please tell a friend about the game if you're enjoying it.

Posted 1 year ago #
sowbug
Member

Updated to 1.2, now available in App Store. Among the improvements, the oft-requested shield indicator, and hints on the title screen that'll help some of you reach some of the deeper aspects of the game.

App Store link: http://bit.ly/c88VBN

Posted 1 year ago #
sowbug
Member

Wired.com likes Teragati! http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2010/03/weave-your-way-to-glory-teragati-for-the-iphone/

"It really started to hook me."
"Simple and addictive."
"Perfect for a little bit of casual gameplay."

Help your fellow cocos2d developer build some momentum -- pass this article on to your gamer friends and try to beat my high score (97K)!

Posted 1 year ago #
David994A
Member

@sowbug, Fantastic news!

Posted 1 year ago #
Codemattic
Moderator

18k is my best so far. I never use my shields for some reason!

Posted 1 year ago #
sowbug
Member

@Codemattic, 18K is amazing for no shields! But if you fry a missile with your shield you'll find yourself 8,000 points richer. Dead missiles really are the bread and butter of the Advanced Teragati Hero.

Posted 1 year ago #
Codemattic
Moderator

Maybe an achievement for how high a score you can get without ever deploying your shields. Id rule in that category!

Posted 1 year ago #
sowbug
Member

That's a cool idea. It would give me a good reason to put the oft-requested full-time shield indicator on the HUD, too. Another approach, rather than having two separate high-score leaderboards depending on whether you ever tapped the screen, would be another leaderboard reflecting the longest period in a game going without shields -- then it'd still be a single high-score leaderboard, but there'd be another fun metric like most missiles killed, highest level, etc.

Hmmmm, I'll continue thinking about this. Thanks!

Posted 1 year ago #

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