Sorry I'm posting this in a rush, will supply more info later. You might notice some familiar names in-game ;)
| Get the Video Player |
[Game] Sprint Racers GP FREE
(57 posts) (19 voices)-
mhussa, thank you. Here are my initial impressions. The game is very fun and challenging and I'm surprised how fast the cars go. I'm on 3g and I think it's losing touches which make it difficult to consistently know how much to push the steering buttons. When you are trying to navigate hairpin turns or trying to pass somebody on a turn it's difficult because if you overturn or underturn you can crash easily. Maybe it works better on ipod touch 3 or GS. It's not a major problem as it just makes it more challenging, but if there was any way to address it - it would make a big difference to the slower devices. I cleared lots of memory before playing. I'm sure you tried to squeeze as much performance as possible. Maybe just a little more:) Otherwise the game is great.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Just downloaded the game! Thanks mhussa for the include, I only got to play for a few minutes but my first impression is WOW! Great user interface, great game; I also have a 3g and I'm not sure I was having any of the issues jd was having, I think I was just bad at it. ha! Anyway congrats and good luck!
Posted 1 year ago # -
Right I'm back, real life getting in the way again.
I developed the game in my ivory tower (a 3GS) so have no idea how it would perform on earlier devices. I am a performance zealot though so tweaked memory and graphics as much as possible (lots of PVR's). One thing though I am making the sound stuff work hard. Its possible to get 8 car engine loops running in one go, so let me know if you get a slowdown on the "longway" track.
Now the thankyous. The game was originally a shareware game for the PC I wrote a LOOOONNGG time ago. I would not have bothered porting it without cocos-2d, so thankyou to riq, steve and all other contributors and the community for asking questions on the forum so I didn't need to ask them.
The encryption stuff was approved no problem, I mentioned it in the "demo access" box. I mentioned that if they needed the key to verify the content that I would provide it.
At the moment the game is being torn a new arsh*le at the TA forums because players aren't used to the quick steering. Please let me know if you have problems. The key is to use a light touch to change direction and then a hold down to get through corners quickly. The game is quite fast paced so the steering needs to be up to it.
Thanks for taking the time to try it.
Posted 1 year ago # -
It is on the Longway track where I notice the most. Maybe it is the audio. The first 3 times I tried playing steering was near impossible. But I did notice tapping is the best way to steer. Holding down too much will spin you out.
Maybe you could make the speed customizable in options for complainers. Or start off with slower car speeds and ramp it up on later levels. You do get used to it, but I know some users will quit before that point.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Nice game!
It is true that the touches seems to more responsive in a 3GS than in a 2nd gen device.
For example, on the rookie-longway track:
- 2nd gen device: my best position was 4th (and I tried more than 5 times)
- 3rd gen device: I finished 1st on the 1st tryThe problem with the touches on the 2nd gen device is that it lags a little bit in steering. The car is not that responsive to the touches. On the 3rd gen devices, it steers as expected.
Probably the people that are complaining about the game are using a 2nd gen device.
Are you using cocos2d v0.99 or v0.8 ? v0.99 dispatches the touches in a faster way.
Posted 1 year ago # -
@jd:glad to hear you're persisting with it and I agree. Lots of impatient people out there and with so much choice why should they waste any more time?
I'm considering adding a slow steering option but because the game is generally quicker paced than most of these types of games it would become too difficult or maybe impossible to beat the pro AI cars.
The engine loops work based on distance so they fade in and out depending on how close they are to the players car. If it improves when no other cars around then it could be the audio.
Thanks jd.
Posted 1 year ago # -
@riq: its using 0.99 final. The TA users profile mentions they have all got 3GS so thats not *their* problem. Although I'm concerned about the 2nd gen devices. Can you turn the music and sound off and try again. Does it improve touch performance?
Thanks!
(hope you like the in-game cocos2d ads)
Posted 1 year ago # -
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Very nice work! Looking forward to trying this soon.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Loved it! took me right back to micro machines. The steering is a little different but only took about 2 games to get the basic handling, definitely a tap, tap type control (a bit like our pig thruster).
@alien_kens idea would probably give people the handling they were expecting but I don't mind it the way it currently is (running on a 3Gs).
The banners look great, thanks for featuring the Generals in the in game banners :)
Posted 1 year ago # -
@alien_ken: yes that's what I was going to attempt for the steering rate.
The whole MM (Micro Machines) thing is weird though. I found this trailer on utube:
Get the Video Player The car turns quite hard and the game moves really quickly. I thought I was close to the MM model but it seems when people want an MM type game what they really want is a "better" Micro Machines.
I'm planning on adding a retro mode which is the current control method and a newer more physically accurate configurable handling version. So much for keeping it simple, it shouldn't be too hard (famous last words).
Glad to hear some of you have no problems playing it ;)
Posted 1 year ago # -
Micro machines really worked because of the D pad, something we're not going to get anytime soon on the iPhone/iPod touch :(
Still it could be worse, I still have scars in the centre of my palms from using this ergonomic monstrosity.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Steve Oldmeadow
AdministratorI love it, took me a few goes to get used to the controls but that was the same with Mario Kart on the Wii. I love the engine noises it will be a shame if you have to cut them back, on a 3gs it runs perfectly. Maybe you could monitor the frame rate and if you detect a slow down then scale back the number of engine noises. I love the sound when you have a tight pack at the start of the race, I almost want to play just to hear those engine noises.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Thanks Steve, glad you like it.
I thought the car race sounds was a nice feature to make it stand out against the other similar types of games so yes I'd like to keep as much of it as possible. I was surprised how cool it sounds when the player car sits still and you let a pro car drive past.
Initially I'm going to detect whether its a 1G/2G and then halve the number of loops initialised just for the longway track. Its the largest track (100x100 tiles) and there are 2 additional layers for trees/tunnels etc. So it probably is making the ipod work hard. I'll experiment with a more frame rate based approach later. Except I've just realised saying "later" means "never" :)
@abitofcode: I got through at least ten of these:
Posted 1 year ago # -
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^I've reworked the car model and its a *lot* smoother. The problem was that while I was trying to re-jig the AI cars it was getting 5 or 1 star reviews with a few in between. I think the 1 star reviews were either control or 2G too slow related. So I made an executive decision to remove it until I could get the improved version sorted.
I'm also going to make it use fewer audio channels on 2G devices to prevent loss of touches.
What's strange is that I removed it a few days ago with approx 1500 users submitting OF hi-scores for the first track the last time I looked it was 1700+. I'm not sure where they're getting it from.
I'm aiming to get it back in the store by the weekend. A second review should be quicker.
Posted 1 year ago # -
There'll be a cracked version, we had a similar thing in our leader boards. Still its promotion in a way :s
Good luck with the update.
Posted 1 year ago # -
@abitofcode: Well they lose out on auto updates (don't they) and since its free no big deal anyway, just hope they click through a few ads. Thanks.
Posted 1 year ago # -
The update is now available and the game is back on the appstore. Special thanks to abitofcode and jd for helping test out the gameplay. I've added downloadable ghost data support, its interesting to watch how some people can race around with skill and some just can't. The conclusion I drew from this is that no matter what kind of control scheme its close to impossible to make a game playable by everyone. Well impossible for me anyway.
The updates are:
- Overhauled car handling for smoother control.
- Added steering speed adjuster so that players can choose their own style of racing. Slower means smoother racing lines, faster means tighter bends but speed is lost from slides.
- Openfeint GHOST DATA SUPPORT!!! play against your Openfeint friends ghost data. Choose a ghost track leaderboard in openfeint and select a film clip icon to start racing against that race time.
- Introduced new Openfeint leaderboards because of car updates.
- Reduced graphic and audio output for smoother play and greater control on 2G devices.
NOTE: You will lose your best times if you update and the new OF leaderboards mean you can't refer to your old best times. The game has changed significantly so its best to set new times. Achievement points are unaffected.
Now I'm going to attempt to solve one of life's great mysteries, that's right, in-app purchases. Any pointers from those who have walked the path would be appreciated. Thanks.
Posted 1 year ago # -
@mhussa: Great game!
Regarding in-app, I found these two links as good starting points:
http://blog.mugunthkumar.com/coding/iphone-tutorial-–-in-app-purchases/
http://www.drobnik.com/touch/2010/02/things-i-learned-implementing-my-first-inapppurchase/Posted 1 year ago #
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