The iOS gaming thread

[Pistol]

8 hours ago, DukeOfEarlsfield said:

GameClub has just launched. It's a bit like Apple Arcade but with mostly older games from the 'golden age' of iOS gaming.

 

You pay a fiver a month and get access to a bucket load of games without any IAP or adverts.

 

What's particularly interesting, and very decent of them, is that they've updated the original apps themselves. That means any of the games that are part of GameClub that you bought when they first came out are now playable again, even if you don't subscribe to the service. You have to click past a bunch of GameClub splash screens the first time you boot it up but otherwise they're fine.

 

Hook World, Space Miner, Forget.Me.Not and loads more belters are back from the dead and playable on an iPhone XR. The only game that didn't work was Pix'n Love Rush which seems to have disappeared from my purchase list for some reason.

There are a few games that don’t automatically detect you previously owned them - I think Pix ‘n Love Rush is one of them. There’sa separate process you go through to get your previous purchase recognised.

[DukeOfEarlsfield]

18 minutes ago, Pistol said:

There are a few games that don’t automatically detect you previously owned them - I think Pix ‘n Love Rush is one of them. There’sa separate process you go through to get your previous purchase recognised.

The problem is that Pix'n Love Rush has disappeared off my purchase list so that process doesn't work. It's weird. I know I own it because it's still installed on my never-to-be-updated iPad 3 Llamasoft machine. But there's no purchase history.

[MK-1601]

I guess the issue with some games is that they have been deleted by the original publisher account being closed.

 

I like that Gameclub is making some games available that otherwise wouldn't be through any means. But I'm a bit wary of this being described as a 'preservation effort'. They're taking games that died because they weren't commercially viable to maintain and putting them on a single account on the same platform that will also disappear if it's not commercially viable to maintain.

 

They've made mention of wanting to take games to other platforms (where they might have a chance of being preserved in the long term) but I've not seen any sign of this yet.

 

[Flub]

Cheers gameclub but no fucking thanks

 

[carlospie]

On 22/08/2019 at 16:39, MotiVater said:

I've been really enjoying Archero since it was mentioned in the thread, its a great game.  Hit a wall at level 5 though and it seems I need to grind out earlier levels (did 3 for a while but outgear it now so 4 is the current one I'm working on) for better gear/stats/levels.

 

Which surprisingly hasn't killed it yet for me, but it is definitely a barrier.  Apparently 7 is a real wall and lots of grinding needed to get past that one.

Even this has a battle pass now! 

[Poet]

On 05/09/2019 at 14:43, Nosejam said:

Motorsport Manager 3 is free today:

 

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/motorsport-manager-mobile-3/id1346580540

 

Is it still worth picking this up or should I just wait for MMO to come out? I played the first and enjoyed that for a bit but it was too simple for me for serious longevity. I imagine I'll get £4 worth of entertainment out of this easily, just wouldn't mind waiting for the next version either.

[Poet]

Stuff it bought it. Gonna be worth it.

[Nosejam]

It’s the same formula as the first, so you’ll know what to expect, but it’s mostly improved in all areas. Great time sink 

[K]

Apologies if this is common knowledge, but the Dodonpachi games have been updated for 64-bit, and now work on the newest version of iOS! No Bug Princess and Espgaluda yet, but they can’t be far off. 

[Count Buffalos]

Do they have controller support?

[K]

I don’t think so, but could be wrong. The original ports were adapted for touch screens (and worked extremely well), and it looks like they haven’t done a huge amount other than update them for modern iPhone screen sizes. 

[Count Buffalos]

Ah, ok. I played some of them a while back but shmups just don’t work for me with touch controls.

[emerald fox]

Has anyone been playing Mini Motorways. So far it feels like a really nice sequel to Mini Metro

 

[Gotters]

It's been discussed in the Apple Arcade thread - I loved Mini Metro and bought it multiple times, it had a clean and pure sense of design to it and was a bit of a classic.

 

I found Motorways a bit of a clunky mess in comparison and looked like it had been released a bit early to take the Apple money - dunno if they've patched it up much since release but I wasn't a fan.

[Vespa Alex]

I’ve not been paying attention to Apple Arcade, but can you only play these games by subscribing? No option to buy them on their own?

[TurningMonster]

Correct.

[Indy @ S.E.]

Ahh was getting on so well with Archero until I hit Chapter 3, reading back in here it seems like I’m not alone.

 

Such a terrible design decision to whack the difficulty up to 11 compared to the first 2 which had a really good curve, haven’t got the time to grind away at it so it’s a delete unfortunately.

 

Any recommendations for games in a similar vein that are a bit more balanced?

 

Cheers,

Indy

[TurningMonster]

I would stick with it. There are definitely some walls in the game but there’s also a pretty high skill ceiling so it’s not all just about grinding for gear before you can progress. I’m currently on chapter 11 and haven’t spent a penny on it, fwiw.

 

Came to recommend Grand Mountain Adventure, free to play with a single iap to unlock all content.

 

 

[Dr Nookie]

10 hours ago, TurningMonster said:

I would stick with it. There are definitely some walls in the game but there’s also a pretty high skill ceiling so it’s not all just about grinding for gear before you can progress. I’m currently on chapter 11 and haven’t spent a penny on it, fwiw.

 

Came to recommend Grand Mountain Adventure, free to play with a single iap to unlock all content.

 

 

This is terrific. I went skiing for first time in 30 years last month and this is doing a good job of reminding me how much fun it was. 

[Flub]

There's a new version of Spelltower out called Spelltower+. F2P with ads but also with a one off 4.99 IAP (Which is totally worth it)

 

 

[ZOK]

On 25/01/2020 at 02:37, TurningMonster said:

I would stick with it. There are definitely some walls in the game but there’s also a pretty high skill ceiling so it’s not all just about grinding for gear before you can progress. I’m currently on chapter 11 and haven’t spent a penny on it, fwiw.

 

Came to recommend Grand Mountain Adventure, free to play with a single iap to unlock all content.

 

 

I’m still grinding away at Archero...I’m on level 10, with most bits and bobs at perfect epic...and getting slaughtered regardless:

 

[Gotters]

nice to see a couple of 'proper' releases come out on iOS not hidden away in the Apple Arcade

 

really like the mountain skiing game, got lovely feel to it and nice generous bit to play before deciding whether to buy or not.

 

also stumped up for the full Spell Tower - love those Zach Gage games and always well worth the money.

[milko]

I got well hooked on Grand Mountain Adventure last year on Android, it's a bit lo-fi at times but really nice to play for a phone game.

[TurningMonster]

9 hours ago, ZOK said:

I’m still grinding away at Archero...I’m on level 10, with most bits and bobs at perfect epic...and getting slaughtered regardless:

 

Not sure if it’s what you want to hear but you have better gear than me, so it is possible. Which bit are you stuck on? The two arrow shooting bosses gave me a lot of trouble on that chapter. Also, I’d sub out your weapon for either the scythe or the new orb one that tracks enemies. Oh, also the character that has rage from the get go. Those should be enough changes to get you past 10.

 

edit: actually I would say your whole build could be improved. I’ll post a screenshot of mine when I’m home later.

[ZOK]

57 minutes ago, TurningMonster said:

Not sure if it’s what you want to hear but you have better gear than me, so it is possible. Which bit are you stuck on? The two arrow shooting bosses gave me a lot of trouble on that chapter. Also, I’d sub out your weapon for either the scythe or the new orb one that tracks enemies. Oh, also the character that has rage from the get go. Those should be enough changes to get you past 10.

 

edit: actually I would say your whole build could be improved. I’ll post a screenshot of mine when I’m home later.

 

Yes I’d be interested to see it. I basically don’t change anything because I like that set up, I know I could work it better but I like the aesthetics! 

[TurningMonster]

 

So, on the later chapters the damage you’re going to take starts to out scale your gear, meaning you want to be prioritizing dodge above all else. Between the two rings and the chest, you’re at 21% dodge. The necklace adds another 12% when you’re heath drops below 20%.

 

For your weapon, I would rate the scythe and stalker staff over everything else by some margin. The scythe is slow but has the huge benefit of pushing back enemies, on the other hand, the staff rips through bosses and single targets. It’s also a lot of fun if you can get the right upgrades. The 3x frontal arrow upgrade is what you’ll be coveting above all else, then the usual candidate — multishot, 2x front arrows and ricochet.

 

Maybe down to preference, but I like the freezing ring, it can really help when you luck out and it freezes the two nearest enemies.

 

Hero wise, you want to be either using Helix or the cat. I assume you’ve been upgrading the hero with the sapphires?

 

Hopefully that helps some. It doesn’t look like you would, but don’t disenchant anything, it’s not worth it.

[Len]

Thanks for the tips, I'm currently stuck on chapter 8 but with nowhere near that gear. I'll post what I have tomorrow. 

[Gotters]

I don't think I've ever seen a game menu structure copied as much as Clash Royale - not the game itself, nobody has got close to copying that successfully but the menus, and game unit structure has became almost commonplace in FTP games.

[ZOK]

7 hours ago, TurningMonster said:

 

So, on the later chapters the damage you’re going to take starts to out scale your gear, meaning you want to be prioritizing dodge above all else. Between the two rings and the chest, you’re at 21% dodge. The necklace adds another 12% when you’re heath drops below 20%.

 

For your weapon, I would rate the scythe and stalker staff over everything else by some margin. The scythe is slow but has the huge benefit of pushing back enemies, on the other hand, the staff rips through bosses and single targets. It’s also a lot of fun if you can get the right upgrades. The 3x frontal arrow upgrade is what you’ll be coveting above all else, then the usual candidate — multishot, 2x front arrows and ricochet.

 

Maybe down to preference, but I like the freezing ring, it can really help when you luck out and it freezes the two nearest enemies.

 

Hero wise, you want to be either using Helix or the cat. I assume you’ve been upgrading the hero with the sapphires?

 

Hopefully that helps some. It doesn’t look like you would, but don’t disenchant anything, it’s not worth it.

 

That’s interesting, I didn’t think of weighting towards dodge.

 

I’ll have a look at what I can change, but it will be a matter of farming levels to upgrade all the switches I need to make which are all low level!

 

How come you’re not using the perfect epic fairy instead of one of the bats?

[ZOK]

It cost me 380,000 coins to upgrade the Dexterity vest from 1 to 50