Paratroopers

[rbredow]

If you haven't already had a chance to check it out, I'd love any feedback on our new game Paratroopers:

http://185vfx.com/webos/paratrooper

We're making plans for the next release to include additional levels, some preliminary sound effects (limited by what we can do with the dev kit right now), and a few other ideas. So far, initial feedback has been positive, but we'd love to hear from the PreCentral community about what you'd like to see in the next version.

Thanks

Rob

[supercluver]

The game is really really good, expanding on what you have so far with additional levels, some sound effects, and what not would make it even better. Its currently my favorite time waster, right up there with the best of the games available. I would suggest maybe the ability to add custom designed levels? That would be really interesting and essentially make the game limitless to the end user....

Seriously, with Paratrooper, Zombie Invasion, Topple Ball, Word Whirl, Wobble Words, Tetris Mania, Air Hockey, Scatter, Swap & Drop, Roll Quest, and WordFreak I never get any actual work done on the phone. To me, 3-D awesome games might be neat, but I prefer these more simple games for when I have 20 minutes to kill and don't want to totally kill my battery life....

[Nightburn]

Yea the game is great .. Please keep the improvements coming.. If I come up with a any specific ideas I'll make another post but for now I've only played the first 6 levels. Then I had to get back to work.

[licotto]

I LOVE this game!!!! my friend & I have been having a CRAZY time with it!!!!

[rbredow]

Any of you guys have high scores? I'm obsessive about recognizing names on the global high scores list.

For new levels, any particular level type you like the best? Personally, I like the single paratrooper "puzzle" type levels a lot, but I'm curious to hear other's input. Apparently level 17 was too hard for some people, but I kinda like the challenge. Are we striking the right balance?

Thanks for the great feedback.

Rob

[Ben_K]

Ok, here is a bit of feedback:

I have no idea what app this is. Why? Because it is unavailable to us in the UK (or any non-US customers, I think). As a developer, is it you that limits the access, or Palm?

[rbredow]

Originally Posted by Ben_K

As a developer, is it you that limits the access, or Palm?

Great question. Palm limits the distribution of paid apps to the US only (for now). The way we submitted it to the App Catalog, Paratroopers should become available worldwide as soon as Palm opens paid apps for outside the US. We understand it's a limitation of the beta program and they are looking to address that soon. But, we have no idea when.

We'd love for it to be available worldwide.

Rob

[jescandalo]

I got it the First day it came out and I posted a review on the App Catalog as well. The game is great and challenging. I would love some sounds like when the little guys go splat...Is adding sound that hard or is it a limitation of the SDK?

[Ben_K]

Originally Posted by rbredow

We'd love for it to be available worldwide.

Thanks for your reply Rob. I look forward to trying it out sometime soon!

[IcerC]

Originally Posted by jescandalo

I got it the First day it came out and I posted a review on the App Catalog as well. The game is great and challenging. I would love some sounds like when the little guys go splat...Is adding sound that hard or is it a limitation of the SDK?

Tetris is missing sound. It's the SDK.

[fnord]

Originally Posted by jescandalo

Is adding sound that hard or is it a limitation of the SDK?

The SDK allows for "streaming audio" which is perfect for playing music, but it uses a lot of CPU. Our testing has shown the streaming audio slows down game play too much. However, there is a way to use some of the Pre's built-in sound effects and, while there is a limited selection, it does provide some nice audio feedback for the game. In fact, the "splat" sound effect we've found is actually quite satisfying.

We're looking for a few testers for the new version with sound. If you're interested and already have FileCoaster, drop us a line at paratrooper-support (at) 185vfx.com and we'll hook you up. Only requirement is that you send in your feedback.

Thanks-

Rob

[jescandalo]

That's good to know. It looks like with each WebOS update that Palm keeps improving, so I bet many added features to the SDK are coming. I would love to Beta test, I already bought the game and recommend it to my friends.

[Huff]

I can't get past level 17. It's just about impossible to do!!

[jhoff80]

Have to agree that this is a very fun game.

I somehow missed it at first, but gave it a try after seeing this thread.

I think a demo version would help that a lot, personally (I pretty much try all the game demos I see, but if there's no demo it's likely to get overlooked).

[rbredow]

Originally Posted by Huff

I can't get past level 17. It's just about impossible to do!!

We've heard that feedback a few times now. A couple of our play testers took about 10 minutes to pass that level. There was some frustration in the process but we thought the net experience was still a positive one. That said, if it's too hard, it's not as fun. The next update will include the ability to pass level 17 with some trooper loss...and 17 with it's full challenge will appear in a higher level.

Thanks for the feedback.

Rob

[rondera]

I can't buy it, because I live in Germany, and there I can't buy Apps Is there another way to buy this Game ?

[iamthenoah]

I really enjoy this game! Thank you for developing it. I can see alot of potential in future levels, the first 25 seemed to do an excellent job at introducing gameplay features and I feel as if some excellent and challenging levels can be created by mixing things like bombs, stars, bounces, and bonus points. The levels that required you to get bonus points and avoid obstacles illustrate that potential, i.e. it requires the player to adapt to to the requirements of the 'mission' rather than just make it to the 'X' each time. Perhaps even a challenge mode may be fun for leaderboards. I guess challenge mode could be the accumulated points a player earns starting from level 1 until they fail a level. I'm just throwing some ideas out there because I like replaying to get higher scores

[Joescan09]

Good game and will be even better with sounds.

[fnord]

The new version is in Palm's hands and will probably be available in the next few days. Highlights (from your suggestions above) include:

1. Level 17 is a little easier to pass
2. Game has some preliminary sound effects (limited by what today's version of the SDK allows
3. 10 new levels!
4. Overall game play is smoother
5. A couple of tiny bugs have been squashed as well.

We're also distributing a free Paratrooper Mini game which is for those who would like to try before they buy. It's a fully playable demo version that gives you a test of the first 5 levels.

Thanks again for all the great feedback. We can't wait to hear what you think of the latest release. (We'll post again when it's in the App Catalog)

Sincerely,

Rob

[vader4633]

I thought there was something I was missing to get past level 17. I've been trying for 2 days, glad to hear it's just not me. I can't see all the troopers through my fingers to pull the chutes and one always splats!
Love the game!