A Wing Commander clone on mobile

Irony

Irony

Veteran Spaceman
Hi!
Over the past two years, my (tiny) team has been working on a 3D space combat game for mobile devices (Android phones and tablets). It's heavily inspired by Wing Commander (not as story-driven, but the interface is quite similar). We are pretty close to finishing the game.
I am not sure if it would be considered spam if I post any links etc. Maybe a mod can give his OK/rejection.
Thanks & best wishes,
Peter
 
We're usually game to having a look at what new space sims are out there.
 
Well, to be totally honest it's not a fan project in the truest form. It doesn't use any WC trademarks, because it is a commercial game (but a small indie one, so no big bucks expected).
If all of that didn't alienate you (pardon the pun), well, there is also a little Indiegogo campaign to help the game getting finished and polished.... We are not asking for a crazy amount, just 2000 Euros to get some additional assets.
Even if you have no interest in spending, you can get a lot of information about the game if you go to indiegogo.com and search for Armada. (I cannot post the direct link because of not enough postings)
I can understand if all of this is too spammy for your taste... but if not, please have a look. ;)

edit:
a few pics
small.jpg

armada_promo.jpg
 
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Sure it's not strictly a Wing Commander fan game or anything but it's clear where your inspiration lies and we're all for new games in the genre.

Thanks for sharing and good luck, I'll definitely pick this game up when it's finished.
 
Okay, so having given it a look, and thought about it a bit, here's my feedback for you:
I really think you've nailed the flight/combat system, and the feel of watching you fly around is exactly right. That's not easy to do, and major kudos for pulling it off on a mobile platform. I also really like the simplicity of your controls, everything seems to be there, and seems to work as intended.
On the improvements side, I think you'd be best served with focusing on two things - consistency and punchiness. By consistency, I mean that the icons for your controls all feel slightly different - the control stick looks like a different artist made it from the weapons/speed controls on the right. And the right hand side has a mix of icons and actual pictures of the weapons. I'd really reccommend making all of that look exactly the same - figure out a good looking skin for your controls and make everything match it. It will be less confusing for the player, as well as make the game look more professional.
For Punchiness, what I mean is that you need to make the actions you take in the game feel impactful, engaging, and fun. You should feel badass when you fire your weapons - right now that action feels almost subdued - the weapon effects aren't impressive, and there's not really any visual feedback that you're firing besides little streaks of light shooting from the sides of the screen. Same with the explosions of enemies - the fireballs are pretty standard looking, with very little animation or force to them. Like orange balls that fade in and then out. They need to be much more engaging. Try for something that makes you feel like you've earned a lightshow - something that makes you *want* to blow stuff up, just for the joy of watching it.
Here's a good reference:
Sure the movie is terrible, but when that space station goes up, you can feel it through your eyeballs - the explosions feel vicious and solid - like really dangerous.
That leads into the second part - on a mobile game, you can't rely on sound design to carry player feedback. Speaking from experience, most mobile players will play your game with the sound off. That's no excuse to skimp on the music or sound design, of course, but if you want the player to be sure to get the feedback you want, it has to be visual. That means subtitles for audio, and visual cues for every interaction that happens.
Here's a great rundown on exactly what I mean.

Anyhow, I think you've got a great foundation, and the game looks fun.
Good luck!
 
Thank you so much for this insight look. Makes me wonder if you guys would like to play a beta version. I agree with the interface issues - as mentioned briefly, this stuff is far from final.
I'd definitely would like to have punchier effects, but am somwhat bound by what the engine and the mobile hardware can do. You have to make compromises here, so giving every shot a glorious effect is a bit problematic. But i'll definitely try to make better explosions.
Sound: i agree that many play without, but not when they first try out th which is usually at home or another private place. And this is the critical point where they decide if they give the game a chance. But yes, visual feedback is king.
Thanks again!
 
Irony: So, I'm very well versed on the limitations of mobile development - I've been making mobile games professionally (and fairly successfully) for the last 4 years. :p And "glorious effect" may be overstating. You can make the gunfire feel more powerful by shaking the camera a bit when you fire, or having a 2-3 frame long flash to the side of the ship that's currently firing. 2-3 frames out of 30fps will not seriously tank your performance, even with fullscreen effects. Making the laser bolts larger, or adding a larger glow to them to make them more visible, again, won't seriously tank their performance overall. They're a small portion of the screen, and move very very fast.
 
Thank you Howard. I'll do my best ;) Will keep you guys up-to-date.
Can you tell me which games you have worked on, and in which position?
 
Hi Irony. So here's a good list of games I've worked on: http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,175151/
More recently, and not on that list, I was a senior artist and lead technical artist on Castleville Legends: http://zynga.com/game/castlevillelegends
And Farmville 2: Country Escape: http://zynga.com/game/farmville2-country-escape.
Before that, I worked a bit on a game called Rinth Island. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rinth-island/id490616206?mt=8
I'm currently making a game called Wings of Saint Nazaire in my limited free time. http://wingsofstnazaire.com/ On that one I'm responsible for 99% of the artwork, and about 70% of the coding. That coding percentage is dropping by the day as someone far more capable than I re-writes my chickenscratch.
Hope that answers your question!
 
That's quite an impressive portfolio I have to say. Will definitely check out the space game!
 
A journey that has taken over two years is coming to an end.
Besides some sub-standard texts and most likely a few bugs, Armada - Mobile Space Combat - is finished (though there will probably be continuous updates after publishing).
Anyone willing to try out the beta version, please direct your mobile browser to this address:
http://www.ironman-project.com/armada.apk

Or use this QR code:

armada_qr.png


Those two nice guys are already waiting for some new friends and enemies:
big.jpg

Have fun!

P.S. Feeback is the lifeblood of all indie devs, so thanks to everyone in advance!
P.P.S. Thanks again to Howard for his valuable input. I tried to improve on these points you listed.
cu, Irony
 
Fun little Android game with a Prophecy feel. I'm not a big fan of micro-transactions but that's a matter of opinion. Like the control options.

I only just dug into it so I'm only 1st Lieutenant Whistler, but I might mess around with this a bit more.

Need to remember this app regularly accesses the net so those with light data plans be careful or play on Wi-Fi.

I should note I'm running the game on a Samsung Galaxy S3 and plays very smooth...so far. We'll see how wild it gets when more ships show up at once.
 
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@capi3101: sorry, it's Android only...

@Whistler: thanks.
The App creates very little network traffic (maybe 1MB per hour)
IAPs are pretty fair in this game (IMHO of course :rolleyes:). Depending on your skills, you can play very far with just the credits earned in the game. The other IAPs are instant repairs, but the wait is not too bad if you don't have them (and only if your ship gets badly damaged/destroyed)
You never really have to wait anyway, as simulator mode is always available. You can also use every equipment available in the game there.
btw, I've just given your pilot unlimited repairs ;)
 
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