The Amiga legend - Free to Play on iOS

[TorbenLarsen]

Hi Amiga fans

Anyone wanted to give the legendary Amiga shooter Battle Squadron a go on their iphone/ipod or ipad? Well, here is your chance... in a just released Lite version, featuring world's first 2-player split-screen shooter!
...grap a friend and give it a spin

http://itunes.apple.com/app/battle-squadron-one-lite/id491944384

http://cope-com.com/2012/02/14/free-to-play-worlds-first-2-player-split-screen-shooter-battle-squadron-one-lite/

YOUTUBE Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=v22jB0l1osY

[Minuous]

I tried to download this, but it said I was only allowed to download from the Australian Crapp Store. Stupid Crapple region-locking bull****.

Solution is to ignore the provided link and do a search for "Battle Squadron" from within iTunes.

[Minuous]

Sorry to say but this conversion is complete crap.

There is no way to control the ship. You are apparently supposed to tilt the device to move; however this doesn't work at all (sometimes screen will rotate by 90 degrees is the only effect).

Tapping or sliding the screen also doesn't work properly (ship moves seemingly at random).

So the game is completely unplayable. Obviously it needs further testing and bug fixing by the developers before release. Avoid.

[bloodline]

This is really nicely done!!! Controls are sublime and work at treat for me, the graphics are fluid and beautifully retro.

Really well done

[bloodline]

Sorry to say but this conversion is complete crap.

There is no way to control the ship. You are apparently supposed to tilt the device to move; however this doesn't work at all (sometimes screen will rotate by 90 degrees is the only effect).

Tapping or sliding the screen also doesn't work properly (ship moves seemingly at random).

So the game is completely unplayable. Obviously it needs further testing and bug fixing by the developers before release. Avoid.

Err, the movement is relative to your finger position... The whole screen works like a touch pad, it felt very natural for me... Perhaps you were expecting something different?


-edit- I have controls x2 on, which works best for me!

[odin]

Controls are crap, as with every action touchscreen game. Touchscreens just lack the precise controls a joystick/pad can provide.

The conversion is very true to the original though and a blast to fire up once in a while just to listen to the music.

[motrucker]

Never thought I would try this (I will not buy an ianything) but had a chance to try it on a neighbors. What pure crap! Things have really sunk to this level huh?

[Bif]

Going to have to give this a whirl later, but I've found through experience any kind of arcade-like game with touch screen and/or gyro as input totally sucks to the point of being a completely annoying and frustrating experience. It's no fault of the game makers. I REALLY wish these devices makers would at least put one very small d-pad on one side and a button or two on the other side as standard equipment. That would open up a wealth of new game play possibilities. Heck they could even be used for other useful purposes such as camera zoom and shutter, how novel of an idea.

Going off topic but I find it really frustrating that after all this time there is not a device out there that fits my idea of what a portable entertainment/information device should be, which would be easiest to describe as taking for example a Samsung Galaxy II S, add the d-pad and buttons, and remove the cell phone part of it (to make it an Android equivalent to an iPod), and then price it closer to iPod territory than cell phone territory. Doesn't seem that hard to come up with but I have yet to see anything like it (let me know if I am ignorant of something that exists).

[Borut]

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/cellphone/e8f5/

[Duce]

Older games brought to touch only platforms generally aren't well received.  We remember playing these old games with a rattly old joystick when we were kids and there's a mental block on the whole touch interface from minute one.

Some are quite playable with the add on control pads, I'm looking forward to getting an 8 Bitty for my iPad.  

http://9to5mac.com/2012/02/13/8-bitty-nintendo-style-icade-controller-for-ios-devices-coming-soon-for-25/

[TorbenLarsen]

This is really nicely done!!! Controls are sublime and work at treat for me, the graphics are fluid and beautifully retro.

Really well done

Thanks bloodline
With your experience in game-development it warms alot to hear such great feedback

For those interested, the game features 4 ingame control modes:
1. Relative Direct touch x2 (default)
2. Standard relative touch
3. Tilt
4. Joypad

In addition external control devices are planned later on this spring.

[yssing]

why not for android?

[Christian Johansson]

An Androidversion is coming. i think its beimg beta tested now.

[Duce]

Chucked this on my ipad a moment ago, looking forward to checking it out and will let you know how I like it.

[Bif]

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/cellphone/e8f5/

Yeah I've seen these, in fact I've used a Wii controller with my Android tablet to play with MAME. It's a very awkward experience to try and hold both a tablet and your controller at the same time. Only useful if you can set your tablet down on a table and sit in front of it, a position I am absolutely never in when mobile gaming.

The stick on joystick is an interesting idea but I can imagine all sorts of problems with that. For one, it's not a d-pad, it sticks out way too much, so you'd have to take it off and put it in another pocket or whatever when not using it. I don't see why they couldn't make a d-pad version though. I am sure every game has the virtual d-pad in a different spot, so you'd also need to be moving it around each time you play a different game.

I think unless Apple heavily commits to gaming I'm not sure d-pads and a button built into the hardware will take off any time soon. Oddly, if Apple did make it a spec to include a d-pad, I bet you'd see every Android device follow suit immediately for fear of not keeping up. It's a bit of a sad world that way right now.

I'm still trying to download Battle Squadron right now, unfortunately Apple's app store rarely wants to download or update apps, they just sit there waiting to download and never do until the moon is magically aligned with some planet. Don't get me started on how much I loathe Apple. :furious: