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dbt

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Everything posted by dbt

  1. This. I desperately want this game to live long enough to give me a Skull & Shackles (and the class-specific decks). Not likely IMHO. Game has got about 3.5 stars on the Apple Store which makes it hard to attract paying customers or buzz. Maybe $25 for the bundle wasn't enough or not enough players bought it but to keep the momentum up I would have focused on supporting the customers who supported them rather than abandoning those paying customers to look for mass market appeal.
  2. Just look at the forums...all dominated by the new phone players. No need to push new content for a while as it's all new for them. Pretty much the same as always...business decision says supporting the early adopters is at the bottom of the task list.
  3. Since I suspended playing due to the lack of content and bugs I didn't loose anything but otherwise your comments are on point. If you look back at my early posts you'll see I was defending the game when it came out and giving the developers the benefit of the doubt. Now though, only my initial investment even keeps me coming back to see what's up. The money isn't a big deal but the taste of disappointment lingers on. I believe the company and the developers are capable enough but a business decision has been made to not prioritize resources and effort on getting this product up to where it should be. Maybe not enough people paid for content, maybe the tablet market is too small, maybe the company has decided that mobile games aren't where it wants to be. I suppose they will eventually release AD6 if only at least to avoid paying back the $25 they would owe some of us. Doesn't mean that release has to be any good though nor do they need to maintain a sustained effort on bug fixes after the release. Because they don't really compete in the mobile space, they can afford to loose reputation in the Apple and Play stores without it impacting them too much down the road. The best thing I can get out of my experience here is that because I was sucked into the initial release and watched it crash, I was at least able to talk my tabletop gaming friends out of getting it for themselves. At first I told them "it's not perfect but it has a lot of potential...I'll let you know when it is ready!" The last time it came up at a session a few weeks ago I told them to forget about it and it hasn't come up since. In the end I don't have any ill will towards anyone...in business things happen and circumstances change. On the other hand I don't owe any of these companies endless patience because we aren't a family....we're just conducting a business transaction. My personal impression of Pazio and Obsidian is currently diminished; it might kick up again if they release an amazing and well received product but the benefit of the doubt is lost for now.
  4. More importantly they will have lost much of their revenue stream. No matter what happens with AD4-6, there is no way I'm dropping $25 again on a sight unseen release of Skulls or Wrath, etc. like I did for this game. They've lost a fundamental business trust between producer and consumer and that can take a long time to build back. The very best I can see myself doing with a future Skulls release would be to ignore the game until all of its ADs are released, wait for a bug fix or two AND when the forums here and elsewhere agree that it is stable. Then I might consider playing it but only as F2P until I was sure I liked it. Alternatively I might just skip it as I've already moved on to other games (only my $25 purchase keeps me coming back to check on RotRL...I haven't even opened the game in 4 weeks and moved it into a folder to clean up my desktop).
  5. Honestly I haven't even played in over a week (the daily challenges are now asking me to come back to the game) and only a few times in the last month. The development track basically failed on this game and it's just monotonous at this point. I came back to see if there was progress but with nothing new coming out I probably won't even bother when AD4 releases. Most likely I'll wait till AD6 comes out, give it at least 2 patches after that and then play through to the end. Won't be lining up on day one to pay $25 on any future releases, that's for sure. Very disappointing.
  6. I'm not bashing the game either...I tracked the development of the game from when it was announced and frequently followed the forums while it got delayed. I paid the full $25 within the first few hours of the game being released. I guess that is why I'm more disappointed since I've been a fan for a long time. My only other comment is that if the game really is in a beta state than it should not have a $25 paid option...maybe nothing more than F2P until it is stable and complete. Let's hope this quality oriented release delay pays off with a much improved game in August!
  7. Certainly everyone is entitled to their opinion but I find fascinating the number of folks who seem to feel that no issue is great enough to make them stop praising the game. People may forget that it is possible to point out flaws without it being personal...I have no reason to think the devs aren't competent or that they aren't working diligently. That said, IMO, the truth is that the game is of only average quality and the release schedule is not on track for a digital game. PACG is complex but so are many other board games which released in a much more stable state. Bugs happen but when almost everyone on the forums talks about them that's simply not good...a decent rule of thumb is that a simple majority of the users should be able to get through the game without encountering noticeable errors. The releases for the board games were roughly bi-monthly but that was for an environment where you (mostly) had to get a group of people together to play and even then unless your group was dedicated to PACG, other board games got inserted between adventures. It was that realization that led Pazio to slow down the releases (e.g. Curse of the Mummy). Playing this version solo and with digital assistance for all the deck building and shuffling means that you can finish an adventure deck in a couple of hours at most. I loved PACG board games but honestly I don't play this version much anymore and I've warned off some board gaming friends saying that it isn't worth $25 in its current state. I look at the forums mainly to see if the product has gotten back on track in terms of quality and content because I would like to go back to my friends and recommend it.
  8. I've played the board game version of this through 3 complete adventure paths and thoroughly enjoyed it. I was an early advocate for this digital version and bought the season pass on day one. The things Obsidian got right are amazing and the potential is enormous. Unfortunately, the game just has far too many fundamental bugs both as an app (crashes, etc.) and even more with all the game mechanics problems. The game's complexity seems to have exceeded the ability of the development team and although bugs are getting fixed, new ones are coming in with each expansion. They need a quality stand down to hammer the bugs before worrying about new content. I don't mean this to insult the devs, but something is broken with the production system, QA or number of resources assigned to the project. I've stopped playing it for now as it is just too frustrating to spend 20 minutes on a scenario just to have it break on you. I'll try it when the next patch comes out but if it's still buggy I'll probably uninstall it and wait for 6 months to see if they can clean it up. Had a friend with whom I played the card game ask me about it last week and I had to tell her to skip it for now.
  9. I am having the same issue but I can't even see the end turn button so I'm stuck. My only option now would be to forfeit the game and since I've tried the scenario eight times already I'm getting tired of it I've been a big proponent of this game but the bugs are really starting to wear on me. I bought the season pass sight unseen but if they do come up with the skulls and shackles version I think I would probably pass for at least six months to make sure they had their bugs ironed out
  10. Kyra's Enemy Lore: Undead does not seem to be working sometimes. For instance, she and Seoni are in the Academy. She encounters a Ghost and has a plain Warhammer. She reveals the Warhammer and gets the extra 1d8. She rolls and beats the Ghost but instead of being defeated, the Ghost gets reshuffled back into the location deck. Since Enemy Lore: Undead is supposed to add 1d8 and the Magic Trait to the check to defeat the Ghost, the Ghost should not only have been beaten but also removed from the Location deck. Just to continue, this happened again in the same game on a subsequent turn when she re-encountered the Ghost (wins the check but the Ghost is reshuffled). Seoni finally beats the Ghost by using Acid Arrow against it.
  11. But that's exactly what I'm saying. They can charge what they want (obviously) but I think it's high compared to what apps generally coat. Would I pay it if there wasn't an in game gold option? Maybe. But it wouldn't be an automatic purchase like if it cost $15 (which is still high-ish for a paid app). I'm just saying that in my opinion they might actually make more money if the game was a bit cheaper, because sure all the hardcore Pathfinder people who want to support the game are going to pay the $25 regardless. But when you get to people like me who don't think that way or people who don't have a connection to the card game at all, that cost might be a turnoff. I think the idea of price resistance comes in here. For most products there is a psychological barrier that most (but not all) people won't cross and the price vs. demand curve becomes rather flat. Whether they set the price at $10 or $15 or $25 I think they won't see a huge swing in the number of full game season pass buyers because the great majority of all Android / iOS users are still used to F2P or paying a few dollars at the most. My guess is that the $25 price is set to attract folks like myself who bought and played the card game and realize upfront how fun it is but also how hard it is to actually play solo. That price is also a relative bargain compared to the overall cost of the physical game. So now they've addressed how to satisfy the existing PACG players out there and they want to find a way to entice discovery of the game by new people who don't know much about it. That leads you to the F2P model and things like the treasure chests to keep those folks interested and ultimately to entice them into paying a few bucks here and there for treasures or a character or two. You should remember as well that you are an exceptional person in as much as you've actually taken the time to play the game, read the forums and post a thoughtful concern about the pricing. Considering that something like 90+% of apps get installed, played a few times and then get forgotten or deleted you might really realize what an exception to the norm that you are (in a strictly positive sense of the term!). Even if we don't agree 100% I still think your comments lead to an interesting discussion so thanks for that.
  12. I agree on adding an explicit offline mode to handle times like trains and planes when I'm not connected (nor interested in paying for a connection at high cost). It could keep track of your accomplishments and then give you rewards when it syncs up. Forced connectivity (barely) makes sense on a PC where bored programmers will work out a way to break the reward system...but really how many folks are going to jailbreak their device just to "win" at PACG? I disagree on the price point: sure $25 is high for an app but who is making you pay it? That's like the equivalent of a movie and a half and I've already probably gotten 7+ hours of enjoyment out of the game. Also you have lots of options at lower costs (buying only the adventurers or decks you want) all the way down to zero. Board game apps in general are more expensive because most of them aren't forced grinds...see Spendor or Catan or Ticket to Ride. The treasure chests don't bother me because nothing I've seen requires them to win. There is small surprise and delight when you swap out Aid for improved Aid but really who cares? I don't have to unlock every card or win every trophy to enjoy an experience.
  13. Guess I should have looked closer. Didn't notice immunity to magic. Thanks!
  14. Twice I've had Seoni encounter a combat encounter and not to be able to cast either lightning bolt or use the greater arcane blast ability. This leaves her fighting a combat with d4 strength only which can be blessed but not improved in any other way Both times lightning bolt was the only spell in her hand at the time. Playing on an iPad Air 2 running iOS 9 .3 .2. Party consists of Lini, Valeros, Seoni and Seelah. Playing on heroic difficulty, angel in the tower scenario Location is alone in the temple and she's encountered the scarecrow golem. Wild power is banes difficulty increased by three.
  15. Since I've played the card game many times before the tutorial worked for me. However it's more of a QuickStart guide for experienced players than a real tutorial. You might consider keeping it as a quick start, but having a more complete tutorial that walks people through some options and choices if they are new to the whole game concept. In this game there are a lot of options at every step and if you don't understand the interactions it's hard to see when you should use a blessing or have your other party members help you or use a key item. The card game appealed to fairly hard core board gamers. With this digital version you'll probably be trying to get new people into the game who don't have as much experience with the way these kinds of trade-offs work That said the implementation is very good and I'm enjoying the game immensely
  16. The graphic difference between Permadeath on and off is very subtle and would be hard for anyone with color vision deficiencies to understand at a glance. You might consider something more obvious like a white/black toggle.
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