Galactiblaster is available in the Play Store!

freessp

My first game ever, Galactiblaster, is finally finished and available in the Google Play Store. I am pretty happy with how it turned out, I hope other people like it too. I do wish I would have started with something more simple, but now that it's finished, I must say, I learned a lot that I can use in the future.

Thanks to everyone who may have directly or indirectly helped me in the process.

Here's the link:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.clockspeedcs.galactiblaster

Dud

oops your link leads straight back to this post!

freessp

I fixed it. Thanks for pointing that out :P

freessp

I found a "sometimes" bug in my game. On some devices, tapping on the image on the level you want to play does not work, so the game never gets any farther. I used AceSlide for this operation and I'm not sure why it's not working, but the "Back" button I placed on the screen works fine. I should be able to just add a "Continue" button to the screen to take care of the problem. Just an FYI for anyone who might be using AceSlide, or anyone who thinks my game is really lame since it ends at the Level Select screen :-L

totebo

I use a modified version of AceSlide for all my games, tapping the image in the slide to trigger the action. I haven't had any issues. Seems unlikely to be a device specific issue (although I've seen weirder things!).

I would start by trying to consistently replicate the issue. Then check event listeners so they're cleaned up properly and not too early.

freessp

Tapping the image works on four out of six of the devices my family and I have. On the two that do not, the slider moves back and forth, and stops where it should, but tapping does nothing.

That is not to say that the problem is not in my code somewhere, I just wanted to give a heads-up in case there was actually a problem. By the way, the two devices that it does not work on are the Galaxy S6, and a higher-end LG (I don't remember the model).

Anyway, I did add a Continue button and that solved it for now. I will check into it more when I have time.

totebo

That sounds strange! If you want, check out the AceSlide implementation in one of my games on those devices. If it works there may be a workaround for your game!

freessp

Actually, I was thinking the same thing. When my daughter gets back next week, I will give that a try. I have your No Brakes game on my phone right now!

By the way, I was not able to download any of your games onto my tablet because it does not have GPS, and your games require it.

Mine was originally that way, but I took the ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION permission out of the manifest file. If you don't need GPS in your games, it makes them available to quite a few more devices. Just a suggestion

totebo

Good call!

Esc

I also had the 'click' problem. Now it's solved with the 'continue' button.
Just one thing... the fire button is way too small.

freessp

Thanks @Esc. I plan on creating a "settings" option to scale the joystick and buttons to the user's preference. Currently, they are too small on phones with high resolution, and too big on tablets with lower resolution. I will also add an option to turn the music off separately from the main sound. I should be rolling out an update very soon.

The other main suggestion/complaint I have received is that it is too hard. I designed the game to be that way intentionally so that users would be compelled to play more, collect more coins (or buy them), and "buy" upgrades with the coins. With every upgrade, it becomes easier to destroy enemies, which produces more coins to collect, which will allow the user to get more upgrades, which will make it easier to destroy enemies..., and the cycle continues.

I am debating on whether or not to make the game easier. On one hand, I don't want the user to become discouraged on the first level and stop playing, but on the other hand, I don't want the game to become too easy and "boring" in the higher levels.