Dave Hailwood's Forum Posts

  • I finally got Board Horde up and running on Kongregate. It's taken me several weeks of testing and tweaking, so I thought it might be useful to share some tips (though my method might not work for everyone, or cause unforeseen side effects such as blindness or Cranial Explosions).

    Firstly, getting a game to work on Kongregate isn't too much of a challenge unless you want to add in their score Api, or host the game on a different site and link to it in an iframe (like I ended up doing). I tried the 'hosting on Dropbox' method, but found that for some reason the Kongregate score api would only work once (or when the cache was cleared) which would've annoyed any players who came back for seconds. So I decided to try linking to the version on clay.io. I achieved this by putting the iframe URL on Kongregate as 'http://boardhorde.clay.io/index.html'. Of course, the problem with linking to Clay was I got all the ads that came with it (you can disable these on Clay from appearing on external sites, but I still wanted them to appear on all external sites other than Kongregate where ads are forbidden). In the end I came up with the following method:

    Make a global variable named 'Kongregate' and set it to 0.

    Add the Browser object.

    Use the system 'regex' condition (i think thats what its called) to search for the word 'kongregate' in the browser.url, and if it finds it use an action to set the Kongregate variable to 1. Then use that variable to turn off/on the Kongregate specific parts of your project (such as ad visibility, Kongregate scores and clay.io achievements)

    If anyone needs this explaining more clearly at some point then let me know. I don't have my desktop on for reference at the moment, so I'm blabbering all this from memory.

    Regarding the Kongregate score Api; sometimes this may not show up instantly, though it will show up in your game before you hit the publish button. I added the Kongregate_shell from Cangame's Kongregate tutorial to the main export folder (not sure if this is still needed with the Export to Kongregate option in c2, but it did seem to bring my scoreboard to life), ensured the 'show up in Leaderboard' option was ticked on Kongregate and checked the Kongregate.api script was in the index file (which is automatically added if you use the export to Kongregate option, which I didn't as I was exporting to Chrome as that's what Clay.io ask for). I also added a link to the shell in Kongregates 'callback Api' box. My link was: boardhorde.clay.io/kongregate_shell

    It can help if you do two test scores (they can always be disabled when you're done with them, by unchecking the 'show in Leaderboard' option) so that once they show up in the menu on the right side of the screen you'll be able to refresh the scores by switching between them. It's also a good idea to instantly add a score of zero when the game begins, so you can check its all working. Also if you use a Kongregate Shout Box Message from c2's Kongregate object and get it to pop up at the start of the game, then you'll know everything's working (as the shout box only seems to show when the score api's working, if you have one added). Just remember to use 'trigger once' on the shout box otherwise it will refuse to close.

    Anyway, I hope my findings are of use to someone (you can probably also link to a game hosted on Newgrounds, just make sure you use their mobile link (i think it has something like 'ungrounded' in the url) or you'll get parts of the website that you don't want showing. There's probably a few vital things that I've neglected to mention, so if you're interested in trying any of this out and need more details just let me know.

    Right, time I started making something new I reckon!

  • Huzzah! I've finally managed to upload Board Horde to Kongregate:

    http://www.kongregate.com/games/davehailwood/board-horde

    It's been bit of a challenge getting the score api to work and to make ads not show up on Kongregate whilst linking from an external site, but I got there in the end! Works best on Chrome and Firefox, and if you fancy a bit of fantasy board game carnage then please give it a try.

    cheers,

    • Dave
  • I've been getting the same thing for a while now whenever I try to make a post on my ipad (sometimes it tells me that I don't have permission). What I've taken to doing is copying the text from my post before I hit send, then when I'm faced with a warning message I refresh the page, and paste my text and send again. It always works the second time.

  • farflamex

    Ah yes, it's nice to take a break from this game designing malarkey isn't it? I'm pretty much done with Board Horde for the time being (got a lot of other projects to be getting on with, including endless comic lettering and a few novels). I uploaded it to Marketjs today, and am getting closer to hitting the 'publish' button on Kongregate. Currently the main problem I'm facing is getting the scoreboard to integrate properly; I've had one score show up so far, and nothing since.

    I just gave Korelos a 5 star rating, as I enjoy it and it got a lot of low reviews due to circumstances beyond your control Are you hosting on dropbox, or with a direct clay.io link? One thing I noticed is you seem to have clay.io achievements and external ads on the Kongregate version, which I removed from my Kongregate version of Board Horde as I'm sure it states its against their rules (just thought I'd mention it).

    I think the best way to approach game development is to balance the quick and easy games with the lengthy but less popular games which mean more to you. Even if you don't find the right market yet, new markets are opening up all the time (take King Of Dragon Pass for example. That was released ten years ago on PC, cost millions to make and only sold 3,000 copies. Then when it was converted to ipad many years later it sold over 30,000 copies).

    Keep at it, and I'll be watching everything you create with interest.

  • judgephuz

    Thinking about it, I'm pretty much always online when I use c2 anyway as that allows me to keep previewing projects on various other devices (such as ipad, and whatnot). So even if steam was chugging away in the background I'm not sure if it'd make much of a difference. Then again, I haven't used Steam very much so maybe I'm missing something?

  • farflamex

    I was just checking out a few games on Gog, and there's a new release titled Ring Runner which instantly made me think of Korelos. It's probably worth checking out the video on the site, as it looks like they've got the space combat sussed and it might give you some fresh ideas.

    http://www.gog.com/gamecard/ring_runner_flight_of_the_sages

  • mineet

    Cheers! Good luck with your strategy game - I hope it comes together well.

    By the way, for anyone who's a comic fan I keep forgetting to mention I have a strip appearing in SPOD! The Oddities from Space comic anthology originally conceived as part of Mark Millars Clint project. There's a Kickstarter running at the moment, and if you're generous enough to donate an entire tenner you also get a free 16 page digital comic made by myself and artist Dave Thomson.

    Anyway, here's the link if you're interested (there's some pretty damned amazing comic artists and writers involved). Even if you can't contribute in a financial fashion, spreading the word is always appreciated.

    Spod Kickstarter

    <img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/000/716/069/85b1b304a59a7c9b3cd9c847cb9eec45_large.jpg" border="0">

  • Sulli

    With c2 being quite new, as well as html5 being refined on various browsers bit by bit, most of the games I listed were released for free as direct payment options are slim. However, the majority contained ads (which is a good way to make money with your game - just don't expect large figures for your first offering) and some no doubt had sponsorship deals (which is a good way to make a lot of money, if you can figure out who to approach and how best to do so).

    True Valhalla makes a regular income from his html5 games, which is large enough for him to live off. He also gives a monthly account of what he earned and how. It's well worth reading his blog here: truevalhalla.com/blog

    It's taken him a lot of work to build up a reputation, but if you're determined enough and put in the hours and do some research, you could get there as well. Just don't put all your expectations into making lots of money from your first game (currently my first game has earned 56 cents. But I learnt a lot through making it, which is the main thing at this stage)

  • Wenaptic

    By successfully created, I take it you mean games which have achieved a lot of success, rather than just games which developers actually finished making?

    To name a few off the top of my head;

    Mortar Melon by TheHen has probably had a million or so downloads on Windows 8 (I'm not sure of the exact figure, but it has been well received)

    Super Ubie Land by Notiongames had a successful kickstarter, gained recognition from Nintendo and is currently in development for the WiiU.

    Both 'No One Has To Die' and Magnetized gained over 200,000 plays on Kongregate in their first month or so of launch which is very impressive work (as most games only get a few thousand).

    Squidsters 'Airscape' has been very well received on gaming sites, as have various other games. If you do a search on those game names it'll probably get you a lot more details.

    • Dave
  • Kurz

    I spent the morning trying to put my game up on Kongregate, but ran into a few problems. Fortunately no one else can see the game until I hit the 'publish' button, so there's time for me to do more tests later.

    Anyway, the main problem I encountered was sound seemed either distorted or delayed when the game was played on Firefox (though it worked perfectly fine on Firefox on the laptop I exported the game from. On my second laptop the problem occurs, which shows it's always best to test on more than one device and browser, incase unnoticed problems like this occur). Also I can only get the desktop export (linking to the index file through dropbox) working, as the mobile version doesn't seem to accept the same filetype (so you may not have to worry about removing audio from the offline cache for Kongregate, since no one will be playing the game on their mobile anyway).

    If I get the chance I'll do more tests next week, and let you know any helpful results (just bare in mind that the problems I encounter with my game my not be the same as problems that you encounter).

  • DrGreenThumbCAN

    Thanks for the kind words. I'm not really expecting to make much money from the game (since its the first I've made, and I've been making it up as I go along) though I'm learning lots from putting it up at different sites, and trying to overcome the various problems I encounter.

    harrio

    When I spotted 'Harrioz Hoez' on the Leaderboard this morning, I had a feeling you might be stopping by! Well done, and best of luck working your way to the top. I have some catching up to do myself, as I deleted all my test scores but accidentally left one of them. Typically it was the match in which I scored a truly astounding zero points!

    Blacksmith

    Thank you for the very generous rating. Very kind of you to spread the word - it really helps (especially since Indiedb keep archiving all my news announcements for some reason, which means no one can see them). All the positive feedback I've been getting has helped push Board Horde to a more prominent place on Clays 'popular' list, earning me another cent! Since I have officially earned Fiddy Cent on clay, I believe this now entitles me to wear a backward cap and say 'yo!' at passers by.

    In other news, I'm giving up on Kongregate for now (the sun is shining and I want a lolly, dammit!). I've tried uploading my game there, and although it worked perfectly on Chrome and Firefox on my laptop, I had the good sense to test it on another identical laptop and discovered the sound was garbled on Firefox and it would occasionally crash. After updating to the latest Firefox, the game worked better though there was a bit of audio delay. Also the Leaderboard statistics and Achievement notification failed to show up anywhere (though this might be because I was in preview mode). There doesn't seem to be a way to properly upload the game for mobile, either (the options there, but it doesn't accept the file format).

    More experimentation will follow next weekend.

    Thanks once more for all your help and support folks!

  • austin

    Whilst you're floating around on the forum, firstly I just wanted to thank you for the marvellous work you've done with Clay.io. I've found it nice and easy to integrate, and its improved my game to no end.

    The one problem I did encounter was none of the audio worked when the clay hosted game was viewed on an iOS device (such as ipad, or iPod touch). After a few days of banging my head against walls and shouting at strangers, I managed to discover what the problem is; when the project is exported from C2 as a Chrome file it only includes .ogg audio files, and none of the m4a audio files. As soon as I added the m4a files into the exported media file manually, the audio started working perfectly (though i don't know if this will cause issues if i was to export from clay to the Chrome store with the m4a audio files included).

    It might be worth checking into this more, or making mention on the clay.io tutorial, as it could save other users with ios devices a lot of head scratching.

    Anyway, keep up the jolly good work, and thanks for giving Board Horde such a nice rating.

    -Dave

  • Kurz

    Although clay.io is useful for things like online Hi-score boards, there are other benefits, such as the ability to put ads into your games (useful if you plan to make the game free), store analytical data (such as how many times people play the game, read the rules, mute the sound etc) and push your game with ease to other sites such as Facebook, Chrome and Mozilla store. It's quite easy to use, though can bring about a few error messages if you're not careful (these can be easily overcome after a bit of experimenting).

    Kongregate is definitely a good site to get your game on, though there is always the danger that it will just get buried or ignored (Gamejolt is another game site worth keeping in mind, though I've only been able to get the desktop version of my game working there as touch controls don't seem to work for some reason). I'm hoping to put Board Horde up on Kongregate tomorrow if I get the chance (I was just waiting to finish my latest update, and get some bugs ironed out first) so I'll let you know any problems I encounter.

    Anyway, good luck with everything. I'll be sure to lend a hand whenever possible.

    -Dave

  • Hi folks,

    I've just updated Board Horde, and added two new boards and two new game modes.

    More importantly, I've finally managed to get audio working on Clay.io when using my ipad. After many hours of testing, I discovered the problem was the Clay.io tutorial asks you to export to Chrome rather than Html5, and for some reason when exported to Chrome the project doesn't export m4a audio files. The solution was to copy all the m4a files into the exported media folder manually (I'm not sure if this'll cause problems if I export the project to the actual chrome store, but at least its working for now).

    Another iOS audio problem I encountered was whenever the page is refreshed on Safari or Chrome (no matter what game site I upload to) the audio would stop working on my ipad. The only way to prevent this was to remove all the m4a references from the 'Offline' document to be found in the export folder (even though Ashley advises against this as it will stop the game working offline on iOS, it seems a better alternative than no audio at all).

    I still haven't managed to solve the Gamejolt touch not working problem, though I'm convinced it has something to do with their chat pop-up stealing the games focus. Annoyingly there doesn't seem to be a way to disable it. If I manage to solve the problem, I'll be sure to let folk know.

    Anyway, please feel free to give the game a try or a rating, or some such. So far I've made 49 cents at Clay and 6 cents at Gamejolt. Fame and fortune beckons, I tells ya!

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  • Okay, I've just solved the Clay.io audio problem.

    Incase you're thinking of exporting your game to Clay.io, the reasons for a lack of sound on iOS devices is due to the Export to Chrome option in c2 only exporting .ogg audio files, and no m4a audio files. If you export to chrome then you also need to copy the m4a audio files manually into the media folder (it seems odd that no one has mentioned this before) My game now has audio on Clay! I just hope it works on Android devices too.