Halfgeek's Forum Posts

  • Most big studios these days do multiplatform games, PC & Consoles & even mobiles, but they aren't identical versions.

    PC will get better graphics & maybe even mod support compared to consoles, and mobiles are a stripped down version.

    Big games cost so much money to make, it just makes more sense to target a wider audience.

  • > I still get the error on MoPub site over testing..

    > ====================================== CAMPAIGN FILTER RESULTS ======================================

    > No adgroups for level 0.

    > No adgroups for level 1.

    > No adgroups for level 2.

    > No adgroups for level 3.

    > No adgroups for level 4.

    > No adgroups for level 5.

    > No adgroups for level 6.

    > No adgroups for level 7.

    > No adgroups for level 8.

    > No adgroups for level 9.

    > No adgroups for level 10.

    > Removed due to inactivity: AdMob key: 302ec62210e511e4abf3123138070049

    > No adgroups for level 11 passed filters.

    > No adgroups for level 12.

    > No adgroups for level 13.

    > No adgroups for level 14.

    > No adgroups for level 15.

    > Auction returning None

    >

    > Does anyone is getting this?

    >

    anyone have solved this issue?

    Well I had that same problem a few days ago and yesterday it suddenly wanted to work again.

    My fillrate is >90% back to where it should be. So it was not working for a few days for whatever reason (probably Ludei or MoPub server backend).

  • Great looking game, definitely a yes vote from me.

    Much respect.

  • A character named Kikyo Yamada in my game Star Nomad, she is half Japanese & half Russian. She's a Fleet Vice Admiral, flying a very powerful Battleship. Her goals are to find out the truth regarding the death of her brother (& heir to the Yamada Empire) and end the conflict.

    Originally an anime drawing but recently reworked to realism.

  • I think the Asset Store is the best thing they can do to generate longevity and a steady income for Scirra so that they won't need to boost up the cost of C2, keep the barrier of entry low so more developers use it and more developers potentially buy assets or sell assets etc. A bigger community with a functional asset store is a huge source of income.

  • The problem being that it can also be done pretty wrong(seriously, click an ad to have a bonus? IS THAT EVEN AUTORIZED IN THE CONDITIONS OF USE OF ADVERTISEMENT?), and that I can be wrong but except for the mobile market, this technique does not seem to be used that much, which can lead to the question "why not elsewhere".

    As for the devs you used as an exemple, this is more an exemple of not knowing what they got into beforehand.

    Monetization is just a tool, it can be used wrong or right. Ultimately there needs to be a balance, gamers need to be respected, and devs need to be supported. For me, this means if I charge upfront for a game, there's NO ADs and NO IAPs out of respect. But if its a free game, then gamers can expect an non-intrusive banner ad & IAPs, because I have bills that need to be paid.

    I brought up those guys & their videos because they are like many new starting game devs but the difference is they've found their success finally and with a very bright future. So indeed, they didn't know what they were getting into (who of us really know before we got into it knee deep?), but now they know and its good to learn from their trial & errors, gaining wisdom of experience without actually suffering through the process.

  • > You're not the only one to feel that.

    >

    > We are all eagerly awaiting for XDK, the saviour!

    >

    Yeah and also PhoneGap + iOS8.

    Im not too keen on iOS8 because it relies on people updating their OS, which a large portion do not.

    Maybe 1 year after its out, with that much time, the majority would be on iOS8+.

    In the meantime, we're stuck with Ejecta, CJS & XDK.

  • I am quite worried about the state of CocoonJS. It seems the latest compiler where everything worked was 1.4.7. How is this even possible? Game Center is broken, Ads do not work... How are we supposed to deliver quality to our customers with tools that do not work?

    Sorry about the rant, but I've had it with CJS and am looking for reliable alternatives. Sigh...

    You're not the only one to feel that.

    We are all eagerly awaiting for XDK, the saviour!

  • >

    > > Cocoon 2.0.2 completely tanked all of my ad display numbers.

    > >

    > > Are you guys planning on fixing that or should I just use an older version when I compile?

    > >

    >

    > Yeah same for mine, fillrate dropped to 10-40%, before it was consistently 80%+

    >

    what networks do you use?

    Im mopub market, admob, millenial, inmobi

    It's not even 2.0.2, I have some games on 2.0.1 and the Ads don't show up.

    They probably broke something on their server that communicates with MoPub for the ad calls.

  • —

    You know what i think the difference is? Major gaming sites like newgrounds just have good looking ads, highly polished and fitted in the surrounding. The ads admob and friends include, look like someone just vomit in your game

    I don't think they are good looking ads, its just as annoying as any other ads. In fact i recently was spammed on IGM with "this is not a joke, you're our 100,000th visitor and you win!!" flashing red/white banner like a crazy epileptic inducing episode.

    Ads are annoying by default. We hate it in our mail, on TV, on the web, on mobiles.

    If you the gamer hate it, then considering spending $0.99 to remove it or like some, just turn off internet or install adblock.

    If its a big game and it doesn't have ads, you can be sure the IAPs are forced upon the gamer (Clash of Clans, Dungeon Keeper etc) due to the entire game designed around milking IAPs. Because devs need money to make games and it has to come from somewhere, if not advertisers paying for it, then gamers will pay for it.

    I noticed Butterscotch Shenanigans in their early videos complaint how much they hate Ads as gamers so as devs, they won't implement it.. but then I checked their recent game updates, and they have Ads in it now. As they said, "we need to eat". Really, watch their presentation videos, you can see their progression from starting out as new indie devs to gradually realize that monetization is not separate from game design, that game devs are partially a salesman, but it does not mean you lose all respect of gamers. No, it can be done right.

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  • Cocoon 2.0.2 completely tanked all of my ad display numbers.

    Are you guys planning on fixing that or should I just use an older version when I compile?

    Yeah same for mine, fillrate dropped to 10-40%, before it was consistently 80%+

    Edit: I use AdMob & MoPub Marketplace.

  • There's also a certain percent of people who turn off wifi or mobile data to avoid ads, that's fine and you shouldn't have to worry bout it. Lots of other users don't do that though. Just from my experience with a small Banner Ad in a Flappy Clone, there were lots of impressions and clicks, you just need to get the numbers of people playing it high and they keep on playing it for awhile (a good game with lots of replay-ability is a must) to generate decent income. Not ONE single gamer on my Flappy Clone complaint about the Banner Ad. It's expected of free games and there's a general understanding on mobiles.

    What people hate are fullscreen ads and 100% hate video ads (don't do it, even if you're a huge AAA developer with the best game ever, note: Cut the Rope 2).

    Also, do not go down the route of making it Ad free, then when you get lots of download, roll an update with Ads in it. This is a betrayal of gamers who gave you your lots of downloads (& drive up your game ranking on the store). Be upfront. Most gamers do not mind banner ad put in the right location that doesn't interfere with their gameplay.

    As to comments that it makes your game look unprofessional, please... visit most major gaming site, do they look professional? Yes. Do they have ads? Heck yes, a lot of ads. It comes down to perception, some people just hate ads and often run AdBlockers, those people, you don't care about because they give you nothing in return so their opinions...

    sqiddster Said it perfect.

  • I don't believe in mobile gaming, but if I did I'd probably release a free demo and then charge for the full game, or just make sure the trailer is really good and then put out the full game; demos are known to decrease sales.

    No ads. Ever.

    Apparently billions of people globally believe in mobile gaming.

    Nearly all of them don't want to spend any $ doing it though. So someone has to pay for devs to work hard making games for them to enjoy. If they don't want to pay, then let the advertisers pay, pretty simple.

    I see nothing wrong with Ads or IAPs, as long as its done well and as least intrusive as possible. If I load up a free game and the first thing I am greeted to is a full screen Ad, it's automatic uninstall. But If i play games and it has a banner ad in a non intrusive place (that doesn't interfere with gameplay), I'm fine with playing it. For those really good ones, I even spend $ on IAPs.

    I'm firstly a gamer, and then a game dev so I can see it from both aspects.

    Either way, highly recommend other mobile devs to view the videos I linked above.

    ps. I don't run Ad Blockers on my PC browsers or phones. It's a filthy tool that deprives the content creator of much needed sustenance so that they are able to keep on making content that you want to browse on. It's actually a form of piracy. I am reminded of the collapse of the game studio Natsume everytime the issue of piracy is raised, because I loved their Rune Factory & Harvest Moon type games, but 99% of people pirate it and the studio died due to out of funds.

  • For any new indie dev, I HIGHLY suggest you watch this presentation:

    And this one:

    Subscribe to Construct videos now

    It's from Butterscotch Shenanigans, also a new indie dev team but they are now on the road to success! Learn from their experience & wisdom.

    I wish I had seen these videos before I made my own games.

    ps. As a no name, no fame indie dev, do not EVER ask for an upfront payment for your game. You want to be KNOWN first, get your games into as many gamer's hands as possible. There's a great line from that video, you are NOT competing versus a cup of coffee (well, $0.99 is cheaper than coffee even!), but competing against an ocean of free games out there all wanting to get user attention. As a no fame dev, you are basically erecting a mountain obstacle by asking for upfront payment for your game.

    Ads are a necessary evil, because I hate ads, you hate ads, but if nobody wants to pay for the game, then advertisers have to pay for it, thus, ads.

  • > Lost your saved data too.. oh well, I can't lose my user's saved data, there will be a crap-storm as they find their game resets after an update.

    >

    If you're up to the challenge, you could create an online facility for storing that WebStorage data, or at least the most critical bits. Release a CJS-based update that syncs local storage online, then release an XDK update that pulls down that data and loads it into local storage.

    It'd probably just be a matter of pushing data into a SQL database through Ajax and PHP, much like how ArcadeEd's online high score table tutorial works. The only hurdle is that you'd need a unique identifier for each user to keep their data together while it's online. I'd suggest generating a string of numbers and letters, then just say to the user "Hey, there's an update that's going to massively improve your user experience; if you want to keep your data, write down this string carefully and re-enter it in the updated version".

    It's a long, laborious, possibly messy process, but if in the end you have a more stable and overall better product, I think it'd be worth the effort.

    Thanks. I thought about doing a similar solution, but it will require user input and from my experience with users on the Store, its just not going to happen and many of them will find they suddenly update and lose all their data.

    Not all users auto update to the latest build, a lot of them are lagging 1, 2 or even 3 updates behind. If they suddenly update later to the XDK build, their current progress resets. You can imagine the fury.

    It'll have to be a 2nd edition, like Star Nomad Elite. One of the great feature of XDK is the memory management and fast load times, it means I can put in PC/MAC high resolution art on the XDK build, in fact, I've already tested it and it ran very well on a lot of devices! I'll have to update the app description to point new users to the Elite version and overtime, phase out the CJS version.

    Anyway, for those who don't know the problem, now its out there. Updating a different compiled game will reset Webstorage.