Nah, I like it the way it is. Adams (who first brought it up) also seems to like it the way it is. Afterall, that's how it is in real life. You can ask Usain Bolt to sprint as fast as he could in the same track, same time of the day, same preparation, same everything yet the result can still differ. Maybe he trips over, feels lazy or just feels like playing Stair Dismount
Let's see if I've got all the feedback covered: 1) Dismemberment, blood, gore etc. in Stair Dismount Sorry, but no. Stair Dismount is more about implied violence than graphic violence. This is an artistic choice for us. That, and we have it from a higher power that dismemberment would borderline on objectionable content and risk rejection from the App Store. 2) Push-point above the finger A good suggestion! We will investigate if it's something that can be quickly implemented. I'll make a separate post about this later. 3) Remembering zoom-level This is again one of those little things with no absolutely right answers. If we set the camera to not reset its zoom level, there will be annoyed comments from users who need to zoom back in at the start of every Dismount (assuming they zoomed back to view the previous performance). Adding a checkbox in the options screen for different camera behaviors feels like a clunky solution, and we don't really want to start overwhelming the casual users with too many optional behaviors. There are plans to re-visit the camera controls, but nothing firm has been decided yet. 4) Low-quality FB faces The original photos given by Facebook servers that we show in the list of Facebook friends are 50*50 pixels each. We show them as we get them, and there's really no room to zoom or crop from those. As a workaround, Stair Dismount has a photo editor if you import the photo from the device Photo Library. So for example, open up a photo in Safari with your friend's face in it, press standby and home buttons at the same time to grab a screen into your Photo Library, and then add that photo in Stair Dismount. Crop and zoom functions are supported for photos that are on the device. A downside to the workaround is that the Dismountee's name needs to be tagged manually if the photo is uploaded to Facebook. 5) Random element in Dismounts This is an "artistic choice": in this respect Stair Dismount is an arcade game where each tumble is unique except for replays. Truck Dismount (the PC & Mac version) has a deterministic simulation.
@Frand I am very satisfied with how it is. My 2cent (some may have been mentioned) would be: - Additional levels with something unique to them (i.e. a prop like the loose ski level, Objects that you can crash into that fall with you/on top of you for more point damage like iblast moki or other physics crashing games, Shot out of a cannon and crashing into blocks or something level, Escalator Level would be EPIC, Great pyramid level, Conveyor belt level, Skyscraper level with a trampoline at the bottom for a big bounce, winding stairs like in a lighthouse with a ton of stairs, A tree level full of branches, High and low diving boards level in an empty pool, giant plinko game level, moving vehicle level like a truck bed, etc..) - have a further zoom out so you can see the entire level. - A way to clear the face (you have already mentioned.) - Editing a screenshot to add words in a chat/thought box like a comic book so we can type in a funny message and share with friends (i.e. EPIC FAIL, Ouch, should have wore a helmet, etc..) Just ideas for thought that would be cool to see. As you can tell i am really enjoying Stair Dismount. Please anyone feel free to add me to Openfeint. I will be moving up on the leader boards in due time!
I think it's that wide variety of scores possible for any given push/power combination that makes this game so addicting and levels the playing field for everyone, not just the power-gamers. Basically anyone has a chance at the leaderboards. Hell I'm #4 in the World Cup ranking so if I can do it most definitely anyone can. That crazy fool with 1.2 mil on the ski slope level just boggles the mind though, how in the fuh?
@Frand - any hope of getting separate impact position & angle controls like I brought up a few pages back?
Ah man. I wasn't suggesting blood or gore, but bombs would have added a whole new gameplay element. Mr. Dismount is barely alive as it is so seeing him hit an explosive and go flying is far more comical than it is violent, even if he keeps his arms, it gives the player something to do. You've got this apparently complex physics engine yet you seem to avoid adding anything that uses it's full potential. Yes the game is fun as it is, but it's still more of a toy than anything else, it won't keep people playing forever... it needs something there... how about targets? Just stick 3 targets in each level and make us try and hit all three. Stupidly simple but adds a brand new element actually trying to aim Mr. Dismount somewhere.
Count me as another who likes the total randomness of the game. What's the point of having it do the same thing every time? Thoughts on the push-point: how about one finger to move the push point (and thanks for considering moving it above the finger) and then, if you drop another finger onto the screen - and two-finger drag - you change the angle? ie: one finger drag moves the push-point, two-finger drags change the angle (but only when you're in drag-the-push-point mode.) Maybe a bit obscure for people to discover it without it being pointed out, but it doesn't add buttons or take away from the controls already there. On the camera: No chance you can squeeze in a button that's a "this is my favourite camera-angle" button? Just move to the angle/zoom you like, tap the button to set that point, then you can move in and alter the push point. As soon as you hit dismount, the camera moves out to the favourite-camera-point for the dismount. The button could be a toggle: tap it again and it un-sets the camera and restores the current behaviour. Or, if you guys would rather no more buttons: when dragging the camera, a double-tab with a second finger can set the fav-camera, similar to the push-angle trick above - only works when in move-the-camera mode. Or maybe I'm over-thinking it? A simple double-tap on screen could do the trick. {shrugs} As for more future features.. IMHO the game is feature complete, and doesn't really need more levels or stuff. I think it's time to take the game engine and consider car/truck/bike/scooter dismount.
Some feedback on feedback: 1) Push-point above finger Unfortunately while this is a great feature in geoDefense, implementing it in Stair Dismount would be rather complex. Since the same screen has UI buttons to push and clicking on empty space moves the camera, there are many situations where player input would lead to unwanted results. (Like clicking below the foot, would you then want to pick the foot or move the camera? Or click the Dismount-button, if it's below the foot?) So for now, to fine-tune the impact position, it's still best to pinch-zoom in. 2) Separate impact & angle controls If you compare the original Stair Dismount on PC to the iPhone version, the game did allow an angle control for the arrow, but it only allowed a single impact location per body part. We felt that allowing the player to pick any spot on the body allowed for a greater freedom in dismounting. The challenge adding an angle adjustment to the current control scheme is the complexity it creates in recognizing if the user wants to turn the camera, pick an impact point or pick the arrow to adjust the angle. It's unlikely that we can find an elegant solution for this. 3) Explosions, targets... Adding a target or targets to hit is possible in the future. Bombs etc. are less likely because we want Stair Dismount to maintain a loose connection to reality. The tone of the game is that of slightly absurd dark humor, and we don't want to cross over to slapstick (at least not yet). Dismounts are more about getting the players to cringe from seeing remotely realistic situations, and a human pinball isn't in line with that idea. So in the future you're much more likely to see, for example, an escalator rather than a minefield. If all goes well, the next update will be submitted tomorrow. Here's one more screenshot of the latest thing we added - high scores are now visible after every dismount: After this update we'll take a holiday break, breathe out, sit down, and wonder what to do next year.
Ok someone please drop at least 1 enigmatic hint on how to get those ridiculous scores on Loose Bindings. I'm only able to get 1/3 of the top score so I'm clearly missing something key but cannot figure it out. EDIT - would that hint be 'the best path down a hill is not always the most obvious one'?
In my experience so far, an almost straight-down path is the most efficient.. seems to work better if you avoid the sub-ramps. IMHO those just slow things down. If you can get him going end-over-end (hit head, hit feet, hit head, etc) that works well. I like the head or the shoulder for the push-point. Um, I haven't gotten close to that score yet tho.
Y'know I was playing this last night and thinking I should ask about that very option, you must've been reading my mind. ...didn't find anything interesting in there did you?
I was thinking this might have something to do with getting those crazy scores but I have yet to be able to actually drop off the side of the slope. It's so difficult I can't imagine someone doing it with any regularity so maybe I'm totally off base.
This looks great .. When ever my 3Gs comes i really take this to test .. "10points and the picture of parrot"
I just had a weird result that might explain this. As I was tumbling down the slope near the bottom, all of a sudden I found myself spinning through the air. Looking at the replay, what happened was that one of the skis came tumbling at me, spinning very fast, and when it hit me it threw me high into the air. I landed off to the side at the bottom (the screenshot shows right before landing). I haven't been able to get it to happen again (glitch?), but it was pretty cool.
Wow, that's a totally badass photo. Yeah, I'm wondering if some of the highs are the results of glitches. Would be good to have a view of the full online high score table like, say, Doodle Jump does it. Then we could see if some of those highs are just total outliers, and can focus on beating the more realistic ones. @deckard I've never managed to get to the ground on Loose Bindings. I'm still hoping for the perfect cartwheel to give me enough momentum to get there one day. IMHO there should be an achievement specific to that level: Loose Groundings - make it to the ground on Loose Bindings. ..oh oh .. how about: Worse Than a Ski - yes, the ski made it further down the slope than you. @SecretExit Okay, if the push-point can't be above the finger so it's visible (and you give a fair argument that it can't) ..how about if, when moving the push-point, dropping a second finger on the screen brings up a magnifying-glass - visibly similar to the text-zoom magnifying-glass in the standard Apple UI. Might appease those of us getting frustrated at not being able to see exactly where we're pushing.
^^^^ Haha me too! @people talking about the push point: I felt the same exact way when I first got this game. I felt like I'd rather be controlling the arrow itself, rather than the little circle it's pointing towards. But after playing a ton, I've gotten pretty used to how it is. If you really take your time, you can get it just where you want it. You kind of have to pay attention to what the arrow is doing under your finger, but it's not terrible IMO. And it helps a great deal pinching to zoom in, in case you're not utilizing that. What I would really like is the ability to zoom in but then shift it to the lower half of the body, so you could accurately set up your point on the legs and waist areas. But for right now, I'm cool with how it is and understand why they can't really change it. And I have no idea how some people are getting some of these scores, especially Loose Bindings.
Nice pic! +1 to the highscores. I as well have no clue how people are getting these scores. I will continue to try regardless but damn people...
