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No Avernum 2? Need new iOS rpgs


Tycho Maudd

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So now that Avernum 2 and future Spidweb games won't be made for iOS, I need something to play on my iPad. These games were some of the few that I've liked. I was wondering if anyone could give me any leads to new games that are similar to spidweb's? They need to be turn based, and the most recent non-spidweb game I enjoyed was Eschalon, but unfortunately the sequels aren't made for iOS. It seems like almost all games are jrpgs or tactical games and those just aren't my style.

 

Anyone have any advice for a fan going through Avernum withdrawl?

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Prepare to be completely disappointed. With the rate that Apple updates its iOS for mobile devices, non-casual game makers are simply going to find it too difficult to keep up. The dev companies belonging to big-name publishers may be an exception. From a programming perspective, casuals are easier to re-script because there simply isn't as much script there to begin with.

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I had to buy an ipad because a piece of equipment I use requires iOS as the interface. While I like Apple as a stock, I continue to be dismayed by their business practices, unfriendliness to developers, and continuing adherence to "different is better" as a business practice. One day it will bite them in the ass. It looks like it happened a little bit today, with Spiderweb Software abandoning ipad as a development platform. When programming gets in the way of game development, you know it's time to cut that cord.

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SS abandoning the iOS is not a bite in the ass for Apple. It's completely inconsequential, along with every other super-indie developer that they lose. Hell, even if they lose half their small to medium scale indie developers, it won't hurt them.

 

Shadowrun, or Dragonfall, are turn based rpgs with depth too. Banner Saga is another option, very well received, though didn't really click with me initially for some reason.

 

In-depth RPGs are premium games. They aren't selling anymore-- they're selling less and less for the desktop as well.

Compared to casual and free-to-play games, premium games (be they casual or not) cost more money. (the popularity of free-to-play games makes me especially sad-- I hate the free-to-play model with a passion-- which is also partly due to my disdain for MMO games, but also for my intense hatred for non-cosmetic microtransactions and in-game advertising. The lattermost is not only insidious for its distracting properties and browser slowdown, but it can also ruin the game atmosphere-- e.g. adverts in a medieval setting RPG, or an ad for low-cost plane tickets to Hawaii in a post-apocalyptic game. I have less of a problem with load screen advertising, though it can still harm the atmosphere)

 

Ugh, the Wiki page paints a very bleak future for gaming...

Pointing to the disruptive effect of free-to-play on current models, IGN editor Charles Onyett has said "expensive, one-time purchases are facing extinction". He believes that the current method of paying a one-time fee for most games will eventually disappear completely. Greg Zeschuk, of BioWare believes there is a good possibility that free-to-play would become the dominant pricing plan for games, but that it was very unlikely that it would ever completely replace subscription-based games. ] Developers such as Electronic Arts have pointed to the success of freemium, saying that microtransactions will inevitably be part of every game.

 

Personally, I never, and will never, purchase any game that doesn't allow me to DL the installer OR purchase the CD and play offline, so that I can install and play it any time I want, whenever I want, within the next 10-15 years barring system incompatibility. That means no DRM, which I despise every bit as much as the free-to-play genre. That is why I only purchase games straight from the dev site (granted, the only games I've ever purchased online so far are SS games :) The fact remains however, that I would never purchase a game from Big Fish, Wildtangent, or even Steam-- nor would I ever, EVER purchase a game that required a server to play)

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Hyena of Ice, the OP is asking for suggestions on games he might be interested in, not for rants about the state of the industry; I'm worried that he'll see less of the former if the thread gets derailed into the latter. If you want to continue this line of discussion further, I'd encourage you to start your own thread for the sake of keeping this one on-topic. Or you can keep posting in Jeff Vogel's thread announcing the end of SW developing for the iPad; that should also be fine. I just don't want Tycho Maudd's request to be drowned out by other conversations.

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Shadowrun: Dragonfall is actually a great game. I wouldn't say it has huge tactical depth, but it has some, and it has a solid plot and good characters. I played through it (on a bigger screen, with a keyboard) just last week and enjoyed it thoroughly. Its predecessor, Dead Man's Switch, is okay. I wasn't impressed, but I enjoyed it. I'm a Shadowrun fan, though, which helped. Both are not quite like Spiderweb games; they're much more linear, for one thing. They're turn-based, but they use XCOM-style cover-based squad shooting. Their selling point, particularly for Dragonfall, is getting through missions based on the skills and attributes you have. Use hackers to get stuff via computers. Take Charisma and talk your way around problems. Other skills have their moments too.

 

There are also a ton of old JRPGs, particularly Squaresoft ones, on iOS. They aren't Spiderweb-like, but I do hold a special place for them in my heart.

 

—Alorael, whose final recommendation is even further afield. King of Dragon Pass isn't an RPG, really. It doesn't fit neatly into genres. It's somewhere between RPG where you play a tribe instead of a party and a 4X game where you have no units, the map is of minimal importance, and you're mostly building up your side and dealing with random events. With roguelike elements? It's an amazing game in a rich, unique world. It's the only one he's ever purchased for iOS and it's the only game he's taken out his iPhone to play with other devices available.

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I have played both Baldur's Gate games and have been trying to play Icewind Dale but it feels like just a dungeon crawler and I'm looking for a story now, hence my disappointment hearing the news about Avernum 2 (I had just finished replaying Avernum as preparation too). I'll look into Shadowrun, I tried playing XCOM, I found the combat and overall game play fun, but it never really captured me. King of Dragon pass was a game I was looking into, but too wasn't sure on the game play of, but Alorael seems to be giving it a good thumbs up review, so I'll consider that as well.

 

Hyena of Ice is right about mobile games, when I look for a game I want something fairly engrossing that I can enjoy for years to come. When I bust my laptop out I'll still play Diablo 2, Master of Orion 2, the older Spidweb games etc., but I find that with my new twin girls, my laptop just isn't feasible to use anymore. Most of the modern games that come out for iOS seem to be based on a consumption model, where either it's essentially pay-to-play 'freemium' or short casual games without depth that get boring and need to be replaced soon. The best mobile games I've seen outside of Spidweb's are Sid Meier's although those fill a completely different niche.

 

Since I mentioned Master of Orion, has anyone recently played Starbase Orion? I tried the first contact "demo" version a long time ago and found it to be painfully slow, but I've heard that it's been greatly updated since then. Does anyone know how well it plays now? I know it's a completely different genre from what I posted looking for, but every once in awhile I get the itch for a good 4x game.

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Mentioned earlier but if story is your thing, then definitely look at "Banner Saga".

 

There's "Final Fantasy Tactics" which, while obviously has jrpg stylings isn't that kind of rpg really and has a strong story driven theme.

 

"Little Big Adventure", bit clunky but again has puzzles, adventure and a definite story

 

A different type of game altogether, puzzle/strategy but with a linking story and very polished is "Might and Magic Clash of Heroes"

 

"Rimelands: Hammer of Thor", very, very old game (which manages the miraculous feat of still running fine on iOS 8.3) - it has what looks like an annoying on screen joypad but because it's basically a turn based game it's not so bad in this instance

 

"The war of Eustrath HD", found this interesting and has a story but got very hard all of a sudden and I abandoned it but keep meaning to try again.

 

That's what's there on my iPad anyhow, for reference..! :)

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"Rimelands: Hammer of Thor", very, very old game (which manages the miraculous feat of still running fine on iOS 8.3) - it has what looks like an annoying on screen joypad but because it's basically a turn based game it's not so bad in this instance

Just bought this, love it so far! Fits what I am looking for, I also tried looking into Banner saga, but I'm a sucker for magic abilities and it doesn't look like there's any in it. As for might and magic type games, I like the overall game play in the heroes of might and magic but I am not a fan of the battle system in them. And as for jrpgs, I got burned out on them awhile back, I had FFt for the Gameboy Advance and didn't like it. The only jrpg I've enjoyed recently were the golden sun games.

 

If if you know of other games like rimelands, I'm all ears since the reviews say it's not a very long game, and I'm sure I'll need something after it.

 

Edit: Wow, making a post on the iPad leads to all kinds of terrible typos.

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Wow, I don't have an iPad - (loving my Surface) but I wanted to browse the iPad app store because I had a few games in mind, and I wanted to see whether any were available on there. Unless I am missing something... I leterally cannot see what apps are available for iPad, or browse the iPad app store in any way since I am not on an iPad (or maybe since I am on a Windows machine). That would certainly be annoying were I considering an iPad.

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Wow, I don't have an iPad - (loving my Surface) but I wanted to browse the iPad app store because I had a few games in mind, and I wanted to see whether any were available on there. Unless I am missing something... I leterally cannot see what apps are available for iPad, or browse the iPad app store in any way since I am not on an iPad (or maybe since I am on a Windows machine). That would certainly be annoying were I considering an iPad.

 

Unless you're specifically looking for one games (which you could google search to find out if it's available), the App Store isn't any good for browsing. All it seems to show is free to play or ad supported casual apps. I've never found anything good worth playing browsing the App Store, I always have either ended up on review sites or asking people about games (hence this thread).

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