Share My Creation Invaders - Mars Defender (Android)

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.coffeeinducedgames.marsdefender

Hello B4X community!I have released my latest game! Invaders: Mars Defender for Android!

It's a Space Invaders inspired shooter, but with weapon powerups and boss levels.

It uses the libgdx library to allow for smooth 60 fps graphics, and some nice special effects.
Top ten high score table, local scores only for the moment.
Four weapon types (new beam weapon)
Boss levels.
Collect gems to increase powerups times.

Have fun and remember to comment with bugs, thoughts and feature requests!

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.coffeeinducedgames.marsdefender

 

[sorex]

it requires access to the external storage?

 

[andymc]

I use DirDefaultExternal to save config files. If I use internal then I'll lose the settings when a user updates. Should I be using something else?
The other permissions requests come from using libgdx and the interstitial admob library I believe.

 

[sorex]

it plays very well. got till wave 5 so far.
I had some problems with the 'joystick' touch events tho (needed to look where to press)

the only thing I don't like is the ways ads are thrown at you.

game over > ad shown > press screen to continue > menu shows + another ad shown

that's 2 ads with only 1 click in between.

 

[sorex]

dirDefaultInternal works fine for updates too. it just gets trashed at app deletion I think.

 

[andymc]

thanks @sorex I hadn't realised that. I haven't had anyone complain about permissions in reviews, but will try switching to it anyway.

 

[sorex]

I just looked at the controls. the third option combined with manual fire would be nice.

the autofire always fires at the wrong moment

 

[sorex]

I noticed a small cosmetic bug.

when at game over and the aliens still move around they jump when reaching the border of the screen.

 

[freedom2000]

Hi,

Really great game very adictive.
But the Ads are really too frequent, sound on, even during the same game level. Quite disturbing

 

[andymc]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'll do an update tomorrow morning to remove the add between levels. It's tempting to put more in as I'm trying to earn enough money from games to work on them full time. But I don.t want to just shovel ads into people's faces. It's difficult to find a good balance between making money and an enjoyable game.

 

[Beja]

It's difficult to find a good balance between making money and an enjoyable game.

Maybe the balance is to offer a paid version without ads.

 

[andymc]

Maybe the balance is to offer a paid version without ads.

From my research looking at games on the store. Seperate paid versions never do well, the better option is to offer an in app purchase to remove ads. Another thing I might do is show less ads the more you play.

 

[sorex]

I had it twice that I clicked the ads when a level completed because I was still moving around or pressing fire.

In some of my games where a timer is used I only show ads when the time ran out. not when they passed a level in time.

see it as some kind of reward for passing a level.

 

[eps]

Good work Andy! I'll have to try and download it soon.

 

[andymc]

I just looked at the controls. the third option combined with manual fire would be nice.

the autofire always fires at the wrong moment

I've thought about this, but am not sure where to put the firebutton. I did think about just allowing you to tap anywhere on the screen to fire, but you can also tap to pick up gems, so maybe I could do it so if you tap above the bases then it will check if you tap a gem, if you don't then it will fire a bullet.

 

[andymc]

Based on feedback, I have now removed the ads between levels and only one ad will show on game over.

Does anyone have a good article on how to implement ads in a way to both maximise ad revenue but keep complaints low?

I'm thinking about using rewarded ads, how much do these pay on average per click?

 

[sorex]

I'm thinking about using rewarded ads, how much do these pay on average per click?

it depends on how much the advertiser wants to pay for it and the relation between impressions/clicks

if they only watch half of it you don't get anything at all.
not sure if you can earn something by just a bunch of impressions tho.

 

[ilan]

nice game. although the advertisement is not set correctly.
i got interstitial ads while playing. this may lead to lots of uninstalls and bad reviews.

i got to until wave 10 and i really like the new weapons especially the blue laser weapon.
i think the boss should in a random time dive down and up after all small invaders are dead.
this will make it harder. animating the wings of the boss invader would also be nice in my opinion.

in all, i like the game more than the other 2 invaders game you made so this one is the best looking one.

i would separate it from the classic invader game and not try to make a relation between them so i would remove the 4 bases on the bottom that are present in the original invaders game.

in a future update, i would try to improve the controls and allow the ship fly also in the y-axis and not only in the x-axis.

anyway very nice game, good luck with it

 

[andymc]

Hi Ilan!!!

Thanks for the feedback. I have removed the ads while playing so that should no longer happen. Ads only show after game over and when quitting mid game now.

I like the idea for the bosses, I am still to add features fore the bosses but got a little impatient and wanted to get the game released.

My next game is part written already and has free movement on x and y using drag control for the player ship. IT will also have gamepad support and different enemy attack wave types. The design is similar to that of the game "Galaga Wars" on the play store.

I'm loving writing space shooter games and have been very lucky that my Invaders game became popular. I am planning to write at least three more space games before moving onto something new. So far, 75% of the installs for mars defender have come from direct referrals, this may be from my existing games or from forums posts I've made. So far I've put a link here and on gamedevs announcements forum. I'm going to put a post on XDA forums now. Does anyone know any other forums I should post on?

 

[freedom2000]

I really like your games.

One of my favorite games when I was 18 was MoonCresta (yes I become old !)

Music sooo addictive and quite complex game play
Try to port it to Android and you will earn a lot