I wish more developers told it like it is like this. We've created an embarrassingly coddled community of entitled gamers who genuinely feel like there's nothing wrong with relentlessly harassing developers. Bravo, Madgarden.
I just wanted to jump in and say that eeenmachine pretty much nailed it. Us developers can't expect everyone to recognize how much work goes into creating a game, but it is very demotivating when people take an attitude with us like somehow we owe them even more than what they've gotten for a couple of dollars. If you've enjoyed the game so far that's great, but don't act like you're owed anything else or come in demanding they deliver a FREE update on some sort of schedule especially for the pocket change you paid for it. It's obnoxious. Madgarden's only mistake was trying to be nice and give an optimistic estimate of how long he was hoping to take to finish the update.
I've been playing on my iPad - man, it feels so much bigger on that! Obviously. Control works just as well of course and it's nice having the big screen. For handiness, I've always played on my iPod Touch up to now so it's a bit of a novelty. Here's a question - would there ever be a way of playing on one device and continuing the game on another? Might be an impossibility (can any games do this?) but I could see it being handy.
There are various ways to do this. I think we'll have to wait and see how things look after 2.0 launches.
Yes, that is precisely the point. Your question has been answered many times. While I don't know M/M Madgarden, I'm going to go out on a limb and suppose that each time they answered your question, that they gave what they felt was an honest estimate at that time. Then fate intervenes, either because new features are planned or because things are more difficult to fix than once thought, or life interferes. They have handled you asking the question just fine. It is you that has been unable to handle the answer. We all want to play the game, and I am certain that they want nothing more than for us to be able to do so. So be patient knowing that the waiting will result in a better game.
I apologize for going slightly off topic here, but what really bothers me about your posts are that you're taking the stance of the wounded innocent bystander. You claim, with self-rightuous indignation, that you were just asking a question and were attacked for it. But that's not the case. In fact, your question was very much phrased as an attack on Madgarden. Not only did you berate him for not having launched the game yet, but you also implied that he was lying to you by not giving you a concrete launch date; that somehow he secretly knows how long the game will take and that he's deliberately misleading you and the forum readers. So, it's no wonder he responded how he did. I get pissed off when people call me a liar too. Scheduling a game is extremely difficult. I've worked at big game companies that have dedicated employees whose job it is to figure out how the schdule is going to work, and they still get it wrong 99% of the time. As independent developers, it's even more difficult, because our job is to do everything. Madgarden isn't withholding information, he's just trying to get the game done. The important lesson here is: it's fine to ask a question, but how you ask it is important.
This conversation has reminded me that I have yet to complete the game on Legend Mode. I guess I'm back to the dungeon. Has anyone here returned the sword in Legend Mode? If so, any tips or tricks? Madgarden, have YOU been able to best your own creation? Also, how far down does the dungeon go? If we bypass the sword, how much lower could we conceivably go? Thanks.
Dates don't mean anything in game development. Haven't people learned that in the last 30 years? A date is a projection of optimism waiting to be shattered by the conjoined twins of reality and humility. And reality is cruel, like a dog that head butts you in the testicles to get your attention. Madgarden puts in a ton of hours every week, revising and improving stuff, and generally trying to make it as worthy of being a sequel as possible, rather than just an update. And he *is* carrying a lot of that weight himself. No small task. Dates don't matter. The end result matters. We may get hyped up for something, but if it's not finished do we really want it released? No. In the words made famous by id Software and then Blizzard: When it's done.
Yes I have actually beaten it myself on Legend mode, no cheating etc. The dungeon goes down 27 floors, so an extra 7 to play with below the sword level. Fargoal 2 can go a lot deeper. Tips, tricks... just, try to be prepared, and don't hoard stuff only to get killed suddenly because you didn't think you'd need to use one of your 25 shield spells.
Excellent. I always forget to use my items... I'll try to do better at that. Looking at the achievements, is it safe to assume Paragon is the final floor? Is it visually different to know you've gotten there? Thanks for your responses.
Hey nafkert, "Paragon" is actually the character level (25), not the floor level. You'll see a message and some pretty, twinkly sparkles when you achieve it.
Hi nafkert, I've rescued the sword twice in Legend mode. Should counted, because I'm certain I died 100 times. This, early on, when I was practically living in the world of Fargoal. Bot times I won I was lucky enough to get both of the two neatest shields; without those, I had no chance. I also went down to the level 25 and level 26 dungeons (ignoring the sword, just trying to go as deep as possible). It was exciting, but my death throes, whe they came, were horrible. Horrible. "Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now."
You're going to release the update for free? This is the roguelike that I keep coming back to, and feel like I've underpaid. When you release version 2.0, charge for it. I'd be happy to pay, you deserve it, seriously.
Jorlen, thanks. Yeah the update is free. There will be IAP stuff if you feel like giving something extra.
omfg were is this update ive been sitting aroudn doing nothingf or the tiem it tkaes to birth a child and STILL NO UPDATE!!!?!!?!?!? fu1star madgarten Saucelifter was excellent in 2009(?) however. Mad props for that.
Thanks! Once I'm done Fargoal 2 sometime in 2013 or so, I'll do a Saucelifter update. Woo! We may add some sort of tip jar, it could help. Solomon's Boneyard/Keep has a donation button, I noticed.
