Tank Universal goes gold!
Community Forums/Showcase/Tank Universal goes gold!
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| Woohoo! Two weeks to go - here's hoping for a good launch! http://www.meridian4.com/press/20080808/index.html |
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| And you had to pick Meridian 4 located in my hometown city Montreal! You evil dude you! I wish you good luck, and I know you'd make it up to steam ;) |
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| Congratulations! This is well deserved, its an excellent game. |
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| I see you managed to get it up on Steam too, MadJack. |
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| Congrats! Living by your rule has paid off - well lets hope it does, lol. |
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| Congratulations!!! Very good game !!!. |
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| Congrats, hope it does well! |
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| It's going on steam, that's really great, well done mate. |
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| Congrats!!! Hope it sells well. |
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| I see you managed to get it up on Steam too, MadJack. I really have Meridian4 to thank for that - Steam passed twice on the game (still don't know their reasons - apparently they don't give reasons, just 'yes' or 'no' and then they move on). Fact is, without a publisher pestering them, TU would never have gotten a look in. But Meridian4 continued to pester them and Steam finally agreed after a price drop and the promise to include Steam achievements in the game. A couple of good independent reviews to which we could refer them helped a lot as well. (When I think about it, Steam has this reputation of supporting indie games, but fact is they only have about 27 indie titles in a catalog of about 280 games- 10% of their titles?) The other thing is, Simon Armstrong managed to wrap the Steam api which allowed me to link Blitz3d to Steam - so big thanks to Simon! |
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| @Madjack: You use the Indie Icon on your site. Is there also one available for promoting "applications"? I only have one rule. Everyone codes, no-one quits. You don't finish your game, I'll shoot you myself. I like that. - But sometimes you simply get out of bullets. ;) |
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| Grisu I can change the 'gaming' to 'appz' ('applications' is too long), but then the 'play different' needs changing as well. Any suggestions? 'work different'? (If that's ok, I can provide as a bitmap (1024x1024), or any other format you can work with.) |
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| "Do it different?" - But that's even longer. PNG format will do fine. Thanks a lot! You could make a similar zip file for this icon (1024,512,256) or even ship both in a single zip?! |
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So, something like this? 512x512 below |
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| Looks good to me... :D Edit:  Edit2:  How about a simple website with a list of all blitz indie games and appz? So one can link to it via program or homepage. This way the logo would "mean" something more. |
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| I purchased TU way back at its original release, and have since helped (a bit) with the testing. I've played through the entire game 3 times, and have thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm REALLY happy for you MadJack. I wish you HUGE success with this brilliant game. TU is an inspiration to everyone on this forum. I'm really looking forward to playing the sequel one day. |
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| Ervin Thanks for your kind wishes - I'm happy to say your name appears in the credits as a game tester. With a bit of luck you'll have a crack at the sequel as well, at some point in the future ;-) grisu I assume the dialog boxes you've posted above are what pops up when the user hits the 'about XXX' under HELP pulldown menu? That's not a bad idea about the website list of blitz apps/games. We've already got a list of games on the forums - will see what else can be done. |
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| Yes, exactly. It's the about xxx window of my app. Would be nice to be able to link a website when one uses a mouse click on the image. Even a simple website with the logo and the list would be much cooler than a plain forum thread. |
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| Here's a teaser trailer put together by Meridian4. http://www.atomicgamer.com/file.php?id=71332 This is a first version - I've mentioned to them that I feel the pauses are too long and they agree and are going to have another crack at it. What do you guys think? |
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| The pauses are absolutely way too long! The footage is nice, but there really should be more of it. There is so much in this game to showcase, like the huge explosions, or the big glowing train thing (I forget the level). |
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| Yeah I didn't think that trailer was that great. Too short, too little shown. I got more eye candy from your quick screen shots. I think the trailer should be the most polished. Make the silver in it look gold ;-) I wish you luck with steam, that's a great accomplishment. |
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| I agree about the trailer. It should have had shorter fade outs at the beginning with dramatic music, followed by long edited footage with a fast paced track. |
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| As the others said: the pauses are a way too long and the action shown is too short. For the end it might be nice to show the tank from 3rd Person view and that it shoots the screen... :P |
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| I thought the video was terrible - even for a first attempt. It's far too short and shows nothing of the game which completely defeats it's purpose. |
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| Re: "Indie Appz" At least change the Z to an S. Unless you want people to think you're a warez group. |
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| I thought exactly the same as StevieG ( and GFK, for that matter, but that's a different issue. ) If I didn't know anything about the game ( which is where most people are going to be at when they watch the video ) then I wouldn't know anything about it at the end of the video either. I think I saw four clips. One looking up in the air, two shooting at something and one of something blowing up. It really shouldn't start with me looking up in the air because that disorients me in the brief half a second I have before it fades to black again. Shooting at things and things blowing up is good, but let's at least have a long enough view so that I can see what is blowing up and why. If the title didn't tell me, I wouldn't even have known that tanks were involved. |
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| Yep - terrible video. Show one big battle scene and make it look exciting. Rather than several too short to show anything mini-clips. |
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| If I didn't know anything about the game ( which is where most people are going to be at when they watch the video ) then I wouldn't know anything about it at the end of the video either. Aye, same here. |
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| Too late! They've put the trailer up on Steam. Still, anyone interested can link through to the website and there's a couple of long play vids in the screenshots section. http://steamgames.com/v/index.php?area=app&AppId=19200&cc=NZ A week to go! |
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| wow, nice job getting it on steam! Best luck on the game! Now you just have to get it on the front page...what do you have to do for steam to get it on the front-page by the way? However, I do agree, terrible video :D |
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| Maybe it's just me but if I hadn't played previous demo's of the game ( which is vert good btw ) then I would not download the demo based on that video. I really hope it doesn't affect your sales. Anywho, best of luck!! |
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| Can anything be done at all to replace the video already uploaded to steam? It really is very poor and doesn't at all give a good representation of the game. I'd hate to think that sales would be affected by this. [EDIT] I just realised... at the end of the video it says "Coming soon". Does this mean that there will be a different (and hopefully much better) video uploaded once the game goes live? |
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| Just been talking to the publishers - there's a proper gameplay trailer due up next week. what do you have to do for steam to get it on the front-page by the way? They do feature new releases - so it might be up for a short time just on the strength of that alone. |
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| What did it take to wrap the Steam API into the game? |
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| Tachyon Once TU had been signed up for a Steam release, I was able to obtain a copy of the Steam SDK. Simon Armstrong then produced a wrapper which allows me to check if the Steam client is running and download achievements stats into an array. I only need achievements but I think Simon's added more functionality than that. So it was fairly straightforward, but as I say, I was only using a small part of Steam. |
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| That's Excellent! Congratulations MadJack :) Paolo. |
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| Fantastic news, I agree with the sentiment that TU is a benchmark for B3D ers to aim for. I will be purchasing a copy, or my wife will for me as a Birthday treat - what avenue is the best one to purchase from to ensure you receive the most revenue ?? Regarding the trailer, it does somewhat tease you with what is in the game, but I'm sure your already aware that the dark bits seem a bit too long. Best luck with the Game! |
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| Paolo Thanks. By the way, perhaps you should approach Meridian4 - I've found them to be very good so far (as in getting TU onto to Steam!) BP Heh - I'd probably say go with Steam. The games also being released on other portals though, such as Direct2Drive, Impulse, GamersGate and WildGames - so take your pick! |
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 YAY! Already got a copy, but I'm buyin' it anyway. $10?! Stuff it. For that, I'm buying one for a friend as well. |
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| Yes, I think I'll buy another copy as well, just to see what Achievements have been put in! Getting Shadowgrounds for free is a pretty decent carrot too! |
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| groovy cool! If you give me a 50% cut I'll buy it :D You have to tell us how much you've made after a week (and a month), I'm really curious. |
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| If you give me a 50% cut I'll buy it : Eh? It's only $9.99 and you get an extra free game too you cheapskate! ;-) As for sales figures, I'm curious too! But I may not be able to be specific about Steam - think they have an NDA in effect. I've been searching for Steam sales figures on the web and the only info I've found is that Audiosurf made its author a millionaire in a few weeks (I can hope but really don't think TU's going to do that!) and that Darwinia sold 17,000 copies in about 5 months, two years ago. |
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| I am totally a cheapskate. |
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| I'm also really curious how good steam is for marketing games on. May I ask the commision steam takes? |
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| RT Sorry - I've been asked not to discuss the details of TU's/Meridian4's publishing agreement with Steam. I know that's crappy but at this point, (less than a week till launch), I don't want to cause any ructions. What I will say is that it's competitive against other portals. |
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| Ah, I understand. Thanks. Hoping you get more sales then you can handle ;-) Good luck |
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| Just went and pre-purchased from Steam! I played the demo, great game. -Gooney |
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| Gb As Puki would say 'great excitement!'. Thanks for your pre-order ;-) Reckon it was a shrewd move on Meridian4's part to bundle Shadowgrounds with the pre-purchase offer. |
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| Couldn't hurt, but quite frankly I'm only looking forward to TU, I really do hope it goes well for you I know you've worked very hard on it. -Gooney |
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| And TU is go!!! Congrats MadJack! I just purchased it from Steam. |
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| Contrats, MadJack, now tell us the $$$ figures in a week :D I'm really curious. |
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| Thanks all. The launch is going reasonably well - although some people are reporting crashes (older ATI cards in particular, but a few other oddities as well). However most people seem to be able to get on with the game. One of the things dealing with the forums is that unless things are going really pear-shaped, I suspect you're unlikely to hear from most of those who picked up and played the game without problems - you're more likely to be dealing with those who had issues. However, the overall reception is very positive. |
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| <post removed> [Madjack replied and interrupted the 'flow'. Bloody Madjack. *shakes fist*] |
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| Feel sorry for me - you have no idea how stressful this 'launching a game on Steam' is ;-) Actually, it is really stressful! |
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| My copy is downloading now, through steam, well its only 4 days before my birthday - and it is a bank holiday weekend! I didn't realise it was Valves steam, well done mad jack - kudos to you! |
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| best luck. From the demo it looks very good, but I'm too dang cheap to buy anything (I just spent all my money on ZBrush) |
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| Help! I'm getting crash reports from ATI card users, who are having to resort to safemode to get the game running. This is not good, so asking for a bit of help here. I've set up a small test utility. This will test textureloading, copying and a glowfx using flag256 and write logfile. Could I ask the community to run the proggy, run it twice (first time answer y to enable flag 256, then n) and send me the two logfiles the programme creates (or post to this thread)? They'll be in the same directory as LOGFILE_FLAG256.TXT LOGFILE_FLAG0.TXT Nvidia users would be welcome to give it a go too! (It'll just run and render a few spheres on-screen) http://madjack.fileburst.com/256_TEST.zip Thanks! This could be a big help! |
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| Emailed you some nVidia results in case it helps. |
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| Thanks LO7 - no problems with your setup - as expected ;-) Any other testers? Particularly ATI? |
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| I emailed you my results, I've got a nvidia 9600 GT, which has issues occasionally with games, so it may help. |
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| Everything ok on Ati Radeon 9200SE - 128mb |
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| Both modes look the same on my ATI X1650XT Y N |
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| In an attempt to find one that doesn't work, I've emailed some results from an ATI X1600 256MB. Best of luck. |
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| LO7 Thanks for that - it didn't highlight the issue, However I've since managed to scrounge an older ATI card that is reproducing the error. Just about to go into the code to isolate what's causing the crash. Thanks |
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| Found the issue - not 256 flag - will fix |
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| Appear to have found the problem. Fastext's glow post process was having a violent reaction to two of the game's animated models - as in BSOD and reboot! Only affected ATI cards (as far as I can tell) and recompiling those models has appeared to solve the issue! Very odd - may fire one of the offending models Mikhail's way. My feeling though is that this is a symptom of both shoehorning extra abilities into DirectX7 Blitz3d and probably some dodgy engineering on ATI's part. Mikhail's stuff seems pretty solid. |
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| Well done on sorting the issue, if you need any more testing I'll try it tonight for you,I've been playing through to level or 6 or so now, very addictive, fantastic gameplay, the characters at the start was a nice surprise and helps the whole game to become even more emersive. Teams of people fail to achieve this level of gaming satisfaction, great work madjack. regards, BP. |
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| BP Thanks. When the dust's settled, I'll write up a post on my 'Steam' experiences. It's actually been quite stressful and it's not done yet. |
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| I see your program has made its way onto the pages of Trygames.com http://www.trygames.com/game/aff=trygames/vid=6efce5b852dc9f15d6894e816160f9cb Looking good |
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| Your game was featured in the Observer over here in the UK, which is pretty amazing. not many indie games get reviewed in the national sunday press! Good work! Cheers Charlie |
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| That Trygames link has them selling the game for $AU26.95 Given it's going for $US9.99 on Steam, with another complete game for free, I sure hope MadJack's pocketing a chunk of the difference... |
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| Your game was featured in the Observer over here in the UK That's interesting - what was the gist of the review? |
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| Ok, i found the review. here it is: "If you stripped down your favorite next-gen games to their bare bones, the reality is that they would look comparatively bleak, a series of garish coloured polygons with no apparent link to reality. But should this spoil your fun? According to Indie Games developer Dialogue Designs, the brains behind Tank Universal: Challenger Eight, the answer is a resounding no and i can't help but agree. "There was a period in the Nineties where the future of gaming appeared to sit firmly with Virtual Reality. Overlooking the cumbersome headsets and enough gadgetry to fill your lounge, the premise was really quite cool: you could interact with your surroundings in a way never experienced before. While VR games consoles were lost in the annals of history, they paved the way for the Nintendo Wii with its simple visuals but truly interactive gameplay. "Now we can revel in TU's VR-inspired graphics with more a sense of nostalgia. More importantly though, in terms of actual gameplay such as navigating around 3D maps and obliterating enemy tanks, TU can mix it up with the best. The lack of a multiplayer mode is disappointing, but with 20 all-action levels to complete and additional downloadable content, TU will inspire you to dust off your Amiga to get your fix of old-school gaming." Review by Felix Atkin. Cheers Charlie |
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| jkrankie Well, he got my business name wrong (Dialogue Designs) and he seemed to think there's additional downloadable content - but not bad. Thanks for that. |
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| it's been time, what're the figures if you don't mind saying? I've been really curious how successful this game would be. |
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| I think MadJack should have a little more time beofre releasing figures, after all he's just had a good review in PCPro of all computer magazines - this will help with the marketing no doubt! |
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| chwaga I don't actually have a final figure yet - it was released on Steam Aug 20 and other portals have been releasing since then. Thing is, only Steam provides daily sales figures (which are passed to me by the publisher) - the other portals work on a quarterly basis so I'm not entirely sure what the latest would be. I do know it was number one on WildGames for a week. Only thing I can say is, it's not the next Audiosurf but for an indie game, it's definitely selling ok. |
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| ok, cool, thanks :) |
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