[Blog Post] Porting Gun Frenzy to Windows Phone

[dKp1977]

Thanks ... like your new avatar pic, by the way. Looks very manly. Did you use some sort of sketching software to convert a pic to a sketch?

By the way, I figured out how to add a targeting cursor too. Though I'm not sure it's really much of an improvement so I think I'll put it as option so people can enable it if they want.

Thanks. Most women I know, including my wife, don't actually like my new haircut. Well, who cares.
I've done it using this powerful app: http://www.windowsphone.com/s?appid=0c2adeb7-f322-49a7-aabb-1b51fb750021

Great, I'm sure the crosshair will help me a lot. And having it as an option is definitely great.

 

[WaveLightGames]

Cool app ... and I agree, you should do what you like with your hair.

After some more optimizing, I've managed to get the download file size down to around 150MB. I don't think there's too much more I can do to shrink it down so update should be posted soon. Some time tomorrow after I do a bit more testing on my end. Actually, it might be a little later as I want to hear back from my tester with a 512 MB device to make sure it still works on low memory devices.

 

[WaveLightGames]

Submitted the new version (1.5) to the store for certification. I switched up the ad provider so now there are interstitial ads. If these also bring in little or no revenue, I'll probably remove ads entirely. I'll let you guys know once it's live.

 

[WaveLightGames]

Passed certification ... I believe it's posted. Please take a look and let me know what you think of the changes.

http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/gun-frenzy/bc740f8a-af56-46f6-b48c-4ec4c911e30a

 

[dKp1977]

Passed certification ... I believe it's posted. Please take a look and let me know what you think of the changes.

http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/gun-frenzy/bc740f8a-af56-46f6-b48c-4ec4c911e30a

Yup, it's live. I've just installed it. I'll report back when I had the time to check it out.

 

[dKp1977]

Took it for a spin.
Installation size is now ~340MB, which is even less than the initial download size of the very first release. Respect, Sir!
Graphics are still smooth as hell (highest setting, Lumia 1020) and the effects of the recently added weapons are looking way better now. I don't see any major difference in lighting though, which may be because I can't compare this version with its predecessor directly I guess. The ad isn't a dealbreaker at all. I prefer it over those ad banners that take away screen real estate, very well done.
The crosshair is cool too, though it appears to be slightly inaccurate at times.

 

[WaveLightGames]

hmmmmm ... interesting. I uninstalled the app and downloaded it fresh and it reported it as a 150MB download. I wonder why it appeared as 340 MB for you. That's really odd. Perhaps it downloads as 150MB and then expands in memory to 340MB after install? I'm still figuring out how this stuff works. Also, something else that is strange is that you're seeing ads at all. I think you mentioned you had purchased the in-app purchase to remove ads, right? If so, you shouldn't be seeing any ads after this update. Let me know and I'll look into issue and fix asap. Similarly, you shouldn't be seeing any locked levels once you get to level 8 ... let me know if they are locked for you.

Seems to be working great on 512MB devices too .... just got this review from a nice chap in Thailand: "Tanx for for the great game and supporting 512mb ram devices. Nice update for optimizing the game." Nice reviews like that really cheer me up. Of course, negative reviews really sting ... so I think I need to develop a thicker skin if I"m going to keep developing apps. :excited:

 

[dKp1977]

I haven't purchased anything as of yet, as I'm currently not able to out some balance on my prepaid credit card. But I certainly will.
The download size is just what it says: the file size of the XAP (a ZIP archive so to say). The real installation size is always approximately twice as much.

 

[WaveLightGames]

Ah ... that makes sense. I already noticed a minor bug but it's pretty trivial. The back button on the Tutorial screen goes to the player select screen rather than the main menu. I'll fix that in a quick update later.

I think next updates for this game will just be some new enemies and possibly some new levels. Will be included in the base game so a free update. I may shift gears for a while though and get back to the RPG game now since Gun Frenzy seems to be in pretty decent shape now. If so, I'll start up a similar game development blog thread for the RPG as this has been really helpful.

 

[dKp1977]

Great to hear our input helped you. Gun Frenzy really turned out awesome. Loving it.

With RPG you're referring to Demons Bane? I can't wait to get my hands on it. Please please please make a beta for it.

 

[WaveLightGames]

Yep ... will definitely have a beta. That one will be a lot more fun to work on too. I'm much more of a turn-based / strategy / RPG fan than I am a shooting game fan. I'm in the middle of setting up the 18 available character class types. Some of the more interesting ones I've just added are:

- Orc Berserker
- Minotaur Warrior
- Centaur Archer / Lancer

Cramming it all into a team selection screen that will actually work on a mobile device is proving to be interesting. I'll try to have a demo with a few levels out as soon as possible.

 

[dKp1977]

Yep ... will definitely have a beta. That one will be a lot more fun to work on too. I'm much more of a turn-based / strategy / RPG fan than I am a shooting game fan. I'm in the middle of setting up the 18 available character class types. Some of the more interesting ones I've just added are:

- Orc Berserker
- Minotaur Warrior
- Centaur Archer / Lancer

Cramming it all into a team selection screen that will actually work on a mobile device is proving to be interesting. I'll try to have a demo with a few levels out as soon as possible.

Damn, can't wait. Make an early Alpha. Why don't you make the char selection with cards? The one on top shows a character with some basic stats. Tapping the card turns it around and shows the details. Under the top card you see edges and borders of the cards beneath it. Swiping left and right displays the next/previous card (with a nice animation). That would be cool imho and add a nice touch to a rather boring procedure.

 

[WaveLightGames]

I'll do an early alpha build. I think at the moment, the game would be playable for the first 5 levels or so. I'll test it out this week and if I'll release something if I can. It wouldn't be well optimized though so would run pretty slowly, I suspect.

 

[WaveLightGames]

Quick note regarding Gun Frenzy. I'll be pushing out a minor update later this week that just includes some minor bug fixes. I think I can push the detail on the background graphics a little more so it will also provide some better looking backgrounds as well.

 

[WaveLightGames]

Pushing out an update today to fix a few minor bugs. It also removes banner ads as I was finding those to be too intrusive. The only ads will be the interstitials that load on the level select screen.

 

[GuilhermeManso]

Hi. Can you please make this game available here in the Brazilian Store?? You can use PEGI or ESRB certificates to do it. I can help with the process.

 

[WaveLightGames]

Sure thing ... I think I have a PEGI certificate already. What is involved? Just selecting Brazil as an available market and then uploading the same certificate as confirmation? Do I need to do anything with the Brazil censor board or is it all within the Windows Phone dev center?

 

[WaveLightGames]

Found your other thread and used it to push to Brazil. Waiting for Microsoft to approve.

 

[GuilhermeManso]

Found your other thread and used it to push to Brazil. Waiting for Microsoft to approve.

Sorry to take too long to answer you. I didn't recieve a notification when you replied me here. But I think you already found a thread that I created for this.

 

[WaveLightGames]

Looks like it worked ... should be available for download in Brazil in a few hours. Can you check some time and let me know?