Star Dancer (Android) - Cinematic Space Battles For Mobile

[Matty77]

G'day. My name is Matt and I've recently released a game for Android mobiles called "Star Dancer - Cinematic Space Battles For Mobile". It is a strategy game for up to 5 players (2 in the lite version) similar to Risk in that you have territory (planets) and fight battles which are in glorious 3d. The battles are precalculated based on your flight settings for your ships (Behaviours) as well as your Research settings. It works on most modern mobile phones (Android 4.2 onwards) that have a Quad Core processor and at least 512MB of RAM. I've linked a bunch of screenshots below. Feel free to discuss the game here if you have any questions. I hope you enjoy my game, I've put a fair amount of work into it over the course of this year. The link is here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lloydm.geosword[/url] My channel also has youtube videos of the game in action. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCb8KUkKI4bt2zoe8Gdcq12w[/url] Best regards, Matt 

[Matty77]

Additional in game help has now been added (much requested feature). Additional Variety in the Camera Angles is present as well now.

[Matty77]

And here is a video of the game in action: 

[Matty77]

In Game Screens: AI:Fleets:Research:Ships:Campaign Map:Tips and Info:Help:

[auryx]

What, all this effort, and no responses at all? Shocking  Well done Matt, looks impressive. I'll have to give it a try! auryx

[Matty77]

Thanks Auryx...hope you enjoy it.

[sscadmin]

Game looks great Matty77, any plans of having a lite free version so people can checkout the game before buying the full version?

[Matty77]

Thanks sscadmin - yes there is a free lite version (you can see it on the google play page). The lite version has two players maximum, two fleets and 6 planets. Those are the main differences. There are no ads in either version. Link is this https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lloydm.geoswordlite[/url]

[Matty77]

There have been a number of enhancements (and the odd bug fix) since i last wrote here.... These include: Offline quick battle mode.Pilot chatter and sound effects added to battle (there was already music)User can move camera in pause mode now (adds a bit of interactivity to the battle mode)Shaders and explosions tweaked and improved.Minor bug fixes (no show stoppers just some minor annoyances)Current version is 1.26a for the lite version and 1.26 for the full version. Personally I love space battles and so I can sit there and watch battle after battle on my phone....quite nice. The load times are a little lengthy but its worth it.Generally feedback has been positive and reviews/ratings on the play store mostly good.

[Matty77]

Recent addition is engine flare from the fighters and bombers: 

[Matty77]

As developer of Star Dancer I'm more than happy to field questions either at my email address contactus@mattiesgames.com or here about the game. The game has had predominantly good ratings and reviews (mostly 5 star from people from all over the world) although the actual numbers are quite low at this stage. Unfortunately there was a single 1 star rating with no review so I was unable to address whatever may have been that user's concerns. However, as stated - the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive for the game. It is quite different from most games and that may be a little disconcerting at first but if you enjoy watching action packed space battles on your hand held device (like I do) then it's perfect for a quick battle on the bus as you watch the ships blast each other to smithereens in space. I do have a little more work to do on the sound effects since the sound effects are inconsistent across devices - on some of them the volume is too low for the pilot chatter. I may have to look into how to address this. As well as loading times - they can be long in complex battles. The actual graphics scale with the power of the device. Low spec devices use lower resolution textures and a less detailed background nebula to ensure a high frame rate. Although - on extremely low spec devices it is difficult to make it run smoothly (by really low spec I mean those ultra cheap 7" tablets you find in department stores)

[Matty77]

In the most recent update of Star Dancer it is now possible to modify pilot chatter. To do so simply copy sequentially numbered .ogg files (1.ogg, 2.ogg) etc into each of the folders in the relevant music folder (browse your game install folders) and that pilots will speak these words during the battle. It adds a lot of atmosphere to the games. Substantially so. I've also been playing around with the shaders trying to get them more to my liking. I think they are closer now. But I willcontinue to play around with them for now. I am having a tournament at my home in several weeks which should be a lot of fun to play it multiplayer with 10 people or so fighting it out for a prize (gift voucher from local retail board game store). Thanks for reading.Matt

[Matty77]

Greetings everyone, I thought I'd post that Star Dancer (full version) is now completely free, with no ads, no in app purchases - a completely freegame with no strings attached. The game is not everyone's cup of tea but those who play it enjoy it for the most part. Personally - out of all the mobile games I've played (and I've played a few) this one has held my interest for the most amount of time.I may be biased, like a parent with its children, but once again I find myself seated in a local cafe, lost in awe at the amazing space battles on my phone. I sit and watch the fleets engage, the beams and explosions, the dodging and weaving fighters - it is quitespectacular and I love it. So I hope you enjoy the game now that it is free - as it was originally intended to be when I designed it in January 2015. I've pouredmy heart and soul into making it. For those who love watching epic space battles - the game is now yours to play. From Matt

[Matty77]

[Matty77]

With Star Dancer full version completely free there is no reason not to give it a try - especially if you just want to enjoy watching space battles on your tablet or phone. Simple install, create a quick battle, adjust some settings and watch the beautiful space battles. I've been playing this game continuously for the past 12 months. It is not everyone's cup of I fully realise that but if you like good looking space battles on your android device there's not many better than this. Oh...some points: You can change the pilot chatter by placing your own numbered files in the relevant folders in your music folder (yes this game has mod capability - even for a mobile game).Also you can adjust the music by placing your own music in the relevant folders as well. Furthermore - the campaign is tough, very tough - the AI has a 75% chance of beating the player based on its current intelligence - most players struggle to defeat the AI but it can be beat if you are smart. Also - you can move the camera around within the space battle environment when the game is paused - I'll let you figure out how to do that but the camera moves similar to a PC based RTS (fingers around the edge....and hold the centre to move forwards). The game was originally designed with multiplayer in mind but very few people seem to play it multiplayer based on my game usage metrics but I'd really recommend that you at least try it once multiplayer with a bunch of friends - a five player campaign can be quite chaotic. The current version is 1.30 and there have been numerous updates since release in October (there were a few pre release versions available prior to October when I was in hospital) but the game is now at a very stable release point and it is unlikely that there will be many further updates. Note - the game though free has no advertising, no in app purchases - it is free in the most true sense of the word. There is a link to my blog within the game on the tips and hints screen and here you can find out a lot more information about how the game was built, what its inspiration was, and other features I don't have room to detail here. I am proud to say that this game is one of the best I've ever created (and I've been making games privately for myself and friends for the past 20 years or so on various platforms). I was a little sad that the cost of a cup of coffee put the majority of potential users off playing the game - when it was paid it received about 1 download per 10 days, since going free it has received about 20 downloads per day. As a developer who has poured his heart and soul into a game (and blood, sweat and tears!) it was mildly disappointing that the release didn't garner that much attention but I'm pleased that the people who do play it enjoy it. If you haven't tried it then I recommend (of course I would - I'm the developer) that you give it a shot. Note - I get nothing out of having you play the game beyond the satisfaction that people are enjoying it. All the best, Matt. Oh....if you want to play multiplayer and don't have anyone to try it out with I have included my email address in the game in the tips and hints section - I'm more than happy to discuss lining up a game multiplayer as long as I'm not flooded with requests (which I doubt I will be). from Matt.

[Pinback]

Nice series of updates Matt. :good: And remember you will always have the satisfaction of having created it.