As you will have noticed, the tech mine update is taking longer than I expected. Sorry to all those holding out for it! This is partly due to a lack of time (work, family commitments) and partly due to my ambition on new features. Momentum is picking up again and I now expect the release to be late February.
In the meantime, there will be an update in the next few days which adds 4 new missions to the expeditions, along with the usual collection of minor bug fixes etc.
Thanks for your patience!
Mission packs are individual sets of levels, each with a common theme. If you’ve played the halloween extras you’ll have an idea of how this works. Each has new characters, locations, items, objectives, ores, graphics, sounds…. new everything!
These are really about expanding the game in new directions. For example, the first mission pack will be rainforest themed and will feature a storyline spread across all the levels. There are puzzle elements and some really interesting new mission styles. Check out the screenshots below for a preview.
Mission packs will be sold as an in-app purchase for $0.99 US or the equivalent in your currency. I know there will be some controversy around charging for additional content, but I can assure you a lot of effort has gone into this (over 9 months so far) and I’m confident it represents good value for money.
Most importantly, these are not a replacement for the normal missions. I’ll continue to release extra free missions as often as I can. If these mission packs don’t interest you, you can ignore them completely and still enjoy all the features of the full game.
Under the radar last month, Milky Milky and Fire Helicopter got significant updates.
Milky Milky has new graphics, including HD fonts and redrawn trucks. Most importantly the mis-alignment of clicks on some devices has finally been fixed.
Fire Helicopter‘s wrapped levels now show the opposite side in the background, making it much easier to keep track of fires elsewhere. Many of the graphics have also been redrawn, and there were a few very minor bug fixes.
Both Milky Milky and Fire Helicopter are free downloads from the Play Store.
I’ve had lots of people tell me they enjoy Gem Miner 2, particularly the expeditions, but that they miss the old style freeplay. Well, good news, because in the new update you can now play the old Gem Miner: Dig Deeper freeplay mode, but with the new graphics and sounds from Gem Miner 2!
Note: to play this mode, you need to have purchased both “Gem Miner:Dig Deeper” and “Gem Miner 2” and have them both installed on one device.
On starting freeplay mode in Gem Miner 2, you will now be presented with an option to play “Classic Freeplay” which is an identical version to Gem Miner: Dig Deeper, but using the Gem Miner 2 graphics.
Release is on schedule for this Friday! In the meantime, here is a final set of screenshots…
Gem Miner 2 will be released on Friday the 27th January. The recent delays have been due to making sure the game works well with just keyboard controls (for devices with keyboards and specifically Google TV), creating the custom levels, and a comprehensive tutorial.
I expect the game will release with 20-25 adventure levels and more will be added over time. These levels are much more complex than the old challenge levels from Gem Miner 1 and feature multiple objectives.
The original mode (one big mine) is still available of course, and includes new features like collections and character levelling.
There is now a feature freeze, and this last month is purely going into testing on as many devices as possible, bug fixes, balance, and general polish.
More screenshots soon…
Those keeping track will notice that Gem Miner 2 is taking longer than promised, sorry!! The good news that all this time is going into more features, better UI, more maps and general polish. I hope to get it ready for a release in late December, but at the very latest it’ll be January.
In the meantime, here are some new screenshots…
I’m very happy to confirm the arrival of Abduction! 2 in the Android market from this Friday, 10th September.
Some of the highlights:
– 60 hand crafted adventure levels
– 60 dynamically generated classic levels
– 14 colourful and varied landscapes
– New platform types, including trampolines, spikes, fans, and rockets
– 38 characters to unlock and play
– Dozens of accessories to customize your character
– 6 original music tracks
– Special levels to unlock including a pie-eating mingame, 8-bit, and 3D modes
More details at launch!
Today was the day Abduction! reached 2 million downloads, so it seems appropriate to announce the sequel will soon be ready for a closed beta.
Applications have now closed. Thanks to everyone who applied, you should hear back from us within the next week or so.
I’ve just released the free version of Gem Miner to the market today. Extended version will follow in a couple of days time…
Psym Mobile 