Tortuga Tales Pinball

[shaderbytes]

Hello everyone

I am a fan of Visual pinball , Future Pinball and in recent times Zen and Pinball Arcade so been a developer myself I wanted to try and build my own table from scratch so here it is - play the Android version on Google Play or the free web version online or download the free desktop version and have a game or 2. Built with Unity Engine.

UPDATE:
For Android get it on Google Play here :

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.IanPretorius.TortugaTalesPinball


FOR DESKTOP:

NOTE: flippers are on the CTRL keys , nudge are SHIFT and SPACE keys ( there is a bug in unity engine with using dual shift keys so I had to use the next best thing - sucks I know )

If you want to download the desktop version for free you can get it on PinSimDB :

http://www.pinsimdb.org/pinball/table-5285-tortuga_tales

If you wanna play it online for free you can play it on Kongregate :

http://www.kongregate.com/games/shaderbytes/tortuga-tales-pinball-3d

I have a Paid version on alternate android markets here :

Opera App Store :

http://apps.opera.com/en_za/tortuga_tales_pinball.html

Slide Me :

http://slideme.org/application/tortuga-tales

Samsung store coming soon..

 

[shaderbytes]

I have added a free Android version on Google Play :

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.IanPretorius.TortugaTalesPinball

 

[karl]

Great work. I will try it out and see how it plays

 

[shaderbytes]

Thanks Karl for the comment of a potential play

woo hoo one person - tough crowd
This is a pinball lovers forum right? Just checking cause it almost seems like I posted in an old age retirement home for people suffering from selective mutism LOL

ok Ummmm..
I did say FREE right?

as in free desktop version download , no adverts , multiple camera views , ball tracking on/off for any view , leaderboards , blah blah etc etc..
as in free on google play
as in free on Kongregate

Dont take offence - Im just playing games ... my game .. all by myself haha

 

[netizen]

I left you a rating a comment on the play store.

 

[shaderbytes]

Thanks netizen

It was my first table and ended up been much more work than I expected. At least there is alot of core code that is now re usable going forward. I have another idea for a new original table but have some other work I need to do before I can start on that. I will hope the next table will be a major ramp up on this first attempt.

Try the desktop version as well its nice to play it full screen on PC.

 

[netizen]

I played a few games in a row and found that the slight lag in the flippers gets worse over time and after about 5-6 games in a row there is an issue where you can no longer use both flippers at the same time, and that there is a delay after using one flipper and being able to use the other.

Another issue I came across is that if you cancel a game on the first ball when you sink, but before the ball saver launches a new ball, when you start a new game the saved ball will be launched before you can launch a ball for your new game.

Can you see what you can do about the swipe distance? It seems that if I tap fast it will, sometimes, register as a swipe and nudge, which leads to tilting accidentally.

I am playing on a nexus 10, OS 4.2.2 (stock)

 

[shaderbytes]

Thanks for the feedback

1. I know there is a known issue with touch lag build up on Android devices , It might be from memory getting full .. I will try force the GC to run when the ball resets and then we can see if that helps.

2. Most code uses state machines and a shared context so I could have missed something here with resetting the ball save when starting a new game, I will look into it

3. I can tweak the swipe distance for the nudge no problem

Would you be willing to let me give you a link in a PM to the updated file when ready so you can see if the issues are resolved , so I dont have to push repeated updates through Google Play? Let me know but otherwise no problem I will then just update google play.

 

[karl]

Very early thoughts.

I have only tried the pc version a couple of time but I think you did a pretty good job here. The flipper/ball accuracy is very good. (did not get any lag for the short minutes I played it) The graphics are nice. The ball do feel a bit light and the flippers seem to have a little to long swing angle (if that makes any sense) One thing that could improve this game a lot is the mechanic sounds of flippers, bumpers etc. I do like the rolling sound of the ball but the ball trail is not my cup of tea

All in all, I like this enough that I would buy any future tables you might release commercially. If the ball get a little heavier your physics will be better than the Future pinball engine

Any plans for a portrait mode on the pc version?

 

[netizen]

Would you be willing to let me give you a link in a PM to the updated file when ready so you can see if the issues are resolved , so I dont have to push repeated updates through Google Play? Let me know but otherwise no problem I will then just update google play.

Yeah no problem if you want to pm an apk for testing.

I'd second Karls observations on the flippers having long stroke times because of their length/animation/angle. It is probably more to do with that then an actual input lag. it's one of those optical illusion effects on the brain. If you know what I mean?

I quite like the theme, the sounds could stand with some variation and improvement. Less 'door knocking' sort of sounds for everything, but over time you'll improve it.

Have a look at some other pinball games for inspiration. The Pinball Arcade is obviously a forum favourite

 

[shaderbytes]

netizen I have made amends and will send you a link soon.

1. bug with ball save not been reset on new game selection during an active game is sorted
2. Yes lag could be an illusion based on flipper angle animation but I added in a call to the GC at the ball ready stage to force run anyway .. its better like that anyway as it could help prevent any spikes during game play.
3. I increased the swipe distance 2.5x

Flipper angle is very steep I know , this angle was modeled after the Indiana Jones Future pinball table and I know it is not one of the common setups. I will use a more standard angle on the next table.

Sounds! Yes one of the sore points of the table is not all sfx are of good quality and not enough sfx. I will do some research to see where I can get good sounds at an affordable price and then update when I do.

Thanks karl , I will make some tests with adjusting the physics a bit to get more ball weight. Im sure I can work on making a portrait mode for PC version as well. I dont think it will take to much work.
I could also perhaps make a config page where ball trails can be activated/deactivated. Im thinking also for mobile version, perhaps to also have the nudge controls have two settings to choose from as well .. swipe or do a upper screen space tap option as well like PA and Zen.

 

[jhamdotme]

Bug: The web version is unplayable on Macs.

The problem is with the key bindings. The flippers are controlled with the left and right control keys. But on Macs, there isn't a right control key. The only way to enable a right control key is with key remapping software, and it's a bit of a hack.

Ideally, there would be alternate keys for the flippers, or this would be a preference that could be set.

 

[jaredmorgs]

Would it help if someone logcat'd the game for you? What events are logged, and would these events help you debug?

I have a TF300T if that helps.

Also, if you want more general eyes on your app, then post the beta using the Android Developer Console to the XDA Beta Testing Community G+ Community. I'm a member, and we are in need of some games to break up the monotony of the current set of basic apps being tested.

More eyes = better test results.

Also, thanks for making it a freebie for testing.

 

[shaderbytes]

@jhamdotme Sorry about the CTRL key mapping for web and desktop versions. I did make mention that there is a bug in Unity Engine which does not handle multiple shift keys correctly so I went for the next best thing similar to shift keys but without knowing that a mac does not have a right CTRL key. I will have a look into how to set up custom key mapping in Unity.

@jaredmorgs hello , The game is built using Unity Engine So I don't ever use the Android Developer Console. I do have the SDK installed and Unity engine uses it when compiling the .APK file. So I write my code in C# when using Unity and it gets cross compiled when published.

Does this spoil your idea for the testing community? Let me know

 

[jaredmorgs]

@jhamdotme Sorry about the CTRL key mapping for web and desktop versions. I did make mention that there is a bug in Unity Engine which does not handle multiple shift keys correctly so I went for the next best thing similar to shift keys but without knowing that a mac does not have a right CTRL key. I will have a look into how to set up custom key mapping in Unity.

@jaredmorgs hello , The game is built using Unity Engine So I don't ever use the Android Developer Console. I do have the SDK installed and Unity engine uses it when compiling the .APK file. So I write my code in C# when using Unity and it gets cross compiled when published.

Does this spoil your idea for the testing community? Let me know

I think you can still post a link to the Play Store app in a post on the community. I don't think the admins mind how you get the test request out.

Just be sure you give the testers something to focus on (like a long-standing bug you've been trying to nail down), otherwise you'll get general observations only (most likely).

Tell them I sent you