Author Topic: Cubiq - A Match-Three Game for Android (Read 43,479 times)

Deozaan · « **on:** July 09, 2016, 10:38 PM »

Hi folks,

I've been working on an Android game called Cubiq with a small team (one other coder and one artist, totaling three of us) and the game is just about ready for a full launch. But since we're such a small team we figured it would be a good idea to start with a limited public beta first, to help us find any bugs or other issues that we may have missed.

We would appreciate feedback and especially bug reports so that our official 1.0 launch can be as smooth as possible for others.

I don't have much in the way of screenshots or videos just yet to show off the game. We were so focused on getting the game ready for the beta launch that we neglected nice looking promotional art and stuff. That will be coming over the next few days. But for now here are some small details about the game:

It's on Android through Google Play.
It's a match-3 game (bejeweled, candy crush, etc.)
It features leaderboards and achievements.
It will be free with optional ads and/or in-app purchases (IAP).

More information about the beta and how to join can be found here:

Cubiq Beta Launch

Check the official Cubiq webpage for the full changelog and a current list of known issues.

Ath · « **Reply #1 on:** July 10, 2016, 10:02 AM »

I've been playing it for half an hour, but I can only conclude that my Samsung Tab2 is too slow for this game. I can't flip the cubes fast enough to finish the levels within the assigned time. I'll try it on my phone (nexus 5) to see if that works better.

I do like this style of game though, lots of interesting cubes, but it won't keep me too busy, I guess/hope

Jibz · « **Reply #2 on:** July 10, 2016, 03:20 PM »

~~Doing step two, I get "We're sorry, the requested URL was not found on this server." from Google Play.~~

Working now it seems

.

Jibz · « **Reply #3 on:** July 10, 2016, 08:02 PM »

Some comments:

My Nexus 5 is running quite hot after 5 mins of play. Would it help to turn off the fancy backgrounds?

A back button on the stage complete screen would be nice.

The time and move counters are teensy weensy tiny on a 5" display.

At level completion, I would prefer a dialog with level complete and a next button instead of the fireworks (5 second waste of time).

Could it not ask me to create a google play ID every time the game starts?

The stage select left/right scrolling is too fast -- to go one item left or right you can only move your finger a tiny bit.

Deozaan · « **Reply #4 on:** July 10, 2016, 11:42 PM »

Thanks for the feedback thus far. I only have a couple of minutes so I just wanted to say thanks and let you know that I'll be responding in more detail probably tomorrow.

I also wanted to mention a known issue that hasn't been reported here yet:

The tutorial stage is only supposed to be one short stage. But for some reason it makes you play through 10 substages before it's considered finished. I tried the tutorial many times before the beta and it always worked fine. Figures something like this would be so broken once it goes public...

Thanks again. I'll respond more tomorrow.

Deozaan · « **Reply #5 on:** July 11, 2016, 06:42 PM »

OK, once again, thanks for the feedback Ath and Jibz, and for your patience waiting for a response! Here are my point-by-point responses:

Quote from: Ath on July 10, 2016, 10:02 AM

I've been playing it for half an hour, but I can only conclude that my Samsung Tab2 is too slow for this game. I can't flip the cubes fast enough to finish the levels within the assigned time. I'll try it on my phone (nexus 5) to see if that works better.

Do you happen to know the exact model of your Samsung Tab2? The name should start with "espresso." When I look it up I see there are about 10 different variations (most of which are just different carriers, e.g. the Verizon model vs. the AT&T model). Or can you at least tell me if it's the 7" model or the 10" one?

But yeah, games generally do require a bit more of a powerful device. Cubiq doesn't run very well on my phone (Galaxy Nexus from 2011) either, but at this stage of my phone's life, nothing really does.

Quote from: Jibz on July 10, 2016, 03:20 PM

Doing step two, I get "We're sorry, the requested URL was not found on this server." from Google Play.

I've added a note to the instructions saying that the link might take a few minutes to activate, once you've joined the beta.

Quote from: Jibz on July 10, 2016, 08:02 PM

My Nexus 5 is running quite hot after 5 mins of play. Would it help to turn off the fancy backgrounds?

Is this not normal for games? My device(s) always heat(s) up when using the GPU.

But we might be able to disable fancy backgrounds and particle effects, which, if it doesn't solve the heat problem may still help with the sluggishness on older/lower-end devices.

Quote from: Jibz on July 10, 2016, 08:02 PM

A back button on the stage complete screen would be nice.

That's a great idea!

Quote from: Jibz on July 10, 2016, 08:02 PM

The time and move counters are teensy weensy tiny on a 5" display.

Can you please attach a screenshot? Or tell me the resolution of your 5" display? I guess I've been taking screensize for granted when I test on my 2560x1440 monitor and my 1920x1200 7" tablet. But yeah, I agree that the numbers need to be larger. They used to be, but then we revamped the UI and I guess they got resized.

Quote from: Jibz on July 10, 2016, 08:02 PM

At level completion, I would prefer a dialog with level complete and a next button instead of the fireworks (5 second waste of time).

I agree the fireworks take too long. I'll see what we can do about making that part more streamlined.

Quote from: Jibz on July 10, 2016, 08:02 PM

Could it not ask me to create a google play ID every time the game starts?

The game uses Google Play Games Services for achievements. Are you not signing in? Or are you signing in but it's asking you to sign in again anyway?

If you're not signing in, AFAIK, it's considered "best practice" by Google to just try to connect automatically when the app starts. It uses your Google account, which you needed to download the game from Google Play to begin with, so you shouldn't have to create any new accounts or anything.

Quote from: Jibz on July 10, 2016, 08:02 PM

The stage select left/right scrolling is too fast -- to go one item left or right you can only move your finger a tiny bit.

The scrolling may have to be reworked, but it may help you to know that you can just tap on the cube to the left or the right to move only one space over.

Ath · « **Reply #6 on:** July 11, 2016, 08:26 PM »

The tablet is a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1" GT-P5110, and as I live in NL, and bought it in a local store, it's a European model. No mention of espresso anywhere...
Turning off animation from the settings would probably help.

Deozaan · « **Reply #7 on:** July 11, 2016, 08:55 PM »

Quote from: Ath on July 11, 2016, 08:26 PM

The tablet is a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1" GT-P5110, and as I live in NL, and bought it in a local store, it's a European model. No mention of espresso anywhere...
Turning off animation from the settings would probably help.

Thanks. We'll see what we can do about making the game run better on older devices.

Deozaan · « **Reply #8 on:** July 11, 2016, 09:00 PM »

I've just submitted an update to Google Play with a few important fixes. More details can be found here:

Cubiq Beta 2

0.1607.2 - 11 July 2016:

Tutorial properly ends after first substage.
Fixed "Connection Error" being shown behind first name in leaderboards. (Thanks Amanda)
Time and Move counters are larger for increased visibility on smaller screens. (Thanks Jibz)
Fireworks finish faster. (Thanks Jibz)
Fixed square border around mushroom theme particles.

I've also updated the top post of this thread with a changelog and known issues.

Deozaan · « **Reply #9 on:** July 13, 2016, 03:41 AM »

Another update with an especially important fix, plus other minor changes. More details can be found here:

Cubiq Beta 3

0.1607.3 - 12 July 2016

Fixed game getting stuck when getting many combos after filling last meter.
Added feedback button to game.
Replaced missing image on game over screen.

I've also updated the top post of this thread with links to the full changelog and known issues.

Ath · « **Reply #10 on:** July 13, 2016, 06:31 AM »

Quote from: Deozaan on July 13, 2016, 03:41 AM

Fixed game getting stuck when getting many combos after filling last meter.

I think I encountered that one, at least once, last night.
After the first update it felt quite unstable to me, and the speed didn't improve on my slowish tablet.

I'll update asap (different timezone, CEST,

), and report my findings here.

Deozaan · « **Reply #11 on:** July 13, 2016, 07:12 AM »

Quote from: Ath on July 13, 2016, 06:31 AM

Quote from: Deozaan on July 13, 2016, 03:41 AM
Fixed game getting stuck when getting many combos after filling last meter.
I think I encountered that one, at least once, last night.

After the first update it felt quite unstable to me, and the speed didn't improve on my slowish tablet.

We still haven't finished anything that should make the game run better on your tablet, but it's in the works. It just wasn't ready in time for last night's (UTC -6) update (Beta 3) which was fairly urgent because the first update (Beta 2) made the fireworks finish faster at the end of a level, which also made it much more likely that you'd encounter the bug where the game got stuck.

We should have things running smoother for you in Beta 4, which will hopefully be released in the next day or two.

Ath · « **Reply #12 on:** July 14, 2016, 07:57 PM »

I'm finding it very difficult to play the Nature Walk level on my tablet, the cubes flip very hard as I swipe 'm, they turn slow, and the whole game-experience is just much slower than the other levels. Even the level where I have to line-up 13 cubes is beter playable. Are the resources so much heavier there or just a delay setting of the wrong magnitude?

Deozaan · « **Reply #13 on:** July 14, 2016, 10:19 PM »

Quote from: Ath on July 14, 2016, 07:57 PM

I'm finding it very difficult to play the Nature Walk level on my tablet, the cubes flip very hard as I swipe 'm, they turn slow, and the whole game-experience is just much slower than the other levels. Even the level where I have to line-up 13 cubes is beter playable. Are the resources so much heavier there or just a delay setting of the wrong magnitude?

My guess is that all the transparency effects from the fog/mist are the cause of the sluggishness on your device. A lot of older and "budget device" GPUs can't handle alpha/transparency very well.

I'm building a new beta release right now, which should give you the option to disable the dynamic backgrounds, which will hopefully result in a much smoother playing experience for you.

Deozaan · « **Reply #14 on:** July 14, 2016, 10:45 PM »

I've just submitted Beta 4 to Google Play. More details can be found here:

Cubiq Beta 4

0.1607.4 - 14 July 2016

Added option to disable dynamic backgrounds. (Thanks Jibz)
More helpful messages given when ads fail to play. (Thanks Amanda)
Achievements synchronize more reliably.
Display a message when running an older version.
Doubler/Tripler image improvements.

Ath · « **Reply #15 on:** July 15, 2016, 06:01 AM »

After my previous message I've also installed Cubiq (0.1607.3) on my Nexus 5, and it is indeed much better playable

But then the smallish screen compared to the Tab2 10.1" (4.95", 1920x1080) comes into play, as my eyes have 'quite some experience' (50+)

I'll check out the new options of your latest release (thanks!) tonight

Deozaan · « **Reply #16 on:** July 15, 2016, 06:35 AM »

FYI: A known issue with the Beta 4 release which will be fixed in the Beta 5 release:

Trying to watch an ad to earn cubos in the shop will always just tell you that you've reached your limit. Watching an ad to continue the game after a loss is not affected by this bug.

Jibz · « **Reply #17 on:** July 15, 2016, 07:43 AM »

Disabling dynamic backgrounds helped the heat issue here

.

Deozaan · « **Reply #18 on:** July 15, 2016, 07:54 AM »

Quote from: Jibz on July 15, 2016, 07:43 AM

Disabling dynamic backgrounds helped the heat issue here .

Glad to hear it!

I just noticed the two of you have the same quote in your signatures:

Jibz: "A problem, properly stated, is a problem on it's way to being solved" -Buckminster Fuller
Ath: "A problem well stated is a problem half-solved." (Charles Kettering)

Ath · « **Reply #19 on:** July 15, 2016, 07:06 PM »

Quote from: Deozaan on July 15, 2016, 07:54 AM

I just noticed the two of you have the same quote in your signatures:

*jibz dutifully removes his forumqoute*
Haha

I've tested beta 4 a bit both on the Tab2 and the Nexus 5, and though speed is better on the Tab2 with static background and sfx off, the game seems to slow down when the game-level goes up. Bottom-line is that the device is just too slow for this generation of game-engine.
On the Nexus 5 it is quite playable, but I'm not competitive enough to reach good scores

It is a fun game though

Jibz · « **Reply #20 on:** July 15, 2016, 09:00 PM »

Quote from: Deozaan on July 15, 2016, 07:54 AM

I just noticed the two of you have the same quote in your signatures:

Jibz: "A problem, properly stated, is a problem on it's way to being solved" -Buckminster Fuller
Ath: "A problem well stated is a problem half-solved." (Charles Kettering)

Actually, googling a bit suggests many people have come to that conlusion. John Dewey and Dorothea Brande are also attributed an equivalent quote.

Deozaan · « **Reply #21 on:** July 15, 2016, 09:54 PM »

I've just submitted Beta 5 to Google Play. More details can be found here:

Cubiq Beta 5

0.1607.5 - 15 July 2016

Fixed crashing during startup on some devices.
Fixed "limit reached" bug which prevented watching ads to earn cubos.
Fixed screen flashing when main menu appears.
Nature Walk theme's leopard no longer gets stuck running in place after theme transition.

Deozaan · « **Reply #22 on:** July 21, 2016, 10:33 PM »

I've just submitted Beta 6 to Google Play. More details can be found here:

Cubiq Beta 6

0.1607.6 - 21 July 2016

Added a back button to the Stage Complete screen. (Thanks Jibz)
Fixed two wizards spawning on Arcane Arts theme. (Thanks Katelyn)
Reduced chance for duplicate entries in leaderboards.
Repositioned the feedback button for improved aesthetics.
Fixed typo.

mouser · « **Reply #23 on:** July 21, 2016, 10:54 PM »

i'd love to see some video of the game.

Deozaan · « **Reply #24 on:** July 21, 2016, 11:03 PM »

Quote from: mouser on July 21, 2016, 10:54 PM

i'd love to see some video of the game.

Me too.

It's a little difficult because it's a mobile game. We're still working out the details of how to either record straight from the mobile device, or to record in the Unity editor on a desktop machine and make it look like it was recorded on a mobile device.