We've got a nice array of new games for you heading into the weekend, including yet another digital board game conversion, a post-apocalyptic simulation game, a real-time strategy option, a...
http://www.pockettactics.com/articles/o ... e-edition/
Why on earth would anyone buy Afghanistan '11 from Slitherine, after they abandoned the owners of a large swath of their other games? I've got a bunch of their previous premium $20 (plus *substantial* IAPs for campaigns) games, that are literally the reason my iPad is stuck on the previous version of iOS now (I want the new features of iOS 11, but if I upgrade, much of my substantial investment in Slitherine games turns into dust, because Slitherine chose not to upgrade them). One of the arguments they advanced for not upgrading their games was, "well mobile gaming wasn't as profitable for us as we expected" (despite charging prices substantially higher than most other companies). They made it sound like they were getting out of iOS altogether, cutting their losses, abandoning the platform as well as their loyal customers, yet now they're back with a new $20 game?
And there was a thread where this was getting discussed on their forums (where people were making suggestions for various ways they could address this situation), and the Slitherine staff ended the thread with, "We've explained the position and have nothing else to say."
It's also rather infuriating that the only reference you, PocketTactics, make to Slitherine's previous actions is the rather cryptic, "Slitherine is back in the App Store" - someone unfamiliar with the situation might assume that Slitherine is trustworthy on the iOS platform.
You say at the end of the article, "This article discusses a game developed and published by members of the Slitherine Group. For more information, please see the About Us page." You quite pointedly *don't* mention, between those two sentences, *why* this is relevant - the missing sentence in between those two would be, "PocketTactics *is part of* the Slitherine Group". It makes it so you can later say "we disclosed our ties" while not actually making that connection apparent. Seems rather disingenuous. It's like telling someone that the local temperature has been increasing recently, and that you're going somewhere, rather than telling them you're *evacuating because the building is on fire*.
And there was a thread where this was getting discussed on their forums (where people were making suggestions for various ways they could address this situation), and the Slitherine staff ended the thread with, "We've explained the position and have nothing else to say."
It's also rather infuriating that the only reference you, PocketTactics, make to Slitherine's previous actions is the rather cryptic, "Slitherine is back in the App Store" - someone unfamiliar with the situation might assume that Slitherine is trustworthy on the iOS platform.
You say at the end of the article, "This article discusses a game developed and published by members of the Slitherine Group. For more information, please see the About Us page." You quite pointedly *don't* mention, between those two sentences, *why* this is relevant - the missing sentence in between those two would be, "PocketTactics *is part of* the Slitherine Group". It makes it so you can later say "we disclosed our ties" while not actually making that connection apparent. Seems rather disingenuous. It's like telling someone that the local temperature has been increasing recently, and that you're going somewhere, rather than telling them you're *evacuating because the building is on fire*.
Re: Out Now: A-Game Edition
Hey guys,
Pocket Tactics is run by Wargamer Ltd., which in turn shares joint ownership with Slitherine Software UK. Their Director is our Director, and we get support from them in a few areas. We ARE separate entities, if that makes any difference.
While our boiler-plate disclaimer doesn't really explicitly state that, I say all that I felt needed saying between the About Us & Reviews Policy pages. No offence guys, I'm not really a believer in hand-holding you through this - if you care enough, you know where the information is and anyone is of course more than welcome to come to me with questions or concerns. People seem to have been happy with the situation as-is so far, but I guess because Slitherine don't do a lot of mobile stuff these days (so there's rarely the need for the disclaimer) it doesn't come up much.
The only important thing to know though is that we don't let it get in the way of the work.
With regards to the rest of it. All I can really say is that I've played A11, and I like A11. It's a good game and I felt it warranted the attention (lord knows premium mobile wargames are rare these days) but I played it on PC.
I'm not a prolific mobile gamer and I don't even own an iOS device, so a lot of the issues with the Appocalypse have passed me by. I can appreciate the issue, of course, and I can see why you may be annoyed Carl, but I've also heard Slitherine's POV on this and it seems reasonable enough - half the devs are either gone or busy, and it's not really cost-effective for them to put in the work updating. From what I can tell they're not the only ones although perhaps they're one of the last high-profile hold-outs. 2K has also not been able to update some of their games but have others like XCOM.
I'm not discounting your point of view of course - you're unhappy with how Slitherine have responded to this and have every right to be. But Nick didn't feel like mentioning the 32-bit situation and I didn't feel the need to add it in. They've released a new wargame, it's 64-bit compatible and it's a pretty decent game - it's up to you whether you buy it or not.
Let me know if you have any more concerns, I'm happy to help.
Pocket Tactics is run by Wargamer Ltd., which in turn shares joint ownership with Slitherine Software UK. Their Director is our Director, and we get support from them in a few areas. We ARE separate entities, if that makes any difference.
While our boiler-plate disclaimer doesn't really explicitly state that, I say all that I felt needed saying between the About Us & Reviews Policy pages. No offence guys, I'm not really a believer in hand-holding you through this - if you care enough, you know where the information is and anyone is of course more than welcome to come to me with questions or concerns. People seem to have been happy with the situation as-is so far, but I guess because Slitherine don't do a lot of mobile stuff these days (so there's rarely the need for the disclaimer) it doesn't come up much.
The only important thing to know though is that we don't let it get in the way of the work.
With regards to the rest of it. All I can really say is that I've played A11, and I like A11. It's a good game and I felt it warranted the attention (lord knows premium mobile wargames are rare these days) but I played it on PC.
I'm not a prolific mobile gamer and I don't even own an iOS device, so a lot of the issues with the Appocalypse have passed me by. I can appreciate the issue, of course, and I can see why you may be annoyed Carl, but I've also heard Slitherine's POV on this and it seems reasonable enough - half the devs are either gone or busy, and it's not really cost-effective for them to put in the work updating. From what I can tell they're not the only ones although perhaps they're one of the last high-profile hold-outs. 2K has also not been able to update some of their games but have others like XCOM.
I'm not discounting your point of view of course - you're unhappy with how Slitherine have responded to this and have every right to be. But Nick didn't feel like mentioning the 32-bit situation and I didn't feel the need to add it in. They've released a new wargame, it's 64-bit compatible and it's a pretty decent game - it's up to you whether you buy it or not.
Let me know if you have any more concerns, I'm happy to help.
"Determining the appropriate level of influence in somebody else's war is never a simple matter."
- Special Circumstances
Editor
Wargamer.com
StrategyGamer.com
- Special Circumstances
Editor
Wargamer.com
StrategyGamer.com
-
Bernardo Soares
- Posts: 17
- Joined: Thu May 19, 2016 10:12 pm
Did the editor of a mobile games site just admit he doesn't play games on mobile, doesn't have iOS, and is unfamiliar with the appoaplypse?!? EICJOE you are a clown. This isn't the first time you have shown your ignorance of this site and its readers expectations. This place is a joke. See you over at Statley Gamer, where the soul of this site now resides. I cannot believe you just said what you did. Unbelievable!
@CARLRJ Not sure if the question was rhetorical, but here are some reasons why I have bought it
- it's a quality premium war game on IOS and I like them
- I lost 6 or 7 games with IAPs from Slitherine and while I would love the to be updated and I'm disappointed, it doesn't annoy me to the point of boycott (I work in software development which may affect that opinion)
- the developer is great and I loved Vietnam '65 and want to support them
- The price is not a major concern if the quality is there l, I would prefer one of these to 20 Hexwar
@RIFRON I'm not surprised TBH
- it's a quality premium war game on IOS and I like them
- I lost 6 or 7 games with IAPs from Slitherine and while I would love the to be updated and I'm disappointed, it doesn't annoy me to the point of boycott (I work in software development which may affect that opinion)
- the developer is great and I loved Vietnam '65 and want to support them
- The price is not a major concern if the quality is there l, I would prefer one of these to 20 Hexwar
@RIFRON I'm not surprised TBH
Re:
Hello Rifron, welcome to the forums. I take it you're a first time poster/long-time reader?Did the editor of a mobile games site just admit he doesn't play games on mobile, doesn't have iOS, and is unfamiliar with the appoaplypse?!? EICJOE you are a clown. This isn't the first time you have shown your ignorance of this site and its readers expectations. This place is a joke. See you over at Statley Gamer, where the soul of this site now resides. I cannot believe you just said what you did. Unbelievable!
I believe the website you're trying to slyly plug is Stately Play. But yes you are correct. If anyone wasn't aware by this point, Dave & Kelsey have set up a new outfit, and many of the former PT community have found a new home for themselves there.
As for the rest - I'm pretty sure I've been upfront about all this since I got here. I'm editor of three websites - a wargaming one, a strategy gaming on and a mobile gaming one. I do game on my android phone and android tablet, but mobile gaming is not my primary platform. It's why a lot of our freelance budget goes towards Pocket Tactics content - I can't contribute myself, so I try to make sure that you guys are served as best as possible.
I am upset with myself that I wasn't able to cover this appocalypse thing properly, but we just didn't get pitches in that I was convinced would have added to the conversation in a meaningful way, and the community weren't talking about it themselves on PT. The 64-bit switch has happened now, so there seems little point on dwelling on it further.
"Determining the appropriate level of influence in somebody else's war is never a simple matter."
- Special Circumstances
Editor
Wargamer.com
StrategyGamer.com
- Special Circumstances
Editor
Wargamer.com
StrategyGamer.com
-
SleepingGiant
- Posts: 70
- Joined: Wed May 11, 2016 1:55 am
In defense of EICJOE, I really think he has done his best to be transparent about the PT ties to Slitherine, and if there is not a huge disclaimer on every article, that is not any kind of subterfuge. I have seen no editorial bias towards their games in reviews and roundups.
No defense of Slitherine for charging $20 per game and then not upgrading them to 64 bit. No defense of Apple either for the way they have handled that. I agree with those frustrations.
This is from a long-time reader of both PT and SP, with no horse in the race, just a gamer and aspiring game-designer.
No defense of Slitherine for charging $20 per game and then not upgrading them to 64 bit. No defense of Apple either for the way they have handled that. I agree with those frustrations.
This is from a long-time reader of both PT and SP, with no horse in the race, just a gamer and aspiring game-designer.
-
black bellamy
- Posts: 12
- Joined: Wed Oct 05, 2005 4:39 pm
Return to “Pocket Tactics Front Page Discussion”
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 31 guests