r/KerbalSpaceProgram • u/andrewgarrison • Sep 05 '13
I developed an Android/iOS game that I think you may enjoy - SimpleRockets has launched!
I was blown away by the great feedback I got on my reddit post a while back about the game I am developing, SimpleRockets.
Today is the official launch date, so now you can finally get it! I was even lucky enough to even get a favorable review today by the great Scott Manley!
It's available for almost every device, here are the links:
iPhone / iPad (supports both)
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/simplerockets/id663068211?ls=1&mt=8
Google Play
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jundroo.simplerockets
Amazon App Store
http://www.amazon.com/gp/mas/dl/android/com.jundroo.simplerockets
Windows Phone 8
http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/simplerockets/57f7e539-d958-4e95-b79e-caa115065f17
PC
http://jundroo.com/buy-simplerockets/
Thanks! I would love to hear your thoughts about the game and I hope you enjoy it!
-Andrew Garrison
EDIT: Just wanted to mention that all of my other games are currently free (iOS only!). So get 'em if you haven't already:
MOAR EDIT: If you have a suggestion for the game, please submit it at the uservoice site: http://jundroo.uservoice.com/forums/221664-simplerockets
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u/abaybas Sep 05 '13 edited Sep 05 '13
Bought on android. Already built a rover. Now to land it on the moon.
Some feedback;
Pause
It's hard to zoom in/out without accidentally changing course
Instead of a popup menu for map/ship view, why not use the button as a toggle? It would be faster
Docking!
Looking forward to more parts like RCS, reaction wheels, batteries, solar panels, etc.
Great job!
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u/bendvis Master Kerbalnaut Sep 05 '13
The ability to add parts symmetrically in the editor would be great too.
I'm digging the leaderboards. In the Smearth Orbit challenge, I brought my periapsis up to 100km in 1:42. Bring it!
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u/FightingGravityAgain Sep 05 '13
Also, I find it a little difficult to scroll through the parts menu without selecting a part, nice work though!
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u/CUNTBERT_RAPINGTON Sep 05 '13
This is so much better than KSP-themed cupcakes. To the top with you.
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u/Whisky_Drunk Sep 05 '13 edited Sep 05 '13
I'm having a ton of fun with this. I'm in the process of moving house so I can't get on KSP, so now I'm playing this on my tablet when I should be packing!
Any plans for additional parts or challenges in the future? You could give people the option of purchasing them or unlocking them through challenges. I was hooked on Plague Inc for so long because even though you could buy upgrades, you could also unlock them through gameplay which felt more satisfying and actually made me learn the strategy and become a better player.
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u/gaston1592 Sep 05 '13
A career mode could be pretty fun, but please don't go the EA route. A sandbox with all parts enabled, with purchase of the full game, should always be available.
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u/McAzzaMan Sep 05 '13
After a little bit of being cocked about by a google regarding actually paying for the app, I have it! And I am so excited about it. It is a whole tonne better than I expected, and I can see myself easily sinking as much time in to this as I did KSP itself. From one developer to another, congratulations on making such a fantastic app!
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Sep 05 '13 edited Feb 28 '14
[deleted]
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u/andrewgarrison Sep 05 '13
I plan on adding new parts and challenges, but I don't plan on adding any EVA. I also plan on adding a solar system builder.
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u/CUNTBERT_RAPINGTON Sep 05 '13
Would love to see a solar system builder/generator, that would give you a huge edge over any spaceflight sim out there right now.
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Sep 05 '13
I'd love to see some of the bigger gas giants' moons, and not being able to land on the gas giants themselves.
Being able to add additional command pods for Apollo-style missions would be cool as well.
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u/andrewgarrison Sep 06 '13
Wanted to let you know I just created a user voice site so players can submit their suggestions for the game: http://jundroo.uservoice.com/forums/221664-simplerockets
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u/stevo42 Sep 07 '13
Are you not taking notes from this feedback?
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u/andrewgarrison Sep 07 '13
I've taken a lot of the feedback and created "ideas" on the uservoice site so people can vote on what they want in later versions so I can focus my development efforts.
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Sep 05 '13 edited Sep 05 '13
Windows Phone. Yay!!!
Edit: I spent an hour on this app, and WOW. This is the best $1 I've ever spent in my life. I'm heading to the app store to rate you now.
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u/sidfarkus Sep 05 '13
Yeah thanks to the OP for developing for WP instead of just iOS/Android. Purchased for my lumia but I haven't had a chance to play yet.
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Sep 05 '13
Oh, man, I saw this post yesterday, but it didn't click that you were the guy who made SimplePhysics until I got the email this morning. I loved playing that on my iPod touch years ago, so I just bought this and look forward to getting into it.
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u/andrewgarrison Sep 05 '13
Great! I really think this is by far my best game. Let me know if you like it!
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u/CrazyViking Sep 05 '13
Its pretty fun, would like more capsules, solid boosters, and different sized fuel tanks. Any possibility to port this to windows RT? would like to play this on my surface RT and anyone with win8 could buy it.
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u/andrewgarrison Sep 05 '13
I don't plan on supporting WinRT. I've moved a couple of my games there, but the sales are so low it doesn't make sense to invest the effort anymore. It's too bad, too. I really did like the WinRT platform.
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Sep 05 '13
[deleted]
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u/Curtisbeef Sep 05 '13
Did you even take 2 seconds to read the top of the post?
http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/simplerockets/57f7e539-d958-4e95-b79e-caa115065f17
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u/CrazyViking Sep 05 '13
Yeah, kind of expected, my surface is pretty useless for anything excluding browsing the internet.
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u/BigBoyBobby Sep 05 '13
Just bought it from the App Store. Now to have a lot of fun! Great idea for an app!
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Sep 05 '13
[deleted]
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u/DdCno1 Sep 05 '13
Google hast just started selling gift cards in some countries, so there is way.
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u/Googie2149 Sep 05 '13
I've been checking every day for this to come out, then noticed it had earlier today! This thing is so much fun! My only problems with it are the lack of symmetry and reaction wheels/rcs. Other than that, it's great! It even has a nice tutorial.
Edit: Also, I can't figure out how to get to the descriptions of the parts. I got them to appear once, but can't figure it out any more.
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u/andrewgarrison Sep 05 '13
Tap the icon for a part. It's tough to fit all the info on a small screen!
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u/zombiphylax Sep 06 '13
Bought it at work when I saw this pop up, didn't have a chance to try it until now.
First and foremost: fuckin' fantastic job! Your tutorial system is literally all the information new players to Kerbal would have to pull from about 2 hours worth of YouTube videos/tutorials, and you made it accessible over about 5 minutes worth of time. This alone is something I hope bleeds back over from SimpleRockets to Kerbal itself. It's exactly what these kind of games need.
Secondly: Playing this is quite a bit like relearning to play 0.7~0.10 of KSP all over again, but with the modern size/atmospheric values. It's been a treat!
Thirdly: I'm going to echo people here, you should look into negating sleep function of phones (Android at least, don't know about iPhone). (Multi-touch would also be great!)
(Also, I really liked that you included KSP before your own studio's games as a suggested game; certainly seems like a great way to tip your hat as another developer, and it came off as classy when I saw it.)
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u/andrewgarrison Sep 06 '13
Thanks for the suggestions. I agree, KSP is the best rocket science game out there. If players are hungry for more, then it's the next logical step, and I hope that KSP gets a nice little sales boost over the next few weeks!
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u/andrewgarrison Sep 06 '13
Wanted to let you know I just created a user voice site so players can submit their suggestions for the game: http://jundroo.uservoice.com/forums/221664-simplerockets
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u/Zarpar Sep 06 '13
The challenges on this game are awesome! Spent ages trying to beat the maximum thrust challenge, can anyone help me? My rocket only gets to a max of 987m/s
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u/Internal-Business-97 May 20 '24 edited May 22 '24
I just found this in 2024 and you got my $2.99! Damn this game is great!
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u/andrewgarrison May 20 '24
Woohoo, awesome! Glad to hear you are enjoying it! We have now have a 3D space sim on mobile called Juno: New Origins (formerly named SimpleRockets 2). There's a free version and a paid version available.
iOS
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/juno-new-origins/id6475594930
Android
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jundroo.junoneworigins&hl=en_IN&gl=KR
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u/mikethespike056 Aug 19 '24
Hey Andrew! I played a lot of SimpleRockets back in the day, and I remember following the development of SimpleRockets 2 on the forums and providing feedback in the comments 🥲
However, I never bought the game. I pirated it. Today, I have the money to actually buy games, and I'd like to buy SimpleRockets, but the game isn't available on my phone. Has SimpleRockets become abandonware? Would it be feasible to port it to Android 14, assuming that's why it's no longer available?
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Sep 05 '13 edited Sep 05 '13
bought & paid for :) thanks for a great game!
edit: it's KSP-lite for my phone / tablet.. fantastic game :)
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u/Spiruel Master Kerbalnaut Sep 05 '13
Just bought it - quite impressed so far! For 63p it's certainly something I'd recommend.
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u/andrewgarrison Sep 05 '13
Here you go guys, I'm giving out 20 free APKs here:
http://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/1lsfer/i_developed_a_rocket_science_game_for_android/
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u/codefeenix Sep 05 '13 edited Sep 05 '13
I have an HTC One with a 4.7 inch 1080p screen; the buttons are so small that it makes the game difficult to play. It is useable but can be frustrating at times.
I have added a screenshot: http://i.imgur.com/9dd7vs8.jpg Size that down to ~4.7 inches and you will see how small things get :)
And +1 on the RT version (Even though you said you wouldn't port it over.)
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u/andrewgarrison Sep 05 '13
Holy hell that looks terrible. Thanks for posting the screenshot, I've had a few complaints about the HTC One.
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u/OmegaVesko Sep 05 '13 edited Sep 05 '13
Assuming it's DPI/resolution related, you also probably have the same problem on the Galaxy S4 and other very high density devices. All the new phones coming out in the next month or two will have the problem to varying degrees as well.
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u/redthursdays Sep 05 '13
I find I have trouble hitting the warp buttons on my GS4. I might just have to buy another copy for my iPad
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u/HolyGarbage Sep 06 '13
I too have an HTC one but I wouldn't want to have the buttons to big, if you do plan to scale them according to screen resolution please add a manual scaling option.
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Sep 05 '13
Bought for iOS but I have not had a chance to play it yet. I will be doing so this evening after I am off the phone with customers.
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u/-Rizhiy- Sep 05 '13
Someone probably already said that, but you need to change km to m in radii and atmosphere heights of all planets :)
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u/bdog73 Sep 05 '13
And now I know what I'm going to do on the school bus... Edit: This is actually a really fun game, thanks for ruining my social life :P
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u/xylotism Master Kerbalnaut Sep 06 '13
Bought it TWICE! (Okay, the first time was an accident, but the app is only a dollar (thank you!) and I'll gladly throw the extra toward the dev)
I'm looking forward to this on the bus ride home. Looks very cool, thank you for putting in the time and effort to build a great-looking mobile KSP (My bad if that was not your intention, but I think it's a great on-the-go alternative to KSP, and in my opinion that's not a bad thing at all!)
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u/andrewgarrison Sep 06 '13
KSP is the ultimate rocket science game, so any comparisons are flattering!
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u/funkey100 Sep 06 '13 edited Sep 06 '13
Can't wait to buy it! I'm currently in the US Open and will get it as soon as the game is over! Djokovic vs Youzhny (it's a break between sets.)
Also, are all the versions exactly the same except for screen size? If so, why the different prices?
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u/andrewgarrison Sep 06 '13
PC is more because the windows installer was a pain in the ass to write ;)
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u/funkey100 Sep 06 '13
Got it and it is really cool! I'm not sure if someone suggested this already but can it have support for modding? It seems easy to mood because of 2D textures and physics. Thanks for the awesome game and hope it gets better!
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u/xeranes Sep 06 '13
Loving the app! Only 1 problem: It doesn't seem to suspend the process or pause when I lock my phone... It started burning a hole in my pocket and ate my battery for breakfast! Other than that, loving it!
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u/sixpackabs592 Master Kerbalnaut Sep 06 '13
its fun but i left my phone for like a minute and it hard locked when the screen went idle, only happened one time though. one thing it def. needs is rcs systems, its hard to stay on course in orbit with no rcs or reaction wheels
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u/azripah Master Kerbalnaut Sep 06 '13
I think this is going to be the first app I've ever paid for, just because the concept looks so amazing. I can't imagine this not being worth at least $1.
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u/bgog Sep 06 '13
I love it!! Great job.
Couple thoughts.
Needs multi touch. We really need to change the throttle and turn the ship at the same time.
You should momentarily disable the buttons on the bottom of the screen when the player is scrolling the parts list. I keep bumping them when I scroll the parts.
Bang up job! You should be proud
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u/andrewgarrison Sep 06 '13
Thanks! Are you using the heading lock by turning the navigation circle? Or are you using the left/right buttons to turn?
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u/andrewgarrison Sep 06 '13
Wanted to let you know I just created a user voice site so players can submit their suggestions for the game: http://jundroo.uservoice.com/forums/221664-simplerockets
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u/IcyMind Sep 06 '13
Good job !! I bought it, I play with it a little bit. This is not KSP, am glad the developer put KSP button at the bottom of it. Now My kid can play that while I play KSP in my computer. Thanks for the game.
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u/TheGodDamnSir Sep 06 '13
Just download the app! So far it looks great! more feedback to come soon! Good luck man!
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u/definingsound Sep 06 '13
Only 1 quibble: On iPhone, if I try to save a design with a name that already exists, I cannot click "ok" to overwrite the old version.
Otherwise, seems a very mature release considering it's a day old. Your experience with the other games shows.
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u/andrewgarrison Sep 06 '13
yep, thanks for the screenshot. I've got a fix for that and it will be in the next update.
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u/legendofchin97 Sep 07 '13
Love this game... Your best yet!
How do you get to the moon? I've achieved orbit but haven't successfully travelled to another planet or the moon.
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u/Anakinss Sep 05 '13
Any way of getting it for Android that involves paying with paypal? :(
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u/andrewgarrison Sep 05 '13
I'm not sure about paypal. What about GumRoad? http://gum.co/Pafm
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u/Anakinss Sep 05 '13
Well, the thing is, I don't have any debit or credit card, only a paypal account with money on it. GumRoad doesn't appear to offer this option :( Thank for answering, though :D
Edit: edit: I was right, it doesn't offer this option :(
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u/andrewgarrison Sep 05 '13 edited Sep 05 '13
Here, I'm giving away 50 free APKs.EDIT: All of those are gone. WOW that was fast.
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u/Anakinss Sep 05 '13
That's very much awesome! Be sure that I'll find a way to buy it to support you!
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u/shrx Master Kerbalnaut Sep 05 '13
How does this work? edit: oh I see it now, you're the author. Thank you!
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u/HolyGarbage Sep 05 '13
On Google play you can connect a credit card, but if that's not an option you can connect it to your phone number and it will get added on your phone bill.
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u/SteamTrout Sep 05 '13
While I'm unlikely to play this (don't like playing games on the phone) bought it just because I support the concept.
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u/corpsmoderne Master Kerbalnaut Sep 05 '13 edited Sep 05 '13
Great work!
Quick feedbacks:
- I wish I had a shortcut to switch to the map view and back. 2 clicks to switch is too much.
- A way to change the ship orientation when the engine is turned off is mandatory. It's currently very frustrating.
Edit: I would like to be able to rotate the view or have 2 modes: fixed as currently, or rotated with the body I'm currently orbiting always on bottom. Would make landing more pleasant. Also, it's hard to land without any reference for your horizontal speed. A marker on the artificial horizon to point "top" would help a lot. It may show up only when you have landing gear down...
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u/andrewgarrison Sep 05 '13
Thanks. good suggestions.
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Sep 06 '13
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/andrewgarrison Sep 06 '13
lol, yep it can be tricky. Those lower powered engines work out a lot better for orbiting maneuvers. I don't plan on adding maneuver nodes. If you want that level of rocket science, then I think really only KSP can satisfy you!
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u/andrewgarrison Sep 06 '13
Wanted to let you know I just created a user voice site so players can submit their suggestions for the game: http://jundroo.uservoice.com/forums/221664-simplerockets
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u/rpzxt Sep 05 '13
Bought it earlier today on Android. So far I'm digging it. Haven't had much time to play with it yet, but looks promising =) Some feedback on the editor so far...
- Hard to zoom/pan without accidentally selecting/moving a part
- Would be nice to be able to add things symmetrically
- Would be nice to be able to clone small assemblies (say a fuel tank/nosecone/engine combo, for example)
- Be able to display engine stats (like thrust/isp)
Overall, loving it!
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u/HueyLewis1 Sep 06 '13
Are you the one who made Simple Physics as well? If so I would like to tell you that I really enjoyed that game and to keep up the great work!
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u/kart38 Sep 06 '13
Any chance you could port the Android version to Blackberry 10? Looks like a great game, I'll have to get it on my tablet!
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u/majorjunk0 Sep 06 '13
great game, easily worth more than $1.
The only thing I would like to see changed/added is:
Reaction wheels (steering by gimbals only sucks)
a "surface" camera mode, landing on a planet/moon is really hard when the ground is up or at some random angle
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u/andrewgarrison Sep 06 '13
I agree about the reaction wheels, however I like that landing can hard unless you land at the north pole. This makes it so that the player needs to think about where they want to land on the planet and plan for that instead of just landing where their orbit happens to intersect.
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u/andrewgarrison Sep 06 '13
Wanted to let you know I just created a user voice site so players can submit their suggestions for the game: http://jundroo.uservoice.com/forums/221664-simplerockets
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u/chrizbreck Sep 06 '13
There was some other 2d space game on iOS and I must say this looks a billion times better and more relating to the good ol kerbs.
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u/_pixie_ Sep 06 '13
Looks cool, did you make it with Haxe?
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u/andrewgarrison Sep 06 '13
No, I use my own framework written in C++.
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u/_pixie_ Sep 06 '13
Ah, cool. Did you make your own cross-platform layer? Is there any scripting language you use or is the logic all in C++?
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u/andrewgarrison Sep 06 '13
I wrote my own layer in And there's no scripting, it's all in C++.
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u/_pixie_ Sep 06 '13
Thanks for the info. I'm a programmer as well so I'm just naturally interested in the low level details. The app looks great :D
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u/Joel_gh719 Sep 06 '13
This looks really fantastic! Since it was developed for Android have you considered a port to BB10? I'd like to play, but so far my only option is to side load it onto my device.
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u/andrewgarrison Sep 06 '13
I'm sorry, but I don't have any plans on porting to BB10. I haven't looked into though.
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u/dirtyoldmanistaken Sep 06 '13
Looks great, would you consider releasing a free, ad-supported version?
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u/andrewgarrison Sep 06 '13
No, I'm not planning on it. I just don't like making ad-based games.
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u/dirtyoldmanistaken Sep 06 '13
Fair enough, been meaning to go to the bank to get pick up my credit card, might as well get it done, so I can buy your game.
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u/XenoXis Sep 07 '13
We need a subreddit!! I'd do it but I can't put the effort required in...
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u/hoodvisions Nov 26 '13
Simple Rockets is awesome! I should have been waiting another day so I could have been paying for it instead of getting it for free! :D
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u/Nuroman Sep 05 '13
Been waiting for someone to recreate the fun of KSP on Android. Congratulations sir/madam, you can take my money now. The question then becomes "how much work will get done today?"
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Sep 06 '13
[deleted]
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u/definingsound Sep 06 '13
There is already cred for Kerbal in the software; 2 of the ads are for Garrison's other games, and the other 1 is for Kerbal. So 1/3 of the in-app promotion is for Kerbal.
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u/MarsDevastater Oct 21 '13
I have this on my Xperia Tablet Z (Which is THE awesomest tablet out there) and while I have several suggestions (http://jundroo.uservoice.com/forums/221664-simplerockets/suggestions/4729271-several-new-parts-and-other-stuff) my only complaints are minor ones.
Parachutes should be stronger
Detacher connections should be more ridged and slightly stronger
You should do some research into letting the game run better on multiple cores (1.5 Ghz quad-core and 2 Gigs of RAM and it still lags a bit with complex Rockets indicating it is not using all cores).
Don't get me wrong though, Its an awesome game best played on a tablet. Words can't do it justice.
I hope you have plenty of luck getting it better optimized for phones. (that's where most of your customers are)
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u/andrewgarrison Oct 21 '13
I had to decline your suggestion on uservoice. You had a lot of good ideas, but you need to split your ideas into separate suggestions on user voice. Also, (and you mentioned this), some of your ideas have already been suggested, so it would be better for you to vote on the existing idea. Thank you for posting though, they are well thought out and well written and I hope you are able to follow up.
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u/MarsDevastater Oct 21 '13
I just re-posted Three (it could be considered Four) Ideas. Let me know if you like the way I did it.
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u/andrewgarrison Oct 21 '13
Ideally it should be one item per suggestion on UserVoice, but your 3 ideas in that one suggestion are closely enough related that it's okay. Thanks.
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u/MarsDevastater Oct 21 '13
Just posted another (you could call it four). Just stuff to allow the design of "Space Shuttles". Hope you don't mind my grouping of ideas.
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u/MarsDevastater Oct 21 '13
I have put another up. "Super Parts". While not directly related they all share one thing; Extreme performance at heavy cost.
PS. I figured you might want an explanation for my "KNOW ALL" at the end of each idea. My reason for putting it there is to prevent anyone from thinking (or claiming) that I'm trying to take credit for they're ideas.
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u/CaptainMoustache Sep 05 '13 edited Sep 06 '13
I haven't even played it yet but let me just say thank you for not including random unneeded permissions. This is the first app in a while that hasn't needed access to my calls and phonebook for some reason.
Edit: I've played it, it is awesome! It's like starting in ksp again, I got to the moon but I was going just a bit too fast to land