Let’s Talk About Red Dwarf XI: The Game

[Ian Symes]

The game is now out! Well, it’s out on the App Store at any rate – the Play Store will presumably follow soon. It’s going to be pretty tricky to discuss this on the front page, as the game contains spoilers for Twentica, and people are watching at different paces. Also, some people might want to play through without having any surprises spoiled.

So, for now at least, let’s confine any specific discussion of the game’s contents to this thread. ONLY READ AHEAD IF YOU’RE OK WITH GAME SPOILERS!

My very early impressions were as follows:

Ooh, Robert Llewellyn voiceover!
Haha, they spelled “welcome” wrong.
This is pretty good.
This is tricky.
Ooh, it’s a prequel! That’s clever.
ZOMG, I’m playing as Rimmer.
FUCKING SHOOT THE BAZOOKOID PROPERLY
HOW CAN I DIE, I’M A HARD LIGHT HOLOGRAM.

Topic

[curtis]

Enjoying this game and nice to see the feedback is being taken on board. If I was to make a comment it would be to say a scoring description might be useful for each level. Are scores based on time taken to complete the level, damage taken, a combination of the two or something else entirely? Also, I can’t find a way to replay the introductory video. Is there a way to do so, and if not, could that be incorporated?

[Ian Symes]

“Find The Club” is still impossibly difficult for me, even after the update. Now that running into barrels and exponoids isn’t so damaging, I’m no longer dying on the first straight, but I can’t seem to beat the level because it’s so relentlessly long, with no checkpoints or health pick-ups. I finally mastered corners by slowing to a halt before swiping to turn, waiting for the camera to catch up, and then swiping again. But this is a long process, and some corners have exponoids positioned to shoot you in the face. So you have to go through them quickly, and end up scraping the wall.

How did anyone manage it?

[Karnie]

Ian, I finally got through it by swiping wildly to the side as soon as I saw a corner coming up… even still, barely made it with enough health points to spare.

[Karnie]

I’m just glad I’m able to play it, since there’s actually some new material in it for the Encyclopedia Addendum. Not much, but every so often they’ll throw a line in that wasn’t in the episode (Standard Protocol: 1-2-3-4!)

[Ian Symes]

I’ve done it now! Turned out that careering through the corners that contained exponoids left me with just enough energy to get through it provided I was careful for the rest of the way. Thereafter, I finished the rest of the episode within half an hour, only losing one life along the way (Find Einstein, when I tried to just leg it through on the first attempt and got stuck). Bizarrely managed the second driving level on the first go, despite it being identical to the first.

The repetition of the games is slightly disappointing, but then it’s understandable that a mobile game would have to recycle the same mechanics a few times.

[Bezzy]

At least in the game it shows them actually going home ;)

I’m loving the game. Been trying to up my scores. The multiplier you get as you level up Red Dwarf helps :)

[Karnie]

Everybody get the two collectible items in the first episode?

[Bezzy]

I have 3 : the Exponoid helmet, the toaster and the Pram :)

[si]

Just had another ten minutes or so. Still not got past Hostage Rimmer.

[GameDigits]

There’s been some great feedback from this thread, and thank you to all of those who have emailed us through the game too and directly to Support@gameDigits.co.uk too.

I’m sure you’ll be pleased to know that we’ve been working around the clock for a new update to address the majority of issues raised both here and various other forums, social media and the app stores themselves.

The game is hard, there’s no doubt about it and I admire you guys pushing through it and coming out the other side! Although Si, I think you might want to wait for the next update, sir ;)

We have already fixed a large number of issues raised here, to name a few, the awkward controls, the enemy encounters being too difficult, the car mechanics and we will continue to add more content to these existing games too as we progress to make them more interesting and challenging to play. We’re hoping to get this new update submitted within the next couple of days, but please be aware it take 2-3 days for Apple to approve it and get it on the App Store too.

We’re also working on the Samsara update too and there’s some really cool ideas coming for that. We had a great brainstorming session with Doug and there’s some really nice game ideas coming up for that.

Ultimately, to manage expectations here – the Samsara content update will after the episode is aired, even possibly weeks after. This is because it’s simply unfeasible to make an entire set of games based on an episode every week, which I’m sure you can appreciate. So the game will continue to be updated with episodes even after the series has ended. Which in a way, if you follow the game’s progress, would be an interesting journey in itself.

We also need to work on the feedback we receive as we progress too in order to improve the game. As we’ve said, we’re not going anywhere, we want to make a great game from this even after the series has long gone! So the development time is split between new content and updating the current game, which I’m sure you understand makes most sense for us to do.

Hope you guys are enjoying the game and keep the feedback coming. I hope you enjoy the new update later on this week too!

[Jonsmad]

Can you bring out the game that appears at the start of Samsara as a mobile game? Or would waddington’s sue you?

(I cant name it, I’m not sure of spoilers policy in this thread?)

[Bezzy]

I’m Currently 2nd on the (iPhone) leaderboard. Probably won’t last…

For G&T!!!!

[GlenTokyo]

How do you get to see the leaderboards?

[Bezzy]

On the main startup screen (with RD ) in the top left corner there should be a blue button that displays the leaderboard.

[GlenTokyo]

Ah, not an option on Android it seems. Unfortunate. I have 47775 space points and 1643 stars though, I’ll have to check it on someone’s iPhone, see how I stack up.

[Bezzy]

It puts you 22nd on the iPhone leaderboards :) nice!!

[si]

Ooh, New update. Added health pickups, and Rimmer’s easier to control, for a start. Might progress further yet.

[GlenTokyo]

Seems like a good update – main things I noticed from a quick play through just now:

Ship Scan – One less stage (I think), more stars (I think), the asteroids seem to be generally less numerous but more likely to smack you in the face occasionally if you’re not paying attention

Rimmer Escape – extra level furniture to stop you getting stuck in the corner, health pickups, and the Expanoids don’t shoot you until 2 complete arcs of your targeting sweep. Camera is improved.

Time Surf – Possibly more deviation in location of stars and obstacles.

Starbug Controls – Everything’s a little bigger for those with smaller screens/ fatter fingers.

Find the Club/ Twentica Escape – the camera improvements are a game changer here, massive, humongous improvement. It being easier is balanced out by the Expanoids being extremely trigger happy. They will shoot the shit out of you. Also, Health pickups.

Speakeasy Entrance – Questions didn’t seem to repeat as quickly, I’d been getting regular “question a, question b, question a, question c, question a” type situations, didn’t have one just now.

Find Einstein – Health pickups, pedestrians. You can push the pedestrians around, so maybe you could use one as a human shield – I’ll investigate. I also got hit by a truck for the first time, not sure if you could before.

Good stuff all round.

[Renegade Rob]

So I beat the entirety of Twentica. The update helped, though blimey those car sequences were still tricky. For the life of me I can’t round a corner without getting stuck and losing a lot of health on crates.

But otherwise, I really do like this game, and I like that it is challenging. The idea of there being multiple mini-games works, and I like the HUD, menu, and sound effects. The whole thing is very crisp and looks and sounds beautiful.

Question: What do you get for upgrading the ship? Bragging rights? More health?

Also: Is it Casket of “Chornos?” That spelling kept coming up. I was pretty sure it was “Chronos.” Chornos sounds like a tortilla chip brand or a niche genre of adult film.

[GameDigits]

Glen was pretty much spot on there with the summation of the changes last night on the Android version. We’ve also just pushed the big button on the iOS version too so the update will be live today.

Rob, if you get this latest version you’ll find the ‘Chornos’ text is fixed too.

Also, just for you guys, who know the Twentica script inside and out, we’ve added a ‘skip’ button for the cutscenes so you don’t have to go through it in text form. However, be aware there are some additional lines here and there that Doug has written in for us, and we are working from the original script where some lines had been cut from the show. So it’s quite cool to try and spot the differences…

It’ll be great if you could show your support with store reviews guys! If we get a great response then it means we can continue to improve the game and make a much bigger & better game for the next series.

Here’s a full list of what the update contains:

– Major improvements to the player characters controls & camera
– Added health pickups at critical places throughout the game
– Added a skip button for the cutscenes
– Made the ship scan game shorter and added more variation
– Better controls and handling on the car sub-game
– Fixed collision issues on the Rimmer Escape game
– Made the enemy engagements on Rimmer Escape less difficult
– Made buttons bigger on the Starbug controls game for smaller devices
– Fixed some ‘Chronos’ text errors
– General bug fixes and game balancing

We’re busy working on Samsara, it’s shaping up really nicely! Also, we’ll continue with making general updates to the game given the feedback we receive.

Thank you all for the feedback so far!

[Bezzy]

So I’ve added the patch and I’ve lost space miles :( I was at 91,406 and now I’m down to 84,000 :(

[(deleted)]

I honestly wasn’t going to buy the game til I saw the GameDigits posts on here and the genuine commitment to making it all work. Infinitely commendable, that £1.99 is yours. It would only have gone on Wispas anyway.

[GameDigits]

“So I’ve added the patch and I’ve lost space miles :( I was at 91,406 and now I’m down to 84,000 :(”

Sorry Bezzy, yes, this is because we had to take out the final stage of the ship scan because people said it was too long.

Therefore the points can’t be awarded for that final stage anymore and we have to keep a level playing field across all players, new and old. Otherwise you’d have an unfair advantage against other players who have just purchased the game… Which would be cool, sure, but not right.

I hope that explains it. All the scores are still relative, so you’ll still be ranked the same alongside others.

[Ian Symes]

I’ve just played through again and now I’m number five on the leaderboard. In your face, all but four other Red Dwarf fans.

[Ridley]

“The ship’s scan is too long for a computer game.”

[Bezzy]

Im currently 2nd on the iPhone leaderboard :) pleased with that. Although did want to be the first to hit the 100,000 space point barrier

[GlenTokyo]

I’m up to 74000 points, level 10, really wish they had Android leaderboards, I think android have moved away from that Game Centre thing and their achievement system.

As for the game though, have to say, had an issue and the support has been great.

[Jonathan Capps]

It appears to be half price off on both stores.

[(deleted)]

Indeed, I can have that 4-pack of Wispas after all.

[locusceruleus]

I’m not going to lie, it’s been sat on my phone untouched for a week on the 3rd part of the first Starbug stage. It’s so tedious. Tappy tappy tap. Scan. No. Tappy tappy tap. No. Tappy….

[(deleted)]

Try it again. That third part no longer exists…

[locusceruleus]

Cheers Darrell! Going to update and give it another go.

[Bezzy]

Can’t wait for Samsara update. I think I’ve played this episode to death!
Back at no1 (on iPhone) :) only just mind

[GameDigits]

Great to see people are looking forward to the Samsara update!
We’re still working hard on the update and will have it available as soon as possible.

I’ve mentioned this before, but might be worth saying again – please note, it is unfeasible to implement an episode every week, therefore the updates for the game will continue beyond the first airing of the TV series.

Also, all these updates will be free and progressive, so as you finish the previous episode the next will unlock. After six full episodes, the game is going to be huge!

Alongside this, we are continuing to respond to your feedback to improve the game too. Given the first couple of weeks, we’ve had some great feedback and the game has progressed a great deal as a result.

We’re now looking forward to finalising Samsara and then moving on to Give and Take.

[Jonathan Capps]

Thank you, Ian GameDigits. I’m personally thankful of the longer release schedule for the game, since we’re pretty maxed out with coverage at the moment anyway!

I do have a quick question that I’ve been wondering about. Your menu shows a ‘Restore Purchases’ button that currently doesn’t seem to relate to anything, so I was wondering whether we’re seeing any IGP in the future? Is my assumption that it will be for unlocking future episodes before you’ve satisfied the in-game requirements correct?

Thanks again for the top notch community management.

[GameDigits]

Thank you Jonathan, glad to be of help and keep you guys informed.

With regards to the ‘Restore Purchases’ question. You’re absolutely right, there will be in-app purchases for players who want to unlock the new content without completing the previous episodes. This is quite standard practice and isn’t forced upon anyone, you will still be able to play through the whole game including all the episodes after buying it once from the App Store or Google Play.

[Jonathan Capps]

Excellent, thanks for that.

I was hoping that might be what it’d be, not least because I’m having troubling getting my emulator to save my progress so at least I have the option to pony up if I need to get to the new episode!

[Danny Stephenson]

Loving following the development of this game. Thanks GameDigits!

[locusceruleus]

It’s quite baffling to think, how are the devs going to come up with minigames for say, Give & Take? A sci-fi/new environment type of episode like Twentica, yes, but some of the ship based sitcommy ones seem like they’d be challenging to adapt to a game. Krysis too.

[Chris Stokes]

Yeah I’ve been trying to work out what sort of thing my we’ll get. I have a feeling that answering the questions to get into the club from the Twentica game will be redone for Samsara but with correcting Cat’s mistaken knowledge of scientific history.

[Dave]

It’s quite baffling to think, how are the devs going to come up with minigames for say, Give & Take?

Trying to escape from a killer robot and creeping around a ship without being seen by your past selves both seem like ideal video game scenarios.

[Ben Paddon]

It’s quite baffling to think, how are the devs going to come up with minigames for say, Give & Take?

[Taiwan Tony]

The Meaning of Life game had that organ donor bit in it.
I never completed that fucking game.

[Phil]

I loved The Meaning of Life (the best of the Python PC games), but my computer kept crashing when I got to the attic(?) part near the end. I never got to see the ending, which I assume is just that clip from the film.

I liked that one, though. I was very surprised and impressed that it wasn’t entirely specific to the movie; it mixed in a good deal of general (and relatively obscure) Flying Circus stuff.

[(deleted)]

A big chunk of the second half of the MoL game was recycled from an unfinished game based on Terry Gilliam’s ‘Animations Of Mortality’ book.

It wasn’t your PC by the way – that CD had a fatal, game-breaking glitch in it towards the end (as did the Grail game – wonder why 7th Level went under…). This being the days before updates and patches, that’s how it stayed. A shame because, as you say, it was good.

[Taiwan Tony]

I too encountered that glitch. I still have the game somewhere.
Another game I didn’t finish was the first South Park game. The one where you had to throw pissy snowballs.
Nowhere near as entertaining as the Meaning of Life game, but vexing all the same.
And then there was Batman Returns on the Lynx…

All tie-ins, I just realise!

[Phil]

Ah, interesting. I honestly just thought it was something to do with my PC. Can’t remember how I reached that conclusion, but I always just figured I’d finish the game whenever I finally got a new computer, and then never went back to it. Good to know I wasn’t alone. (Or maybe it’s bad to know. I can’t decide.)

Also interesting that it contained so much content from an unfinished game. I guess that explains why it seemed like the game was about to end, and then just kept going into what felt like new, completely different (ahem) territory. Maybe inelegant, but it’s still pretty neat that that resulted in a much bigger game than we would have gotten otherwise.

I did finish the Grail game, so I don’t think I ran into the bug in that one. But I also didn’t like the Grail game, so…there’s that.

[Danny Stephenson]

I never knew there was a Meaning Of Life game…

[peas_and_corn]

>And then there was Batman Returns on the Lynx…

Oh man, that was a tough game.

[si]

I don’t play games too often, as I may have mentioned, and I still haven’t managed to get past the Car stealth level!

[Author]

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