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[SNEAK PEEK] Harbor Master from Imangi Studios

N

nattylux

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 21, 2008
46
0
Washington, DC
*****
It's out!

Harbor Master - $0.99
*****


Hey guys,

We've been hard at work on our next game, and we think you're going to love it.

***

Imagine that you're the Harbor Master at a busy port in the Mediterranean.

Ships are coming and going and delivering cargo, and it's YOUR job to direct them in and out of their docks, and make sure they don't collide.


The town is depending on the delivered goods to grow and prosper. The more cargo you deliver, the more houses your town flourishes and grows. You are quite powerful around here!


If you grow your town enough, your fame will spread far and wide, and your services will be demanded in other port cities all over the world, all with their own geography and special challenges.



[Edit - June 4 - old screenshots removed]



Features:
- 3 types of boats. The speedboats are small and fast, but only deliver one load of cargo. The biggest boats are slow-moving, but deliver four loads of cargo.
- Unlockable level maps
- Global high scores
- Original soundtrack by yours truly :)

***

I've been playing nonstop for the past three days (I'm the current world leader! :)), and I think you guys will get addicted to Harbor Master too. We plan to submit at the end of May.

Videos, beta, and all sorts of other good stuff coming soon!

- Natalia


**** EDIT May 29 ****


That was then. This is now:


picture.php

picture.php

picture.php


**** EDIT June 4 ****

Check out the icon!

picture.php
 
How does this differ from Flight Control? No offense, just wondering what would compel someone to get it if they already of FC.
 
Forgive me for sounding rude but this seems like a Flight Control copy? Will be interesting to see how it does when released.
 
Just by looking, it seems Harbor Master rewards you for doing more dockings (By builting your town).. where as Flight Control is just landing planes.... Or so I think, I don't own Flight Control.. I just read the description on the App Store.
 
Even tho its similar to Flight Control, there is no reason there isn't room for more then one Flight Control Type app.

I think its a great idea. I like the look of it. Wouldn't mind seeing some of the town images and how it grows.

Good luck with the development.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5H11 Safari/525.20)

Looks very interesting.
 
We loved Flight Control, and it definitely inspired us. There are many twists to Harbor Master that make it a really cool and different game in its own right:

- You have to guide ships in and out of their docks. In Flight Control, when you land your planes, they disappear. In Harbor Master, when you dock a ship, it sits there for a few seconds unloading its cargo (the bigger the ship, the longer it takes to unload). You then need to guide it out in order to free up the dock for the next ship.

- Different types of ships are worth different point values. In flight control, all planes are the same. In Harbor Master, bigger ships carry 4 times as much cargo as the little ships. However, the bigger ships are slower. That makes you think about prioritizing - which ones do you want to dock first?

- Multiple unlockable level maps.

- Your town grows as you deliver more and more cargo.
 
That was then. This is now:


picture.php

picture.php

picture.php



Better, no? Our artists are awesome. We've also just started the public beta, and people LOVE it. Would love any feedback you guys have!
 
Wow, I love the look of it. And it does sound interesting. I do so love Flight Control. Thanks for the preview!
 
Assuming this game is .99 cents like flight control, you all need to stop your "what makes this different from flight control whining". It's .99 cents. If you liked FC, why not get another dollar game and continue to support a developer that gave you a great CHEAP first game.
 
$0.99 what is there to complain about.

You know I really dislike this whole, "Its just like another game" comment, anyone who knows anything about video games knows that most games are inspired or even copies of another game within that genre. Look at fighting games, First Person shooters, Tower Defense games, 3rd person shooters, Side scrolling shooters, its all the same basic design with minor alterations. Consumers, you benefit from this because you have more options and it forces competition between the developers. And if you have an iPhone or iPod get used to having a lot of choices, for $0.99 or $1.99 you can't really complain.

If I see another, "its just like that other game" comment, I think I might go crazy. Its called Genre's people deal with it, people who are sick of drawing lines for planes can now draw lines for boats, for an additional $0.99 think of it as another level if it makes you happy. Judging the game after looking at 5 still pictures is just not right.

nattylux, you have my support for your efforts, the game looks polished and i know you added some great features to keep the game interesting. Great Job :D
 
Wailord said:
How does this differ from Flight Control? No offense, just wondering what would compel someone to get it if they already of FC.
Click to expand...

Because it's a buck and it looks different, and people like different looks. Let me say that again in a different way, it's not very expensive and its fun to play.

Oh and you should want to support a developer who cares and takes his time to join a forum and listen to what you have to say.

And you've played Flight Control so many times and you know you'll never get passed 100 so give it up, and try something new, maybe boats is your thing.
 
Wailord said:
How does this differ from Flight Control? No offense, just wondering what would compel someone to get it if they already of FC.
Click to expand...

Flight Control wasn't the first game of it's type so why buy it, etc.

This game looks cool and I think the guys developing it have put a pretty good slant on it.
 
Wow guys, thanks so much for the support!

And I agree with everything you all are saying.

Flight Control is a GREAT game. It was definitely an inspiration. But we added so many twists in Harbor Master that it's really a different game of the same genre. You can have both Flight Control and Harbor Master on your phone and enjoy either one depending on what you're in the mood for.

Given what our beta testers are saying, I can promise you this: if you liked Flight Control, you will like Harbor Master. That's almost a guarantee. But here's another interesting observation. Many people who did NOT like Flight Control actually like Harbor Master - a lot. There is enough variation to keep them coming back.

And just overall, our beta testers are LOVING Harbor Master. Everyone is addicted. Our testers have played over 1000 games in the past 2 days alone. So... it's pretty addictive :)

I think you guys are going to love it! And thanks again for the support :)
 
no way...Flight control was inspiration?
i would have never guessed it...because this games looks so unbelievably orignal!

ok..i read a little more..there are couple new aspects..i suppose
 
hefeglass said:
no way...Flight control was inspiration?
i would have never guessed it...because this games looks so unbelievably orignal!

ok..i read a little more..there are couple new aspects..i suppose
Click to expand...

Haha - alright, alright, I get it ;)

Side note - we've released three other 100% original critically-acclaimed games. Nothing else like them out there. Feel free to check them out if you're craving something totally different:

Imangi
Imangi Word Squares
Little Red Sled
 
I'd buy this game even tho this looks like a mash up of flight control and vipValet. I'm addicted to time/timing management games.
 
Looks good. Ill defiantly buy it when it comes out and i get some iTunes store credit.

To those that are saying that it looks like flight control:
There were about 1000 different fart apps in the app store and they seemed to do well so I'm sure these 2 games will do fine together.



To the OP: One thing i don't like about flight control is that once you have got a high score starting from the beginning is very boring so I hope you have come up with a way to solve this. Maybe add checkpoints?
 
Similar to flight control or not, the game looks good enough in the pics. Though I`d buy it only if the reviews are good enough.
 
This looks like fun. I worked at Port Operations at the Naval Base in Norfolk for a few years. I did stuff like this.
 
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