'Dillo Hills [Development]

[Android_4TW]

so, how much does this game cost??

 

[EarlyMon]

https://market.android.com/details?id=air.dillohills

It's only a buck.

 

[DecoyX]

Can't wait for the update!

 

[EarlyMon]

Please don't slag the devs - fex has been quite responsive here.

Thank you.

 

[galaxymanvu]

I wish my phone supported Adobe programs so I could buy it.

 

[DecoyX]

Cheers Fex!

 

[fex]

Just got my laptop back from the shop - DC input jack came loose, had to be soldered back in place. Ugh.

Pulling all of my files back over from dropbox, then back to the patch. Would be nice to have it done by tonight. No promises.

 

[k3Ck]

I like the game so far but the music makes me wish I was deaf.

 

[fex]

I like the game so far but the music makes me wish I was deaf.

Hahahah, we've actually gotten a lot of mixed feedback about the music. Some people absolutely love it, some people absolutely hate it. I've actually listened to it for so many countless hours that I normally turn it off, but we have been considering other music choices. Won't be in the upcoming patch, but maybe the one after that.

 

[fex]

Just sent a release candidate out to my test group. Unless they find any bugs in the next 15 hours, the patch will go live tomorrow evening.

 

[fex]

v1.1.9 is now live for both the paid and lite versions of Dillo Hills!

This new patch brings several new features, improvements, and bug fixes, including:

• Achievements / unlockable character customizations
• Upgrades and new gameplay mechanics
• Global cross-platform leaderboard
• Improved interface and quicker response to touch on menus
• Adjustments to zone 6 and zone 10
• Revised data storage system
• Improved graphics on Normal and Ultra quality settings
• Improved level transition time and rendering performance
• Bug fixes: zone 10 score bug, mushroom death bug, tutorial bubble bug

There are still a few features that didn't quite make the cut for this patch. The biggest one, I believe, is the ability to customize your up/down bar. This is something very important that I would very much like to implement soon (ie. in a minor patch, not the next major version).


Please report any bugs you encounter here, or by email:
justinsmith _ designbyjustinsmith _ com

Cheers, and have fun! See you guys on the leaderboard.

 

[Roze]

Updated to-do list!

DONE - Allow quit directly from pause menu

Fex, does the app not go into sleep mode when you leave it? My nephew was playing with it for a few minutes before he got bored, pressed home and played some other games. When I got my phone back, the battery indicator showed that 'Dillo Hills used over 30% of the battery. It's the 2nd most battery intensive process after display. CPU usage was 45 minutes. This shows me that the app did not go to sleep when it was not being played with Motorola Atrix. I'm not sure if other people are seeing this too?

v1.1.9 is now live for both the paid and lite versions of Dillo Hills!

This new patch brings several new features, improvements, and bug fixes, including:

Spoiler

• Achievements / unlockable character customizations
• Upgrades and new gameplay mechanics
• Global cross-platform leaderboard
• Improved interface and quicker response to touch on menus
• Adjustments to zone 6 and zone 10
• Revised data storage system
• Improved graphics on Normal and Ultra quality settings
• Improved level transition time and rendering performance
• Bug fixes: zone 10 score bug, mushroom death bug, tutorial bubble bug

There are still a few features that didn't quite make the cut for this patch. The biggest one, I believe, is the ability to customize your up/down bar. This is something very important that I would very much like to implement soon (ie. in a minor patch, not the next major version).

Fex, You posted 'Allow quit directly from pause menu' as being done last week but in the final version, I don't see that feature/ability.

 

[Eriksen]

Fex, You posted 'Allow quit directly from pause menu' as being done last week but in the final version, I don't see that feature/ability.

There is a quit button in the pause menu.

 

[Wom]

Cool, let me see how things turn out. Was just about the post a review on my blog but will wait a bit with that now

 

[Roze]

There is a quit button in the pause menu.

hmm...I was thinking of a pause upon back button or home button, lol.

 

[Wom]

Well, the upgrade made the game better in my book. Leaderboards and upgrades are proper additions if you ask me!

I adjusted the review and have posted it online, so for all Dutchies wanting to know what i think of the game: Dillo Hills | AndroidGaming

@Fex, the game would score higher if Adobe Air wasn't needed and the playability on one year old phones would be better. In that case the game would have scored a 8.5

 

[SupremeBeaver]

Fex with the latest update im totally loving the game! It certainly has much better replay value.

I'd like to request one feature though. With the newest update for online scores.. it requires that we have a data connection constantly on while playing. I find that having wifi on while i play destroys my battery. So what i suggest is have a feature where we can choose when to submit our high score.

Take this scenario for example. I play the game with data off and break my record, The score is stored in game data, and the next time i decide to play the game with wifi on it uploads my score online. Currently it doesnt do this. Last night i broke my record by a long shot, but forgot to switch on wifi so i couldnt upload my score. If i go to the homescreen to switch on wifi and go back to the game, it restarts.

So apart from this, the only other thing i could request is you keep trying to find performance improvements. It doesnt lag much, but still enough to make the game a little annoying. I also find that when i play for the first time it is relatively lag free, but as i continue to play more and more games it lags more and more.

edit: and PLEASE PLEASE let there be unlockable hills skins. The current ones are butt ugly imo. Tiny Wings hills are beautiful. This would make the game so much more pleasing to the eye imo.

 

[fex]

I'd like to request one feature though. With the newest update for online scores.. it requires that we have a data connection constantly on while playing. I find that having wifi on while i play destroys my battery. So what i suggest is have a feature where we can choose when to submit our high score.

Take this scenario for example. I play the game with data off and break my record, The score is stored in game data, and the next time i decide to play the game with wifi on it uploads my score online. Currently it doesnt do this. Last night i broke my record by a long shot, but forgot to switch on wifi so i couldnt upload my score. If i go to the homescreen to switch on wifi and go back to the game, it restarts.

Hmmmmm... it's very odd that it restarts if you "tab out" to the homescreen to turn on network: in fact, I've done that exact thing several times, but I usually play the Playbook version, so it's possible that the NativeApplication code plays a little differently on Android. I'll check it out!

The main issue with "saving your score" to submit later is that it's very prone to manipulation/cheating. I've added this to the list, though: I've got a couple ideas on how it might work.

So apart from this, the only other thing i could request is you keep trying to find performance improvements. It doesnt lag much, but still enough to make the game a little annoying. I also find that when i play for the first time it is relatively lag free, but as i continue to play more and more games it lags more and more.

Absolutely - the next patch actually has three new improvements to performance: first, a new "hollow hills" option is available on both Normal and Ultra graphics quality, which renders only the outer shell of the landscape, but uses about a fourth of the bitmap memory allocation.

Second, the framerate-independence code has been improved, which should help ensure that the game runs more similarly at all framerates (this is also a bit of a balance issue: users on weaker phones actually have a small advantage right now).

Finally, we were able to squeeze a little bit more raw performance out of a few graphics (especially interface graphics) by reformatting them and changing the way they're displayed.

edit: and PLEASE PLEASE let there be unlockable hills skins. The current ones are butt ugly imo. Tiny Wings hills are beautiful. This would make the game so much more pleasing to the eye imo.

More landscape variety is definitely something I'd like to do, and we've also recently gone through and updated the existing landscapes to be a little brighter and cheerier.

---------------

Anyway, all those changes are coming in patch 1.2.0 - I just sent the Release Candidate out to be tested earlier this morning!

 

[SupremeBeaver]

You're a legend Fex!

Really looking forward to future updates. The game is growing on leaps and bounds.

 

[Roze]

I like the latest update...I got further on the 2nd round I was able to actually hit the top of the hill on over half of the time, lol. I would be lucky before, lol. Maybe I'm getting the hang of playing or maybe reading the instruction at the beginning helps... >_>;;;

Anyways, keep up the good work Fex

 

[SupremeBeaver]

I spoke too soon.. it seems that the game does indeed continue from where it left off if you hit the home button. But this only happens "during" gameplay. It does not work after you die, the screen where you can submit your high score. It would be great if you could make it resume on that screen too.

 

[Lofty_Rx8]

Really like the game, but its started to annoy me now, Every time im about to enter zone 11 the game freezes and I have to wait ages for my phone to work again. and if I have full happiness and x5 combo it freezes going into zone 9. this is on a htc HD

 

[Wom]

English review of Dillo Hills: Dillo Hills | DroidGaming

 

[Roze]

English review of Dillo Hills: Dillo Hills | DroidGaming

Oh good, I don't need to take that Dutch class

 

[Eriksen]

After I downloaded and installed Android 2.3, the game runs like a dream on HTC Desire HD.

I have absolutley no lag on ultra graphics, unlike before I had lag on normal.
I even got to no. 19 on the all-time leaderboard

And btw, my highscore shows 360k on the menu, but when I look at the leaderboards, its 380k, which is the correct one.