Dice Tower beta 4

Finally, beta 4 was released yesterday. This one is the last step towards the ultimate goal of submitting to Apple. However, I have flirted with some publishers lately and will need to send them a build of the game and see what they have to offer first. This game has great potential and I already have some neat ideas for future updates to add more RPG elements to the game.

Here is what changed since beta 3.

    - iOS 4 fastapp switching support added.
    - Faster web view loading times.
    - Fixed name entry field in iOS 4.
    - Fixed hint system issue with multiple hints one after the other.
    - Removed FPS counter from release builds.
    - Fixed lots of documentation and hints.
    - Fixed rectangle drawing routine.
    - Added icons to most buttons.
    - New step-by-step tutorial.
    - Roll button badge does not track presses anymore. Should be easier to press roll button.
    - Fixed Continue button to be disabled on Title screen.
    - OpenFeint notifications appear from the top of the screen now.

Why not give you some more screenshots while we are at it? I have improved the artworks once more for this latest beta.

Doesn't the icon look beautiful next to the iOS4 Game Center icon?

The loading screen in action...

The title screen with the new button icons. It still says version 0.3 on this screen but it is really 0.4.

Dice Tower comes with a great online help designed in HTML and easy to access anytime.

Jackpot

Today, I have been working on power-ups and enhancing the game mechanics a bit. You now have to collect coins that fall-off of dice that were part of a combo. You must act fast since they will disappear after some time. Each tool requires a number of coins to be used.

Talking about tools, they will have an experience counter that will increase each time you use the tool. Once the experience points reaches the required amount, the tool will have its level increased making it more powerful and cheaper to use.

Also, each die slot (where you place your die on in the tower) has a modifier number that multiplies the value of the die by, can be increased or decreased by tools or natural element dice. Fire, will cause die modifier to be reduced every minute if you don't extinguish it. Ice storm will lock your die in the slot until you use the pick tool to remove the ice. There are a lot of RPG elements like this thrown into Dice Tower.

Balancing and beta testing are scheduled very soon. Here are some images for some specialty dice: