What a week!
It's been another incredibly busy week for us here in Auckland, and even more busy over in Dundee as NK Europe works hard on getting various content into your hands. There's still a lot to get done before the end of the year so we're not slowing down any time soon.
Bloons TD 5 - NOW ON STEAM!
The big news this week is that we've released Bloons TD 5 on Steam. This version of the game is a desktop port of the Mobile version of Bloons TD 5. It's got all the new towers and Specialty Buildings (which go up to level 4!), all 50+ maps, off-line mode as well as online for co-op and leaderboards, high resolution, full screen and absolutely terrific late game performance.
Because this version is based on the code we also use for mobile, updates are going to be coming frequently. We've got a lot of plans for content as well as updates specific to the Steam version to make it work better on the desktop platform and we hope to see it develop into a best game it can be.
What about Bloons TD 5 Deluxe?
We've answered a few questions about Deluxe and Deluxe buyers around the forums and interwebs in general, but here's a concise outline of what will be happening for them:
Anyone who has purchased Deluxe has been emailed a Steam key so they can get the Steam version for free. If you haven't received this key by now, please email support@ninjakiwi.com with every detail you can give about your Deluxe order. We need to find your order to give you the Steam key.
Bloons TD 5 on Steam is essentially replacing Deluxe. Deluxe is no longer purchasable and won't be receiving updates.
If you are a Deluxe owner you can still download the original version from the link you would have used previously. We will also still be able to get your serial to you and help you out with issues getting the game going. (Just email support!)
We've had a lot of great messages about what we're doing for Deluxe players and while I don't want to go on about it I do want to let you all know we truly appreciate the support fans of our games show us. It means a lot when we can make people happy and it keeps pushing us to try do it more often.
Bloons Monkey City Web - On Kongregate and an Update
Bloons Monkey City web was released on Kongregate, and though it hammered our servers we've seen a positive reception and great feedback coming through. With that new influx of feedback we've put out a small update for a couple of things we've been thinking about for a while but never got round to implementing. These two things are a "Non-Stop" mode and quality settings built into the game.
Non-stop is a third toggle state on the Go button after Fast Forward. In this mode the game is in fast forward and when the round ends the next round will be started automatically. This means rounds can go on and on without you needing to press a button (though I recommend continuing to build towers). It can take a bit to get used to so that it doesn't affect your game much (sit on non-stop mode so you can quickly slow down when necessary) but we've had feedback that players would prefer to have the mode on a separate switch and we're looking into getting that done.
The quality settings simply let you change the level of qualityat which Flash renders the game. By lowering the quality the game will look a little jaggy but many players can see an improvement in the game's performance. We've done a bit of coding magic to take advantage of our rendering system so that the game looks a little better than it did by manually setting the quality before, but you should see the same level of performance increase.
And Some Questions from the Comment Section
Will there be updates for BSM2 or SASTD?
There aren't any plans for updates to either of those games unfortunately.
Australia or New Zealand?
Trick question? New Zealand of course.
Summer or Winter?
While the cold is much more easily handled, I'm gonna have to go with Summer.
Aaron, how good are you in BTD Battles?
Decidedly average.
Aaron
To continue my strange questions: Why did you choose to have a Ninja Kiwi Bird as the logo instead of a Ninja Kiwi Fruit (besides the obvious answer a kiwi fruit can't do anything)?
Does this mean that other NK games, like BMC and SAS4, also will be released on Steam sometime in the future?
Aaron, for SAS4 will there be something like eg: RHIKS 5300 10**** like with the 4 upgrade thing with the guns and gear. And also will there be anything like RIA 50 BLUE then YELLOW and things? So first RED level 1 BLUE level 2 YELLOW level 3 GREEN level 4.
Thats good.
Well, SAS TD corresponds to SAS3, and that game is no longer receiving updates. I'm not saying that it doesn't need anymore updates, just that it's very unlikely. I would love to see a SAS TD 2 though. Imagine a Necrosis as a boss. =P
Aaron, I have heard about these new weapons in SAS4 called the CM Sonic Drill and the HIKS R40, are these ever planned to be released in SAS4?
Say Aaron if BTD5 on Steam does very well. What are the odds of the other mobile versions porting to Steam as well?