WarLight’s mobile client for iOS and Android has just been upgraded to version 1.16.1! This is a major update with lots of improvements, and brings it closer to parity with the browser-based version of the game.
If you’re a member using the mobile client, please upgrade your device to this version, and let me know how well it works at fizzer@warlight.net! Android users can update by the usual method. This blog post describes what’s changed.
Single-Player
This update adds the ability to play single-player games! The app is no longer limited to just multi-player.
The six main levels from the website can be played, as well as custom settings just like the web-based game. All of your scores are shared amongst all platforms, so it doesn’t matter if you record a win in the browser, on an iPhone, or an Android device — they’re all recorded to your profile and will be reflected across all platforms. However, saved games can only be loaded on the same device they were created on.
A lot of changes had to be made to allow offline play. WarLight was originally written as a browser game, so much of the code assumed that an internet connection was always available. For example, maps have historically always been downloaded from the server on demand and were not included in the initial download. Now, when playing single-player on a mobile device, the app will try to connect to the internet to download maps, but if a connection is not available, there are a handful of maps built into the app that can be used.
Quality Setting
The settings menu now has a “Quality” setting that can be changed, from 0.5x to 4x. If your device sometimes complains about running out of memory, or if you have performance problems, try lowering your quality from 1x to 0.5x. This will cause the app to use less memory and render faster, especially on large maps.
This setting replaces the anti-aliasing setting that existed before. Setting the quality to 2x or 4x does the same thing that anti-aliasing did in the previous version.
Other Changes
– Added menu link to take control back from AI just like the Flash version received recently.
– Added “fling” to the map panning system (it now drifts after releasing your finger).
– Added “Analyze Attacks” link to the menu just like the Flash version received in the previous update.
– Under Analyze, added the Army Losses Graph alongside the Probability Graph. Also re-arranged the defenders slider and graph/data toggle a bit so it’s more intuitive.
– When rotating your device to landscape, some items were re-arranged for consistency. The orders list is now always on the right side to be consistent with the Flash game and with portrait orientation. The main menu bar then had to be moved from the right side to the left, which also allows it to be consistent with the Flash game. The real-time clock and loading spinner could then be moved to the top left to be consistent with portrait.
– On a phone in landscape orientation, the attack/transfer screen now separates its buttons into two columns so they can be seen without scrolling.
– “Inspect Map” now gives some instruction so it’s more intuitive to use.
– Updated the app icon to show a world map.
– The “Could not connect” popup no longer comes up on automatic refreshes.
– Improved the experience for when your internet connection is slow or intermittent. If a response is not reached from the server within 7 seconds, the game now offers you a cancel button that allows you to cancel the current operation.
– The app now tells you when it’s out of date so players who don’t read the blog know to go update. When the app is released, this check will be removed since the app will be updated via Apple’s App Store or Google Play.
– The instructions in the select assistant now scroll with the rest of the content.
– The little right arrow that appears in list items now sizes itself properly on high-resolution devices.
– Fixed a bug when in landscape mode with the orders list collapsed that made the order text appear in a thin vertical column that was unreadable.
– Fixed a bug that prevented you from adding Open Seats or AIs to a game when it already had some.
– Fixed a bug that caused the clock to do a single tick sound when opening a game that was past the boot time.
– Fixed a bug that made the invite-players screen show you the old player’s invite list if you switched accounts.
– Android: The app now targets Android 4.2. This means that when run on newer Android devices, it looks and feels more like a native app. It still works on older devices.
– Android: List items that do nothing when tapped no longer flash yellow when tapping them.
– Android: Fixed a bug on newer versions of Android that caused text to not center horizontally when it should have.
– Android: If you minimize the app and the OS decides to restart it, WarLight will now save the orders you were working on and restore them so you don’t have to start the current turn from scratch.