Very interested! I will likely look into porting to other platforms (switch/iOS etc.) once I'm done with the desktop release. So in the second half of the year.
About lane merging, it doesn't make sense to have an arrow pointing straight (out of the road). I feel like it would be better to have something line this:
Maybe even include an arrow pointing at 45 degrees to the left or right depending where we want to merge (not the usual 90deg arrow).
This is what the sign looks like and on the road there are usually multiple arrows pointing in the same direction (45deg angle) before you can't go any further. (could also be a blue sign in Europe).
And since the game only shows what's on the road, then I think it would be better to just have the 45deg angled arrow.
I agree that the sign makes more sense. But the issue I have is incorporating the extra signs into the current control scheme. I'm looking into changes/improvements to the merge system to give the player more control and I'll hopefully have an update with these changes coming within a month,
It says existing purchasers will be given a steam key, but i can find it anywhere. I checked email and looked through itch but i didn't see anything. I'm not sure where to look.
Dude, I returned the game from Steam because I didn't understand it. But I noticed something. When I went to the file location of the game, I saw that it was still playable (but it cannot be opened from Steam.) I registered here to write about this situation :)
That's a little odd. The game has no DRM so perhaps that has something to do with it but I would've assumed Steam would uninstall the game first. Thanks for letting me know though ;)
If you have time, could you let me know what parts I did a bad job of explaining/teaching? Is the tutorial not good enough?
a. GridRoad will be taking advantage of Steam specific features such as steam leaderboards, so I can't continue with a non-steam version, which is why I have provided keys to everyone who purchased it.
b. Steam has a policy where I cannot undersell the game on any other storefront
c. Steam's prices are inclusive of any sales tax (if it says 4.99 you're going to pay 4.99)
d. Itch's prices are exclusive of sales tax (if it says 4.99 then you pay 4.99 PLUS any sales taxes from your country)
What this means is that the only way for me to have GridRoad Steam keys available for sale on itch is to overcharge them, deliberately charging a higher price so I don't violate Steams terms by undercutting their price. I don't want to overcharge anyone so I removed the game from sale. I think the only way to do this is to remove the builds from itch (they're still there but hidden).
Those of us who claimed the game for free on Itch should be able to download - from Itch - whatever builds were published before the move to Steam, full stop.
It doesn't matter that we didn't pay anything - we took advantage of an offer to have access to the game as it existed at the time (early access, pre-release, whatever). Taking away access now comes over as mean-spirited at best. I wouldn't have expected a Steam key, but I do expect to be able to download what I've claimed.
I don't really get your "I won't sell on Itch" standpoint either, tbh. Plenty of devs sell on both platforms, accepting that Itch adds sales tax. I live somewhere with 20% sales tax and I've bought several games/dev-specific bundles from Itch which included Steam keys, albeit on sale (Agelvik's Black Friday '23 sale being the most recent). I don't care about leaderboards either, so offering a version without this feature wouldn't bother me.
I do not care if you "get" my standpoint. Steam's terms are Steam's terms. I'm not going to violate those terms because it makes you personally unhappy.
If you think I have misinterpreted the terms by all means correct me.
I will try to see if there's some way to keep the old itch builds available for owners, but I don't think there's a way I can do this without the issues you claim are irrelevant cropping up.
It probably just depends on your location if Steam adds sales tax to your purchase. Steam has always added additional sales tax at checkout for me in addition to the game price. Different regions charge different tax so to base the game price on the tax is ridiculous.
I don't know why you're arguing from a place of complete ignorance. Read the section on rules, number 4 and then please tell me the magic spell I can cast to make the world you want a reality.
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How's the port to iOS coming along? Very exited to play this lovely game on the go :)
Unfortunately I don't think it's worth it for me to port gridroad to mobile, so sadly no plans to bring it to iOS/Android. Sorry to disappoint!
(The mobile market is too scary for me to risk it at the moment)
Can you not require phone number on the discord? I don't have one to provide but would like to say a few words there...
This game looks like it would be great on an iPad. Do you have any plans for (or interest in) porting this to iOS?
Very interested! I will likely look into porting to other platforms (switch/iOS etc.) once I'm done with the desktop release. So in the second half of the year.
About lane merging, it doesn't make sense to have an arrow pointing straight (out of the road). I feel like it would be better to have something line this:
Maybe even include an arrow pointing at 45 degrees to the left or right depending where we want to merge (not the usual 90deg arrow).
This is what the sign looks like and on the road there are usually multiple arrows pointing in the same direction (45deg angle) before you can't go any further. (could also be a blue sign in Europe).
And since the game only shows what's on the road, then I think it would be better to just have the 45deg angled arrow.
I agree that the sign makes more sense. But the issue I have is incorporating the extra signs into the current control scheme. I'm looking into changes/improvements to the merge system to give the player more control and I'll hopefully have an update with these changes coming within a month,
It says existing purchasers will be given a steam key, but i can find it anywhere. I checked email and looked through itch but i didn't see anything. I'm not sure where to look.
Get in touch with me somewhere: Discord, email etc. (I don't think there a way to dm on itch).
also, I'd suggest making a forum post or sending an email to itch.io support as well.
Dude, I returned the game from Steam because I didn't understand it. But I noticed something. When I went to the file location of the game, I saw that it was still playable (but it cannot be opened from Steam.) I registered here to write about this situation :)
That's a little odd. The game has no DRM so perhaps that has something to do with it but I would've assumed Steam would uninstall the game first. Thanks for letting me know though ;)
If you have time, could you let me know what parts I did a bad job of explaining/teaching? Is the tutorial not good enough?
I gave it a second chance. I bought it again. But since there was no update for a long time, I returned it again. I am sorry
Older builds should now be downloadable again for everyone who has already owns it.
Can you please just leave a copy of the old version (pre-Steam) up on itch for those who already got it?
Trying to figure out a way to do this currently ;)
So, now you've moved the game to Steam, you've deleted all builds from Itch?
Those of us who claimed the game for free are now left with nothing?
It's complicated:
a. GridRoad will be taking advantage of Steam specific features such as steam leaderboards, so I can't continue with a non-steam version, which is why I have provided keys to everyone who purchased it.
b. Steam has a policy where I cannot undersell the game on any other storefront
c. Steam's prices are inclusive of any sales tax (if it says 4.99 you're going to pay 4.99)
d. Itch's prices are exclusive of sales tax (if it says 4.99 then you pay 4.99 PLUS any sales taxes from your country)
What this means is that the only way for me to have GridRoad Steam keys available for sale on itch is to overcharge them, deliberately charging a higher price so I don't violate Steams terms by undercutting their price. I don't want to overcharge anyone so I removed the game from sale. I think the only way to do this is to remove the builds from itch (they're still there but hidden).
None of that's relevant, though.
Those of us who claimed the game for free on Itch should be able to download - from Itch - whatever builds were published before the move to Steam, full stop.
It doesn't matter that we didn't pay anything - we took advantage of an offer to have access to the game as it existed at the time (early access, pre-release, whatever). Taking away access now comes over as mean-spirited at best. I wouldn't have expected a Steam key, but I do expect to be able to download what I've claimed.
I don't really get your "I won't sell on Itch" standpoint either, tbh. Plenty of devs sell on both platforms, accepting that Itch adds sales tax. I live somewhere with 20% sales tax and I've bought several games/dev-specific bundles from Itch which included Steam keys, albeit on sale (Agelvik's Black Friday '23 sale being the most recent). I don't care about leaderboards either, so offering a version without this feature wouldn't bother me.
Please reconsider your decision!
I do not care if you "get" my standpoint. Steam's terms are Steam's terms. I'm not going to violate those terms because it makes you personally unhappy.
If you think I have misinterpreted the terms by all means correct me.
I will try to see if there's some way to keep the old itch builds available for owners, but I don't think there's a way I can do this without the issues you claim are irrelevant cropping up.
It probably just depends on your location if Steam adds sales tax to your purchase. Steam has always added additional sales tax at checkout for me in addition to the game price. Different regions charge different tax so to base the game price on the tax is ridiculous.
I don't know who you're complaining about. Me, Steam or Itch.
This is what Steam says on checkout for most of the EU and as far as I can tell, every country with VAT outside of the US.
So your logic for not being allowed to charge the same price on itch and steam is invalid. VAT is not applicable to most customers.
I don't know why you're arguing from a place of complete ignorance. Read the section on rules, number 4 and then please tell me the magic spell I can cast to make the world you want a reality.
You can claim it from your library page.
You sent me an email:
"As you have purchased GridRoad on itch, you are entitled to a free Steam Key. To claim:
I checked 'my purchases' and all it says is :
"Nothing is available for download yet."
Below that line I had:
"Claim Steam Key"
and a Steam Sign In button. Do you have those?
This is my fault as I did not word the email properly (and I'm hesitant to send out another one as clarification because it's a little bit spammy)
You can only claim the Steam key if you purchased the game. Not if you got it for free.
Seems like a missed opportunity not give everyone a key. It would have been a great way to market the game upon launch.