We are about 11 days from the 1 year anniversary of Propaganda Lander! We know that several thousand people have played the game and hopefully most of them have enjoyed it! We’ve read every review on the App Store and scoured the web for commentary on the game so if you’re talking about us, we’ve tried to learn from it.

While we don’t have anything planned for this 1 year anniversary, we do have some pretty significant updates on the horizon. We won’t be able to have it in time for April 30th–if only we were keeping an eye on this anniversary thing at the beginning of the year!–but, we’re working as fast as we can do get it done. We refer to it as Propaganda Lander 1.5. The story hasn’t changed but, it’ll be an entirely new experience for those who have already beat the game and hopefully more enjoyable for those who’ve gotten stuck on one of the levels.

Propaganda Landers takes some patience and dedication to get through. It’s a great experience if  you’re willing to make that investment and we love all of you who have but, we’d like to share the experience with more folks. This upcoming update will significantly change the game as you see it on the App Store. You’ll still fly a space ship, land it, pick up guys, and deliver them so we aren’t changing the core mechanic. We still feel that Propaganda Lander has one of–if not the–best flying mechanics on the App Store.

We’re adding more polish, refining the levels, and generally doing the things that we would have done if we had more time a year ago. There’s more new things brewing here at SMASHWORX that we can’t share yet so stay tuned!

For purposes of full disclosure–if it was’t already obvious–we are the game studio behind one of the games on this list: Propaganda Lander. There aren’t any conflicts of interest here as there really is no other game quite like Propaganda Lander available for the iPhone. After having played virtually every lander-style game on the App Store–certainly the most popular ones–I can confidently say that Propaganda Lander stands alone. That isn’t to say there aren’t other good lander games available as well. There are and that’s why we were able to make this list.

Every game on this list is worth their price tag and most are free or have a free version for you to try. I’ve forked over the money to try all these games so you don’t have to! Each best lander game belongs to a different category: adventure, puzzle, simulation, Lunar Lander remade, and Lunar Lander reimagined. These 5 were whittled down from an original list of 15 candidates so the competition was fairly tough.

Let’s kick this off with the Best Adventure Lander:

Best Adventure Lander

Propaganda Lander is a lander game unlike any other on this list or any other on the App Store. Propaganda Lander features five different worlds with different obstacles on each planet plus one of the most epic boss battles of any App Store game. Along with all the gameplay and action is a heartwarming story of David versus Goliath told through a series of animatics featuring a hilarious and professionally-voiced script. Once you’ve heard the things that the key villan, known as The Rickster, says, you’ll never forget them. You might even find yourself repeating some of them!

I realize that all this praise for Propaganda Lander coming from the people who developed it is going to have a little bias so I’ll quote from a review by AppSpy:

“Propaganda Lander isn’t the only Lander style game available for the App Store, but almost none can claim as much charm and style as ‘The Rickster’ on his universal campaign of glory.” -Andrew Nesvadba, AppSpy (4 out of 5)

By all means, read some of the reviews on the App Store itself and check out this thread from Touch Arcade. We’re proud of our game and we’re not afraid to show it! It is the most expensive game on this list at $4.99 but, this is an experience you cannot supplement with any other app on the store. Get it here.

Best Puzzle Lander

Gravity Lander is another lander game unlike any other. It is really a puzzle game that borrows lightly from the idea of landing a spaceship. The game comes with 52 missions and has a pleasing aesthetic look. Personally, I got stuck at level 45 and had a fun time getting there–I am still unsure of how anyone can pass level 45. The objective of each level is to get your lander from one part of the level to the landing zone by removing various obstacles, tilting the phone, and using a limited supply of thrusts.

If you like puzzle games, this is probably a much overlooked one. It is also free so there’s little commitment. It won’t hurt you to try it. I had a great time playing it. Get it here.

Best Simulation Lander

Lunar Module 3D is less a game and more a simulation of landing an actual lander. This game is done in 3D so you have free range of motion in 3D space. The object is to simply land your lander on the landing zones. I’m personally not a fan of realistic simulations but, for those who are this may be the best one available.

The controls felt good to me and is probably a good fit for fans of the original Lunar Lander who want to play it in a 3D world. The ability to swing not just left and right but in, out, and every other direction adds a new level of challenge to steering a lander. The game is $.99 and I’d only recommend it to people who are interested in more realism and less game. Get it here.

Best Lunar Lander Remake

Touch Lander is basically an exact remake of Lunar Lander. It is difficult like the original and uses vector style graphics like the original. The changes would be the use of the accelerometer to steer the lander and touching the screen for thrust. This is not a game for the light or heart much like the original.

Much like how the original arcade Lunar Lander was a coin robber and did little to comfort those without soft hands, this one is pretty much the same. The game costs $.99 and is as accurate a version of the original as you’ll find on the App Store. Get it here.

Best Lunar Lander Reimagining

Retro-X is like Touch Lander with a little modernization. While the art style could use improvements, it does employ 3D rendered environments so the game is possibly done in 3D but you can only move in 2D like class lander games. Retro-X is much more forgiving than the original Lunar Lander and uses scrolling levels. It employs the same accelerometer and touch screen system as Touch Lander.

Retro-X shares some gameplay similarities with Propaganda Lander in that you pick up little guys where you land and bring them back up to the mothership. Retro-X is available for free so there’s no harm in giving it a try. Get it here.

So, we now have a FREE way for you to demo and see if you like it. We know Propaganda Lander is worth the money, now you can decide for yourself.

Get Propaganda Lander LITE now!

1. Press the Home button to move Propaganda Lander to the background
2. Double tap the Home button to bring up the Fast-App Switching menu
3. Hold down the Propaganda Lander icon until the little red minus icon shows up
4. Press red minus to fully exit the game

Annoying! We are sending a fix as soon as we can!

I’m willing to bet most of you aren’t running iOS 4.01 so this might not be an issue for most of you. But, for those that this is an issue for, we’re working on it for you! OS updates don’t always play nice.

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SMASHWORX Update to Propaganda Lander Offers Gamers New Ways to Play

New York CIty, USA Jul 26, 2010

New York, NY – SMASHWORX, LLC, an independent game developer, is excited to announce the release of Propaganda Lander version 1.1 for iPhone and iPod Touch devices. Propaganda Lander is an addictive adventure/arcade game that sends players out into a galaxy filled with exotic alien planets to collect converts for an evil televangelist’s cause. Each new planet features unique challenges that range from ominous sea serpents to giant lava hands that are navigated by an ingenious flight system. This highly-polished game’s hallmark is professionally voiced and produced movies that advance the hilarious plot while flushing out the entire experience.

The update contains two new modes: Easy and Survival Remix plus optimization for iOS 4.0, new high score leaderboard capabilities and new planet soundtracks. Easy Mode gives the less hardcore gamers a more relaxed way to interact with the game without watering down the experience. Survival Remix Mode uses all of the enemies of Easy or Hard Mode in a new survival version of Propaganda Lander. Players attempt to survive the barrage of attacks to try and best their friends in time and skill. Both new modes charmingly reach out to new audiences to introduce them to the world of Propaganda Lander.

Game Features:
-Fluid yet responsive motion-controlled piloting
-20 fast-paced levels that culminate in a boss battle royale
-Laugh-out-loud plot that unfolds in sleek movies
-Fully developed Achievement and High Score systems
-Multiple Modes for all types of players
-Diverse soundtrack

Device Requirements:
-Compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad
-Requires iOS 3.0 or later
-Optimized for iOS 4.0 with Fast-App Switching

Pricing and Availability:
Propaganda Lander 1.1 is $4.99 USD (or equivalent amount in other currencies) and is available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Games category.

SMASHWORX, LLC is an independent game developer based in New York City, US. This is the first app of many to be made available. Copyright (C) SMASHWORX, LLC. All rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, iPod and iPad are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.

www.smashworx.com
info@smashworx.com

##

Gotta Have Tunes

One thing that you might have noticed while playing Propaganda Lander was that there was only one soundtrack for every level. We had always intended to have music for every planet but, was unable to get all the tracks on time before our initial launch. We do have them now!

The whole game is worth playing through again just to hear the planet specific tracks. We’ve also added some more polish to the game so there’s a tad more to see.

Loading Screen

For those of you with a speedy 3GS or iPhone 4, the loading screen probably wasn’t an issue for you. Propaganda Lander would have loaded in under 7 seconds. For those with older iDevices, it would have taken about 2x as long. We have now added an animated load screen in the beginning to help make those 14 seconds more enjoyable!

Settings

There isn’t anything that new in the settings screen except that Facebook features are no longer in this screen and you can turn the vibration feature on or off. The other options for muting Music or Sound Effects are still there and the ability to auto-skip movies once you’ve already seen them.

For those using iOS 4, the movies will now play nicely with your iPod or Pandora. It used to cut off whatever music you were listening to and play the movie. iOS 4 let’s us have the movie’s soundtrack and your music at the same time so we made it happen in version 1.1.

Remix Survival, Easy, Hard Modes

The biggest part of the update is the Remix Survival mode. This is an endless mode where the goal is to survive for as long as possible while virtually every obstacle and enemy you’ve encountered in the main game makes an appearance. We think it’s loads of fun.

For those who thought the game was too hard–and it was a hard game, we’ve implemented Easy mode. The original levels are now in the Hardcore mode. Your original saved game corresponds to the Hardcore mode.

Leaderboards, Achievements, and AGON

Achievements were in the original Propaganda Lander. We’ve moved all your achievements to the AGON system where the leaderboards also reside.

We’ve added the Remix Survival Mode as well as Easy/Hard modes. These modes also come with their own leaderboards for your competing pleasure.

iOS 4 Fast-App Switching

While we originally did not intend to have Fast-App Switching, we gave in. It was convenient to be able to reply to a text you get while playing Propaganda Lander or go to Pandora or check mail that you might have gotten or whatever. We thought it was a nice touch so we put it in. The game will pause when you switch out to another app and be ready to go once you come back.

PlayHaven

We have partnered with PlayHaven to cross-promote Propaganda Lander and other games on their network. You can access PlayHaven by touching the new “More Games” button on the lower left corner of the title screen. We like other developers.

Other Tidbits

There are smaller changes to Propaganda Lander as well. We probably couldn’t name them all even if we wanted to. There are little touches that we added that you’ll see throughout the game including generally improved performance across the board.

For those of you with older iDevices, the best way to get the best performance is to turn off the music and the sound effects. There will be a major improvement when you do that.

We’ve tried to eliminate as many memory issues as we can and we feel pretty confident that Propaganda Lander will run on all iPhone’s and iPod Touches without crashing often or needing you to reboot your phone–although it’s always good to do that just to clear out orphans in memory.

Good luck in Remix Survival and we are dying to compete with all of you on the leaderboards!

If you are someone who cares about keeping your app’s file size under the 3G download limit, it is important to optimize as best as you can do get it under 20MB. A lot of games really don’t care which will be an annoyance to someone who wants to buy the game but has no WiFi service nearby. Other games just can’t be that small and then there’s nothing you can do about it.

We are pretty adamant about keeping Propaganda Lander under 20MB. Even with all our wondrous musical tunes, movies with voice overs, and pretty graphics we demand to have a game that can be downloaded from anywhere there is a 3G signal. After all, we are making a game for a mobile phone first and a portable music device second.

The reason why the executable file was twice as big under SDK 4 was because it defaults to compiling for iPad as well as iPhone. I see no reason to have both binaries when most games have specific versions for iPhone and iPad. You can fix this by checking Build Active Architecture Only in the project settings.

You should enable Dead Code Stripping as well–it usually is by default. There’s also Optimization Level which defaults to [-Os] for fastest, smallest and tends to be best.

SDK 4.0 changes how the MPMoviePlayer works. I think it is now much better than it was before. You have more control over it. It will also, by default, mix with other audio as well. Right now, Propaganda Lander will kill your iPod if a movie plays. We didn’t particularly like that but, there was no choice in the matter. There is now! The iOS 4 version of Propaganda Lander will have this feature.

So, Apple has created an MPMoviePlayerViewController that you can use as a view to control the movie. MPMoviePlayerController still exists but is slightly different. In the past, creating an MPMoviePlayerController would just take over the device and play the movie. You now need to add your MPMoviePlayerController’s view to a UIView or UIWindow.

The MPMoviePlayerViewController will auto rotate if the device’s orientation changes. This was not ideal for Propaganda Lander as it only plays in one orientation: OrientationLandscapeRight. In order to get around that, we had to use the UIView from the MPMoviePlayerController and transform it accordingly.

Here is some code straight out of Propaganda Lander for movie player in iOS 4

You’ll need this for the degrees to radians conversion

#define degreesToRadian(x) (M_PI * (x) / 180.0)

This is the actual code:

MPMoviePlayerController * theMovie;
theMovie = [[MPMoviePlayerController alloc] initWithContentURL: movieURL];
UIView * movieView = [theMovie view];

[movieView setFrame: CGRectMake(0, 0, 480, 320)];

CGAffineTransform landscapeTransform;
landscapeTransform = CGAffineTransformMakeRotation(degreesToRadian(90));
landscapeTransform = CGAffineTransformTranslate(landscapeTransform, 80, 80);

[movieView setTransform: landscapeTransform];
theMovie.scalingMode = MPMovieScalingModeAspectFit;
theMovie.fullscreen = TRUE;
theMovie.controlStyle = MPMovieControlStyleNone;
theMovie.shouldAutoplay = TRUE;

[[[UIApplication sharedApplication] keyWindow] addSubview: movieView];

If you would like to use the MPMoviePlayerViewController that has all the auto rotation features, it would look like this:

MPMoviePlayerViewController * movieView;
movieView = [[MPMoviePlayerViewController alloc] initWithContentURL: movieURL];

MPMoviePlayerController * theMovie = [movieView moviePlayer];
theMovie.scalingMode = MPMovieScalingModeAspectFit;
theMovie.fullscreen = TRUE;
theMovie.controlStyle = MPMovieControlStyleNone;
theMovie.shouldAutoplay = TRUE;

[[[UIApplication sharedApplication] keyWindow] addSubview: movieView.view]

When you the movie is done playing, you will want to remove it. You can do so by using the NSNotificationCenter to get a callback when the movie is done.

[[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] addObserver: self
	selector: @selector(movieFinishedCallback:)
	name: MPMoviePlayerPlaybackDidFinishNotification
	object: theMovie];

When the movie is finished, it will call the movieFinishedCallback method which would look something like this:

- (void)movieFinishedCallback: (NSNotification*) notification;
{
	[[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] removeObserver: self
		name:MPMoviePlayerPlaybackDidFinishNotification
		object: [notification object]];

	MPMoviePlayerController * theMovie = [notification object];

	[theMovie.view removeFromSuperview];
	[theMovie release];
}

This ONLY works in iOS 4 devices. If you also need to target iPhone OS 3.0 or 2.0, you will need to check for the OS and then have the former MPMoviePlayer code as well. Since Propaganda Lander still targets iPhone OS 3.0, we made this function to check for the OS.

std::string getOS()
{
	UIDevice * device = [UIDevice currentDevice];
	NSString * os = [device systemVersion];

	if([os isEqualToString:@"4.0"])
		return "4.0";
	if([os isEqualToString:@"3.0"])
		return "3.0";
	if([os isEqualToString:@"3.1"])
	        return "3.1";
	if([os isEqualToString:@"3.2"])
		return "3.2";
	if([os isEqualToString:@"3.1.2"])
		return "3.1.2";
	if([os isEqualToString:@"3.1.3"])
		return "3.1.3";

	return "";
}

And for a much more robust way of determining iOS version that can be compared as numbers:

float getOSf()
{
	UIDevice * device = [UIDevice currentDevice];
	NSString * os = [device systemVersion];

	float osAsFloat = [os floatValue];
	return osAsFloat;
}

There’s some C++ and Objective-C in there as you can see. I actually wanted to return numbers but, strings will do for now. You can just as well return NSString’s exclusively if you’d like. As you can also see, we don’t care about OS’s below 3.0. OS 3.2 is the iPad OS and should have no effect for iPhone development but, I left it in there anyway. I believe 3.2 uses the same MPMoviePlayer code as iOS 4.0.

So if your movie player suddenly stops working in iOS 4.0, this is why and this is how to fix it.

Here’s our press release if you’re into that stuff.

###

EXCITING SPACE ADVENTURE GAME PROPAGANDA LANDER CELEBRATES IPHONE 4 WITH LIMITED SALE!

NEW YORK, NY, June 24, 2010 – In celebration of the launch of iPhone 4, SMASHWORX is lowering the price of Propaganda Lander from $4.99 to $2.99 starting on Thursday, June 24th 2010 through Sunday, June 27th, 2010! No other game of it’s kind can compare with Propaganda Lander’s charm, style, and buttery-smooth space-flight controls. It’s the unforgettable iPhone experience you haven’t had yet. Experience it now by visiting the App Store and purchasing Propaganda Lander at 40% off before the sale ends!

Propaganda Lander fulfills the dream of piloting an alien spacecraft through hazardous exotic environments. Players will need to develop some serious skills to survive an onslaught of missiles, giant sea serpents, and molten lava pits. Players will also have to put up with the ultimate jerk of a boss that doesn’t seem to mind putting the lander in precarious situations but, that’s the price of admission. Propaganda Lander is an iPhone experience you won’t find anywhere else. This highly polished and innovative game is normally priced at $4.99 but with the excitement of the iPhone 4 launch we couldn’t help ourselves but offer a sale to the Apple community.

Propaganda Lander is scheduled for a massive update in the coming weeks with new planet-themed music, leaderboards with AGON, easy and hard modes, survival mode, and more! Get Propaganda Lander before it returns to it’s original price!

PRAISE:

“Propaganda Lander isn’t the only Lander style game available for the App Store, but almost none can claim as much charm and style as ‘The Rickster’ on his universal campaign of glory.”
-Andrew Nesvadba, AppSpy (4 out of 5)

“You will have to bring your A game in order to get through the 20 levels currently included… This $4.99 game is universal and looks beautiful on any sized screen.
-Michelle Lopez, The Portable Gamer iCasual Podcast

“Propaganda Lander: simple idea, unlikely hero, amazing game!”
-Emiliano Contarino, iPhoneItalia.com

FEATURES:

- The best motion-controlled flying in any game on the App Store.
- 20 levels that will kick your butt and that’s before the boss battle.
- Each planet features a short movie that’s more South Park and less Dora the Explorer.
- The baddest final boss you’ve faced on iPhone; so badass, he doesn’t fit on one screen.
- If you aren’t into dark humor, you won’t find any part of this game funny. Too bad for you.
- We have some hard to obtain achievements. We like achievers.
- Listen to your iPod while playing.
- Brag about your achievements on Facebook.
- Rule the galaxy!

Get Propaganda Lander Now!: http://www.smashworx.com/buypropaganda

About SMASHWORX
SMASHWORX is housed in NYC, the only city that could possibly withstand its chaotic force. SMASHWORX is here to to shake, not stir, the pot. We are made up of code breakers, delirium takers and the type of people your ma’ warned you about. Our intention is straight-forward: bash gamer’s heads in by ignoring the rules set by marketing cronies and corporate geezers. We take no prisoners. SMASHWORX has had enough with terms like “bleeding-edge.” We promise to produce addictive games that bring a little rock n’ roll into the gamer lifestyle. We are the folk that spent most of our time in detention. We are the stick in your spokes. We are SMASHWORX!

Visit Us: http://www.smashworx.com
Follow Us: http://www.twitter.com/smashworx
Like Us: http://facebook.smashworx.com
Our Pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/smashworx
Videos: http://www.youtube.com/smashworx

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Remix: Survival is a sensory assault of epic proportions. Players will attempt to survive as long as possible while we throw every nasty enemy known in Rickster’s Universe at them. In order to create this new mode, Tommy has had to re-haul our level editor to offer even more customization. We can now control waves of different enemy types through timing, random amperage ranges and frequency. Therefore, I’ve spent the last couple of days tweaking and testing to create an hyperactive experience. The types of issues I’ve run into mainly deal with offering an experience that has peaks and valleys instead of an experience that amps up only to plateau. What we’ve decided is to offer a sort of three steps forward, one step back mechanic that allows the player to feel like they’ve accomplished a great feat for surviving a particularly hard wave and to facilitate an innate feeling of tension and drama. Also, one other issue I’ve had to deal with is beating Tommy’s high score, but that’s more of a personal policy. The last bits that we have to deal with is optimization for all devices and implementing the soundtrack.

For all you folks that find the Lander to be a little too punishing, we’ve started on an Easy Mode. Easy Mode is exactly what it sounds like, fewer enemies, more power-ups, and less damage make it easier for the casual player to really enjoy Propaganda Lander. I’d have to say that the most difficult part of creating Easy Mode has been striking a balance between making things easier but still retain the challenge. I tend to make levels pretty difficult, look at hardcore mode for example, and it’s been a practice in self-control to really loosen things up a little. We still need to do some testing before we release Easy Mode but I think it’s totally worth it to invite casual gamers into the fold.

Here’s a little sneak peek for the upcoming Remix Survival mode! Enjoy!

We’ve mentioned an endless mode on Twitter and that is coming. Our internal play tests indicate that it’ll be as fun as the rest of the game so we can’t wait until you guys get to try it! The idea is to survive for as long as possible while pretty much every obstacle you’ve seen in the game comes around to mess you up.

Being the competitive group that we are, this endless mode is no good without a leaderboard for bragging rights. We’ve decided to incorporate AGON into Propaganda Lander. This opens up a leaderboard for the new endless mode and for the main game.

We’ve also been told that the game is too hard for some. We want as many people to be able see and enjoy the little movies we made featuring the Rickster. So, the next update is going to include an Easy and Hard mode. The mode you have now is the Hard mode.

There will also be new music for every world. We’ve worked hard to create varied music to work in the game and hope you’ll enjoy that too.

On top of these new features will be improved playability. Some of you may have experienced a bit of crashing if you owned an older iPhone or iPod Touch. We are going to diminish as much of that as possible. We’ve also added a few small tweaks that will improve framerate for older devices. We want all iPhone or iPod Touch users to enjoy Propaganda Lander.

We are aiming to have all of this done and ready to go within the next two weeks. Personally, I can’t wait to compete with the rest of you on the leaderboards!