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iRis AG Support
 | iRis AG Web Manual |
This is a supplementary manual to the in-game tutorial. This manual contains more detailed descriptions about playing iRis AG. It is separated into the following sections, some of which are accessible via the online forums.
You may also find the Technical Support Forum a good place to ask questions and receive additional feedback.
| Gameplay Basics |
The basic premise of iRis AG is for the player to match four of the same colored blocks together by moving the whole game board around. The matching can be in any shape or combination, including diagonally, zig-zagged, etc. so long as there is a connected chain of four blocks.
The colored blocks fall from the far edge and approach the near edge (relative to the player), and are inserted in random configurations. The catch in iRis AG is that one cannot move the blocks as they fall, but instead must move the blocks that have already settled (loosely referred to as the game board here-in). These settled blocks are moved in tandem with one another and cannot be moved individually. By moving these settled blocks the player can position them such that falling blocks line up and connect with the correct colors.
To move the blocks left and right one simply swipes their finger left and right across the touch screen. Although the game board is circular in nature, the player only need swipe left and right, and not in a circular motion. The sensitivity of this action can be adjusted via the Main Menu's Options screen.
When four of the same colored blocks are lined up next to one another, they remove themselves from the game board. Any blocks that are stacked on top of the blocks removed (i.e. ones that are no longer connected to any other blocks connected to the base edge) are also removed, and count as 2x the normal points. By this means one can gain large combos, which is reflected in the online leaderboard.
There are special multi-colored blocks that act as wild-card blocks, which match any color. When three of these are placed next to one another, a special mega-collision event occurs which removes all connected blocks in the vicinity. Careful use of these blocks can turn one's game around!
As the game progresses, two bars are in the corner of the game screen which track the total number of blocks on the game board (the red mass-bar), and the number of points received for the current stage (the green progress-bar). The game ends when too many blocks have accumulated on screen, before which the red-mass bar will issue a "Warning!" message, as well as start blinking.
Exiting the application while playing will automatically save the game for later. One can also save the game and/or exit to Main Menu while playing via the Pause button. To restart the game, one simply needs to press 'Play' in the Main Menu for the appropriate resume response screen to appear. Only one saved game may be active at any one time, so starting a new one will discard your previous game.
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| Game Options |
iRis AG comes with three difficulty levels: Easy, Normal, and Hard. Difficulty level reflects the number of points one receives from removing blocks (Easy: 50pts, Normal: 75pts, Hard: 100pts), the maximum number of colored blocks in play (Easy: 3, Normal: 4, Hard: 5), as well as how far away blocks are inserted at. Although more points are awarded in the more difficult game setting, this does not mean the blocks are easier to get rid off!
iRis AG also comes with two game modes: Singularis, and Pulsaroid. These two game modes reflect the size dilation of blocks as they fall on screen (Singularis: Shrinking, Pulsaroid: Expanding). Both game modes play the same basic way, but are quite a bit different to master!
If the colored blocks are difficult to make out, one may try engaging colorblind mode via the Main Menu's Option screen. Another way is to try disabling theme alternating and instead select one fixed theme, again via the Main Menu's Option screen.
The included graphics setting allows one to adjust the overall quality of the in-game graphics. However, the higher the quality, the poorer the game performance, as the High setting is intended only for hardware that can handle it (e.g. iPhone® 3GS). For the smoothest gameplay, one should use the Low setting. The Medium setting is the default.
To play your own music while playing, simply switch the Music Source option to "Other App" and restart iRis AG. On the iPhone® and iPod touch® one can double-press the 'Home' button to bring up the integrated music player controls to switch songs. Bringing up this menu while playing will automatically pause the game, as will other events (such as incoming call, text message, etc.).
You can play your game in Portrait (default) or Landscape mode by changing the Orientation selector in the Options screen. Note that playing in Landscape mode is a bit more challenging than Portrait, so be fore warned.
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| Advanced Gameplay |
By removing all the settled blocks off the screen, one gains a 2x score bonus to the points just received.
While advancing through levels blocks will begin to move faster, randomly be inserted in larger configurations, and be added at an increased rate.
If the game board collides with any falling blocks, they are considered settled at that point and connect themselves to the rest of the game board.
The game board itself is, essentially, one giant circle. Any part of this circle may be used to play on, and blocks may disappear off the game screen if moved too far. Nothing prohibits the player from moving the game board such that blocks are no longer visible, but one cannot gain points from doing so.
Along with the game board being a circle, alternating columns are jagged. Because of this jagged offset, moving the game board actually moves settled blocks two columns, not just one. Even though this be the case, if one is quick enough they can slide the game board into falling blocks to get them into the right positioning.
It is worth while to stack blocks for large combos. By simply stacking large segments onto each other, then removing the large section with a clever positioning at the base, one can proceed faster through the game as well as keep blocks falling at a constant rate while stacking.
By reaching level 31, an experimental game mode, Gravitron, is unlocked. Note that this game mode is much more difficult than the other modes, and is quite a bit more complicated since the entire 360 degree arc of game board is played on. Dev note: This was actually the original concept of the game. ;)
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| Leaderboard |
The leaderboard allows one to submit scores to a central database and allows the rest of the world to see these submitted scores. One may mark their score with their initials, which is done both for the arcade style nostalgia effect and for privacy reasons. To submit scores, all one must do is checkmark the "Submit scores online?" checkbox on the Game Over screen. Online score submission requires that you are at least 13 years of age (reasons relating to COPPA), and of course have an active internet connection.
If no active internet connection is available and you would still like to submit your scores, leave check marked the "Submit scores online?" checkbox on the Game Over screen, and submit normally. Even though a "Failure Submitting" message will appear on the next screen the submission mechanism works the same if the score server is temporarily down for maintenance, if there was an error transmitting data, and of course if there is no active internet connection.
Note that online score submission requires consent to RPNi's privacy policy since device identifiable information is being transmitted over the internet. While this information is sent in encrypted form, RPNi cannot guarantee the absolute privacy of said data. Please also note that this data is never rented, leased, or otherwise sold to any third parties, unless required to do so by law.
The online leaderboard is accessible both in-game and online via the web version. The online version has more room to display data thus can support more score information. The in-game leaderboard purposely restricts its data usage by limiting to only a hand full of available options.
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| iRis AG Frequently Asked Questions |
Q. How do I save my game?
A. The easiest way is to simply exit the game, in which case the auto-save functionality is invoked. The other way is to pause the game via the 'Pause' button, then exit game to the Main Menu via the 'Exit' button, in which case a menu will display asking you to 'Save' your game or 'Discard' it. Restarting your game is as easy as pressing 'Play' from the Main Menu, in which case another menu will display asking you to 'Resume' your game or 'Start Anew'.
Q. I don't currently have internet, how do I save my score to submit for later?
A. Still checkbox the "Submit scores online?" checkbox on the Game Over screen and just click the 'Next' button as though you did have internet (thus causing the submit step to fail). The mechanism to save a score for later works this same way in the event that the score server is down for maintenance, etc. You will see the 'Submit' button via the Main Menu's Records screen enabled if there are scores yet to be submitted. After you submit, you can refresh the score board to see your recently posted standings.
Q. What is "regional" scores? (also How do I view my scores of people from my country?)
A. This simply means scores based on country-of-origin. We use I.P. address to country conversion software to handle this, so the I.P. address you are accessing the score board with determines the scores you see. Also note that using a proxy or other I.P. NAT software can potentially disrupt this functionality.
Q. I have internet available, yet every time I try to submit a score I get a failure message. Why?
A. The most likely problem is that you have been tripped up by our integrated anti-cheating mechanism that verifies the score your submitting is legit. The algorithms relating to this process are quite complex and occasionally produce false negatives. After so many submissions, the system can decide to ban you. Post a message on the Technical Support forum and a moderator can check your submission history and unban you if this be the case.
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| General Frequently Asked Questions |
Q. What is this forum you speak of?
A. This is the forum. People can post new threads here and get feedback from the developers. We may not immediately respond to a question, but have patience and we'll get back to you. You will have to register and wait for a mod to approve your registration before posting, a necessary step to cut down on spam.
Q. Why does my game sometimes not always launch / quit back to home screen?
A. There are two reasons, and neither of them are specific to just our games (this happens to a variety of large and complex apps, such as "iRis AG"). The trick is to give the device a few moments before launching the application over again, as the underlying OS tends to not want to service apps that are being relaunched too quickly. Another trick is to reset the device by holding down both the power button and home button, and waiting until the screen flickers black (about 10 seconds) and the Apple(R) logo flashes. Both these tricks can be applied to other applications as well. Finally, just having a bit of patience for the underlying OS to kick in and start working usually does the trick.
Q. Why did my game just crash?
A. We try to produce the most stable games possible, but like all good things nothing in this world is perfect. If you would like, please create a new thread in this forum detailing specifically what you did leading up to the crash, any error messages that were shown, etc. that we can use to help pinpoint what is happening.
Q. Why is my game trying to contact your site upon launch?
A. In order to track sales more efficiently than our distribution partners allow our games have a mechanism that tries to tell our servers that you have our game upon first run. This communication need happen only once and is not used for any other reason other than for internal product analysis to allow us to better serve our customers. The only thing that is sent is a hashed device identifier and the current time, which is non-user-identifiable.
Q. What is this Gamer's Bill of Rights?
A. This is a philosophical list of 10 things that gamers should all enjoy and benefit from. It details out a set of behaviors that a company, like RPNi, follows in production of its games. It specifically makes sure that you, the consumer, are protected from unfair practices, such as dealing with the inane pursuit of reducing piracy (which some companies tend to go overboard on, and ruin their product for their true paying customers), and also dealing with making sure that the technical aspects of distribution, marketing, etc. do not interfere with your gaming experience. This document, originally published by Stardock(R), is a cornerstone in the business model RPNi is built around.
Q. I think feature X would be so cool!
A. We do quite a bit of brainstorming sessions in-house and try to think of as many features as possible, and some are cut while others are included. If you think we are really missing out by not having a feature, drop us a line and let us know.
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