This tutorial is boring, how do I skip it and play?
The obligatory training level. The bane of many gamers. Radballs requires you to play 'Basics' once before unlocking the first level ('The Arrival') for you to play. But you don't have to complete all the rounds of Basics - just at least finish the first round which teaches you how to move. Once you've beaten one round, you are free to quit and go back to the PLAY menu. The Arrival will now be unlocked, and you are free to play and explore from there. You can always re-play Basics or visit LEARN from the main menu to learn more.
How do I move these dudes around?
OK, so you skipped the tutorial, and you didn't bother with the LEARN option in the main menu, but you found yourself here… Of course you can learn this from trying either of those options, but here's an overview of movement to get you started. Move Radballs by flicking them to swap up, down, left or right. You don't 'drag' them so much as 'flick' them (think of flicking dust on your screen, flicking a light switch, etc.). Quick, short flicks work best, since eventually you want to be really fast at this to do well. Just lightly touch the piece you want to move, then flick/nudge it in the direction you want it to go. You can swap with any other piece, or flick a Radball to make it 'fall' to occupy empty space from above. You can't however flick off the edges of the screen, or up into the air.
How can I play in other modes, like Time Trial?
In the PLAY menu, at the bottom of the menu where you see a summary of the game Options including mode, difficulty and rules description, tap to expand it. The menu will slide up and show you a screen allowing you to select the game play mode (style) and difficulty. Choose a play mode (from Arcade, Survival, or Time Trial). Each mode provides a unique way to play the game. You can read more about the play modes in… Arcade - You face 8 rounds of Radballs. Each round gets progressively more difficult. To beat the level, you have to clear all 8 rounds. If you lose on any particular round you can try again from that round, unless you quit the game, at which point you start over from round 1. Survival - Keep playing until you lose. You'll play an infinite number of rounds, each getting progressively more difficulty. See how many rounds you can survive for without losing the round. Once you lose, you always start over from round 1. Time Trial - Beat a round before a time limit runs out. How fast can you win a round?
Radballs is too hard (or too easy). How do I adjust difficulty?
In the PLAY menu, at the bottom of the menu where you see a summary of the game Options including mode, difficulty and rules description, tap to expand it. The menu will slide up and show you a screen allowing you to select the game play mode (style) and difficulty. You can tap on any course difficulty to change it (EASY, NORMAL, HARD, INSANE) but you can also fine tune difficulty by manually adjusting the slider. You can stop the slider for example, between normal and hard, if you find normal too easy and hard too difficult. Press Save&Continue, or close the Options menu and your selections will be applied.
How can I play better?
There are a number of things you can do in Radballs to win. Generally, as long as you practice enough to get quick at doing any of them, you'll be able to win at even very hard (or insane) difficulty. Here are some tactics to try (try them and focus on the ones that are the most fun for you!): Make bigger groups. Don't just put 2x2 pieces together. Make groups big. The bigger the group, the more bonus you get when they blow up! Make chains! Learn the patterns involved in making chains. Big chains award massive bonuses, so once you are all zen about making chains you are golden. Use PowerUps well. You get power ups like bomb, freeze and zapper from making big groups and chains. Don't just waste them. Use a bomb for a quick energy boost to save you, or to tip the scale and win a round. Don't use it to blow up groups that could have been made bigger or chained! Use a freeze with a screen full of Radballs and take the opportunity to set up a big chain! Don't just use it when there are a few pieces in play or when a big chain or group is already ready to go. Control the flow. Learn to grab the beat wave and make time yours to control. Push it up and away while you set up big groups or chains. Drag it down to blow up groups quicker when in need. You are totally in control of the flow of the game. Scratch! Seriously. Learn to scratch the beat marker. Adding bonus energy to big groups or to chains as they explode gives you the most massive score. And it's fun! Wikki wikki wikki…
Can I save my game?
If you are connected to Game Center, Radballs will save your progress. It will also save your progress locally within the game, but if you delete the game (or play on another device) it won't sync until connecting to Game Center.
Can I use my own music?
Of course! There is a lesson in the LEARN menu that describes this in detail. From within the SOUNDTRACK menu (accessible from the main menu or from the pause menu during play) you can add your own music from your device's library.
Where can I buy the soundtrack?
Some of the music from the Soundtrack, including the 2 OK Go remixes (End Love and White Knuckles), and the Com Truise track (slow peels) are available now in iTunes and elsewhere. You can follow the link from within the SOUNDTRACK menu (tap on the song to play it, and on the song/album view, tap on 'View Artist in iTunes'). The full soundtrack release is forthcoming, follow @radballsthegame on twitter to stay informed!
Radballs crashes when I play. What should I do?
Try the following, in order... 1) Check to make sure you have enough free space on your device (in SETTINGS > GENERAL > USAGE > 'Available'). Radballs, like many applications, needs some room to operate. Make sure you have at least 100MB or so of free space on your device. This is only usually a problem if your device is totally full, or if you automatically fill your free space with music when you sync with iTunes. 2) Close any background apps. Double-tap the HOME button to bring up the list of background apps currently open. Touch and hold on any app until they become 'nervous' and reveal their close buttons. Tap to close any or all of the apps (the apps are not deleted from your device, they are just closed and will start clean next time you open them). 3) Reset your device. Hold down the POWER button until the device starts the shut down procedure asking you to swipe to turn it off. Turn it off, and back on, then try playing again. 4) Delete and re-install Radballs. Hold down on the Radballs icon until it becomes 'nervous'. Then tap its delete button, and confirm the deletion. Re-install, preferably from the app store directly to be sure you are getting the latest version (or, check the version you have in iTunes to confirm it is the same version as the one currently in the app store). If you connected to Game Center, your achievements (and the levels you have unlocked) will be saved and synchronized when you re-connect. So keep in mind that under most conditions your game will have been saved, but if you don't use Game Center (or have not been online while playing recently) it may not be saved and you'll be starting over. 5) File a bug report! If none of the above works, or if you frequently experience crashes, please let us know! You can contact us to file a bug by using the form at: http://radballsthegame.com/contact?type=help