In our recent review of Crimson Dragon Side Story, I called the fantasy-themed shooter “one of the best Xbox games on Windows Phone.” But I also noted a few flaws, like the wonky GPS feature and a killer save data bug. These problems make a great game slightly less so, especially for anyone who loses their save data to the whims of fate.
Fear not, dragon riders! We’ve got more details and some good news from the developers after the break.
GPS or Jips?
Let’s go into a little detail about how GPS mode is supposed to work. By entering the game’s Trading Post, players can choose to Acquire jewels via GPS. The way it’s supposed to work is that you check in from various locations and whatever mileage (actually measured in kilometers) exists between each location is added to your running tally. Whenever that tally hits certain milestones, the player unlocks either jewels or skills.
Unfortunately, at the moment the player’s mileage only increases while the game is running. Launching the game from separate locations or using Fast App Switching won’t cut it. This makes reaching the distance needed for the ‘GPS Specialist’ Achievement much more laborious and time consuming than necessary.
Saving…
The save data bug seems to occur if players exit or otherwise interrupt the game while it’s saving. Unfortunately for us, Side Story saves ALL THE TIME – far more frequently than necessary. Thus the risk of data loss increases…
Fixes inbound
And now the tidings of joy I promised. Developer Grounding is aware of both of these issues, and they’re already working to fix them with a patch. They can’t say for sure when the patch will pass certification, but hopefully it won’t take long.
Should you continue playing in the meantime? If you’re very careful with how you play the game, you may be able to avoid save data loss. It has only affected a small handful of players, after all. But Side Story is a major time sink, and I can say from personal experience that losing your skills and mission progress hurts. If you’re patient or have other games to play, it might be wise to pen your dragon for a while and return to it after the patch arrives.
Crimson Dragon Side Story costs 99 cents. Get it here on the Windows Phone Store.
