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thedistantstorm · 6 years ago

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A Steelponcho Dawning - Part 12

A Dawning romance featuring the Commander and the Clan Steward, their feelings for each other coming to a head during the first Dawning celebration following the Red War, featuring Lord Saladin, city food, eventual smut, and a whole lot of pining. Continues from: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10, part 11.

Cayde returns the Clan Steward to Zavala’s office not long after the Commander and Ikora arrive. The worktable is still covered in Dawning gifts and the bushels of cards from what seems like an eternity ago to the full-bellied woman who is feeling even more drowsy now with a belly full of the Ramen Shop’s house special.

Cayde pats her shoulder - she’s recovered enough to be over his clingy personality, needing her space and flinching away awkwardly. She does thank him for putting both their meals on his tab though. He’s almost bashful over being recognized for his good deeds, but then he manages to come up with a mild snark about her being able to repay him by doing some paperwork for him next time they’re on strikes together. She lets him have it, it’s unspoken that she always does paperwork when they run strikes together(usually in this office).

She pulls out her new tablet and sets out to answering messages, ignoring the mild pull of exhaustion, the in and out of focus of her vision as her eyes droop. She catches herself twice before she thinks any of them notice, but Zavala is always two steps ahead. He waits for her to reluctantly meet his gaze before casting his eyes over at the small couch on the far side of the office and back, pointedly.

Suraya shakes her head just a fraction. His eyes narrow in response. She refocuses down at her tablet intently while Ikora continues on beside her about potential restructuring options they could explore. The Warlock happened to have attended the last meeting on a whim and had some ideas of potential relocation areas for the displaced people of the Farm. Cayde remains mostly quiet, loitering against the wall between large windows, interjecting when necessary.

They don’t actually know the full number of people who will need to relocate. They won’t for a while, the current numbers just growing estimates that induce more and more anxiety. It will depend on what rebuilding efforts look like at the Farm, and what is the quicker, more advantageous solution for all parties involved. In short, until they go and get an idea of the damage for themselves, there is no way that they will be able to do anything of use besides plot and plan. And even that can’t be done fully without knowing the full specifications the resulting efforts will require.

Zavala’s tablet beeps and blinks at him with a message from Devrim that pulls him out of Ikora’s soft spoken discussion of available sectors. The EDZ scout is messaging him with a standard update. Updated death toll, estimated displaced - unofficially set at a couple thousand and rising. Considering there are still thirty thousand City-folk living at the Farm, it's a staggering number.

The Commander frowns, looking up at Hawthorne, who has clearly also received the update without the audio alert. She sighs and sets her tablet on the edge of his desk after typing a reply expressing her thanks, blatant concern, and asking if there’s anything she can do.

Devrim replies for her to take care of herself, because they need her. She swipes the tablet back reluctantly from the desk and replies that he needs to be safe, too and something about a good salve for a burn that he can make with plants that grow in the area.

With a typed out laugh, Dev replied to the group message that he'd taught her that one, if she recalled and he would be just fine. He'd already made some in his few minutes of downtime yesterday.

Ikora is just about finished talking ten minutes later when Suraya tips her head back and rubs her fingers into her forehead. Her head is pounding from trying to stay focused amid her exhaustion. Around her, Ikora looks at Cayde and then Zavala, with a quick dart of gold-toned eyes toward the Clan Steward and back.

“Suraya,” Zavala finally says, ignoring both of his Fireteam members’ weird looks at his lack of formality. There's no need to be formal right now. Certainly both of them know they spend time together. She blinks up at him, eyes bleary. “Take the couch. I'll wake you if something happens.” Gently, he affirms, “I promise.”

Cayde lets out a mote of sound as if he's going to second the idea and jump on the bandwagon when she protests, but the woman simply slides her tablet across the desktop so it comes to rest on the Commander's side. “Just for a few minutes,” She acquiesces. “Get me if Dev or Marc call, even if it's not an emergency. Please.”

“Of course,” Zavala agrees easily. He's sure both men would argue against just that, but he's not about to start a fight since she's agreeing.

When she settles in on the couch, crochet blanket pulled down over herself, Cayde plops into the recently vacated seat. “Well, that was way easier than I expected.”

“Quiet,” Ikora reprimands tersely. “Let’s not disturb her if we can help it.” And then, even softer, “I cannot imagine what she saw. The reports my hidden have given me are… disturbing. It’s a civilian staging area, barely a warfront. For this to occur...” Ikora has a difficult time empathizing, though she is not without feeling.

Cayde's optics are serious. “She, ah, told me a little bit, when we were waiting for our meal. Burning isn’t fun. We’ve all spent enough time in Shaxx’s Mayhem to know what a solar genade feels like on the receiving end.” He makes a weird little halfway gesture with his hands, uncomfortable. “Kinda worries me, her being like this. We should keep an eye on her.”

Zavala doesn’t quite roll his eyes, having a bit too much decorum for that, but he does gruff out, “I am.”

There’s a quiet scoff across from him. “Clearly.” Ikora glances over her shoulder at the woman on the couch, her eyes returning to bore into Zavala’s luminescent ones, as if to say she suspects Hawthorne’s agreeable demeanor to his instruction is no happy accident. Ikora was also the second or third person at most consensus meetings(after Zavala, or Zavala and Hawthorne together), and one of the last to leave. She’s seen them together, knows they’re a bit closer than colleagues, and more than likely in the territory of friends.

“Obviously,” Cayde says, as if he's led the discussion up to this point, then winces at his own volume, dialing it down a notch. “I just mean that, y'know, if there’s anything we can do, let us know.” Ikora looks mildly uncomfortable. She's aloof by nature and Hawthorne isn't exactly in her circle of friends - not many hold such an esteemed title - though they are amiable, of course. She manages a stiff nod to Cayde's statement.

Zavala nods, and their impromptu meeting is adjourned. He doesn't plan on taking either of them up on it, strike operations are on hold with very few exceptions in the EDZ, and whatever Farm restructuring plan will be best handled by the two of them, even with Ikora's well-meaning advice. Ikora and Cayde are excellent at managing operations abroad with their wide reach and ease of access. He's content to leave their usual work to them without adding extra. Besides, Suraya would surely be embarrassed to hear that Cayde essentially offered himself up to act as a babysitter.

The sounds of quiet discussion - low, rolling voices, like waves in the sea - bring her drifting closer to wakefulness. It's dark, she doesn't need to open her eyes to tell, the afternoon light long gone on the other side of her eyelids. She shifts and feels the distinct chill in the air of an open window. The quietest of chitters echoes from across the room and precursors a laugh that's deep and purposely dampened, likely by hand or fist.

“He likes attention, I see,” Suraya recognizes the voice immediately. Saladin.

There is a little chirp, the scuffle of talons on what she's guessing is the plasteel of Zavala's gauntlet. She focuses, wants to hear this.

Zavala hums. It sounds affectionate. Her chest blooms with warmth despite the ache of grief and bite of returning stress threatening to overwhelm her. “Louis is an interesting falcon. Certainly full of personality,” The Commander admits. She knows his sounds, her bird certainly agrees.

“Much like his handler,” Saladin replies.

The sound of something sliding captures her attention. Zavala speaks again. “Select what you'd like. I'll have it delivered here.”

“Are you sure? Perhaps she would-”

“I'll wake her when it comes, if the smell doesn't first.”

She assumes he's stroking Louis in that way he does, down his chest with his fingertips, the way she always said would get him nipped but her partner for some reason allows. She also guesses he's ordered Indian, and the thought of warm naan and malai reminds her that she needs to catch up on meals, too. She hasn't been very good about taking care of herself in light of recent events, and ramen isn't an incredibly filling meal for someone who hasn't eaten properly in days.

However, she's warm under the blankets, Louis is incapable hands, and the couch is comfortable enough. Even the silence that settles over the two Titans is soothing. She is safe to let herself doze a while longer. It'll be another hour before the food will be delivered, if she knows anything about the delivery systems around here(and she does).

It's slightly less time than that when the food does arrive, and she's coaxed awake with fingertips against her cheek and a whisper in her ear. She must have been in the upswing of a REM cycle because she comes to a bit disoriented, feeling like it's morning and not late evening, panicking over something she doesn't remember until it all hits her again, all at once. Zavala has her fingers wrapped around a mug of tea nearly instantly, his eyes gentle, body blocking his mentor's view.

She's grateful for that. His gaze is a steady anchor, and she smells notes of jasmine in the tea. He knows her well. When he steps away, she sees the steaming containers of food and knows the little tick of his brow means for her to join them when she's gathered her bearings. She hears a soft flutter from the window by his desk and knows Louis is waiting for her, too.

Saladin sighs. “I'd like to come,” He tells Zavala. “When you go to the Farm, to survey-” Suraya gets over herself quickly, on her feet and padding silently across the office without her boots, tea placed beside Zavala's similar mug, hers red and his blue. Saladin's is yellow, but looks to be coffee instead of tea.

The Iron Lord's gaze follows her all the way over to the open window, where Louis is perched. “Hey Bird,” She says, and the raptor cries out, the sound shrill. Concerned. She thumbs the ruffled feathers of his head. “I'm fine,” She assures him quietly. Behind her, Saladin drops his volume and continues speaking, but she knows the ice-water feel of eyes on her back. “I'm sorry I haven't been around. Gonna be that way for a little bit longer.” He nips her, hard enough to chastise but not to break skin. Makes eye contact. Cheeps a few times and pushes into the hand that smooths against his feathers.

“He will be fine, Suraya,” Saladin addresses loud enough to break her concentration, a few moments of doting later. “The Commander here spoiled him with treats while you were resting.”

Zavala harrumphs at being caught. Suraya always yells at him for fattening up her bird. (“He's a falcon, not a turkey, Zavala.”)

“He’s less spoiled and more like a con artist,” She replies instead, surprising Titan who’s preparing for a reprimand. Louis nips more affectionately now, and she cracks the window a bit more, indicating it's okay for him to take to the sky. He does, and she watches his wings beat once, twice against the cold air as he flies away. “When did he drop in?” She asks as she shuts the window behind him. Her memory recalls waking up earlier but she has no idea how long she's been out.

“A few hours ago. Come eat,” The Iron Lord commands. Her stomach rumbles in answer as she joins them, and she nurses some of her tea first. Sitting between them, she watches both of them glance at her as if to assure themselves she’s alright.

“Did you pick the day?” She asks Zavala, referring to the topic Saladin had been on when she rose from the couch. “And did I miss anything?” Hawthorne forces herself to eat slowly, realizing that she is positively famished.

Zavala nods. “It's on your calendar. Two days time.” He pauses to take a bite of chicken tikka. “Devrim sends his regards-”

Furious - no, he knows her better now. Anxious dark eyes, like soil and earth turn to him as she sets down her utensil. “I told you to-”

“He only messaged you.” Zavala lays a palm on her shoulder when she bristles. She’s incredibly tense. “I called him for an update.”

“Is he okay?” The surge of protectiveness is not missed by either man.

The Commander nods. “He was getting off his shift for the evening. He wanted you to know they have plenty of help and the Clans are helping admirably, and not to fret about him. I believe he said that is Marc’s specialty.”

“He doesn’t get a choice,” The Clan Steward says, stabbing a piece of meat with force, though her rage has significantly receded. “I’ll worry if I want to.” It’s almost a pout.

Zavala shakes his head at her reaction, eyes lighting up in a way that Saladin does not miss, his eyes silently dancing from the woman and back to his former pupil. Zavala's eyebrows raise in a questioning arch that subsides when Suraya reaches between them for a piece of warm naan, still wrapped in paper and foil.

“Is there something I’m missing?” She asks skeptically when both their expressions school themselves into something less expressive. Her eyes are dark and she still looks tired, but far better than she had before. Her mind felt clearer with every bite, and that meant she was well over being coddled or treated like an invalid. “You two are making weird faces.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Uh huh,” She looks at Saladin instead of Zavala. Her eyes narrow, and Zavala winces at the knowing look she gives him. His stomach flops and his heart beats loud in his chest.

Lord Saladin has absolutely talked to Suraya. His mentor has absolutely said something to her. Something personal, if that look is any indication. Insecurity washes over him like a cold shower. Did he say something to her about his feelings? Or worse, her own?

After a moment, Suraya drops her gaze to her meal and they both continue eating, letting it go. Zavala finds that he can’t take another bite.

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cybercrew · 6 years ago

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Always data Direct Bug Bounty Program

About alwaysdata

alwaysdata and its subsidiaries constitute a hosting provider that offer a PaaS solution for everyone since 2006, but is particularly focused on developers everyday-use.

alwaysdata platform is designed to host hundreds of accounts on each server. Each account get a full access to all wanted interpreters, various databases, email accounts, brokers1), backups, various remote access, an API to control settings, etc. Each account can host as many websites as wanted.

Program Rules

We believe that no technology is perfect and that working with skilled security researchers is crucial to identify weaknesses in our technology. If you believe you’ve found a security bug in our service, we are happy to work with you to resolve the issue promptly and ensure you are fairly rewarded for your discovery.

Let us know as soon as possible upon discovery of a potential security issue, and we’ll make every effort to quickly resolve the issue. Provide us a reasonable amount of time to resolve the issue before any disclosure to the public or a third-party.

Test vulnerabilities only against accounts that you own or accounts that you have permission from the account holder to test against.

Never use a finding to compromise/ex-filtrate data or pivot to other systems. Use a proof of concept only to demonstrate an issue.

If sensitive information — such as personal information, credentials, etc. — is accessed as part of a vulnerability, it must not be saved, stored, transferred, or otherwise accessed after initial discovery. All sensitive information must be returned to alwaysdataand any copies of such information must not be retained.

Any type of denial of service (DDoS) attacks is strictly prohibited, as well as any interference with network equipment and alwaysdata infrastructure.

Do not try to over exploit the bug and access internal data for further vulnerabilities. We will determine the severity and reward accordingly.

If you find the same vulnerability several times, please create only one report and eventually use comments. You’ll be rewarded accordingly to your findings.

Violation of any of these rules can result in ineligibility for a bounty and/or removal from the program.

Legal considerations

We will not pursue civil action or initiate a complaint to law enforcement for accidental, good faith violations of this policy. We consider activities conducted consistent with this policy to constitute “authorized” conduct. We will not bring a claim against you for circumventing the technological measures we have used to protect the applications in scope of this program.

If legal action is initiated by a third party against you and you have complied with this security policy, we will take steps to make it known that your actions were conducted in compliance with this policy.

It is also important to note, we will not take legal action against you simply for providing us with a proof of concept of the security vulnerability. Please follow the guidelines listed in the Proof of concepts section below to ensure that your proof of concept is detailed enough to demonstrate the issue and still follows the guideline listed above.

Scope and Testing

https://www.alwaysdata.com

https://admin.alwaysdata.com

https://webmail.alwaysdata.com

https://api.alwaysdata.com

ssh://ssh-[accountid].alwaysdata.net

https://webdav-[accountid].alwaysdata.net

ftp://ftp-[accountid].alwaysdata.net

Vulnerabilities reported on other services or applications are not allowed.

Provide your IP address in the bug report. We will keep this data private and only use it to review logs related to your testing activity.

Include a custom HTTP header in all your traffic. Burp and other proxies allow the easy automatic addition of headers to all outbound requests. Report to us what header you set so we can identify it easily. For instance:

A header that includes your username: X-Bug-Bounty:Hacker-[accountid]

A header that includes a unique or identifiable flag X-Bug-Bounty:ID-[sha256-flag]

When testing for a bug, please also keep in mind:

Use test accounts so as not to inadvertently compromise the privacy of our users.

When attempting to demonstrate root permissions with the following primitives in a vulnerable process please use the following commands:

Read: cat /proc/1/maps

Write: touch /root/<accountid>

Execute: id, hostname, pwd2)

Minimize the mayhem. Adhere to program rules at all times. Do not use automated scanners/tools — these tools include payloads that could trigger state changes or damage production systems and/or data.

Before causing damage or potential damage: Stop, report what you’ve found and request additional testing permission.

Rewards

Hall of Fame

We’ll be pleased to credit you in our HoF at /fr/transparence/ for your reports until patches are applied.

We mention our security partnerships on our social networks accounts (e.g. https://twitter.com/alwaysdata).

If you report critical vulnerabilities, we’ll be pleased to interview you as a security researcher, and publish the interview in our blog at https://blog.alwaysdata.com/.

Swag

We offer t-shirts, swag stuff and/or vouchers as rewards for validated reports, within the limit of an expedition to the EU only. We are regularly invited to conferences worldwide, we can get in touch to give you your swag during those events.

Cash

Our minimum reward is €50.

The following is merely an indicator of rewards, but does not reflect what the final decision might be. We value quality reports and proofs of concepts.

QualificationExamples of vulnerabilities (non-comprehensive list)Score CVSSBounty

NoneN/ANo Bounty

LowAccessing restricted parts of third-party elements or their plugins (blog, forum, etc.)0.1 - 3.9Up to €50

MediumAccessing permissions/config on users account w/o accessing their content4.0 - 6.9Up to €200

HighAccessing customers data/informations7.0 - 8.9Up to €350

CriticalAccessing in read or read-write mode to the core platform architecture9.0 - 10.0Up to €500

Eligibility and Responsible Disclosure

We are happy to thank everyone who submits valid reports which help us improve the security of alwaysdata. However, only those that meet the following eligibility requirements may receive a monetary reward:

You must be the first reporter of a vulnerability.

The vulnerability must be a qualifying vulnerability (see below).

Any vulnerability found must be reported no later than 24 hours after discovery and exclusively through our ticketing solution.

You must send a clear textual description of the report along with steps to reproduce the issue, include attachments such as screenshots or proof of concept code as necessary.

You must avoid tests that could cause degradation or interruption of our service (refrain from using automated tools, and limit yourself about requests per second).

You must not leak, manipulate, or destroy any user data.

You must not be a former (1 year) or current employee of alwaysdata, or one of its contractor.

Reports about vulnerabilities are examined by our security analysts. If you need to encrypt payload, we strongly recommend you to use the 0xDFDD2138A363986B GPG public key. Reports must be submitted using our ticketing interface available at https://admin.alwaysdata.com/support/.

Please avoid to report directly by email.

Our analysis is always based on worst case exploitation of the vulnerability, as is the reward we pay.

Time to first response: 2 business days or less. Time to triage: 3 business days or less.

We are continuously working to evolve our bug bounty program. We aim to respond to incoming submissions as quickly as possible and make every effort to have bugs fixed within 10 days of being triaged. Rewards will be paid when patch is applied.

No vulnerability disclosure, including partial, is allowed before the patch is applied and we agree the publication.

Proof of concepts

XSS: For XSS, a simple alert(document.domain) should suffice.

RCE: Please only execute harmless code. Please refer to the Testing section.

SQLi: Report it as soon as you have a SQL error that indicates SQL injection or you are able to disclose the SQL server’s version number.

Unvalidated redirect: Set the redirect endpoint to http://example.com if possible.

CSRF: Either attach a file to demonstrate the issue or paste the code in a code block in your report.

SSRF: Do not go playing around on any internal networks. Report as soon as you believe that you have a potential SSRF issue and we will look into it for you.

LFI: The same applies here — please do not go against the guideline listed in the Program Rules section. We investigate LFI reports in a dev environment to make sure it is valid.

Qualifying Vulnerabilities

SQL Injection.

Finding numeric user id (even yours).

Exposure of Sensitive members information3).

Exposure of internal tools.

Exposure of configuration files or secrets.

Directory Traversal Issues.

Local files access and manipulation (LFI, RFI, XXE, SSRF, XSPA).

Local File Disclosure (LFD).

Code injections (HTML, JS, SQL, PHP, …).

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS).

Cross-Site Requests Forgery (CSRF) with real security impact.

Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF).

Open redirect.

Remote Code Execution (RCE).

Broken authentication & session management.

Insecure direct object references.

CORS with real security impact.

Missing “secure” flags on authentication cookies.

Access Control Issues.

Horizontal and vertical privilege escalation.

Findings not eligible for bounty

Any hypothetical flaw or best practices without exploitable POC.

Missing security-related HTTP headers which do not lead directly to a vulnerability.

Presence/absence of SPF/DMARC records.

Reports of insecure SSL/TLS ciphers (unless you have a working proof of concept).

Mixed content warnings.

Brute force / password reuse attacks.

User enumeration attacks.

Premium phone numbers attacks.

Disclosure of known public files or directories, (e.g. robots.txt).

Massive automated actions on the platform through robots/crawling (except if it gathers sensitive information from members).

“Self” XSS.

Missing cookie flags.

SSL/TLS best practices.

Mixed content warnings.

Denial of Service attacks.

“HTTP Host Header” XSS.

Clickjacking/UI redressing.

Software version disclosure.

Stack traces or path disclosure.

Physical or social engineering attempts.

Recently disclosed 0-day vulnerabilities.

Presence of autocomplete attribute on web forms.

Vulnerabilities affecting outdated browsers or platforms.

Issues that require physical access to a victim’s computer/device.

Logout and other instances of low-severity Cross-Site Request Forgery.

Missing security-related HTTP headers which do not lead directly to a vulnerability.

Reports from automated web vulnerability scanners (Acunetix, Vega, etc.) that have not been validated.

Reports about third-party applications we provide to our customers but aren’t part of our system directly (phpMyAdmin, Roundcube Webmail, etc.), if the vulnerability doesn’t directly exposes customers data and/or metadatas.

Reports on third-party applications that we provide to our customers but are not directly part of our system (phpMyAdmin, Webmail Roundcube, etc.), unless the vulnerability that exposes user data and/or metadata is fixed for more than a month in the upstream version and we are not up to date.

Reports about know vulnerabilities in sub-component parts (e.g. OpenSSH) that are just being disclosed. We aim to apply security patches in 30 days or less, so reports that concern to recent disclosed vulnerabilities are not relevant.

Reports about sites or applications hosted by our customer, except if the vulnerability is due to our platform in conjunction with the customer application.

Source code: https://www.alwaysdata.com/fr/bug-bounty/

When more information is released our blog will be updated

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~R@@T @CCE$$~

#~R@@T @cce$$~

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linuxgamenews · 8 years ago

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MOTHERGUNSHIP FPS could end up on Linux

So the mission is clear, determination is strong, and the guns are very, very big. Terrible Posture Games, in partnership with Grip Digital, is proud to announce MOTHERGUNSHIP, a bullet-hell FPS hybrid for Windows PC and consoles that pits you, Earth’s last hope, against the armadas of data-hoarding robotic alien invaders. Hence development via Unreal Engine 4 like Snakes N Ladders: Origins. While you might remember Terrible Posture Games as the dev team from the popular Tower of Guns.

Linux and MOTHERGUNSHIP:

"I'm afraid I can't talk much more about Linux yet. There are a few people on the dev team who are absolute Linux diehards. I will not likely know more until much further into development, about whether the game is destined for Linux."

So all things into consideration here. Since this is only part of an email from Terrible Posture Games. At this time there is no confirmed release date and it's obviously too early in development to verify any further release. Yet seeing that Tower of Gun is built in Unreal Engine 3 and we saw a Linux release, chances are fairly good for MOTHERGUNSHIP. So MOTHERGUNSHIP mixes bullet-hell intensity with the shooting, customization, and traversal of the first-person genre. Fight your way through the alien fleets. While facing randomized enemy and level mayhem as you clear rooms and take out some of the biggest bosses seen in the FPS genre. If you know Tower of Gun, take note to some of the robot models, they are very reminiscent to the FPS shooter.

youtube

Features:

Fight – Face off against overwhelming odds in brutal, non-stop combat where thinking on your feet is the only way to survive. Dodge hundreds of bullets with unique FPS/Bullet-hell hybrid gameplay. Each ship hosts hordes of alien machines, deadly traps, and intimidating bosses, all set on preventing you from saving humanity. Go get ‘em. Craft – To take down the MOTHERGUNSHIP, you’ll need your very own personalized arsenal of destruction. Luckily, in MOTHERGUNSHIP you can create the gun of your dreams with one of the most modular gun-crafting systems ever seen in a video game. Want to have twelve-barrel gun that shoots homing rockets? Or do you prefer a lightning shotgun? And what gun wouldn’t look better with a fish tank affixed to the top? Go for it! The design of your destructive arsenal is in your hands. Resist – Join the ranks of the global resistance movement and take back Earth together with your friends. Fight together with a friend in a full CO-OP experience, or participate with the community while you work together to cut through the alien fleet and reach that ultimate goal – bringing down the MOTHERGUNSHIP. MOTHERGUNSHIP is coming for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Steam. Visit the official website to enroll into the resistance movement now. Plus exclusive information, content and other members-only perks!

#mothergunship #bullet hell #fps #games #linux #gaming news #terrible posture games #grip digital #unreal engine 4 #windows #pc

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waynekelton · 6 years ago

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The Best Puzzle Games on Android & iOS

There’s perhaps no genre synonymous with mobile platforms - especially iPhone or Android devices - than puzzle games. Low intensity inputs are good for a device with no buttons, and the pace of these games plays well with the low session time, start-and-stop nature of mobile gaming. Puzzle games also take so many unique forms nowadays that a top list in the genre can produce completely different looking games.

If you're looking to test your literacy skills, we've got a great collection of Word puzzle games as well!

As you'll see below, we have our own menagerie of titles that we feel represent the best Puzzle games have to offer across iPhone, iPad and Android devices...

Other Recommendations

Not every puzzle release earns a place in our 'Best of' list - so here's a round-up of some recent releases that you can check out, make up your own minds about:

Marching Order

Donut County

One More Button

Alphabear 2

Divide by Sheep (Review)

Developer: tinybuild LLC Platforms: iOS & Android Price: $2.99

This gem was released way back in 2015, but it was brought to our attention earlier this year simply because I was asked to review a game we hadn't reviewed before and picked this one. (Because reasons?-ED) Regardless, this is a vibrant and friendly educational puzzle game that uses maths, and is an excellent example of hay-day app store design practices. It's a bit lighter than your usual fair, and some of the puzzles can be brute-forced, but if you're looking for something different and accessible to fill your puzzle needs, then you could do worse than this four year old diamond in the rough.

ELOH (Review)

Developer: Broken Rules Platforms: iOS Universal, Android Price: $2.99

A cheap & cheerful puzzler that's especially great on phones, ELOH is a kinetic game that's colourful, challenging, and possess some great attention to detail. The basic challenge is to position blocks in the right positions to bounce balls into the the correct holes. There's a light rhythmic element to this, and as things get more complicated the blocks take on more creative forms. Some will move along specific axis, for example.

None of the puzzles should take longer than a few minutes to bounce your way through, but there's over eighty of them, so you're looking at a few good hours of gameplay for your minimal upfront investment, and no IAPs to boot!

Where Shadows Slumber (Review)

Developer: Game Revenant Platforms: iOS Universal, Android Price: $4.99

This is an excellent pick for fans of both Monument Valley and Square's GO games. It lacks the variety and the degree of 'cleverness' that those other game's possess, but there's an ingenuity to its design that still does a great job at scratching that itch. The use of light and dark to change the scene in front of you is especially creative.

This is a maze-based puzzle game with intuitive controls and a satisfying gameplay loop. Atmospheric and imaginative, Where Shadows Slumber is a worthy new addition to our 'best of' roster.

Evergarden (Review)

Developer: Flippfly Platforms: iOS Universal Price: $4.99

This recent release is an easy inclusion in our best-of collection not only for its accessible nature, but also because it requires a lot of careful thought and planning. It's more of a high-score puzzler than anything else, but the floral theme and impressive nuances make for some entertaining sessions. Evergarden’s developers estimate that the game will take between four to eight hours to fully explore. After this, it is all about breaking into the global high score tables.

Consequently, it is more of a Tetris high score chaser rather than the type of puzzler where you have to pit your wits against increasingly difficult levels. Unlocking all of the game’s secrets does not require particularly high levels of skill, just the persistence to keep playing and adding to your gem collection.

Death Coming (Review)

Developer: SixJoy Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $1.99

Death Coming is a cute pixel game of Where's Wally twisted in with Final Destination. It's a murder simulator with the player taking the role of an omnipresent servant of Death. You are tasked with offing a certain number of people in a detailed pixel-art scene through manipulating the environment towards various horrible accidents and mayhem. The pixel artwork is awesome, reminiscent of a really great Kairosoft game. Everything is clear and distinct even at a distance, although the game is definitely better sized for tablets and larger phones. The characters are cute and expressive in their tiny little animations. It's a shame the devs didn't trust their core gameplay enough to avoid gumming it up with unnecessary frustrations.

Infinite West (Review)

Developer: APE-X GAmes Platforms: iOS, Android Price: Free with IAPs

Infinite West is a puzzler that resembles more boardgame than match-3. It’s difficult to find which had a bigger influence on it, the sombre motif of the Ed Porter/Sergio Leone style western or Square Enix Montreal’s critically acclaimed GO series. What’s easy to see is that developers APE-X have a clear reverence of both and have done their best to highlight what makes both strong while adapting it to a unique vision. Achievement hunting and score chasing in Infinite West can throw you in that fervent, 'just one more map' loop because of the solid core concept, and the presence of IAPs is by no means a deal-breaker as you get given a modest amount of freebies anyway.

Lara Croft GO (Review)

Developer: Square Enix Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $7.49, $4.99

Many a sterling series has seen its reputation dinged by weaker entries. In particular, the sophomore slump, that challenge to recapture what made the original great without slavish repetition. Every member of the GO series has its unique merits and mechanics, but Lara Croft GO stands as the series best. Hitman GO was plagued by odd turn-counter challenges which offer only derivative challenges and pad the playtime without expanding content; Deus Ex GO’s grand plan for daily challenges and community-generated puzzles largely fell flat, but Lara Croft GO along with its two expansions hit the sweet spot of challenge, presentation and pacing. Its focused treasure hunts will keep the best minds, most any mind, really, engaged. (There’s even a maddening hidden-object sidegame to unlock cosmetic goodies if either of those are your wont) Its solutions were exclusive and in many cases immune to the kind of brute-force, mindlessly-spam-moves approach to puzzling, and the whole adventure felt like just that.

Cosmic Express (Review)

Developer: Draknek Limited Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $4.99

Cute little aliens harumph and squidge themselves into unlikely spherical compartments as they commute to their destinations in outer space. In Cosmic Express, the puzzles are pickup-and-deliver, drawing train paths for a route that allows for no cross-overs or doubling-back. The game includes a ton of levels and gets surprisingly difficult (or rather: uncompromising, since difficulty is always a relative, judgmental term) sooner rather than later. Every level feels crystal clear in the post-solved hindsight; nothing is superfluous. Cosmic Express winds its way through the galaxy and wends its way into your heart.

Beglitched

Developer: Alec Thompson Platforms: iOS Price: $3.99

Beglitched is the story of the Glitch Witch’s sudden disappearance from a computer OS and the player character’s sudden quest to train and replace her. You’ll open ‘files’ to find items, other avatars and programs, and enemies. The game is split between overland mode, which utilizes a minesweeper-like method of divining connecting spaces, and the match-three battle mode. The tone is light and idiosyncratic, and the level design is inspired and gimmicky in a good way. Constraints, properly applied, stimulate creativity. (Or else we’d be without the phrase ‘thinking outside of the box’). Beglitched was released without much fanfare and then subsequently ported to mobile, where it shines even more because of its screen-within-a-screen schtick.

Mini Metro (Review)

Developer: Dinosaur Polo Club Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $4.99

Logistics makes the world go around. These often break down into math and logic puzzles, even to the point that we have fields dedicated to studying the topology of knots. But maybe none of this matters and you just need to get to work. Well, Mini Metro folds all of this and makes for an amusing, minimalistic puzzle about ordering and sequencing the right trains in the right time to complete the right route. So, programming motion to meet specific goals, and tinkering towards that end. Some puzzles rely unduly on shifts in perspective or tricks of the light to interpret what happens next; not so with Mini Metro. The needs and requirements of the puzzles are always clear, the demand is upfront: all the player has to supply is the way forward, that vital connection which will close the gap and make everything come together.

Framed 2 (Review)

Developer: Loveshack Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $4.99

The search for the story is the story in Framed 2. Cleverly partitioning and recombining what made the original so great, the follow-up refines and refreshes the initial conceit. Comic book action meets stealth in a cheesy noirish setting. One could even say it...re-frames...what made the original great. Yes, it is probably the shortest and most easily exhausted member of this list but it still has a little extra panache that merits some special attention. There are games to play for months or years, trying to crack their mysteries or refine skills. Then there are those games to consume in an afternoon, letting the whole experience become a unified and unbroken memory. Framed 2 belongs to the latter category, a class of brief puzzlers definitely worth playing.

The Room Three (Review)

Developer: Fireproof Games Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $3.99

What can be said about The Room series that hasn’t been said before? Its excellent value and construction, or the heaps of critical awards? Not to mention the host of mistaken-identity jokes based on the so-bad-it-is-a-phenomenon film of the same name. Puzzle boxes are a unique tactile treat which shrink a world into a single object and then propel one to open it based on nothing more than curiosity and the hint that something might wait inside. The Room has digitized this experience as well as it could have been, all while making the experience portable and affordable and just a skosh mysterious.

Hall of Fame

As new great puzzle apps get released, we need to rotate our list so that it's kept lean and relevent. Just because a game loses it's spot though, doesn't mean it no longer deserves to be there. Here are some past greats that deserve to be remembered.

Hadean Lands

The Witness

Monument Valley

Monument Valley 2

What would your list of the best puzzle games look like? Let us know in the comments!

The Best Puzzle Games on Android & iOS published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

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lostsolsdestinyblog · 7 years ago

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The 4 Changes that Could Make D2 a Better Experience Right Now

November 24, 2017

1) Meaningful rewards.That would be a lot more weapons and armor and more diversity and/or customization of them. What loot isn't, is tokens. I have close to 1000 raid tokens that have zero value or meaning. Vendors and currency lose all meaning after a few weeks of play. They need more variety of stock and it needs to rotate or update every few weeks. Paul Tassi wrote a few days ago that maybe after 3 years, players are just bored of the game. I don't think that is it. I think that players of Destiny were drawn here because it is a top notch shooter, but stayed because there was always a carrot to chase and D2 has removed all the carrots. 2) More ways for friends to play together.Even in the deepest, darkest content droughts of D1, when our group got done with the raids or in the case of WotM, just got tired of running it, there was still the Crucible and our group of 6 would spend entire weeks there playing clash, control, mayhem, IB, rift and supremacy. That doesn't exist in D2. We can't go as a 6 person fireteam and do any other activity in the game and for all D2 did with integrating clans into the game,, it undid with the 3,4,6 fireteam sizes that constantly shuffled people out or with teams of 3, only asking for one member of another fireteam to join. It is one on many areas where Bungie can't seem to commit to what they want the game to be and it ends up hurting the overall experience. D1 worked because not only could the teams of 6 go right to the crucible, they could also easily split in 2 to go do other PvE content (Outbreak Quest anyone?). For the 4v4 crucible to work in D2, PvE fireteams should have been raised to 4 players as well and the raids designed for 4 or 8. 3) Selectable game modes in Crucible. Enough said. 4) Make PvP great again.This one is both the easiest and the trickiest fix of them all. I understand that not everyone is into PvP, but the fact is again that the Crucible kept D1 going through many of its dry content spells. --The following is opinion. It's okay if you don't agree-- It's the easiest fix because despite the claims that D2 PvP is the worst, it's actually not that far off from being the best Destiny PvP experience. We played a lot of PvP the past couple of day with IB, played some Trials a few weeks ago and I've dabbled here and there outside that. I LIVED in the Crucible throughout HoW and many would argue that was the golden age of Destiny PvP. What has really surprised me about D2 is that, at least with the Gun play, I think this is the absolute best it's been since HoW. I love the feel of the weapons in PvP. I think the double primaries are really fun and dynamic and I love the balance/disbursement of the power ammo in regular Crucible (think it needs to be removed from Trials) In 1v1 engagements or when power drops for my Fusion, the game completely reminds me of HoW and it's awesome. The problem with D2 lies in teamshooting (and therefore heavy fireteam advantage) and how hard it is to engage multiple opponents vs D1. With power ammo equipped, it levels the field and the disbursement means it is always a factor without being the shotgun/snipe ohk spam of D1. Where it falls apart is in abilities and grenades. The simplest fix would be to make melee a 2 hit kill again and lower grenade cooldowns. Grenades in D2 are more tactical and supplementary and they work well at that, but not often enough to really allow for the lone wolf play of D1. It's the trickiest fix because it requires player accountability and developer conviction. For the players it means not screaming for nerfs to everything that kills them. The fact is that we got here through player complaints. The death of grenades and abilities was started with the crusade against Firebolts and DoT's, continued with shoulder charge and Warlock melee and ended with the crusade against Fusions. Unfortunately sometimes the things people think they want, they don't and this was a shining example. After 3 years of players begging for every opponent advantage to be nerfed, we have neutered abilities and grenades to where melee battles are pillow fights, shoulder charging Titans are free kills, DoTs don't exist and grenades are almost strictly area denial. For Bungie it means conviction and belief in the unique and awesome PvP experience they initially created where players may find themselves facing a better gun, and where abilities, grenades and supers matter. And again, the beautiful thing is that D2 did fix so much of the balancing problems D1 devolved into to where it can be fixed and still not be the ability/ohk spam of D1. TLDR: I just don't think the game is as far off as many make it to be and I'm hopeful the devs can make the changes it needs to get it where it can be.

#destinytruthcast #bungie #lost sols #destiny #destiny 2

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