Spore Wars support

Online play is turned off in the first iOS build, and the web version has no online play either. On iPhone and iPad the menu only has LAN play; in a browser the menu has no network entry at all. On a Mac, Online needs the address of a game server that you or a friend run: no server is run for you. If that changes we will say so on the home page.

Both devices must be on the same Wi-Fi network. One player chooses Host a room; the lobby shows the host's address. The other player chooses Find rooms on the network and taps the room, or types that address in the field below (the game remembers the last address you typed). In the lobby every player who has joined ticks I'm ready; the host's Start match stays off until everybody has (and changing the map, mode or teams clears the ticks). The host can Remove a player before the match starts; that player is told and can join again. The first time, iOS asks for permission to use the local network; please allow it. If you declined, turn it back on in iOS Settings → Spore Wars → Local Network.

LAN play in this build has so far been tried on one computer (the iOS Simulator, an Android emulator and the Mac app, all on one Mac) and in automated tests, not between two real devices, so if you run into trouble please tell us. Check that both devices are on the same Wi-Fi network, that the address is typed correctly, that the room is not full and the match has not started. Some networks (cafés, hotels, offices) stop devices from talking to each other: try another network, or share a hotspot from a phone. Finding rooms looks only at your own network's nearby addresses (the first three numbers of the address are the same); if the room is not listed, for instance on a larger or guest network, type the host's address. LAN play does not work in a web browser.

On iPhone and iPad (and Android, when it is released), if you do not own the Full Game, one full-screen ad may follow a match you play on your own: skirmish, campaign or daily challenge, before the result screen. There is never one in your first 3 matches, in a match, in LAN, Online, co-op, spectating or a replay, and at most one every 4 minutes. Buying the Full Game (one purchase, no subscription) removes them. The builds made so far show Google's test ads (the version line says · TEST ADS). In regions where the law requires it, Settings → Ad privacy lets you change your ad choices. See Privacy.

Chapters 1 and 2 (40 levels) and everything else are free. The Full Game adds chapter 3 (20 levels and the ending; a friend who joins your co-op level over LAN does not need it, and anyone can watch a chapter-3 replay), 4 Shadow Wood maps you can pick as the host of a room or in skirmish (friends without the Full Game can still join and play them), Shadow Wood in the Map editor, and the Supporter set (a building skin, a victory effect and a badge). It is sold in the iOS app (and the Android app once it is released): on a Mac or in a browser chapter 3 stays locked and there is no Buy button. If you bought it, open the offer from chapter 3 and choose Restore purchases. If the store does not list the Full Game yet, the game says so. The store shows the price. More on the home page.

Settings → Language. The change is saved at once.

That is Settings → Keep my army on the left, on by default: when you start on the right half of the map in a skirmish, LAN or Online match (or when you watch a replay or a spectated match from that player's side), the map is shown turned left to right. Turn it off to see every map as designed. Campaign levels and the daily challenge are never turned.

Turn on Settings → Colour-blind mode: each side also gets a geometric shape (circle, triangle, square, star) on its buildings.

In Skirmish, choose game speed 0.75× and the Easy difficulty. The campaign's first five levels teach one rule at a time. See How to play.

Press the pause button (bottom left). The pause menu has Resume, Surrender and Quit to menu. Surrender asks you to confirm.

Your profile, campaign progress, settings and replays are stored on your device. Replays are limited: the newest 50 are kept and older ones are deleted automatically, unless you pin them (up to 20) in the Replays screen. The game has no online account, so deleting the app removes its saved data from the device. The details about data are in Privacy.

Restart the game. If it keeps happening, send us the details listed under Contact support together with the steps that make it happen.

The AI sees only what you see and gives orders the same way you do. The difficulty changes how often the AI decides and how much it errs, and never gives it extra soldiers.

Not there yet: online play in the first iOS build, online ranking, a friends' board for the daily challenge, a community map library (you can still share maps by code), and Android and Windows versions.