Truss Me‪!‬ 4+

A really great tool for structural design. By the way, this is not a "game". I use the Truss Me tool to evaluate and compare different truss models. But I'm disappointed that I cannot save any work and, worse, if my iPhone goes to sleep, then all my work disappears.

This game is serious fun, and I mean that very literally. It's a great idea, it's loads of fun, the 3-star scoring adds replay value, AND it's a seriously great tool for teaching the basics of truss design. If you're embarking on the design of an epic toothpick or dried spaghetti structure, start here! This is the most fun I've had since Cat Physics, the best iPhone game ever.

However, after the third level the frustration exceeded the fun. This game DESPERATELY needs snap: Snap to mid-point of rod, snap to straight, 90 (30, 60, 45) degrees, vertical, horizontal, etc.. It's very frustrating trying to slide a node along a rod, looking for the mid-point, trying to keep the rod straight, getting no feedback, and not being able to see what I'm doing because it's all happening underneath my fingertip (#iphone_needs_stylus!). It stops being about truss design and becomes a fight with the user interface. That's not fun, or educational. Also, at some zoom levels it's impossible to straighten a rod with a node in the (approximate) middle of it. Snap would fix that. If I were making a wish list I'd include continuous coordinate/angle readout as I move nodes, and some easy way to make a structure symmetrical. Word balloons when you tap a control, identifying that control, would speed up the learning curve.

I really hope this app continues to be developed, because I'm eager to get back to playing it, but without the frustration.

Simply adding 0-3 "gold nut" ratings as a "scoring" mechanism doesn't make something a game. Let's break this thing down:
1) No instructions. Period.
2) Any kind of GOAL for each stage. First stage? I got 3 gold nuggets! Second stage? One. WHY? Who knows! I used the minimum possible struts with the minimum possible widths. What was I supposed to do? Oh, I got it... Delete this.