Ever since Angry Birds Space was released people haven’t stopped talking about the Mighty Space Eagle. For good reason, it’s much different than the Mighty Eagle we all know and love. Not only is how you procure the Space Eagle different, but the mechanics of how you use him are quite different as well. Below I’ll try to break this all down as best I can, though, before I get started I should preface one thing. I know the Space Eagle’s pay-per-use model upsets a lot people, but I’d like to leave the rants for the forum. This guide is aimed at helping those who truly want to understand and use the Space Eagle. A big thanks to lostgreybird for his write-up in the forum and to AMSlimfordy for his hard work on the Space Eagle video walkthroughs.
The Space Eagle is similar, yet quite different, to the Mighty Eagle. On iOS we first see the option to use the Space Eagle on level 1-11 of Pig Bang. After you tap the eagle eye icon your slingshot is loaded with a can of sardines (Yes! It seems the Space Eagle likes sardines as much as the Mighty Eagle), which you in turn fling into space. A couple seconds after the can of sardines comes to rest a wormhole opens, out of which comes the Space Eagle. As the Space Eagle zooms by he blasts the surrounding area much like the bomb bird. This blast causes quite a bit of damage, but does not clear the level of all pigs.
The Space Eagle is only available as an in-app purchase for iOS devices at this time. We are not aware of if or when the Space Eagle will come to other platforms. If you are using an iOS device, the Space Eagle does not become available until you pass level 1-10 of Pig Bang.
Update: The Space Eagle is now available for Android via Google Play and the Amazon Appstore! Everything said about iOS seems to apply equally to Android, including the pricing information. Refer to the release post for additional information.
Most of us feel they are one and the same, but the official stance is that they are not. I know, I know, but it does make sense if you think about it purely from a gameplay standpoint, as the mechanics are quite different. Notice, I didn’t say better, just different.
Nope. The fact that the Space Eagle is not unlimited has upset many players across all skill levels. Players who want to complete Angry Birds Space in its entirety now have to pay a lot more money to do so. Others just see it as greed. I don’t think the latter is true, as my gut tells me they’ll actually make less money this way. That said, I do hope some changes are made. To truly grasp the problem we need to understand that the Space Eagle — and the Mighty Eagle for that matter — have conflicting uses:
I believe these conflicting uses have led us to this problem. In my opinion, it is okay to charge players for the luxury of skipping levels (or making them significantly easier to pass). On the flip-side, I don’t think you want to dissuade your most loyal players from completing the game in its entirety. I also don’t think the plan was to make it so parents have to take the game away from their kids for fear they’ll burn through their precious Space Eagles or rack up a huge bill. These kids are the future, at least that is what Whitney Houston told us!
Is there a solution?
I think so. The solution we’ve discussed here on ABN is to make the Space Eagle unlimited use AFTER you 3 star a level. Completionist-style players could purchase a pack for $1.00 and wait to use them until they’ve 3 starred everything. Casual players, who just want help passing levels, could purchase Space Eagles as they need them just like they do now.
Problem solved? For the most part I think this would satisfy most people. There will still be some that don’t like it, but you can’t please everyone.
You can earn a few Space Eagles during normal gameplay. The number you can earn at this time is not particularly large, but Rovio has said they will add more opportunities down the road. For now, you can earn Eagles as follows:
This is a tough one. The answer really depends on how you plan on using them and whether you believe Rovio will tweak how they’re used. For this I’m going to refer to @lostgreybird’s awesome write-up from the forum. Here’s what he had to say (I’ve edited a few parts just so it’s all clear):
I purchased 1,000 Space Eagles for $19.99. I had 8 levels feathered from the “free” Space Eagles I received after 3 starring both Pig Bang & Cold Cuts.
Pig Bang – After feathering the remaining 22 levels I had 840 Space Eagles left, thus I used 160 Space Eagles to complete Pig Bang.
Cold Cuts – I started with 840 eagles and ended with 716.
Danger Zone – I started Danger Zone with 716 and it took 250 eagles to complete these 30 difficult levels. Ended with 466 eagles.
Which pack may be right for you?
– Pig Bang and Cold Cuts took 284 eagles to complete. The $7.99 pack of 280 may be good for you, I feel like I wasted a lot.
– I feel confident that the $19.99 pack will get me through 6 chapters (the three current episodes and three future updates).
I’m going to derive a large portion of this section from the hands on experience that lostgreybird and AMSlimfordy were so kind to share.