Ben Jordan Case 3

[Grundislav]

Just in time for October, the spoooookiest month of the year!

http://www.agsforums.com/games.php?action=detail&id=454

It's a large download, I know. But this is what separates the true fans from the casual gamers! Or something like that.

[Edwin Xie]

  I have been waiting for this moment. I would download large games if they are great, like this, only it's better...

[[Cameron]]

One word: w00t!

[UP]

Two words: w00t w00t!

Finally! The audiotrailer was already too much...
(If you don't know it: http://www.agagames.com/grundislav/bj3trailer.mp3 )

Hmm... Stuck it appears:

Spoiler

The old lady was murdered, and I've talked to the imprisoned girl... I've seen the writings on the tree, but can't do anything with them...

[close]

[Vel]

Great game, finished it, and it told me to take the other path to learn all... However, I dont understand WHAT other path...

[Athirwen]

Hmm... Stuck it appears:

Spoiler

The old lady was murdered, and I've talked to the imprisoned girl... I've seen the writings on the tree, but can't do anything with them...

[close]

I'm stuck in the same place. But so far, great game!

[crazyman]

first:

Spoiler

When you didn't get shot  let him shoot
you

[close]

second:

Spoiler

When you did get shot don't let him schoot you,trow the bloody crowbar

[close]

Hope this helps.

[crazyman]

Spoiler

Did you look in the flowerbin next to Wilma's house?

[close]

Then if you're still stuck

Spoiler

After you broke in the tower look at the board in the sunlight

[close]

[Ashen]

How many endings are there? I've played two, but didn't get the maximum score on either of them, and both left unanswered questions. Am I just missing something?

Whatever great game, even better than the first two, if only becuse there was more to it. It'll be interesting to see if the alternate endings make any difference to Ben Jordan 4.

EDIT: I see, I must've just not noticed getting the last few points on the 'Good' ending, and yes, there was just the one question left unanswered.

[Grundislav]

There are two endings, each corresponding to a different "path."

Spoiler

the split occurs when the constable has you at gunpoint

[close]

You can get the maximum score if you take the "good" path. That one will leave you with only one unanswered question, but it will be answered later in the series...

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

Congratulations, Grundislav - the series just keep getting better and better. This latest game is very good, and here's (another) one waiting for the next one!

Incidently, I finished the good ending, with the one unanswered question... but am still 2 points short. What could I have missed?

Spoiler

Considering I gave all three 4 point responses in the interrogation.

[close]

[UP]

Excellent, excellent... I'm stuck again, but I'm not so badly I'd request help... But I'm still a bit confused about the Handbook... Can you do nothing with it?

[Ashen]

Not Yet:

Spoiler

You need the hand book to help translate the Witches Code, but it's only really important in the 'Good' ending. However, I don't think the Handbook inventory item does anything, except remind you to read it.

[close]

[UP]

Oh, there's a book in the file... I never saw that... I guess that's what you get for not reading the readme (though I was thinking there might be one... Never bothered to look though. Damn...)...

[Duzz]

I just finished, and I have to say I haven't got into an ags game as much as this for quite a while. Ã, 
I was stuck for a long time in the same place as Athirwen and Not Yet, but I probably spent 3/4 of an hour wandering around trying to figure out what to do instead of giving up, because I wanted to find out what happens next. Ã, Other than that one, I really enjoyed the pacing and puzzles, especially

Spoiler

where you pull the sheriff through the roof. Ã, Although I figured it out straight away, it was a refreshingly different 'escape' puzzle.

[close]

The Percy character seemed to give the game a lot of extra depth too, having him working towards the same goal as the player character makes the game feel more like there's things happening behind the scenes, rather than everything revolving completely around the player.

Apart from the size of the characters in BJ's room, and some lighting issues when a character walks out of the screen (and onto region 0), I didn't encounter any bugs. And the music was very atmospheric as well.

[edmundito]

Apart from the size of the characters in BJ's room, and some lighting issues when a character walks out of the screen (and onto region 0), I didn't encounter any bugs. And the music was very atmospheric as well.

I'd blame Pumaman for this one.

[ida]

Great game! Enjoyed playing it thanks!

Loved the way there were different endings as well.

[JBiker51]

The first two games were "I'M GOING TO KILL MYSELF, THIS IS SO HARD" frustrating. I'm gonna see how this one is. Oh, and could you make sure you make the games a little LESS harder than they are now? I feel like I'm going to go bald with all the hair I've been pulling out of my head recently.

[InCreator]

about 80% of things ruled:

*just about enough of difficulty
*improved graphics, compared to first two games
*superb music
*pretty atmospheric and exciting story.
*a THIRD SEQUEL to an AGS game!
*non-linear plot
*many really good animations
Yeah!

but 20% sucked:
*some messed up bg's, especially with blur and color choice
*some lazy and non-existing animations where needed
*Despite suggesting same for first and second part, game STILL has no indicator pixel or crosshair on inventory items, which makes clicking difficult and annoying

Puzzle that is completeable with combination of things from inside and outside of the game... I really can't say that this is neither very good or bad idea. Some people avoid all kind of documentation outside the game. Then again, it adds some atmosphere even before starting to play.
Interesting idea, though. Haven't seen things like this for a long time.

I just took screenshots from both witch codes, pasted into MSpaint and copied the witch code translation pieces there too. Then, drew over every letter, according to the translation.
This was funny. I'm playing and adventure game in MSPaint 

Overall, great job!
Is fourth game started already?

[edmundito]

The first two games were "I'M GOING TO KILL MYSELF, THIS IS SO HARD" frustrating. I'm gonna see how this one is. Oh, and could you make sure you make the games a little LESS harder than they are now? I feel like I'm going to go bald with all the hair I've been pulling out of my head recently.

Ben Jordan is considered one  of those games criticized for its lack of hard (or not hard) puzzles! Maybe you're taking the game too seriously. 

Is fourth game started already?

Of course!^* Our slavesâ,,¢ at MonkeyGames Entertainment^® NEVER stop working... except for me.



^*I'm lying.

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

Ah, perfect score.Ã,  Great game.Ã,  My one nag, and something you might consider changing to make it more of a mystery:

Spoiler

the part where Ben is suddenly very suspicious of the McBee family after questioning them immediately sheds doubt upon their character day 1, and makes you suspect the town of a conspiracy right away.Ã,  Removing this initial suspicion would make it more difficult (and interesting) for the player to come to the conclusion, particularly once you start translating the witch code.

[close]

Anyway, that was my only issue.Ã,  Excellent work.

[Mephistophilis]

Damn! One of the Few games I'm waiting for then I miss it for 4 days due to Forum trouble, then it turns out to be FRICKIN' HUGE! Grrr, i think i'll need to get a Go!zilla thing for this, any suggetions on free ones?

[viktor]

This is a realy great game. I enjoyed the first two a lot. This one is the best one so far. I finished both paths and had fun with both. Any info if there's going to be a forth case?

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

There are two endings, each corresponding to a different "path."

Spoiler

the split occurs when the constable has you at gunpoint

[close]

You can get the maximum score if you take the "good" path. That one will leave you with only one unanswered question, but it will be answered later in the series...

Does that answer your question? :

[Pet Terry]

I just finished playing the first path and I must say excellent! The whole Witch code-thing reminded me of those puzzle adventure books. Very inspiring stuff, keep it up.

EDIT. I just accidentally read crazyman's spoilers and finished the second path aswell. Bring out the fourth part!

[mätzyboy]

Ben Jordan does it again! Awesome game! I liked both paths.

I wonder what will come next. Ben Jordan, Paranormal Investigator, Case 4 - The loss of virginity pehaps?Ã, 

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

Since you played both paths, here's a little snag in the story:

Spoiler

In the good path Ben sleeps with the girl, so he can't possibly be a virgin for the ceremony- yet he doesn't mention this fact to the vampires.

[close]

[Pesty]

Since you played both paths, here's a little snag in the story:

Spoiler

In the good path Ben sleeps with the girl, so he can't possibly be a virgin for the ceremony- yet he doesn't mention this fact to the vampires.

[close]

Spoiler

The fact that the vampires tell him that they can tell he's a virgin after Mary spent the night with him proves that he didn't sleep with her. Just because they shared a bed doesn't mean anything went on in that bed.

[close]

[mätzyboy]

I'm with Pesty on this one. I understood it like

Spoiler

Zoraphagus could in some way tell that Ben was a virgin, a fact that Ben didn't challenge.

I was expecting however, that the night with Mary would be his rescue from being sacrificed, something that in my opinion would have been a nice twist!

[close]

[edmundito]

ProgZMax-related converation:

Spoiler

Ben Jordan is a gentleman, though. Also, Mary is not a whore!

[close]

[Problem]

I finished both paths. Fantastic game! I liked the first two, but case 3 is by far the best. It has more athmosphere and an interesting story. The music was fantastic. Some of the backgrounds could have been better, but that is not important. Great work!

[Tomus]

As other people in this post, I have to admit BJ3 really got me. I quite liked the first and the second one, but the third case is much more X-Files like and intriguing. If I was the author, I'd be mad from all the "I can't wait for BJ4, make it faster, larger, better..." messages, but in fact, I feel it like this too  .

Anyways - solid work. Expect a review in czech at http://plnehry.idnes.cz soon. It's written already and it only waits to be published, because we have a bunch of articles right now...

[splat44]

As other people in this post, I have to admit BJ3 really got me. I quite liked the first and the second one, but the third case is much more X-Files like and intriguing. If I was the author, I'd be mad from all the "I can't wait for BJ4, make it faster, larger, better..." messages, but in fact, I feel it like this tooÃ,  .

Anyways - solid work. Expect a review in czech at http://plnehry.idnes.cz soon. It's written already and it only waits to be published, because we have a bunch of articles right now...

Yes, BJ3 is excellent.

Too bad the web link provided is not in english!

[EKM]

I beat this game yesterday and then went back to beat Ben Jordan 2 today. I love this series, I can't wait for the 4th.

The thing is, every Ben Jordan is perfect for the Halloween mood, not just particularly the third instalment. Anyway, I love the choice of puzzles and the plot...real interesting. I still think the first one is a classic haha.

[afinch]

   I cant seem to download this game, I come to page that says the account has been suspended or something like that.  Can anyonelse download it because I really really want to play. 

[edmundito]

There's a mirror now available, you can download the game from there.

[GarageGothic]

Thanks to the mirror site, I finally was able to play BJ3 this weekend. AWESOME game (as I expected )! It certainly suits the style of the series that the game is longer and that there's greater focus on the mystery (rather than unrelated puzzles as in BJ2).

I didn't get stuck a single time (other than having to wander around to find newly triggered events), but the puzzles were very nice. The inspiration from the GK games was obvious - the witch code in particular, but I also enjoyed the interrogation which reminded me of the conversation with Mosely, Bucelli and Madeleine in GK3. Two of the puzzles could probably have used more hints though:

Spoiler

1)Finding the crowbar in the flowers. Were there any visual hints for this?
2) Finding the diary under the floorboards (very Colonel's Bequest, by the way). The only hint seemed to be that the board was lighter, but according to the description that was because of the sun falling in. The only reason I tried it was that I knew there must be SOMETHING inside the tower (how would you get to the top of the tower anyway, there are no stairs or doors)

[close]

Another minor issue was that the graphics didn't really support the atmosphere. The very first image of arriving to the pub in the rain was awesome. I'd like to see more of that. Obviously the game has to take place at daytime, but it could have been much creepier - lots of fog etc. As it was now, everything seemed a bit too colorful and cheery.

But all in all a great game. The BJ series is certainly becoming one of the great titles within the AGS community, just like Pleurghburg and the Tierra games.

[ggp]

Please help;

Spoiler

Ive been shot and am in the dark room. Ive got out of the ropes and but the rope on the ceiling hook. When i pull it it says "As you pull you feel the board its attached to is loose" So i pull again, and again but it just says the same. What do i do ?

[close]

[ggp]

Still stuck on the ending above, but also;

Spoiler

In the 'good' ending i must be reading the witches code wrong, cause ive got it as 'eliminate pqj z' Ive checked it and thats what ive got, but the proffessor doesnt respond when i type it in. Is it wrong ?!

[close]

[AGA]

ggp:

Spoiler

It should be "eliminate pqj"

[close]

[netdroid9]

Nice game 

I've finished both the paths, and have one thing to ask... Can you post a mirror to the first one?

BTW in the next one, why not make a running feature, that would be nice. And a mobile phone, so you can ring people up when you need to speak with them. (Just have it engaged or 'no service avaliable' when you don't wan't people to ring)

[Grundislav]

And a mobile phone, so you can ring people up when you need to speak with them. (Just have it engaged or 'no service avaliable' when you don't wan't people to ring)

Have you been reading my design documents? 

[ggp]

Thanks AGA, but im still stuck on the other ending

Spoiler

im In the dark room and have attached the rope to hook. I pull it and it says floorboard is loose, but if i pull it again and again nothing happens. What do i do ?!

[close]

[Grundislav]

ggp:

Spoiler

You have to pull the rope at the right moment, ie when the person pacing above you steps on the squeaky board.

[close]

[Tonik]

I finished the BJ trilogy, and thought I should give the author a feedback on the third one, if he bothers to read it, that is. POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD.

While BJ1 started awkwardly, the final puzzle was very good. BJ2 was a very solid gaming experience, better than the first one. And now the third one...

Instead of creative inventory combinations, the gameplay of BJ3 had very little inventory combination. Instead, you walk around, talk around, look around, and once you score a point, repeat to see what changed. In that aspect, BJ2 was more fun. However the best puzzle, including BJ1 and 2, was the one [SPOILER??] where you are locked up in that house [/SPOILER]. Also, the story was ok, and code, wether it is a voodoo code or witch code, is always fun.
Now, the alternative paths were cool. While the shorter path had the best BJ puzzle so far, the other one explained the story better. After finishing the shorter path I read about the other path in the forums, and was lucky enough to have a save at that point, so, I played the other path, and that longer path is much better.
In a nutshell: not better or worse than the secound one

You might consider for future BJ games:
* Problem in all 3 games; the exits. Sometimes not easy to see where to exit the screen.
* More inventory puzzles and less walking around aimlessly to see wether anything has changed.
* The notebook: In both BJ2 and BJ3 it starts out nice, but at some point early in game, BJ stops making notes ([SPOILER??]: last note in BJ2 was 'get moonshine to prosp...' and last note in BJ3 was about the things you needed for the spell[/spoil])
* Last but not least: It would be nice to get a response when you use a inventory item on something which doesnt work. Even a static 'That doesnt work' message is better than no response at all.

Thats about it, I think. Good job

[Grundislav]

I finished the BJ trilogy, and thought I should give the author a feedback on the third one, if he bothers to read it, that is.

Of course, the feedback helps me loads when figuring out what to do in the next games.  Thanks for the suggestions, I'll definitely consider them for the future cases.

[[Cameron]]

If we can help influence the next one i have one thing to say.
A drug ring made up of clergymen headed my the pope
Reagrds,


Alec
---
BTW its kinda late and im not thinking properly, but i still think this is a great idea

[jetxl]

Of course, the feedback helps me loads when figuring out what to do in the next games.Ã,  Thanks for the suggestions, I'll definitely consider them for the future cases.

Will that be "Ben Jordan Case 4: Why is there a moose head in an English inn"?

[dark witch]

plot hole?

Spoiler

Why does the first witch code writing state that "mary will die innocently" if she is a witch and is not wanted dead yet?Ã,  Is BJ *intended* to translate it?

Incidently, I spent so much energy figuring that all out by hand and then we got that cheat-sheet under the floorboard, man...  best puzzle in the game until you realize it wasn't a puzzle ;p

[close]

Suggestion:

Spoiler

If we have to take somebody else's cherished possession with the promise of returning it, at least let the main character mention making an effort of trying to reacquire it.

[close]

[brown]

I don`t know what`s wrong....I have the witch code,and I
understand the meaning of the message on the tree...
but nothing happens. help please.......

[Grundislav]

Do you mean the first appearance of the code? If so, don't worry about it, just keep looking around for something else you may need.

Spoiler

like a diary

[close]

If you mean the code on the tree in the "good" path, then

Spoiler

go talk to Percy about it

[close]

[brown]

thank you.....but I have the diary,I don`t know how to use it.

[Grundislav]

Spoiler

Read the diary, then go talk to Mary in the jail about it.

[close]

[brown]

I really don`t know what`s wrong....I talk to mary about the diary but still I have problem

[Grundislav]

Did you try looking for the constable?

Spoiler

Did you find him talking to the robed figure in the woods?

[close]

Once that happens, go back and talk to Mary again, and you should be fine.

[brown]

thank you very much....

[MillsJROSS]

Wonderfully fun game! I thought the graphics were consistent. The dialog keeps getting better and better. I like how you've kind of made a bridge to future Ben Jordans. And leave us with a lingering question. The music was superb and matched the backgrounds and the mood in the game very well. There really isn't too much to complain about...but I'll try my hardest.

Spoiler

I found that clicking the sherrif when he was dead, didn't correlate to where he actually was. I clicked around him, figuring I'd get something from him, and gave up and wandered about. Only to become frustrated after going through all rooms several times, and finding out on the forums that I could touch the sherrif.  Really that's the only complaint I had.

[close]

I think the non-inventory based puzzles worked very well in the game, mainly because of lack of many hotspots. The few that were there were enough to fill the game out with the important details, and a few non-important ones. So, in this case, I think the bareness of the hotspots worked well, even though I usually advocate for tons of hotspots.

Also loved the Indiana Jones line you threw in there "That was my fathers name." That got me laughing a bit. It was a very fun game!
-MillsJROSS

[[Cameron]]

Hey Grundy,
I just replayed BJ3 to get the good ending. I have to say i'm eagerly awaiting the next one. I cant wait to find out the answer to that last unanswered question. Awesome stuff.
Regards,


Alec

[proximity]

i downloaded BJ3 a week ago but both Winzip and Winrar giving an error: The file is corrupt or missing. What's wrong ?

[sergiocornaga]

You downloaded it incorrectly, maybe? Did you extract it to a folder? Try downloading it again if you've already tried that.

[Scorpio_Phoenix]

That happened to me aswell. download mirror 1 instead. it takes longer to download but it seemed to work for me.

[proximity]

grundislav told me that file was corrupt. Original file is 26 MB and i've downloaded just 8 MB. grundislav will fix it or may be already done. i'll try again.

[strazer]

As long as this thread is one the first page again I guess it's okay to bump:

Grundislav was so nice to compile a plugin-free version for me that I can play with AGS Linux.
I hope he doesn't mind me posting the link here: http://www.grundislavgames.com/games/bj3mac.zip (26 MB)

This version doesn't use the Snow/Rain plugin and so can be played with the Linux and Macintosh versions of the AGS engine. This probably also means that the rain or snow effect in the game is gone!

Thanks again, Grundislav!

Edit:

Since the link in the first post isn't working at the moment: The Windows version can still be downloaded here: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/games.php?action=detail&id=454