Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy! HD - Launches 23rd May

Started by Ali, Tue 06/03/2007 16:44:25

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Ali

NELLY COOTALOT: Spoonbeaks Ahoy! HD

Wishlist on Steam

Plot:
Nelly Cootalot, fearsome pirate and lover of tiny and adorable creatures, is charged by the spirit of a dead buccaneer to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a fleet of birds known as spoonbeaks. Her adventure will bring her face to face with the nefarious Baron Widebeard as she uncovers corruption and wanton punning in the Barony of Meeth.

Background:
Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy! was originally released hundreds of years ago in 2007. The game started out as a birthday present for my girlfriend and got wildly out of hand. In 2016, I made another Nelly game called Nelly Cootalot: The Fowl Fleet. This HD remastering brings the original game back to life, with a streamlined interface, a homemade voice over and loads more pixels.

Screenshots:




Remastered Specs:

  • Remastered 1920 x 1080 HD graphics
  • Extremely cheap voice acting (in English)
  • Windows / Mac OS / Linux
  • English, German, French, Spanish & Polish (text only)
  • Streamlined point & click interface
  • Bad jokes replaced with good jokes (I wish)

Trailer:


Opportunities to:

  • Rescue endangered and unusually named wildfowl.
  • Acquire morally dubious items on behalf of minor aristocrats.
  • Intercept the private correspondances of a daredevil pilot.
  • Come to the aid of downtrodden supernatural beings.
  • Be confused by Nelly's County Durham colloquialisms.
  • Borrow facial hair from long-dead pirates.
  • Wantonly misuse the word 'borrow'.

AGS Awards:
Best Game Created with AGS 2007
Best Gameplay 2007
Best Dialogue Writing 2007
Best Player Character 2007
Best Character Art 2007

Music:
By Mark "m0ds" Lovegrove.

Translation:
Polish Translation: Krzysztof 'Elum' PaŠ,ka.
German Translation: Marcel Weyers with Tante Tabata, Kat Wallisch and Björn Ludwig.
French Translation: Hervé Appriou (Surdy), Mathieu Bergounioux (Monsieur OUXX) and Marc Denizot
Spanish Translation: Ernesto and Ana of Kawagames.

Walkthrough:
A walkthrough is available at gamesolutions HERE.

Thanks to Applications Systems Heidelberg, the Beta Testers, Translators and all the other people who helped make this game.

Download old version:
Nelly Cootalot v1.8 (24mb)

m0ds

Great, but moreso, thank YOU for creating this wonderful little game!!

Here's that page I spoke of, point people to it or the link on the download page and should you care, I'll be able to tell you how many people have downloaded it :)

http://www.screen7.co.uk/games/

Quotenefarious
LOL!

Well done on releasing Ali, you should be proud of your first AGS game :)

MashPotato

#2
I also thank Ali for making this wonderful game! (EDIT: and of course, m0ds as well :))

While I highly doubt Ali needs my help to "sell" Nelly Cootalot (I think those screenshots and descriptions speak for themselves ;)), as a beta-tester I must give this game my ringing endorsement!  Gorgeous art, great music, terrific humour... all in all, loads of fun :).  Download now, NOW!

thewalrus

 Ã,  Ã,  YES!!! Finally, one of the games I've been waiting for has been released! Just downloaded, can't wait to try it out!!! Will edit with my opinion later.... Congrats on finishing!!!!
Thewalrus

Goo, goo, ga, joob!!!

"Sitting on a cornflake, waiting for the van to come!"

Nikolas

Mash:

I'm already sold, no need to help out! downloading now Ali/Mods/betas/everyone! It will be a pleasure tonight. Even though I should be working. something tells me that this game will help me through the day, and I really need that. :)

Thank you Ali for this game.

More to come once I play it!

mätzyboy

Oh boy! I have secretly been anticipating this! Will download as soon as I get home from work

*Mätzyboy dances a little jig of anticipation*

Sparky

Thanks Ali and mOds! Hip hip hooray! I'll post my gushing praise comments after I've given it a whirl.

fentongames

Just begun playing it. I am really enjoying it so far. Particularly the animation. It's so smooth and incredible, some of the best animation in an AGS game in my opinion. Really like the music too, I am impressed m0ds.

Really like it. I'll come back once I've completed the game.

fentonfilms
Time Kid, coming this summer.

The Scorposer

I just played a little in, but already I have to say I'm very impressed with the artwork, animations and especially the music! :D

Congratulations to Ali and m0ds!!

buloght

This game is awesome. The art style is brilliant, the music rocks, but the dialogue (and humour) is what stands out the most.

Peder 🚀

As I allready knew before today this is an awesome game in every way!

I really enjoyed beta testing it!

Good work both Ali and m0ds!


Peder Johnsen.

Medical Waste

Can't wait to play it, the artwork looks great.
THE PATIENTS ARE REVOLTING

lo_res_man

spoonbeaks ahoy!
Sweet mother of monkeys, I've been waiting for this game, hope to download soon. loks great.
†Å"There is much pleasure to be gained from useless knowledge.†
The Restroom Wall

Mordalles

great game, ali! i love the art style, and the character designs! especially baron widebeard. and the dialogue is so well written.  ;) the characters have really smooth movements.

"It's a fairy! She's naked! Curse these low-res graphics!" - Duty and Beyond

marlamoe

Bug
Spoiler
you can talk thru the pipe a second time.  The rocket reappears, takes off, and you get the gift certificate again. 
[close]

Fleshstalker

Looks sweet! I'll download this soon after I'm done playing Grim Fandango. This should hopefully give it plenty of time to see what bugs the community finds so you can fix them. I don't want to downloaded 15mb on my slow connection only to have to do it again. If I had high speed interent, I'd download it now, but alas, I don't. So I'll patiently await till then.  ;D

marlamoe

Just finished.  This is on my list of favorites

Fleshstalker

marlamoe, how long did it take you to beat?

marlamoe

#18
Another bug
Spoiler
Ã,  I cannot remember what order I went in for sure, but was doing another run through the game and after getting the letter on the lawn, I went and won the rainbow scarf prize.Ã,  When I went back to the castle, the letter was laying on the lawn again.Ã,  I could pick it up and then had two letters in inventory.Ã, 
[close]

Fleshstalker:  I played for about 6 or 7 hours.Ã, 


Fleshstalker

Thats an excellent lenght. It will take me longer though since I'm still new to the point and click Adventure genre. 5 Days A Stranger took me a little over 5 hours.

I got so many games to play now. Atcually I got 36 and so far beat one like I previously mentioned and Grim Fandango. Will take a while before I get to this one. I'm in heaven!  :D

Guest

can someone help me out i'm really stuck all i have is a map,feather,book,rock,ink and shovel?

marlamoe

You may find some help here http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=30452.0
If not, you can ask a new question about where you are actually stuck there.

Philo

 :D :D


THANKS so much Ali for this Gorgeous game!!!!!  ;D

Ali

See first post for mirror download.

Thanks for all the positive feedback! I hope the game meets the expectations of those of you who haven't played it yet. For those who have...

Scorposer I'm pleased you're enjoying it so far. M0ds's music is reason enough to play through the game.

Mordalles & Buloght: I'm particularly pleased you enjoyed the dialogue, That was one of the parts I was most uncertain of.

marlamoe: Thanks for the bug reports, I'm very glad you liked the game. I'll get an updated version online at some point - or as soon as anyone finds a really deadly bug!

I'd like to know how long the game takes to finish. It lasts about 45 minutes for me, but I know all the answers. Now lets get on with the harsh criticism. I haven't heard the word 'derivative' used once. Shame on you!

Rui 'Trovatore' Pires

QuoteI'll get an updated version online at some point

And naturally you'll be kind enough to upload just a patch too. ::)

I'm curious, did you use a vector-program like Moho for moving the character's body parts for making the animations? It looks like it, and I wanted to know whether I should congratulate my keen eye or rip it out for lying to me.
Reach for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.

Kneel. Now.

Never throw chicken at a Leprechaun.

Ali

Quote from: Rui "Trovatore" Pires on Wed 07/03/2007 11:11:54
And naturally you'll be kind enough to upload just a patch too. ::)

Um... I'm not actually sure how I would make a patch. Any tips?

Quote from: Rui "Trovatore" Pires on Wed 07/03/2007 11:11:54
I'm curious, did you use a vector-program like Moho for moving the character's body parts for making the animations? It looks like it, and I wanted to know whether I should congratulate my keen eye or rip it out for lying to me.

Sort of. Perhaps a mild jabbing is in order. The sprites began as vectors in Corel Draw, but I actually animated them as raster images on planes in Blender3D. I thought this would be the quickest way to animate hi-res sprites, of course it turned out to be fraught with complications. I would have used something like Moho if I'd had a copy!

Rui 'Trovatore' Pires

QuoteI'm not actually sure how I would make a patch. Any tips?

Sure! Google for Clickteam's Patch Maker.

QuotePerhaps a mild jabbing is in order.

I'll consider it very carefully, messieur.
Reach for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.

Kneel. Now.

Never throw chicken at a Leprechaun.

Da_Elf

what can i say that hasnt been said already. its reaaaaally good. ive been waiting for this game for a while. the graphical style is original and the humor is great aaaarrrr . blow the man down!! hehehe

buloght

Ok, I've gotten very far in. I have to say after playing this more, this is by far the greatest thing I've played since Cedric and the revolution and Duty and Beyond. This game rates in my top 3. Your art style works, the humour throughout is amazing, I especially like that widebeard character and the baroness. Every character is richly defined, not to mention those viking salesman. I've laughed out loud quite a lot, really a great job ali.

This is how a pirate game should be! And with these around people won't go "hey it's another pirate game" cause it's too muchly different from the original MI series. It's an original pirate game. I'm gonna stop before sounding like a fanboy.

cotlc

Fantastic game!!!

Brought back some of that old school magic that is lacking in just about every new adventure game that is released nowadays.

Perfect humour, perfect graphics, perfect setting, perfect puzzles, perfect size and not one stolen MI gag (that I could recall).

An absolute credit to you, Al. I eagerly anticipate any future releases you wish to pleasure us with.

10/10

peter

When i used (try) the map in the inventory in the jail, the game crashed ?

Thanks for this good game :)

Ali

#31
Version 1.1 is available.
This version fixes a critical bug that makes the game impossible to complete. A patch is also available. See the first post.

Da Elf: I very much appreciate the addition of nautical vowels in your post. Thank you!

Buloght: I'm delighted that you think so highly of the game. I'm also delighted that you wrote 'laughed out loud' without abbreviating it, well done!

cotlc: I think you're a little too generous with your rating. I don't think there are any stolen MI gags, but there may be one oblique reference. I'll give this doubloon to the first man that spots it.

*Ali nails coin to mast*

There are no doubloons for spotting Moby Dick references in this post.

peter: I'm glad you enjoyed the game, and I'm sorry you got caught by the bugs. On that subject...

Quote from: peter on Thu 08/03/2007 14:49:35
When i used (try) the map in the inventory in the jail, the game crashed ?

Until I get version 1.2 online... don't do that!

thewalrus

     I am a little confused.... If there was a bug that made the game impossible to complete, then how did some people finish the game before the updated version? Where do you get the patch? Or should I just re-download the entire game???
Thewalrus

Goo, goo, ga, joob!!!

"Sitting on a cornflake, waiting for the van to come!"

Peder 🚀


voh

Honestly speaking one of the best AGS games in a while. Kudos to you, sir!

:)

(oh, and it took me 3,5 hours, without looking in the hints thread)
Still here.

i k a r i

I've spotted a little MI reference
Spoiler
when I looked at one of the paintings inside the bar, is in the place you enter after making the donation  ;D
[close]

Am I right?

Oh and by the way, GREAT game!. Thanks for sharing it  ;D
QuoteWell, one think is not liking him, and the other is making humour of the retarder people!
Nacho speaking of Bush.

sthomannch

Excellent game!
Very unique graphics and a lot of fun to play

Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens

A most enjoyable game.  Well done.

ida

Enjoyed playing this game thanks!

Didnt need to use the hints page too much and the music never got annoying.Ã,  :)

You couldnt help but like Nelly even though she was trying to be a tough pirate!

jonqueztor

This game was awesome!

All of Nelly's jokes were absolutely hilarious!

Ali

#40
Quote from: i k a are i on Fri 09/03/2007 01:55:50
I've spotted a little MI reference
Spoiler
when I looked at one of the paintings inside the bar, is in the place you enter after making the donationÃ,  ;D
[close]
Am I right?
Oh and by the way, GREAT game!. Thanks for sharing itÃ,  ;D

Yes, you win the imaginary gold doubloon! I mentioned it was imaginary before, right?

Quote from: thewalrus on Thu 08/03/2007 21:29:50
I am a little confused.... If there was a bug that made the game impossible to complete, then how did some people finish the game before the updated version? Where do you get the patch? Or should I just re-download the entire game???

As Peder says, download and install the patch. The bug did not always make the game impossible to finish, but it did under specific circumstances.

voh: I'm glad the game lasted a decent ammount of time. I thought it would take around 2 hours. Huzzah!

ida: The soundtrack is the longest m0ds has produced for a freeware game, so it takes plent of time before some of the tracks loop. Also, Nelly is a tough pirate! Who said she wasn't?

ProgZmax: Thank you!

sthomannch: I'm glad you liked the style.

jonqueztor: I'm pleased you thought it was funny. I thought it might have had a few too many silly puns.

Afflict

#41
Aye Ali what can I say, Yeh be a pirate so true!

Nice game, lovely style I think this is going to win some awards! Like the hi res gfx and I love the puzzles. Very cute and the cripto was awesome!

I haven't finished yet, just started awhile ago but pretty kewl! Nice one!

Edit:

Nice one very nice title, just finished it. Man was that awesome! I like this game allot, if all the games this year is near this quality well have allot more awards well have to dish out! Ali Congrats man! WOW!

Ghost

Ah, highly enjoyable game! I was intrigued by the demo some time ago, and heaven's hell, it was well worth the wait.
10 outta 10 points, really. This game is quality stuff, from unique style to punchlines that really deliver home, from ingenious puzzles to solid pacing. I tend to lose patience rather quickly with adventures, but this one I'll savour, and not asking for any help. It's well worth it.

The ghost salutes.

Sparky

Ali, thank you immensely for making such a charming, stylish game. The art was extremely consistent. The dialog was entertaining and obviously received a lot of love. Many lines were truly top knotch.

Since you asked, I'll offer some tiny nitpicks. But don't get me wrong, I loved this game and will be first in line if ever you should decide to release another. OK, on to the

List of hopefully constructive hypercritical feedback
One tiny technical complaint is that some of the characters were antialiased into the background, but others (including those that walk) weren't.
Most puzzles had ample dialog and object descriptions surrounding them, and the solutions were very intuitive, however
Spoiler
I felt that the 'circumnavigate the world' puzzle could have been improved by some more dialog that reinforced the idea that the DLA members were nearly blind.
[close]
There were also a couple of moments when the game accidentally revealed future puzzle solutions:
Spoiler
In the first visit to Saul mine, Nelly's nonstandard response to "use heavy rock with pipe" tells the player the pipe will need to be smashed in the future even though there's no puzzle around it yet, in Bjorn and Olaffsen's, the iHook dialog implies that Nelly will need to obtain it even before the Hook-a-Duck stall opens, and on the tower rooftop it's possible for the player to smash the pipe open before deciding how it will be helpful, which tells the player that there will be a future use for the pipe.
[close]
Regarding the way the map was implemented: I liked being able to jump instantly between rooms, but I thought it was interesting that you didn't also provide walkable exits that lead to the map screen (as in the Monkey Island games).

QuoteI haven't heard the word 'derivative' used once. Shame on you!
I felt like the whole game was such a conscious homage that I wasn't overly bothered. It brought its own charmingly zany slant to the subject matter, and it had a well developed visual style. I'll be honest and say there were a few occasions when I felt ideas had been lifted a little too unaltered from other games:
Spoiler
The bar with different pirate themed mixed drinks, the "prove you are a pirate" puzzle, the pirate knick-knack shop complete with a pet bird, etc.
[close]
You treated the pirate theme excellently. I'd love to see a game by you in an all-new setting of your own design!


But enough hemming and hawing. I sound like a grumpy old man, but this game makes me feel like an excited five year old. Great work, way to follow through! Congratulations on a job well done!

Besh

Amazing work! Everything is EXCELLENT!
Great Ali!

I found a little insignificant bug (ver 1.0):
Spoiler
after you complete the rocket puzzle, if you talk to the pipe the Angelo-Rocket-Vaucher sequence start again.
[\hide]
[close]
"Spread our codes to the stars,
You can rescue us all"
- Muse

Ali

#45
Afflict: I'm glad you didn't hate the code puzzle. Most people seem to hate code puzzles, but my girlfriend and me love them. That's why it's in the game!

Ghost: Thank you!

*Ali salutes the Ghost in return*

Sparky: I think all of your comments are very fair, and I'm pleased you like the game. I'm glad to hear some constructive criticism, so here are my responses:

The game isn't actually in 32 bit, so there isn't any genuine anti-aliasing. I just animated the characters that didn't walk in front of a flat colour that was close to their surroundings so they appeared to anti-alias. I realised about half way through that the game should probably have been 32 bit, but it was too late to turn back by then! The sharp edges are one of the things I'm least happy with in terms of aesthetics.

I've consciously taken the Elizabethan/Jacobean theatre approach to disguise in this game (i.e. unconvincing disguises are entirely convincing). You're right that it doesn't make a lot of sense, but it made me laugh!

I agree about most of those solution-before-puzzles, I may make changes to them in the next update. However...

Spoiler
The non-standard response to using the boiler pipe with the rock was intentional. I hate it when games offer a generic or no response to actions that will be useful later on. I can't really justify that, I guess it's a matter of taste!
[close]

You're right that there are elements which are recognisable from other games. I promise they were entirely unintentional, and I only spotted them after I'd already done all the animation!

Besh: That bug's not as insignificant as it may seem, but it should be fixed in version 1.1. When you say 'EXCELLENT', is that a Mr Burns-esque 'Ehh-xcellent'?

Sythe

Really great game. Enjoyed it a lot. Puzzles were challenging, characters had good depth. Humour was excellent, and often spontaneous. “That ladder looks pretty rickety, its not even coloured in!” “Carrots of the Caribbean”  and my all time favourite: “Apparently Vin Diesel is in one of these, he deserves as much.”

The game made me laugh over and over, and sometimes made me think (the cipher puzzle was great fun.) The art was very stylish and unique, it helped the atmosphere of the game.

Really the only gripe I have is with the final puzzle, but I suppose there has to be one of those in every game :)

10/10

Besh

Quote from: Ali on Sat 10/03/2007 11:33:22
Besh: That bug's not as insignificant as it may seem, but it should be fixed in version 1.1. When you say 'EXCELLENT', is that a Mr Burns-esque 'Ehh-xcellent'?
Do you mean that Mr Burns?Ã,  ;D
My EXCELLENT is equal to (great * great * ... * great)
"Spread our codes to the stars,
You can rescue us all"
- Muse

m0ds

As requested, the music is now available and very much wants to meet you.

http://www.screen7.co.uk/music/midi/soundtracks.htm

:)

Rosie

EXCELLENT GAME     Thank you so much.........more, More, More...........Can't wait till your next one.......

Steel Drummer

This game is awesome but.. I think you need to add this to the game database. A lot more people will play it that way.
I'm composing the music for this game:



AliceLiddell

This is an EXCELLENT GAME!!! AWESOME AWESOME!!

A package of gum

I've been waiting for this game a long time.

Definitely worth it.  In fact, very few niggles, altogether.  The last puzzle was a little trial-and-errory, and there were some problems learning how to use an item on myself, but overall good.  Not a lot of strong, fresh, humour, ultimately, but the style more than makes up for that.  Some great twists, with unexpected creatures, etc.  I have to say the creature in the second half guarding the last area is very similar to the creature I have guarding a cell in the last chapter of my own game, except without the monkey.  Good stuff though.

The one glitch I encountered was when I changed the brightness at the start of the game and then tried to save.  It crashed, every time.

Jon

I thought that this game had many nice aspects, e.g graphics, witty dialogue. But I thought that the puzzles were a bit too easy, as for once I didn't need to ask for help! Great game though, well worth the download.

m0ds

Ali, pretty sure you showed me a screenshot once with a real voodman man - what happened to that "room"? :) Can you post the screenshot for me to see, to prove I'm not going mental? Maybe I am .^^

m0ds

Who voted the graphics as poor on the games database, along with average immersion and poor puzzles? Please make yourself known :)

Fisher

It's been a while since I've been able to sit down and check out this board.

What a fantastic game to return to! GREAT JOB! I enjoyed it so much and certainly hope you plan on making another one.

THANKS for your hard work. (I finished in about 4 hours (WITH HELP) and didn't encounter any bugs ..... wooohooo!)

Cinfa

Really a good job! I really liked it!

Postmodern_Boy

Fun and cute game.  I like it a lot.

Ali

Sythe: Thank you, the Vin Diesel joke is also one of my favourite.

Steel Drummer:
Quote from: Steel Drummer on Sun 11/03/2007 02:37:22
This game is awesome but.. I think you need to add this to the game database. A lot more people will play it that way.

The game is on the database! Here.

AliceLiddell: THANK YOU!

A package of gum: I'm pleased you weren't disappointed. I'll investigate the crash you described. If you could PM me any error messages I'd appreciate it.

Jon: Since this was for my girlfriend, I thought better too easy than too hard! Glad you had fun.

Mods:
Quote from: Mods on Sun 11/03/2007 20:33:44
Ali, pretty sure you showed me a screenshot once with a real voodman man - what happened to that "room"? :) Can you post the screenshot for me to see, to prove I'm not going mental? Maybe I am .^^

Um... I just looked through the screenshots I sent you. As far as I can remember, there's never been a real voodoman man....

*Edges slowly away from m0ds*

Quote from: Mods on Sun 11/03/2007 22:01:01
Who voted the graphics as poor on the games database, along with average immersion and poor puzzles? Please make yourself known :)

When will people learn... democracy doesn't work!

Seriously, I don't think we should be calling anyone out. Whoever voted has a right to their crazy opinions.

Fisher: Four hours and no bugs? That's nice to hear!

Cinfa: Thank you!

Postmodern_Boy: And thank you too, sir.

Afflict

I also voted and commented, I still need to get use to going to vote and comment after playing a game... 80% of the games I play I don't.. :-[ But I did this one :)

Spoiler
Hehe did anybody else notice the nice little blue cup in the top left hand of the bar ;)
[close]

Rui 'Trovatore' Pires

Reach for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.

Kneel. Now.

Never throw chicken at a Leprechaun.

blueskirt

This game goes straight in the folder of games I will cherish for the rest of my life. :D

Afflict


m0ds

Quoteeriously, I don't think we should be calling anyone out. Whoever voted has a right to their crazy opinions.

Ahh I know dude, I was just interested to know what it was about your art they didn't like, I could've learnt something from it! It was just slightly hard to beleive! And sometimes I wonder if there's just a voting troll.

Groogokk

This game is truly a treasure; I am glad that you didn't hide it on some deserted island in the Caribbean, but shared it with us. I may have a weakness for pirates at the moment since I'm listening to the Decemberists all the time, but Nelly Cootalot has a number of qualities that make it great in its own right:

What I liked best was
- the graphics style (instantly loved the desaturated colours and the colour-in-the-background-outlines-in-the-foreground illustrations!)
- the fact that the
Spoiler
rocket exploded a split second after take-off!
[close]
I laughed out loudly when that happened  :D
- the witty dialogues (it was the first time I didn't find it tedious to click through a huge dialogue tree)
- the character design and character animation

The music was great, too! Something I simply don't like, however, is when the same track comes on every time I enter a room.

I may have found a minor bug: In some rooms, the description that appears when you hover your mouse cursor over a hotspot/character/object *disappeared*. If you left the room, however, and entered it again, the descriptions turned up again. It may be something to do with my alt-tabbing out of the game, but it didn't happen often enough for me to be sure.

Thank you for this game - I hope it will be the next Pick of the month!

Canardo

A game to remember. Great, great job and it`s hard to believe this really is an indie-game as it really rivals the commercial adventures out there today and some of them it even surpasses(Take Ankh for example.).

Great artistic style and very funny dialogue. Up to my favourites, thank you.
Here`s looking at you kid.

http://afterashadow.blogspot.com

AnT hook

Just finished the game and must say: wow! One of the most enjoyable adventure games in recent years (AGS or not). I loved the graphical style (can't remember another game with such graphics), the humor and the little universe. The game doesn't feel rushed nor empty on details/puzzles. And, of course, great musical score. Wonderful little adventure game.

xelanoimis

Wow! It's out! Congratulations!
I really like the look and the idea of this game.
I'll have to find some time to play it soon! Can't wait...

Ali

blueSkirt: Thanks, that's a lovely thing to hear.

Afflict: Thanks for the comment, and well spotted on the tankard.

Groogokk: I'm pleased you weren't bored by the dialogue tree!

Canardo: I've been putting off buying Ankh, because I haven't got the money. Now I want to play it just to see if my game is better.

AnT hook: I'm glad you had fun!

Quote from: Mods on Tue 13/03/2007 10:26:56I was just interested to know what it was about your art they didn't like

Actually, I'd like to hear that as well, it would be interesting to know.

Quote from: Mods on Tue 13/03/2007 10:26:56
sometimes I wonder if there's just a voting troll.

Here's the plan: I'll lure him out from under the bridge, you set a billy goat on him.

GreenBoy


seaduck

Cool game!

I even got over the so extremely boringly overused "somewhere in the Carribean there was a gentle pirate", cause the game's just so sweet :)

Some puns are really really good (Vin Diesel and the iHook almost knocked me over) and music is great too (excellent work, M0ds!)

Btw, I just finished the game, and, by sheer coincidence, I got to meet some CUUTE spoonbeaks at the zoo today  ;D

Ali

Green Boy: Thank you!

seaduck: I never said the game was set in the Carribean! I get your point though, I'm glad you thought it was sweet. Nelly will be envious of your real-life spoonbeak encounter.

On another note. I find it odd that no one has mentioned Roger....

Surely some of you have seen him?

m0ds

Definitely never seen him so jolly, that's for sure!! Drunken b*'d!

m0ds

Hahaha, Ali!! On my travels in a Northern direction this weekend I saw something that genuinly made me "lol"... In my area there certainly aren't any of these shops about, but it made me wonder if it's an in-joke, something a Southerner like me would never have known about... Did you pull inspiration from it? :)


Groogokk

@ Mods: I firmly believe that the Swedes in the game are a pun on the "real" shops.


April is drawing near. It is now time to commence my incantation:
Oh ye almighty administrators of this forum! Ye gods, demi-gods and quarter-gods of the AGS universe! Hear my calling!
Lo and behold, I sacrificed five pints of beer, several shots of strong liquor and half a dozen spoonbeaks in your honour at the weekend, to make me worthy of being heard in your illustrious circle. This is my request, this, and only this, I ask of you:

If it is within your powers, make Nelly Cootalot the pick of the month!

I beg you, do not deny this humble request, lest April become the cruelest month!


On a more sober note: I couldn't find a thread that discusses the next p.o.m. in general, so I posted it here. I think Nelly would really deserve being recommended on the games main page.

Ali

Mods: Yes! Bjorn and Olaffsen is an obscure reference to that particular chain of swanky A/V equipment shops. Non-northerners playing the game will also miss the secret recipe for the elixir of life that I hid in Nelly's northern colloquialisms.

Groogokk: Thanks for your support. Perhaps you're right, maybe we do need a pick of the month 'lobby'.

ThreeOhFour

Quote from: Ali on Sun 25/03/2007 15:25:48
On another note. I find it odd that no one has mentioned Roger....
Surely some of you have seen him?

I have to admit, Jolly Roger was my favourite part of the whole game! I laughed very hard when I saw him - what a fantastic thing to put in!!!

But I liked the whole game, the puzzles made sense, and were innovative, and the graphics were very stylish. One of the best AGS games I have ever played. Off to vote right now!

mintymint

Hi,

I just completed the game, and what I like the most of this game is the characters,
especially Nelly and the leprechauns.. ;D

The way you coloured the backgrounds are also great..
I hope to play another adventure of Nelly Coolatot.. :D

This is a great game.. Well done.. :)

MillsJROSS

A nice solid game.

Graphics were consistent and well made. I think, possibly, they're one of features that draws you into the game the most. The animations were well made and executed.

I enjoyed the music. Nothing catchy enough to memorize a tune, but fun to listen to while playing the game.

The story was silly, in the good way. Dialog had some good humor. It did seem, to me, that the game started out a little weak on humor, but was strengthened as I played the game. Don't know if this is because I was adjusting to the humor, or because you were developing a good sense of humor while creating this game.

Puzzles were well done. I really enjoyed the cryptology one. The hints were provided enough to keep you focused on your task, and a few puzzles were at the right difficulty level to make you feel accomplishment.

All in all, a wonderfully fun game to play. I'd definitely like to see what adding voices could do to this game. The only real complain I could muster, would be that I wish some of the dialog trees wouldn't have you repeat yourself to choose another option. It was just a bit redundant. Of course, this is a minor complaint, and really I had to search for something to give you some sort of useful criticism. Can't wait to see what else you'll create.

-MillsJROSS

shbaz

Is very very nice!

One of those games where everything seems perfect.
Once I killed a man. His name was Mario, I think. His brother Luigi was upset at first, but adamant to continue on the adventure that they started together.

Ali

Ben304: I'm glad you enjoyed seeing Roger!

mintymint: I just like desaturated colours, I'm pleased you liked them too.

MillsJROSS: I can't explain the humour, perhaps I just got funnier while I was writing it. I'm surprised you didn't find the music to be catchy. Maybe it's because I've played it so many times, but I often find myself humming the theme. Anyhow, thanks for the helpful feedback!

shbaz: Plus, I used Blender!

Ali hums "Da da, dum-de-dum..."

bolfar

I saw this today in the completed games and I went to playing right away.
I just finished the game and I am really impressed.
I love the artwork, puzzles are interesting, funny, just hard enough (I really don't like to get stuck), deciphering was a nice change, lots of witty dialogue, references to stuff, well everything is just perfect. At first I noticed the sharp edges of characters, but it didn't bother too much.
And I didn't know there was music (I had the midi volume to zero for some unknown reason), until I read the forum again. So I'm giving it another go, this time with music on.

P.S.
It took me little more than 2 hours, but than again, I could never get the jukebox in demo to play.

Great game!

covox

Am I the only one who gets this error with v1.1? Linux AGS engine, it happens just as the game reaches the title screen.

Code: ags
scott@trousersnake:~/Desktop/nelly$ ./ags Nelly\ Cootalot.exe 
Adventure Creator v2.72 Interpreter
Copyright (c) 1999-2001 Chris Jones
ACI version 2.72.920
CD-ROM Audio support enabled.
Pentium Pro CPU detected.
Checking sound inits.
An internal error has occured. Please note down the following information.
If the problem persists, contact Chris Jones.
(ACI version 2.72.920)

Error: run_rep_exec: error -6 (Error: Floating point divide by zero
in Global script (line 468)
) running function 'repeatedly_execute_always'
scott@trousersnake:~/Desktop/nelly$


Shame, by the sounds of things this game sounds like a winner :(

ManicMatt


Rasi

covox:

you are not the only one.. same thing happening here... :/

FireOrange

Wow, that was a great game, I`m impressed. Very nice characters, good music and wonderful graphics. That`s fantastic! I would be happy to see another game with Nelly Cootalot.  :) Great work!

m0ds

The error could be something to do with the modules/plugins used in the game, there's definitely two and I don't know how friendly they are with Linux (music continuation module & particle effect module).

I love this line;
scott@trousersnake:~/Desktop/nelly$

Scummbuddy, seriously. Control your penis.


Ali

bolfar: Thanks for the thoughtful feedback.

Maniac Matt: Thanks for the succinct feedback.

FireOrange: I'm very pleased you enjoyed it, thanks.

covox & Rasi: That's bad news! I'm really sorry the game doesn't work on Linux. The game doesn't use any plugins, and I thought modules were cross-platform. Nelly uses SSH's Musical Continuity and Akumayo's Particle Engine.

I don't want counter-culture linux-using anarachists to be without my game, but I don't know who's behind the Linux version. If anyone can help me identify the root of the problem I'd happily compile a Linux-friendly version.

Kweepa

Modules are cross-platform.
The error isn't in a module - it's a division by zero on line 468 of the global script (apparently in the repeatedly_execute function).
If you have that section of code to hand perhaps you should check it out and if there's nothing obvious to you post it in the Tech Forum.
* Steve crosses fingers that it's not part of the smooth scrolling script*
Still waiting for Purity of the Surf II

KingBingo

Hi,

I've only been downloading the fine works featured on this site for about a week now but when I played this I really was blown away by the quality.  It's been a while since I played adventure games but this one totally reminded me of why I loved them so much back in the day...

It's a brave person who tries to tackle the humorous wanabee pirate theme, but there are enough individual elements here, such as the unique art, the suitably swashbuckling score and the quality script, that it can stand up on its own.  As the wonky-headed one said, 'good art borrows, great art steals'.

I only wish it was a bit (lot) longer, but having begun to attempt my own project I totally understand why it isn't.  If it was longer, though, I'd pay money for it.

Look forward to the next one (I trust there will be a next one, right?)

KB

Ali

SteveMcCrea: Sorry, it is the smooth scrolling script! I've posted the troublesome line in the tech forum, because I can't see a problem with it:

http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=30739.0

covox & Rasi: You'll have to be a little patient, but I'll get a Linux-friendly version out as soon as I can. If I can't make one with smooth scrolling, I'll release a version with regular ol' scrolling for you guys.

KingBingo: I'm pleased the game made an impression on you. I'm not sure 'brave' is the right word, but it's nice to hear!

Sheepisher

Hi Ali,

I've only just had the chance to download and play the game, although I've been keeping my eye out for it ever since I saw some preview art in the "Critics Lounge"!

First off, I just want to say I had a really great time playing this game!  The puzzles were a healthy mixture of simple and challenging across the board, and I didn't have to use the Hints page once!  Some of them were quite imaginative - I particularly enjoyed ...
Spoiler
... figuring out the correct Pirate's Guild tattoo ...
[close]
... and I didn't even mind ...
Spoiler
... the cryptography puzzle in unscrambling the piraglyphics ...
[close]
... because all the clues were made readily available to the player, which shows some nice forethought.  I also really liked that you could pick up extra clues / move forward just by learning things and asking old characters for new information - it made for an enjoyable storyplaying experience.

The graphics and humour were both superb, too!  The game had a simple but very charming, polished and original look to it - it reminded me somewhat of an early 90s cartoon!  Both the look and the witty, character-filled dialogue really drew me into the world of the game and I loved every second I spent there.  As other people have said, the humorous pirate game always risks feeling cliched after the MI games but I think you successfully pulled off your own take on the genre.

I do agree with some minor criticisms that other posters have made.  I, too, grew a little weary of the repeating dialogue trees.  I like that you wanted to make information constantly accessible to the player - it's always a blessing to be able to go back and check! - but in many games, the original dialogue gets replaced with a much more succinct version that reiterates only the most important points.  I think there were several dialogues in your game that could've benefited from that technique.

I also didn't like that some puzzles, i.e.:
Spoiler
Using the iHook on the "Hook-a-Duck" pole only AFTER Nelly has played the game and realised it was rigged.
[close]
were "time-released", so the player couldn't perform the action until the game decided it was the right time.  It reminded me a little of Discworld (one of my least favourite games), where you'd try something and Rincewind would tell you "good idea ... but not just yet!"  It was frustrating in the extreme because you then had to work out what logic function the game wanted you to complete first, rather than carry on playing the story.  I like that you wanted to provide a breadcrumb path of clues for the players - in fact, there were occasions when I really appreciated it! - but there will always be times when the player's mind leaps ahead a few stages, and the game should allow them to do that, too.

But these are just minor cavails.  I must emphasise how much I enjoyed playing the game - and how much I enjoy looking forward to playing it again soon!
"Like a balloon and ... something bad happens!"

Owl Stretcher

Would love to hear the music, but for some reason, there is none playing. All midi is running perfectly on my machine, but i hear no tunes for the game.

m0ds

This may sound silly but doublecheck the setup file for the game. MIDI might be disabled. It was for me originally... :)

Ali

Version 1.2 can be downloaded HERE.

This shouldn't cause the divide by zero reported by covox & Rasi. I'm not able to test the game on Linux, however, so I'm just hoping there are no further problems.

A patch is also available, but since it's a windows executable I guess that won't be much use to Linux users.

Sheepisher: Thanks for the suggestions. I'll definitely use the succinct-dialog-replacement technique in future.

The question of 'not just yet' responses was raised by beta testers. I must say, I favour a response in that vein to a generic response, or worse. Really, it's a result of poor planning, but I'm glad it wasn't too detrimental to your experience!

Wellington

This was a distinctly charming game, well-polished and generally fair. I look forward to a sequel!

tube

#97
Quote from: Ali on Mon 02/04/2007 15:39:52
This shouldn't cause the divide by zero reported by covox & Rasi. I'm not able to test the game on Linux, however, so I'm just hoping there are no further problems.
Works fine here (on linux), albeit without midi music. For once I'm glad that we've kept a Windows box around for testing. The music suits the game perfectly (which I must admit I've come to expect from Mr. Lovegrove).

The game itself was a solid chunk of fun. The puzzles, the humour and the graphics were all miles above average. To say something negative there might have been a couple of dialogs that were perhaps a bit too repetitive as was previously mentioned. Not enough to frustrate though.

EDIT: I might have been a bit too quick to reply: The backgrounds do not scroll at all now. ::)

Groogokk

Ah, I am a bit disappointed that "Sidney finds employment" is the new pick of the month... Yeah, I know it's SSH's decision, and I respect it. Looks like it has fine graphics and probably older rights, too. But still...   :(

Fleshstalker

I am actualy happy Sydney got pick of the month. Played a bit of it and it's definately deserves to get more attention. I'm pretty sure Nelly will get on there later as it has aged.

Ali

Wellington: Thank you for your thoughts.

tube: Thanks for the information. I'll work up a non-smooth scrolling version for linux users soon.

As far as pick of the month goes, I missed the release of Sidney finds employment, so it seems like a good choice to me!

Fleshstalker

I just downloaded this game and damn is it good. I especially love the music. The best I've heard in a AGS made game... ok,ok, I haven't beaten many AGS games, but I've checked out around 50 (I will eventually beat these 50 I've downloaded) and this game's music sure is sweet. That was the first thing I noticed when I booted up the game. A very good first impression.

Yet another game to add in my favorite AGS made games.

m0ds

Thanks for your compliment! :) Perhaps I'll re-open your game-length topic as a testament of Iranian goodwill.

Fleshstalker

#103
Your welcome m0ds. No need to reopen that topic as I put them as medium length. I figured that if a game is not at least 5 rooms, it's short length.

Oh I see you've opened it. Heh. Can't wait to get more replies mentioning how pointless my topic was.  :(

Ali

Fatal Fury: It seems that flattery will get you everywhere!

Linux users: Version 1.3 is now available. This version disables the problematic smooth scrolling script on a Linux OS. I can't guarantee that there will be no further problems for you guys, so please let me know if you run into any.

-Ali

Marion

I've just finished and I really loved it ! :)
Very nice game, congratulations !!

I have just finished a pirate game too, yohoo ;)

tube

Quote from: Ali on Mon 09/04/2007 14:30:16
Linux users: Version 1.3 is now available. This version disables the problematic smooth scrolling script on a Linux OS. I can't guarantee that there will be no further problems for you guys, so please let me know if you run into any.

Nice! Now it works a treat! Too bad about the music, but there's probably nothing you can do short of providing a version with the music in digital/non-midi form.

At least there's no need to find a Windows machine the next time I get a craving for Nelly. ;)

PS: I'm available if you need someone to test your next project on Linux. Emphasis on "next project." Get the hint? :P

paolo

I've just finished this excellent, excellent game which I loved to pieces.

I've found a bug. I'm running it again now to go through all the dialog options I didn't select when I was in prison (I got the right options fairly quickly). I just went to load a saved game and the game crashed, with the following error. Looks like this the author's error rather than one in the AGS engine.

An internal error has occured [sic]. Please note down the following information.
If the problem persists, contact Chris Jones.
(ACI version 2.72.920)
Error: run_text_script1: error -6 running function 'LoadList_SelectedIndex':
Error: Array index out of bounds (index: 23, bounds: 0..19)
in Global script (line 1494)

covox

Strange, it works under Linux but it absolutely punishes my CPU - to the extent that the framerate of the game noticeably dips to 2-3fps. Thankfully I've got a Winders machine on hand so I'm giving it a red-hot go - it looks brilliant and dialogue-intensive so far  :=

tube

Quote from: covox on Wed 11/04/2007 03:15:19
Strange, it works under Linux but it absolutely punishes my CPU - to the extent that the framerate of the game noticeably dips to 2-3fps.
No such problems here on two different machines. CPU usage stays around 4-10 %. Granted that these are both relatively beefy dual core boxes, but I'm sure that doesn't explain the difference. Could it be something to do with your graphics drivers?

Ali

Marion: Thank you!

tube: Thanks for the information. Regarding Linux midi problems, I don't have the means to convert MIDIs to a digital audio format. Perhaps the best solution is to send m0ds to Linux users' houses to hum the music as they play.

paulo: Thanks for the report, I'll look into that!

covox: I'm sorry you had trouble on Linux. Compared to other AGS games, Nelly is quite hefty (particularly near the end), so maybe the Linux-emulator-thing struggles. I'm glad you're able to play it all the same.

Nostradamus

Well well what a good game this was. One of the best games of the year so far.
Great settings (pirates!), puzzles right in the right difficulty level including some really interesting puzzles (deciphering, machines). Good written and amusing dialogues. Mods' music is great as usual and the sound effects are great too. And not many AGS games have lots of sounds effects like this one. Animations were really good and added a lot.
The graphics is the most interesting point. At first glance it looks you were just being lazy when coloring, everything is out of lines. But as you play it turns out it becomes quite a cool and catching original coloring style that feels well in the cartoony style of the backgrounds. Kudos for that  :=

All in all, great effort and I'll be waiting for your future games.



tube

Quote from: Ali on Wed 11/04/2007 15:13:04
tube: Thanks for the information. Regarding Linux midi problems, I don't have the means to convert MIDIs to a digital audio format. Perhaps the best solution is to send m0ds to Linux users' houses to hum the music as they play.

Nah, he might (gasp!) demand free beer for the trouble, and I'm pretty possessive about my beer. It might also be a bit... disconcerting having a piratey-theme-humming composer guy hanging around the house. No disrespect intended, m0ds.

But seriously, the midi thingy hasn't got much to do with your game. This is a known problem with the Linux version of AGS so stop worrying about us already and start working on your next masterpiece. ;)

CodeJunkie

Great game!  I'll admit I had to use the help thread a little, but the puzzles are all logical.

I'm in the prison and I've found a bug.  If you use the map in your inventory when in prison the inventory GUI stays open, the text appears behind the GUI and will not disappear over time.  It can't be skipped with space or anything else I can think of.  I'm using v1.1, but I didn't see anything about this being fixed in the releases since.

Ali

Nostradamus: There are over sixty different sound effects... thanks for noticing! I'm glad you didn't hate the everybody-hates-these-puzzles puzzles. Also, with the colouring thing, I was just being lazy.

Simb: That bug is fixed in from version 1.2 onwards, sorry you got stuck with it. I'm pleased you seem to be having fun.

Angela

Beautiful game Ali. I'm still at the beginning but don't want to play very far because like Paulo, I can't seem to load or save any games anymore. I get the same error message as Paulo:

An internal error has occured. Please note down the following information.
If the problem persists, contact Chris Jones.
(ACI version 2.72.920)
Error: run_text_script1: error -6 running function 'LoadList_SelectedIndex':
Error: Array index out of bounds (index: 23, bounds: 0..19)
in Global script (line 1494)

Hope it can be fixed soon as I really want to play it to the end.

Ali

Angela & Paolo: Version 1.4 is now available, and there's a patch too. It should sort out the problems you've been experiencing. See the first post.

ank

great game! But when is the sequel coming?

Owl Stretcher

I still, unfortunately, not get any music to play. From what Ive heard, it is great. I would love to hear it in conjunction with gameplay. Don't know why this is not going on.

Ali

Owl Stretcher: I'm sorry to hear that you're still having problems. Presuming you're running the game on windows, perhaps you could gather together information about your setup and post the problem in the Tech forum. I'd love to help, but I'm not that technical. Alternately, you could try downloading the audio pack and playing them through Media Player for an approximate experience.

ank: Thanks. I do intend to make a sequel but it won't be for a little while, I'm afraid.

mätzyboy

It took a long time before I found the time to play the game. Now, however, I have and it was indeed lovely! I think it is of excellent quality! Not only funny and pretty, but also well designed puzzlewise!

I think a voicepack would be a wonderful addition to the game, but I fully understand this is a project you have as a hobby, and it is completely fine the way it is.

Extra plus for Jolly Roger!!

Cheers!

Petra

It's been a long time ago I have been here..
But today I completed your wonderful pirate game :)
And I simply MUST tell you: it was marvellous!!!! :D

Thank you so much for a bug free game with wonderful graphics, great puzzles  and an exciting story. (Even though I must admit I never would have succeeded in solving the decoding puzzle on the wall without having any hints from here :P) But ok...I'm a woman without logical thinking ;D

Really great job!!!!
Keep on!

Petra





The Ivy

Hey Ali,

Nelly Cootalot was all kinds of brilliant. I literally loved everything about it: the character design, the unique animations, the colouring, the music, the premise, the puzzles, and the humour. I showed it to one of my friends and he said it would be a crime if you weren't a professional graphic designer.

There were so many great moments in the game...and a lot of jokes that almost made me fall out of my chair.

Spoiler
The appearance of the cat burglar, the "leper colony", the adorable spoonbeaks, the Cockney duck hunt guy...everything was so well executed and totally unexpected.
[close]

The game felt a little slow getting started, but after the first few puzzles I was totally hooked. I have a feeling I'll be playing it again before too long. :)

Do you mind if I put a link to this game on my website?

Ali

mätzyboy: I'd love to have time to make a voice pack, but I don't. I think it could be very funny. Though I find it nigh on impossible to say Hook-a-Duck in a cockney accent. I'm pleased you enjoyed it!

Petra: I'm glad there's something in this game even for women without logical thinking! Thank you for your feedback.

The Ivy: The game wasn't that funny, you might want to have someone look at your chair.  I'm very glad you enjoyed the game, and I'd be delighted if you added a link to your site. I'm afraid I'm not a professional graphic designer, though. You can tell your friend to call in the Feds.

ALPHATT

This game is COOOOOl ;D
Thank you Ali n m0ds.
Cool music and humor, I really liked tha animations and the art style.
Basicly this game have everything what a game need except there are not enough scenes. (But thats just my opinion coz i love games where there is thousands of rooms.

/sig

SuperDre

I'm still playing the game, and must say that it really is an excellent adventure, it's IMHO right up there with Monkey Island and stuff.. I'm looking forward after finishing this one to another one in the future, so I hope you have the time for creating another one ;)

Ali

Wtcq: Thank yooooool. I like thousands of rooms too, but unless someone buys me a graphics tablet I've no hope of drawing lots of backdrops!

SuperDre: Thanks for the feedback. Any relation to Dr?

xelanoimis

I finished the game and I very much enjoyed it.
Excellent graphics, addictive music, smart puzzles, cute characters, nice story,... everything a good adventure needs, your game has.
Congratulations, it is a great game!
I hope you're planning a Nelly 2 too, or perhaps already working on it?
Alex

m0ds

Your game is haunting me. A friend is attending "The 21st birthdays of Bott and Olafisoye"

Alright, it's loose...but you see where I'm coming from... :P

Ali

xelanomis: Thank you. I hope that there will be another game but it won't be for a little while. Don't hold your breath, unless you can hold your breath for longer than Guybrush.

m0ds: Amazing. Let us all take a leaf out of m0ds's friends book and bring Nelly Cootalot to life in our daily lives. In other words, talk to birds and steal from Barons.

ladymeba

Wow - I thoroughly enjoyed playing this game. Graphics were great and the puzzles aimed just right :) I can't wait to findout what Nelly is going to be up to next!

Great Job!

Groogokk

#131
Pick of the month - finally!  :D   ;)
Three cheers for Nelly and rum for everyone!

EDIT: And now Nelly's on jayisgames.com!

Ali

I'm delighted that the game has been pick of the month! Thanks SSH and thanks for your support Groogokk.

I've become aware of a few nasty bugs, so version 1.5 is available (see first post). This version prevents the game from running in 320x200 resolution. I know CJ advises against that in the manual, but the game cannot be completed in 320x200 resolution and a number of players have had to start again from the beginning.

ladymeba: I'm glad you liked the puzzles, thank you.

Risa

Hi, just wanted to let you know that I am not a regular to the forum but your game was so good I wanted to tell you! Your girlfriend must love you because you are so funny!

Ali

Risa: Well, it's not because I'm lanky and ginger...

I'm not really very funny, but I do laugh shamefully every time I play-test a new version and come across a joke I've forgotten. My favourite lines come from trying inventory items on characters. Thanks for the feedback!

vertigoaddict

Have you ever played Croc 2? I think adding a voice pack into this game with dialog would ruin it a bit; but if you made sort of mubling or squeaking sounds (technically cute gibberish) whenever a character speaks it'll make the game much cuter!

I LOVE THIS GAME! Can't wait for the sequel 'It's not Nelly Cootalot 2' (or something like that)

Rasi

squeeking sounds? gobliins2 comes to mind...

Bluesman

Great game! Definitely one of my favourite AGS titles... it embraces the best adventure game cliches and absolutely discards the rest!

Pelican

Such wonderful games I've missed during my absence! I just loved this game. Finished in about a couple of hours, and enjoyed every moment of it. It really captured that nostalgic MI feel, while being unique in its own right. Great graphical style, and hats off to m0d's music. I did find it mildly irritating having to navigate through the dialogues from the beginning for each different option I wanted to try, but I was too busy laughing at some of the options to be that bothered about it. Very funny, and I dearly hope to see a sequel.  :)

Ali

vertigoaddict: That's an interesting idea... Thanks for the feedback! The sequel is a long way off, so don't hold your breath unless you can hold it much longer than Guybrush.

Bluesman Ben: Thanks Ben, that was my aim.

Pelican: Thanks! The dialogue thing annoyed many people. I'm not sure how a short-cut-once-you've-tried-it dialogue maze would work, though. It's something I'd look into if I were making another similar puzzle.

Babar

#140
What are you talking about?!!1!

He's praising Nelly Cootalot, and explaining the effect it had on him/her and the internet world in general, and even goes to the extent of subtely offering sexual favours as thanks.
The ultimate Professional Amateur

Now, with his very own game: Alien Time Zone

Rui 'Trovatore' Pires

I like that last part. Damn, I really should make a game.
Reach for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.

Kneel. Now.

Never throw chicken at a Leprechaun.

vertigoaddict

Quote from: DDT-RUS-4 on Sun 04/11/2007 12:28:14
I'm pretty sure you know very well that the www is the greatest technological creation in modern history. Although I suppose somebody else would have invented it earlier or later if you hadn't, I just wanted to say thank you for having done such incredible pioneer work on a sector that has changed the lives of us all.

Translation? Summary?:

The 'world wide web' (www/ internet available to the public)  is the greatest creation in modern history.

Someone else could have made it, if you (creator) hadn't.

I just want to say thank you for having done such pioneer (first ever to do) work on something that would change our lives forever.

Quote from: DDT-RUS-4 on Sun 04/11/2007 12:28:23
Because of your work, I work with former soviet scientists to design and share online training schedules for athletes throughout the world. People are people regardless of where they are located; with dreams and the inner quest for knowledge. 20 years ago this would have been impossible. Even though the geopolitics would have still gone the way they had, the net has allowed us to be more than non combatants..we have become friends.

because of your work:

I work with former soviet scientists to design and share online training timetables for atheletes.

People are humans, it doesn't matter where they are.

people have goals for more knowledge.

20 years ago this (the timetable for atheletes) would have been impossible.

geopolitics...world politics?

even though...the 'world politics' would have still gone the way they had (who the heck would vote for Bush anyway?!) the net brings people around the world together.

---

In other words, this guy is thankful that the internet was made available for the public. And because the internet became able for public use, he (with former soviet scientists) was able to make training shedules for atheletes everywhere.

He says that 20 years ago, this may not have been possible. He talks about people's desire for more knowlege, probably talking about new future inventions that may change the world.

He speaks of geopolitics. Well, the internet used to be only available to the army, maybe he was commenting on that fact?

He says that the internet brings people from all around the world together.

This is TOTALLY out of topic; perhaps he is equating Ali to the creator of the 'world wide web'?

Ali

If anyone's keeping count, I also invented the George Foreman Grill.

GarageGothic

Quote from: vertigoaddict on Mon 05/11/2007 06:13:26This is TOTALLY out of topic; perhaps he is equating Ali to the creator of the 'world wide web'?

Probably he confused Ali with Al Gore ;)

m0ds

Lean Green Spoonbeak Grilling Machine!  :o

Noooooooooooooooooooo! :'(

m0ds

#146
Quote from: m0ds on Tue 06/03/2007 16:59:33
Here's that page I spoke of, point people to it or the link on the download page and should you care, I'll be able to tell you how many people have downloaded it :)

Completely forgot about this, and today a link led me to eventually end up back in this thread, where I re-read this.

And so I checked out the figures, how many times HAS it been downloaded from the s7 server? WELL I never!

Six hundred and sixty six times as of this moment.

Teh devil is upon us ;)


And the Kinky Island demo has finally overtaken Alien Time Zone, OH MY!!! hehe

Ali

Thanks to everyone who voted for Nelly Cootalot in the 2007 AGS Awards. I'm delighted and, to be honest, really surprised to have won Best Game. Thanks also to m0ds, and everyone else who contibuted to Nelly.

And shame on anyone who nominated Nelly for best programming! What was that about?

Quote from: m0ds on Wed 06/02/2008 01:19:15
And so I checked out the figures, how many times HAS it been downloaded from the s7 server? WELL I never!

Six hundred and sixty six times as of this moment.

Teh devil is upon us ;)

That makes sense. Don't you remember the puzzle where Nelly has to stare into a burning brazier from which seven beasts with serpent tongues and eagle wings emerge? Every beast was covered with eyes like mercury, their claws like burnished bronze and each held a scroll which presaged the ruin of man and the rise of the Antichrist.

Actually wait... I cut that at the last minute and replaced it with a joke about the Baronesses.

SuperDre


Ali

I friend of a friend drew my attention to Nelly's appearance in PC Gamer recently, next to a game by some guy called Yahtzee. In the interest of vanity, I thought I'd post a scan:



Rince

I actually read that in the mag so im here to download and play it now ^_^


Ultra Magnus

Quote from: Iv4n on Thu 08/05/2008 19:10:35
And what happened with your girlfriend?

If you've played the game then you'll know that she found the spoonbeaks and everything was right with the world.

Also... cool news, Ali.
I would've thought they would have at least told you about it, if only for the extra sales that you and your family/friends might bring.

(By the way, have I told you that I like the game?) ;)
I don't mean to sound bitter, cold, or cruel, but I am, so that's how it comes out.

I'm tired of pretending I'm not bitchin', a total frickin' rock star from Mars.

Stupot

Well done for the mention Ali.
It is a very charming game.

Ali

m0ds: Thanks, but I couldn't help but notice that the blurb could easily have been written by someone who hadn't actually played the game... but who am I to complain?

Rince: I hope you enjoy it, and stay around to play other AGS adventures!

Iv4n: Everything's great with my girlfriend. Did my making an adventure game for her give out the message we were 'on the rocks'?

Ultra Magnus: I don't think my friends and family would actually have bought it, but I would have. They lost themselves ONE sale there... I don't know if you have told me you liked the game, but I'm happy to be told more than once!

Stupot: Thank you!


Daniel Eakins

#157
Hi, just wanted to say I've created an article for Spoonbeaks Ahoy! on Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelly_Cootalot:_Spoonbeaks_Ahoy!

More people should know about this fantastic game! :)
We all have our time machines, don't we?

paolo

Quote from: Pauca sed bona on Tue 07/10/2008 17:06:34
Hi, just wanted to say I've created an article for Spoonbeaks Ahoy! on Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelly_Cootalot:_Spoonbeaks_Ahoy!

More people should know about this fantastic game! :)

The link is incorrect. Try this one instead (which includes the ! in the URL):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelly_Cootalot:_Spoonbeaks_Ahoy!


Looks like you fixed it at the same time as me :)

Daniel Eakins

Yeah, this was because the forum's auto-linking function didn't count the "!" as a part of the URL. I've fixed it by adding actual [ url ] tags.
We all have our time machines, don't we?

Ali

Quote from: Pauca sed bona on Tue 07/10/2008 17:06:34
Hi, just wanted to say I've created an article for Spoonbeaks Ahoy! on Wikipedia:

Finally! I mean... thank you! I'm glad you like the game and I appreciate your effort to get more people interested.

kajlin

Ali, your Nelly Cootalot is one of the best games I've ever played. Thank you for such a nice game. I hope you won't stop creating new games :)

Crimson Wizard

I finished the game some time ago and I wanted to ask this question, but was continiously forgetting to do this :) So, sorry for bringing this thread up again... but can anyone explain me the meaning of the joke (or maybe it isn't a joke?) about "Soviet Russia" and "vodka"? I cannot understand a sense of those lines Nelly sais in the context when Bartender tells her she should pay for entering a pirate museum.

Ali

To save anyone jumping in and trying to defend my shoddy writing. The joke* is simply that people often fatuously compare unfair situations to Soviet Russia. However, the charge-to-enter-pirate-museum situation is actually nothing like Soviet Russia.

It could equally well have run:

FRIDAY: Sorry, it costs 1 daalder to enter the museum.

NELLY: Eh? This is like Thatcherite Britain!

FRIDAY: How?

NELLY: Well... there aren't any miners.

FRIDAY: Damn right! No ID means no service.

Which to be honest is marginally better.


* In the loosest possibly sense of the word.

Crimson Wizard

Quote from: Ali on Fri 24/04/2009 13:21:38
To save anyone jumping in and trying to defend my shoddy writing. The joke* is simply that people often fatuously compare unfair situations to Soviet Russia.
Hehe, weird, wasn't much aware of this.
Anyway, thanks for explanation :)

Ali

*Blows dust off the old thread...*

Nelly Cootalot now supports a Spanish translation (courtesy of Kawagames) and anti-aliased characters (look at the edges all smooth...).
Hooray! What's the Spanish for hooray...? I forgot to ask...

Check the first post for more details!

If you host an old version of the game, please update it. The game is 4 years old, so bug reports are not welcome, but will be tolerated.

Igor Hardy

Wow, the anti-aliasing thing really prettifies Nelly a lot!

Haggis

Ooooooo Nelly Cootalot extra smooth.... no nonsense.

Ali

A nice chap called Hervé Appriou has translated Nelly Cootalot into French and I'm looking for French-speaking playtesters to play through and proof-read the game.

If you are interested please PM me!

Igor Hardy

Cripes, I thought it's finally the Nelly Cootalot II release announcement!

Ali


(deleted)

(deleted)

Dualnames

Quote from: Ascovel on Fri 02/12/2011 18:06:53
Cripes, I thought it's finally the Nelly Cootalot II release announcement!

Me too. GOD DAMN IT!
Worked on Strangeland, Primordia, Hob's Barrow, The Cat Lady, Mage's Initiation, Until I Have You, Downfall, Hunie Pop, and every game in the Wadjet Eye Games catalogue (porting)

Monsieur OUXX

Me me me me me! Pick me!
Also, could you directly send the translation file so that I can read through everything and spot all grammar mistakes directly?
 

LUniqueDan

Hey! No! Take me instead. I'm in!
Don't take Ouxx.

I speak Swiss French, Walloon, Magwa, Québécois, Modern Monégasque and Ch'tiac/Acadian. While Ouxx probably olny speak that weird stuff found in France.

Pleaaaaaaaaaase.
"I've... seen things you people wouldn't believe. Destroyed pigeon nests on the roof of the toolshed. I watched dead mice glitter in the dark, near the rain gutter trap.
All those moments... will be lost... in time, like tears... in... rain."

Monsieur OUXX

A whole, long, entire weekend wasted :(

On a separate note: I'm VERY curious to see how the advanced puns have been translated so far.
Even the names -- it's actually a very similar process as the ones from Harry Potter: Voldemort --> Voldemort (obviously), Slytherin -> Serpentard, Cootalot -> ... Moultebécasse?  :D :D :D
 

Ali

My sweet Lord, pun and silly joke translation is difficult!

From both the French and Spanish translators I kept getting polite emails asking me to explain "brass monkey warmers" or the dangers of "improperly buckled swashes". Thanks for the PMs guys, I'll be in contact soon!

- Al


Monsieur OUXX

LUnique Dan (and other potential volunteers), I have the translation file, please PM me  to get in touch and synchronize.
 

Ali

Call for French Proofreaders!

M'aidez!

Monsieur OUXX has been working away on the French proofreading for a while now, but he needs some help!

As I mentioned earlier, Hervé has translated the game into French, but careful proofreading is essential to maintain the silly puns and (importantly) the language-based puzzles. Monsieur OUXX is half way through the proofreading, do you think you could help with this final push? If so, please contact him or me!

Merci!

thiezar

Wow. It looks great. I'm gonna play it. I love games with such stylish graphics.

Ali

#180
Thanks to the sterling efforts of Hervé Appriou (Surdy), Mathieu Bergounioux (Monsieur OUXX) and Marc Denizot, Nelly Cootalot is now available in with a French Translation.

Please tell every francophone person you meet to download it now!

Feedback and bug reports are welcome.

Calin Leafshade

As a non-french person am I likely to get a more refined and cultured experience with this version?

Ali

Absolutely! But side effects include mild chauvanism and a penchant for fois gras.


Ponch

Oh la vache !

Merci beaucoup, Ali. At last I can practice that French I (barely) learned but never bothered to use. Rends-toi compte, Ali !

I can finally take that trip up to Quebec for research on my upcoming MAGS game without embarrassing myself in a Tim Horton's again. With the help of this game, I can safely and confidently walk up to the girl at the counter and say "Hello, Quebec! I have returned! I love this country! I'm glad to be back! I'd like a dozen Timbits, please. Glazed ones. And a cup of coffee. I'll also need a few extra napkins. I tend to make a mess." (Bonjour, Quebec ! Me voilà  ! Je suis amoureuse de ce pays. Putain, je me caille ! Fais-moi l'amour ! Je bande pour toi ! Il est très grand ! J'ai l'herpès. Nous pouvons parler de ça demain.)

Nelly Cootalot makes learning fun! J'ai été dupé ! :cheesy:

Au revoir, AGSers. àâ,¬ poil !

- Ponch



Monsieur OUXX

#185
Quote from: Ali on Tue 22/01/2013 12:25:58
Absolutely! But side effects include mild chauvanism and a penchant for fois gras.

Actually, you english-speaking people use the word "chauvinism" as something similar to "sexism". we use it as something similar to "nationalism" :D There you go! Your first culture shock as early as your first post!

PS: thanks for posting the game, Ali, I was about to advertise it on the French AGS forum when I saw you uploaded it here.

@Ponch: you're cute. Thinking that learning genuine French will help you communicate in Québec. God help you! You won't get a word of what they say ;)

@Calin: You'll definitely get a more cultured experience with this version, or let's say, at least you'll get a new experience, with all the cultural references updated to work in the Frenc-speaking world ;)
 

Ali

Quote from: Monsieur OUXX on Fri 22/02/2013 13:19:10
Actually, you english-speaking people use the word "chauvinism" as something similar to "sexism". we use it as something similar to "nationalism" :D There you go! Your first culture shock as early as your first post!

This may shock you, but I actually know that! I was referring to the French sense of cultural superiority (as opposed to the English sense of cultural superiority).

Anyway, thanks to Mathieu and Hervé I've just uploaded an update with minor corrections to the French (see first post).

Ali

No, Nelly 2 is totally not finished!

But a German version of Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy! is now ready, thanks to Marcel Weyers (proof-reading by Tante Tabata, Kat Wallisch and Björn Ludwig).

Tramponline

#188
Awww, man, Ali! Why didn't you omit the 'No'.:grin:

You had all the ingredients for a 'Cootalototal' Net panic at your disposal.:tongue:
...our low attention span would've made up for the rest and let us skip the 'not' in that sentence anyway...

Congrats, on the German release, Ali!

Ali

And now the good people of Poland can enjoy Nelly's adventure, thanks to the work of Krzysztof "Elum" PaŠ‚ka. Finally!

Download:
Download Nelly Cootalot v1.8 (24mb .zip)

Krzysztof and I would welcome feedback on the translation from Polish players!

More info for Polish speakers here: http://www.przygodoskop.pl/nelly_cootalot_pl.htm

Elum

Quote from: Ali on Wed 01/10/2014 22:45:08
Krzysztof PaŠ‚ka
Also known as Elum in some weird internet places. ;)

EDIT:
Quote from: Ali on Wed 01/10/2014 22:45:08
Krzysztof "Elum" PaŠ‚ka
:)

Fitz

A niech mnie kule bijÃ,,…! Elum's finally done it -- and is also currently working on a Polish translation of Sam & Max! I've already contacted him and I'm currently drinking rum and eating raw fish in preparation for a role in a fully voiced Polish version of Nelly (and then both Sam AND Max, obviously).

Grajta, ludziska! Bo usiekÃ,,â,,¢! (laugh)

Elum

Thanks, Fitz.

I have no idea why it took me so long to Polish the game, because it was a pleasure to work with Nelly and all those funny looking spoonbeaks...

Now I want a real spoonbeak. :(

[delete}

Arrr! With a brand new Nelly Cootalot game entering the harbour, it's only little time left to revisit her first epic adventure...



Ali

#194
Call me a mad fool if you will, but I've just launched Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy HD! on Steam Greenlight in honour of Talk Like A Pirate Day.

Because it is 640x480 resolution, Spoonbeaks Ahoy doesn't run properly on some computers (including my laptop). So I thought I'd take advantage of AGS's new custom resolutions, and do an HD makeover on the game. The original artwork was mostly vector graphics, meaning backgrounds can be scaled up with minimal loss of quality:


Full Size

So if you fancy helping out an old AGS game, you could throw a yes vote Nelly's way.

m0ds

Looking forward to playing it in 1280x72 res ;) Good luck dude!


CrashPL

Hey, a HD makeover is always welcome. :D Best of luck with the Greenlight, voted yes!

Crimson Wizard

That is nice to know.
"Nelly Cootalot" is in my "favourite AGS games of all time" list. :)

Ali

And special thanks are due to CW for making custom resolutions possible in the first place!

Danvzare

Ooh a HD re-release of a Nelly Cootalot!
I can't wait. :-D
Hmm... has anyone ever done a HD re-release of an AGS game before, or is this the first of its kind?

Snarky

There was The Journey Down that was remade in a different engine.

There have been a few remakes or remastered games with improved graphics (like The Shivah, Bestowers of Eternity/Blackwell Legacy, Ben Jordan 1 and 2, etc.), but I think they mostly stick to the same resolution (though some of the Wadjet Eye titles have switched to higher-resolution dialog portraits); at least the updated versions are rarely what you would call "HD".

Mandle

Nelly Cootalot, for me, was one of the most perfect examples of how to instantly charm the player into wanting to play the game through to the end, and they wouldn't even care if the gameplay was a bit lacking, or the graphics weren't all that good...

But then the player finds out that the gameplay also happens to be engaging...And the graphics perfectly equal the charm of the game...

One of the best games I have ever played in any genre...In fact, it's been just about long enough that I've forgotten enough about the game to go back and play it...IN HD!!!

NicolaGs

Hello,

The last update indicates a version 1.8 (24 MB) but the provided links always lead to an older version (1.5, it seems -  weighing only 15 MB). Do you know if the link is to be updated soon or if there is an error ?

Thank you ! :)
My first game : I Want Out!

Ali

Looks like something got messed up when Peder shut down AGSer.me. Sorry! I've updated the links with the 1.8 version.

(Incidentally, Spoonbeaks got greenlit. Thanks for voting!)

NicolaGs

Thank you for the new link. I was awaiting the french translation to make my lady play your game... ;)
My first game : I Want Out!

Ali

The HD remaster of Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy! will be launching on Steam on 23rd May.

Wishlist on Steam

Yes, it's still in AGS! Yes it's 1920x1080 (or less, if you prefer)! Yes, me and real Nelly recorded all the voices in our tiny flat.

I've also added achievements, and replaced the hated verbcoin with a 2-click interface. Marco from Applications Systems Heidelberg has done loads of work making the game run on Mac and Linux.

We're going to be selling the game with a very small price-tag. Because it used to be freeware, after fees and taxes are deducted my share of the revenue will go to the RSPB, a British charity taking care of our feathered friends (birds). So if you feel weird about buying a formerly free game, you can still enjoy the cosy, warm feeling of me not getting any money.

Trailer:


Screenshots:




I know it's an old game, and this isn't big news. But it's been really nice to revisit the game and make it playable again.

If you feel like spreading the news, that would be lovely.

Mandle


eri0o

This looks great! Also very surprising, didn't see any mention of this project going on twitter :O

Ali

Well, I definitely tweeted about it! Damn everyone else on Twitter!

Frodo

Can we buy this upgraded version DRM-free?  Please don't make it steam-only.

Ali

The game launches today! If you don't like Steam, you can buy it direct from the publisher. That version has a serial number, but no intrusive DRM.

Steam:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/763030/Nelly_Cootalot_Spoonbeaks_Ahoy_HD/

Digital Download:
https://www.asl-shop.com/mac/games/adventures-and-role-playing/711/nelly-cootalot-spoonbeaks-ahoy-hd-download

Monsieur OUXX

 


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