Blackwell Epiphany

dactylopus · Sat 26/04/2014 05:27:35

Congratulations on the release, it looks beautiful!

I should probably start at the beginning and work my way to this one. I bet it will be a while before the whole collection comes bundled together, though.

selmiak · Sat 26/04/2014 08:35:15

Quote from: dactylopus on Sat 26/04/2014 05:27:35
Congratulations on the release, it looks beautiful!

I should probably start at the beginning and work my way to this one. I bet it will be a while before the whole collection comes bundled together, though.

My thoughs exactly, but I guess I'll just wait for a complete collectors edition bundle or so and now avoid this thread to not get spoilered

GarageGothic · Sun 27/04/2014 08:50:15

Amazing game! Played through twice, once with commentary. It's sad to see the Blackwell series over, but it was a rewarding finish. Great work, Dave!

thomasregin · Sun 27/04/2014 18:51:13

Quote from: jwalt on Fri 25/04/2014 19:45:12
You might want to take a listen to the music track in the gym. I'm getting a tick-tick-tick-tick sound when it loops, at least on my system. It might even be intentional, a part of the track. Music throughout the whole series has been really good.

Thanks for the kind words, Jwalt. None of the tracks on the soundtrack are supposed to loop. All looping tracks from the game have been edited to include two whole iterations on the soundtrack and then they're fading out. I know that there are a few minor cracks on a few of the songs on the soundtrack (not in the actual game), because I was in a slight hurry to compile the 34 original songs and made a some minor mistakes here and there. If Dave's up for it, I may re-edit those and submit a "patch". :-)

Thomas.

jwalt · Sun 27/04/2014 19:29:51

Quote from: thomasregin on Sun 27/04/2014 18:51:13

Thanks for the kind words, Jwalt. None of the tracks on the soundtrack are supposed to loop. All looping tracks from the game have been edited to include two whole iterations on the soundtrack and then they're fading out. I know that there are a few minor cracks on a few of the songs on the soundtrack (not in the actual game), because I was in a slight hurry to compile the 34 original songs and made a some minor mistakes here and there. If Dave's up for it, I may re-edit those and submit a "patch". :-)

Thomas.

It isn't worth worrying about. It's a segment of eight or so "ticks," and may well be what you intended. It just sounded out of place, and I thought something might be up when the basic tune returned. That's why I thought it might be looping. I have a copy of Jamie's song on my desktop and listen to it quite often.

It was perfect for that scene/place.

Blackthorne · Mon 28/04/2014 14:23:36

My congrats to Dave, Janet, Ben and the whole crew... it's been a journey with these games. I mean, I know I can trace my own life back through this series, and it's been amazing. It's a beautiful, amazing, wonderful and engaging game - and I can't wait to beat it! I've only managed to get in a half hour here, half hour there, but I love it - and it's certainly inspiring as a fellow game maker.

Actually, it's a great reminder of where AGS (both games and the community) have been and where they are now and where they'll go in the future. Some of us have been here for a good chunk of our adult lives, and there is a certain kind of magic, and warm memories attached to games like this. Well, sappy blabbering done for now. Can't wait to see what the future brings for you at WadjetEye.

Bt

m0ds · Tue 29/04/2014 08:27:39

Congrats Dave and team! Kudos for undertaking all that development... I totally see now that developing duties and publishing duties in the same time space do not mix well. I'm sure B.E. will be a success!

Snarky · Fri 02/05/2014 18:01:21

So I played the final Blackwell game. Great job, Dave & Co.!

The earlier games were fine, but in this one all the elements really seem to come together into one great package. Very satisfying to see the series realize its full potential. I also appreciated that you got back to some of the darker elements of the original concept, with Bestowing having driven the earlier Blackwell women mad, etc. We finally get payoff on and explanations for things you set up in "Bestowers of Eternity" 11 years ago! (Since I didn't replay the earlier games, there were a lot of things I only remembered very vaguely, particularly with regards to the various series villains, or what happened with Madeline in previous games.)

Could you (or anyone who has a clear idea) comment on the timeline? I know some of the games take place closer in time than the gap between their releases, but Blackwell Epiphany is apparently set this past winter (amazing how you predicted the Polar Vortex!

), so does that mean that Rosa and Joey have been doing this thing for eight years? Or is this "comic book time" where you continually fudge past dates so that the story always takes place around the near present?

I experienced a few smaller bugs:

Spoiler

There's a game-logic bug around finding out Maggie Fielding's identity. Long before I ever ran into her, I tried combining Peter Fielding and the Karth house list clues, giving me her name as a possible relative of Peter's. Then when I first knock on her door, "Maggie?" comes pre-populated as a possible option, and choosing it gives a conversation that assumes we've talked before.

Only later on did I send in Joey to snoop, finding the paper with her case file number. But by this time the Karth house clue has disappeared, and there's nothing to combine the file number with. You're stuck with it for as long as you have your phone. Dialogue around it, e.g. discussing the clue with Joey, assumes you don't know who she is, even though she's already told you.

It's not game-breaking or anything, but it makes the whole interaction illogical and pretty confusing.

Also, when Madeline is stuck on the other side after Contis leaves, the whole screen darkens except for one particular square section around where the portal was, which stays bright.

And if you're fixing cosmetic things, it would also be nice if you could make sure Rosa's reflection in the floor of the lobby below Ostin's apartment disappears when the elevator doors close (presumably the easiest way to go about this would be to have the doors cast a reflection as well).

[close]

faerieevenstar · Thu 15/05/2014 22:34:14

I actually cried when I finished it and am playing them all from the start again.. *whimper* It was a beautiful ending, and though a part of me didn't want it to ever end at all, but it was a beautiful finish, and it had to end while it was still awesome. I have been mourning the loss of the series ever since though...

Dave Gilbert · Sat 17/05/2014 17:51:45

Hi everyone! We've been on vacation so I haven't kept up-to-date with this thread as much as I would like. So happy you all have been enjoying it! (mourning and crying nonwithstanding)

-Dave

Snarky · Sat 17/05/2014 21:41:18

Quote from: Dave Gilbert on Sat 17/05/2014 17:51:45
Hi everyone! We've been on vacation so I haven't kept up-to-date with this thread as much as I would like.

That's OK. Only, since you weren't posting, we all decided to pirate the game. It's only fair, right?

faerieevenstar · Tue 20/05/2014 17:15:44

Quote from: Dave Gilbert on Sat 17/05/2014 17:51:45
Hi everyone! We've been on vacation so I haven't kept up-to-date with this thread as much as I would like. So happy you all have been enjoying it! (mourning and crying nonwithstanding)

-Dave

Hah I'm just such a goth. *clamps hand to forehead dramatically* I have enjoyed all the games so much, it's just the same as that feeling when you finish a really good book and you realise you can't read it any more because there IS no more, so you just start again! It's a sign that you got me truly emotionally involved with the characters, and I cared what happened- that's a GOOD THING (I think!!)

I can't wait to see what you'll come up with next

Dave Gilbert · Fri 20/06/2014 22:13:59

Quote from: faerieevenstar on Tue 20/05/2014 17:15:44
I can't wait to see what you'll come up with next

Heh. Neither can I!

We're publishing two other games next (Grundislav's "A Golden Wake" and Technocrat's "Technobabylon") but I'll be working on my own thing in the interim. What that will be yet, I am not sure!

CaptainD · Sat 21/06/2014 11:10:23

Quote from: Dave Gilbert on Fri 20/06/2014 22:13:59
Quote from: faerieevenstar on Tue 20/05/2014 17:15:44
I can't wait to see what you'll come up with next
I'll be working on my own thing in the interim. What that will be yet, I am not sure!

Altogether now...

Purity of the Surf 2!

Crimson Wizard · Tue 24/06/2014 00:06:54

Quote from: Snarky on Fri 02/05/2014 18:01:21
I experienced a few smaller bugs:
Spoiler

Also, when Madeline is stuck on the other side after Contis leaves, the whole screen darkens except for one particular square section around where the portal was, which stays bright.
[close]

This was also reported as an issue in AGS repository (see my comment below):
https://github.com/adventuregamestudio/ags/issues/159

Basically, there's some difference in how software and hardware gfx drivers handle this fading. Maybe there is a way to script the way around this.
It's not a big problem for Windows, where you can use Direct3D9, but AGS linux ports do not have any other drivers except for software one yet (just a note).

AndyfromVA · Tue 24/06/2014 14:45:12

I loved the entire series and I found the ending satisfying, in a complicated, real-life sort of way (if anything involving the supernatural can be considered real-life). For your next series you may want to ditch the supernatural stuff and focus on human relationships - maybe a love story/mystery combination? Oh and please continue having Ben Chandler do the art - his work looks like an impressionistic painting.

ThreeOhFour · Wed 25/06/2014 07:20:33

I now work for Dave full time, so that is extremely likely (thank you).

arj0n · Wed 25/06/2014 22:11:58

Good news ben. Your artwork is, as always, top notch.

ThreeOhFour · Thu 26/06/2014 02:17:22

Thanks Arjon.

Mandle · Sun 06/07/2014 17:21:31

Just finished the whole series and I just have to say that I'm so glad I spent 40+ hours or whatever I did on the Blackwell saga instead of watching 20+ Hollywood movies...

The story was much better than what passes for a story in Hollywood these days...

But! NEVER let Hollywood get their hands on this gem of a story!!!

They already tried something similar with R.I.P.D. and it sucked!!!

Unless you're strapped for cash of course and they offer you a couple mil...Then you guys at Wadget can keep bestowing upon us this kind of quality for eternity...

Blackwell Epiphany

m0ds