How to make the most horrible adventure game ever (or Return to Ringworld)

Alarconte · Fri 06/06/2008 10:22:42

Humpf.
How to start.

Anyone has read Larry Niven's Ringworld?
a tome of wisdom 'bout hard sci-fi adventuring.

Anyone has played Ringword: Vengeance of the Patriarch?
A very enjoyable adventure game.. with one or to very difficult puzzles.
I played it 'bout ten years ago. Ever waiting for his continuation.

er... Anyone has playes Return to ringworld??

HELL. One day i discovered the second part of the game (Return to Ringworld), some months ago, in an abandonware web. I cheer and download it. A days ago, I thouth "hell, go to play it, I don't now hoy i played yet!"

Well...

There's is the problem.

From the begining, playing without a walktrougth is nearby imposible. understable technologic pluzzles with any glues (the items haven't nearby any information to his use). Without saying that normally you have no idea that what you need to do.

after some thrilling conversations and lot of special effects and doblysorround with 3d georgelucasian-cutscenes, finally you get (again) to the famous Ringworld, a "planet" structure with the size of three million of earths (wow) the problem, is that the game seems to make you REALIZE this size.

The first puzzle is to find some spare parts to make a ship fly. Well... In a, maybe, 40x80 screens.

40x80 screens!!

Maybe you don't realize.

40x80 screens!!!!!

70 of that are just the same (a floor), with some debris.
Luck you have a kind of map. But the walk of the characters is SOOOO SLOW.

Ah, and if you chose the wrong character (there's three player characters), for some simply Pickups, you need to change the characters and do the way AGAIN.

Well. You make the puzzle, things get better.

You are now in the rim of the ringworld. Yes, a thousand million miles rim. And you can walk thousands of screens if you don't know how to solve the puzzle adequatly. You need to be a Visionary and know exactly what to do.

But saying it, seems easy.

and the next "puzzle-world" (I've not played more yet); maybe forty 40 screens of a ice-town, essentialy house interiors and boring and repetitive exteriors). Well, Get the main character, and explore, explore, explore, (the useless room thread comes here), Without can pick anything. Later, You see the walktrougth and discover, Oh hell, You may do things with OTHER character, the other character you NEVER use. And who's the hell that say you that?

BFFFFF.... How lot of stress xD

And I love the graphics, I love the computer interactions, I love the "outpost alpha" card minigame with four players...

But the game, as a game, as a commercial game, is the worst I ever seen.

You know the game? know the game with that lot of horrible things? A game that can make you stay in front the screen for hours only viewing repetitive screens?

Oh, hell xD

(I need to say all this xD)

EDIT: Ahh... And the beast's mind (director) is Ken Allen, That I ever have good feeling with he...(King quest..)

Radiant · Fri 06/06/2008 17:44:21

This is Ken Allen.

You're thinking of Ken Williams.

GarageGothic · Sun 08/06/2008 04:44:30

Actually it IS Ken Allen, who was also composer on several late Sierra games and some of the VGA remakes. Not sure why anyone would think a composer made for a good game director though.

I never played the sequel, but considering Alarconte's description, their tagline "The Ultimate Game of Hide and Seek" is pretty funny.

Alarconte · Sun 08/06/2008 05:48:56

Yes, I was talking 'bout the Sierra composer, not the orangutan xD (I ever remember Terry Pratchett's orangutan thinking in orangutans xD)

Nobody have played Return to Ringworld? Is'nt rare xD

Anybody played a commercial adventure game as much annoying as this?

Matti · Sun 08/06/2008 12:31:26

Quote from: Alarconte on Sun 08/06/2008 05:48:56
Anybody played a commercial adventure game as much annoying as this?

This sounds quite annoying:

The Watchmaker

Nacho · Sun 08/06/2008 14:53:41

I abandoned playing "The Dig". I mean, I was stuck, and then I browsed for a walktrhough... and what I needed to do to go on was to push a code of 5 or 6 buttons in order in a keyboard that had like 80 buttons.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/dig/screenshots/gameShotId,111388/

Then I though... *phew* Stupid. I still have no idea if there was a place to find evidences on how to use the alien machine, I probably missed it, but if there wasn't, that spoiled the whole game. The only way to do it (I repeat, unless there was an evidence I missed) was to test and fail like a million times before getting something? That' s not funny. And the first goal of a game is entertain you, IMO.

Matti · Sun 08/06/2008 14:59:01

Quote from: Nacho on Sun 08/06/2008 14:53:41
I abandoned playing "The Dig". I mean, I was stuck, and then I browsed for a walktrhough... and what I needed to do to go on was to push a code of 5 or 6 buttons in order in a keyboard that had like 80 buttons.

Ha, this is exactly where I stopped playing The Dig too. Didn't even make the efford to search for a walkthrough. I hate such senseless puzzles..

Nacho · Sun 08/06/2008 14:59:53

Quote from: matti on Sun 08/06/2008 14:59:01
Quote from: Nacho on Sun 08/06/2008 14:53:41
I abandoned playing "The Dig". I mean, I was stuck, and then I browsed for a walktrhough... and what I needed to do to go on was to push a code of 5 or 6 buttons in order in a keyboard that had like 80 buttons.

Ha, this is exactly where I stopped playing The Dig too. Didn't even make the efford to search for a walkthrough. I hate such senseless puzzles..

Thanks... I though I was the only stoopid who didn' t ended the Dig.

Khris · Sun 08/06/2008 15:24:47

The buttons are left, right, up, down, and grab/release. The sixth one clears the sequence. Plus, you don't have to do it in one go, you can pick up the lens, then replace it in the next go.
Once you get the hang of it, it's a matter of a bit trial and error and like one minute of time. Also, this was IMO the "most annoying" of this absolutely great game's puzzles.

GarageGothic · Sun 08/06/2008 15:41:09

I quite liked that puzzle (programming the robot to retrieve the lens). The basic puzzle was figuring out what the buttons did, once you had done that, the rest was a bit tedious though. First time around, putting your idea of how the machine worked into action was brilliant. On the second playthrough it's quite annoying.

One puzzle that DID stump me, on both my playthroughs of The Dig, was the lightbridges at the spires. I had turned the crystals as they should be, but whenever I clicked the button to activate it, there was a brief sound and nothing happened. I wasted a lot of time walking back and forth and watching tram sequences because I didn't get the bridges activated early in the game. Then, near the point of frustration, I tried holding down the mouse button over the in-game button instead of just clicking, and lo-and-behold a lightbridge extended across the pit - and unless I kept holding down the mouse button until it reached the other side, it would disappear. As far as I know, this is the only time in the game you have to hold-down instead of clicking the buttons. Strangely nobody else seems to have had problems with this as none of the walkthroughs I consulted mention this interface inconsistency.

Nacho · Sun 08/06/2008 16:52:07

True Khris... People gets stuck in different places... I remember solving one (IMO) ultra-difficult puzzle, and some time after that, I knew that a friend of mine was playing that game.

I was willing him to get stuck there, and laugh at him, and being meanie not telling him how to solve it in spite of his pathetic claims... and he made in with a few clicks, not even stopping to think for a second.

Fortunatelly, he finally got stuck in a place I passed without thinking, which was good for boosting my self confidence after the first event.

jetxl · Mon 09/06/2008 12:39:44

I still say that you have to be a bit of a masochist to enjoy a Sierra game. Watch.

Quote from: Nacho on Sun 08/06/2008 14:53:41
I abandoned playing "The Dig". I mean, I was stuck, and then I browsed for a walktrhough... and what I needed to do to go on was to push a code of 5 or 6 buttons in order in a keyboard that had like 80 buttons.
http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/dig/screenshots/gameShotId,111388/

Castle of dr. Brain had a simular puzzle but here the puzzle was explained. I think giving good hints within an adventure game will make players enjoy themself more. That and common logic.

miguel · Wed 11/06/2008 13:53:22

That was funny Jetxl,
the graphics for KQ5 are still great though.

JpSoft · Fri 13/06/2008 12:40:55

Quote from: GarageGothic on Sun 08/06/2008 15:41:09
One puzzle that DID stump me, on both my playthroughs of The Dig, was the lightbridges at the spires. I had turned the crystals as they should be, but whenever I clicked the button to activate it, there was a brief sound and nothing happened. I wasted a lot of time walking back and forth and watching tram sequences because I didn't get the bridges activated early in the game. Then, near the point of frustration, I tried holding down the mouse button over the in-game button instead of just clicking, and lo-and-behold a lightbridge extended across the pit - and unless I kept holding down the mouse button until it reached the other side, it would disappear. As far as I know, this is the only time in the game you have to hold-down instead of clicking the buttons. Strangely nobody else seems to have had problems with this as none of the walkthroughs I consulted mention this interface inconsistency.

I remember i had this same trouble

Its really funny to FINALLY know that i was not the only one...

jp