See the bottom of the post for info and link to the demo!
(http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g268/duckbutcher/atitle.jpg)
"It's hard not to believe in the Gods when they float over your head in a palace of blue crystal..."
In the far-off magical land of Raithe, Eric Moufflon is a simple Latherham farmhand with dreams. He's got a silly name, a big nose and he's scared of cows. But he gets more than he bargained for when he sets off on the road to great adventure.
Raithe is a complex, God fearing world, a world in which science and technology are shunned and those who support these new additions to Raithe's strictly magic-driven theology are looked on as fringe fanatics. Eric will have to contend with these conflicts. But if that sounds too heavy, he'll also have to contend with carnivourous vegetables, sadistic shopkeepers, buffet-obsessed sailors and spider-librarians.
Inbetween lying to his Adventurer's Club Contact about a) his physical prowess (he doesn't have any) and b) the size of his sword (he left it at home because he thought someone might steal it), Eric must wander around the countryside picking up lots of improbable but oddly useful items while learning some valuable lessons about faith, friendship, fun and flapjacks, and just WHY no one ever put a projectile weapon in an adventure game.
And finally, perhaps he will discover the secret reality behind his world...the secrets contained within the mysterious Apostolic Megalith, a gigantic floating prism of pure crystal which is said to house the Gods themselves...
(http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g268/duckbutcher/awmap.jpg)
(http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g268/duckbutcher/awell.jpg)
(http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g268/duckbutcher/alobby.jpg)
OK, here's a new game. Sort of. It's going to be an episodic thing, and the first part has the tentative release date of August 7th. I'm on summer holidays at the moment though, so with more time on my hands it may come out sooner, it depends....
Eric and the Apostolic Megalith is sort of a love letter to the games I loved playing when I was younger...Monkey Island, Simon the Sorceror, Final Fantasy....while I wouldn't say there are any "homages" in there (read rip-offs), hopefully the game itself will offer similar feelings to those games which inspired it. Puzzle-wise, I've tried to capture the surreal-yet-makes-perfect-sense attitude of some of the best MI puzzles. Time will tell whether I got it right or not! Watch this space for updates, as ever....!
Progress:
Graphics = 90%
Story = 100%
Programming = 75%
Estimated completion date = Jan 2010.
Features:
*Classic SCUMM style interface
* Real-Time Sub-Games
* Fancy Cartoon interludes.
* Ludicrous slapstick routines.
* Pretentious back story, subtly offset by wacky humour...
* Talking vegetables.
* 95% non-ripped graphics.
* Soundtrack from obscure 1980s cartoon classic "The Mysterious Cities Of Gold"...if I can get away with it...
EDIT 20th Aug. Well, I missed that release date, largely due to moving house and celebrating my 30th, but the game should be seeing light of day in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, here's a new screenie....
(http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g268/duckbutcher/battle-1.jpg)
EDIT JAN 25th
I've actually had the demo lying around for a while, but haven't quite got round to uploading it until now. Anyhow, here it is. It comprises part one of the game. I'm mired under a lot of Uni work at the moment, so I probably won't start working on the rest of the game until April at the earliest, so make it last!
http://www.filefront.com/user/duckbutcher
As always, feedback is welcome. Cheers!
This looks yummy!
Best of luck for the release (a soon one please).
Everything looks great!
This sounds very adventurous and somewhat epic (not the "LOL EPIC!!!1" kind). The visuals are very good! I'm getting good vibes from this one.
Good job so far and good luck with the rest of it!
Your game seems very promising!! The style is great, and I love the map (remembers the SNES rpg maps). I suppose there is some Simon the sorcerer inspiration too.
Luck with you game! Waiting to know more info about and see more screens!
;)
The screens look very professional in the style of the old days. Like a rediscovered gem from 15 years ago.
This looks like a fun romp. If you ever need a tester, I'm your gal. :)
Wow, I'm lovin' the graphics - very retro. A+
You kind of beat around the bush as to what the game is actually about, but once you got to it, I like the sound of it.
Looking forward!
Ooooh man, this looks like an awesome game!
Is there any battling?
Ah, I was about to say "Ah well, what noob ripped those gorgeous graphics, but then I saw 'Duckbutcher'", and that explained it all. Really smashing looking game there!!
Snake - I've re-jigged the main post a little, hopefully it now gives a bit more info.
Swordofkings - It was my intention early on to put in a basic FF style turn based battle system for the world map. I disregarded it early on as it might have been over-egging the pudding a bit, plus, it'd be a brainache to program. It's an interesting idea though, as I think I've yet to see a graphic adventure with an RPG battle system...
Dualnames - Ha, thanks for the vote of confidence! If I am being brutally honest (which I am), despite the fact that there ARE one or two little graphical rips rips in the game, It's 95% my own work...! Honest, guv. The textures on the walls and the trees etc in the screenshots, all painstakingly done by me!
Thanks, Duckbuther! I like it a lot better now :)
Can't wait 'till August! And again - those graphics slap the cat's ass.
Just bunged a new screenie and an update in the first post. I've missed the release date, but the game will hopefully surface in the next couple of weeks...!
Looking good. But please don't use jpgs. They make the images look blurry and there are much better formats around - like pngs.
Quote from: Duckbutcher on Sun 21/06/2009 16:25:41
* Soundtrack from obscure 1980s cartoon classic "The Mysterious Cities Of Gold"...if I can get away with it...
How can a classic be obscure? Everyone knows that soundtrack. Unless you are thinking of the Japanese version of this anime which had completely different music, but not particularly memorable.
Quote from: Ascovel on Sun 23/08/2009 02:39:26
Quote from: Duckbutcher on Sun 21/06/2009 16:25:41
* Soundtrack from obscure 1980s cartoon classic "The Mysterious Cities Of Gold"...if I can get away with it...
How can a classic be obscure? Everyone knows that soundtrack. Unless you are thinking of the Japanese version of this anime which had completely different music, but not particularly memorable.
Really? I don't think everyone knows that soundtrack or the show at all! It's pretty obscure. Like Ulysses 31 was obscure, or Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors. Everyone of a certain age knows the Transformers theme song, for example, but I think those same people would be hard pressed to remember the two I just mentioned. I'm talking about people in general, not just the type of people such as you and I who hang around internet forums. We could ask for a show of hands if you like but that might be descending further into pedantry.
Nevertheless, I really like the soundtrack and hope others do too so I've used some of it in the game.
It seems to me this anime was very popular in Europe and is remembered there quite a bit like Transformers in the USA.
Anyway, this is not a criticism of your choice of music. The soundtrack of The Mysterious Cities Of Gold is truly amazing (if not a bit 80s), perfect for epic, escapist stories and it seems to me to fit very well the screenshots you have posted.
F YEAH! My hopes were up just from seeing the name 'Duckbutcher', then I actually clicked and - wow. The screenshots and description way exceeded any expectations. I have to say that there wasn't anything I was particularly looking forward to until just now. August 7th can't come quick enough. ;) I get the distinct vibe that you like the episode format, as well, between this and Doctor Who..
Incidentally, I have heard of The Cities of Gold.. but only when referred to as 'an obscure 80s kid's show'. No idea what it was about. It's definitely not at Transformers or Speed Racer sort of level.
Quote from: Jared on Sun 23/08/2009 13:48:19
It's definitely not at Transformers or Speed Racer sort of level.
It really all depends on where are you from and how old are you. For example, I fondly remember Transformers and Cities of Gold from my childhood, but barely heard of Speed Racer before the Wachowski's movie. I'm particularly impressed by Italy - they still have toys, t-shirts, DVDs for dozens of classic 80s anime just about everywhere. If only AGS was as "obscure" as those.
Wow, that looks good - and it seems it will be released soon. Talk about pleasant surprises! :D
As for Cities of Gold, I am from Austria and have never heard from it. Though we definitely have our share of "obscure" 80s animes that are firm part of our pop culture.
Looks great! Not a personal fan of games set in the past but this could spell a lot of fun, so best of luck.
Just a quick bump....I need a couple of beta testers to give the game a test drive. PM me if interested...!
Just to clarify, it's not the full game, just the demo, or Part One. The full game is still some time off yet...
Well, it's been a while, but it's time to unleash this beast upon an unsuspecting public.
I've actually had the demo lying around for a while, but haven't quite got round to uploading it until now. Anyhow, here it is. It comprises part one of the game. I'm mired under a lot of Uni work at the moment, so I probably won't start working on the rest of the game until April at the earliest, so make it last!
http://www.filefront.com/user/duckbutcher
As always, feedback is welcome. Cheers!
If that's a joke you die!!
:D
Excellent atmosphere of adventure and funny dialogs. Also, the music from the Cities of Gold is great as ever. I'm going to play more tomorrow.
Haha, I used to love Cities of Gold as a kid.. And I played the demo for a bit, and I enjoyed it :)
I'm loving the demo...love it even more with a walkthru, heh ;)
Seriously, the graphics are great, love the look of the inn, and the Green Man cracks me up!
Very promising, looks to be a winner.
Demo was good as well, and it really made me want more of the game.
Hope to see the release ASAP.
I've tried to play this game, but my mouse cursor keeps disappearing. It started in the intromenu,but then smoehow my mouse appeared again, so I could click the start game-button, then when I got off the opost coach, the cursor was gone again. I'm now sticking to 64/x//400 windowed.
I was running it at 640x400, full screen (my PC can't do 320x200 FS)
Oh and I've found a bug with the savegame-dialog parchment: the text I'm typing appears in a strange place (see blue arrows):
(http://195.241.185.14/EricSavegameError.PNG)
Never use 640x400 mode, run it with a 2x filter. That should usually fix it.
I've had a look at the savegame issue, and it'll be sorted in the final game. Not sure how it slipped through the net! Ah well.
I'm also aware of the dialogue problem whereby if there's too many dialogue options, the bottom one tends to get cut off at the bottom of the screen. I'm working on that too.
If anyone finds anything else, let me know!
I talked to the shopkeeper, and after ending the dialog, there's the scene where he starts laughing like crazy. I tried to skip it to see more of the demo (being already late for work at the time) and the game hung badly.
I could move the mouse, the background music was still playing, but nothing else worked, no key presses, no clicks, nothing.
(Btw, your screenshots are jpgs which really ruins the great graphics. Use png instead.)
This is the type of game I love, and that makes me love AGS. I love the feeling that I have somehow uncovered an unheard-of gem from circa 1992 and playing through it for the first time and this game is giving me this in spades. I've only just got started I'm afraid, so no bug notices or anything like that. But this is right up there with your Doctor Who game and Cirque Du Zale in nowstalgia stakes.
Looking forward to the full version, natch.
Duck, I found the demo to be really good. The graphics and music are top-notch! It has this total retro feel to it! Well, done!