The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Remake(RELEASED)

[Dualnames]

Here's the updated version:

http://dualnames.diinoweb.com/files/DN%20Games/HHGTG%20Demo/hhgtgDemovL.rar


That's the final result of the demo. Woot for that. Hopefully.

[Dualnames]

UPDATE--
It's been sort of a while, I've been working a lot. Not only on the game. Anyway, I've updated the demo, fixed a bug and also must say that we're almost there.

However, not before the tenth of august*that's when I leave for vac*
Anyway.. New Pollc of the day.

Guide-
Concerning the Hitchhiker's Guide To the Galaxy(the GUI), there's a matter, which one do you think as a better way to select entries:
Entries(as a list box),or a parser(text box) or both?

I go for both.
Kevin considers parser as more challenging.

[robvalue]

I vote for both.

[Ghost]

I vote for both.

Me too, and I further suggest that you can enter things into the text parser that yield results, but are not in the listbox. So that, say, you could enter DualNames into the text parser and get a "hidden entry"- the Guide makers are a sloppy bunch after all, and even Ford occasionally found stuff missing or turnig up out of nowhere.

[yukonhorror]

I like the hidden things.  Especially for certain key entries.  Once you put it in the search engine, it is always on the list, but I like it.  AND/OR entries get added to the list with time.  Either they are added at key points in the game or they appear after one hour of play (or until searched for). 

[flicky1991]

Yeah, I really like that idea! And you could hide entries related to other Adams stuff, too, like Dirk Gently!

[Dualnames]

Well, some entries require certain things to be done in order to see them.. anyway, we stick to what you want folks.. I will actually create a HUGE. I mean HUGE pdf file containing cool stuff and things. HUGE=HUGE. I wanted to put an AGS thing but Chris didn't reply to my topic.. 

[Dualnames]

Notes--
I'm off for vacations. Game's finished. We lack beta testing and some sorting of things..

[Dualnames]

Ok, I'm back from vacations. Read a couple of books while i was there. So anyway, here's a trailer/teaser for the game. Maybe not that good but well..

http://s133.photobucket.com/albums/q53/JustLedZep/?action=view&current=H2G2Trailer.flv

[cat]

Hi!

Just some feedback on the trailer:
I like the music and the texts, the pacing is done very well, BUT:
the ingame screenshots are WAY to fast. It is hard to see anything. I think you should focus on some scenes, dialogs whatever and show each one for atleast 3-5 seconds. Choose some lines that are typical for the main and NP characters so the person that watches the trailer gets into the mood of the game and wants to play it.

[yukonhorror]

also on the trailer

During one of the cut phrases, "for its time ..."  The grammar on that one looked funny.  Don't remember what was wrong with it though. 

But I think a fun one to add would be "and above all ..." cut scenes "DON'T PANIC!" then one of the cutscenes with an explosion

[Dualnames]

UPDATE-
I updated the demo. Damn, it was way off date. Ford was even black..

Demo Here

Anyway also check our progress here.
http://ledzepforever.googlepages.com/Readme.txt

As for the trailer, I think to a rating of 10 that would be a 3-4. I made it four weeks ago and decided to upload since I had no time to go and make a new one.

[Jared]

After playing the 'old' demo this afternoon (surprising because I didn't even know I'd downloaded it..) I.. have to say I'm not sure about what the idea of this project is. I mean, I gather it's meant to be an 'updating' of Infocom's text adventure, but when the game remains as apparently unchanged as this it becomes a bit counter-intuitive. From what I played the only 'new' dialogue was straight from the book (well, and probably the radio play which we didn't get here in Oz..) and having an unseen narrator explain what everything was to me while Arthur trundled about like a mute automaton was quite a blatant hang-over from the text version.

So.. not wanting to sound rude... I have to ask what is being added to the game in this update? Because, at the moment, it seems to be all about the text, which is all there in the original vesion anyway and in a more accessible format.

[yukonhorror]

After playing the 'old' demo this afternoon (surprising because I didn't even know I'd downloaded it..) I.. have to say I'm not sure about what the idea of this project is. I mean, I gather it's meant to be an 'updating' of Infocom's text adventure, but when the game remains as apparently unchanged as this it becomes a bit counter-intuitive. From what I played the only 'new' dialogue was straight from the book (well, and probably the radio play which we didn't get here in Oz..) and having an unseen narrator explain what everything was to me while Arthur trundled about like a mute automaton was quite a blatant hang-over from the text version.

So.. not wanting to sound rude... I have to ask what is being added to the game in this update? Because, at the moment, it seems to be all about the text, which is all there in the original vesion anyway and in a more accessible format.

To give visuals to the original, mainly.  Someone new to adventure games may be a little strayed from the original text-based game, but may be more inclined to play something a little more visual and "interactive."  I understand the text-based is more interactive because of its possibilities, but to a newby, it may not feel interactive. 

The other thing we "added" was a sense of timing.  Instead of 50 turns to get off of the earth, you literally have 12 minutes, for example. 

We are not really trying to do a lot of "new" stuff to the game in order to preserve its original awesomeness.  Also, I don't consider this an update, but a remake.  I hope that answers your questions. 

Finally, there are bits we had to add to the game in order to make the transition from text to point-and-click smoother.  I.e. the poetry reading scene.

So, try out the game and if you don't like it, go to the BBC radio 4 site and play the text based game.

[Dualnames]

After playing the 'old' demo this afternoon (surprising because I didn't even know I'd downloaded it..) I.. have to say I'm not sure about what the idea of this project is. I mean, I gather it's meant to be an 'updating' of Infocom's text adventure, but when the game remains as apparently unchanged as this it becomes a bit counter-intuitive. From what I played the only 'new' dialogue was straight from the book (well, and probably the radio play which we didn't get here in Oz..) and having an unseen narrator explain what everything was to me while Arthur trundled about like a mute automaton was quite a blatant hang-over from the text version.

So.. not wanting to sound rude... I have to ask what is being added to the game in this update? Because, at the moment, it seems to be all about the text, which is all there in the original vesion anyway and in a more accessible format.

Well, I'm having a section in a readme answering a question like that, which I completed writing today. That's a coincidence.

The narrator might not be what you expected, but it's seen(yep it's the GUIDE animating).
The idea of this project is first:
-To achieve remaking one of the best text-based adventure games into a graphical point and click.
-Have a pangalactic gargle blaster after.

What we've accomplished and not accomplished so far.
-First the main difficulty is that things in the text based happening turn-based. We've made that into realtime(game contains 198 realtime events).
-Secondly, what sort of bothered me was how to turn an easy to use text based interface into a graphical. Problems were that in the text based, you could drop items,have limit to what you could carry(containers). Concerning drop items, I have to create 48 characters(one per inventory).
-Thirdly as for the content, barely some remakes have changed anything at all from the original except for the visual. Example QF2 has changed graphics and battle system(that caused complains and cheers). We changed the difficulty of the game. Actually the original game is considered quite hard/medium but turns usually don;t cause you any trouble, in our game, as game progresses you will have to do things fast. REALLY FAST. When the missiles come there's no time for delay. I usually lose when I test then replay it and do it very fast. We also added AUTOSAVE feature, a save game position in case you mess up. And a custom slots feature to allow easier grab of items. Also we have the GUIDE. And you can see a whole bunch of animations which you couldn;t. We also have cool death scenes.

Mostly since its a remake not many things have changed. At least not many things from the core. But come to think of it some things we considered as not so good are removed. I'm a fan myself and several answers are written based on neither the books nor the film/series.
As for Arthur being a muted automaton.. we haven't yet added speech.As for what comes in and what goes out.

http://ledzepforever.googlepages.com/Readme.txt

I'm really not hostile and if you have any ideas of what we really should implement really do hit us. I mean it.

[Jared]

I'm really not hostile and if you have any ideas of what we really should implement really do hit us. I mean it.

Well... the thing is just that the adaptation seems too straight to me. It brings with it a lot of the foibles of the text adventure in spite of the fact that it's a graphic adventure.

What I meant about Arthur being a mute automaton was the fact that he wanders around doing your bidding with no semblence of a personality until the brief Prosser scene, also the only time that I saw him say anything. In the meantime we have the Guide yabbering on about 'You' constantly.

In the text adventure the character of Arthur doesn't really exist as such because the player subsumes his role rather than truly playing it - and this works in a text adventure because it really is all about you doing things in the first person. But graphical adventures have traditionally placed a greater emphasis on the player character's personality and it seems something of a waste not to use this when the main character is somebody with as much personality as Arthur Dent.

Similarly, the puzzles have been designed to be solved with a text parser. It's very easy to type 'wear dressing gown' and 'look in pockets', but consideribly less intuitive to use dressing gown, scroll through your inventory, select dressing gown, use the gown on yourself, re-open the inventory, and look at the dressing gown.

It isn't a matter of anything in particular I want to be added into the game - I just think that you need to bear in mind the differences between a graphical adventure game and a text adventure, and not be afraid to change things to this end.

[Dualnames]

I really yes agree that Arthur speaks little. That's why we had that footnotes poll here. And yes, it's easier with the text parser since the original text parser was actually very understanding to what you said. I'm trying to fit an interface into the game insted of trying to fit a game into an interface. Which actually sort of explains the prons and cons.

EDIT: However, I think it's better to create an interface based on the game than just recreate the game based on the interface. Also thanks for your comments I'll try and refigure some things. Like changing the mouse controls from left click opening action gui and right click opening inventory to left click running use interaction and right click examine but that would create more things. I'm short of satisfied with the controls as they are. Not totally and I'm not bored to change things, but at least for the interactions we're set. I use to have a get rid of button that would make you lose an item without alllowing you to pick it up, but I decided to change that.

EDIT2: Maybe I'm thinking like changing the buttons text at the inventory, for each action. Example USE on Gown, searchs it so we could go and change the button as search.

[yukonhorror]

What I meant about Arthur being a mute automaton was the fact that he wanders around doing your bidding with no semblence of a personality until the brief Prosser scene, also the only time that I saw him say anything. In the meantime we have the Guide yabbering on about 'You' constantly.

If you think about games like King's Quest, it wasn't any different.  The narrator would say you, and the character would do what you asked it to.  And in the text version, there really wasn't any personality in any format.  There was minimal dialogue amongst the characters, and I am just speaking for myself, but dialogue is probably my weakest point with respect to story-telling. 

From my perspective, you should put yourself in the place of the man/woman on the screen, and ask yourself what you would do.  Short of making the game in the first-person, I don't understand how you think we should be altering the game. 

[Dualnames]

Long time no see. Well, it has been quite a long 3 weeks, my computer went on an update and it was a true odyseey to get it back. In the meantime, working on my brother's computer, I managed to do some needed and drastic changes, those can be found here:

Update LOG

However, I'll talk about the one's you might wanna hear about. First I deblured and de-photoshoped many sprites and all GUIs. That means a more clear interface for you.
Then I changed save system from 3 slots to 50. Also changed interaction GUI's and now they also stay on screen if you click anywhere near the edges of the screen. I tiped most dead-ends, that is if you're playing on normal level of difficulty(yes, you can play into two level of difficulty, Hardcore and Normal. Also added legend of kyrandia interface based on dropping items(you can drop any item, and then pick it up), Also added label to GUI's and inventory buttons so that means you'll get to know what to do. Example if you have a fruit you'll be able to eat it instead of guessing that use goes for eating. Added Narrator(Slartibartfast). Added ability to skip any dark sequences by pressing Ctrl +p. Also now if you don't gather all tools you can still finish the game. I also added a lot of videos and intro.(a small one). Also added smart text parser for dialog with Ford on Earth. He actually can understand a lot of things. Now scenarios actually force player to pass them, so they really target trial and error strategy. This it is also more clear whether you've beat a scenario or not.

[Dualnames]

Well, time for an update:

First I'm posting the link to our youtube channel where you can see behind-scenes videos i'll upload from times to times:
So go HERE.

We also got a website here.

Secondly it appears that well we've come to a halt. Nothing permanent, but well, Kevin is really busy for a month now, and my university is taking a great deal of time from me. I've been trying to find a good midi song version of the HHGTG but I really can't. Google keeps sending me to a crappy one or the mp3 file of the Journey of The Sorcerer.

As for what's changed since the last log, oh well, I've changed the cursor..so it can be more precise. Thanks to Jared post, well which most of us minterpreted I added as many dialog lines to Arthur as I could adding the same time, the ability to turn him back into a mute automaton any time you wish...anyway, that's up for now.