Woodlands - Updated (2008-01-23)

[fovmester]

I'm taking a break from Frank the Farmhand. Instead I'm doing a more fable-like game called Woodlands. Here's a short introduction:




In a distant corner of the world, where no man has ever gone, lies an old and great forest. It is a magical place tended to by nirils;.the forest spirits. The nirils are ruled by Nergal, the most beautiful and powerful of the spirits. It is because of Nergal that the woodlands are free of the nasty creatures that roam the rest of the world. It is because of Nergal the creatures of the forest can lead their lives in peace, unknowing and happy. Until now that is.

Because Nergal has suddenly disappeared. And without the blessed powers of the spirit, evil is seeping into the forest. The inhabitants are starting to argue, plot against eachother and steal. And a man has appeared in the woodlands. A short man with nasty creatures in tow. And he is threatening the woodlanders demanding gold and other valuables in return for his protection.

You are Tom, a solitary creature who lives in the outskirts of the forest. When the mysterious man comes to demand payment, Tom refuses and the man responds by burning Tom's house to the ground. Furious, Tom swears to rid the woodlands of the intruder and get his revenge...


Downlad the demo here!! --> http://www.fovmester.se

And here are some screenshots:









Updates:
2008-01-23: Life sign

2007-11-01: Progress report

2007-07-10: Progress report

2007-03-04: New screenshot

2007-02-25: Progress report.

2006-09-20: Progress report and new screenshot.

2006-08-02: Progress report and new screenshot.

2006-06-16: Progress report.

2006-05-23: Progress report and new screenshot.

2006-04-12: Progress report and new screenshot.

2006-03-04: Progress report and new screenshot.

2006-02-12: Progress report.

2005-12-08: New Screenshots and progress report.

2005-09-29: Progress report.

2005-09-06: New character-graphics in a reply

2005-08-18: New screenshot in a reply




Progress:

Story: 99 %

Graphics: 90 %

   1. Backgrounds: 4 left
   2. Cut-scenes: 2 left

Sound and Music: 80 %

Animation: 80 %



More info and status reports can be found on my homepage.

http://www.fovmester.se

[hedgefield]

Wow, that's looking really good! I love those backgrounds, and the characters are great. It's always nice do do something else entirely, and it sounds like fun to me.

[Pod]

Wow. I saw the first image, smiled and though "whoa!". The expression on his face is great. Reminds me a bit of Max from Sam 'n' Max.

By the way, the dancer's legs don't look too atanomically correct :O

[ildu]

I love it. The colours of the bgs just stand out so great. What resolution is this in?

[Ozzie]

Whoa!
I just realized that you're graphical skills are so much better now. It's a huge difference of quality when I compare them with backgrounds of Frank The Farmhand 1 and even 2!
I'm excited about this game, I hope it will grab me more than Frank!

[Mats Berglinn]

Very nice and interesting. I think I'm going to look foward for this one. Keep on going!

[fovmester]

Thank you everyone!! It's so nice to hear there are others that are interested in what I'm doing!

Whoa!
I just realized that you're graphical skills are so much better now. It's a huge difference of quality when I compare them with backgrounds of Frank The Farmhand 1 and even 2!
I'm excited about this game, I hope it will grab me more than Frank!

Thanks very much! I've worked a lot with both the story and the puzzles so I hope it'll pay off.

I love it. The colours of the bgs just stand out so great. What resolution is this in?

It's in 640 x 480 pixels. 32 bit of course. I figured most people have good enough computers nowadays to make the game look as nice as I can make it. Which will hopefully mean lots of details and transparency effects

By the way, the dancer's legs don't look too atanomically correct :O

I agree, but trust me it looks better when in motion.

[What a loser.]

Yeah, your graphic skills have improved, just one thing I'd like to point out is the bright 'solid' colour of the lamps look a bit iffy, you should try and shade the lambs to it suits the whole background.  Other than that little thing,  you're art is fab! 

[fovmester]

I guess I shouldn't get into this kind of discussion here, but I'll do it anyway and hope I get away with it:

I agree that the lamps look sort of out of place. But to shade them? They're supposed to be made of really thin coloured paper that light can shine through, so I'm not sure there would BE any shadows in reality. Does anyone have an idea how to make the lamps fit in more but still look like they shine?

[ildu]

Make 'em lighter in colour and less saturated. Also, you could make them just a tad transparent.

Why must they all be from the same sprite. It would look much better if there was some variation.

[Mats Berglinn]

I wonder, what kind of interface will you be using for this one since there are no visible interface apart from the mouse cursor. It doesn't seem to be the SCUMM Verb Box Interface you used for Frank the Farmhand, so what interface are you going to use?

[Gilbert]

I wonder, what kind of interface will you be using for this one since there are no visible interface apart from the mouse cursor. It doesn't seem to be the SCUMM Verb Box Interface you used for Frank the Farmhand, so what interface are you going to use?

Maybe it's Sierra like right click-change-mode thingy?

[PsychicHeart]

i thought i'd hand this over to my sister:


cutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecute


and, now for what i have to say:
excellent game. looks really good.

[fovmester]

I wonder, what kind of interface will you be using for this one since there are no visible interface apart from the mouse cursor. It doesn't seem to be the SCUMM Verb Box Interface you used for Frank the Farmhand, so what interface are you going to use?

Maybe it's Sierra like right click-change-mode thingy?

Right you are! But I still have the verb displayed next to the cursor. I will have four modes: Look at, Interact, Pick up and Talk to. The verb that is displayed will be different for different kinds of things but these are the default verbs.

Ex. A door which you can open. If you choose the "Use"-cursor and hold the mouse over the door the the cursor text will read "Open door" not "Use door".

Ex2: There's a lollipop in your inventory and you want to eat it. Choose the "Talk to"-cursor and hold the mouse over the lollipop. The cursor text will read "Lick lollipop".

So it's a bit more adaptive than the regular verb box interface. Which will hopefully also make it easier.

i thought i'd hand this over to my sister:


cutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecute cutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecute cutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecute cutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecute cutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecutecute cute


and, now for what i have to say:
excellent game. looks really good.

Thanks a lot!  I'm glad you think the creatures are cute (because I meant them to be). But for all of you who are afraid that this will be a children's-game or something, don't fret because not all creatures in the woodlands will be cute... I say no more (right now).

[ildu]

That sounds like a marvelous interface system.

[fovmester]

That sounds like a marvelous interface system.

Thank you!

[Mats Berglinn]

Well, the interface seem a bit okay for me but what if you want to try different kind of stuff, like trying to open a chest but it doesn't work and you want to push and/or pull it instead? When you got four commands (hand, feet, mouth and eye) the amount of actions are very limited unlike the Verb Boxes Interface were you can use different kinds of actions on things. The more possiblities there are, the more things you can do. I mean it's different giving a goon a ming vase than use it to smash it on his head (Give and Use for the Verb Boxes and either on them on the inventory use command). In other words, I don't personalitly think that the interface system is "marvelous". But it's your game, not mine.

Of course it's better with "lick lollipop" than "talk to lollipop" or "eat sandswich" than "talk to sandwhich".

[ildu]

I, myself, never liked the Lucasarts verbbox. It always felt like it was too specific. And it was eternally irritating when trying everything possible to pass some spot you're stuck at.

[fovmester]

Well, the interface seem a bit okay for me but what if you want to try different kind of stuff, like trying to open a chest but it doesn't work and you want to push and/or pull it instead? When you got four commands (hand, feet, mouth and eye) the amount of actions are very limited unlike the Verb Boxes Interface were you can use different kinds of actions on things. The more possiblities there are, the more things you can do. I mean it's different giving a goon a ming vase than use it to smash it on his head (Give and Use for the Verb Boxes and either on them on the inventory use command). In other words, I don't personalitly think that the interface system is "marvelous". But it's your game, not mine.

Of course it's better with "lick lollipop" than "talk to lollipop" or "eat sandswich" than "talk to sandwhich".

You've got a point there. Hmm. But still I think I'm sticking to this interface for now. I'll think about it, though.

[Erenan]

In my opinion, four interface options are plenty. It's a well tested interface that works just fine.

[Pod]

Well, the interface seem a bit okay for me but what if you want to try different kind of stuff, like trying to open a chest but it doesn't work and you want to push and/or pull it instead? When you got four commands (hand, feet, mouth and eye) the amount of actions are very limited unlike the Verb Boxes Interface were you can use different kinds of actions on things. The more possiblities there are, the more things you can do. I mean it's different giving a goon a ming vase than use it to smash it on his head (Give and Use for the Verb Boxes and either on them on the inventory use command). In other words, I don't personalitly think that the interface system is "marvelous". But it's your game, not mine.

Of course it's better with "lick lollipop" than "talk to lollipop" or "eat sandswich" than "talk to sandwhich".

You've got a point there. Hmm. But still I think I'm sticking to this interface for now. I'll think about it, though.

I don't think he has a point. It's exactly the same as the Sierra one in thr fact you can only do one action. At least you know what the game expects you to do if you click the mouse, instead of sierra style, where it could be one of an infinite number of things. I'm "interacting" with someone, but I don't know what the action is unless I do it. At least your way I know what it is before I do it.
In the sierra interface, you can't push/pull a chest if it doesn't open first time you click it. So it's no different here.

And unless you have 20 different commands, and 20 different responses for each objects, there's no way of  going about the "what the player wants to do" route.

[fovmester]

All right! For now I'll stick to what I already got. Thanks for your thoughts, people!

[fovmester]

I thought I should update y'all on what I've been doing the last weeks:

I've drawn three new backgrounds, all containing many trees and lots and lots of green.

I've also completed all basic animations for Tom (the main character) including all four directions in all four of his moods (normal, angry, afraid and persuasive).

On top of that I've drawn and animated the evil guy. He's got a couple of moods on him as well so it took some time.

Right now I'm doing the finishing touches on the next background, then I thought I'd draw some of the evil henchmen... Maybe I'll post them here when I'm done... What do you think?

So considering I've been at work from 7am to 4pm every weekday the last four weeks I must say I still have got a great deal of things done!! And now that I'm free for two weeks who knows how much I'll be able to do, right!?

EDIT: Geeze, I sound jaunty!!

[Mats Berglinn]

Yeah, posting backgrounds and stuff really teases us veiwers and makes us want to play the game right away. It's just the way you did for Frank the Farmhand 2.

[Darth Mandarb]

Man I thought I had replied to this thread but I haven't ...

fovmester - this game looks very nice!

It even appears to be a step up from the Farmhand games (and they were quite excellent!)!

Keep up the good work!

[fovmester]

Thanks Darth! I really try to make this game better than my previous games. I've put much work into the story: For example I've given all (important) characters a background story and written a list of their personality treats. And I've also come up with a history of the woodlands. It's not very important for the game's plot but hopefully it will accomplish a more believeable atmosphere.


Here's a screenshot from one of the woodland-path scenes. It shows one of the creatures that inhabit the forest. It's called a "dow" for now (might change it later on).

[Mats Berglinn]

The dow sure looks funny and weird (as a compliment). Is it a good guy creature or a bad guy creature? I really like the forrest background.

I wonder, when do you think this game will be finished?

[calacver]

WOW! I like your backgrounds. Nice sun rays.

[fovmester]

The dow sure looks funny and weird (as a compliment). Is it a good guy creature or a bad guy creature? I really like the forrest background.

Thanks! It's just a creature that eats grass. It's neither good nor bad. It's not intelligent enough to choose sides.

I wonder, when do you think this game will be finished?

Oh, the dreaded question!! It's still to early to say when the game's finished.

My first game took me 7 months to finish, and the second about a year. Since this game is my most ambitious to date, I'm expecting it to take AT LEAST as long as a year. Sorry!

But I'm really working hard on it, so who knows!

[Iv4n]

Woah! Those shots looks quite impressive! I really like these kind of graphics, story etc. Thumbsup.

[Mats Berglinn]

Thanks! It's just a creature that eats grass. It's neither good nor bad. It's not intelligent enough to choose sides.

But as long as it doesn't harm anyone friendly or doesn't work for any ill characters then it should be consindered as a good guy character. Just because it doesn't help the hero fight the villan, doesn't it mean that it can't be nice.

[ildu]

Wow. Looks great.

[RyRayer]

I like your style and that there's no black outlines in Woodlands . I hope the atmosphere in the game will be good.

[fovmester]

Hi!

School's started again, but I'm still working quite hard on the game. I've been working on the intro-sequence which will feature an animated flash-movie of the villain burning down Tom's house.

But here's a sprite of the villain himself: Hilbot the Wizard and one of his goons.

[Mats Berglinn]

Nothing personal but should really the villian and the goon have "cute animal" eyes? In my opinion the eyes of the wizard should be more evil-looking. I know this is not critic's lounge but I think that the goon (a goblin maybe?) should have red evil eyes and big fangs poke up from the lower lip. Otherwise they don't look bad.

Just one question about the intro-sequence: If the party scene is playable then how come the Burning Tom's House scene is the intro scene?

[fovmester]

Right. The eyes are a matter of style and will remain the same on all characters in the game. Personally I think the wizard looks evil enough as it is. He's not supposed to be Sauron-evil, more like pathetic-evil.

I can see what you mean about the goon, though. He might look better if given some additional "evil" treat such as big fangs. I'll look into it.

If the party scene is playable then how come the Burning Tom's House scene is the intro scene?

Well, the party is part of the intro as well. After Frank 2 (which I thought had a too long intro sequence) I thought about making the intro interactive for Woodlands. That is: Some parts of it are cut-sequences and in other you control the character (making conversation and looking at things). In this way I'm hoping to make the intro more interesting even though there's a lot of story being told.

[Mats Berglinn]

Right. The eyes are a matter of style and will remain the same on all characters in the game. Personally I think the wizard looks evil enough as it is. He's not supposed to be Sauron-evil, more like pathetic-evil.

I can see what you mean about the goon, though. He might look better if given some additional "evil" treat such as big fangs. I'll look into it.

If the party scene is playable then how come the Burning Tom's House scene is the intro scene?

Well, the party is part of the intro as well. After Frank 2 (which I thought had a too long intro sequence) I thought about making the intro interactive for Woodlands. That is: Some parts of it are cut-sequences and in other you control the character (making conversation and looking at things). In this way I'm hoping to make the intro more interesting even though there's a lot of story being told.

Ah, ok. Well, the choice of eye-style is yours. Fine to me.
There's something I wonder, is the name Tom just a good name or is it inspired by Tom Bombadill?

[aussie]

I suppose this is not the critics lounge, but anyway,

I do agree with Mats about the goon. I think he's a tiny bit too cute.

The fangs idea sounds good to me fov, but I think it's the eyes that really make the difference. Perhaps if you make him frown...

Otherwise, how would sunglasses go with the game? Sure, it's a wacky touch, but he'd look mean. Maybe it's worth a try.

[Mordalles]

like ure game a lot! and the goon looks perfect the way he is. keep the eyes the way it is. it works.

[fovmester]

There's something I wonder, is the name Tom just a good name or is it inspired by Tom Bombadill?

No, I never thought about Tom Bombadill. Tom was actually just something that I started to call him after I had drawn him a couple of times. When it later on was time to name him, no other name seemed right. I guess he was meant to be a Tom.

The fangs idea sounds good to me fov, but I think it's the eyes that really make the difference. Perhaps if you make him frown...

Otherwise, how would sunglasses go with the game? Sure, it's a wacky touch, but he'd look mean. Maybe it's worth a try.

Well, he's already frowning a bit. Maybe if I make his brows darker he will look more aggressive?
I'm not liking the idea of sunglasses though. Mostly because it would be anachronistic and not at all fit in the game-world. Anachronistic can be good, but only in a wacky game like Monkey Island.

like ure game a lot! and the goon looks perfect the way he is. keep the eyes the way it is. it works.

Thanks. It's nice to hear the goon's not a total failure.

[fovmester]

Just wanted to show you all that I'm still working on the game. I haven't been active on the forums lately because I've been working hard both in school and (when in front of a computer) on the game. But now I thought it was time for an update:


2005-09-29: The last month much has happened. I've drawn and colored two more backgrounds. I didn't get to implementing any puzzles like I said I would, but I've made a lot of character animation. Mostly several junie-characters (the ones dancing in the second picture). I've made a few new songs, but the most important things I've done is that I've put together most of the rooms I've finished. So at the moment you can take a stroll through the woodlands, listen to the birds singing and watch an occasional  "dow" eating grass.

So what's next? Right after writing this text I thought I should write some dialogs. Then the next time I get time I'll make another two important backgrounds. Then, I can start with the first puzzles. But it's coming along very fine. And I'm making a lot of back-ups to make sure it keeps going that way.


2005-09-17: The last month I've been busy vacationing with my girlfriend. But I've also found a lot of time to work on Woodlands.

I've recorded a lot of sounds and painted three new backgrounds. I've done two new songs. I've also drawn and animated Hilbot the evil Wizard and one of his goons. The last weeks I've been working on the intro sequence. I've animated all of a ten second flash-movie and also made an important dialog with the villain. I've almost completed the intro-sequence now, and will move on to implement the first puzzles.

[Mordalles]

looking great, man! i like your graphics a lot! and i wish i could do mine this good.
dont know if you know this, but i put you in my game's credits, since i used your bushes as "reference" in my game. hehe. just cause i had no idea how to do them, and yours looked so good. hope you dont mind. 

[fovmester]

Really!? You put me in your credits for that? That's so cool! 

[Mordalles]

thew! so you wont sue me! yay! 

[Mats Berglinn]

Mordalles, it's only companies that sues you, amtuers very rarely do that. Besides why would they sue anyone for being in a credit list? It's just plain silly.

Just wanted to show you all that I'm still working on the game. I haven't been active on the forums lately because I've been working hard both in school and (when in front of a computer) on the game. But now I thought it was time for an update:


2005-09-29: The last month much has happened. I've drawn and colored two more backgrounds. I didn't get to implementing any puzzles like I said I would, but I've made a lot of character animation. Mostly several junie-characters (the ones dancing in the second picture). I've made a few new songs, but the most important things I've done is that I've put together most of the rooms I've finished. So at the moment you can take a stroll through the woodlands, listen to the birds singing and watch an occasional  "dow" eating grass.

So what's next? Right after writing this text I thought I should write some dialogs. Then the next time I get time I'll make another two important backgrounds. Then, I can start with the first puzzles. But it's coming along very fine. And I'm making a lot of back-ups to make sure it keeps going that way.

2005-09-17: The last month I've been busy vacationing with my girlfriend. But I've also found a lot of time to work on Woodlands.

I've recorded a lot of sounds and painted three new backgrounds. I've done two new songs. I've also drawn and animated Hilbot the evil Wizard and one of his goons. The last weeks I've been working on the intro sequence. I've animated all of a ten second flash-movie and also made an important dialog with the villain. I've almost completed the intro-sequence now, and will move on to implement the first puzzles.

Why not release a tech demo so we know how it's going to play?

[fovmester]

I'm thinking about releasing a demo containing the first night. The game will span over one night and three days, and during the first night you get to know the characters and the forest.

If there's enough interest then I'll focus my effort on putting together a demo of this, otherwise I'll keep working more general.

[Iv4n]

I think more of the developers of the big projects makes tech demos, but I don't understand why, since we all know well AGS and it's capabilities. On the other hand is good because they get feedback. But if you start making a playable demo, it should take several months of additional working to make one. The gamers will test it for some short time and that's all. And after that you'll return to the making of the full game and all in all the project will take more in time. So that's what I'm thinking and I vote for no, but it's your decision.

[Darth Mandarb]

The purpose of a tech demo (at least in my case) was to showcase the technical stuff in the game.  Not to show what AGS can do, but you've done with it.

For example:  When I was working on JP & Cosmo I released just a two room demo showcasing how the walls disappear.  Nobody had, to my knowledge, done that before.  That was the reason I released a "tech" demo.

However, fovmester didn't say a "tech" demo.  He just said a demo.  Which I take (given he also mentioned it would contain only the first night) to be more of a "teaser" than a "tech" demo.

And I'm all for that! 

[fovmester]

Yes it'll be more of a teaser than a techdemo. And it won't delay the completion of the whole game, since it'll only contain things that I'll do anyway. The only difference will be that I complete the first areas first.

All right, then. I'll go make a TEASER for y'all.

[fovmester]

I just finished up the demo! It's on my homepage so please download it and try it out!


The demo is meant to be a quick demonstration of the graphics, sounds and ambience of the full
game. You will be introduced to the main characters and the overall plot line. Hopefully you will be even more anxious to play the full game after playing the demo.


Go here: www.fovmester.se

[splat44]

Yes, it a great demo.

I am certain looking forward to Spring 2006 for the full version.

Good Luck.

[He-Man]

Wow. This game looks really great!
The demo is amazing. Especially the cutscenes...
Keep up the good work. I'm looking forward to playing the full-length.

[fovmester]

Thank you very much!

Just to clarify: This demo is not everything I've done so far. I've made 6 more rooms, some more music tracks and I am currently working on the background art for the next room.

I'm putting a lot of effort into the game in hope that it will closely resemble what it is inside my head at the moment. :

[Darth Mandarb]

OUTSTANDING!!

This game is so full of life and story!  I love it ...

Just that short little demo.

The cutscenes were great, the animation, the sound.

A+ man!  Keep up the good work!

[Nikolas]

What a lovely game it seems. The Demo is lovely!

God another game, I'll keep forever...

[fovmester]

OUTSTANDING!!

This game is so full of life and story!  I love it ...

Just that short little demo.

The cutscenes were great, the animation, the sound.

A+ man!  Keep up the good work!

Thank you, thank you! I'm so glad you liked it!!!

[Iv4n]

Hmm.. To download it or not?
Aargh I can't wait...

Everything was fine, untill the game starts running slower and slower, and then appears a message that the game run out of memory  . Yeah, I've got 256 RAM, but this is the first time AGS game that displays me this message. I don't think it's because of the memory. I think it is some kind of problem with the AGS. I don't know which is the lastest version of AGS, but you may consider of using the latest version if you don't.

[splat44]

Strange!

My system have 256 Meg Ram and I never have that problem.

Game setting is best run with 640x480.

Try that and if doesn't work try deselect "Smooth Scaled Sprites"

By pressing Advance button, the amount of memory for sprites should be set at 10 Meg.


I hope this will help.

[Iv4n]

This problem presist on 640x480 without sss. Well I increase the memory from 10 to 20 and I have no problems from the begining to the end of the game. Except that when I finished it, I had to wait windows to return to normal for 1-2 minutes..

[fovmester]

I had that problem just one time when I tested the game. I thought it had to do with me constantly turning on a GUI in repeatedly_execute_always, but I fixed that before I released the demo. And I haven't had the problem after that one time. But it's certainly disturbing to hear that there still might be a problem. I'll look into it right away!!

[Ozzie]

Wow

I'm speechless

I think you're creating the game right now I've always have been waiting for

Superb atmosphere, much better dialogs than in Frank and the feeling to be really immersed to this world, like it's happening to you right before your eyes.
If there is a word of critic I would say that the trees look still a bit strange...don't know, not really convincing. But that is even the only weak point in the graphics, the flash movies are outstanding on the other side.
I'm waiting for this, worth waiting for! 

[fovmester]

I'm overwhelmed!! 

Thank you so much!

About the trees, I'm thinking about putting a lot of thick moss on them to make the forest seem more ancient. But at this point that is a lot of moss to draw, so I have to think about if it's really worth it first.

[Ozzie]

The problem with the trees isn't that they aren't enough detailed, they are, but from the way you draw them they look a bit unnatural, strange. It's not a big thing, they are ok, but it stood out for me. When I think about it, it was only the big tree on the second screen which was so striking in this regard.

The graphics as a whole are more than pleasant enough to not distract from the plot/action, much more, the animations for example of the drummer, flute player and the dancers are extraordinary. Also, you clearly get better the more backgrounds you create. Maybe you just have to find a way to draw some trees better in the future, however, the most important thing is that you finish it. Of course that doesn't mean that you should rush it but on this quality level this will already become one of the best AGS games ever, I guess! 

[fovmester]

The problem with the trees isn't that they aren't enough detailed, they are, but from the way you draw them they look a bit unnatural, strange. It's not a big thing, they are ok, but it stood out for me. When I think about it, it was only the big tree on the second screen which was so striking in this regard.

The graphics as a whole are more than pleasant enough to not distract from the plot/action, much more, the animations for example of the drummer, flute player and the dancers are extraordinary. Also, you clearly get better the more backgrounds you create. Maybe you just have to find a way to draw some trees better in the future, however, the most important thing is that you finish it. Of course that doesn't mean that you should rush it but on this quality level this will already become one of the best AGS games ever, I guess! 

Well, the tree in the junie village is an old old one and therefore I drew it like I did, with a huge trunk and lots of texture. Anyway, I'm glad you like the game so far!

I just wanted to tell you that the out of memory problem has been fixed. It was actually a memory leak in the AGS engine (GUI.SetWidth/SetHeight/SetSize), but CJ has fixed it now. I uploaded a fixed version to the homepage for you that haven't been able to play it because of the memory leak (shouldn't be that many).

[ildu]

Marvelous game. Just played and completed it. I love the graphics and the atmosphere.

[Elliott Hird]

It's a demo, not a game...

[Mats Berglinn]

It's a demo, not a game...

Actually, it IS a game but it IS a demo game, not a complete game.

I'll like the demo. Good thing that you got rid of the memory problem, it really bugged me. There's one thing that I find strange in the story:

Spoiler

Once you have talked to everyone and gave Gorby/Corby the herb Tom leaves the party to go asleep again but since he have slept through the whole afternoon he should be very hungry by now. I find it strange that Tom doesn't eat before going home to sleep. I would if slept through the whole afternoon.

[close]

By the way, I love the change of expressions while the characters are talking, it's something that's not common in adventure games (The Curse of Monkey Island was the only 2D commersial game that does so, as far as I know), especially not in AGS games.

[Ubel]

By the way, I love the change of expressions while the characters are talking, it's something that's not common in adventure games (The Curse of Monkey Island was the only 2D commersial game that does so, as far as I know)

Monkey Island 2 does that too. And yes it is a very nice add to the game. I love it.

The demo was great! I really liked those cutscene animations, they looked wonderful. Very nice animating work! I didn't like it when the cursor mode automatically changes to walk mode when you click on something, but otherwise it's a very cool interface.

Good luck with this project, I'm waiting for more!

-EDIT-

Mats Berglinn,

Monkey Island 2 does that too. And yes it is a very nice add to the game. I love it.

I was talking about face expressions, not arm movements and so on. That thing was on Sam and Max as well.

Monkey Island 2 does face expressions too in some places.

[Mats Berglinn]

Monkey Island 2 does that too. And yes it is a very nice add to the game. I love it.

I was talking about face expressions, not arm movements and so on. That thing was on Sam and Max as well.

[fovmester]

I didn't like it when the cursor mode automatically changes to walk mode when you click on something, but otherwise it's a very cool interface.

That's a good point. Never thought about how irritating that could be. Especially since you might have to cycle through a lot of cursor modes again and again. I'll think about changing it.

Thanks for the great comments on the face expressions. I'm glad you like it since it has taken quite an effort to do!

[Iv4n]

Yeah, I just wanted to metion the cursor mode issue too and that I like the trees . Somewhat I don't like much is when Tom meets the evil wizrard. They talk too much! I mean a real evil wizzard shouldn't show all his playing cards, especially at the beginning, right? Maybe this is a way to tell a story, but somehow it's strange and it doesn't fit for me.

[fovmester]

Yeah, I just wanted to metion the cursor mode issue too and that I like the trees . Somewhat I don't like much is when Tom meets the evil wizrard. They talk too much! I mean a real evil wizzard shouldn't show all his playing cards, especially at the beginning, right? Maybe this is a way to tell a story, but somehow it's strange and it doesn't fit for me.

Well he doesn't really show ALL his cards. Not many at all in fact.

Spoiler

All he does is demands payment and hints that the woodsfolk can't rely on Nergal to protect them anymore. He doesn't say why or what his plans are. He just states that HE is the new ruler of the forest.

[close]

[fovmester]

Here's an update on the progress of Woodlands. Sorry for being quiet for so long!

2005-12-08:
Phew! A hard semester is almost over. I've been trying to get time to work on the game the last months, but it hasn't been easy! Still, I've  done quite a lot! 20 rooms are done which is almost all the forest scenes (four remaining). I've released a demo (which I believe you all tried out. If not then do so right NOW!) and finished some music and some of Tom's animations. Now I have to focus on my exams for a week and then it's christmas!! Which means time for Woodlands!!!!


Here's two new screenshots!

[ildu]

Looks great and I'm totally blown away by the progress. But, that waterfall mist is totally too bright, compact and unshaded.

[scourge]

heya, i just saw this game for the first time  , it looks truelly excellent! Those backgrounds are of extreme high quality

[Ubel]

Wow, that second background is beautiful!

It's unbelievable to me how some people can work so quickly on their games. (Because I'm such a slow bastard.) You have done great job so far. I can barely wait to play this!

[i k a r i]

Wow!...AWESOME BACKGROUNDS!
I want to play this game since I tried that demo, the bad guy is one of the best I've seen =P and the story is very intriguing..
Hope you finish this soon, cause I can't wait to play it!...

[ManicMatt]

LUSH! If I was playing the game, I'd just let my character stand there and I'd gawk at the pretty graphics!

I only just recently played frank the farmhand! Still got the sequel to look foward to! (When I get the time. No offence, but half life 2 is next in line of what to play)

[fovmester]

Thanks people! 

Pablo:

It's unbelievable to me how some people can work so quickly on their games.

Fast? I haven't worked much at all the last months! But when I get the time I try to be effective with it.

ildu:

But, that waterfall mist is totally too bright, compact and unshaded.

If you could show me an example of how you'd want it to look, I might change it. The reason I made it the way it is now, was because I don't have much of an idea how to draw mist otherwise.

Thanks again, y'all!

[Ubel]

Pablo:

It's unbelievable to me how some people can work so quickly on their games.

Fast? I haven't worked much at all the last months! But when I get the time I try to be effective with it.

Heh, fast when you compare to me!

[Peanne]

I loved Frank games, cant wait to play this! 

[fovmester]

2006-02-12:

A long time has gone by since my last update. The reason has been two things. One, I haven't had much time over to write an update since school is more time-consuming than ever. Two, I don't want to tell you too much about what the game is about (it would spoil the surprises).  But now I feel that it is time to tell you all some of what I'm doing just to make sure you don't think I've died or worse; GIVEN UP!

The past months I've put a lot of time into putting things together into something playable. I had already made lots of backgrounds and characters but I had not made interactions or dialogs. But now I've done several dialogs, implemented two major puzzles (with several sub-puzzles).

These puzzles include quite a lot of animation so that is another field that I've put effort into. I've drawn about 70-100 frames of character animation these past months. And I can tell you, it's looking great! (I can't show it though since it would give away the solutions to the puzzles).

Besides that I've also made three new songs for different scenes, I've drawn two new backgrounds and made sketches of another six.

So what is the status of the game right now? When will it be released? The game is slowly coming together. I've planned it well, so much of the heavy graphics are already done. I'm almost completely done with about half of the game, and will be able reuse much graphics for the second half.

So when, then? Give us a date!
I dare not set a date, as yet. Mostly because it is still a lot to do, and I will begin work on my Master's thesis next month which may or may not shave even more time of my freetime. But as soon as I feel I'm ready to give an estimate I will let you know.

[ildu]

G-g-great news!! I've been waiting for an update for some time. Good to hear about the progress you've made.

[i k a r i]

I was also waiting for an update..
The demo was great, (that sorcerer looked so cool  )..
I believe this game will be incredible..

[Iv4n]

I hope for a summer release .

[Mats Berglinn]

Could you please update the progress on your website? I would like to know the current progress so I know how much it is left.

[fovmester]

I hope for a summer release .

Maybe...

Could you please update the progress on your website? I would like to know the current progress so I know how much it is left.

I have updated the progress on the webpage. I noticed that some image links were broken. I'll fix that when I get home from school.

I'm so glad so many people are waiting for Woodlands. It makes me really want to finish it as soon as possible.

[scourge]

I really want to play this!

Both of your frank games are awesome!

[fovmester]

2006-03-04: Once again it's time for my exams, so now I have had a few days to work on Woodlands.

No, but seriously I have been doing a lot on the game lately. I've drawn and programmed a huge amount of animations and puzzles, as well as written a new song and also completed a new background which I showcase below. It is the barn  in the junie village, and the creature you see is called a dow (for now at least).

Next I will try to finish up the last puzzles of day one, and then about half of the game is done. Well, graphically even more is finished, so I gather the game'll be more like 65 % done after day one.

And of course I'll try to read some laserphysics and c++ programming in between.


Here's the latest screenshot. What do y'all think?

[scourge]

Hey you are getting better with each screenshot! I seriously cannot wait

That barn reminds me of the Apprentice 1 barn

Keep up the good work. I'm really impressed you can do everything: scripting/graphics and music/
When it comes to music i'm deaf

[Mats Berglinn]

Yeah, I agree with buloght. It sort of reminds of Apprentice.

Is it just me or does this dow look very different compaired with the other dow screenshot? I don't just mean the color but the shape of it.

By the way, I've been thinking about this thought: Does the main-character called Tom as a in-joke for Tom Bombadill from the Lord of the Rings? I mean he is a creature from the woods and his name is Tom.

[fovmester]

Yeah, I agree with buloght. It sort of reminds of Apprentice.

Is it just me or does this dow look very different compaired with the other dow screenshot? I don't just mean the color but the shape of it.

By the way, I've been thinking about this thought: Does the main-character called Tom as a in-joke for Tom Bombadill from the Lord of the Rings? I mean he is a creature from the woods and his name is Tom.

Thanks all of you!

I changed the colors of the dows from pink to this more redbrownish color. That's why it doesn't match the previous pic. The shape however... dunno. The perspective is different. Maybe that's it. I tried to keep the same shape. Maybe I failed? Help, anyone?

About Tom's name: I never thought about that really. It's actually quite weird, because for a long time I trying to draw the main character for the game and didn't have a name for him. Then when I finally came up with this version the name just popped up in my head. And I just couldn't change it. He was just Tom. That WAS his name. Weird...

[Mats Berglinn]

I looked around the topic after the screenshot of the "first" dow but the place where is should be there's no pic. I'm sure something it wrong the screenshot. I also tried look on the website for the game but that particular screenshot isn't there either. Anyway, I'm sure the shape doesn't really matter that much.

Oh, I also realized that I repeated the question of Tom's name. How embaressing! 

Keep on going! Hope I can play this about the beginning of summer.

[fovmester]

Yes, I dunno where that picture is anymore either. But I put together a new comparison for you.

Here it is:



And Mats, don't be ashamed. I didn't remember that we already have had the Bombadill discussion either.

[Iv4n]

About the screenshot above: I think at some dark places, where the light can't go, there must be much darker than it's now. Especially where the creature stands. Well except his eyes. You know, Tom enters this place and see only those big eyes, starring at him. A little bit later and he can see better in the dark (i.e. getting brighter like it's in the picture maybe). About the door: it's too bright there, but I don't know. Maybe it's some effect you've searched for. Bottom down in the screen looks a little empty. Maybe you can add some more static items (like bags, shovels, gloves, spider nets, garbadge, wooden boxes etc.).

[fovmester]

About the screenshot above: I think at some dark places, where the light can't go, there must be much darker than it's now. Especially where the creature stands. Well except his eyes. You know, Tom enters this place and see only those big eyes, starring at him. A little bit later and he can see better in the dark (i.e. getting brighter like it's in the picture maybe). About the door: it's too bright there, but I don't know. Maybe it's some effect you've searched for. Bottom down in the screen looks a little empty. Maybe you can add some more static items (like bags, shovels, gloves, spider nets, garbadge, wooden boxes etc.).

Some good points here. Maybe the scene is still too bright even though I tried to make it dark. But I don't know about adding more things in the foreground. Some of the things you mentioned would be good solutions to some of the puzzles, and so I don't want them in there.

You say that the door is too bright. Well that is an effect I WAS looking for. I thought it was effectful actually.

But thanks for the help. The more people who say their meaning, the better the end result!

[scourge]

I love the bright entrance!

[fovmester]

Update!!

2006-04-12:
Well, my exams are over and now I've started doing my diploma project (in "Lattice mismatched epitaxy" (nanoscience for those who don't have a clue what the previous statement means) ).

But I'm also working on the game of course. Lately I've done some dialogs, implemented a few puzzles and drawn a completely new scene and a new character. See the screenshot below.

The scene is by the Woodland stream, a river that divides the Woodlands in two. There's a little furry creature that lives in the dead tree, who collects all kinds of shiny things for his collection.
I
'm still striving to complete the first day as soon as I can, but I still have a few more animations to do. I'm thinking about releasing the first day as a demo, but I haven't decided yet.



Go to http://www.fovmester.se for news and info

[DanClarke]

Looks great, you have a very unique style that's yours alone, and i think your skills have come on a lot since your 1st frank the farmhand game! Keep it up.

[KristjanMan]

aww the characters are so cute

[seaduck]

This looks great!Ã, 

I wanted to try out the demo, but the link is broken... Can you fix it, please?

[fovmester]

Thanks for telling me!

It works fine now. Please download (and tell me what you thought about it)

[seaduck]

I played the demo and I liked it very much!

I noticed only two small technical problems:

- for some unknown reason it is necessary to switch the mouse cursor into "use" before you can select an inventory item
- in the opening menu when you click away from the floating buttons, the cursor changes from crosshair to a "look" icon

Other things noticed:
- at times I would notice by your English that you are not a native speaker (neither am I), with some misspells and a few strange-sounding expressions. But it's nothing serious and didn't spoil my gameplay.
- it might be just me, but I didn't like the Growling sprite, it just didn't look as good as the other characters
- the scene where Tom confronts the wizard would really benefit from some dramatic/evil music
- there aren't actually any puzzles in the demo. I hope to see some good puzzles in the full game!

Overall:
I love the charming and original graphics, and the fairy-tale story. I got instantly swallowed-up by the game's amazing atmosphere. Please make the full game stand up to this demo, and I'm sure it will be one of the best AGS games made so far!

[fovmester]

- for some unknown reason it is necessary to switch the mouse cursor into "use" before you can select an inventory item

It's actually meant to be like that. This is because you might want to "Look" at something in your inventory, or maybe later to "Eat" something. That's why you need to "Use" the inventory items to select them. If you can think of a better solution then I'm all ears!

- in the opening menu when you click away from the floating buttons, the cursor changes from crosshair to a "look" icon

Yes, this is a stupid bug that has been fixed after the release of the demo.

- at times I would notice by your English that you are not a native speaker (neither am I), with some misspells and a few strange-sounding expressions. But it's nothing serious and didn't spoil my gameplay.

I'm doing my best here! For Frank 2 I got a lot of help from my great native english beta-testers which hopefully corrected most of the grammar mistakes and strange expressions in that game. I hope to get the same help with Woodlands!

- it might be just me, but I didn't like the Growling sprite, it just didn't look as good as the other characters

That's too bad. What didn't you like about him? Was it the style, or was he badly drawn?

- the scene where Tom confronts the wizard would really benefit from some dramatic/evil music

That's the plan, but the music wasn't ready when I released the demo. (It's still not ready, but it will be there in the end)

- there aren't actually any puzzles in the demo. I hope to see some good puzzles in the full game!

You are right that there aren't any real challenges in the demo. That's because it is merely the introduction of the game, and it is meant mostly to present the story and the characters. The puzzles appear shortly afterwards. You WON'T be disappointed!

I love the charming and original graphics, and the fairy-tale story. I got instantly swallowed-up by the game's amazing atmosphere. Please make the full game stand up to this demo, and I'm sure it will be one of the best AGS games made so far!

I bow in honour, and instantly continue making the game...

Thanks for the feedback!!

[fovmester]

2006-05-23:

It was over a month since my last update, and I have been waiting to get something big to show, but I thought that I have to give you something NOW, big or small. This month I have completed a lot of the puzzles of the first day, well in fact ALL puzzles.

I also made the cut sequence that end the first day, but I didn't quite finish it before starting to draw new backgrounds for Day two. In day one you keep to the west side of the Woodland stream. But in the second day you will be able to cross the river and several new areas will be available, among which are two villages with new characters to interact with.

All but one of the woodland rooms for the east side of the river is already done, and right now I'm painting the last of them. I have made sketches of the two different villages, which I showcase below (I decided that right now). So the next things I have to do is to finish the cutscene  I've been working on (about 1-2 hours of work) and then start putting color on the village sketches.

Last weekend I visited my family's summerhouse (a 150 year old house in the woods), to relax and record sounds for Woodlands. I made a list of sounds I needed before I left home and returned with almost all of the sounds I needed. Woodlands is starting to sound great, from birds singing and wind blowing in the trees, to interaction sound effects like climbing trees and bouncing balls...

All in all, the game is coming along fine, although I once again have an exam coming up that I have to study for, leaving precious little time for game making. Some people hoped for a summer release...All I can say is that I will work hard on the game this summer . Whether I will finish it or not, is to early to say. Probably not.

[Mats Berglinn]

The sketches looks great. The houses of the water village looks sort of like mushrooms (or somekind of fungus), is that inspiration or is it just a coinsidense?

You said that you're almost done with the backgrounds of Day One, how many days are there in the game?

Keep up the good work and try to get the game finished ASAP!

[dsg_charly]

Great ! Great !

I love your style. Tell me, are you developping/drawing all alone ?

[fovmester]

The sketches looks great. The houses of the water village looks sort of like mushrooms (or somekind of fungus), is that inspiration or is it just a coinsidense?

You said that you're almost done with the backgrounds of Day One, how many days are there in the game?

Keep up the good work and try to get the game finished ASAP!

The fungi reference is mostly coincidence, but it's a actually quite appropriate considering the village is located in a swamp.

How many backgrounds there are in the whole game? I tried to count and got it to 33 different backgrounds. The total number of rooms (with reused backgrounds) is about 56. I have 16 more backgrunds to draw, but I have made sketches of five of them. So I'm halfway there on those.

16 more, wow! That sounds like a lot to me!! This would mean that I am a little more than halfway through. But I don't know. There is more to a game than just backgrounds. I'd say I'm about 70 % done.

Great ! Great !

I love your style. Tell me, are you developping/drawing all alone ?

Yep. I'm all alone!

[Petra]

Really can't wait for this fantastic game...
The graphics are so cute....

Have not downloaded the demo, as I want to wait for the
"Highlight"

This will be just great

Keep on doing the good job!!!

[pslim]

Awesome demo, can't wait to see the finished game.

I have to agree with whoever said the Growling doesn't quite fit in, but I think it's just a matter of its lacking contrast. Its features are hard to determine in a way the other characters' aren't.

Love the atmosphere, though, and the art is really neat. I especially like the cinematic camera change at the end of the wizard sequence.

[fovmester]

Awesome demo, can't wait to see the finished game.

I have to agree with whoever said the Growling doesn't quite fit in, but I think it's just a matter of its lacking contrast. Its features are hard to determine in a way the other characters' aren't.

Love the atmosphere, though, and the art is really neat. I especially like the cinematic camera change at the end of the wizard sequence.

Thank you all for the appreciation!

I have decided to look into the Growling, and see if I can redo the design of him. I have started to think that he doesn't look evil enough as it is. Growlings are supposed to be quite evil creatures, but in a way Urgauf looks as cute as the junies (but in an orchish way). That the Growling looks a lot like an orch is also something I want to change. Look out for new images in the critics lounge.

[fovmester]

Since I already showed you the sketch I might as well show you the finished background:

[Petra]

Wow,

This is even better than I expected!!

Would like to give this cute creature a kiss

Nice backrounds and lovely details!!

[big brother]

Would like to give this cute creature a kiss

I would feel better not knowing this.



It's cool that you're keeping everyone up to date on the progress.

[fovmester]

2006-06-16: I have now finished designing and animating the creatures of the swamp, which live in that village on poles seen in the swamp screenshot. I have also completed the cut scene between day 1 and 2 as well as drawn the close up background of the swamp village, put all the characters in and created some REALLY cool fire effects that I just know you will love.

Besides this I have written a couple of long complex dialogs which are quite crucial to the story. They still need polishing, but that is the way it always is when I am writing dialogs. I always go back, test new things, correct errors and so on.

I also made a map which you can use to go back to places you have visited before. I decided it would be wise to have such a function since the forest is quite a big place, and you might need to go back and forth many times to solve some puzzles (hint?). Without shortcuts that would become boring I think.

The next step will be to complete the swamp village (1 more background) and then start on the mountain village (3 backgrounds). All the forest backgrounds are now finished so you can actually go through the whole of the Woodlands now.

[MashPotato]

This looks great, and that last background looks very... magical!  Good luck with your last few backgrounds ^_^

[TheCheese33]

Sounds like a great game. I really liked Frank the Farmhand, though I got in trouble for playing it for the racist stuff in it. 

Here's hoping this one won't get me into any trouble.

[fovmester]

I guess your parents missed the point, then. The game is ANTI-racist, NOT racist. The scene with the KKK and the one with the white trash kids are there to ridicule racism. To show what inbred fools racists really are! But yes, the n-word does pop up several times in the game, but if it hadn't the racists wouldn't sound very racist, would they?

Here's hoping this one won't get me into any trouble.

No I'm quite sure Woodlands won't contain the n-word.

[fovmester]

 2006-08-02: This has been Sweden's warmest and sunniest summer in a hundred years, so the time I've spent indoors is short. But I have some somethings since last time: I finished up the marchee village, with cut scenes and dialogs, have drawn two of three backgrounds of the last village, a third background is half done. I also made some animations for the inhabitants of the last village. I have recorded some sounds, as well as fixing a couple of bugs. So although things aren't going super fast, it is going forward at a steady pace. I have updated the sketch of the second village to the real complete background (see below).

[Petra]

Thank's for reporting the progress on your game!

The latest background is even making me more nervous

Hope the summer will end in Sweden so that you may finish this game

Can't wait for this one to come!!!

[fovmester]

It makes you nervous? 

Well your wish came true! Summer ended abruptly two days ago when it suddenly started raining like a monsoon. It is like nature have to make up for these last two months with only sun and sun and sun.

So I have actually been doing quite a bit just these past days: one complete background, one character with animations and a sketch of another background. I won't post anything here, though, or there won't be much surprise left when you play the game.

Thank's for reporting the progress on your game!

The latest background is even making me more nervous

Hope the summer will end in Sweden so that you may finish this game

Can't wait for this one to come!!!

[Nikolas]

I won't post anything here, though, or there won't be much surprise left when you play the game.

Thanks for that.

Maybe just some updates with percentage or how many new BGs you completed... Maybe put in there a couple of lies also so that the audience will be dissoriented (Not kidding...)

Anyways, once more here to state that Woodlands is one of the games I'm also (along with everybody else I guess) waiting for. Your graphics have a really strange charm which I can't pinpoint but is definately there. Thank you for that.

[fovmester]

2006-09-20:

A long time since the last update. But now I have something to report, though. I have done two new backgrounds, complete with the characters in them and the puzzles (very graphical). All together I have drawn aorund 80 frames of animation.

I have also programmed the puzzles, and written dialog, fixed bugs and made a new load/save gui which required a bit of tinkering. I thought long about whether to show another screenshot or not, but finally I decided to do so.

The new screenshot is the house and garden of a very important character in the game. What's with the bunnies, you say? Well, wait and see...

[ildu]

Looks awesome . You have a nack for making everything you do look interesting. I'm already dying to know who that guy is, how those bunnies will animate and what the house will look like inside.

[Mats Berglinn]

Great as usual. Now I understand why the anthropomorphic rabbits were called Junbies (or whatever it was called I forgot) instead of Rabbits or Bunnies. It was pretty unexpected to have both anthroppomorphic animals and "regular" animals in this game.

Just two cutscenes and nine backgrounds to go. Seems that we can expect a release quite soon, hopefully before the end of the year (maybe).

[fovmester]

Looks awesome . You have a nack for making everything you do look interesting. I'm already dying to know who that guy is, how those bunnies will animate and what the house will look like inside.

Why, thank you very very much!

Great as usual. Now I understand why the anthropomorphic rabbits were called Junbies (or whatever it was called I forgot) instead of Rabbits or Bunnies. It was pretty unexpected to have both anthroppomorphic animals and "regular" animals in this game.

Never thought of the junies as rabbit-like. More doggy-like in that case. But yes, there will be ordinary animals in the game as well.

Just two cutscenes and nine backgrounds to go. Seems that we can expect a release quite soon, hopefully before the end of the year (maybe).

Maybe...

[Ubel]

Man, I'm getting more and more excited about this.

[CosmoQueen]

Wow I've never seen a game like this before!! It looks great!

I love the original story and characters.

[Queen Kara]

I'm still looking forward to the finished product.
*worship*
Best wishs.

[fovmester]

Thank you all so much for the support!! I am doing my best to get the game out as soon as possible, but it is a big project.

One thing that might speed things up a bit is that I have gotten help with the music from my cousin who is an expert on such things. Together we made three new songs this weekend and now he went home and will hopefully complete more songs. That means that I can concentrate on the rest that needs to be done (which is still not a small task, though ).

[Iv4n]

You know, it's good to have such a helpful cousin .

[fovmester]

I probably shouldn't but I can't stop myself from showing this.

[Chicky]

awesome Can't wait.

[i k a r i]

You shouldnt post more screenshots, now I will expect a cool monster sequence and I wont be that surprised about it . "Oh yeah, this is the part I saw in the latest screenshot, its even better animated" instead of "Wow, I wasnt expecting this game to have such an amazing animated sequence, and what a cool monster  :o, nice surpriese."



The good thing is, you keep confirming this game will be awesome, the bad thing is, I cant wait.

[Mordalles]

that looks amazing, fov!

*jealousy list updated*

[dsg_charly]

I'm agree with everybody:

To my mind, this is the more interresting AGS project since Apprentice 2.

[Petra]

Have not been here for a while and I missed the most interesting screenshots since months

But now I found them and really can't wait to play this game!

Good luck for finishing it soon

[Mats Berglinn]

Woah, nice sea/lake-monster. It looks like a combination of the Loch Ness monster, Kraken, japanese dragons and sea-serpents. Nice hair too. It's a great teaser.

I wonder if this creature is in league with that evil wizard?

[thewalrus]

     Wow, I really like that screenshot of the dragon.....Very well done!!! I'm really looking forward to the completion of your game. Keep up the great work.....

[fovmester]

You shouldnt post more screenshots, now I will expect a cool monster sequence and I wont be that surprised about it .

I see your point. I just couldn't bear to not show this one. But I will try to keep myself on a leash from now on.

I wonder if this creature is in league with that evil wizard?

Maybe. Maybe not.

that looks amazing, fov!

*jealousy list updated*

Thanks!! That means a lot coming from you, Mordalles!

Thank you all for still being interested in this project! I know it has taken long (1 ½ years now!!!), and it will probably take some time more before it is time for beta. But it will be a big game, with lots and lots of characters, scenes, animation and fun puzzles! Hopefully it will be worth the wait!

[fovmester]

2007-02-25: Here's a long overdue update on development:

The last months I have done a lot. There has been nothing really major to report, which is why I've kept quiet. Put together, however, what I have done counts as a great deal. Here's a list of things done:

* One complex scene consisting of:

** A background
** Three new characters
** About 50 frames of new animations for Tom
** Several sounds

* Lots of inventory graphics. One doesn't take long to do, but I had postponed this for to long, so it took me a while.

* Sketches of four new backgrounds. I am starting on colouring these in PS next.

* Dialogs.

* Cleaned up scripted sequences, dialogs and interactions.

* Added hotspots with suitable interactions to ALL (40+) rooms. This is another thing that at first seems like a small thing. But if you don't do it right away it quickly builds up into a huge work load.

So nothing really fancy has happened, but these are things that needs to get done. And this past months have been perfect for these things, since I have had to work only short durations at a time with it.

Hope you all are still interested! 

[nihilyst]

Of course I'm still interested ... I wish you good luck with making progress. Can't wait to play it ^^

[Nikolas]

still interested as well. FOR SURE!

Thanks for the update!

And if no oe posts after me, I'll keep bumping this thread every 2 months and 30 days.

[Steel Drummer]

Looking good! Glad to hear it's still being made. A shame you couldn't have released it before the last AGS awards, but oh well. You don't need to bump it, Nikolas.

[m0ds]

Nice monster! Any inspiration from LBA2?

[Darth Mandarb]

Good to know the game is still in production.Ã,  It's up there on my list of games I'm really anticipating!

And if no oe posts after me, I'll keep bumping this thread every 2 months and 30 days.

Ummm ... no.

[thewalrus]

     Wow, this is indeed excellent news. I concur with Darth, glad to hear that the project is still alive. BTW, I loved the demo....

[fovmester]

Nice monster! Any inspiration from LBA2?

Oh, I played that game ages ago. Still have it in a box under my bed. Don't remember any monster from that game, though. It's possible however, that the inspiration has seeped from the game box into my subconscience when I have been sleeping. 

[dsg_charly]

I remember playing the demo, it had one big problem: it was a demo!!!!

Hope you finish Woodlands soon, it seems so great, sure a must be played AGS game.

[fovmester]

Before I enter the silent mode again, I wish to show you all a last screenshot. This will be the last one to appear before the release of the game, so please look at it carefully.

[Fleshstalker]

Looking very nice indeed!  8)

[Iv4n]

Well the screenshot is a big spoiler by itself .

Btw I wonder if the question of Toms beer belly will be concerned in the game

[Steel Drummer]

This game looks like a beautiful, deep, dark fantasy game. Can't wait to play it!

[i k a r i]

Great as usual, this is one of the most expected AGS games =P, I think it's very wise not to post more screenshots, let us have some surprises  .
Thank god you have this Hobbie of making games... 

[Steel Drummer]

You know, what impresses me most is the effectiveness of the graphics. It's a simple art style, really, not too amibitious; the sprites look like they were done in MSPaint (and that's not necessarily a bad thing), the simplicity of the art is what makes it so good. It's not BAD art per se, it's a very clean, simple style. The backgrounds fit perfectly.

[ildu]

It's not BAD art per se, it's a very clean, simple style.

It's not bad art at all. Forget the technique, because it's all about the design. And the art in this game has good design.

Yup, great work. Still waiting .

[Fleshstalker]

I just checked out the demo. Great work with it. I love the animated scenes. Wow! I also like the fact that there is plenty of text so far. The more text, the more fleshed the characters and story are.

I bet this game will be over over 100MB since the demo had about 2 backgrounds and was about 5MB. Seeing as there are 40+ screens (or backgrounds) I am really looking forward to this game.

[fovmester]

Glad you liked the demo! Just had a look at the game executable. It is 107 MB at the moment. Geeze! And I'm not done yet!

[Nikolas]

Yeah but RAR size 100 could be less than 30 or something. And for THIS game it's all worth it!

[Chicky]

PM me if you want me to delete this Fov

After hours of hacking i have done it, a new Woodlands screenshot has been leak.





Really looking forward to the game Fov.

[fovmester]

Damn, Chicky! I told you not to start showing off the backgrounds I've ripped from other games!



Good job, though. Tom fits in really well.

[fovmester]

I know it has been ages...

So what have you been up to all this time??

Since the last update, I have been busy with finishing "day 3" of the game. I have made like three or four new backgrounds, tons of animation, a whole new puzzle sequence (complete with all graphics and animation), three dialogs, rewritten several dialogs and also made a lot of bug testing. The thing which has taken most time has been to put dialogs together so that Tom is not aware of things he should not yet know, and also to make him stop asking questions which are outdated (because you have already finished those puzzles). It gets complicated since you will be able to meet the same characters during several days, in which the current event change drastically. But in the end it is all coming together nicely. And it will be good I am sure!

And what is happening right now?

Right now I am doing the last two new characters for day three and will also script the final puzzle for this day (not much animation left to do for this one). After that day 3 is nominally finished and I will continue with the final day, which is shorter than the rest and mostly consists of the end puzzle.

So when do you expect to finish the game!?!?!?!?

Beats me! No, but seriously: I have got a (more than) full time job as well as a relationship to take care of. I work about 2-4 hours a week on Woodlands, and some weeks even less. Therefore it is difficult to put a definite release date. It will however BE released. And I long for that day. I want to play it too, you know...
Best guess: End of this year.

[Iv4n]

Being on a full-time job and  with relationship should take almost all of your free time and it's even hardly to imagine you'll have time continuing on this game. But still, good to know you're up to it and hopefully it will be released this year.

[pslim]

Love is an illusion! Only games matter!

I must have this game. 

[fovmester]

If it is an illusion then it is a nice one.

And the game will be yours in due time.

I am done with day 1-3 now, and will be starting on day 4 (which is mostly the end scene) this week. The game is right now about 50 rooms big, and I have 96 views of animation. So I have come a long way now. (~85-90 % I would say). Then of course there is the bug testing 

[fovmester]

Wow! I am still alive!! 

It was ages ago that I updated the progress of Woodlands. Don't think I haven't been working on it, though. I have finished off day 3, bug tested the first 3 days, and added stuff that wasn't in there; like interactions, music, sound effects, extra animations, dialogs... I still have to finish the cut-sequence between day 2 and 3, otherwise the first three days are done. Now I am painting the backgrounds for day 4. I have them all (7) sketched on paper, and three are coloured and finished. They are very nice looking, I must say. I would show them, but I promised I wouldn't show any more screens. Don't want to spoil the ending for you!

Just wanted to let you know I am still on the project!

Story: 100 %
Graphics: 85 %
   1. Backgrounds: 4 left
   2. Cut-scenes: 1½ left
Sound and Music: 75 %
Animation: 90 %

We're getting there...

[i k a r i]

Yay! Amazing news 

Thank you for the update. This will be one of the best AGS games ever  .

I was one of those who said you shouldnt post more screenshots, but now Im dying to see something new, at least a little sketch? 

[Nikolas]

nonono!

No more screens please! We will die of anticipation... 

Good to see this thread back on top!

[Ubel]

I would show them, but I promised I wouldn't show any more screens. Don't want to spoil the ending for you!

Yes, thank you. Keep that promise.

Great to hear about this game. I was getting a bit worried here already!

[fovmester]

I'll try to keep the promise.

You don't have to worry, though. I will work on the game until it is finished. It may take a while, but finished it will be. I prefer it to be high-quality throughout than feel like I rushed to release it. I am using most of my free hours for it, so it IS progressing...

See ya

[fovmester]

Long time since last update, I know.

Just want to let people know the project is still ongoing! Currently I am working hard on the last part of the game, which involves a lot of complicated scripting and animations. It is fun, but takes time to get right. The next two weeks my girl is going on vacation, meaning that I'll be a bachelor during this time and have lots of time at night to work on Woodlands! Hopefully I can get lots of things done during these weeks. Of course I still have my full time job to take care of. But the evenings are free! Looking forward to it!

I will write again soon and give you a fuller update of what I am doing and what's left to do!

[Fleshstalker]

Sorry to bump such an old post, but is fovmester still working on it. Been such a long time. 

[Darth Mandarb]

Dear god ...

Don't apologize. Just don't do this again.  Send a PM (just as the rules say) to the author.

Fovmester - if you're still out there and working on this and want to post an update let me know and I'll unlock it.