Infinity String v 1.04
Yep, it's finaly here...
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Your name is Yerik Elnar. You are scientist working for United States.
In late 2009 a ruins were found in Antartica by Russian explorers. A year later a complete research base was built to study the findings.
Team consisted of 7 russians, 5 americans and 2 germans. 1 year later USA send you as an additional help. You arrive with the helicopter.
But strange things begin to happen...
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(http://freeweb.siol.net/zagar413/KZ/stringcdrom.png)
-2 completly different worlds: Cold, icy Antartica and Warm, green junge with caves
-DIG like interface (right click LOOK, left click ACTION)
-2 different GUIS
-res. 320x240, 32-bit
-most of the music from Vangelis, special intro song and more... (as it should create great atmosphere)
-more serious subject
(http://freeweb.siol.net/zagar413/KZ/pic0.png)
(http://freeweb.siol.net/zagar413/KZ/pic2.png)
Intro movie can be downloaded here, and it NOT part of the game:
http://rapidshare.com/files/40641355/introsnd.avi.html
Please go to games section to DL the game, here, :
http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/games.php?category=6&action=detail&id=901&refresh1183407342
Review and mirror at FREEHAREs:
http://www.freehare.com/index.php?nav=games&item=review&id=88
!!! 2nd mirror for version 1.01 !!! :
http://www.planetfreeplay.com/download/The-Infinity-String/
All info, bugs and other stuff report to CHRONOSEKTOR@HOTMAIL.com
Enjoy the game...
Linux version comming soon, i hope :)
Let me be the first to congratulate you!
The game, thus far, looks great! Graphics, amazing, the story is right my kind, and the music works. (why didn't you find a composer to work with you?)
I am a bit stuck, but it's too early for a thread in the hints and tips forum I think ;) I'll keep trying and come back later if needed.
On comparison to your other games, I've not found any tpyos yet (but then again I'm hardly the person to judge that :D).
Anyways, it really looks great! Well done!
Wow, first Earl Mansin: The Breakout and now this ;D
Two very expected games arrive at last.
I've just finished downloading from RapidShare, now I have to wait 24 minutes to see the intro movie! O_O
If it's half as good as Stargate Adventure Im more than happy!, thanks :=
Quote from: Nikolas on Mon 02/07/2007 22:31:03
I've not found any tpyos yet
;D
Same as ikari.
This is a really nice bonus for me one week before I take the plane and move to Wales!
I wont have internet access there right away so now I at least got some games to download before I go to play when I am there ;D.
It looks really nice!
And I would love to get it on CD in that DVD case ;). (hint hint).
anyway, downloading right now!
I'm gonna save the congratulations for a bit later, since I don't really have time now. I'm just posting about a bug:
Spoiler
If you pick up the pulse meter before helping the janitor, the extra line of dialog will be added to the dialog box and will exit the screen. Apparently you're not supposed to pick it up, since the janitor asks for you to get it. So if you have it already, the dialog choice "Here's the pulse meter" or something is added unintentionally. I at least have the habit of exploring each bg at a time, so I naturally picked up anything that wasn't glued even before going into the caves.
So far looking to be a great game :D! Can't say I haven't waited for this for a long time :).
Congratulations on finishing a wonderful game, Sektor 13. So much beauty and atmosphere along with nicely designed puzzles - I especially like that so many inventory items are re-used throughout the game. I won't comment too much now, since I've only got one ending so far and am struggling to get the other.
Spoiler
For the life of me I can't figure out what to do inside the cave, neither with the hole nor the army box.
You should probably have a native English speaker proofread the text though - I noticed quite a few spelling mistakes, even in the cutscene narration.
1st - so the intro movie is part of the game, i.e., it's the game's actual intro? Or something else? Posting something as "intro movie" and saying it's "not part of the game" is confusing.
2nd - downloading, but I'd like to know - one of the things about you and your games is that your graphics are usually great, your stories are interesting, your puzzles are quite good, and your english is somewhat lacking, so that often (Xenophobe and Stargate) we have to wait for an updated version of the dialogs. So I was wondering, did you do the dialogs yourself, trying to hone that particular skill?, or did you get someone else to work on them?
Great game so far, superb graphics and story! The music is perfectly chosen.
There are a few minor "bugs" though,
Spoiler
e.g. every time the extension cord is tied to the railing, the Protagonist says something like "time to finally get down there"
plus, many interactions don't generate responses, mainly using inv on inv.
It's mildly annoying that after using inv on inv without a result I have to scroll down, click the inv item again, scroll back up, to try the next combination.
As was mentioned, having someone proofread the game would have been a good idea, almost every other sentence is missing an article or two. It's not that bad, yet still spoils the game slightly, at least IMO.
Apart from those minor things, I'm really enjoying this gem (not a typo ;)); it's one of the few games I really want to complete on my own, not rush through using hints just to see the end.
This totally rocks!!! Like Fate of Atlantis meets The Dig!
Only downside is, as people have pointed out, that the English needs to be better.
Am stuck at the same part as the dude a few posts above!!
Hiya, first post here.
This is probably one of the finest freeware games I've played. Good, solid puzzles combined with fantastical graphics. I can't quite figure out what to do in this part either.
Spoiler
I've got two little metal things, I've got the pipe sealed, I've opened the door to the dark room with the pit and I've taken the panels out of the ship. What now?
EDIT: Bug report.
You can get stuck in the gated room with the chest in the caves if you read the manual in it.
Hi
Well, english should be fixed more or less, it was checked and correctet before the release...
But you can send me all typos to CHRONOSEKTOR@hotmail.com and I'll fix them.
thanx
Sektor 13 there are many typos to correct to send you an e-mail, for what I saw you forgot to add "the" many times, I think you should pass the file to some native english speaker, it would be much more faster and easier. With such a high quality game like this one I'm sure many will want to give you a hand. ;D
I can't believe this game is free. :D Downloading =)
Quote from: Rui "Trovatore" Pires on Tue 03/07/2007 02:33:53
1st - so the intro movie is part of the game, i.e., it's the game's actual intro? Or something else? Posting something as "intro movie" and saying it's "not part of the game" is confusing.
2nd - downloading, but I'd like to know - one of the things about you and your games is that your graphics are usually great, your stories are interesting, your puzzles are quite good, and your english is somewhat lacking, so that often (Xenophobe and Stargate) we have to wait for an updated version of the dialogs. So I was wondering, did you do the dialogs yourself, trying to hone that particular skill?, or did you get someone else to work on them?
Well, it's meant as, AVI is not included in the RAR file, it more like a bonus thingy... thats all :)
About typos, game was corrected, but only thing is that i had to copy/paste all the corrected words into the game, and l looks like a miss many of them :).
Quote from: ildu on Tue 03/07/2007 01:00:12
I'm gonna save the congratulations for a bit later, since I don't really have time now. I'm just posting about a bug:
Spoiler
If you pick up the pulse meter before helping the janitor, the extra line of dialog will be added to the dialog box and will exit the screen. Apparently you're not supposed to pick it up, since the janitor asks for you to get it. So if you have it already, the dialog choice "Here's the pulse meter" or something is added unintentionally. I at least have the habit of exploring each bg at a time, so I naturally picked up anything that wasn't glued even before going into the caves.
So far looking to be a great game :D! Can't say I haven't waited for this for a long time :).
Hmm I don't see the problem with the dialog, as he ask you to get it, you can reply immediatly if you have it... as far as i have test it, you can't give him the pulse reader before he ask you for it.
nope..
Sektor 13 i can confirm this little bug.
what he means is: When you allready have the pulse reader and he ask you for it
then the dialog line is allready there.. So far so good. but the dialog line is half
outside the monitor (window). U can't read it. Graphics on 640x480 resolution.
My own feedback so far:
This game is fantastic. It's beautiful! :) same like your other 2 games before. The music fits good into game and the story is really cool so far. But i'm still in the beginning phase.
to the english issues itself. yep there are some bugs inside it. I don't speak english by my self so i understand it, how hard it could be sometimes to write in english.
People which don't speak english can read it maybe to 100% but can't write the grammar and sentences correctly, like me for example. I suggest to let it fix from some real UK or american people.
I hope there will be a walkthrough in the near future for this game.
greetings 23-down :)
Congratulations on finishing the game, it looks fantastic! However, it crashes on Linux. Apparently because the Linux port of AGS can't handle plugins. Any change of getting a version without the snowfall-plugin?
QuoteError: Unable to create local script: Runtime error: unresolved import 'srChangeSnowAmount'
Yes please! This game looks awesome!
Yes, game doesn't work under Linux because of the plugin.. I'll remove it from the game and upload it to rapidshare, probably tommorow..
Just finished it!
and it was brilliant!
Needed some help a few times (probably could of done it without) but I think I managed pretty good :P.
I seen both endings where both where great :).
If I remember right there is gonna be more of this game or? (pretty sure you mentioned more games).
When I first started the game up I was basically ready to go to bed. So I WAS going to skip all the intro text... but then I saw the beauty of the graphics. And I knew, that I was NOT going to NOT give this game the attention that it needs.
Anyway, I am going to try this game out for real soon. Looking forward to it!
Ah, so I finished the game with both endings and have a few more comments.
- I love the backgrounds. You've managed to emulate the early 1990's style to perfection. Some of the rooms would fit seamlessly into FoA while others made me think of Innocent Until Caught/Guilty and Beneath a Steel Sky. The character animation is also exellent (love the janitor's idle anim) and there are so many little details to notice, like the puke freezing after a while.
- Sound design was excellent, footstep sounds, ambients, everything just right. And even though the music wasn't original it added greatly to the atmosphere.
- The interface is really well designed (and nice idea to have two different graphics for the GUI). The more I use it, the more I come to realize that a single cursor interface is probably the least intrusive for adventure games. Having to "look at" the necklace to activate it does show the system's limitations I guess. The doubleclick-on-exits option is very welcome (although it's slightly inconsistent for some exits).
- I had a lot of fun with the puzzles. Many nice twists that don't often appear in AGS games such as time limits and multiple use items that you have to go back to retrieve. It did cause a bit of backtracking, but it was worth it. I also liked how several puzzles could be solved using different items. I was only truly stuck once (see end of post) and considering this the probable most balanced gameplay in any AGS game I played this year.
While the game overall is great, there's also room for improvement - some of these details could be dealt with in a later version, others you could keep in mind for your next game:
- Starting from the very beginning, the "Press SPACE to continue" screen in the beginning come across as an attempt to seem more professional, without considering that those screens mainly show up in crappy console ports as a stand-in for the PS/2's ubiquitous "Press START button to continue". Why even ask the player to press space in a game that's otherwise controlled by mouse clicks?
- As I and others have commented, the English translation is a bit lacking in places. But another detail I noticed in the text is that you put a space before question- and exclamation marks. This may be a style choice, and I know it's common in French, but due to the linebreaking this often leads to the character being isolated on a line of its own which just looks bad. If you do need the space, use a hard space (hold ALT and type 0160 on the numeric pad) that won't linebreak.
- Is there any special reason that the intro movie wasn't done as part of the game (in-engine rather than avi file)? Except for a few blur effects and perhaps the audio sync, it doesn't contain anything that couldn't be displayed using AGS script. No big deal, I would just prefer it hadn't been a separate download is all.
- "He is ugly" as a look response for most of the NPCs doesn't help to establish the characters. And the lack of conversation with the two soldiers near the end - especially the last - means that you can't even TRY to TALK your way past, which makes them seem more like mere obstacles than people.
Most of the above are minor annoyances, but the issue below seems to be a problem for several users judging by the hints forum. It's a simple matter of a lack of hints that stops the game dead in its tracks:
Spoiler
The door to the room with the blue crystals in the spaceship is lacking proper look/interaction responses. All I got was "I don't know what to do with it", "I'm not touching it" and "I better leave it alone". No indication that it might be interesting, and even less that it's stuck and a tool should be used.
I've been playing this one and I find it to be most excellent. I don't really understand the story much but it's very atmospheric with perfect use of sound effects. I'd love to go through and correct all those spelling and grammatical errors to make it even better.
Aha! Finaly!
I was waiting for this one for a while and I'm so happy it finaly came out.
Downloading it now - had to make time and play it.
Congratulations for finising it, and keep the good work!
Alex
Hey
By the way, Intro music and Credits music is original to Infinity String, and I want to know if you like those two tracks ?
Version 1.02 will be ready soon (for linux too). I tried to fix some grammar problems, added responses when interacting/looking "characters" (as i totaly forgot to do it before :( ). And added few extra responses as some people suggested (like half opened door in the ship).
Linux version will be just like v 1.02 only without rain and snow effect.
...
The outstanding graphics and the cool story made this game lots of fun to play. In many ways this is a game that is on a par with professional products from good ol' Lucasfilm Games.
There was only one thing that I really got stuck on for ages - the fact that a right-click on an item in the inventory mostly meant "Look at" - but also "Use" sometimes! It took me hours to figure out that you needed to right-click on
Spoiler
the pulse reader, for example...
As I have pointed out in the comments on the database page, I recommend changing the violence rating of this game from "mild" to "strong" or whatever the other adjective is. A game in which people get stabbed to death by bony fingers in the intro is _not_ mildly violent.I just saw this has already been done.
just finished the game and loved it.
Some of the most beautiful backgrounds i've seen in an ags game, with real attention to detail. great sounds, weather effects and footprints. ;D
i liked the intro.
ooh, and what an amazing title screen! that grass moving in the wind is simply stunning.
and i also found the puzzles really logical.
definitely one of my favourite ags games.
thanks, sektor, for the effort you put in the game. ;)
Check the first page to DL LINUX VERSION, 1.02 -
or click here: http://rapidshare.com/files/41226700/StringLinux.zip.html
Enjoy
played the game last night. I dont usually download many ags games, but I was a fan of Stargate so I thought I'd give this a try. I didnt get very far. The only criticisms I have(apart from whats already been said) is that at the start of the game its not entirely obvious what you're supposed to do. I mean you wander around and explore, but I get the feeling like you're already supposed to know whats going to happen, instead of gradually discovering or working it out. For example, I picked up the pulse meter straight away, but then later I get given a quest to go and find the pulse meter, even though I already had it. And then with the power generator - there's no hint as to whats meant to be done with it - at least I didnt get that far but I am assuming you need to use it to melt ice? I just got a general feeling like I'm supposed to know what to do without been given any hints. I figure its either me, or maybe just a problem once again with the english. Its not too disturbing and is easily forgotten when looking at the great graphics. And one other niggly thing - I missed the first intro text screen because it didnt stay up long enough for me to read all the text - and then the second one stayed up too long...
but well done, I'm gonna have another play tonight, and I look forward to sektor 13's next release!
Congrats on releasing the game. I just finished it.
Comments:
- The background art is superb, definetely one of the best, if not the best looking backgrounds in an AGS game.
- The attention to detail in most places is amazing, good work.
- All of the animations and effects like footsteps, lighting, etc. really add alot to the atmosphere.
- Like others have said, the game has alot of typos and grammatical errors. There are too many to list right here, and some sentences were particularly hard to understand because of this.
- Some hotspots and actions have no responses or feedback. This is particularly frustrating when I think I have the right solution, but I don't know if I'm performing the action in the correct way because the player won't say anything.
- It would have been nicer to remind me of my goals. Sometimes I forgot what I was supposed to be doing and I would just wander around trying to solve different puzzles to achieve progress.
- I found the story somewhat confusing and by the end of the game I had no idea who I was anymore, what I was trying to achieve, or what had happened up to that point. Story Spoilers:
Spoiler
All I understood about the story was that there were Aliens who were fighting a war, they tried to control the universe using strings, then they built a research facility on Antarctica, and then humans discovered it. I'm a bit fuzzy after that.
That's probably just me though. My brain must be working really slow.
Bugs:
- About the vine:
Spoiler
I put the vine down the lattice to swing across, and then it appeared in the room below. After I figured out how to cross the chasm, I went back up and removed the vine to put the screws in. I forgot to put the vine back in the lattice, but when I went down, the vine was still there. The vine should disappear if you remove it from the lattice, but it stays there once you put it down for the first time. (I think)
- The Shorter Ending:
Spoiler
When you interact with the radio as the skeleton man, the animation for turning into a skeleton plays over again. You probably wanted the use animation to play but it bugged up here.
Overall, the game is one of the most professional AGS games I've seen so far, and it easily looks and plays like one of the old Lucas Arts classics.
Great job!
Wow, just great. This atmosphere is wonderful. I`m still in the beginning but I really enjoy it.
Hmm i'll already fixed vine and skeleton bug for now, and i'll probably add a bit better explanation in game, in version 1.03
I'll also write story explanation here..
I don't get it, the 1.02 version is for the Linux specifically - i.e., no plugins? And there's no version *with* a plugin? So any effects that the 1.01 version had are now, and forever, disabled, in the 1.02 and future versions?
I made two versions 1.02, one for linux (without plugins) and one with plugns for windows. The only thing is that i didn't upload version 1.02 for wins, as i will soon add/correct few other things and release version 1.03.
So lets just say that 1.02 with rain/snow was skipped.. and will be available in v 1.03
And i think version 1.02 will be the only version without the snow/rain plugin - > only version for linux, as i won't upload every version twice.
Ah, right, gotcha.
Mind you, here's a thought - you could actually have a check in your game. In every place you use the snow_rain plugin have:
if (System.OperatingSystem == eOSWindows) {
//put the snow/rain plugins effects here!
}
else {
//well, else do nothing
}
Just a thought for future projects. ;)
This game looks top.
However I don't want to start playing it until I've seen the Intro movie.
Unfortunately my poxy little laptop won't let me watch it nd I've tried 3 different media player, downloading codecs left right and center and nothings working?
Do you have a stream of the video on YouTube or anywhere that I could watch?
Or does anyone know why the movie won't work for me?
Cheers.
Quote from: Stupot on Sat 07/07/2007 13:38:05
This game looks top.
However I don't want to start playing it until I've seen the Intro movie.
Unfortunately my poxy little laptop won't let me watch it nd I've tried 3 different media player, downloading codecs left right and center and nothings working?
Do you have a stream of the video on YouTube or anywhere that I could watch?
Or does anyone know why the movie won't work for me?
Cheers.
That is why i didn't add movie to the game, as some people have problems playing it, still you can try the game without seeing intro....
----------------------------------------
OK here is story explanation, SPOILER , READ ONLY IF YOU?VE COMPLETED THE GAME:
Spoiler
Infinity String - Plot !
What happened in the game FAQ:
------------------------------
Q: Why did Delegian home world "explode" ?
A: There is more complex story behinde that and will be explained in Infinity String 2, if ever made.
Q: What's with those two guys talking in the beginning and the end of the game ?
A: Those two persons are actually only one, the good and the bad side of Yerik Elnar (one wants necklace the other one doesn't)
Q: So Yerik was a clone of that guy we see talking to coucillors and to the ships captain in another cutscene (memories)
A: Yes, DNA for Yerik was collected from the escape pod, found in antartica, the one you found the necklace in.
Q: Whats with the doctor Selec ?
A: He was one of the first humans to find cloning facilities. He was scaned and cloned (original was killed) with the brain chip, so he could be controled.
He feed you bits and pieces of the story slowly and to unknowingly force you to use the necklace.
Q: But if the base was found in 2009 and Yerik was cloned there, how can he be so old in 2011 when he visits the base ?
A: Goverment said it was found in 2009. In truth they first found it in 1943. After they've sent elite troopers to find German secret base in Antartica.
Delegian technology is far more advance than human.
They needed over 20 years to adapt some of the human technology to work with Delegian tech.
Not only that, but most of current human technology is based on Delegians. Like microproccesors and other stuff that only army uses for now.
Q: Whats with that beast, that's chasing me throught the first part of the game ?
A: That beast is you ! Beast is trying to scare you to use the necklace (with the help of Dr. Selec too)
Q: But I never choose "bad" end of the game, to be the beast.
A: Because that happend before. The necklace was designed specialy for Yerik and it's a cloning device too. When you put the necklace on
regeneration process killed the original clone,added brain chip, transfered all memories
and ability to control necklace to a new clone. This cloning procedure was fast. But before new clone was aware of himself, brain chip controled
his sub-consciousness and made him go back to the past and first kill all the soldiers, to prevent more interference and to scare Yerik to use necklace.
In the end of Antarctica, when you use necklace on yourself in front of a monster (other self), you become aware and try to take control back to your hands.
2nd clone than wakes up a week later in the jungle shuttle. As he is actually a week older, he has a beard and his genes were "upgraded", he doesn't need
glasses anymore.
Q: But 2nd clone was first walking skeleton and later again normal man with a beard, how is that ?
A: Walking skeleton actually represents his position. If he wants to use/is using necklace he becomes empty inside, no feeling, no life.
While if he doesn't except the necklace, he is still human and is unable to use necklace powers.
Q: Whats with the Earth and reptiles ?
A: When the Delegians found Earth (Terra), reptiles were the dominant species and were evolving in inteligent creatures.
But Delegians were mammals, and they wanted to crate clones that were mammals too.
They didn't have much time, so the made reptiles (dinosaurs) extinct and made mamals the dominant species.
From there the humans evolved after few thousand of years. Clones were ment to be weak and pink skined.
But through evolution that changed and humans become stronge with longer life and new skin colors.
Q: Delegians councillors were all black, why is that ?
A: All Delegians are darker and stronger than usual human.
Q: So were Delegians saved if you choose "bad" end ?
A: No, necklace didn't work as it should. Living mind dies, so the clones begin to "die". Their minds were lost over time. They are only empty shells.
Q: What happened to the humans after the "bad" end ?
A: Althou military was very cripled, they've survived.
About 10 000 people died in the attacks and another 1000 were kidnapped to be changed into clones.
Other humans were left alone.
Q: What happened to Yerik ?
A: In the "good" end he sacrificed himself and didn't use the necklace. As he was binded to it, he died.
In the "bad" end he created the army but before they've learned to control the necklace powers, their personality was gone. They scattered around the time
and universe but succeded in nothing. Yerik was the stronges. He is still "fighting" with the necklace to gain ethernal life and keep his mind.
Here are logs, that i didn't put in the game, but could be there.
------------------------
Delegian Space Ship log:
------------------------
-Universal Time 130 500 9 par 2
We have arrived to sektor K.
130 light years away from home, we finaly found suitable planet.
We've named it Terra.
-Universal Time 130 500 9 par 4
Close exemination shows that it supports carbon units.
Atmosphere consists of, 77% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 1% argon, and small percent of carbon dioxide.
Dominant species are reptiles.
They are showing first signes of inteligence, as we can notice crude buildings and tools.
-Universal Time 130 500 9 par 6
Colonizing this planet proved very difficult. Reptile species are very hostile.
We must reases possibility of colonization of this planet.
-Universal Time 130 500 9 par 8
We come to agreement. We cannot afford to travel any further. Talks for Reformation plans of Terra is already in motion.
-Universal Time 130 500 9 par 10
We will send asteroid back in time, to criple reptile population and add humanoid lifeforms, to suit our needs.
-Universal Time 130 500 9 par 12
I am feeling a bit guilty for extermination of indigenous species. This doesn't feel right, but it must be done.
So we can preserve ourselfs.
-Universal Time 130 500 9 par 14
Plan is complete, bioengineers are working on humanoid-gene dispersal unit.
We will made new kind of life.
-Universal Time 130 500 9 par 16
Sun is being used to charge time device and add extra speed boost to steroid.
-Universal Time 130 500 9 par 18
Our calculations were precise. Reptile species is almost extinct. Mammals evolved.
-----------------------
LOG of chief scientist:
-----------------------
Now it's time to explain this situation to you.
I really wanted to help ! I work day without sleep on string project. But those council bastards just didn't listen. Their master plan was more important
to them as the real thing, strings. They "moved" my project far away from home planet. So I wouldn't be in a way. But I know, that strings are our only
solution. Our enemy is too strong and far superior in technology, aside string research. It's real miracle that we survived this long.
Newertheless I won't abandon my brotherens.
As we found suitable planet to colonize, I talked to captaion about my plan. He did't agree with me at all.
Its tearing me from the inside. Nobody listens to me. Those fools.
I guess I am on my own. No matter, I can do this. I have a complete knowladge about current string achivements and capabilities. It is time for me to act.
MY first step will be to "improve" our yunglings. I will made them stronger and smarter. Three groups will be enought.
After close studies they found out that some of the speciment evolving on Terra are far superior to those we were trying to make. They found my boys.
They don't know that I made them, they think it was an error.
Captaion ordered termination of all "evolved" speciments on Terra, with clean nuclear weapon.
Damn. MY plan failed again.
There is no doubt, they are abstructing me. A can't execute my plan while they are around.
I sabotaged all the emergency escape pods. Nobody will survive, not even me.
But before that, I must do some work on our ground station.
I rearanged all cloning facilities, so that they are in auto mode. I used internal scaners to gain any speciments DNA.
When scaners detect any life, they first check basic abilities and if they are in range of certain parameters they begin no measure brainwave patterens.
If all parameters are good, subject is "guided" to a special room where he's cloned with few extra abilities and special control chip is added it his brain.
I've written all the instructions.
I've set coordinates for escape pods to "land". As there can be only one gathering point, I cannot make other pods to crash out of my way. But with some fine
tuning I will be able to crash my pod in the exact spot for me to be found first. My puppet will do the rest.
It is time to damage the ship, it's an emergency guys !
-----end of log-------
Quote from: Sektor 13 on Sat 07/07/2007 16:03:20
That is why i didn't add movie to the game, as some people have problems playing it, still you can try the game without seeing intro....
Ok, I'll start playing it soon, but could I ask a request?
Do you reckon you might be able to somehow put the intro onto youtube or something similar so those of us having video problems could still see it?
In your own time, of course, just a suggestion, really.
Just it'd be a shame not to be able to experience such an awesome-looking game with all the trimmings.
Quote from: Sektor 13 on Sat 07/07/2007 16:03:20
OK here is story explanation, SPOILER , READ ONLY IF YOU?VE COMPLETED THE GAME:
Spoiler
Infinity String - Plot !
etc.
Thanks for clearing that up. I'm a little confused still
Spoiler
about who you are and how this cloning process comes into the story.
Other than that, I think I get it now.
By the way, are all of those details in the game? You could intepret the story that way in the game, but lots of the scenes seemed ambiguous to me
Spoiler
and meeting the 2 dead guys down the pit threw me off (I thought they were the guys at the beginning in the cut-scene).
->
Spoiler
Only clones can use necklace, you were made clone few years ago and sent into the world to get some experience without any enhancements, so you wouldn't be suspicious to the world and yourself. Afte you got necklace you had to be "recloned" to add brain chip and some extra features to use necklace..")
Hmm never thought about those 2 guys, still in the intro , they were brutaly murdered, in that room one was shot. And at the end they talk again. And colour of the jackets don't match.. :)
Finished and liked it! Here's my sort of review:
The Strong:
* You're using same drawing style as I: brighten/darken over plain colors, and you really used it well!
* Music is so well chosen... not that the tracks are good (they ARE, but--), but main power lies in that they were well chosen and really fitted with game.
* Puzzles weren't too hard and some felt really classical
* Interface is simple and loveable. I especially liked double-click exit thingy, I discovered it seconds after I started to feel that main character walks too slowly
*Locations looked interesting and made me want to explore further
* Dialogs are simple and functional
* The game has really classic feel, just like playing any LucasArts' games
* Main menu screen is hardcore, so are most of intro animations!
The Weak:
* Dialogs are too simple and short. It's two-sided thing, it's not bad, but a bit of spice could made them even better. Like some character construction. People with feelings, etc
* The story is a mess. I can't help about it, but it felt like playing one of latest Yathzee's games: too much unanswered questions and hard to get into story. Whole intro was about Delegians and suddenly it's all about Earthlings...? well, messy. I never understood story enough until very end, which also came as surprise. I think that it's my own personal opinion, and doesn't apply to other players
* Characters look poor compared to backgrounds. Let me simply say it: characters lack our top character artist's influence! You should have spent some time in Critics Lounge with them... This is especially hard with player character, he doesn't look nearly as cool as any characters from the Dig, for example (I say Dig because your game is full of Dig :D). But they're functionable alright.
* Character closeups... well, most of them... suck. Sorry to say this, I bet they took a load of time to draw. Next time, get some photos and trace, to get face anatomy right. Then modify to a look you want.
* The detail of various backgrounds varies too much. For example, jungle bg's are really detailed, but ship/ice backgrounds feel a bit empty and rushed.
* The game (1.01) is still full of translation/grammar errors, and some words doesn't exist in English.
And main thing, the only thing that felt REALLY wrong with your game:
* Characters have no soul. Really, they don't. Probably most interesting character was the janitor and even he had so few lines that it was near zero. Next time, add some moods, personalities, drama and you'll get alot more atmosphere so you don't have to work your ass off picking music and drawing for hours. Interesting characters could do alot of impressing for you.
Well, that's what I think of this game, and in conclusion, I'd say this is surely one of best AGS games over a long time, but lacks a tiny bit of polish to be really perfect. I hope I wasn't too harsh on you, and you'll take this as constructive criticism, but I'm also sure you will make your next game twice as good.
Hey
Thanks for the strong critisism. I really like it !
I agree, dialog were short -> problem is that somewhere in the middle i didn't want to spend much time on the game anymore. And you can see that in some parts of the game.
Story is kind a complicated and i guess i am not that good at explaining it -> i was kinda afraid about that, it's a mess, thats why I tried to explain that with the FAQ on the previous page.
I always have problems with drawing "living" objects... and i think this won't change soon.
I agree even with backgrounds too.
I'll think about it -> but i don't know if i will make another game... Don't worry, not because of your critics, but it just take soo much time, and I really had to force myself to complete this game.
Sektor 13- amazing!
I'm not really that far into the game (solved a couple of puzzles) but so far i'm blown away! Great atmosphere, beautiful graphics and interesting story.
To be honest, it's the first adventure (be it amateur or commercial) in a long time, that really got my interest.. and i can't stop playing it.
Bravo :)
Quote from: Sektor 13 on Sun 08/07/2007 09:08:15
I'll think about it -> but i don't know if i will make another game... Don't worry, not because of your critics, but it just take soo much time, and I really had to force myself to complete this game.
Waaaht?
This is one of the best games of the year. Okay so theres a bit of a lack of depth in the dialogue... but other than that I'm really enjoying it and the graphics are beautiful... you know you don't have to do it all yourself... I'm sure there are plenty of people who would be willing to work with you on your next project to take the load off and speed things up a bit. But don't quit now, please.
Sorry to bother again, but I thought I'd point out that the Linux-compatible version still crashes after the scene with "death". Good game so far. ;)
Hey, crap, i forgot to remove 1 line... hmm I guess i'll have to make another linux version than..
If you don't know already, you don't have to remove every line manually.
You could set it up like this:
// main script header
// Uncomment the following line to compile a Linux/Mac version:
//#define NOPLUGINS
// some script
#ifndef NOPLUGINS
SnowRain.Go(); // or whatever the plugin function is called
#endif
So if NOPLUGINS is not defined (i.e. commented out in the script header), the code between the ifndef and endif lines is simply skipped at compile time.
This way, you only have to uncomment one line in the main script header to enable a plugin-free compile.
Quote from: Igor on Sun 08/07/2007 16:26:00
Sektor 13- amazing!
I'm not really that far into the game (solved a couple of puzzles) but so far i'm blown away! Great atmosphere, beautiful graphics and interesting story.
To be honest, it's the first adventure (be it amateur or commercial) in a long time, that really got my interest.. and i can't stop playing it.
Bravo :)
Hvala ti .
Upam da vidmo tut tvojga Ignaca prosim :)
Just started it (v1.01 (at least that's what the readme.rtf says), even though ingame it says v1.0).. But one problem I already have with the intro was that the text flew by too fast before I've read it, and I'm not that much of a slow reader ;) So maybe you could slow down the text a bit..
any idea on when you would release v1.03?
I am waiting some feedback from someone to fix some things, v1.03 will be ready as soon as i get it, and fix certain problems, i hope very soon.
Actually, Dre reminded me I was going to mention the same thing about the intro text being a tad too fast. Maybe just add an extra 5-6 seconds per page of text.
Oky
I've added 4 seconds to every "screen" in intro and 1 second to every "screen" in "story explanation" part in space ship, which was long enough i think...
I think it should be readable now :D
You've created a strong second release here, Sektor13, and you have every reason to be proud of it. The opening logo and title screen reminded me of games like Albion which is probably the highest compliment I could give to a free game author. That said, I had a few issues with puzzle-kludginess, such as:
Spoiler
the whole freeing the frozen rod bit. Why not use the pickaxe head to do it? Also, the rounded pickaxe end could just as easily pried the metal panel up enough or used the gum to get the object, and there are several places where the inventory was filled with items that could have achieved a similar logical result but had too specific a purpose. This, ultimately, is the problem with games that have huge inventories: multiple solutions logically possible but not scripted. It also becomes a problem when you start making puzzles just to extend gameplay, it feels tacked-on rather than a part of the narrative.
Don't feel discouraged though, most indie authors have difficulty making really intuitive puzzles and companies like Lucasarts performed extensive testing to make a puzzle 'work' (and even then they failed at times imo). I think if you wanted to go back and make the core puzzles solvable in different ways you would reap the benefits later, but this is only a suggestion.
At any rate, congratulations on your release.
Quote from: ProgZmax on Mon 09/07/2007 20:39:09
You've created a strong second release here, Sektor13, and you have every reason to be proud of it. The opening logo and title screen reminded me of games like Albion which is probably the highest compliment I could give to a free game author. That said, I had a few issues with puzzle-kludginess, such as:
Spoiler
the whole freeing the frozen rod bit. Why not use the pickaxe head to do it? Also, the rounded pickaxe end could just as easily pried the metal panel up enough or used the gum to get the object, and there are several places where the inventory was filled with items that could have achieved a similar logical result but had too specific a purpose. This, ultimately, is the problem with games that have huge inventories: multiple solutions logically possible but not scripted. It also becomes a problem when you start making puzzles just to extend gameplay, it feels tacked-on rather than a part of the narrative.
Don't feel discouraged though, most indie authors have difficulty making really intuitive puzzles and companies like Lucasarts performed extensive testing to make a puzzle 'work' (and even then they failed at times imo). I think if you wanted to go back and make the core puzzles solvable in different ways you would reap the benefits later, but this is only a suggestion.
At any rate, congratulations on your release.
You're right about the puzzles... I must admit i never thought of using picks head to get frozen rod, but it's very logical. I must think about it -> for possible updates
Sorry to contribute in such a lame manner, but for a foreigner like me, "infinity string" sounds like "unlimited panties". ;)
I'm enjoying the game but I think I've found a pretty serious bug:
Spoiler
In the room with the barred door and the piece of metal lying on the floor: I used the orange device to pick up the metal. Now it's as if the game thinks I'm on the other side of the door. I can't exit back the way I came and the cursor changes into an arrow over the door I can't get to.
I tried to save a game to show you the problem, but now that doesn't seem to work. When I click save the cursor changes into an hourglass for a long time, but changes back when I click anywhere on the screen without saving.
I look forward to continuing the game, so I hope you're able to address this problem.
That's a bug I completely forgot to mention: the savegames are limited but there's no indication of that. Delete any savegame and you can save again.
Quote from: Monsieur OUXX on Tue 10/07/2007 08:55:25
Sorry to contribute in such a lame manner, but for a foreigner like me, "infinity string" sounds like "unlimited panties". ;)
Are you french ? :) Those are one killer panties, i tell you :D
Ali:
I'll look to it right now.
EDIT:
I don't know where is the problem, it should work !? Tell me everything you did in that room ?
Just finished both endings.. Another great game.. Only this time I needed some help, let's just say magnetic things can help a lot, and with the good ending I had some problems with finding something to put in a hole...
The graphix/animations are really excellent, the music is great (I just hope you won't get into trouble by using copyrighted music, even though it's a free game)
I was using v1.01 and didn't find any real bugs, apart from some incorrectly used english..
And I'm looking forward to seeing another adventure by Sektor 13... ;)
I think I've found a bug.
Either that or I'm being completely stupid.
I got stuck and was forced to read the walkthrough:
Spoiler
It said that I should use the Pulse reader on a metal thing when I exit the ship. But I don't have the pulse reader. The only thing that remined in my inventory was the Extension cord.. I think it was supposed to be the Pulse reader, but something weird happened.
[EDIT]
Shit, what a loser... forget that. There is no bug. I just decided top press UP in my inventory and realised that everything was there, Pulse reader and all.
I was going to delete this post but then I thought I'd leave it up for you all to have a good laugh at me.. hahaa
Quote from: Sektor 13 on Tue 10/07/2007 14:53:31
Ali:
I'll look to it right now.
EDIT:
I don't know where is the problem, it should work !? Tell me everything you did in that room ?
Now I know about the save game limit, I'll try to work out what's wrong or upload a save game.
EDIT: I'm sorry, I can't recreate the bug. Because of the savegame bug, I wasn't able to save the game with the problem. It did happen though, I have witnesses! If it helps, here are the things I remember doing before the problem occured:
Spoiler
Getting the wire, talking to the dying soldier, getting the battery, getting the key and metal piece via the drain, unlocking the round door, opening the valve near the swamp, powering up the laptop.
I hadn't done much in the room itself, I'd looked at everything and tried a few objects on the hole in the wall.
That's all from memory and, as I said, when I retraced my steps the bug didn't reappear. I hope this doesn't leave you baffled!
Hm very strange - > I have changed that code a bit, so i hope this won't happen again, but i still don't know why happened !?
Just completed the game, it was brilliant! Good work Sector.
Great game so far, I am really enjoying it. A few things I noticed:
The bug Ali came across happens when you:
Spoiler
Read the PR manual
I was stuck for a while until eventually like Stupot I clicked 'up' in the inventory and there were all my items, I thought it was a bug at first that they appeared. It would be better if the inventory wasn't on a blank page after the cutscene.
The scrolling jungle room tends to occassionaly move the player to the left of the river. It does this sometimes when you look at the river, or if you're walking along, I can't pinpoint exactly when.
I will save the comments until I finish, just thought I'd post about bugs as soon as I find them.
Quote from: SimB on Thu 12/07/2007 11:14:20
The scrolling jungle room tends to occassionaly move the player to the left of the river. It does this sometimes when you look at the river, or if you're walking along, I can't pinpoint exactly when.
I've noticed this, too.
I've also found that on this room clicking things is harder and I often have to hold the button down for a few seconds for it to register that I've clicked. It only seems to be on the scrolling screen. It's a minor annoyance but it's as likely to be my computer's uselessness as any fault with the code.
I wrote the jungle "teleport" bug in the first page, but we found out the problem, so it will be fixed in 1.03 which will be ready today.
EDIT:
Ok, version 1.03 is up now.
Some of the fixes i remember:
-Now there is a response when you reach maximum savegame limit
-Vine bug fixed
-Stuck in cave with bars fixed- I hope :)
-Some minor gramatical errors
-Added a lot of responses (like use inventory on other inventory)
-Added about 4 seconds to a page in intro story
-And some other stuff i can't remember right now...
Aren't you the guys who made Stargate SG-1? (the adventure game I mean :P)
Anyway, what convinced me to download this game was the image you posted of the "CD" and the intro cinematic. I wasn't expecting much (even do I am a big fan of the Stargate game). I'll have to admit, I was surprised. The game is awesome, dig the atmosphere and the graphics, alto your english could use some patches here and there, but the main thing is you understand what the characters are saying. The story isn't all that original, but in these times, its almost impossible to make a 100% original story. Overall, I give your game a 8.7 out of 10, and I didn't take into consideration the fact that the game is free, you might be surprised, but I find your game a hundred times more enjoyable than Half-Life 2 (witch bored me to tears so I quit playing it after about 20 minutes). I will keep playing Infinity String until I finish it ;D
Hope you come up with more cool games like this one.
And as a last note, are any of you Trilby fans? Cause I don't know if it's a coincidence, but the game reminds me a little bit of the Trilby Series. People disappearing, walking around doing stuff and when you least expect it, something kills a friend of yours, etc.
Anyway, keep up the good work guys!
Hey
Well first of all, we aren't many, I am alone :) and yes, i made SG too :).
Thanks for the compliments. I played all "x days a x" Yantzees games, but they are not the reason for the gore in my game :).
.
Quote from: MYKAYEL on Thu 12/07/2007 19:44:00
And as a last note, are any of you Trilby fans? Cause I don't know if it's a coincidence, but the game reminds me a little bit of the Trilby Series. People disappearing, walking around doing stuff and when you least expect it, something kills a friend of yours, etc.
Anyway, keep up the good work guys!
Play Gabriel knight, or basically every other adventure game set to a serious tone.
BTW, great game Sektor! I think I might just write a review of it in my blog.
The graphics were brilliant, very stunning and just gorgeous! My favorite scene was the first screen you see, when you have the options to load or start a new game. However I found the storyline quite confusing. I just completed the game and I honestly still don't understand what the clones were, and why they needed to take over the earth, or what that accomplished. A lot of the speeches were confusing; I didn't understand many of them, and that really hindered me getting absorbed into the story. Especially the cut scenes. I didn't really understand any of them, or what they were talking about. I was kind of disappointed that a lot of items, when I tried to click on them, the main character said "I don't want to touch that." It really frustrated me.
I think it was just the translation that was hard to understand, though. Or maybe it's just me.
Just finally completed it with one ending. I'm going to have a bit of a rest before playing the other ending. I just wanted to say this is one of the best AGS games I've ever played. It's better than some commercial games. People are right when they say the dialogue is a little lacking, but it didn't ruin my enjoyment of the game at all.
Good choice of music. although an original score would have been nice.
The backgrounds are stunning, the puzzles are just the right level (I had to sneak a peak at the walkthrough a couple of times which is a sign that it's not too easy but not too hard otherwise I'dve been following the walkthrough all the way.
I might leave another comment when I've played the second ending, but I think I've said everything that needs saying.
And Sektor13, brother, don't quit making games. I think theres even a bit more story left in the Infinity String saga, maybe you could make a sequel, or at least a v1.5.
I certainly hope you make more games, the backgrounds for this game were terrific, technically and in terms of atmosphere. I must agree with Becca though, that I found that the character's emotionless responses to situations and characters frustrated the fun of solving puzzles and obscured the narrative.
I didn't understand a good portion of the story, though I suspect the translation was a factor in that. I have a niggling feeling that with a careful English re-write this could have been one of my favourite AGS adventures. I'd love to see further games of this visual quality, ideally with a stronger English script.
I could repeat what most people already said. I think this game is a classic in spite of its flaws.
However, I just wanted to say that I played this game on Linux using Wine 0.9.40. It worked flawlessly. It's the first AGS I came play to conclussion with Wine while being able to load and save games.
However, Wine still doesn't work very well for AGS games that use the standard AGS load/save dialog. For some reason it won't respond to keyboard input.
Quote from: blashyrkh on Sat 14/07/2007 16:50:30
I could repeat what most people already said. I think this game is a classic in spite of its flaws.
However, I just wanted to say that I played this game on Linux using Wine 0.9.40. It worked flawlessly. It's the first AGS I came play to conclussion with Wine while being able to load and save games.
However, Wine still doesn't work very well for AGS games that use the standard AGS load/save dialog. For some reason it won't respond to keyboard input.
TRY THIS PATCH (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/)
hi I think I have found a bug. At the start of the game, I cant get back to the room with the generator. I get stuck at the room outside the entrance to the ship (the scrolling up and down screen). If I go down on the screen, the character walks that far, but the arrow wont go solid to indicate I can go to the next screen. Is this a bug or is it something I dont know about?
edit: nevermind, I found it. the area in which the arrow goes solid is really small thats all.
you did a pretty good job with this game, the backgrounds are all really nice and i like the GUI art a lot, and the music really suits it (good to see another fan of Prey btw ;)).
you should really turn the main menu screen into a screensaver though, or compile an exe that's just that room without the text as it really is very nice to look at :).
This game does indeed sound terrific. Ã Â really have an urge to play it, since it seems to be the kind of adventure I really love, and since I've just picked up Stargate adventure and I'm enjoying it very much.
However, for me the plot and scripting are the most important part of a game, and it seems, by reading other posts, that in this game that is somehow weakened by the translation.
My question to Sektor is this then, do you plan to add an improved translation, like what you did with Stargate? And if so, when do you think it might become available?
I really want to play this game, but if I think an improved version, that I can enjoy to the fullest, is nearby, then I'l wait for it.
Thanks
I am playing the game right now and I must say its fantastic! Did you draw all those backgrounds by yourself?
Although I think the music is stolen (sounds too proffessional and good), game really needs it.
Sektor 13, congratulations for a very good game.
I like the Dig style graphics, good animations & cutscenes. I like the GUI and how it's changing according to location like in an old lesser known classic - Rex Nebular, the music went greatly with the story to put you in the right atmosphere.
The story developed in the right pace but as you can see from others who didn't find it easy to understand, I think there was too much information being given in text form to develop the story each time a text cutscene happened. You should have given less info in text and more in animation or at least pictures. Anything that would make a long deep story easier to understand that just being thrown at you with text. I for one enjoy books and can read a lot and fast and understand complicated text but this is a game, not a book and so the story should have been more visualized. It was just an incorrect balance - the bulk of the story was given in text form and the visualized and interactive parts of the story were very small and not significant enough in comparison to the important bulk of the story, the part that was represented by text. That's something you must work on if you make another game, visualizing more than giving just texts. It's good to set up the background with text in the intro, but it's not good to tell 90% of the game's story in text.
Still though, this game looks and plays very much like a professional game and you deserve a lot of credit for that.
However there are two flaws which sadly has become common recently in released games that really lower the value of an otherwise high quality almost professional games - language and scripting mistakes. People just skip beta testing being too eager to release their game and that takes away dramatically form its quality, and especially since the game looks so high quality and professional otherwise, this in contrast makes it look very unprofessional and that could have been avoided if you gave time to beta testing.
Here's what I 'm talking about:
1) The language mistakes were very bad and very basic language mistakes, from embarrassing mistakes like writing "worm" instead of "warm" and "loose" instead of "lose" and even more importantly the really annoying and also embarrassing non-use of "a", "an" and "the" before words, which make sentences sound like a 4 year old is saying them. In the credits it said that someone else did the English translation for you - next time you should use someone better and anyway no matter who translates the game for you - you must have someone who is a native English speaker to read proof everything and correct if necessary. And that still should be done on this game because these language flaws are to important to let be.
2) Scripting mistakes:
Spoiler
A) after taking the diploma from the wall if you return to the room the diploma is STILL on the wall.
B) puke near corpse is yellow when first entering room, turns grey when returning to room
C) when looking at fat man the description says "only a skeleton remains" - BEFORE he dissolves into a skeleton!!
D) in the cutscene where the inner voice explains the real story, there's text missing
And these are mistakes I found just by regularly playing it, real beta testing would probably find more. And these bad scripting flaws are too big to be in such an otherwise high quality game, especially C and D.
One last thing, a smaller scale problem but still a problem - there are too many hotspots in game that have boring generic descriptions that you can't even use for anything. If you make so many unusable hotspots you should give them interesting descriptions to make the time spent on clicking and exploring them worthwhile.
In conclusion again, I liked most aspects of this game and I do think it's pretty high quality and you certainly deserve kudos for the effort and the quality, as you are a very good game maker, but the language and scripting flaws I mentioned are too big to disregard and just shouldn't happen, especially in such a high quality games.
You said in this thread that you became lazy when producing the game in the later parts. I think I can speak for all and say we would have happily waited even a month or two more, or whatever long it would take, in order for you to take your time and have the game properly read proofed and beta tested. Hope you take these into mind, correct them and avoid them in your next game and again I think I can speak for all and say we want another game from you. (though I understand it's very complicated and time consuming, so no pressure)
Ok, I finished the game now.
I think the vomit turning gray isn't a scripting error, I think it is meant to freeze in the cold.
But I did see some flaws indeed, the biggest of them all was dissapearing body at the (longer) end after I had shot the guy. And the text parts were indeed a bit boring and there were no time to read everything, especially if you wanted to have a little glimpse on a beautiful background too :D
So basically the main problem with this is that it lacks any rewards after puzzles, its just simply "do this and do that"...
But my big props to you for the background art and an excellent choice of music :P Definately my taste.
Hello,
I finished the game and I must say it was a very pleasant evening!
It's a very good game and since it's custom for everybody to write a few words...here I go.
Don't get us wrong with the criticism, but the game was so nice, that everyone wants to give an opinion about what it needed to be perfect :)
The graphics, both backgrounds and animation are gorgeous. You are very skilled indeed.
The music was choosed well and it does help the mood in the right way.
There are three problems I can speak about. They have been marked on the forum by other players too.
1. The dialogs have many spelling mistakes. This should not bother too much a non-native english speaker like myself, but I guess it can be a pain for others. However, this can be easy to fix, and I advice you to do so, because the game deserves it.
Somehow the dialogs don't help the mood as much as they could. Maybe they could be more profound or so. And sometimes they don't succeed to explain good enough what they are indended to.
2. Some puzzles give the sensation of just being placed there, in the player's way to keep him busy. They are not directly connected to the story.
And, as said by someone else, sometimes there are much obvious solutions to a puzzle, using owned items, than the sollution implemented by the game.
3.The main problem of the game, in my opinion, is the story.
It is a very interesting story but it is too complex to be the subject of a single game. I know you want ot make another part, but I think you tried to catch too much of it in this game, leaving lots of questions unanswered. This confuses the player, makeing him uncertain of it's purpose and it's decisions.
If you have a story that's pretty complex, I advice you to concentrate on a smaller part of it, but to present it well in the game. And if there is something
to remain for a next game, so be it, but mark it clear (like you did with the exploding planet), and give players enough satisfaction with what they found out in this game.
I read the story background you wrote on the forum, but even with these tips, I couldn't match all the facts.
Try not to put it as questions and answers directly for the players that did not understand it from the game. Make it more like a story, or as you did with the ship logs (very nice) and think about including it in the game's manual. Or even better, put it ingame. You are on the ship, it's obvious to get story background by reading it's journals and logs.
I think you did better about dialogs and story in your Stargate game. I am also a Stargate fan and I could see there how you matched very very good the dialog with the original characters of the movie.
The "time travel/control" subject is very difficult to master because it generates a lots of controversions and even the most fameous movies about it are having a lot questions that should beter be not asked. It's very difficult to ballance well such stories, to know how much you should explain, how plain to do it and how much should it be left to the player/audience to guess and interpret. As more you leave for the users to figure it out, the more dificult is to keep it all together.
Anyway, I want to congratulate you again for this beautiful game. Keep the good work!
Alex
Thanx for the game, Sector! I was waiting for it so long... ;) Now I'm playing it...
Also happy birthday to you! ;) (http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:VLRD99HxQVqE6M:http://www.lizzynet.de/dyn/pics/76745-76746-1-torte-bithday-schrag.jpeg)
Hi
Thanx to all for strong criticism ! I will try to fix some of the above mentioned bugs and text mistakes in version 1.4.
Also "puke bug" is not a but, as the puke frezzes after a while.
---
Thanks for the cake Yarooze, chocolate is my favorite ! :D
EDIT:
I couldn't replicate DIPLOMA bug !? Which version did you play ?
Hey Sektor love the game I noticed some spelling mistakes so far. ( I am gona hide my whole post :P )
Spoiler
Where the guy pukes the guy says feel and shoot that should be fell and shot :D
Awesome game man I love it the graphics are amazing and the story has me very interested.
Let me play further now :D
Also the thing you use to go down the hole gets highlighted to as a rope ? Shouldn't it stay the same name?
I noticed some graphic errors that are nothing really to worry about where the cords hang from the roof the red cable only twists round the other cord once then it seems to just seems to lay on it.
Also when you first see the guy on the floor before he is a skeleton, when you right click him it says only a skeleton remains.
There is a spelling mistake at the scene where you talk to the guy in the jungle, he said "another mystery than" or something like that it should be then. Also shoot should be shot and belive is believe.
I can check the whole file for you if you can send me the text in a file. I am just picking up on some mistakes as I am playing now. :P
lying should be laying
edit : I forgot to add all the new ones just remembered about my post here :P anyway ;
There was also a fault with the You in one of the cutscenes not sure where, but it cuts of and looks like Yo.
in the ship where they talk about the sun, wormer should be warmer
The game is awesome let me load and select the second option now :)
Ok, version 1.04 is out !
It has a better english support (i hope :) ) and slovenian lang added.
And few bugs fixed...
I think this will be the last version... enjoy ;)
The typos remain, the plot is still rushed and unclear, and the puzzles and intense bits are still clever and fun to play.
Maybe it's just my distaste for the
Spoiler
army of soulless clones trope
that's biasing me towards the negative. Given that 99 out of 100 adventure game puzzles are dull or terrible, I should probably be a bit more appreciative of the fact that whenever Sektor comes out with a game, I can be pretty sure that the puzzles will be fair, well-clued, and interesting. Almost no commercial adventure designers earned that level of trust from players; if I buy an adventure game, I always suspect that either a walkthrough will be necessary at some point, or no thought will be necessary at all.
Hey Sektor!
I haven't posted here for quite a long time, but now I just have to!
Great game! It really brought me back on track - for months I haven't been dealing with adventure games, but now the fascination is back again. Thanks for that! :)
Your graphics are simply brilliant. Or, as Darth Vader said: "Your skills are complete." The backgrounds look fantastic, the characters and their animation are far better than in the Stargate game. The puzzles are fair and entertaining - just the way, I like it.
The only thing I didn't really like was the story-progression. The idea itself was okay, even that clone-thing was right up my alley. But the story never really sucked me into the game. It was 75% puzzle-solving, and 25% wondering about what's going on there. I can't really give you any hints or tips on how to improve your story-telling, since I'm working on my own gane for ... quite a long time. Anyway, I don't have a lot of experience as a game-writer. I can just tell you my feelings as a player.
Maybe you should start writing short stories. ;)
Anyhow: Great, great game! I totally enjoyed playing it! Hooray for this community! And once more, I'll try to get back to my own game. :P
Thaks for the compliments..
Well, the trouble with the puzzles and "waht to do" is that, i want to make it kind a real, so player doesn't know exactly what to do, only the big plan...
BRAVO on a great game!! I just finished it and both endings were really cool.
Keep up the good work ;D I hope to see more games from you soon!
This game was very professional, minus the translation errors which have already been discussed at length.
It reminded me strongly of The Dig. Definitely one of the best AGS games I have played so far.
One bug which had me stuck (I was playing version 1.03, so maybe you've fixed this):
Spoiler
The area to the far left of the crashed ship in the jungle part. I used pickaxe on stone head, revealing the 'lattice' (grate) before I had actually been down into the tunnel. I did not see the vine above ground at the time. But when I went down into the tunnel the vine was already hanging down. Later I found the vine outside but incorrectly concluded that the two grates were completely separate. Because the one seen from below had the vine hanging down and the one seen from above had no vine. This caused me rather a lot of confusion, so much so I eventually went to the hints and tips thread.
Which is a shame really because I had already thought of putting screws in the vine and using the scanner, but couldn't reach it.
Congratulations on releasing an excellent game! I was very impressed with the presentation and the puzzles. Some little details stood out in my mind, though...
Spoiler
1. Using the pickaxe to hold the metal plate felt really unnatural, partly because it didn't look like there was any solid object for the pickaxe to brace against. I was wondering why I couldn't use the red wire to tie the metal plate to the pipe.
2. The intro with the text from the aliens' point of view is really too long, and doesn't become relevant until Yerik's been wandering around for awhile. I wonder if it would have been better to break up that information and display it as the player continues through the story, much like you did for the scene with the
Spoiler
scientist talking to the ruling council.
I hadn't read the readme, so at the start I was wondering who I (Yerik) was supposed to be... Personally I'd have gone for a shorter intro, with Yerik sitting in the helicopter talking to the co-pilot about why he was going to Antarctica. The
Spoiler
AA gun in the mountain
should also have been made visible earlier, IMO, rather than only as a "plot device to help you end the game".
Good job though - please don't give up on making games permanently!
Thanx
I guess i will make more adventures , but it may take a lot of time.
This isn't my usual "cup of tea" plot/storywise but the art is so great and I enjoy all the technical / mechanical stuff in the game even though I have a hard time with such things in both games and real life at times. Hahaha. I can't wait to see what other projects you have in mind.
Sektor 13, your skills with graphics is very impressive indeed. The gameplay seems well balanced, and though I am yet to finish the game, have enjoyed the parts I have played so far immensely.
I'd just like to say that I was particularly impressed with the introduction scene with the waterfall and the grass blowing in the wind. Superb work!
Long, but still, GERMAN translation is available to DL for Infinity String 1.04:
http://www.freeweb.siol.net/zagar413/KZ/German.tra
I played the game long time ago.. Your game owns apart from some walking probs..
Quote from: Dualnames on Sat 19/01/2008 20:41:26
I played the game long time ago.. Your game owns apart from some walking probs..
I think that most of the things are fixed in version 1.04 (like Jungle "teleport" bug)
You planning to give us the menu image as a screensaver?
I didn't planned that :), but i will look into it, if it's easy to make, no probs... althou the resolution is only 320x240, would look rather pixeled
Great game!
Especially love the arrival in the jungle.
By the way forgot to mention you've put the worst screenshot.. You should scroll to the left and then press f12 8)
Hmmm...I downloaded it twice and both times received 'Corrupt File' messages whilst trying to extract the ZIP file.
Wheee, I was pointed towards this game today, and when I saw the screenshot, I remembered you posting the GUI in C&C way back. I just started playing, and as soon as I am a bit deeper in, you'll get a rating- but be prepared to get a very good one! It's already a great, great game!
Why must there be such cool games just escaping my radar? I really need my ghost scan recalibrated!
the quality of this game is truly inspiring.
hey thanks !
And thanks to all who voted for my game too :)
I just finished the game and I have to say your game is excellent!
Graphics are great, the story is cool, and the music fits well.
And the idle animation of this mechanic, amazing!
I was stuck several times, but the two different endings, great idea.....
I really enjoyed playing your game! ;D