Just Another Point n Click Adventure

[lspace]

Okay, now that I have the torch I've been to the cellar and the attic.  What do I do next?  I have a remote, torch, penknife, hook w/stick and duct tape.  How do I get Catherine off the phone?  Or is there something else I have to do first??

[Timosity]

Spoiler

where does the phone cord lead to

[close]

[lspace]

Thanks, didn't see the phone cord the first time I was there.  Finally got Catherine off the phone.

[Timosity]

Spoiler

as for the brush, i've spent even longer trying to find the keys, thinking logically, if I lost my keys they would either be somewhere in my room, hidden in the couch, in my pocket, or locked in the car, anyone found them?

[close]

[lspace]

I found the brush but can't get Catherine out of the shower.  I think I need access to the attic again but I don't have anything to reach the hook.  Anyone help me out?

[Barcik]

Spoiler

The key is where the laundry is hanging. A little mind game with the towels and you'll find them...
Now, where the hell is that brush?

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[lspace]

Disregard  the above post about getting Catherine out of the shower.  I figured it out.

[lspace]

[Now, where the hell is that brush?]

Spoiler

use the shower cleaner on the painted doors of the cupboard in garage

[close]

[lspace]

Just finished the game. Had lots of fun playing it. thanks CMonkey.  Looking forward to the next part.

[Timosity]

I finished it finally, with just 1 hint from Barcik, and I really thought I'd tried that, That's what happens when you use a screwed up GUI system like Lucasarts, That is the biggest flaw compared to the simple point and click from Sierra, Having to click 2 or three times just to do 1 simple thing. (mainly the fact you have to move the mouse to the look, open close etc, atleast with the sierra gui you can right click to change.

has anyone thought to use a Lucasarts gui that also includes right click to switch between states, only a logical step)

No offence though, the game is great and well thought out, the puzzles are deffinately challenging, and it kept me wanting to play.

Looking forward to the next part

Edit: btw, I don't think you need any extra help with graphics, the style is great for the game already, maybe just get someone to help with music.

and I played right to the end of credits, what's the password for?

[Esseb]

I'll say this once again:

The original LEC verbbar gui support rightclicking. Every object and character had a default verb attached to it that would be highlighted if you held the mouse over them and used if your right clicked. This made it possible to simply rightclick on a character and a door to talk to and open respectively. Also, unlike Sierra games, you hardly ever need to look at anything because of the automatic object description in the verb bar.

Not that the ags lec gui has all that, but I was defending the original one which Timosity was bashing . Personally I prefer the verb clicking of the verb bar to the endless rightclicking of the Sierra games.


Oh, and great game . Loved the demo when it was released. Sorry for going OT.

[Barcik]

Spoiler

How to get to the attic?  :'(

[close]

[Timosity]

Spoiler

Your brother may help

[close]

[Barcik]

GREAT! Really really good! I enjoyed it a lot! And it's just a demo! I'm waiting to see the full thing!

I'd like to compliment your:
1) Art skils. A lot of detail yai!
2) Designing. Ok puzzles, very good jokes. Made me laugh loudly a couple of times.
3) Scripting. Great use of scripting.

Rock on!

[CMonkey]

Hey all,

Thanks for all your comments, they've been really encouraging.

Sorry i wasn't able to help with some of the earlier questions, i haven't checked the forum in a little bit, but i'm glad it has been finished.

The password i put in was really just to keep people thinking, you might note that the end of the game was done very late at night, and i went a little nuts.

The GUI system was a big part of the game for me, and also a big headache as there were more options than the typical Sierra style interface. It may be a good idea to switch to that in the next game, but i want to keep the style consistent so will stick with the LEC GUI. I did try to make the GUI more user friendly by letting users use the keyboard to select options, and using the mouse wheel to scroll through (if you read the readme file you would have found this out). I was also debating setting up keys to scroll through the options (e.g. pressing space would scroll through). I also tossed up the idea of letting users configure keys and store them in a config file, but all these things take time unfortunately, and i wanted to get the game out.

I do like the idea of highlighting a 'right-clickable' option when the user moves the mouse over an object or hotspot (such as 'open' for a closed door, and 'talk to' for a character). But it's quite a lot of work, and i haven't figured out a way to do it elegantly with the scripting language. If anyone has done this, or have any ideas how, i would like to know.

Also, i know i could do the graphics myself, but it just means that the it will be some time before the next part comes out. Each background takes about 3 days to complete. 1 to design the initial look on paper, 1 to take it off the page and onto the screen, and 1 to add hotspots, walkable areas, interactivity, and scripting. And that's on a very good week. Also each character takes about a week to do properly, though i am getting quicker at it due to experience now. Scripting takes the longest amount of time though, and that's where i would like to concentrate, because that's where i can put the most personality into the game. I'm still going to try and enlist some arty people if i can.

I definitely need music though i know. I got some good midis off Trapezoid, and am also thinking about pinching some lucas arts music, i did want the music to be as original as possible.

All from me now, thanks again guys.

[rookworm3]

The GUI system was a big part of the game for me, and also a big headache as there were more options than the typical Sierra style interface. It may be a good idea to switch to that in the next game, but i want to keep the style consistent so will stick with the LEC GUI. I did try to make the GUI more user friendly by letting users use the keyboard to select options, and using the mouse wheel to scroll through (if you read the readme file you would have found this out). I was also debating setting up keys to scroll through the options (e.g. pressing space would scroll through). I also tossed up the idea of letting users configure keys and store them in a config file, but all these things take time unfortunately, and i wanted to get the game out.

It would be nice to have the layout of the keys be the same as that of the verbs on the screen, ie
qwe
asd
=
open look at get
close talk to use

in addition to other keys, then no one could complain about scrolling through the verbs

ps
great game!!11!

[Timosity]

Don't worry about me CMonkey, I was paying out the GUI in the heat of the moment, cause I needed a hint to finish the game, although I did ask for the hint, I asked for another aswell but luckily no one figured it out, so I got to do it myself.

As for the readme file, I rarely read them, so that's just my fault.

This is not a demo is it? The continuation of the game should be JAPNCA2.

[CMonkey]

Yeah that's right, it's not a demo. Originally it was going to be a demo, but it's bigger than most completed games, so i thought i'd make it part 1.

It would be nice to have the layout of the keys be the same as that of the verbs on the screen, ie
qwe
asd
=
open look at get
close talk to use

Yeah, i originally was going to do it like that, but the small few i got to test the game said it was couldn't get it, and so i changed it to be more logical (e.g. 'o' activates 'open). I could change it for the next one, but i do want to keep it consistent. If the engine allowed command line options i could put a switch in there to allow use of that config.

But most people probably don't want to have to worry about those things when playing these games.

If i was going to do another adventure i would probably use the sierra style interface, because:
1. It's a lot less work
2. People seem to prefer it.
3. AGS seems better designed to support it.

I do like the LEC style inventory though. Maybe i could put it at the bottom of the screen, and have a sierra style GUI for general interaction. Just wanted to be different i guess.

[rookworm3]

Yeah, i originally was going to do it like that, but the small few i got to test the game said it was couldn't get it, and so i changed it to be more logical (e.g. 'o' activates 'open). I could change it for the next one, but i do want to keep it consistent. If the engine allowed command line options i could put a switch in there to allow use of that config.

you could use both at the same time, since neither would interfere with the other...

[Neole]

I loved the game - a perfect example of how a game should be made. Plus I loved the way you used the same rooms and characters for 3 chapters, thus reducing the work - many more people should follow this to make longer games with less artwork (of course their was still a large amount of arkwork). The puzzles were quite good too, pretty interesting and logical.

What I didnt like -

The main character was clikable - this made it irritating lots of time when I had to move him just to be able to open a door behind him or some such.

The interface - we all know we  have to open a door and talk to a person and  pick up a bone, so why have all these verbs (even the sierra ones)? Why not just have left click to act as needed for the object and right click to look? That works best in my opinion and prevents unnecessary tedium. In my game I have used that kind of interface, except the cursor changes depending on if its a character to mouth, if its a walkable area to steps and if its an object to pick. That is sort of what you want to change the right click verb. Here's my global script in repeatedly exec so you can see how it works (its a bit messy but you should get the idea) -


  string hotspotname;
GetLocationName(mouse.x,mouse.y,hotspotname); // Get the name of what's under the cursor
if (GetCursorMode()==4) {} // if inventory item as cursor do nothing
else if  (IsGUIOn(3)==1) SetCursorMode(1);  // if on inventory window change to pointer
else if ((GetWalkableAreaAt(mouse.x,mouse.y) == 0) && (StrComp(hotspotname,"")==0) && (GetCursorMode()!=3)) SetCursorMode(3);
else if ((StrComp(hotspotname,"")==0) && (GetCursorMode()!=0) && (GetWalkableAreaAt(mouse.x,mouse.y) != 0))  
   SetCursorMode(0);        // if blank ( or hotspot with no name )
     
else {
    if ((GetLocationType(mouse.x,mouse.y)==2) && (GetCursorMode()!=2))  SetCursorMode(2); // if character then talk cursor
      else if ((GetLocationType(mouse.x,mouse.y)==1) ||  (GetLocationType(mouse.x,mouse.y)==3)) SetCursorMode(1);  // Change to CHANGED cursor
      //else if (GetCursorMode()!=0) SetCursorMode(0);   // change back to cursor
     }