Adventure Game Studio | Forums

AGS Games => Completed Game Announcements => Topic started by: vertigoaddict on Sat 05/09/2015 20:57:51

Title: All Gone Soon 2 (August MAGS 2015)
Post by: vertigoaddict on Sat 05/09/2015 20:57:51
Phew! Here it is!
ALL GONE SOON 2

(http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y271/dagaran/drowning_zpsvugmikwc.png)

This time, play as Fadilah as she helps Giles live.

Featuring:
Khris' Alternate Keyboard Module (So... keyboard functions, woo!)
Actual puzzles this time (Woo again!)
Inappropriate Graffitti!
Some really rushed out voice-acting...just, some of it (will fix that later at a later date).
Ability to set speed, volume levels and skip cutscenes!
Jimmy choos! And;
Four different endings!

Download Link: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/1959/

Enjoy!
Title: Re: All Gone Soon 2 (August MAGS 2015)
Post by: Mandle on Wed 09/09/2015 06:37:52
Just finished playing...and: Another great human drama game from vertigoaddict!!!

I'm not sure if I got all the endings though:

I got the ones where:
Spoiler

The guy dies because you weren't fast enough at the train station.
You crash the car and both of you die.
You talk to yourself in the mirror and decide to be done with him.
You get Mendez in and fix him up and drive him away the next morning.
You get arrested by the cops.
[close]

So yeah...there are more than 4 endings. I'm guessing you are counting 4 endings meaning only the ones that don't end in total disaster?

But: Great game! Wonderful animations! Beautiful music! Engaging characters with in-depth backstories!

Only slight whinge I would have would be to please speed up the main character's walking speed by about 50%...At the moment it's too slow considering the urgent situation and also her feet seem to slide in place a bit at the current speed anyway so you don't even have to change the animation speed...Just up the movement speed a bit I'd say...

Oh, another slight thing is pushing E starts an event near an exclamation point and players are likely to use the same key to skip dialogues they have already read. But then this starts the event all over again when you reach the end meaning you have to change keys to one of the walk keys every time you want to skip stuff. You should probably code it so that after an event happens the event trigger turns off for either a slight time (2-3 seconds) or turns off until the player walks off and back onto that region again...
Title: Re: All Gone Soon 2 (August MAGS 2015)
Post by: vertigoaddict on Wed 09/09/2015 08:21:08
Hey Mandle, thank you again very much for playing the game ^_^

I personally never count "Game over" screens as an ending, since to me, a game over screen means you lost the game (btw "THE GAME" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Game_%28mind_game%29). :grin:

Sounds like you managed to get Ending C and B.

The other endings are ranked/titled A and S respectively (so A,B,C like the usual primary school grading system and S which stands for 'Special'- it's also my favorite, there is cake involved). Ending A is the least interesting to me, but it's a nicer version of B, I don't want to ruin Ending S, but as an incentive, I'll just show this little snippet from the cutscene:

(http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y271/dagaran/Ending%20S%20cafe%20scene-snippet_zpsvtjz17xc.png)

The characters walking speed is adjustable, there's a 'Settings' button on the main menu and it mentions in the 'controls' button that to change the settings while in the game, you can press 'F' at any time, likewise you can quit the game by pressing 'Q' and press 'ESC' to skip the cutscenes (C to check inventory).
I think in future games, I'm just going to make the instructions something that shows up as soon as a person clicks 'New Game'; it appears a lot of people tend to miss them. I'm the kind of player that's a little OCD, so I always check the instructions =)

As for the wierdness between her animation and movement speed, Khris' modules works in a way where the speed depends on the animation speed and ignores the values you put in the movement speed, I'm not a very tech savvy guy. so I don't know if there's anything I could do about it myself other than just bump up the animation speed, which to be fair, I do let the players do.

(http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y271/dagaran/Untitled_zpsreuuu2u1.png)

Still, it's noted and I'll make the default walking speed a little faster in the next version.

Hmm as for the 'E' key repeating thing, I think a simple fix (honestly, no pun intended there, I didn't even realise till I typed it down) would be to just have the character move out of the region spot like you said, I'll remember to incoporate that in the next version release also.

Thank you again for playing, for the compliments, support and critic; I feel you (and the community) really have pushed me to want to get better at this and I have, so I'm very grateful.
Title: Re: All Gone Soon 2 (August MAGS 2015)
Post by: Cassiebsg on Wed 09/09/2015 19:23:17
Haven't finished yet, and frankly I had already given up on it. :-\ Soo much death! Sooo much bloood!!!! (tryign to fish the blood addicts here!) ;)

First, yes instructions on the keys to use would have been nice, since you basically disabled the mouse for anything but choose text option and menus. I meet the first "ending" (Strike 1) while still trying to figure how to do the most basic thing: Walk, talk and look! (roll) Either a readme txt file with the keys, or a splash screen right at the start would have been nice. (nod)

Spoiler

I then went for a car ride (still wondering why she didn't just used her cell an called for an ambulance - btw, can we use inventory items or they are just there for show?). Concentrating on the road sounded like a good idea, and after beeing bored by that drive so did Gilles! Strike 2!
Okay, we try again... I check on him and (Strike 3)! Arggghh!
I try again, and check on him later, all seems to be going good, but then she just keeps yapping and (Strike 4!).
At this point it kind of felt a bit random and I gave up on it. :-\
[close]

Anyway love the art and voice acting, and seems there's so much more, I'll give this a chance more. (nod)

EDIT: Unless someone posts the right click combination for the car ride, I'm done! >:(
Title: Re: All Gone Soon 2 (August MAGS 2015)
Post by: nihilyst on Wed 09/09/2015 19:43:07
I liked the storyline which threw you just in, and yet you managed to make everything understandable. Got the S ending on my first try, but the driving scene made me nearly give this up. I relish the idea of having to drive carefully without letting Giles fall asleep, but the way it was executed did seem quite unfair to me, since it was all a guessing game; it wasn't possible for me to tell safe moments from those which kill me, and I ended up with 5 Game Over screens. On the other hand, it might be possible to ace this scene without even knowing why.
Other than that, I liked the story and the simple, yet fitting puzzles. And that you managed to put in some voice-acting in a MAGS game is awe-inspiring. I have to check out the first one, too.
Title: Re: All Gone Soon 2 (August MAGS 2015)
Post by: Shadow1000 on Wed 09/09/2015 21:47:35
Same here. I get game over if I concentrate on driving and I get game over if I check on him. I don't know if there's any way the player is supposed to know which to do but it does seem like a guessing game.

I did play to the end and got ending S.

SHADOW
Title: Re: All Gone Soon 2 (August MAGS 2015)
Post by: Stupot on Thu 10/09/2015 07:46:41
Yeah, short of sitting here with a pen and paper checking off all the different combinations of the two options, I'm going to have a break now. Seems like a nice game, so I won't give up just yet.
Title: Re: All Gone Soon 2 (August MAGS 2015)
Post by: Mandle on Thu 10/09/2015 08:43:13
It took me about 5-6 tries to get through the car scene. I wasn't all that annoyed by it though as there is a lot of exposition going on and a few different things are said that you would miss on just one playthrough so that kept it interesting. But I suspect that if it had taken me longer, like 10-12 times I might have just given up or posted for a hint.

Subtle ways to indicate when the danger is near:
Spoiler

*Traffic noises get a bit louder (not fair for players with hearing problems though)
*The car's movement gets slightly more erratic.
*The driver turns her head more to look at the dude than at the road
[close]
Those are the ones I can think off off the top of my head at least...
Title: Re: All Gone Soon 2 (August MAGS 2015)
Post by: Stupot on Thu 10/09/2015 09:31:02
Quote from: Mandle
Subtle ways to indicate when the danger is near:
Spoiler

*Traffic noises get a bit louder (not fair for players with hearing problems though)
*The car's movement gets slightly more erratic.
*The driver turns her head more to look at the dude than at the road
[close]
Those are the ones I can think off off the top of my head at least...
I never even noticed :-[
I'll have another go with this newfound knowledge.
Title: Re: All Gone Soon 2 (August MAGS 2015)
Post by: vertigoaddict on Thu 10/09/2015 10:47:44
Firstly, sorry for the late reply guys and the car scene...

Cassiebsg
I'm sorry the game got frustrating enough to quit, but I didn't want the car scene's dialogue puzzle to be too easy, it was actually meant to throw off the player a bit and add some varitey to the game (there was even meant to be a text parser puzzle near the end that I took out 'cause I didn't have enough time to figure out how to do it).
As for instructions, they are accessable in the main menu (Click the 'Controls' button and the controls would be explained). I like the splashscreen idea, so I'll take that down in my notes, thank you.
Yes, checking the inventory will just show you what's in your inventory, if Fadilah has the item, she will use it instantly, with the exception of the first aid kit. Spoilers:
Spoiler
Having the first aid kit in your inventory ensures you get the A ending, but to get the S ending you have to check on Giles in game, of your own voulition, in the toilet, the parking lot before getting the costume and you have to get the first aid kit before going to him in the apartment and checking up on him again for the last time where she will use antiseptic to clean up his wound, if you go check up on Giles in the apartment before getting the first aid kit, Fadilah will just ask him about how he's doing instead of treating his wounds a bit- the option to check up on Giles will then disappear and the only endings you'll be able to get after that is A and C.
The concept behind this is that actions speak louder than words and if the player themselves try to make sure Giles is okay, they're making the character care more, which means she'll be more inclined to not give up on him.
[close]

nihilyst
The car puzzle does seem to be the biggest problem in the game, I'm wondering if I should completely take off the perma death points, there are only two of those. I'll explain how the car scene works/ was scripted at the end of this post.
On the other hand, I'm glad you liked how I started the story, that's just a story telling technique that one of my primary school teachers encouraged and it stuck all these years; he said "the best way to start a story is with an explosion" (you should grab the reader's attention within the first two paragraphs).

Shadow1000
It's half-half really, as I mentioned above, I'm going to explain myself at the bottom of this post. I do love how you're by far the first person (that I know of) who managed to get the best ending; congratulations, have a cookie! :grin:

Stupot
Hey Stupot, how's it hanging? Thank you for not giving up just yet, the answer will be below.

Spoiler

So, the car scene has 8 'prompts' in total (as a reminder, I'll point out that you can skip all the talking by pressing the ESC key). If you "Check on Giles" on the 2nd and 7th prompt it's an insta-death. I purposely put it on the second prompt to show players that you can die if you don't pay attention to the road, I put it again in the 7th prompt to throw players off a bit, and it might help them get to some of the different dialogue that most would have probably missed if I had kept it too simple.
That isn't all.You have to balance Checking up on Giles and Concentrating on the road. You have to at least check up on Giles 4 times and Concentrate on the road 4 times as well, but as we all now know, there are 2 instances where you must check on the road. Therefore:
1)You have to check up on Giles at any prompt except for 2 and 7, it has to result to 4 times or else he dies.
2)You have to concentrate on the road on the 2nd and 7th prompt, but also 2 other times of your choice.
I'm sorry to say this Mandle, but your subtle ways of indicating fear is...all in your head, that's also what I kind of wanted to do, perhaps I was being too unfair to the player? I didn't want to litter the game with in your face simple puzzles, I wanted one where people might take out a pen and paper- like Stupot did- and figure out the pattern.
[close]

...and I do know that the characters kind of ramble on in this scene, but that was very intentional, I was applying a movie-making technique, (I've been a media student for about 6 years, it's probably why this game is more of an interactive drama) I was trying my hand at putting in a bit of tarantioism, albiet not as violent as he (the great Tarantino) does it; I probably didn't even do it right.

Hope this clears a few things up, should I really simplify that part a bit? It did managed to do a few things I wanted it to, so I'm a little bit hesitant to change that part.
Title: Re: All Gone Soon 2 (August MAGS 2015)
Post by: Shadow1000 on Thu 10/09/2015 15:03:20
Quote from: vertigoaddict on Thu 10/09/2015 10:47:44

Shadow1000
It's half-half really, as I mentioned above, I'm going to explain myself at the bottom of this post. I do love how you're by far the first person (that I know of) who managed to get the best ending; congratulations, have a cookie! :grin:


Thanks! I kind of tried "balancing" the check on Giles and concentrate on road and succeeded after about 6 or so tries. The good thing is that when the game ends it restarts from the car scene rather the beginning of the game. Had it started over then I would have given up.

Now that I see how the different endings are determined, it makes it more intriguing that I got the S at first. The choices you make to get a different ending are subtle. Interesting idea and pretty advanced development for a contest-entry game.

SHADOW
Title: Re: All Gone Soon 2 (August MAGS 2015)
Post by: Mandle on Thu 10/09/2015 15:03:42
Quote from: vertigoaddict on Thu 10/09/2015 10:47:44
I'm sorry to say this Mandle, but your subtle ways of indicating fear is...all in your head,

Nonono...What I meant was that those were my suggestions as to perhaps indicate to the player in subtle ways that the danger of crashing was approaching, like if you wanted to add some such feature in a future release...

Sorry to Stupot also for misleading into thinking these were already game features...
Title: Re: All Gone Soon 2 (August MAGS 2015)
Post by: Cassiebsg on Fri 11/09/2015 21:19:38
Ah, thanks for the car ride "drivethrough". (laugh)

Finished now. :-D Three times even! :-D

Spoiler

Okay, I got ending C first. Still not sure why looking at a mirror would end the game though. ??? Then I got ending B... thinking that I didn't got to explore the bathroom because I was afraid that the game would then end again, and I hadn't realized that calling Mendez would end the game. So I finally got ending A!
But guess I won't get ending S, cause I don't think I checked on him on the toilet, and I'm not about to have another car drive. :P
Just felt that there was another missed opportunity for one last puzzle with the phone call. Could have had a dialog there where the player needed to choose the right answers (info that collected from the car drive chit chat.) I even took the time to get a screen shoot, cause I wasn't in the mood to find a pen and paper or write it on notepad. (laugh)
Extra spoiler
Spoiler

Also felt the flashlight drop was a bit "odd" and unfair, since I made sure to check the screen before I left the carpark and it wasn't there. :P
[close]
[close]

Anyways congrats on the game and hope you get to complete it after voting ha ended. (nod)

PS - Don't think take my "complaints" as a bad thing, cause I enjoyed the story, the portraits were just gorgeous and am now glad I got to finish this one. Take them as "food for thought" and nothing more. ;)