Equilibrum

[Primus]

Any hints as to what to do with the cassette??? Am I supposed to record a message? Who's? And I used the crowbar on the lid, but what good soes entering the tunnels there do? Thanks!

Think I've gone wrong somewhere............

Spoiler

got to palace and used gun on fax machine but I then get a funny ending. Ã, After reading previous comments I think I should have a crowbar - where will I find that and I haven't used cassette or fish?

[close]

[Primus]

Any hints as to what to do with the cassette??? Am I supposed to record a message? Who's? And I used the crowbar on the lid, but what good soes entering the tunnels there do? Thanks!

Think I've gone wrong somewhere............

Spoiler

got to palace and used gun on fax machine but I then get a funny ending. Ã, After reading previous comments I think I should have a crowbar - where will I find that and I haven't used cassette or fish?

[close]

Sorry, I post it without responding first.
Pls check its walkthru here:
http://www.agagames.com/agswalkthroughs/
http://www.agagames.com/agswalkthroughs/soldb.php?cmd=showGame&id=97

[JudasFm]

I played through this game just cause I like the movie, and I have to say that the game, though enjoyable for a while, sucked.

And how most of the time, the game lacks any sense of direction or objective, and that all the people aren't that helpful enough and once you talk to them once and deplete all the discussion paths, you can't have the same conversations again. Oh, and the ability to get items more than once, like the bone, and guns and pass.

Not to add the bugs, like the ones in the tunnels, or the disappearing inventory if you use the red card on yourself for example.

Okay, first please bear in mind this was my first ever attempt at making a game, so there are bound to be some bloopers in it, though thanks for pointing them out I did use quite a few playtesters (see the credits) but all of them came back with little or no bugs and the few they did report came too late.

To be honest, I've no idea what happened in the tunnel system (and I'm thinking of adding that to my signature).Ã,  I checked and double-checked the script and there were no lines relating to moving that character in that room.

The reason the people didn't leave the bunk room was because they weren't actual NPCs, but part of the background itself, so I couldn't move them like the others.Ã,  (And okay, so I screwed up with Jo still being there...my bad )

Using the red card on yourself...that's something I honestly thought I'd taken out before distributing the game.Ã,  It doesn't delete your inventory; it switches the player character to Sparkplug who, of course, has no inventory, or at least, nothing in it.Ã,  I only put that in so I could test the script and like I say, I was sure I'd taken it out.Ã,  Again my mistake.

No, you can't have the same conversation again.Ã,  How often in real life do you go up to someone and repeat yourself five or six times?Ã,  The dialogue wasn't vital to the game other than running scripts (the password etc) and so there was no real reason to keep it in.Ã,  People not being helpful enough?Ã,  I'm not sure how you define 'helpful' (unless you mean having to trek all the way from the entrance to the hideout and back again just to get the password...okay, I admit that was irritating.Ã,  If it's any consolation, I've got a map idea worked out for the sequel so you can jump around far more easily.)

Lacks direction and objective?Ã,  Um.Ã,  What exactly do you mean by that?Ã,  The direction's pretty clear from where I'm standing; you talk to a few characters and you know what you need to do next.Ã,  Objective...alright, perhaps I should have been slightly clearer in the readme file.Ã,  This is the first one in a trilogy.Ã,  You're not going to finish all the puzzles in this game because there's more to come.

I had no idea you could get the pass more than once, unless you mean that slip of paper that comes out when you insert the keycard?Ã,  In which case...it's a little like a receipt on a till; if you keep punching the buttons, you'll keep getting the paper out.Ã,  The bone...okay, I admit I should have done something about that.Ã,  Same with the guns.Ã,  To be honest, it never occurred to me that anyone would search the dead body a second time.Ã,  What's the point behind it?Ã,  Someone came and hid their possessions on some dead guy? I don't get it.

All that aside, I admit I screwed up on those and should have allowed for them.Ã,  My bad I would like to say thanks for your comments though (no, I'm not being sarcastic!)Ã,  I've had people vote this game down but nobody's ever told me which bugs or bloopers needed work.  At least now I have some kind of starting block

I've got a far better grip on it this time and hopefully the sequel will be much better

Oh, and Cece, about that cassette recorder:

Spoiler

It's based kind of on an idea from the movie itself...when you're in the Tetra Grammaton cell, put it on the bench and start playing.Ã,  It'll draw the Cleric and sweepers away from the office to it and you can get into the security room and free the prisoners.

[close]

[Primus]

Hi, JudasFMÃ,  :

For a first game, Out of Time - Equilibrium is excellent in most aspects.

Please check a walkthru of your game:
http://www.agagames.com/agswalkthroughs/soldb.php?cmd=showGame&id=97

It has a list of bugs I detected myself when playing it. The comments in the beginning, sorry, I loved playing your game, but after having to go to a certain very away place for the sixth time and coming back, connected to a few annoying bugs, well, I started becoming stressed (my left eye started winking, my hands shaking, hehehe - Just jokingÃ, 
Feel free to suggest or order - you're the copyright owner of the game, anyway - changes or even deleting it from there.

So, that tape... I suppose I must add a few more writing to the walkthru, as I thought I had finished it without needing it, so I though it was a red herring... Didn't see the movie, sorry.

[JudasFm]

Hi, JudasFMÃ,  :

For a first game, Out of Time - Equilibrium is excellent in most aspects.

Please check a walkthru of your game:
http://www.agagames.com/agswalkthroughs/soldb.php?cmd=showGame&id=97

Hi Primus!  Thanks for your comments; I'm glad you enjoyed it (bugs and all LOL!) I did check the walkthru ages ago, but my PC got whacked by a massive virus and I'm only just getting back on an even footing :

It has a list of bugs I detected myself when playing it. The comments in the beginning, sorry, I loved playing your game, but after having to go to a certain very away place for the sixth time and coming back, connected to a few annoying bugs, well, I started becoming stressed (my left eye started winking, my hands shaking, hehehe - Just jokingÃ, 

Oh god, you think I didn't? LOL! I didn't fully appreciate it until I was testing the whole thing; I was using debug keys right up until the end when I thought I'd play it as the player would.  By the third time I had to go all the way back to that place and come all the way back AGAIN, I was climbing the walls myself.  The sequel has a better interaction menu (right click...a little like the later Monkey Island games) and I also put the map in with kind of 'hotspots'; the player will need to walk to the spot initially to activate it on the map, but then they can just use the map to go straight there.

Feel free to suggest or order - you're the copyright owner of the game, anyway - changes or even deleting it from there.

So, that tape... I suppose I must add a few more writing to the walkthru, as I thought I had finished it without needing it, so I though it was a red herring... Didn't see the movie, sorry.

I tried to make it so that people who hadn't seen the movie could still play and complete the game, even if some things may not make sense.  A lot of things seem red herrings but aren't, and vice versa.  I was going to put a points system in so the player would know they'd missed something (extra phone calls, freeing prisoners etc) but that came up just before the game was finished and I was getting tired of it.  For some reason, my version of AGS likes to take it upon itself to spontaneously erase chunks of sprite files and it wasn't until it was very close to the end that I got my spare PC up and running and could make backups (there wasn't enough room on my original hard drive).  Once it was finished, my first thought was to get it out and distributed before it could screw it up any more

The cassette thing is so obscure, I think if I'd made it compulsory I would have been roasted alive There is only one real object in the game which serves absolutely no purpose and that's the bottle.  The coin and slip of paper you get from the entrance to the Underground...you can't use them, but for some reason the walkable areas didn't work on that room.  I tried and tried but couldn't fix it-they worked fine everywhere else-so in the end I made them conditional on those two inventory items.

Checking the walkthrough, you seem to have covered pretty much everything.  There is one thing I would really, really like you to change though: in the beginning when you say Rosaline enters the world through a pass of magic.  I know it seems that way when playing the game, but the ring she puts on really isn't magic.  It's going to be a fairly major part of the sequel and the player will find out the absolute truth in the third game, so I don't want to say what it is, but please can you change that part about magic?  Thanks

[Momo]

I'm sorry if my post came off a bit harsh, but I was a bit pissed off after I have completed the game which I thought it could have been better with the excellent premise going for it. Nonetheless, it was decent being your first game and all. I've seen worse.

About the conversations, well I'm not one to say but I don't think it should work that way in adventure games, or games in general. Maybe you should have people change their scripts during different parts of the game, and not remain silent all throughout after talking to them once. If the information is vital, you should be able to go to revise it again in case you forget. About "being helpful", maybe it's me, but I thought nobody had something worthwhile that would be of help to the quest, and was just useless banter. I always felt lost most of time, going to HQ and back to the Underground and any other location, seeing if I've had missed anything. Like when I knew I had to meet a contact in Libria, I was puzzled on how to get there (didn't take the assassination note). What was the link between getting there and the assassination? Maybe in these cases, you could ask people and they should point out some clues. That would have been helpful. As I a said, I never had a sense of what I should be doing next most of the time.

Again about the dead body and stuff, I'm certain there are players like me that like to check stuff more than once, and sometimes after certain situations. In case of the body, I thought maybe I could find something else on it I haven't found the first time.

Anyways thanks for taking my criticism and being a sport. And if you ever needed someone to test your game, I would be more than glad to lend a hand.

[JudasFm]

I'm sorry if my post came off a bit harsh, but I was a bit pissed off after I have completed the game which I thought it could have been better with the excellent premise going for it. Nonetheless, it was decent being your first game and all. I've seen worse.

Thanks I'm sorry if it frustrated you that much, but I know what you mean; I've played more than one game where I've felt so let down (Might and Magic IX springs to mind ) that I had to say something LOL!Ã,  Also, I don't mind if people don't like my stuff; what upsets me is when I get really bad ratings/reviews and nobody tells me why.Ã,  How'm I supposed to learn from my mistakes when I don't know what they are?

About the conversations, well I'm not one to say but I don't think it should work that way in adventure games, or games in general. Maybe you should have people change their scripts during different parts of the game, and not remain silent all throughout after talking to them once. If the information is vital, you should be able to go to revise it again in case you forget. About "being helpful", maybe it's me, but I thought nobody had something worthwhile that would be of help to the quest, and was just useless banter. I always felt lost most of time, going to HQ and back to the Underground and any other location, seeing if I've had missed anything.

Actually, the characters' script does change during the game...at least, the important ones.Ã,  There are one or two 'red herring' NPCs (Sue, Razor, Stella etc) but the script for what I think of as the 'main characters' (Sanders, Luke et al) does update as you do things throughout the game.

Like when I knew I had to meet a contact in Libria, I was puzzled on how to get there (didn't take the assassination note). What was the link between getting there and the assassination? Maybe in these cases, you could ask people and they should point out some clues. That would have been helpful. As I a said, I never had a sense of what I should be doing next most of the time.

I'm very reluctant to make it too easy, where all you need to do is talk to the right person.Ã,  I've played too many games like that; talk to someone and they give you chapter and verse of what you need to do next, where you need to do it and who you need to talk to next.  Bear in mind the story; given these people are suspicious and don't know you, they're probably not likely to spill all their deepest secrets The sequel should be a little clearer though *crosses fingers*

The link between getting to Libria and the assassination...okay, maybe I could have made that slightly clearer.Ã,  You say you've seen Equilibrium so you know how important Preston would be If you reread the notice asking for help again, then the note about the assassination, you'll see that they're both to take place during the same night.Ã,  You'd be in Libria when it's going through, therefore you have to do something about it before you leave.Ã,  Uh.Ã,  Does that make any more sense?

Again about the dead body and stuff, I'm certain there are players like me that like to check stuff more than once, and sometimes after certain situations. In case of the body, I thought maybe I could find something else on it I haven't found the first time.

I think if you search the body while you have the guns or rope and/or the rubble all the time you have the bone or bottle, you'll get a message saying that there's nothing else to be found there, which is why it was a little puzzling to me that you'd search it again later.Ã,  Next time Roz searches a body I think I'll just have her drag it offscreen and bury it LOL!

Anyways thanks for taking my criticism and being a sport. And if you ever needed someone to test your game, I would be more than glad to lend a hand.

Careful, or I might just take you up on that offer as soon as I've found enough people to do the voices LOL! Seriously though, would you?Ã,  The others I used for the first one were great but they were more interested in actually playing the game than trying to break it

[Primus]

Hi again, JudasFM!

Thank you very much for spending your time answering, and for your so kind words and with your useful info.

Sorry for posting just now, but yesterday I couldn't gain access to the forum, I don't know why...

By the way, the game made me WANT to watch the movie, as I've seen already eg all star trek ones, the three matrix ones, etc.: I love Sci-Fi.

Yes, of course I will change the walkthru accordingly. That "pass of magic" wasn't to be taken in its proper sense, anyway. I knew there was a background behind, but what?

Thank you very much for having been so benevolent with me on your post! I'll also remove those stupid first remarks, as well as the bugs, except the one about the save when quitting the game: when I used it, the saved game always become unusable...
I'll do the changes right away, but they'll be available just when a moderator checks them and puts them online.

Pls make a walkthru yourself: made by the author is a must, as he/she knows EVERYTHING about the game, what to do, in what order, what are useless items, and so on.

So,

Spoiler

the recorder was to be used right before escaping from the cell by the hole done with the shovel? Wow, I could scarcely think of using it that way! It was a smart placed task!

[close]

And don't worry, I think too many game hints, or - sometimes - too obvious, are worse then less ones. And I totally agree with you when you say

I'm very reluctant to make it too easy, where all you need to do is talk to the right person.Ã,  I've played too many games like that; talk to someone and they give you chapter and verse of what you need to do next, where you need to do it and who you need to talk to next.

Ah, about the fish, I tried so many times to use it with everything, everyone and with each new item I got, that I started hating it! Congratulations for a so smart placing of an item in the beginning just to be used at is endÃ, 

Yeah, that coin made me try it with some ppl too (as there weren't gum machines or else for it); the paper, I felt it was a red herring since the beginning.

I repeat: being your first game, it was a wonder, as it was a very, very ambitious project. And, for me, your game deserves at least 8 out of 10. Even if it was your 50th game, it would get a high rank in my point of view. Huge quantity of playing spaces, well designed backgrounds and characters, very smart use of unuseful background items (trying to interact ALL possible ways with the statue, the box, the fire bin, etc., made my brains look like used chewing gum - my avatar came from your game and other ones like yoursÃ,  , a very intelligent story, and so on!
I can't hardly wait for playing the sequel! :-)

If I forgot something important, sorry, and please make me know.

[JudasFm]

By the way, the game made me WANT to watch the movie, as I've seen already eg all star trek ones, the three matrix ones, etc.: I love Sci-Fi.

That's the idea LOL!

I'll also remove those stupid first remarks, as well as the bugs, except the one about the save when quitting the game: when I used it, the saved game always become unusable...

*shakes head* That was probably the dumbest thing I ever did on this game.  I spent so long wrestling with the idea of getting that GUI working that I forgot to test the restore *thwaps self on forehead*.  Thanks for warning people though; I put it on the game's blurb but I'm not sure how many people read the detailed version I fixed it in the sequel though (and triple-tested it so I know it works )

Pls make a walkthru yourself: made by the author is a must, as he/she knows EVERYTHING about the game, what to do, in what order, what are useless items, and so on.

I've been meaning to update the game's official site for a while actually; I'll definitely be adding a walkthrough of this one.  Again, I like to leave it a while so that people can actually play them, otherwise if they get stuck it's too tempting to just look up the answer

Ah, about the fish, I tried so many times to use it with everything, everyone and with each new item I got, that I started hating it! Congratulations for a so smart placing of an item in the beginning just to be used at is endÃ, 

LOL Thanks It seems to be compulsory in games; every single game I play has an object I wind up hating for some weird reason.

I repeat: being your first game, it was a wonder, as it was a very, very ambitious project. And, for me, your game deserves at least 8 out of 10. Even if it was your 50th game, it would get a high rank in my point of view. Huge quantity of playing spaces, well designed backgrounds and characters, very smart use of unuseful background items (trying to interact ALL possible ways with the statue, the box, the fire bin, etc., made my brains look like used chewing gum - my avatar came from your game and other ones like yoursÃ,  , a very intelligent story, and so on!
I can't hardly wait for playing the sequel! :-)

*blushes* Thanks; I tried my best.  I think it turned out okay at any rate, considering I'd never programmed anything beyond a basic website when I started.  Then again, that's what I love most about AGS; it's one of the very few programs that really can be used by experts or complete novices.

The sequel's hovering at the minute...I'm waiting for some of the people who said they'd do voiceovers to get back to me and saving up for Paintshop; MSPaint's pretty good but it's tedious If you're interested, there should be screenshots up on the site pretty soon

[Momo]

The link between getting to Libria and the assassination...okay, maybe I could have made that slightly clearer.Ã,  You say you've seen Equilibrium so you know how important Preston would be If you reread the notice asking for help again, then the note about the assassination, you'll see that they're both to take place during the same night.Ã,  You'd be in Libria when it's going through, therefore you have to do something about it before you leave.Ã,  Uh.Ã,  Does that make any more sense?

It does. But still, a subtle clue would have helped here. Like if Rosaline, after reading the assassination note, said that she would have to do something about it, that might have helped the player to establish a link between the two. I hope the sequel would be clearer in all respects.

Careful, or I might just take you up on that offer as soon as I've found enough people to do the voices LOL! Seriously though, would you?Ã,  The others I used for the first one were great but they were more interested in actually playing the game than trying to break it

Yes, I'm serious about testing. Just be ready to put up with me in case I find a lot of bugs this time around. In any case, my email's over there, under my name.

[JudasFm]

I hope the sequel would be clearer in all respects.

LOL! Don't worry; it will be (I hope)

Yes, I'm serious about testing. Just be ready to put up with me in case I find a lot of bugs this time around. In any case, my email's over there, under my name.

Okay, I'll bear that in mind.  Like I said, what with one thing and another, it'll probably be a long time before it's ready for testing, but thanks

[Primus]

Hi there!

As Momo, I offer myself for beta testing. So I could be one of the first ones to play it! YEAH!

Pls send me a message if you need an implacabe one  Just kidding, of course!

[myrdlebp]

  Ummm.. I was looking through to find hints and tips to play a game, EQ in perticular, not how to make or find out how some one made mistakes in making a game, I thought that there was a certain forum for that or am I wrong? Just asking.

[JudasFm]

Ummm.. I was looking through to find hints and tips to play a game, EQ in perticular, not how to make or find out how some one made mistakes in making a game, I thought that there was a certain forum for that or am I wrong? Just asking.

I'm not sure whether there is one or not tbh...still, if you're stuck let me know and I'll try my best to help

[yvonne]

From where do I download Equilibrum?

[JudasFm]

From where do I download Equilibrum?

Either from the Full-Length Games section (it's on page 2) or from the game's website http://www.freewebs.com/zintan/  Equilibrium 1 is under 'Completed Games'

[Mayday116]

Um... I know this probably sounds stupid but i can`t figure out what to do in the beginning. i`ve got the ring and read the letter but i have no idea what to do next. sorry for this stupid question but i have tried so many things and still can`t figure out what to do.

[JudasFm]

Um... I know this probably sounds stupid but i can`t figure out what to do in the beginning. i`ve got the ring and read the letter but i have no idea what to do next. sorry for this stupid question but i have tried so many things and still can`t figure out what to do.

Heh, no problem Highlight the hints below for answers:

1.

Spoiler

Look at Rosaline.Ã,  Notice anything about her clothes?

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2.

Spoiler

She seems to like wearing jewellery.

[close]

3.

Spoiler

Maybe she should try the ring on.

[close]

4.

Spoiler

Take the ring out of your inventory and click it on Rosaline.

[close]

[Nachtvlinder]

Hi JudasFm,

Must say you're a good sport with the critic you received. I found the same bugs allready reported here and I also found it quite annoying walking through back & forth from the underground to the house on the leftside and had a lot of problems figuring out what to do next most of the time. But it's quite ok for a first game. About the move character scripting error (it is a scripting error; 100% sure; otherwise other games would have also had it)  I think I 've still got some tip. I've had the error in several places (random through the gam) and always when no character was drawn. I think it has something to do with the general order you are approaching a room. (just a thought). And yeah I know this is not the right forum for it. But since it allready contains all the hints you need (cool UHS style) and there were several posts about it before I just thought one more post like this couldn't hurt.
Keep up the good work and if you need another beta tester don't hesitate to ask me.

[JudasFm]

Hi JudasFm,

Must say you're a good sport with the critic you received.

Heh, thanks Like I say, I really don't mind people slamming things down into the ground...if it's justified What gets me is when I get bad reviews and people just don't say why

I found the same bugs allready reported here and I also found it quite annoying walking through back & forth from the underground to the house on the leftside and had a lot of problems figuring out what to do next most of the time.

Okay...at the risk of repeating myself, have you seen the movie?  It's just most of the EQ fanbase on the message boards seemed to get through it with no trouble...or at least, no more than you'd expect I can't remember if I mentioned it or not but I'm allowed to plagiarise myself so: the game was written almost purely for the fanbase first, AGS second.

The walking thing...yup.  Okay.  I didn't fully appreciate that until I played it all the way through just before releasing it; up until then I'd been testing in debug mode.  On the good news side though, the map idea in the sequel is definitely going ahead...should cut a lot of repeat-walking down

But it's quite ok for a first game. About the move character scripting error (it is a scripting error; 100% sure; otherwise other games would have also had it)Ã,  I think I 've still got some tip. I've had the error in several places (random through the gam) and always when no character was drawn. I think it has something to do with the general order you are approaching a room.

Could be.  I don't have the scripting files any more...I'd be interested to know where else you had the error though As far as I can tell, it only really seemed to occur in the tunnel system and Libria (and that last one rarely).  You're probably right about it being a scripting error, but I remember checking, double checking and triple checking the scripts for that room and I still couldn't figure out how it was happening *shakes head*

(just a thought). And yeah I know this is not the right forum for it. But since it allready contains all the hints you need (cool UHS style) and there were several posts about it before I just thought one more post like this couldn't hurt.
Keep up the good work and if you need another beta tester don't hesitate to ask me.

TBH, the Hints and Tips forum is about the only one I visit on a regular basis, so if you want me to read anything about the EQ games, this is the place to put it Lazy, I know, but still...

Out of Time was a bit of an exploratory game for me, to get used to and comfortable with AGS; also it was kind of an experiment, I wanted to see if the EQ fanbase was up for it before I spent eighteen months or so writing a game nobody wanted to play.

I'm a lot more comfortable with scripting etc now, so the second game should be a lot better for bugs and bloopers...or worse, I guess, depending on how you look at it Watch this space...

Thanks so much for your comments though; I always appreciate them (good or bad )