Infection - Episode 1 - The ship

[Leon]

Ok, I've played around a bit and here are my thoughts:

- The story is good. The environment is certainly big enough for more stories, even if they're not directly related. So it could well be transformed into a series (how many are planned at the moment?)
- It's a love/hate thing. The graphics aren't super but that's what also attractive about it. It reminds me of the space quest 2/3 times...
- The voices aren't bad but when sentences get longer, the end of the lines fade away making them unhearable so subtitles can't be missed.
- The controls are terrible! Even after playing three times, I still mix up left and right. Somehow it hasn't the natural feel.
- The door are horrible. When I click on a door, I expect them to open. Now I have to click just before, wait for it to open and click just after the door, which in some cases is very difficult with limited space.
- Why isn't everything usable from the start? A lot of elevators give me the message: not now, I should get moving. Only after a certain event, a certain elevator can be used... frustrating! (Also the panel to the control room. Why is it working all of a sudden?)
- I can't see which object I'm using. Taking it from the inventory doesn't give me any feedback at all. (It took me some time to open the footlocker...).

Some technical issues:
- animation of the elevator doesn't go smoothly.
- I can get behind the cargo bay door. Just step to it without pushing the switch.
- When I leave the control room,I heard an explosion. 'The Dude' is standing there, motionless.  I can't do anything with him, I only get the message: is he dead? Entering the control room again and leaving made him dissappear...
- Double clicking an item has a different effect. Where does the timer come from with the explosives? <figured this one out.... think it's a bug since I didn't even had the communication crate open until long after>
- Filling the gun with bullets again doesn't give any feedback. I look at the supplies and all of a sudden my gun has 40 bullets again...

Storyline:
- I've disabled all controls, yet the elevator in C3 can still be used?
- What happened in the main corridor, in between C3's? I can't step beyond the yellow lines but get no feedback either...
- How did the power get restored? I can't remember doing anything yet I can use the main computer all of a sudden?


Typo's:
Talking to Ellie in Hypersleep Chamber - No, no, it's truly a pleaure --> pleasure
Looking at gun: All members of all shipt --> ships
Leaving C1 after finding Ellie & talking to the captain - There's certainly an intruded on board --> intruder
Taking the elevator outside the controlroom, downstairs it says SINGN --> SIGN.
Looking at the rust: It wont go away --> won't
Using the crate: I don't need a trasmitter --> transmitter
Looking at the sabotaged button: It wont work --> won't
Looking at the gap in the pod: I cant fix it --> can't
Looking at the logs of hypersleep chambers: It's a diagram.. hyperslepp --> hypersleep.
Looking at the manual control throttle: the ship's runningn --> running



I'm lost at the moment. Too little feedback of my actions and too little hints on what to do. I'm sure I have to open the container in C3 but so far I could only use dynamite (which didn't do much good..).
The Dude shows up now and then and can be taken care of, but I'm unsure about his status. Once shot, I don't get any feedback on him.... (Is he dead?)
At the moment I'm not sure if it's the buginess of the game that stops me from progressing or am I really missing something?

As a resume..... there are still some points to work at but it has a good potential for a series. Provided that the storyline stays unique and doesn't get too much influenced by other space-quest like games, it's a well done job! Congratulations and I can't wait to see the progression in #2.

[WHAM]

Ok, I've played around a bit and here are my thoughts:

- The story is good. The environment is certainly big enough for more stories, even if they're not directly related. So it could well be transformed into a series (how many are planned at the moment?)
- It's a love/hate thing. The graphics aren't super but that's what also attractive about it. It reminds me of the space quest 2/3 times...
- The voices aren't bad but when sentences get longer, the end of the lines fade away making them unhearable so subtitles can't be missed.
- The controls are terrible! Even after playing three times, I still mix up left and right. Somehow it hasn't the natural feel.
- The door are horrible. When I click on a door, I expect them to open. Now I have to click just before, wait for it to open and click just after the door, which in some cases is very difficult with limited space.
- Why isn't everything usable from the start? A lot of elevators give me the message: not now, I should get moving. Only after a certain event, a certain elevator can be used... frustrating! (Also the panel to the control room. Why is it working all of a sudden?)
- I can't see which object I'm using. Taking it from the inventory doesn't give me any feedback at all. (It took me some time to open the footlocker...).

Some technical issues:
- animation of the elevator doesn't go smoothly.
- I can get behind the cargo bay door. Just step to it without pushing the switch.
- When I leave the control room,I heard an explosion. 'The Dude' is standing there, motionless.  I can't do anything with him, I only get the message: is he dead? Entering the control room again and leaving made him dissappear...
- Double clicking an item has a different effect. Where does the timer come from with the explosives? <figured this one out.... think it's a bug since I didn't even had the communication crate open until long after>
- Filling the gun with bullets again doesn't give any feedback. I look at the supplies and all of a sudden my gun has 40 bullets again...

Storyline:
- I've disabled all controls, yet the elevator in C3 can still be used?
- What happened in the main corridor, in between C3's? I can't step beyond the yellow lines but get no feedback either...
- How did the power get restored? I can't remember doing anything yet I can use the main computer all of a sudden?


Typo's:
Talking to Ellie in Hypersleep Chamber - No, no, it's truly a pleaure --> pleasure
Looking at gun: All members of all shipt --> ships
Leaving C1 after finding Ellie & talking to the captain - There's certainly an intruded on board --> intruder
Taking the elevator outside the controlroom, downstairs it says SINGN --> SIGN.
Looking at the rust: It wont go away --> won't
Using the crate: I don't need a trasmitter --> transmitter
Looking at the sabotaged button: It wont work --> won't
Looking at the gap in the pod: I cant fix it --> can't
Looking at the logs of hypersleep chambers: It's a diagram.. hyperslepp --> hypersleep.
Looking at the manual control throttle: the ship's runningn --> running



I'm lost at the moment. Too little feedback of my actions and too little hints on what to do. I'm sure I have to open the container in C3 but so far I could only use dynamite (which didn't do much good..).
The Dude shows up now and then and can be taken care of, but I'm unsure about his status. Once shot, I don't get any feedback on him.... (Is he dead?)
At the moment I'm not sure if it's the buginess of the game that stops me from progressing or am I really missing something?

As a resume..... there are still some points to work at but it has a good potential for a series. Provided that the storyline stays unique and doesn't get too much influenced by other space-quest like games, it's a well done job! Congratulations and I can't wait to see the progression in #2.

To adress a few points here:

> The dude appearing in the first elevator room during the explosion is a known bug, which seems to manifest at random. Some players have the problem, some dont.
> Controls were made using the Beneath A Steel Sky -template, and frankly: being able to mix up which button on your mouse is on the left and which one is on the right... That's not really my bad, is it? o.0'
> The doors are horrible... COOL!... But horrible... They will not appear in the sequel in their current from. Clicking on the door does not do anything, as Mike does not USE the doors in any way, as the doors are automatic. You can simply click BEHIND the door and mike will walk straight through the door.
> Typo's are to be expected in such a large one-man project, but still unwanted... Sorry about those.
> Everything is not useable in the beginning, as the player has a clear objective and Mike has no time to be looking around. The limitations are removed fairly early in the game, though.
> Power is never DISABLED, only rebooted. Therefore it is restored only moments after you kill it. This could have used with a bit of clarification, though...

Thank's for going thorugh all this trouble with my game! I might be making a version 1.1 with fixes and updates, but I'm greatly tempted to just move on to Infection 2 soon. I'm also planning a smaller project in between, so... I'll see what I can do! ^___^

**** SPOILERS ****

> The cargo 3 does not need to be accessed at any time in the game. If you are lost, try looking through the ship's main computer. The idea was to have the player's curiosity drive them forward to explore their surroundings, but apparently this was a bad idea.

**** END OF SPOILERS ****

[Leon]

I started from scratch and there are some serious continuity bugs...:

- I could create a timebomb without having to get the timer and powerpack first.
- I completely missed the sequence with the manual & switches in the control room. Now that I've seen it, I understand the reboot.
- As soon as I hear the explosion the 'dude' just stands there with me asking: Is he dead? I didn't even touch the guy. He keeps appearing once in a while....

Ok so now I understand the bug with the dude. The only time I encounter him is when I leave the power room. He comes running after me and all I can do is turn around and say Oh Shit. My gun doesn't seem to work here, although I have enough time (but I can't really tell whether I selected the gun or not...)

Or should I run from him and leave it? It's just that I now don't know when it's a bug or when it's a real encounter.

I understand how the doors work now. It's just that I always play in windowed mode so I don't want to use the edges too much. But then again, it's something I can get used to if I play long enough.

[WHAM]

You can expect an attempt to fix to some problems in a new upload some time next week. I've found quite a few new issues thanks to Leon's help here, and will try to straighten them out as soon as possible!

Sorry about such a buggy first release, but please keep in mind that this is my first game...

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

First off, a note to Miguel - could you PLEASE be a bit more considerate about the information you don't spoilerize?

Now:

- The controls are terrible! Even after playing three times, I still mix up left and right. Somehow it hasn't the natural feel.

> Controls were made using the Beneath A Steel Sky -template, and frankly: being able to mix up which button on your mouse is on the left and which one is on the right... That's not really my bad, is it? o.0'

Actually, it's a real issue because when playing RIGHT-CLICK uses and LEFT-CLICK looks; and on the inventory, RIGHT-CLICK looks and LEFT-CLICK uses. How is this supposed to be friendly and/or convenient?

Also, I'd like an option to turn text off, but that's just me. If I can understand what's being said, I prefer to have no subtitles, that way I can focus on the character's voice, inflexions, etc.

EDIT - Scratch that. I'd only played for a couple of seconds. Now that I've heard the captain and Ellie, I'm deleting "speech.vox". Which is a first, let me tell you, I don't usually do this.

Also, please do consider a v1.1, adressing at least Leon's story and continuity bugs, those are probably the most serious issues - but do remember Clickteam's Patchmaker. Wouldn't want to force us to download that whole thing again, now would you? :

Finally - Owen sounds like Robert Chase, from House. o_O

EDIT 2 - And indeed, the doors are rather horrible. What disheartens me is that you say you have no plans to include them on a sequel, but neither do you seem inclined to fix them in this release... which is detrimental to gameplay, which makes players simply not have fun while playing, which makes them quit and not wish to return, which makes them not really want to play Infection 2, 3, and so on. Nevermind, just read that you do plan to iron out some issues. I hope this is one of them.

EDIT 3 - Played some more. The storyline progression is nice, and the game is very atmospheric - given the voice-acting and gameplay issues, that's a lifesaver, it's what keeps me playing, well done on that. DO find out why that character gets in the elevator room and fix it - do you have any idea what a mood-killer it is? It's not game-stopping, but it IS a MOST serious bug.

Spoiler

Also, when you select an inventory item and then click anything, even if it's not a hotspot, it'll run the interaction and then the mouse will default to its normal mode. This is understandable... but it does NOT work in a game where someone can come up behind you at any time, catching you off-guard, making you rush for your weapon and then inadvertently miss the character with your first click. In a game with such an unnerving atmosphere (my heart missed a beat the first time the dude creeped up behind me, that's good!), you've got to be a more forgiving.

[close]

And whoever talked about character speeds is right. Extremely reduced reaction time coupled with the above spoilerized issue - BIG NONO!

EDIT 4 - Good music and particularly great use of sound throughout.

It looks like you've been taking atmospheric inspiration from Yahtzee.

FINAL EDIT - Critical bug. Here, check it out.

http://www.lumpcity.co.uk/~skimbleshanks/agssave.001

Spoiler

I had just shot the port engine in panic, and then shot the dude. Now when I got there, I found myself stuck. Can't move anywhere.

[close]

So I'd have to start all over... so I'll wait until you get some issues fixed.

Also, I'm very displeased that your game took the liberty of saving the game to my My Documents folder. I always keep my savegames in the game's directory.

[Nostradamus]

So... big bugs and other issues... WHAM, will you make a new version and fix bugs?  I will wait for the next version before I start playing if that is the case.

[Angel Dust]

Just finished it and overall I give it a thumbs up. It did have some problems however:
I second what Rui said about the voice acting. The main guy, the one doing Owen, is actually quite good. He does the whole cocky American guy thing but without degenerating into an annoying characterture. He was genuinally likeable and I would highly recommend getting him back for future installments. But the other two are terrible and I turned it off when I heard them.
I like the shooting element but I think it would be better to have a hotkey for the gun or a toggle for an 'action' mode. That way the action will still be tense but not frustrating.
I would definitely recommend flipping the controls around for the next game too. Also when an inventory item is selected it would be nice to have the pointer change to that item. Would be especially handy for item on item puzzles.
I also encountered a game stopping bug

Spoiler

when assembling the timed explosives I used the data sender, or whatever the part of the transmitter that wasn't the timer was called, with the cell and explosives. They all joined together and I didn't realise until I used it on the blast doors that it was the wrond thing to do. Of course it was silly on my part to combine them in such away but the game should never have let me. Luckily I had an earlier save

[close]

Anyway enough negatives, the good stuff:

The music and sound, bar the two supporting voice actors, were fantastic. Really established the mood and well used.

Spoiler

The sound when the lights when down in the fuel room was so perfect and well timed, I said 'Oh shit' out loud.

[close]

While the graphics weren't spectacular they set the mood well and there were plenty of nice touches like the doors, the little animation when accessing the computer and particularly the

Spoiler

shooting in the dark stuff. I absolutely loved that!

[close]

The story was interesting and most importantly well told. It was revealed at a perfect pace with enough room for the players imagination to do some filling in.

Don't get don't disheartened by any negative criticisms as the negatives are mostly all things that can easily be improved upon. You nailed the atmosphere and storytelling, which are the hardest things to get right.

I am eagerly awaiting future installments!

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

Re Dust's game-stopping bug, just reading the description I'd like to add that maybe you *could* keep that situation, but nudge the player along so that he realizes that he's heading for a walking dead. No-warning walking deads, which is what Dust described, are also rather big no-nos. Forewarned walking deads, or at least a sense of "having done the wrong thing" that's strong enough for us to save our game as a precaution, is the next best thing.

The very best thing, of course, is having no walking deads, but that's a more debateable issue and on this one I still say the gamemaker knows best.

Just as long as we have fair warning.

[JuuJuu]

I cannot play .rar files on my computer. What program do I use to open it?

[Angel Dust]

I cannot play .rar files on my computer. What program do I use to open it?

WinRAR.

[WHAM]

> There will be a v1.1 next week! Just hang in there! <
Version 1.1 will have fixes in:
> The dude's behavior and accidental appearances in places he is NOT supposed to appear.
> The player being able to skip most of the game by misusing inventory items


Also, as clarification, there are supposed to be NO dead ends in the game. The enly way to get yourself stuck is if you save and dont have any ammo. That could well be a death penalty for you.

The sequel will have a more interesting and forgiving combat system, but higher difficulty level altogehter. Basically, any and everything in Infection 1, that gets complained about exessively will be fixed in the sequel.

[Leon]

... and dont have any ammo.

Spoiler

You can always refill in the basement, right? What I think is more odd is that after the light goes out, Ellie starts to scream and you empty your gun into the room. Looking at your inventory, you still have 40 shells....?

[close]

[miguel]

Rui: You can find out about   "the spoiler"  after playing for about 10 minutes, that's why I decided to write about it. Also, everything leading to that event is very linear so one quickly gets there.
Also, the voice over isn't that bad compared with some other AGS games, and that is what we should compare, not to some comercial games with real actors.
AGS games are still amateur games, as far as I know, and thank god for that.

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

It's still a spoiler, and one that covers a rather important piece of the story, and this argument would have been avoided if you had taken care to hide it instead of trying, in a very Portuguese fashion (takes one to know one), to explain why you-were-right/it-doesn't-matter/I'm-being-overly-picky/whatever.

And I don't care about comparisons, I care about quality. By your logic, should we be glad that there's some extremely crappy games being made? I am, because I know that the maker is probably just getting his feet wet, but the game is still crap, and there's no use in prettying it up, it still stinks.

Not the case with Infection, of course.

Besides, go ahead and compare it to other AGS games. KQ1, 2 and 3 VGA, maybe? Ben Jordan 1 Deluxe? Apprentice?

EDIT - For WHAM's sake, I'll be a bit more constructive re speech. I liked the main character, although sometimes it seemed he was trying too hard to be dramatic. It sounded like he learned it all from watching TV shows, the kind filled with debonair reading of serious lines, alternating with dramatic pauses. His voice was a ted too tenor for that effect, IMO, but nevertheless, it was colourful, very clear, and was the reason I'd asked for an option not to show text. Ellie, however, speaks much too slowly, flat, and always seems to go for over-acting. Over-acting in monotone is not something you want to listen to. And the captain... er, I'd rather not go into too much detail, suffice it to to say he certainly was not par with "Michael Owen".

[miguel]

I apologize for the spoiler.

...extremely crappy games being made...

That's agressive like most of your comments, sorry Rui.

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

Agressive? Probably, sometimes I get that way. I'm particularly aggressive after a game lets me down. This one let me down at first, that's why the first half is more aggressive, but the atmosphere really gripped me. I really believe in this game, but it has issues which MUST be fixed.

There's no use in pandering, that'll just lead to more good FLAWED games.

And anyway, it's true. There are extremely crappy games being made. Now kindly read the rest of the sentence, where I state why that makes me happy.

[bicilotti]

Wham, I found an horrible buf that kept me from continuing the game. Apart from that, enjoyable gaming experience. I liked the voice acting too, even though took me a life to download the whole package
What I liked the most was the developement of the story: not too thin, not too much plot dump, good peace overall. Graphics were simple but did their job, music and sounds effect managed to got me wrapped up in the story.
Most of the critics some AGSers wrote are true, but you're still young and will got plenty of time to improve your skills.

Handsake, waiting for the second chapter -Francesco

[JuuJuu]

maybe put it in the more common exe file?

My computer wont do anything with rar or WINrar program. =(

But from what I heard of it..which is not much, and seen it sounds like the 7 days of Skeptic??

[Angel Dust]

  Aren't most games downloads in the .rar or .zip formats initially to save space? I'm sure pretty much all the games I have got from here have been like that. What do you usually use to unzip files?

[JuuJuu]

Well, it usually is a zip file I can open. when I unzip it, it goes into and .exe file, which is a playable file. (most games on AGS- when unzipped- are .exe

But the file i downloaded of Infection, can't even be unzipped. Its just an "unknown" .rar file.