The Artifact - demo

j-Hed · Mon 26/04/2004 14:36:26

Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Hello everyone! We are now presenting to you the Artifact, with a playable demo.

Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Some parts of this game are not fully developed but will be upgraded further on.

Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â

Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Features:Ã,Â Ã,Â

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Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â
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Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â
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download here:Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â Ã,Â the Artifact - demo (size 27mb)

oscar · Mon 26/04/2004 15:03:51

it looks very professional...great!

DanClarke · Mon 26/04/2004 15:46:03

wow, looks good, keep it up 8)

j-Hed · Mon 26/04/2004 17:17:18

Thanks a lot!

I don't want to tell you about the story too much 'cause the Demo will be downloadable soon.
It is going to be a full-lengh game but I don't know if I'm going to chop it up in episodes every month (will probably be every 2nd) or finish it and put it on the net only then?

What do you think?

FantomeLeCheikh · Mon 26/04/2004 18:16:37

Good...

Your style is similar to the game: "The Last Express"

DCillusion · Mon 26/04/2004 18:59:58

Be careful when chopping the chapters. Sometimes people lose the arc of the plot when they take a month long break from the story.

I would say that if you're worried about download speeds, split the game into 2 - 3 chapters and release them all at once.

piraatlife4me · Tue 27/04/2004 17:29:48

Hey, I like your art, looks cool kinda reminds me of illustrations in a childrens book. BTW what's the title going to be?
Good luck

Daniel
Winebarger

Dan2552 · Tue 27/04/2004 19:45:41

personally i dont like the hat. :

but dont listen to me (REALLY DONT)

the graphics are great! i wish i could draw that well

good luck with your 1st adventure game

Chicky · Tue 27/04/2004 19:52:33

i like the hat, infact the graphics are amazing. Did you rip them from another game?

-OSC

j-Hed · Tue 27/04/2004 21:10:20

Thank you a lot!

Im going to call the project...

The Artifact
(for now)

"Did you rip them from another game?" -Heh, I take that as a compliment

, no I made everything myself.

It should be in the 1950s that's why I choose the hat... and because it looks corny.

The game will be about a photographer who gets a mission involving an artifact, the demo will take place on a ship (as seen in the first screenshot).

If you could come up with any better name for the game or just have some critics on it, feel free to ask/reply.

Opo Terser · Thu 29/04/2004 01:54:58

Best graphics I've seen in a long time from anyone here.

Sorry, just resized too show them better, really nice, do you scan in drawings then color?

Autofire · Thu 29/04/2004 08:35:57

This really looks classy! I like the effect of that branch out of focus appearing to be near the "camera". To set your games in the 50s is a good idea. It makes me expect a kind of concervative, elegant style. Elegant; your drawing style sure is.

j-Hed · Thu 29/04/2004 14:27:51

Hello Opo and Autofire!

Gee Im really glad you liked the pics and even resized them

.
I draw the backgrounds with a pencil on a white paper(-towel

) then I scan it and color it in Photoshop.

BTW the branch in the forest pic I made before "Alpha blending,PNG's" was implemented, instead I made the blur by three stages of "SetObjectTransparency" but now I realize it was totally unecissary :

.

Snake · Fri 30/04/2004 04:21:47

Hey, you're graphics are awesome! You've got great talent, man

I got one request though... Please edit your first post with a little something telling about the story and put the title of the game in the subject line of this thread

Keep up the great work

--Snake

GarageGothic · Sat 01/05/2004 16:11:01

Hmm, are you using Poser with a cartoon render for the characters? There's something very familiar about that walking style, and the draping of the clothes.

The graphics look wonderful. Reminds me of Broken Sword. I was doing the same thing as you, with the out-of-focus foreground objects, and I had to re-import it again when we got alpha-blending, and I could do them as sprites.

Good luck with your project. Looking forward to hear more of the story.

j-Hed · Sun 02/05/2004 16:07:23

Hi GarageGothic!

Yeah you are absolutely right.
I use a poser-like program for the characters mainly because I don't have the time drawing all the frames myself. Since it's only me and my brother (who is making his own game right now) making the game it's kind of an easier way to model them the way we want.

Funny to hear it reminds you of "broken sword", that is my favourite adventuregame.

GarageGothic · Sun 02/05/2004 18:49:32

What's the name of the program you're using? Poser is the only complete character creation/animation package I'm familiar with.

I'm using Poser 5 - for the exact same reason as you - for the characters in my game Shadowplay (you can see some screenshots in the December 2003 issue of The Inventory: http://www.justadventure.com/TheInventory/inv11.zip).

j-Hed · Fri 07/05/2004 13:05:52

Sorry I haven't finished the demo yet, a few problems came up(as usual) but I try as hard as I can to deal with them.

I guess it will be available for downloading next week or so... $:-\$

j-Hed · Thu 03/06/2004 00:04:49

Hi!

Sorry for not keeping you updated (been attending to a school, but now I AM FREE!).
I was wondering if anyone like to beta-test the game?
I only have some animations and scripting before the demo will be released and would be glad if someone can find some bugs or other obstacles.

Well here's my e-mail: jonas@xtreem.nu, and on MSN I'm: anton_foy@hotmail.com

Thanks!

YOke · Thu 03/06/2004 12:48:52

I would LOVE to beta test it! I'll add you to MSN as soon as I get off work!

Edit: ok... i got drunk after work yesterday, and now I'm at work again.

Will contact you tonight!

j-Hed · Wed 15/09/2004 16:59:15

The playable demo is now here.

Damien, I don't know how many years it will take to finish the whole game hehe to be honest I think you are better off downloading this one.

Or if you have a friend with higherspeed connection maybe he can burn it on cd for ya

.

Thanks!

j-Hed · Wed 15/09/2004 21:09:00

Updated the demo!

Fixed some sound problems.

Please tell me if some bugs appear.

Hope you like it!

Darth Mandarb · Wed 15/09/2004 21:18:01

Please don't double post.

Are the screenshots in Opo Terser's post (from page 1), current and accurate from this game?

The first post (thanks for editting) only has one picture (which is HUGE by the way - you might consider resizing that) and doesn't look like a screenshot.Ã,Â The Games in Production Forum Rules require a minimum of two in-game screenshots.

Please update the first post with at least 2 in-game screenshots (if Opo's post isn't accurate).

The graphics look good.Ã,Â When I have some time later I'll DL and give you some feedback.

Edit - I wasn't trying to be harsh ...

Chicky · Wed 15/09/2004 21:26:14

J-hed your game rocks, the demo has improved soo much since the beta i played a while back. This demo is REALLY worth the download time guys, this things near professional quality! J-hed i love your art style and the atmosphere's just perfect! I wish you all the luck with the game, you MUST finish it.

Dont let this thread die, this game is truely worth recognision.

j-Hed · Wed 15/09/2004 22:49:37

I cannot thank you enough Chicken!

And you have also helped me so much with the game, beta-testing and debugging etc. Thought everyone should know

And sorry Darth it was clumsy of me double post etc. but Opo's screenshots are accurate so I don't see any reason to delete that reply.

Thanks and enjoy!

Darth Mandarb · Wed 15/09/2004 22:59:34

Quote from: j-Hed on Wed 15/09/2004 22:49:37And sorry Darth it was clumsy of me double post etc. but Opo's screenshots are accurate so I don't see any reason to delete that reply.

No worries about the double post.Ã,Â Since Opo's screens are still the 'real' deal, it's all good.

I downloaded it, but I can't seem to open it.Ã,Â It gives me some kind of Engine Error : Runtime Error or something ...

Is there a possibility of a zipped version in the future?Ã,Â I'd like to try it out.

Goldmund · Wed 15/09/2004 23:58:45

Very nice backgrounds, although I'd gladly give away 8-10 walk-frames to make the guy move faster.
I'm interested how many frames do you need to create such smooth animations?

Also:

Spoiler

The death after eaves-dropping by the door was too sudden, I didn't know I had any control before being shot by the villains. Does the demo get much longer than that? (meaning: is it worth replaying to see something new)

[close]

I love the "mini-games" you included, like the one with the keyhole and the one with wiping dirt.Ã,Â It enlivens the gameplay greatly.

Ozwalled · Thu 16/09/2004 00:09:11

Quote from: GarageGothic on Sun 02/05/2004 18:49:32
What's the name of the program you're using? Poser is the only complete character creation/animation package I'm familiar with.

I'm not sure you answered this yet. I'm also curious about program was used for making the characters.

GarageGothic · Thu 16/09/2004 03:24:22

Quote from: Ozwalled on Thu 16/09/2004 00:09:11I'm not sure you answered this yet. I'm also curious about program was used for making the characters.

I know the answer, I know the answer. But it's a secret

Looking forward to playing the demo. Even more so after hearing other people's response.

Chicky · Thu 16/09/2004 08:19:14

Hah! excellent! try typing 'hello' into the notepad and then use it on the kid. Or try typing 'get keys', i love it. I take it this is the free solving option, well i didnt use it to finish the game anyway.

Elianto · Thu 16/09/2004 08:34:24

I'd like to know which software you used... please

j-Hed · Thu 16/09/2004 14:59:50

Wow thanks everyone for the lovely feedback!

Darth- the problem why you can't play it is possibly because you tried the winsetup file first, am I right?
The solution is to rename the "artifact-dm.exe"-file to "boat_4jh.exe". Hope that helps

Hehe the program I use for the character is the same GarageGothic use

Thanks alot Goldmund. I will update the demo soon so that the options menu works correctly (including speed).

Hehe good thing you found out how to use the notebook Chicken, but for now you can only use it with the kid...I think.

Elianto · Thu 16/09/2004 15:02:09

Quote from: j-Hed on Thu 16/09/2004 14:59:50
Wow thanks everyone for the lovely feedback!

Hehe the program I use for the character is the same GarageGothic use

:'( :'( :'(

Goldmund · Thu 16/09/2004 15:37:58

Well, if you're up to revamping options menu, consider having a "try again" button.
After I got shot (it's sometimes frustrating that you don't know whether you can die in a game or not, and when you find out, it's usually to late) I resigned from replaying the demo because of its speed. The "try again" button would help there.
One more speed issue is when talking to the captain: it got irritating after a while how he performed an animation each time before answering.

The setting and notepad reminded me of Murder on Mississipi (and also Cruise for a Corpse). Any inspiration in these games?

j-Hed · Thu 16/09/2004 19:00:48

I will make the speed changeable soon, so I hope the update will be implemented in a few days (that depends on my job=time). And yes the demo is longer after the "you get shot" -scene.

I don't understand exacly what you mean with a "try again" -button, is it like an automatic save function?

Hmm Murder on Mississipi I haven't seen that one is it a game or a movie?
I have only played "Tom Cruise for a corpse" a few minutes and that was in -92 when it first came out

But I guess we (j-hed & A-hed) are quite inspired by Tintin and also Broken Sword.

Elianto- hehe if you check the earlier posts on this topic you can see that GarageGothic uses Poser 5, just like I

prowler · Thu 16/09/2004 22:09:24

..also, the question about the number of frames in the animations... ?

Darth Mandarb · Thu 16/09/2004 22:13:29

Quote from: j-Hed on Thu 16/09/2004 14:59:50Darth- the problem why you can't play it is possibly because you tried the winsetup file first, am I right?

I didn't even get that far ... when I try to un-rar it ... I don't know the term.

When I double click the .rar icon, Stuffit opens up and it then gives that error.Ã,Â I might just need to dl a new version of Stuffit or something ...

Barbarian · Fri 17/09/2004 02:40:39

Quote from: Darth Mandarb on Thu 16/09/2004 22:13:29
Quote from: j-Hed on Thu 16/09/2004 14:59:50Darth- the problem why you can't play it is possibly because you tried the winsetup file first, am I right?
I didn't even get that far ... when I try to un-rar it ... I don't know the term.

When I double click the .rar icon, Stuffit opens up and it then gives that error.Ã,Â I might just need to dl a new version of Stuffit or something ...

Hiya Darth. If you're looking for a new uncompressor/extractor utility, a good, and free, utility that I use for uncompressing most common formats (Zip, Rar, Arj ,etc...) is IZarc over at:
http://www.izsoft.dir.bg/izarc.htm

It can also easily compress files for you into a format such as Zip.

j-Hed · Fri 17/09/2004 10:46:33

WinRAR is also a good one, it can unzip all formats I believe. I think you can get it from download.com.
It's free of course

j-Hed · Mon 27/09/2004 21:54:46

The Artifact - demo is now on the "Games main page / demos" if someone is up for some voting or downloadingÃ,Â

big brother · Wed 29/09/2004 17:26:03

I dled the demo rar (twice, actually, just to make sure I got the full size), and there seems to be only one file inside (acsetup.cfg). What's the deal?

j-Hed · Wed 29/09/2004 17:35:37

Hiya Big Brother!

Thats very odd, I tried to download it just now and it worked.

I opened the rar-file with WinRAR (-freeware

), maybe it is something strange with the program / version you are using.

big brother · Wed 29/09/2004 19:28:33

I have WinACE, which also works with .RAR files. I tried dling a third time, and still no luck. Any suggestions?

Al_Ninio · Wed 29/09/2004 21:31:56

I downloaded it, opened it with WinRAR.
It worked fine.

(And just for the record, WinRAR isn't freeware).