Automation v1.1 - OROW Winner

MrColossal · Fri 03/03/2006 05:51:00

Coming to the end of your grant you finally finish work on your experiment. When moving it to a containment unit everything goes wrong... Can you retrieve your precious experiment and save years of research and millions of dollars worth of funding?

Finally, I believe I have squashed every known bug and added a song generously donated by Mr. Adam "Darkstalkey" Hay

When asking for hints, please use the hints and tips thread that I have set up here:

Enjoy! and if you find any bugs, please post them here and please use spoiler tags!

http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/games.php?action=download&game=694Ã,Â Ã,Â 5 megs with music

http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/games.php?action=download&game=694&mirror=1Ã,Â 1 meg without music

If anyone likes doing sound effects and would like to make some for the last part of the game, contact me please!

Eric

Saberteeth · Fri 03/03/2006 05:55:05

graphics - good
sound - probably good
design - cool
downloadind - NOW

Helm · Fri 03/03/2006 05:56:46

This is an awesome game that everybody should play. Get it. Now. Then e-mail eric when you get stuck, don't post in the hints and tips thread, just e-mail the hell out of him.

ggp · Fri 03/03/2006 11:36:19

I'm afraid ive found a bug and the game just crashed......
"Scripting Error, room line 392, object not assigned a view." It happen when;

Spoiler

I pressed the consol to move the magnet across, the magnet dropped, i tried to look at it, and the game crashed.

[close]

MrColossal · Fri 03/03/2006 16:18:55

Argh! I fixed that, damned game! I make a game about technology going crazy and my game goes crazy! Will fix it when I get home.

hedgefield · Fri 03/03/2006 16:45:40

Excellent game, well done! Great animations, and that last part really had me stumped for a bit.

Nice cliffhanger

Mozesh · Fri 03/03/2006 16:50:28

Really cool game, nice animations nice puzzles everything's nice.
I had the same as largopredator, got a bit stuck in the end but still I got it.
And a really great cliffhanger it is!

nickeedoo · Fri 03/03/2006 18:54:45

That really is excellent. But bloody annoying at the end, sorry, it made me laugh though.

scourge · Fri 03/03/2006 19:39:01

Excellent game. The animation is amazing.

MrColossal · Sat 04/03/2006 03:52:36

Problem, I can not reproduce the bug in Automation. Highly annoying.

Helm · Sat 04/03/2006 05:10:55

Have you started getting e-mails about it yet?

woodz · Sat 04/03/2006 11:04:37

nice game..
you get the error.. if you miss out the puzzle before.. probably because the animation (robot) isn't there

MrColossal · Sat 04/03/2006 22:15:53

Hmm I still can't reproduce it.

Can someone email or PM me a step by step set of directions to get it to break?

Thanks.

Eric

piperhcombs · Sat 04/03/2006 22:33:11

Heh.

Funny ending, though a bit abrupt. It could've use a end page or something instead of just closing.

evilspacefart · Sat 04/03/2006 23:50:02

hehe. i liked it a lot. more games like this!

Ionias · Sun 05/03/2006 00:28:58

Great game so far! I love the graphics and great music as well. I'm stuck and I'm also getting that error. PMing you the details.

pattica · Sun 05/03/2006 01:18:22

the game crashes every time i move the magnet please fix it love the game but cant play because of this

MrColossal · Sun 05/03/2006 02:06:12

Ah ha, thank you for the people who PMed me, I fixed it, turns out I'm dumb and made a dumb mistake.

Uploaded fixed versions now...

Eric

splat44 · Sun 05/03/2006 06:20:14

Yes, the bug might have been fixed.

I cannot use magnet machine as I did with the old version though!

Ionias · Sun 05/03/2006 13:26:56

Quote from: splat44 on Sun 05/03/2006 06:20:14
Yes, the bug might have been fixed.

I cannot use magnet machine as I did with the old version though!

That is intended. We're missing a puzzle just before we're supposed to use that console and that's why the game would crash. I'm stumped as to what I missed myself.

SadBloke · Mon 06/03/2006 03:59:30

Great art, great music, great sound, workmanlike writing (only spelling error was "ment" in the description of the containment device), but ultimately felt like a trivial waste of time. The puzzles were fairly straightforward and the game was obnoxiously linear. Mostly it involved a lot of walking back and forth and getting the game to let me do what I wanted to. I can't help but wonder why all the candy aspects couldn't've been used to a better end.

lakerz · Mon 06/03/2006 05:52:21

Considering the game was designed in a week, I was blown away with all the detail in Automation. Some of the puzzles were tricky with a bit of pixel hunting, but it wasn't too bad. Anyways, congrats on a fine effort, worthy of winning the contest.

Nikolas · Mon 06/03/2006 08:43:34

Plus it was an one room game! So what did you expect in the end, apart from walking back and forth (a little, if I may add).

But of coure you are right, just not for a game in one room, made in a week.

Great game Eric! Well done! I wasn't here on the first OROW...

jane · Mon 06/03/2006 11:20:41

Absolutely great game - but is it supposed to end like that with a trip?

Helm · Mon 06/03/2006 11:51:12

Quoteultimately felt like a trivial waste of time.

As opposed to vital waste of time?

biothlebop · Mon 06/03/2006 16:51:37

Just finished it, and I have to say that I really loved it. The interface was confusing though at first, I thought the walk icon was look and the kick icon was walk. I especially liked how simple the plot was, and how it still had atmosphere. However, it quit in the end abruptly with a error box, instead of a thank you or something.

MrColossal · Mon 06/03/2006 17:31:50

An error, really?

Anyone else have this problem?

biothlebop · Mon 06/03/2006 21:03:02

Nevermind, it might be just a issue with my computer. The first time i finished it the last sound effect played froze and there was a different AGS error but now I just got a generic XP error and a long dump of data (Automation.exe has encountered a problem bla bla).

SadBloke · Mon 06/03/2006 21:43:42

Quote from: Helm on Mon 06/03/2006 11:51:12
Quoteultimately felt like a trivial waste of time.

As opposed to vital waste of time?

As opposed to a *meaningful* waste of time, like, say, Varicella

scourge · Mon 06/03/2006 21:47:13

Whenever I see 'automation' i think 'animation' which for me is what really stands out in this game.

MrColossal · Mon 06/03/2006 22:28:34

Well thanks for playing my game SadBloke, I guess...

Glad to know it ranks well under chickenpox! So you had zero fun playing the game? Please elaborate on "getting the game to let me do what I wanted it to do."

Thank you.
Eric

Fuzzpilz · Tue 07/03/2006 00:44:55

Quote from: SadBloke on Mon 06/03/2006 21:43:42
Quote from: Helm on Mon 06/03/2006 11:51:12
Quoteultimately felt like a trivial waste of time.

As opposed to vital waste of time?

As opposed to a *meaningful* waste of time, like, say, Varicella

There's an unfair comparison if I've ever seen one. Honestly, Automation is an OROW game. Keeping it short and relatively simple was the whole point. If you basically want every game you play to resemble a particularly brilliant IF game, I suggest you just stay away from graphic adventures made by one person in a week.

SadBloke · Tue 07/03/2006 06:21:19

Well, the game had extraordinarily bizarre rules as to what one could and couldn't do to avoid ruining someone's project. You could get rid of the moisture drip, but you couldn't dump the red liquid in the plants. It also had weird garbage collection rules, like you can take a mop but not a pencil sharpener, a piece of tubing but not a jack (even when you want to move the magnet!). Etc. etc.

I didn't realize it was done in a week. I'm impressed you pulled together the art and other production elements. But I still don't approve of the style over substance priorities.

Sam. · Tue 07/03/2006 08:30:00

You silly fool eric, you shouldn't have included all those darn puzzles.

They ruined the game for me.

Peder 🚀 · Tue 07/03/2006 11:51:50

Yay, finnished it..

A great game!!

... A REALLY GREAT GAME!

.

Good job!

seaduck · Wed 08/03/2006 17:50:24

Great game! Beautiful graphics, sounds. Way to go!

TheCheese33 · Wed 14/06/2006 18:03:07

Heh heh heh...poor scientist! I love how the game ends... A great way to spend spare time.

The Ivy · Wed 14/06/2006 20:37:19

I loved this game!Ã,Â It was wonderfully different from most of the games out there, and I liked how you had to pay attention to detail if you wanted to win.Ã,Â Puzzles, art, animation, humour...all were great and made it hard to believe this was an OROW game.

The little robot reminded me of a certain type of enemy in Duke Nukem II...was that intentional?Ã,Â After a while I found myself annoyed by its cocky swagger, although the robot didn't actually have a personality. :PÃ,Â

I'd be very curious to see what kind of game you could make with a bit more time.Ã,Â Thanks for making this one.

MrColossal · Thu 15/06/2006 15:27:15

Why you're welcome. Thanks to all the people that voted for it.

I never really played Duke-Nukem so the robot is just a tube-bot from by brain.

As for what I can do in more time, well there's always Time Out, which really should have only taken a year but is going on 4 now... And Spellbound is my MAGS game that I made in a month though sadly it has no ending...

Thank you for playing!

Eric

vict0r · Fri 16/06/2006 10:40:31

Great game! Got stuck a few times, and tried to leech on someone elses hint & tips thread, but as noone had any problems with it, and I don't want to be the noob who starts a h & t thread, i just had to figure it out for myself!
Love the cliffhanger ending! You should have made it start over again or something^^

Sektor 13 · Sun 18/06/2006 14:59:28

This game is superb !

Allthou very short, but really good in all aspects, i specially love the retro graphics !

Excellent work MrGreat... emm Colossal

MrColossal · Sun 18/06/2006 16:16:15

Quote from: vict0r on Fri 16/06/2006 10:40:31
I don't want to be the noob who starts a h & t thread, i just had to figure it out for myself!

If you read the first post in this thread I created a hints and tips thread specifically for people to ask questions in so there wouldn't be lots of threads started for 1 game, people asked for help in it and you can post in that thread any time you want. I'd love it if more people started individual hints and tips threads but it seems like that's just a pipedream of mine!

Thank you for playing!

big brother · Sun 18/06/2006 20:08:17

I can't wait for the sequel.

Ali · Mon 19/06/2006 17:36:57

Lovely graphics and a nice example of how a game with very little story but plenty o'puzzle can hold the attention.

Sythe · Tue 20/06/2006 12:10:34

Very nice.

I saw the ending comming a mile away though

radiowaves · Tue 20/06/2006 20:09:28

Great game! Only one thing bothers me, why there were two different toilets, one for men and one for women, when the toilets were only one-seated single rooms, I mean, what is the point? Women can't use mens toilet because they fear that the seat is pissed on?

MrColossal · Wed 21/06/2006 15:15:27

Radiowaves:

The women's room has a tampon machine in it.

Mikko · Tue 02/01/2007 12:32:49

I played this game recently and was happy to find out that today in January edition of one Finnish computer magazine, "Mikrobitti", there was a short arcticle of your game.

Here is the scan:

And here is a translation (which hopefully is understandable

)

Mikrobitti magazine, January 2007

Automation v1.1
Automation is a short, but sympathetic adventure game. The game takes place in two floors. In the upper one there is the main character of the story, a scientist who is trying to get back his precious robot, which he has dropped through the floor. The droid in question buzzes around in downstairs and player should remove all obstacles blocking its path. This is done step by step by solving problems and combining items. In the end getting the robot safe is surprisingly uplifting.
License: Free
Platform: Windows

Hooray!

Buckethead · Fri 05/01/2007 16:59:35

It's nice to see that well thought games like that still get some attention

TheMagician · Fri 12/01/2007 17:49:00

Thank you very much for this game!

- Great graphic style + a great walkcycle for the main character.

- Nice background music (sooo many games tend to have melodious tunes in the
background which get annoying after a short time ... yours was very atmospheric!)

- the gameplay was nice and I wanted to keep playing till the end

- the puzzles were logical and at exactly the right level of difficutly

- only the ending was a bit aprupt ... I first thought the game crashed :-)

Again, thank you very much for your effort!
Stefan

Alla · Sun 11/03/2007 11:50:59

Eric,hi,i cant finish game..all machines workig,hose connected.but wat next? i cant fugure uot..plz give me a hint//thanks

Ieremiou · Tue 13/03/2007 21:03:13

Impressive short game. I loved the graphic style which felt really crisp and the humor stuck in at points.
The background music fit quite well with it.

I hope you continue to do more adventures =).

landslidepurist · Fri 16/03/2007 16:29:56

Excellent game, nice logical puzzles.

Make another already!

MrColossal · Fri 16/03/2007 17:59:32

Hooray! Thanks Mikko, Automation should be in 2 more magazines soon too, yay!

Thank you all for the nice comments, also, it means a lot to me!

Alla :

I recommend checking the official help thread that I linked to on the first page.

Automation v1.1 - OROW Winner

ggp

scourge

pattica

SadBloke

SadBloke

scourge

SadBloke

Alla