Ponderabilia 2.0

Started by moloko, Fri 03/01/2014 12:53:42

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Adeel

You can consider me on the safe side then. Because I like all type of humours, even lame humour too. And yes, I agree that many times one fail to see irony and/or sarcasm. This happens to me too. (The Man Card looks cools btw :-D).

Yay, another (more) explicit game is going to come in near future ;-D . I'll like to play it too.

I'm glad to see that you've started a recruitment thread, I'm sure that soon you'll find a musician for your game. :)

Monsieur OUXX

#41
EDIT : post below referring to things that got fixed in version 2.x
Spoiler


Quote from: Adeel S. Ahmed on Tue 07/01/2014 13:42:57
Lack of Sounds and/or Music is the only negative point about this game.

I think the same thing (even though I'm more of a graphics guy so I was really enjoying the graphics). And I had the feedback of someone on the AGS IRC who said he gave up on playing because he didn't like the complete silence.

Even if you don't add sound effects, maybe just a simple music loop taken from rights-free libraries could do the trick.

Also if you decide to polish up the game, I think you could edit Nikee's walkcycle: just move the waist one or two pixels up: this way the torso will be shorter and the legs longer. At the moment it's obvisou you drew over AGS' default Roger, who looks awful. Oh, and slightly shorten the arms too.
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moloko

Do you know of any decent and free libraries online? There seem to be plenty, but a lot them are useless. No idea what the most popular ones among the AGS developers are...

Uziel

moloko - I think I've found another bug unfortunately... I've played through the bulk of the game (near-death experience done, etc), went into the electricity room and tried to use the pliers on the switch box. It tells me "best to leave it alone while it still functions". I've looked at it, spoken to it, use the action on it, the fish, etc. All inventory items return the same msg as the pliers....

I sincerely hope I'm wrong... as I know i'm near the end again and don't really fancy a third run through of the game from scratch... (got caught out the first time with the De Sade bug and had to restart).

Adeel

Quote from: Uziel on Sat 11/01/2014 04:04:01
moloko - I think I've found another bug unfortunately... I've played through the bulk of the game (near-death experience done, etc), went into the electricity room and tried to use the pliers on the switch box. It tells me "best to leave it alone while it still functions". I've looked at it, spoken to it, use the action on it, the fish, etc. All inventory items return the same msg as the pliers....

I sincerely hope I'm wrong... as I know i'm near the end again and don't really fancy a third run through of the game from scratch... (got caught out the first time with the De Sade bug and had to restart).

I, too, were stuck because of the bug you mentioned above. I had to restart my game from scratch to complete the game. Perhaps, this bug is caused whenever puzzles are solved in specific order. Because, when I started the game again from scratch, I solved the puzzles in order different than my previous play and this bug didn't show up.

Hansi

#45
Hi Moloko.

Congratulations for your game, it's very funny. However, my play was ruined by the De Sade bug, and I'm waiting for your fix before playing it again. I supose you will notify the new version release in this forum, but I think it's also a good idea to append the version tag to the exe file name. Something like ponderabilia20140113.exe ... It will be useful for knowing wich version are you downloading.

I know something about web design, and I found the buttons on the Ponderabilia download website a little misplaced. Take a look to the code I've rewritten, you may use it if you like.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/9596971/ponderabilia.html

Another suggestion... The way Ankou appears is very tricky. I got stuck for hours with that.

moloko

@Uziel: When going to the elevator, does the white button show up? if so, the electricity is fixed and you need not worry. I will definitely have a look at this in the revised version.
@HansiThank you Hansi. The version linked is always the latest version I created, so you can't be downloading a previous version. In order to check the version, I'm including the update date in the credits (which you can view through the AGS logo in the upper right hand corner. (Ironically, I usually append the date to the filename, but the Ponderabilia.exe filename link is hardcoded in other websites (not by me), so it needs to point to that exact filename. The new html you coded looks great, and I will be using that one later today. Thanks for that! As for Ankou, I agree, and I'm updating the new version to have another trigger, although I'm not entirely sure what yet.
@Adeel:: My guess is it will indeed be the order of the puzzles. I'm going through all the bugs now and will make sure to included this one. If you feel like being part of the test group, let me know. I'll need a lot of beta testers to abuse the next version. :)

Uziel

Quote from: moloko on Mon 13/01/2014 09:55:04
@Uziel: When going to the elevator, does the white button show up? if so, the electricity is fixed and you need not worry. I will definitely have a look at this in the revised version.

No, the white button doesn't show up. The only reason I knew what to do, was that I did this sequence on my first playthrough (got to the buggy room), but then got caught out by the De Sade bug. Then d/loaded your latest version of the game, got past the De Sade bug part, then found that I couldn't fix the elevator, the area which was previously clickable (ie. restore powers w/ pliers) was no longer accessible. As Adeel said, it likely is the order of things, but I'm not keen on a third attempt to play through due to bugs. I'll just wait till things are sorted and may pick this up again at a later date.

Hansi

Quote from: moloko on Mon 13/01/2014 09:55:04As for Ankou, I agree, and I'm updating the new version to have another trigger, although I'm not entirely sure what yet.

May I suggest you the moment Nikee reads the paper on the table? It's very difficult to overlook it.

Another thing I found improveable is the item selection from the inventory. I think is annoying having to click on the item and then on the arrow to exit the inventory dialog. In other games, you usually click on the item, the cursor becomes the item, and then you move the cursor out of the inventory dialog in order to close it.

Monsieur OUXX

#49
EDIT : post below referring to things that got fixed in version 2.x
Spoiler


Quote from: Hansi on Tue 14/01/2014 11:34:02
move the cursor out of the inventory dialog in order to close it.

+1.
Also In the inventory, right-clicking to deselect the item (go back to normal arrow pointer) would be cool.
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moloko

Full speed on the update now, with beautiful sound composed by AGSers. In other news: the original Nikee found out today's she's a video game character. Probably should have told her ten years ago...

Monsieur OUXX

Quote from: moloko on Fri 17/01/2014 10:05:49
the original Nikee found out today's she's a video game character. Probably should have told her ten years ago...

I suspected it was a rela-life person, and possibly a person from the past, but I didn't think they wouldn't know they're in the game :D
 

moloko

Yah... that was kinda awkward. I got lost with her in the Sri Lankan jungle about ten years ago, and we kinda lost touch afterwards. I think her reaction this morning was: "WTF?".

Abisso

#53
The game is fascinating so far. Charming graphics, weirdness all over and a persistent sense of eeriness. It's a middle ground between unnerving and bizarre.

Unfortunately, the several bugs and glitches kind of ruin the experience. Most of them have been already notified, but I can probably add a couple more:
Spoiler
Nikee is shown behind the couch where Ankou sleeps, behind the fish tank, and behind something else that I can't recall in front of the glass tub in the home's "bathroom". Also, the black ball (I don't even remember where I found it) has no description in the inventory.
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The main thing that didn't work out for me was the constant impression that my progress was made impossible by a bug. This makes relaxing through the game rather difficult, as you get the feeling you should be able to advance even when you actually aren't doing the right things. Response to unintended actions is not very helpful and reasonable actions end up leaving you with no extra info.

For a game with no sfx and no music, so many glitches and bugs, this is incredibly entertaining and special nonetheless. The whole thing about Nikee being a real person, the fact it took you 14 years to release the game, all add up to the attractiveness of it. No kidding here.

Last but not least, I'm stuck, but I've only played a hour and a half so far and I need to sleep before I give another go. I hope I'm not stuck cause of a bug
Spoiler
(again, cause I already had to start again when I ended up not receiving any hint from De Sade's brain)
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************

EDIT1: another thing that I think hasn't been mentioned is the absolute necessity of a dot identifying where's the pointer in the currently selected item. In a game with no labels to identify what's under the cursor, it's already quite difficult to know what you're doing, and this is an extra obstacle. I recommend adding a "what's under the cursor" label as well, as a matter of fact.
And what about using text dialogues in Lucas' style instead of putting them into the default text GUI? That would differentiate them from narrator's comments. Judging from your pixel-art skills, you could certainly paint a better text GUI, anyway!

As a small update, after another hour or so, I only managed to
Spoiler
find the hidden hole outside the house (thanks to the hint in the secret room), and fix the power. Been in the new floor, but I haven't accomplished anything there. Still, Nikee must (have) be(en) a cute girl, judging from the portrait! A fine painting too
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Welcome back to the age of the great guilds.

moloko

I am very sorry you've been encountering so many bugs, and I've been working really hard lately to improve the current version. Today I finished a beta, with audio in most locations. AGSers (namely Handsfree, Eldogond and Shangsean) have been working wonders to create a score, and the sound really improves the game. As soon as that version is complete, I'll release over the same download link.

If you wish to betatest this version, you can do so at this link:
http://users.telenet.be/wimdehert/Ponderabilia/beta/

I did a complete runthrough tonight, and I didn't encounter any bugs, but that may of course be because I made it. As soon as the audio to the last levels is finished, I'm upping the game to the beta test threads, too. If you want to wait until it's completely certified and bug-free, that's fine, too. Sorry this has been rather piecemeal, but I'm creating this game as a hobby, and I have a crucial lack of time lately. :)



Abisso

Quote from: moloko on Sun 09/02/2014 21:30:23
Sorry this has been rather piecemeal, but I'm creating this game as a hobby, and I have a crucial lack of time lately. :)

Naahhh... it's fine! I've been enjoying it. Also, consider the fact I don't play many games (read: I hardly play any game at all) so you should definitely read that as an appreciation of the 3 screenshots and the game's presentation. I understand lack of time and struggles with everyday life, and as a fellow game-maker this is even more clear to me. I really think this has the potential to become a masterpiece.

That said, I don't know if I'll have the time to test it, though I'll continue playing the current version for a while, until I either figure out how to advance or give up. Any bug I spot, I'll let you know for sure.

On a side note, I was typing an edit to my previous post as I was playing the game, but when I saved the reply you had answered in the meantime. So please check the "EDIT" part in there for more feedback.
Welcome back to the age of the great guilds.

moloko

I'm very glad you've been enjoying the game so far, and that you've managed to get a bit further, too. I don't mind being stuck because of the game being hard, but that only works of course in the certainty that it's not bugging out. I remember spending days looking for answers in the SpaceQuest saga. The electricity room being hidden was a main frustration for previous players, and I've updated the new version to be way more obvious. A lot of the things you mentioned have been fixed by now. One thing I'm not fixing, however, is the dialog display. I realize this may be frustrating, but redoing it to the Lucas Art style would complicate matters, and I really like the literary aspect of them as they are now (In many cases, they function as a masking screen to time animations, btw). Ponderabilia 2 may have different text stylings. In case you really get stuck, may I point you to the Ponderabilia tips and tricks in the hints and tips forum? Monsieur OUXX wrote a rather extensive walkthrough. 

moloko

Hi Everyone,

I've been busy adjusting Ponderabilia to meet all of your comments on the first version and from here, things are looking up. Without further ado, here's a download link:
Ponderabilia 2.0

New edition changes:
*Sound! Gorgeous music by the amazing Handsfree, Sean A. McCabe, and Clément Reviriego, AGS-ers all.
*Fixed the De Sade bug
*Fixed the cocktail mixing weirdness
*Added easter eggs
*Added extra hints to help you advance through the game
*Countless little nits and fixes

This versions works fine on my Windows Vista, but please let me know if it does for you, too.

Looking forward to you guys having a go. If this works out: I'm working on a complete walkthrough with screenshots.

n0p

Hi!

For me it seems like distribution is corrupted. I can't unpack zip or launch .exe :(

moloko

#59
Thanks for the heads-up n0p. I'll try and fix asap.

EDIT: I reuploaded the .exe version. Could you refresh, try again? Works fine here, but it's always kind of hard for me to gauge if it will on other platforms.

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