U-ROPA (MAGS December 2015)

Started by Peder 🚀, Sat 02/01/2016 12:51:47

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Atavismus

Padlock:
Spoiler

We wanted to add a hint, but we didn't know how to do and we had no time to think about it hehe

What would be a good way to do it according to you dear players?

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Cassiebsg


Padlock:
Spoiler

Don't know, it's a rather hard puzzle that one... in game hint could maybe me "Did I heard something?" when he sets the first number right (but only first time... and maybe after the 10th wrong try: "I'm sure I heard something just now!" etc.) Or even more obvious... ?

I'm not sure how deaf people would be able to solve this one though... maybe "hide" the code some place, so there are two ways of getting the code?
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There are those who believe that life here began out there...

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#22
U-ROPA's dark ambient makes me feel claustrophobic. At least that little baby otter eases the mood. What a great comic relief! Well made, guys.

Shadow1000

My comments on the game:

Overall, the game was a great experience. The graphics and environment are really good for what you are trying to achieve. There is a good number of a variety of puzzles, most of them well-designed, especially for a short game like this. It's obvious that there is a lot of attention to detail.

If you plan to further the game, here are my humble suggestions:
- I don't mind games where the player dies. I think that in some contexts such as a boss fight or a specific timed puzzle then that's ok. However, I would seriously reconsider the constant and (seemingly random) instadeath. In my opinion it really detracted from the game and I don't understand what the thinking behind it was.
- Having a dead end in a game because of the design is a real no-no, especially if the player doesn't realize that he/she is at a dead end. The flow of the game should just not allow that. If you don't know what I'm referring to, please see where I got stuck in a previous post. I don't want to give away too much but if it's not clear then I can send you a message.
- Some of the puzzles were a bit poorly-developed. For example, the point at which you have 4 choices on the screen and had to just choose with no idea what will result is not a puzzle! It's a guessing game with a "read my mind" feel

With adequate independent testing (i.e from people outside the development team) I am sure that these issues would have been ironed out. I completely understand that the nature of MAGS entries is that there is not enough time to produce a game and have it developed and tested as much as a full release, so overall I'm quite positive on this game. My comments are merely the thoughts of one player in case the developers are interested in some feedback to take the game further.

Cheers

SHADOW

DangerDanger

I agree with shadow1000, death and the guessing game should be avoided.
Overall, I really enjoyed the game, backstory (emails), the graphics and several puzzles.

oh! I found a bug: the character could sleep-talk (to describe things) ;)

Cassiebsg

DangerDanger, that's not a bug, it's the bot describing the stuff. Note the green color of the text? ;)

and speaking of text and color... would it be too much to ask to add an outline to the text? It gets hard to read, specially the bot's lines since it's a darker shade of green on a dark background.
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Peder 🚀

Thanks for all the great feedback Shadow!

Quote from: Shadow1000 on Wed 06/01/2016 15:45:54
I would seriously reconsider the constant and (seemingly random) instadeath.

Spoiler
All the deaths are triggered by pre-set timers (always the same value) and either related to the gauges (blood, oxygen) or the leak.
The leak is really the only "hidden" death, the rest SHOULD only happen if one of the gauges runs out.
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Quote from: Shadow1000 on Wed 06/01/2016 15:45:54
Having a dead end in a game because of the design is a real no-no.

Spoiler
Yeah, this is more of a bug really and definitely not intended!
We wanted to give the effect of "rushing" the player but definitely not punish them into a dead end :P.
We'll most likely fix these issues and tweak/test the game more after the voting is over and release an update sometime down the line
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Quote from: Shadow1000 on Wed 06/01/2016 15:45:54
Some of the puzzles were a bit poorly-developed. For example, the point at which you have 4 choices on the screen

Spoiler
We weren't originally going do this "puzzle" this way, but due to lack of time we had to go with this easier option.
We might make an updated version of the game with a better solution
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Nice idea about the padlock Cassiebsg! :)

Shadow1000

Quote from: Peder on Thu 07/01/2016 17:54:29
Thanks for all the great feedback Shadow!

Most welcome! I'm glad you didn't take my points as criticism!

Quote
Spoiler
All the deaths are triggered by pre-set timers (always the same value) and either related to the gauges (blood, oxygen) or the leak.
The leak is really the only "hidden" death, the rest SHOULD only happen if one of the gauges runs out.
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The point is that there's nothing the player can do such as not touch the cable or some other action to PREVENT the death. When I said "random" I didn't mean it literally.

As far as timed deaths, King's Quest III has a timed death section at the beginning where there is a timer and the wizard comes back at a preset time and kills you unless you put everything back where you found it. I hated that :) I'm not saying there's no precedent but you might want to poll other users as to whether that makes the game more fun or not.

Quote
Spoiler
Yeah, this is more of a bug really and definitely not intended!
We wanted to give the effect of "rushing" the player but definitely not punish them into a dead end :P.
We'll most likely fix these issues and tweak/test the game more after the voting is over and release an update sometime down the line
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Understood completely. There's just not enough time when you're working for a deadline.



Take care

SHADOW

AprilSkies

This game is super cool!!!!!!!

Great atmosphere and AMAZING gfx!!! you did a great job guys!

www.apemarina.altervista.org

blur

Quote from: Shadow1000 on Thu 07/01/2016 20:01:46
The point is that there's nothing the player can do such as not touch the cable
or some other action to PREVENT the death. When I said "random" I didn't mean
it literally.
Spoiler

The bot can stop the leak before the player goes to rest. Click on the pipe near the hole.
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Shadow1000

Quote from: blur on Fri 08/01/2016 21:20:28
Quote from: Shadow1000 on Thu 07/01/2016 20:01:46
The point is that there's nothing the player can do such as not touch the cable
or some other action to PREVENT the death. When I said "random" I didn't mean
it literally.
Spoiler

The bot can stop the leak before the player goes to rest. Click on the pipe near the hole.
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I didn't realize that. Thanks for the tip...I'll try it if there's a re-release!

I wasn't just talking about that part of the game, however. My main intention was the first part of the game where the player would just die.

SHADOW

Monsieur OUXX

I'm currently playing it. It's great even though I'm stuck with the bot:
Spoiler

I have the drain opener and the aluminium shavings, I understand that I must mix them, and that "I need a container" (from previous hints), but I just can't figure out what container. I've tried the cart, the toolbox, the crate, the grid... ????
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3 things that could be fixed very easily:
1. When you control the bot, it's still Siegfried getting up and talking when describing some objects (for example when you click on the ore with the bot, siegfried says "a lot of heavy ore is covering the airlock"). Cassie said this is not a bug, I'm sorry but it's definitely a bug.
2. Make both siegfried and the bot's fonts brighter. And why not, add an outline.
3. When an inventory item is selected (and used as the cursor), then right-clicking anywhere on the inventory should unselect that item (the cursor should go back to "neutral")
 

Kumpel

Spoiler
You gotta crack the locker! :D
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How:
Spoiler
Switch on your audio for that
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Monsieur OUXX

Quote from: Kumpel on Thu 21/01/2016 13:27:07
Spoiler
You gotta crack the locker! :D
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But...With the bot???
 

Kumpel

Spoiler
Nope... Thats a tricky dead end. you have to do it before you build the bot :=
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Atavismus

Quote from: Kumpel on Thu 21/01/2016 15:02:54
Spoiler
Nope... Thats a tricky dead end. you have to do it before you build the bot :=
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You can do it with the bot. ;)

Monsieur OUXX

Quote from: Atavismus on Thu 21/01/2016 15:21:59
Quote from: Kumpel on Thu 21/01/2016 15:02:54
Spoiler
Nope... Thats a tricky dead end. you have to do it before you build the bot :=
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You can do it with the bot. ;)
I've just tested. You can do it indeed. that's a relief.
 

ThreeOhFour

The puzzles in this are pretty tricky! I did really like the one with the combination for the door panel, though, that felt really clever and fun to solve.

Also, great graphics! I especially love that cool spinning fan. :=

diedericky

Doing a playthrough on YouTube but i'm stuck. Youtube.com/diedericky but i'm stuck. Put the box down but cant reach the alarm..

Atavismus

Thx guyz for the kind comments. :)
Some stuffs will be fixed and the game translated in french.

Quote from: diedericky on Tue 26/01/2016 08:28:41
Doing a playthrough on YouTube but i'm stuck. Youtube.com/diedericky but i'm stuck. Put the box down but cant reach the alarm..
Cool Diedericky, thx:
Spoiler
You have to reproduce an obvious shape to open the door.
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More
Spoiler
You can see it in the room.
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More
Spoiler
Mind: the story takes place in a totalitarian society.
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