Of the Essence achievements

Started by heltenjon, Sat 13/08/2022 12:36:22

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heltenjon

I'm playing Wham's old MAGS game Of the Essence. According to the game's wiki page, there are 8 achievements available. I've only managed three:

Tapdancer
Spoiler
By "finding" a mine field.
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Unlucky
Spoiler
Probably by getting hit by shrapnel while under cover.
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How did you do that!?
Spoiler
I'm not sure, but probably by progressing to the second base. I got this before finishing the game.
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Have anyone managed to find more of them? Come on, join the hunt!

WHAM

I went over my backups again, but no luck, I've lost the source code for good. Even as the creator I have no idea what all the achievements are or what triggers them! :D

Fun fact: I think Of the Essence was the first game in which I tested the idea of doing achievements. In every game I make I try to do something new I've never done before. Along with being my first keyboard controlled game and having the neat crater visual effect Khris helped me create, the achievements were a new thing I wanted to try doing. I think the achievements are stored in a secret save slot 999, which has a save game name of "00000000" when all achievements are locked and "11111111" when they get unlocked. The game checks and creates the save file as needed on startup and shows unlocked achievements in the menu based on that. It might actually be possible to edit the save file and hack the achievements to unlock them all and at least see what they are called.

The design doc called for a second level with actual enemies that moved around and shot at the player, but this proved impossible with my limited skills and the time limit of MAGS, so the final game was a pretty limited package.

As for what I can think of regarding the achievements themselves:

Tapdancer
Spoiler
You have this right, it's stepping on a mine.
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Unlucky
Spoiler
I think crouching in a crater should shield you from shrapnel entirely? I don't recall there being a random chance of getting hit, but it's possible. Sure sounds like the kind of dick move I might have done...
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How did you do that!?
Spoiler
Most likely this is unlocked by reaching the end of a level under par time.
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Others I can think of trying would be all the little random things you can do:
Spoiler
Try going every wrong way possible. Get run over by a tank. Friendly fire. Sit in the starting trench and never leave. These all feel like the kinds of things I would have put in as 'secrets'.
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Good luck on the hunt!
Wrongthinker and anticitizen one. Pending removal to memory hole. | WHAMGAMES proudly presents: The Night Falls, a community roleplaying game

heltenjon

#2
Quote from: WHAM on Tue 16/08/2022 08:46:39
I went over my backups again, but no luck, I've lost the source code for good. Even as the creator I have no idea what all the achievements are or what triggers them! :D

Fun fact: I think Of the Essence was the first game in which I tested the idea of doing achievements. In every game I make I try to do something new I've never done before. Along with being my first keyboard controlled game and having the neat crater visual effect Khris helped me create, the achievements were a new thing I wanted to try doing. I think the achievements are stored in a secret save slot 999, which has a save game name of "00000000" when all achievements are locked and "11111111" when they get unlocked. The game checks and creates the save file as needed on startup and shows unlocked achievements in the menu based on that. It might actually be possible to edit the save file and hack the achievements to unlock them all and at least see what they are called.

It wasn't quite like that, but close enough, so I could successfully hack it and see what the achievements are.

The remaining five are:
Spoiler
That was Fast! (Finished the game really quick in hard mode.)
Not even a scratch! (Finished the game without getting wounded in hard mode.)
Barely made it! (Made it to the bunker in the nick of time.)
A-Tank! A-Tank A-Splat! (Self-explanatory. I've done this, but perhaps not in hard mode? Or maybe it needs to be my last life?)
Coward. (Deserting your post and getting executed.)
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I'll try to actually earn them, as well.  ;)

I think the How did you do that achievement may have been triggered by
Spoiler
reaching the second bunker, but not entering it, triggering the cut scene from proximity to the allies from the outside.
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The Unlucky achievement:
Spoiler
I actually got this by trying to do one of the things you suggested, namely staying put in the first bunker. I thought perhaps I would get something when the time run out. But I didn't see exactly what happened, as I poured juice for my son while waiting.
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