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I found and fixed another mistake, it only affected player character view, because it was precached before the "smooth sprites" option was initialized properly.

Here's the link to the next test build:
https://cirrus-ci.com/task/6171769649758208

It works! No more pink pixels . Thank you for the quick fix, much appreciated!

No problem! Can I DM you a link on Discord?

Are you sure that you rebuilt and ran with that new version? I compared the one before and this new one, and earlier had pink pixels, while I do not see any with the one linked above.

I hope so! I downloaded the installer from the "Artifacts" section in your link, renamed the old AGS folder, then installed the new version and ran it from the new folder. I used "rebuild all files" for good measure when compiling the game, ran it and took the screenshot.

Thank you, I tried it and the pink pixels are still there.

Here you go!

I've encountered a similar issue whenever I use a colour with the following values: R:255 G:0 B:255 Alpha:0
I think it's a problem caused by the magic-pink being used to force transparency conflicting with the actual transparency.

And was it an issue in previous versions of AGS as well? Because for me everything worked perfectly fine until I updated yesterday. Either I'm overlooking a setting somewhere or the anti-aliasing method has changed between AGS versions (I switched from 3.6.0.50 to 3.6.2.10).

Well, switching off anti-alias for scaled sprites (at least I assume that's what "smooth scaled sprites" stands for in the setup?) gets rid of the pink pixels, but of course also makes the sprites too pixelated - can't use that.

Switching from "nearest-neighbour" to "linear interpolation" scaling filter also removes the pink, but it makes the sprites too blurry.

Yesterday I upgraded to AGS 3.6.2.10, and now the alpha channel doesn't seem to work properly for certain sprites - I can see pink pixels around the sprite:



This only happens with some sprites (so far I have noticed it in the front and back views of the character, not the side views) and when the sprite is scaled (looks ok at 100% scale). Here are the sprite properties in case that's relevant:

Glad it worked, and thank you, happy holidays to you as well!

This is strange...

Spoiler

I guess the scissors like symbol of the buttons on the left side represents the north direction
and the other symbol of the buttons on the left side represents the south direction. is that right?
So guessing the east and west direction is a 50/50 chance
Do the buttons on the left side of the panel have a function or are they just there to show the N and S direction
and otherwise are just a red herring?
I am totally confused...

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let's try to be super-specific:

Spoiler

This is how the symbols translate into directions:

So for example, this sequence:

represents S,N,W,S,E. When you move the lever on the panel in this sequence, it should open. This example is from a video walkthrough, you can check how they do it.

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Thanks VampireWombat, Thanks Honza !
I still don't get it.....

Spoiler

There are two buttons on the left, I assume they show the N and S direction
Then there is the direction pad with N,S.E.W directions
Then there is the note showing 5 symbols, from my understanding it's S,N,E,W and N
Or S,N,W,E and N
Sliding the button in these directions does nothing....
Pressing the buttons on the left does nothing....
(It's not working)....

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Help is greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance and a merry Xmas and happy holidays to all of you!

It seems you've more or less got it, not sure why exactly it's not working. Just to confirm:

Spoiler

if you've translated the symbols correctly (based on the directions from the slider puzzle) to S,N,E,W, N, then moving the lever in that sequence should open the panel. Just make triple-sure you get the sequence right (can't give it to you directly, it's randomized on each playthrough ).

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Wow Honza !
Great game , I never played the first version,
the voice acting is brilliant.
I am totally stuck with

Spoiler

the control panel. I guess it controls the position of the satellite dish
and it has something to do with the not, but nothing happens when I press
in N,S,E or W direction

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This is another gem in the AGS collection, simply great  !

Thank you, happy you like it! Let me know if the hint from VampireWombat isn't enough.

[voice acting]

I've made a big update to the game! The changes include:

voice acting by Duffy Weber
updated graphics
updated and some new animations
new music by Paco Diago
new sound design by Max Grachev
one new puzzle
hotspot highlighter
vertical parallaxing + smoother camera movement
updated responses, the puzzles should be better signposted now
new guis, some cosmetic stuff I'm probably forgetting
and of course the biggest change: "the" in "Off the Clock" is now NOT capitalized

Perfect time to give it a go if you haven't yet!

[DM me here or ideally on Discord (https://discordapp.com/users/honza8830)]

I've made a big update to my oldest game, Off the Clock. The changes include:

• voice acting!
• updated graphics
• updated and some new animations
• new music by Paco Diago
• new sound design by Max Grachev
• one new puzzle
• hotspot highlighter
• vertical parallaxing + smoother camera movement
• updated responses, the puzzles should be somewhat better signposted now
• new guis, some cosmetic stuff I'm probably forgetting
• and of course the biggest change: "the" in "Off the Clock" is now NOT capitalized

It's a very short game, takes about 30 minutes to finish. If you'd be willing to play through it and try to catch some bugs before I publish it on Sunday, please DM me here or ideally on Discord (https://discordapp.com/users/honza8830). Linux users are especially needed . Thank you!

I just got a low-ish rating for this on Itch 2 days ago. Might be a coincidence, but it hadn't been reported before during the year and a half the game has been out... might be some Windows Defender update or something new with Itch.

Don't worry, I didn't expect you to change your mind on a whim. I was just curious about your opinion on the matter.

Sure thing! Unfortunately high-res would be much more time-consuming if I wanted to do it properly, 640x400 is still pretty forgiving when it comes to drawing details. So the retro look isn't just an artistic choice - I like it, but it's also faster to do . I was actually counting at some point and here's how long some of these backgrounds took to redraw. And that's just basic images, without the morning/sunset/night versions, animations and everything... can't imagine doing all of it in high-res.

Lovely new art.

If I were to upscale a game in this style, I think I'd go all the way and choose a high resolution - maybe with help from ESRGAN to speed up the process like they did in Broken Sword.

Output with realesrnet-x4plus :

Spoiler

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Output  with real ESRGAN

Spoiler

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Thank you for the suggestion! But to be honest, I think the 640*400 version looks much better than the AI upscaling, that would just make it bland and smudgy all over again. And I've already poured hundreds of hours into this version of the game, so I'm not going to redraw it again now.

The former, lack of shaded areas on backgrounds.

Oh, ok. Well, the backgrounds *are* shaded, but I guess the shading is pretty light and there aren't realistic shadows cast by objects. It could be better for sure, but this doesn't personally bother me that much, it works for me with the cartoony storybook look. Maybe it's one of those things where I'll see it only once I learn to do it better, and won't believe how I could have drawn it this way afterwards .

Played this now.

I do believe that this art style deserves a higher game resolution; otherwise it have to be "downgraded": to be more pixely and look less smudged in low-res.
But what bothered me most in the art is the lack of shadows! Maybe this is because of the time constraints (i understood this was made for a game jam). Your other game "Shards of God" seem to have shadowed areas, judging by the screenshots (I plan to play it next).

The game itself is pretty well built, has a good and consistent pacing, and rather well developed characters despite story being short.

The uncommon use of inventory item as a compass was quite fun to see, I believe this was already mentioned few times in this thread.

The theme of the "ancient machine" in the "ancient ruins" felt way too random, but I suppose this could be another forced decision due to a time constraints?

Thanks for playing! The smudginess is mostly time constraints (I wanted to try to make a big world quickly, and barely managed as it is), plus inexperience - it was my first time drawing in very low res. I got used to the look of it after a while and didn't expect it would stand out this much, but now it's always the number one complaint about the game and the reason I'm a bit embarrassed to show it to people in this state - it needs to be played in the two-week jam challenge context. About the shadows, you mean a lack of shadows in the drawings, or the fact that there are no regions where the character would be darker?

Point taken about the ruins, some more world-building is probably necessary there for the full version to make the whole ancient civilization thing fit into the world more naturally.

Let me know what you think once you've played Shards!

I had mailed him when I posted and he mailed me back with "Thanks for notifying me, we'll follow up with the account owner.", so hopefully he will get in touch with you.

Awesome, thank you so much! I got the account back.