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We are currently recruiting new swarm members for beta-testing.  It is important at this stage to get some fresh eyes on the project, so the more unfamiliar you are with the game the better.  Any interested parties should report HERE.

[EDIT: As promised, my musician recruitment PM follows....]

A'ight, it's BETA TIME.

I think I've got all assets up to date, all puzzles functioning, all descriptions & cutscenes (except the very very last scene).  So what I need now are people to beta test and then beta test some more, and then finally report any and all glitches and bugs here so that I can hunt them down.

No one volunteered for the writing working group, so I just hacked out the writing the best I could.  If anyone has any suggestions regarding improvements I'd love to discuss them.  In particular I'm eager for an uninitiated player to be able to grasp the simple plot quickly.  Are there any places in the game where you feel there are not adequate directions/clues?  Let me know.  Finally, we want dialog to convey the urgency and intensity of Merrick's escape, and the raw emotion of his final encounter with his would-be saviours.

I see some people working on the sound front -that's awesome.  Can you guys compile a master list of sounds required?  Then we'll send the swarm off to hunt them down.

Musicians.... I PMed our musicians like two weeks ago but no one has gotten back to me.  So what I'm going to do is repost that PM here and turn it open to the swarm.  Ideally there would be different music for at least the important rooms (surgery, robot lab, guard room/finale), but as a last resort we'll just play the same music straight through.

Finally, I'm going to start compiling a master list for the credits.  I've got a text document table organizing most of it, but I'm sure in all the chaos I've missed something.  So over the next couple of days I will post the master list, and then the onus will be on the swarm to spot any mistakes or omissions.  

Estimated release date is now approximately September 15th.

Any questions?

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EDIT: As promised, my musician recruitment PM follows....

Greetings Swarm Volunteers,
     If you are receiving this you have volunteered (or were volunteered...) to spend about an hour composing music for one scene of the collaborative swarm game.  It's fine if you want to spend more than an hour, but that's up to you.

     Requirements: Music must be MIDI format and loop, and be in an up-tempo 1950s sci-fi/horror genre (open to interpretation).  We already have a theme composed by JackPumpkinHead: stylistically your music should fit in with that.  Since I don't really know anything about music that's as much advice as I can give.  Please post in the swarm thread if you have any questions and hopefully someone with the appropriate qualifications will get back to you.

     Resources: First and foremost is the LATEST BUILD, in which you will hear JackPumpkinHead's theme.  You can attempt to play the game, but it is in a pre-beta phase still and some things don't really make sense yet.  However, the game can be finished if you are persistent or search the swarm thread for hints.
      For those of you who value your time, however, I offer the following screenshots.  Each room will have its own music (depending on response rate of course), so each of you will ideally end up doing one screen each.  Please post in the swarm thread to claim your screen so that two musicians don't end up working on the same screen.

Surgery Laboritory: Merrick escapes being strapped down and then uses material he finds laying around to break out of the room.  Some urgency to his actions.


Corridor: Merrick must slip past the anti-vampire UV light.  Slightly less urgent, but still trying to escape.


Robotics Laboritory: Merrick must disable the scientists (not yet implemented, if you are playing the game) and steal objects useful for escaping further.  This would be the "calmest" part of the game.


Exercise Yard: Intensity builds as Merrick must overcome the guard remotely and slip past the most powerful guard of all -the sun!


Guard Room (before final battle): High intensity, as Merrick must bite the guards before they shoot him.


Guard Room (during final battle) Ultra high intensity -this is the climax!  Fight!  Fight! FIGHT!!!!


Due Dates: I am guestimating that this game will be released in mid September, so any contributions that you want included should be in my hands by September 7 -after that we'll fill in the remaining blanks with what we have.

Thanks so much for your contribution to the project!

But how?!?!??!?!?!??!!?!?

Without search capability I am forced to appear unknowledgeable in front of others! 

1) How did Dualnames configure a server to allow for online interactions in an AGS game for this year's AGS awards?
2) Why does FRAPS only work with AGS games compiled with the post 3.0 editor?!?
3) Who has been talking about my games recently?!?!??!?!?!?!!?

I don't listen to music anymore.  I never really did that much, but everything sounds especially like crap now so I just don't bother.

I installed a new front door over the weekend.  The old one let in snow and blew like a train-whistle when the wind hit it just right, so it had to go.  We live in this 120 year old house and there were these massive beams in the walls that supported the old door, but were too narrow for the smallest standard mass-produced (i.e. affordable) door we could get, so I spent hours sawing, chipping and grinding away at them to make enough room.  I think too much cavalier use of power tools over the years might have compromised my hearing (see above).

I'm also on a weight-gaining mission (envious?).  Last winter I got an infection in the membrane around my heart (pericarditis) and it kicked my ass (and heart, obviously).  Perhaps my immune system was weakened by the cold temperatures indoors (see door, above).  While the good news is that my body seems to have at last defeated the incursion and I have been assured that there has been no damage to the heart itself, I have lost 15 pounds since late January (mostly muscle mass, I must suppose).  Since I really wasn't all that big to start with, this has really weighed heavily on me[ ].  So I suffered the embarrassment of buying weights ("excuse me, sir, do have anything lighter/more girlie?") and have bought 1/4 of a cow for discount protein.  I feel empowered and pathetic all at the same time.  Wish me luck!

My dog also died last week.  She was "the" dog of a lifetime, like an Old Yeller or Henry Jones Jr.'s Indiana.  She helped me chase bears and explore back country.  She snuck into the county fair with me by swimming across a large river, and invariably when I woke up with a massive hangover she would for some reason be curled up in my arms, under the sheets (yes, there are pictures).  Miss you, Sheppers.

Yeah, so that's life these days.  Keep your stick on the ice, boys.  We're all in this together.

To be clear, is this just a reliable server space for AGS related files?  Or are there extra "applications" that members might find useful (small team collaboration environment, server configured for interactive AGS experiments like the last AGS Awards ceremony, spam capacity for game marketing, etc.)?  The OP is rather.... obscure.

 :o :o :o :o :o

OK, somebody recruit Big CG to do animations for an epic full-length game already.  Something where he has to animate crazy stuff, like a giant octopus rampaging through the street canyons of New York.  This guy is amazing!  And quick!  And he takes the initiative!  And he asks nothing in return!  Seriously guys, here is the perfect development partner.  Seize him while you can! 

Dammit Dave!  I can't get any work done on my game with you publishing these things every day!  Off to watch episode 4.....

[@Big GC:]

Nice work everybody.  I've undertaken some nightmarish renovations this past week but things are now reassembled enough that I'll be able to devote some time to AGS again.  Top on my priority list is to get these awesome animations implemented!

@Big GC:  Your animations are all superb and will add considerable visual appeal to the game.  Good work, sir!  I especially commend you on using the robotic arm for taking in both directions (and not coping out by just flipping the frames).  Uber kudos.

@Cleanic: That is the perfect scientist look, IMO.  You can see the buck-toothed nerdy boy that still lurks awkwardly behind the man beard.  Nice.

@Everybody: The Swarm lives!  Things got a little quiet over the middle of the summer, but I can feel the energy pulsing through this thread once more.  Keep it up!

Have fun everybody.  The luck of the Irish be with you: the site of Mittens 2007 was hit by a Tornado yesterday!
This is Goderich, the main town about 20km from actual place we slept.  Yes, that is a triple brick wall it ripped through.  Sleep well!

I'm really liking this trend of AGSers Lets Playing their own stuff.  It gives you the inside rationale on why a project evolved the way it did.  Keep it up!

Niiiiiiiiice!  Awesome stuff, Big GC!

>Chicken out

Yeah, sorry for not being clear.  As Tabata said, the puzzle calls for the guards to be caught by surprise.  Ideally they would be facing the door (which will animate with light flashes, showing the fire-fight beyond between the robot monster and presumably yet more guards.  Merrick must surprise them from behind, otherwise they shoot him.
    Although, to be fair, the way the blood squirted I originally thought the soldier was being shot  :.
    Be that as it may, however, if that's a biting animation we'll just go with it since, as Wonkyth+ points out, it is an awesome animation!  Maybe this particular guard is quick enough to turn around, but still gets bitten?  We'll just make sure the others are caught in their crouching/door facing positions (anybody?)

Wow, that's.....not in the script  :o.
      I can't guarantee that this will make it into the game at this point but we'll see.

Babar, Indie: It's probably in our profile due to our restricted access permissions. Just like how we can delete our posts.

Whoa, whoa, whoa!  Hang on there a minute!  What other secret powers can you wield? 

Ooo!  I love the light-flashes but I'm not sure about the shoulder-shaking....  But since we're trying to get as many fingers in this pie as possible I can guarantee you that a portion of your work will appear in the game.  Thanks!

Judging by the brightness of the plain white background, it must be daytime by now.

>Use carkey to reflect sun into man's eyes, then run inside and lock the door.

I think we're underground, aren't we?

Underground helicopters now, I presume?

>Help man, then use your car key to reflect the sun.

Judging by the brightness of the plain white background, it must be daytime by now.

>Use carkey to reflect sun into man's eyes, then run inside and lock the door.

BUMP!

Sorry, I kind of forgot about the GIP thread once we finished our last recruitment drive. 

Anyway, this project is moving along fairly nicely.  We're not quite at a beta version, but really reeeeeeally close.  Most of the art is done, the vast bulk of the coding, and even some music and writing have been completed.  I forecast a mid-September release.

Here's a new screenie for those not following the swarm thread: