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I think the most astonishing thing about this game is that, after playing AGS-made games for... I dunno, over two decades now I think! - this genuinely feels like nothing I've every played before.

The animations and music are superb, and there's a real Bladerunner-esque atmosphere through the whole game.

Not sure if the version I've played so far has quite a few missing interactions that have now been fixed, but even so they didn't really impact the game too badly. The mini-games were challenging - sometimes very challenging - but fun enough (and felt "fair" enough) to persevere.

Haven't finished it yet but really enjoyed the game so far, congrats on an impressive and unique game!

Hi Rik

Thanks, haven't had a chance to look at this again but will see if the Itch App has an update to apply to the game.

Hi Wiggy, thanks for the tip.

I don't appear to be able to leave the location (clicking on the car results in "I'd better move on, now" but nothing else, and I can't talk to Darcy anymore) - do I need to go back to an earlier save?

Okay, I'm stuck in the bit where you have to re-enter the house to meet John and watch the message on the big TV, but I can't work out how to get rid of the droid. I presume it's something you have to do when it's back is turned, thought that would be the stun gun, but nothing I've tried works. A little pointer please? 

CW, you are a hero!!

[Error running function "repeatedly_execute": Error (line 331): Script appears to be hung (a while loop ran 150001 times). The problem may be in a calling function; check the call stack.]

Apologies for digging up such an old thread, but I've given it a try and I'm getting an error, not sure if it's something I've done (or not done), or possibly related to the game's resolution (1280x720)?

Error running function "repeatedly_execute": Error (line 331): Script appears to be hung (a while loop ran 150001 times). The problem may be in a calling function; check the call stack.

The line number corresponds to the middle of static function HintsHighlighter::CalculateHintsForRoom().

I haven't changed any of the imported script (I realise this may be the problem).

[https://captaind.itch.io/shoaly-you-cant-be-serious-deluxe-version]

I've now made this game free (or PIYW) so if you fancy a nice relaxing (yet possibly stressful) game, especially one your younger relatives might enjoy playing with you, have at it!

https://captaind.itch.io/shoaly-you-cant-be-serious-deluxe-version

I was thinking that "commercial" and "freeware" could be temporary status, because if a commercial game after some years is no longer available on platform such as Steam then the developer could re-release for free!
Yes it's rare but could happens! 

It could happen but probably irrelevant for the rewards themselves, as the game is only eligible for the year it's added to the database. I just checked and on the AGS game database page itself, you can still tick / untick the Commercial box if you do update. So in a sense, it is actually a temporary status, because it can be changed by the developer.

Agree with basically all the above. "Commercial" just means that whoever made it has decided to sell it for a price rather than give it away for free, which massively reduces the user-based (albeit with the limited number of people who nominate and vote, the effect is greatly reduced). It's also a fair point that commercial can mean a team of people with professional artists and voice cast, or... not! But that's also (maybe not to the same scale) true of freeware games. Some people are professional artists / coders / VAs making something in their spare time, so they bring those skills to their free project. (FWIW my co-dev on Stomping Boots had been a professional developer before and without his help I would probably never had been able to complete the game, nor would it have been anywhere near as good. I would like to think that over the years I've acquired these necessary skills.)

I think the only fair way to judge any games is simply against the criteria of the award, whether it be gameplay, graphics or whatever. Which is what I think we all do. I think the "Best Game" and "Best Freeware Game" could easily be combined onto just "Best Game" if people wanted them to be, but I rather like the possibility of the possibility of having two different winners. But does it unconsciously prejudice people to think that "Best Freeware Game" means it's probable that "Best Game" should be a commercial effort? I guess that's possible but I'm not entirely convinced.

Right, thought it was time for a proper update. So here goes...

• Acts I & II are essentially feature-complete (sans voicing and achievements)
• Act III is fully playable in placeholder mode and several assets are already made, including a fantastic sweeping orchestral piece by Eric. Will just need final assets added and than a good polishing session and it should be all shiny.
• Act IV is about 60% coded and the artwork is coming along very nicely.
• Acts V & VI are being conceptualised, they look good already (in my head!)

Here are some (incomplete - in that objects etc may be missing) screens from Act III:













Lorenzo's work is, as always, amazing. He probably rates it as "quite good" because he's a very modest chap.

The demo of Captain Disaster and the Two Worlds of Riskara is available from:

Steam
Itch
FireFlowerGames

Looks and sounds really interesting! 

I like the idea of opening the voting process to non-forum members, as long as there is some anti-cheating measure available (recording IPs or using cookies, or both), BUT the problem with that is that the most popular, commercial, better marketed games would be the ones to always win, whereas if the vote stays within the AGS community, the process is likely to be more neutral. I think the community here cares more about whether games are good than whether games are popular, and that's pretty valuable.

Yeah this would be my concern too, it would be more of a popularity contest than a quality contest. So while I do like the idea in many ways, it's probably too problematic to implement.

I hesitate to mention this because it has inherent issues, but...

What about the idea of opening voting to anyone, not just forum members? (Maybe not the nomination stage, but just the voting.)

I do realise this could be open to abuse, even if something like IP address logging could be used. But I'm curious as to what others would think of the idea, and I don't think I've seen it mooted before (apologies if it has).


In terms of assets, in line with LimpingFish's suggestion about just using a screenshot, I had also been thinking of suggesting the same thing, not least because it could be obtained from the game page without having to wait for a dev to respond.

I also agree with the reduction in number of categories, and broadly-speaking agree with what Cat's posted above (although, not sure if "Best Puzzle" is a typo? As "Best Puzzle" and "Best Puzzles" would be very different categories.)

Finally I would like to say that it's apparent that a huge amount of work goes into the awards each year and, while this is very much appreciated, a reduction of the burden seems appropriate.

I played Shrouded Space. This was the overall winner of the game jam, and it's a very good game. First and foremost, it's humourous and very fun to play, as the protagonist more or less by accident makes his moves from prisoner and against an evil intergalactic empire. Graphics and sound are also impeccable, so the one gripe one could make, is that the puzzles are a bit on the easy side. This is a unity game.

Hmm... I tried this one but it wouldn't launch. Did you play it from the Itch App or just download it independently?

Most excellent!

Hey! Welcome back stranger 

["It's an older coupon, but it checks out."]

Not had much time to play this yet but enormously enjoyed the little I have played. My favourite bit so far...

"It's an older coupon, but it checks out."

EDIT - completed now. Short but very sweet, well done mate!

The powerup giving words for mouse clicks isn't all that helpful, as the player will score 3 or 4 times as much by bashing the keyboard before filling the page.

Yeah, this is true. Although once you reach a high enough multiplier it's still kinda faster only having to use the mouse and not combination of mouse/keyboard. Or at least more convenient.

If you make an updated version, just call it Super Author Simulator 2024 and pretend that it's a new game.
Everyone does that. Every sport game series does that. 

Absolutely! 

Also one question @RootBound - just out of curiosity.

Spoiler

Does the "power-up" for making your agent only say nice things to you actually do anything, or is it purely aesthetic?

[close]

I kind of like the idea of a power up where you get a monkey to type for you. Each monkey you get would add a small number of words per turn. Not sure if you could ever reach "infinite monkeys" but...

Fun game, really liked the twist once you solved the main puzzle. Didn't realise that

Spoiler

the blue kobold had better eyesight

[close]

which had me stuck a bit at first! Swapping between the three characters to solve puzzles was a very nice touch.