Messages

Okay, Chapter 4 - Parasite #2

Spoiler

Get the key, unlock the handcuffs, pickup the gun.  Now what?

I walk back and forth, I can hear the footsteps, but nothing happens, I don't stumble across anything.  Can someone throw me a hint?

[close]

- Cogliostro

Grim,

I've never moved this fast to download a game!  Made it to chapter 2 -- before sleep and life and work interrupted -- so far I'm impressed.

- Cogliostro

Stuck on last robber.

Spoiler

Setup the hose, try to turn on the car, and get the response: "There's something I'm forgetting." 

Obviously we need to get Susie out of the gas station BEFORE taking out the last robber.  How?

[close]

- Cogliostro

I'm stuck at the beginning?!  How do I get into the weapons room?  Obviously I need the security card, but where's that?

- Cogliostro

Surdy,

There are four normal endings and one bonus ending.

Spoiler

The four endings are based off the possible variations on two choices made near the end of the game..  One concerns your actions at the crypt and the other is your very last action with the cardinal.

[close]

- Cogliostro

First, in case anyone needs it, here's a mirror.

Second, the series is amazing and this game did a lot to provide closure to most of issues that had been introduced.  The mirror image of Arthur's adventure vs. Ben's was also fun both in the parallels and the contrasts.  I actually tried all of the endings and heard all of the commentary - few games are so interesting that I bother with that.  Also, I loved the action puzzles: "guy with gun at door" and the "car chase scene".

Next, a series finale is always tough.  Simply put you have to get everything right for all the fans (assuming you want to) because you don't get another chance.  If some of us think Land of the Rising Dead is lacking something, it doesn't matter because another game will be coming up.  Some of us will criticize.  Some of us will praise.  All of us have been impressed by the work put into this series.

The Ben Jordan series stuck with the fans.   It gave us something to ponder and puzzle.  Characters for us to love and hate.  We chewed up obscure riddles just to guess the name of one case.  We speculated about the traitor in the midst.  We lined up to offer our services.  Francisco took eight years to produce the series and didn't abandon it.

Thank you and congratulations.

- Cogliostro

Downloaded the moment I saw it.

And since mkennedy asked, here are a few links to:

The game without the music and speech

The music file as a separate download

The speech file as a separate download

And a mirror to the complete game as well

- Cogliostro

You got it!

Okay, time for one of my favorites....



<warning>If no one guesses this quickly, it'll be 36 hours before I'm back online.</warning>

- Cogliostro

I guessed the wrong Bakshi movie, it's Heavy Traffic, isn't it?

Is it "The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat"

Any chance of making this game publicly available for those of us who foolishly missed the Bake Sale?

- Cogliostro

I think I finally have enough done to justify a posting under GiP.



   

   

Something I did for the April MAGS competition, where the theme was "Distorted Senses".  I thought I'd go back and do it right now.  WAY TOO MUCH had to be dropped in order to make the deadline.

The game can currently be played through to an ending... but it just doesn't work the way I envisioned.  Rooms were dropped, a side plot was dropped, puzzles were dropped.  You get the idea.

- Cogliostro

P.S. For the record, the Pillars of Creation are a real formation inside the Eagle Nebula.

Since it's still May 5 my time and I had an unexpected hour to myself, I went ahead and made the option to watch the intro more explicit.  I also added in a few sounds that I'd wanted to track down but hadn't beforehand, and fixed a few stray pixels and hotspot label bugs.  I hope that's cool, contest wise: if not, I'll re-upload the old version.

Baron -- If my opinion matters, its completely cool.  Of course, I had to push it to 11:57PM EST in order to get my game uploaded in time.

Radiant -- Thanks!   Of course, that's the size when its COMPRESSED.  Its a complete monster when unzipped.

- Cogliostro

LOTS and LOTS of planning had to be dropped in order to make the deadline.   I fully intend to create a second version that covers all of the story and plot gaps I left in this version.

- Cogliostro

EDIT -- Found my first serious bug.  You will have to use the arrow keys to walk around most of the rooms.

[Between the Pillars of Creation]

Here it is, in all of its buggy and untested goodness.




   


   

A crippled ship with missing crew
A crippled man with missing memories
7000 light years from home and trapped...
Between the Pillars of Creation

Here's the link - 75MB

Uploaded with 3 minutes to spare

- Cogliostro

Okay, I thought I'd be clever and post the version of the game I'm developing onto an object.

function room_AfterFadeIn()
{
// VERSION # posted to blank graphic # 105
   DynamicSprite *sprite = DynamicSprite.CreateFromExistingSprite(object[8].Graphic);
   sprite.Resize(130, 100);
   DrawingSurface *surface = sprite.GetDrawingSurface();
   surface.DrawingColor = 15;
   surface.DrawStringWrapped(20, 40, 100, eFontTimes12pt, eAlignCentre, "Version  1.0.0");
   object[8].Graphic = sprite.Graphic;
   //surface.Release();
   //sprite.Delete();
}

It works until the function completes, then the Sprite & Surface release and delete and the version number turns into a blue cup.  This happens whether the last two lines are commented out or not.

So my question is this:  If you create a dynamic sprite and change it, how can you create a copy of that image that will last as long as the player is in the room?

- Cogliostro

P.S.  At this point I've invested about 30 times as much effort as it would take to just manually create a new version graphic, but I'm trying to push my programming limits.



EDIT

Two hours of frustration disappear the moment I focus enough to post the question.  For those who are curious,  declare the variables for the drawing surface and dynamic sprite at the beginning of the room script, outside of any of the room functions.  Then delete & release them in the room_Leave() function.

[the game *MUST* be set to 32-bit!]

I just spent 30 minutes trying to figure out a problem with alpha channels, so I thought I post the solution here.  The image must have an alpha channel -- when in Photoshop you get that grid background and not white or something.  The part I missed was that the game *MUST* be set to 32-bit!

Without that you can load and reload the images as often as you want and it will never give you that chance to use the alpha channel.  I'm sure this is in the Wiki somewhere, but I didn't find it.

  - Cogliostro

Atelier -

• The taste of breakfast hummed with color.
• The waves crashed upon the shore with a burst of yellow and brown, that faded into rivulets of muddy red as the water flowed back into the sea.
• As I read the instructions, intense sparkles of light flew off the page, blinding me.  Additionally, each letter, syllable and word had its own sound.  Reading just the first sentence was like listening to an entire orchestra playing at top volume, but each musician working with a different score and conductor.  I stepped back from the table and threw my hands up in defense, but how can you defend yourself from your own senses.

"Synesthesia the Game." 

The hardest part of this challenge will be making coherent puzzles! 

- Cogliostro

steptoe -

Bug: When in the Sudan, if you cross over the pit of spikes, and then cross back *BEFORE* pulling the switch... WOW!  Can Jonsey ever jump!

Map:


Okay, the game shows Sudan here:


But shouldn't it be here:




Yeah, the cactus is acceptable.  I was just enjoying the game enough so that the inconsistencies stood out in my mind. 

- Cogliostro