Messages

[aMusic3.Play();]

Hm.  I changed the code to the presumably obsolete code and it worked fine.

For example, if I had originally set up a room to play music #3 in the room editor, AGS 3.2.1 generated the command aMusic3.Play(); at the top of the room's "before fadein" function.

But I went in and change it to PlayMusic(3); and it worked fine.

So, nevermind!  I sorted it out on my own.  Thanks anyway.

You both are in!

Appropriate that a Ghost tests a Blackwell game.

You're in!

Hi everyone.  This seems like it should be a pretty common problem with anyone upgrading an old game to the latest version of AGS, but I can't seem to find any threads about it.  So forgive me if it's been brought up before.

So, I'm upgrading Blackwell Convergence, which was released in 2009 and used an older version of AGS.  I forget which one, but allowed you to set the room's background music via the room editor.  When I brought the game into 3.2.1, various .Play() commands were added to the "before fadein" function to replicate it.

However, now the music just plays for 1-2 seconds before stopping completely.  I'm not sure why it does this, since I was able to upgrade Blackwell Legacy and Unbound (which were made even earlier than this one) with no problems whatsoever.  Any ideas are appreciated!

-Dave

Not sure if this is the right place for this, but it seemed more logical than updating all three of the previous Blackwell threads.

I've upgraded the first three Blackwell games to the latest version of AGS, and I would like some testers to go through them before I release them.  If anyone is up for it, register on the Wadjet Eye forum and tell me your username.

>Close the victim's eyes, then say "Requiescat in pace" in your best Italian accent.

Right. If you weren't trolling before, you are now.

Can we please stop giving this guy fuel?  It was amusing at first but he's officially crossed the line.

Aww.  I was enjoying the other thread.  It was like a train wreck. Can't we just leave it locked but visible? As a cautionary tale, perhaps?

If Dave Gilbert wants to prove me wrong then he should make a point and click adventure game about a boxer or a rallycar driver.

You've lost me.  You seem to be saying that I make a lot of mystery games.  How would making a game about a boxer prove that the genre isn't dead?  Likewise, how does making a mystery adventure game prove that it is?

edit: I just spent five minutes browsing that culture.vg site you linked.  And... wow.  I haven't seen that much misogyny and homophobia on one website since the last time I last visited the rpgcodex!

Also, what's up with everyone making resentful comments?

You come onto an adventure game forum for the express purpose of insulting adventure games, and are surprised when you get some resentment?

We've heard this argument time and again, but there's one undeniable fact.  Whether the genre is dead or not, whether the mechanics don't "work" or not, there are lots of folks who still play and enjoy them.  Heck, for five years I've made a fulltime career out of making and selling these games.  So the genre is still alive and kicking from where I stand.

What devs find nice and what players find nice are, unfortunately, two very different things.

ROONNNNN.

How I've missed you.

Looking forward to this!

[That's]

First off, thanks for plugging my blog.

Just a quick disclaimer: I wrote the article to explain why I made the choices I did, as they pertain to my particular needs and experience.  I wasn't dissing "nice" graphics, or even advocating not putting effort into graphics at all.  Art is definitely important in adventure games, but gameplay and narrative are also important so you need to strike a balance between the three.  

Being an indie with limited means, I have to make choices about where to direct my time, energy and money.  By putting more effort into the graphics (for Convergence), I put less effort into the actual game and it suffered for it.  The same reviews that praise Convergence's graphics also say that the gameplay was very weak, and I agree.  The graphics and narrative were strong, but I failed to create a compelling game.  That's why the game didn't sell as well as it could have.  Not because a lot of gamers get turned off by pixel art (although that's a factor).  It was a lesson I haven't forgotten.  As progz said: gameplay trumps graphics, but graphics can't be ignored entirely.

If you care to hear me ramble about game development, I was interviewed by the Geekfist podcast during New York Comic Con. We talk about Blackwell, comics, and assorted nerdery. Also, Mr. T bench pressing the Silk Spectre: http://bit.ly/rVhE2F  There's lots of background noise but it was a fun time.

The issues with this game are twofold.  One is that the game's graphics are 16 bit, and that the snow/rain plugin only works in DirectDraw mode (if you switch to Direct3D, then the game gives you an error and won't even run).  DirectDraw seems to react badly to a lot of modern Win 7 laptops.  I know I had the same trouble on my laptop when I first got it, and it was only by being on the phone for two hours with the most patient tech support guy in the world that we discovered that changing your battery settings to "High Performance mode" fixes it.  Unfortunately, this does not seem to work for everybody. 

Hi all!  Dunno if it's appropriate to post this here, but I'm going back and upgrading all of my previous Blackwell games to the latest version of AGS.  Since I'm diving into the code anyway, I figure I might as well make some small improvements here and there.  If you've played the previous Blackwell games and there's some minor detail that stuck in your craw while playing, please let me know!  Either on this thread or on my forum.

Thanks!

Well, I took your suggestion and it seems to have worked... sort of.



So... I fix one problem and cause another!  Any ideas on where I go from here?  Thanks again!

Edit:  Nevermind.  I'm not sure what I did, but I started futzing with the images and presto:

Maybe this should be in Beginner Tech, but bare with me.

I'm going back and updating my back catalog with the current version of AGS, and making some small improvements while I'm in there.  One such improvement is to add backgrounds to the dialog text in Blackwell Legacy, since sometimes its hard to read the text against the background.

I've set up the background in the editor like this:



But displayed in the game, it looks like this:



Any help on fixing this is appreciated!  

Thanks,

-Dave

Something Gemini Rue related is happening tomorrow.  Something possibly involving pressurized water vapor.

Hey everyone!  I've recently offered to help out with the promotion and distribution of this bake sale, and I was officially accepted by the gang I thought I'd pop in to say hi.  I'm quite excited about this whole thing.

And Ponch - I've already set up some forum space, if you'd like to use it.  Check your PMs.