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Eh, don't take this too seriously. If you're not joking of course...

And even if you are joking... why not offtopic then:

This time, I was quite disappointed too.
2 random people just posted to praise my track and contest host didn't even review or mention it.
3rd? 4th time of not winning in a row?

Well, if I host one, atleast I try to criticize/review all entries, not only the one that won.
Atleast everyone gets fair explanation why *they* weren't picked as winners.

But last contests are hosted by hurrying noobs and being ignored is all you get for entering.
Bah. Shame on you!

Anyway, that awful, terrible clown on this image scares the hell out of me.

Blast!1!

Nice background. I think that with proper lights, it's atmospheric enough.

I used 3ds max to remake this simple geometry and add 2 lights. Personally, I'd use more lights, but this one is just for show. It took 4 minutes to make, anyway.
Result is here...



If you simulate your lights in 3d software first, you'll get alot more proper lights and it's easy to shade then.

Same image, posterized down to 10 levels and desaturated for light aid:



Isn't it easy now to make lights realistic?

For this bg, add warning signs, more stuff on the walls. Maybe give floor some tiles or carpet or something. Otherwise, it looks too empty and flat. Also, note how doors look in 3D version: Usually doors don't look like they're painted onto wall, but are a bit inside the wall.

Hah, no offense taken. I'm estonian... like finns, harsh climate keeps our heads cool and temper reserved

Anyway, I recommend all these games I named or try at least demos, because they're, well, best similar FPS games out in last 3 or 4 years. Exept for Penumbra, which goes more to a fps/stealth/puzzle/action/adventure genre (impossible to define) and doesn't quite reach the quality of others but is really unique and cool anyway.

I'm playing Half-Life 2 currently over again so it's 2 games on my table and maybe I sense difference too strongly. In HL2, dystopian (sp?) future/alternate reality is also portrayed as main theme, but it really doesn't need darkness, silly solutions and overdone horror. A simple little four-legged creature jumping into your face from corner and poisoning you is scary enough, without (overused) little girl and bloody corpse theme. And it's all in broad daylight (mostly), large, open levels, absolutely playable at lower-end system, fully customizable settings, etc etc. F.E.A.R is another example, though emphasis is more on interesting action and less on horror.

I can't say that every single new game should look like those named, it would be boring, but I really don't like the way Bioshock went. Okay, alternate future with 50's tech plus alternate futuristic tech sounds good, but not in horror game context. Atleast, not for me. Undersea city with different technology? I'd LOVE to explore this! But I repeat, *explore* - as it is a cool place - and not totally ransacked and stupid zombies chasing me, with ancient pistol in my hand.

So basically you'd want to have like a 1-pixel border between each tile so that it's easier to manage? It sounds like a reasonable request.

That's what I thought of, yes.

It can be worked around, and it isn't that big hassle, but such addition would contribute for AGS being more user friendly. Of course, I don't know much about specifics and it would be a shame to waste CJ-s precious time on such thing, especially if it takes many programming hours or something. So, just a suggestion.

It's hell of a math to determine how big should the import drag-box be and even worse to edit the sheet later.

I quote myself: sorry for being so stupid  :o
if I have frames imported, I don't have to edit sheet, but simply copy-paste frame from ags to paint program to edit and back. I simply didn't think of it 

I agree with most of the compliments and criticisms of the game. Certainly there aren't many freeware writers out there on par with Grundislav; rather than getting too het up with the imperfections with the game, maybe we should be grateful that there are people out there making games of the quality of the BJ series.

The quality of the stories and writing in the majority of AGS game is pretty poor, but authors like Grundislav and Yahtzee are a cut above.

Looking forward to BJ7.

I second this and admit that I think that I was a bit too harsh on my previous post.
Then again, I've always been a true fan of BJ series and since I'm a game maker too, I maybe see too much things from developers point of view and all those little things I would made better so It'd be a game of my dreams.

But it's not my game, but Grundislav's and as BJ series tend to be, a damn good one.

Bought? This thread is 5 pages full of praise.
And demo promised solid shooter, which - I never said otherwise - Bioshock surely is.

I can't say that I hate the game, it's another fps and everybody loves some shooting now and then.
It's the incredible hype I don't understand. Half-Life 2 got as much and even more hype and stood to prove it.
In every bit of it.

The points I brought out are the things I see on my screen, not reviews.
Loads of dead bodies, neon signs and bloody human models. And endless pointless chatter which IMO tries to be creepy, but ends up being annoying and dumb. An example from really creepy sound? Maybe spiders making crieking sounds a meter away in dark corner in Penumbra: Overture? Now THAT was creepy.

If a game, full of small possessed girls, dark corners, blood-covered enemies, maniac laughter and chatter as ambience and a wrench in hand doesn't try to be a horror game, something's really wrong in this world. And if it fails... well.

But since I'm against heavy majority here, this post is as good as pointless. Maybe I've played too much different games and seen enough not to be bioSHOCKED this time. All I'd say is, F.E.A.R. was way better, HL2 too. Bioshock seems to fall into same pit as Prey for me.

I finished about halfway of the game and yet haven't seen ANYTHING amazing. Except for bumpmap/HDR shaders that are not adjustable, crash on newer NVidia drivers and lag down to a slideshow at older ones. Even though my system exceeds *recommended* requirements.

Everything in this game has been done better somewhere else, and if it's the horror theme that's so hyped, ech...

I really-really tried to like this game. I did. But...

wrench battles?
Play Condemned: Criminal Origins. In addition to *realistic* battles, it's also *scary*

psychopathic environments and people?
Manhunt

Weird superweapons in fps?
Oblivion? Doom3? Prey? Tommy guns versus biological weapons sounds rather dumb than interesting.

Decent FPS horror? Darkness WITH shivers?
Penumbra: Overture

For me, bioshock simply doesn't cut it. I hate the environments and especially that noir-whatever sick style. It's not scary, it's like a clowns bad dream. And I hate clowns. I think I'll play to the end, but I don't care much about what happens. Also, in PC version, subtitles are buggy and I don't like to listen to those long diaries. Which means I don't get into story, if it's possible at all.  Half-Life 2 was "amazing". This is simply another underlit, overrated fps.

My most common rituals are:

* wearing headphones even if there's nothing to listen to
* resting my feet on my 300W neighborterrorâ,,¢ subwoofer.
* always having cup of coffee in reach, though I usually get excited with something and it goes cold
* my chair is next to my bed, and there's always something to read on the bed. So whenever something loads or I get killed in counter-strike or something, I take a weird on chair-air-bed pose and read.
* Turning on computer (or moving mouse to kill screensaver) is second move after I wake up. First one is grabbing for smoke  , third - toothpaste
* Also, when at work(I'm working on computer) , I've noticed that both me and colleagues tend to shake knee very nervously, without actually noticing it. Must be a career-disease or something. I never do it at home. BTW, anyone else ever noticed something like that?

Not sure if it's suggested yet, but variable X and Y pixel offset for tiled sprite import would be nice.
Simply because it's really hard to draw tile/sprite -sheets without visible border on each frame and it would be helpful to have custom offset to "jump" over borders.

Because if the sprites are drawn as AGS suggests - without any separation, it's hell of a math to determine how big should the import drag-box be and even worse to edit the sheet later. Atleast my sprite sheets, especially animations, are never "finally done" before I test them in AGS and usually, I have to fix the sprites here and there, import again, etc. Custom offset could easen things alot.

Until then, I'm using Game Maker (It has near-perfect system for this, with both cell and pixel separations) to extract sprites from sheet and copy-paste them over to AGS... But seeing this really useful, I think that AGS deserves better sheet handling too.

I wouldn't call it addiction, but that depends, do you call freedom and being used with it an addiction?

I cannot really imagine living without Internet anymore, simply because I intensively use it. And yes, for information. Possibility to find out whatever you need any moment, I call it freedom.
Other side is entertainment and endless ways to kill time, which counts too.

Some things in my life, are almost impossible without internet, such as registering meeting to a doctor, finding out telephone numbers, contacting old friends, etc. There's no real or atleast reasonable alternative. Phone books are rare, e-mail address is all I have about some old friends, etc.

side note: I totally do not watch TV. Haven't watched in 3 years or so. Why watch - for example - discovery channel and find out about one animal, if I could Wiki through whole zoo in same time show lasts? Why order a newspaper if I can surf through them all during morning coffee? Why watch news programme, if I could read only parts I'm interested in and see second opinions/extra info from comments? And of course, there's pirating, way to see, play and hear everything I ever wanted to.

TV is only useable thing when I need to get to sleep fast. Simply lie down in bed, turn on TV and watch some stupid 90's movie with Steven Seagal breaking bones. Quick sleep quaranteed in 10 minutes!

Even if it is addiction, It's not droppable habit like smoking or something like that. We need internet.

Are you... actually asking for advice or only praise?
Your perspective is off!

Take a long, critical look at your bg's and then at one Ben supplied.
And then, read all what people said.

I knew that AGS will end one day.


Oh no!

How about using LINE tool?

So, unless i'm totally mistaken or something, it's illegal for me to even have the editor on my PC because it has the SQ4 speech font embedded in it somewhere.

Even at my best, I cannot really understand this... heavy sickness of political correctness. Best way to have no friends?

But as far as I've noticed, MANY games besides SQ feature the same font, and they're not connected to either Sierra-Online nor AGS. And I don't think that developers simply created identical font. It's as good as to complain about old games using default font of screenmode 13h.

Is it legal for you to surf the web, with most sites using Verdana, Arial or Times New Roman fonts, including these forums?

Why do you whine about font anyway? AGS is not intended for some-undescribed-everyday-USAGE, but for creating games, and in your game, you can create custom save/load/whatever screens for EVERYTHING, and replace font everywhere. Inside the editor, as soon as you have replaced default three fonts, you cannot see them anywhere anymore, so you're not actually seeing or using them. So, you're not really doing anything illegal... I think.

I think you're weird.

Then again, that font DOES get old over so much time and countless games using same font. With all the masters of all trades around here, why not make unique AGS default font?

Finished it! Here's my review... (CONTAINS SPOILERS!)

I'd say I was a bit disappointed after finishing the game. Previous case offered alot more polish and fireworks.
For example...

* Ageia Anna looks totally deserted. People disappearing? Where's the law? I'd blame lazy writing. In every little town with strange happenings, there's usually a friendly/not friendly local police constable or someone like this. For additional information and atmosphere.
* The final countdown ended weirdly. Ben fragged a paranormal creature and... just left him lying there?
* There was no alternatives, no parallel solutions, no extra hints anywhere. All you could touch or do was simply a solution to next puzzle. That left the game awfully empty. Few pointless hotspots, characters, descriptions and events, some of which also donating to alternative solutions to problems, would make this alot more interesting.
* Notes stopped updating quickly. There were initial objectives what to do at first, but later in game, I simply wondered what to do next.
* Exits, yes, were almost impossible to figure out. Add ultraslow movement speed and...
* Background art is better than ever. Only weak point was transition from water to land.
* Ben's walkcycle lacks color, especially on one foot.
* Music was up to quality, I really enjoyed it!
* Who sleeps on bed with all clothes and boots on? Even if it's tough to animate, you could find a workaround...
* More drama! It almost felt that Ben & crew hardly cared about what was going on.

In conclusion, I like Case 5 alot better, but this one isn't too bad. It's long and interesting, simply lacks polish from all areas except music. In whole series, 2nd place.

**Screaming and ripping shirt off
Yaaay! Will play now!
Review later.

Little issue:
When rabbit is leaving the castle, in the (outside!) room with castle entrance and balcony(Room 17?), "entry cannot be found" error appears. I don't know how it happened, but it just appeared when room faded in.
Nothing bad though, clicked message away and game continued as usual.

What are you on about? There's rating system on official AGS games page... see "Content advisory". There's no rating needed inside forums.

Forums are a bit too messy place for this, and many threads don't really look like something someone wants to release his/her game on. I mean, if you publish a game and hand out links, you'd want either make nice webpage for it or release it on AGS games page, which also looks nice, mature and organized.

If someone asks where to get your game/info and you point him to completed games thread with several "can't download it", "how do I drink tea?", "finished in 2 mins lol", etc -type posts below, it doesn't offer very good impression.

Ratings are for babies and overprotective parents anyway.