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First, walking starts from a position when both feet are on the ground. If you're using it in same sequence as it's on this picture, spreading legs letter "A" style just after standing should look weird in AGS. so, frames should be rearranged so guy first raises one leg, puts it down and starts with another.

Good effect comes, when pulling head down a pixel or two on frames 1 and 5 (on your picture).

I tried to put together a better sequence of these frames, but really cannot. It looks like some frames are missing or wrong.

Is... is someone from LucasArts joking with us here?
Nah, LucasArts' graphics designers are shittier.
I think that murdering Mouse would save us all from feeling weak and inexperienced. Who's with me?

And you, Mouse, read between my lines, what I think of your background. Are you a superhuman?

This BG just taught me a true meaning of a word "contrast".
Just click on the link below...

http://www.hot.ee/increatorgamez/contrast.jpg
btw, Mouse, I think you owe us all one bloody tutorial.

Oi! It's not good to cheat people with broken mp3 file.
Didn't know it, sorry.
So, I fixed the file, mp3 compression *and* the link (see first post). I even downloaded it by myself to be sure everything works.

The server I'm using seems to be down sometimes (not very often), so if you can't see my avatar, you'll probably get a broken link, BUT this'll change in few hours or a day. It just happens sometimes. So don't bother complaining.

Actually, I wanted to put up S3M version, but soundclub converted it too badly, most of stereo effects, instruments and long samples were damaged or removed, so it remains 4,91MB MP3.

Anyway, if there happens to be people, who think that they could finish the Ultimate Ear/Nerve/Mental health/Speaker Quest, It's working now and is freely downloadable.

AND, if someone wants .sn2 version (SoundClub, editable),
just PM me.

Whoa!
You could make entire game using just first room, It's detailed enough, I felt a little sorry, just because all this beauty and hard work is actually not needed to finish the game. Using existing room(s) as basis, you could make even 10 sequels. Everthing looks damn good and point-of-view you're using gives much... freshness(?), comparing to other AGS games.

Then again, I got miserably stuck. And I think that It's even not a bug, but a thing to complain about in tech forum. Just before getting out of rocket (or blasting out?) I opened inventory window using left-edge menu (which presence I just discovered). Inventory opened and just at this time something happened in a game, so rocket broke or something (Really couldn't see with inventory gui covering most of screen). So - game text went on UNDER Inventory gui and inventory itsself was "greyed" out so I couldn't close it, too.

No keys were responding and everything just froze.
Well, oldschool AGSers know combination of Alt+X, so It worked, ensuring me that it wasn't my computer that froze.

[edit: found some bugs...]

"Interesting" is absolutely right word for that game, IMO. Despite some small problems, such as weak animation and too contrasty colors, this game is really exciting because it's soo detailed!
Sound effects are very well done, too.

edit: found some  bugs... I talked to watch seller and after trying all dialog options, game crashed out and gave following error:

"An error has occured. Please contact the game author for support, as this is likely to be a scripting error and not a bug in AGS.
Error: DoDialog: all options have been turned off"

...then...

Spoiler

Every time I look at the ATM machine by cinema (the closeup), one ATM-card is added to my inventory

[close]

...and...

Spoiler

When entering to zoomed-out-city-view-room and clicking on dropped wallet with "look" cursor, guy walks directly to the wallet, directly as *over* the church, ignoring any walkable areas or walkbehinds, if there's any

[close]

Anyway, helluva great game.

Introducing...

...Scottish Quest ver 1.0 !!!

When using custom GUI for inventory, speech text appears to be behind (or under?) GUI, only way to work around is to use DisplayAt to pull text somewhere else, so GUI won't cover it. Weird?
Suggestion here, too - "Inventory uses GUI <number>" option to general settings, which atomatically solves the problem then, or will just assign custom GUI to InventoryScreen function.

Before I got new computer, dissolve was fastest transition after 'instant'. Fade and crossfade were painfully slow, so whole problem sounds strange...

Two questions:

1) No MIDIs? What then? MP3s only or module tracks are fine too?

2) What -uh- excactly are "time signatures"?!

Hm. I got around this when used "default waveout device" instead of "default directsound device". But when mp3-song starts (in an AGS game, of course) it sounds like it's coming from badly tuned radio station and starts to play normal as soon as I make character walk or perform any other mouse click.
When playing module music tracks, quality is random. Some tracks play fine, some absolutely not (for example, only hithats ond cymbals are played). weird.
Card is described in Windows devices tab as "C-Media AC97 audio device" and that's all I know about my card. It makes tricks in some non-AGS games, too.

That's it. I'm switching to Photoshop (though its interface is somewhat imprisoning my will to draw something). But with everybody getting so good...
Really great picture... can't wait to see a game itself!

I'm sure that...
Insomnia, caffeine posioning and too much computer could instead of fresh air and physical excercise lead 20-years old male to an insanity. Here's the proof, which I can call just "a mp3-track", because I'm not sure does *music* like that exists or can I call this "music". I'm a lousy tracker, too. Okay.
It has a bass, beat and melody, just the theme is something, that makes this thing weird.

How weird things actually happen...
I sat by my machine, and ate sandwhich with sausage on it, desperately trying to make something music-like with SoundClub. I do it often.
I started to think about sandwhich I was eating, then about humans eating meat and vegetarians.
I was tired, as I usually am. And I was weirdly sensitive, a hurricane of emotions attacked me, which usually lead me to creating something stupid.

So...
I tried to make some kind of a melody, and actually succeeded, then, led by my thoughts about animals that people eat, felt sorry about them. Then I came to an idea (negative maybe), to make song for them. For dying for of human race. So, hour later, I stopped myself and asked "what the hell am I doing?!".

It...
Is a song which is made thinking about poor innocent cows waiting to be killed in meat factory. As seen on TV once, they ride on conveyor belt to a metal plate which kills them with electric shock. Yes, cruel.

I called it "Death Dance of Electricity" and well, I'm not even sure why I did put this up here. Maybe to share my insanity. Anyway, I don't suggest you to listen it.
Unless you happen to be extremely optimistic person, who just gets a good laugh. Then it's absolutely okay. But I'm afraid of much more serious reactions, too...  Then again, there was an AGS game which made me feel same way that this song does. I don't remember its name or creator, though, but it was about a suicide and something else like that. Agony. Right. I should been named this song to "Agony". Or "Sick".

I used...
Soundclub, Audiocatalyst (for mp3 conversion), my large bank of *stolen*samples, plus some WAVs from SimFarm.

Anyway, you've been warned.
And I suggest to tune treble down in your mp3 player.

http://www.hot.ee/increatorgamez/Deathdance.mp3

Actually, background music is the thing I like most. Did you compose it by yourself?
Graphics-- er-- isn't bad for a first game, and is way ahead of many other "my-mspaint-drawn-first-game"s.
Of course, never-ever use standard GUIs and cursors-sprites, this was the worst thing about game at all.

There's a long way to go and since you were able to finish *This* game, I'm sure there'll be lots of them coming. Keep up the good work!  

Problem is - AGS is not able to recognize my soundcard. It's that card that's mounted onto Athlon motherboard and has stupid and useless echo thingy. My friend has Athlon board too, a bit newer and he's experiencing same problem. I imagine that it may be connected with fact that IRQ is 11, instead of usual 5, 7 or 10. Some games won't let you have a sound if IRQ is above 10. Or am I wrong?

Anyone else has Athlon/built-in soundcard/problem?

What should I do? I'm getting those "Failed to init Digital driver"  error messages.

I started the game. I observed the graphics. I was impressed. Then I tried to play. XXL characters and CMI3-style GUI took awhile to get used to. I loved it. Ancient adventuregamer inside me woke. I was already comparing that to best adventure games I've ever played. Then, suddenly, game ended...! Grrrrr!!!!

Excellent work! Make some more!

Hearthwarming topic... frustrating, really...
I'm an insomniac. Parents tell me It was so since I was born.
Lately, I figured out that my day cycle is just 31 hours long, instead of usual 24. I get tired after 18-20 hours of being awake. And then I sleep 9-11 hours. If taken this way, it seems logical and normal. Just my "night" jumps over two days. One day, I sleep and another - create.

I've seen something very few people see. Last summer I was up about 52 hours (cannot really be sure, why - read further). I started to dream while being awake, and this is an experience I don't want to live through again, though it was powerful and exiting.
I don't think that any drug or alcohol could cause something like that. Usually, after 35+ hours sense of time dissappears and you can't remember when you slept or make difference between yesterday/today.
It angers you and time goes unnoticed, 5 minutes feel like a whole hour or vice versa, 5 hours pass so you  can remember only 5 minutes of them. Some kind of a Max Payne time stuff.

It was a *controlled* dream. I sat in the kitchen looked at the fridge and just created my dream further while seeing it. And I did realize that I'm in a kitchen and saw the fridge. My eyes were open. My dream like crossfaded into my vision, mixing up with reality. I knew what I was doing and still controlling it. This was the part of power. But memory leaks in my head and the feeling, that I cannot really control myself gave me really bad experience, so that's why I never want to experiment like this again.

Lately,  my organism just "shuts down" when I'm up too long. I lose my vision. Yes, my eyes stop responding and when I force them open, they *flood* tears followed by excruciating pain. It scared shit out of me when It happened first time, now I just *immediately* get to bed. I'm not a kamikaze! And once, one of my eyes turned RED for a week, so I'm extra cautious now.

My parents often worry about me, and I'm sorry for that. Just I can't imagine being my mom, saying myself goodnight at 23:00,  waking up at 6am and seeing still me smoking, with a big cup of coffee in one hand and mouse in another...

Good morning...

Getting tired is a system by itsself. Before I collapse, I get extreme burst of energy. I feel like a bunny from this battery commerical, and feel like time goes into slow-motion, while I'm operating at extra speed. Then, suddenly, I run out of energy and fall into bed. Though I know that it's just up my desire to be up more 10 hours. Maybe it's just some people who are above their phycsical needs and their brain has power over their bodies, so even if exhausted, thoughts won't let them sleep. But night... night is beautiful. As soon others yawn and crawl to their beds, I feel sudden desire to live. To create, study, work hard, take a walk in a city - It's everything else than doing it during daylight. Yeah, nice. But I fucked up my studies and while "normal" my-age guys have finished school and earn dough, I'm still messing with 10th class... (or grade, how u name it). A gift. A curse.

Has anyone else experiencing something like that?

No, I'm not insane.
Yes, I am an insomniac.

Hmm... talking about mouse... Every computer store is selling wheel-mice nowadays. How about putting mouse wheel into some use in AGS games? Like scrolling inventory or cursors? Haven't tested everything yet, but in some occasions, wheel even works in AGS games.

Here...
38x80, 15 colors and 21 minutes...



Optical mice suck...

As I said, It were ideas about FUTURE... Simply because AGS, hate to mention it, is too slow enough, right now. Bones animation? huh.

Following text isn't excact suggestions list, just ideas when looking at AGS today and in the future... Like - what could be there, when version 4.0 comes out or smthng... they could be just neat plugins, too.

1) NPC AI system

With definable paths for NPC characters, from room to room, with places where NPC stops, says something, maybe some other NPC says something too (NPC with NPC conversation), picks up things, performs some animations and so. There was something pretty close to that in a game "Lure of the Temptress". But full system to do that, instead sinking into millions of lines of scripts, would be cool. AGS character plugin did some of that...

2) Emotions in animations

This should mean first, that animations are separated into directions, not loops (up walking anim, not just loop, up talking anim, and so on), so we can make
several animations of character *easily*, like when characters walks right, he can be happy, woulded, crawling, sneaking and so on, which affects his animation then. And of course, fast script functions for that. Like "SetCharacterWalkHappy(CHAR);"
Talking gives even more us to this, angry speech, happy, bored, etc. "SetCharacterTalkBored(CHAR);"

But this can be done now, through lot of scripting and I think when such thing would be in AGS, whole program could be in two modes, Advanced and simple or something, because lot's of people see no use for this, or have to work enough to make even primary animations.

3) 3D-rooms with lights > Shadows.

This sounds really difficult. Only way I imagine such thing could be done is:

* Room itself is a plane at the center of a 3D-box
* Another two regions are included, which define "walls" and "ground", to which shadow is projected to
* Inside this 3D box (world), there's a directional light, which can be moved on 3 axis with definable light casting spot (target)
* Depending on angle light lightens the room plane, shadow will be drawn, which will be a character's sprite, streched to needed angle, all colors replaced with black and drawn with opacity that can be defined according this rooms light setting
overall picture would be something like that:



But then again, I may be terribly wrong and such thing could not work at all, since my knowledge of 3D is really non-existing.

4) View Manager... like there's a sprite manager

5) There were some other dreams about future AGS, but I forgot already... Oh yeah, animated inventory items, like there were some in some game, I can't remember... Kronolog?