Messages

Arguing which show, Battlestar Galactica (the new one) or Firefly, won't get anyone anywhere. They're both entertaining. I enjoy'd Firefly a bit more, but not enough more to make that much of a difference. Anyway, we all know Babylon 5 was the best scifi show on tv.

I saw the movie, and to me, it was pure entertainment. I enjoyed the little references to the show from time to time, and  the movie had me on the edge of my seat.

As far as branding Joss Whedon with Buffy and Angel, I believe they were fairly popular shows. I myself didn't watch them while they aired because I thought the whole premise of the shows were silly. But someone sat me down and forced me to watch some of them, and I got hooked. If they weren't your cup of tea, that's fine, but there's probably a bigger fanbase for those shows than Serenity/Firefly.

-MillsJROSS

I miss the me who missed the good ol' days. That guy was awesome!

If I had to say I missed anything, though, it's when I was a member for this forum, but was busy working on my game. Now it seems, I spend too much time reading posts, then working on anything. Damn community just sucked me in.

-MillsJROSS

Part of the problem was that Fox aired them out of sequence, and gave them a shitty time block. Kind of like what they did to Wonderfalls, which was also an awesome show. But considering it was one of Joss Whedon's shows, they should have known that it would mass a bigger audience given time (He's the one who wrote Buffy and Angel). I was going to see the movie today, but through lack of time, and tiredness, I shall wait till sometime this week. From what I gathered, if you watched the shows, and are a big fan, then you should have no problems getting into the movie. If  you didn't watch the movie, it's still a rather good movie.

I believe they're hoping to relaunch the series. Fox wouldn't sell Sci-fi the rights to make more episodes, which is why they're making the movies. I was suprised to see the whole cast was back, and can't wait to see the movie in theatres. 

-MillsJROSS

I think the fourth wall is when the player character talks directly to the player. Some people don't like this.

Close...but breaking the fourth wall implies that you the viewer have been reminded that you are in fact viewing something, and it's not really happening. In comedic games, though, the fourth wall is broken all the time, and it's nothing to worry over.

I hope to download and give this one a try during the weekend, when I have a little more time on my hands. Graphics look good, though.

-MillsJROSS

I'll need to save up money, but i do need to get all KQ and LSL's that I've missed (don't have anymore). I hope they make a trend of this and start releasing more old but good games. I wouldnt' mind a Doctor Brain Compilation.

-MillsJROSS

By we, I mean FSU (American) Football, and by Hurricanes I mean the University of Miami. Most of you probably won't be excited at all by this, but for the past five years we've lost to them six times (we played them twice last year), and they have all been close games. Games where we were ahead and they caught up, and games where if we had a good kicker we would have won. I went to the game expecting the same thing to happen. We scored ten points in the first quarter and Miami didn't get anything, but they were Miami and they have a knack for catching up. Second quarter they score a touch down, making the score FSU 10, Miami 7. If it was any other team I'd still be excited about having the lead, but this had been the situation for the past five years, we start out well and they finish well. Third quarter yielded nothing. We were one yard away from goal, on first down, and by golly if their defense didn't shut us out and bring us back four yards and another five for a penalty, and we missed the kick from 9 yards away. Fourth quarter. This is the one. I'm feeling absolute dread in my stomach. This is the quarter that Miami excells at. And for a tense thirteen minutes as the ball goes back and forth, mainly because both teams have an excellent defence and both have a lacking offense. Miami is at field goal range, two minutes to go for the game...fourth down...and they fumble. And that's when I realise as long as we can eat two minutes from the clock, we've beaten them. Which is exactly what happened. WE WON! We beat the curse.

I'm sorry if this bored you all, but this is easily the most memorable game that I've been to. And it definatly makes you feel good when the fans tell you that you kept the team strong (I'm in the band, Marching Chiefs, and if you've seen a FSU game, you're bound to have heard us). So that's really all. I'm excited and wished to share with you all.

-MillsJROSS

Chrille, if you need any help updating it, I do have a few older versions of AGS that might help. I can't quite remember, and I'm not at my home computer right now, but it's much easier to update to the AGS version before the Windows version came out, and then update to a windows version. It's the same process I used for updating AQ with commentary, and it is quite a short proceedure.

-MillsJROSS

I've been at pre-season Marching Chiefs for the past week which starts at 7am and usually runs till about 9pm (with a few breaks for dinner and lunch), so I haven't been on-line much. We haven't really felt the hurricane, other than a nice breeze, cloud cover, and a few light rains. This part of Florida has been really lucky, I'm just hoping it stays that way.

On the sucky side, I do have to go to work tomorrow, and school starts back up this monday (but I'm secretly looking forward to it). Thanks for your concern.
-MillsJROSS

I don't think a little desert now and then is so bad. It's when it becomes part of your daily routine that it becomes a problem. If you need to have desert everyday, it's naturally going to be unhealthy, but every once in a while is alright. Maybe once a week or once a month...I don't usually eat desert at all, or if I do I go for sugar free pudding.

Cutting out sodas can be a significant factor in helping you lose weight. Eating more vegetable/fruits in place of other foods is always good. And snacking  isn't bad as long as it's a healthy snack, like an apple. A simple excersize like walking for a bit doesn't hurt, either.

I'm no great expert, and don't pretend to be, I think most of the advice is just common sense.

-MillsJROSS

This is easily one of the most entertaining and well put together games I've played in a while. I'm glad this came out during the summer, otherwise I might not have had the time to play it.

The cons: As mentioned before some of the hotspots for entering doorways were a little ackward to manipulate. Sometimes the hand icon is better for entering/exiting buidlings. While I appreciated the extra effort to make it so the doors opened and shut, some of it was superfluous, and contributed to the ackwardness that was had when trying to enter/exit buildings. A small complaint was Jessica's speed, which was a little on the slow side. But that's really just a minor complaint. I think my biggest complaint would be the puzzles. While some were quite clever and fed the story well, some of them didn't engage me at all and left me stupified. Which wouldn't be so bad, adventure games are supposed to make you think. It's just that after I found the solution, I didn't feel the warm fuzzy feeling from a good puzzle. None of the puzzles were horrendous, I just didn't enjoy some of them. A good bit of aggresssion goes to the lights out puzzle, which just seemed thrown in there, mostly because how many people use a lights out for a lock? (I ask that with full realization of the silly world that your game takes place in).

The pros: When I downloaded the full thing I was almost horrified to find out it had voice acting, only because most of the time it get's annoying and I turn it off. However, I found most of the voice acting to be quite good. It added to the game, and the voice actor should all be commended for a job well done. While the the graphics weren't flashy, they were consistent. Consistency is more important to me then anything else in graphics. The well written and witty dialog is what really made this game for me. There some very funny moments, while playing and while watching cutscenes. The cutscenes were top notch, too. It seemed a good deal of effort was put into them, and it shows.

It really altogether was an enjoyable game. The only other complaint would be your website, which after having played your game, I know you could improve upon. Thanks for entertaining me.

-MillsJROSS

I got my computer up and running after a move, so I didn't have a lot of time on this one, but I gave it a go.

http://www.geocities.com/millsjross/HTOH.MID

-MillsJROSS

It's allowed me to put my sense of humor into a format that everyone could see. Unfortunatly for everyone, it allowed me to put my sense of humor into a format that everyone could see.

I've made a lot of friends here, and I can only hope to carry on those friendships for a long time after, at least until the restraining orders. It's given me a reason to go onto the internet with a purpose more noble than porn...not as exciting, but more noble. I honestly check this more than my e-mail. It's what CJ has really done for me, that matters...which is given me a reason to like onion rings all over again.

-MillsJROSS

Saw the movie a couple days ago, and enjoyed it. You can't really compare the two Willy Wonka's from either movie as they are completely different roles. Johnny Depp couldn't have portrayed it as well as Gene Wilder, and Gene Wilder couldn't have portrayed Willy how Depp portrayed them.

The kids were well casted, and it had some great funny moments. Whether either one is better than the other is merely up to the individual. Personally, I like the older one better, but Gene Wilder is one of my favorite comic actors and I love musicals. Also I've grown up with the movie, so my view point will naturally be slanted.

I do have to say, the most exciting thing, though, was the preview for Tim Burtons next movie Corpse Bride. I loved the Nightmare Before Christmas, and the game Neverhood made me appreciate claymation. I also am glad to see Danny Elfman is doing the music for Corpse Bride, too. He did a great job with Nightmare.

-MillsJROSS

DG may go a bit far at times, but sometimes he's right on the money, and I cherish those times. But DG isn't really the issue at hand, as he's been here longer than many of the people complaining about the forums.

I think this is really an issue of perception and nastalgia. People look back and they think those times were so much better, but we've had silly posts and pointless posts for as long as I can remember. The only thing that's really changed is the size of the community. And summer is a particularly high traffic time for the forums. Which is generally a good thing, since we usually get a lot of games comming our way in the summer time. Immaturity will never stop, and is sometimes needed. Most of us older members have experienced this feeling before, but I think after a while you realise that nothing has changed, just people. There are many members for way back that I wish would post more, and I miss their insights...I miss their jokes. This is a damn fine community, and when people that have been here for a long time leave, I feel the lack of their presence.

The trick is to open yourself to relations with new people. I find a lot of older members are closed off to newer people. And I think this is one of the reasons we feel this change. And sometimes people grow older and get new interests and don't need this community anymore. Which is fine, and that's part of life, learning to deal with change.

-MillsJROSS

I just wanted to say that having discussion within a thread in the Completed Game Announcement forums, should be deterred from happening. Not that poeple shouldn't express their views about a game being commercial and their desire or not to buy the game, but it's almost borderline obnoxious when I have to read through four pages of arguments, and have yet to find a review from someone (other than those provided on the main web page). I always thought this forum should only contain posts in which people are critisizing a game they've played. If you don't want to pay fifteen dollars for the game, then don't, and stop posting about it. Unless Ghostlady's numbers are made up, there is an apparent audience who is willing to fork out money. And afterwards, they should be able to say whether it was worth it or not, because they've played the game and have something (hopefully) constructive to say.

As for the similarities with Phantasmorgia, the graphics are changed enough to avoid any copyright issues, so what really is the problem? If she got inspiration from the game and took elements that she didn't think she could make herself, I really see no problem. Maybe crediting Phantasmorgia for inspiration, could be possible, but she hasn't done anything illegal.

My only critique (not having played the game), is using AGS's icons. Only because it's not that far of a stretch to change the graphics for them. They are intended for 256 style graphics, which your game does not fall under. It just seems a shame, only because there is so much work in the backrounds, and it's really just a simple matter of replacing the icons that existed already. But I haven't really played the game, so my oppinion can only be worth so much.

Personally, I will not be buying this game, only because I don't have the money to spend, at the moment. But I know that if I wasn't in college and had a well paying job, then I wouldn't dismiss the fifteen dollars as too much.

Good luck, and tell us when/if you break even, because I'm sure it'll bring some inspiration to those who, like myself, seek to one day make these type of games for a living. And also, don't feel shy about posting for help for things like changing your GUI, if you already program for a living, then the hardest part is really only the graphics, as everything else should come naturally to you.

-MillsJROSS

Amerittens will simply be held wherever someone is willing and able to host. Locations really arent important, unless two people are close enough to merge into one region. It's too late, at least for me, to organize anything this summer, and we have a year to decide where these regions might be. I think the emphasis of these events should be a low cost sort of week. As far as I'm concerned, I'm not going to go anywhere I can't drive to in a day. As for any guidlines, naturally, one would expect that these things be hosted by established members (in general a member we can trust). The age limit could change according to the host. But generally, I honestly think the age limit is a good idea just purely on a liability standpoint. We can nail out details as the year goes on. The only trouble with getting down specific hosts this early in the year is that while someone might volunteer to be a host in a year some unforseeable change in their life might prevent them from being one.

As for Mittens being held in different countries each year, I don't think this is feesible. The places selected for Mittens were chosen because there is a strong membership base in that country, and I think one of the major goals is getting more people to come, so while if we go to Hong Kong we might get new attendees, we might not get nearly the amount we had the last years (I'm not saying this is the case, for all I know Hong Kong is a ripe location for Mittens). After so long, it's only natural to come full circle back into other countries already selected. That and it must be hell on CJ's wallet to do this every year.

-MillsJROSS

http://www.davelgil.com/ags/brittens05/DSC00410.html

If only I had known there'd be onion rings, I totally would have gone! Just for one more magic moment with Chris.

-MillsJROSS

I think the reason we haven't had an Amerritens or whatever one would call is, is because the immense effort it would take to organize it. Brittens works so well because Britain is a smaller country and it's less of a hassle for people to gather at some location. I'm not saying people don't go out of their way, but the United States is around forty times larger than Britain. I think the wisest thing to do, would be to split up into different regions. Anyone would have free range to go to a particular one, in case you really wanted to meet a particular member. But I think the point in an American get together, apart from Mittens, is to not spend a lot of money. It's more for those who can't afford to go the a Mittens event, or for those who can afford both. And if we looked at the AGS map, when it was up, there are plenty of people in the U.S. to go around. I know we wouldn't get to meet everyone, but I think this would yield more people showing up, and really if you want to meet everyone go to Mittens (at least you'll meet people from around the globe). How we'd split up the regions is really up to those willing to host.

-MillsJROSS

Just got finished with my final summer exams...and I definatly was nervous, and the tests weren't that bad, really. But won't really know until the grades come out.

-MillsJROSS

As far as getting your game noticed, if it's a good game it will get noticed. Look at Kinoko, when she released her first game she had no "street credit," so to speak. But her game got noticed because it was a good game. Mind yout his isnt' always the case, there are always good games that somehow fall through the cracks, from time to time.

As far as webhosting, if the free ones aren't going to cut it, you might consider buying some space, which is generally cheap, and getting some decent hosting. It's not at overwhelming as you may think it is, and a search through google like "How to make a website" might be fruitful. Good luck!

-MillsJROSS