Messages

I am still completely clued out here.

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I don't know what you mean when you say "circuit". Do you mean from positive to negative passing through the vertical bars in middle? Most of the wire paths are difficult or impossible to follow because at some point they just get lost or "buried".

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I agree that tracing the two circuits is more difficult when you remove the colours of the wires.  I am sending you a keyed up screenshot to help you work it out.

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As Cassie said, she's already sent me a complete solution and I've progressed.

Thank you

Re the electric box for the elevator:

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To operate the elevator requiress a positive and a negative circuit with active transistors. The first task is to trace the correct circuits. There is only one positive circuit (red wires) that passes through both the Rectifiers (blue tops - left of centre) and the Resistors (red tops - right of centre). There is also only one negative circuit (black and blue wires) that passes twice through the Rectifiers. Once you have traced these two circuits, you need to remove and test each transtor on these cicuits in turn and return it if it is active (green light), or change it for another one if it is dead (red light).

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I am still completely clued out here.

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I don't know what you mean when you say "circuit". Do you mean from positive to negative passing through the vertical bars in middle? Most of the wire paths are difficult or impossible to follow because at some point they just get lost or "buried".

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And before I put more time into this game, are there other puzzles that assume that the player can tell colours apart and know what different colours represent?

Thank you

[cables]

@Shadow1000

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The colour of the cables is irrelavant. You're interested in the vertical bars.

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Tester: Green means it works, red means it doesn't.

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Not all cables lead somewhere useful. Some built a circle.

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Ignore those / Use them to get rid of the fuses that do not work.

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Was that useful? I'm never sure how to give good tips without spoiling the puzzle.

I really appreciate that! I would never have guessed that on my own.

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which one is green and which one is red? I cannot tell the difference visually

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I'm glad you started this thread!

I'm completely stuck right at the beginning

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I'm at the fuse box for the elevator. I see a bunch of fuses and a message about the positive connection and negative connection requiring a certain number of red and blue. There is also a tester on the bottom right that will light up a left or right light when of of those items are plugged in. As far as the red and blue, I see some wires that are red and blue and some vertical bars holding fuses that are red and blue. The hint of "including" a red and blue probably refers to one of the above.

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I am not sure what to even ask because I don't see any objective for this puzzle about 45 minutes other than the obvious

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complete the circuit

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.

Thank you

My comment on the results: without specifics, I am surprised, but the people have spoken. Congrats.

I played this game last night but did not finish. There is no save function, as noted in the Readme, but I did want to check it out.

I spent about 40 minutes and played until I got to a point where the next thing to do was not immediately obvious. Under normal circumstances I would have saved the game then come back and tried different approaches but with no save function, I just could not invest more time.

Overall, I like the game. The story and puzzles are decent. I like games with lots of rooms to explore and this definitely has them. Lots of interesting NPCs with different personalities to interact with. I like the backgrounds and the music.

Some areas to improve - first, I would probably give the game another try if it would be possible to save. But I just can't spend that much time in one sitting. Second, I would recommend a setting that allows the user to modify the walkspeed. There are a lot of rooms and a fair bit of walking and I usually like to set the speed on the fastest possible, that way I spend more playing time actually playing rather than watching an sprite cross the room.

Lastly, I assume that the characters are a bit simple as an art style but I found them to be just a bit crude and pixelly. I recommend sharpening them up if possible.

Otherwise a really good job!

I want to emend some of my comments based on some game revisions and reading what others have pointed out:

1) I really feel remiss in not having commented on the OUTSTANDING opening scene of Cassie's rat maze. As much as the game itself was creative and a fun challenge, watching the intro scene was a complete pleasure.

2) I replayed Rat Playing game, this time to completion. This game has all the addictive qualities of an RPG: I really enjoyed the thrill and challenge of developing strategies of how to level up the character, running out to the big, bad world and seeing what works and what doesn't, then repeating and slowly progressing that way. Mandle put in so many areas that you can level up that there are so many ways to beat the game and this type of complexity makes the game very enjoyable. What I really like is when a game is released for MAGS, created in a short time but the basic idea is so good that you feel that it can be expanded and expanded...and this is one of them.

[Rainbow Skunk Prism and the Vermin-Truder]

Ok I just played all the games and here are my thoughts:

Rainbow Skunk Prism and the Vermin-Truder

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Features about 2 1/2 minutes of gameplay. Bright visuals and the same walkcycle as past games by this author. I played it again after the second release and the music is an improvement.

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The Rat Pack

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Looks like a good idea and a lot of detail to the simulation. I spent some time trying to work out an algorithm that will keep me alive more than a few rounds but at some point I felt that it just was not compelling enough to persist to the point where I have 1000 rats

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The Rat Pack Do Cheesy Castle

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Really well-done game! Simple but adequate story and puzzles on the easier side, but plenty of gameplay. I am very impressed by the multiple playable characters and the fact that one task can be completed in more than one way. Very complete for a MAGS entry done with time contraints. Overall a fun playing experience

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Commando Raid

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Excellent game. I liked how the story unfolds and the graphics. I particularly enjoyed the puzzles. They are more complex and well-designed than usual for a MAGS entry. I am not a fan of maze puzzles but somehow I enjoyed this one. The end seemed a bit rushed but that's understandable because of the time constraints for the contest

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Rat Playing Game

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I love RPGs! I spent significant time developing my character before I felt ready to go out into the big word (i.e. toilet) but unfortuately the game froze up and I could not continue If Mandle decides to tweak up the technicals of the game I will want to give it another try

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The Burgomaster

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Mandle's description is perfect for this one. Brilliant implementation of the environment that really puts you into the period and makes you think and feel that you are there. Fast historical note: one additional reason Jews were less affected was because of ritual laws that required washing hands before eating, ritual immersion, washing corpses and so on. The connection between hygiene and spreading of germs was not understood in medieval Europe.

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Lab Rat Maze!

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Very creative! The graphics and play environment are beautiful. I found that the gameplay needs a bit of tweaking but overall a good experience

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Echo in the Clouds

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The strong point here is the awesome pixel art! This looks like it has what it takes to become a full game. (It says demo on the opening screen so I assume that something is underway). I didn't feel that I had enough of an idea as to what was going on in the story and gameplay was more a series of things to do rather than actual puzzles. The rats seemed more peripheral than central at least at this point

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My vote:

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The game I enjoyed the most overall was Commando Raid. The experience of the puzzles as well as the NPCs, humour, complex puzzles that require combining items and disassembling them really stood out. The puzzles were right in that spot where I had to think about what to do and try different combinations but I was able to complete the game without help or hints. I think that for a classic adventure nut like me all the attractions of adventure games that pull the user in are present in this game and it deserves my vote

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So close, as expected! Congrats

My analysis:

Both games are similar in a number of ways and it was actually not an easy decision. They are both based on classic tropes (slay the dragon, get the artifact before the bad guy does) and feature decent, fun but fairly straightforward puzzles. I liked that Reef Rivers had a bit more variety on the puzzles such as the balloon game.

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I am not sure if having the bad guy appear at the end of RR makes the game feel a bit incomplete or gives it some more suspense. I voted for Slay the Dragon because I felt that the puzzles were a bit more developed and I liked the simple art

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That said, it was REALLY close so good job to both entries.

I replayed it to see what it's like with the sound. BIG improvement! The sound effects really bring the game to life.

I'm glad you entered the MAGS so there's more than one entry as the end of the month draweth nigh...

That was fun

Some points if you want to improve it:

- Some sound would make a big difference!

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There are a number of places that you can die. It asks if you want to restore but if you click restore, the list of saved games is empty, even though I saved the game a few times. I started over and THEN restored. You may want to look into this.

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Good luck!

I played both games. My thoughts are similar to Riaise's.

- Frightfest was a GREAT adaptation of the theme. Good puzzles and overall a lot of fun to play.
- Research Resident was also a good adaptation but I had a difficulty understanding what was going on. The graphics are well done and it looks like it could be a promising start of a good game.

I voted Frightfest as it was more complete and overall a more enjoyable experience.

I just finished this game. I really want to compliment it highly.

- Graphics and sounds are beautiful. A lot of attention to detail. The smooth animations at the bottom of the screen give the game a really nice polish.
- The game is well-paced with the story. I could not stop playing because of this. I just wanted to see what happens next as I complete tasks and solve puzzles.
- The puzzles! Well-designed. Well-planned. Great combination of puzzles of different variety. I never found them too easy or too difficult. This is another reason I just could not put the game down.

I want to point out that the inventory is quite unique. Most games you have to actually use the items in inventory whereas in this game merely possessing the inventory item "uses" itself for you. I am not saying this is a problem. I have to admit that I never found myself in a good old "use everything on everything" scenario.

As beautiful as the backgrounds are, it was sometimes hard to figure out where a room exit is. Sometimes it seemed to have been just plopped in middle of the screen somewhere.

I also found it a bit different that there is little in-game animation. Characters just appear where they are going without walking. Items are received by the character saying "I received the item". I felt it might be more polished to show a bit of animation.

Lastly, I found myself stuck twice (I did need one hint) because despite having what I THOUGHT would be the items necessary for a task and thinking that I SHOULD be able to proceed, I wasn't actually ready but there was no indication as to why. Considering the size of the game it's hard to predict what the player will expect to happen and when but perhaps a bit more pre-release playtesting would have refined this aspect.

My overall rating for this game is that it's a MUST PLAY for users of all experience levels. More advanced gamers will find the puzzles easier but the graphics and story make the experience a complete delight.

Tres bien!!

[New build uploaded:]

I played Frightfest as Dracula and completed it. However, it crashed when I played as Frankenstein and the Mummy

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When I was throwing the orange at the spider

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A schoolboy error I'v spotted

OK. Re-scripting it and will upload new build around 7:30am today.

Sorry to anyone else who caught this crash...Please play revised build (when ready) and I'll send you an orange, on the house

Cheers

New build uploaded: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/2246/

Fingers crossed

Great. Will check it out when I get a chance.

I'm curious which character other players chose first. As I said, I did Dracula.

I played Frightfest as Dracula and completed it. However, it crashed when I played as Frankenstein and the Mummy

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When I was throwing the orange at the spider

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Helps a bit to know those are right, but not enough to solve it.
Besides the system is a pain in the ... to use.

Ok, 2 more hints

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The fourth word is "die". The second from last word is "is"

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keep asking and I'll give you more, unless you just want the whole thing..

Need help!
How do I break the code?

Ok two hints and we'll see if you can take it from there:

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I guessed correctly that the first word of 3 letters is "The". The second from last word, also 3 letters but the last 2 are the same, is "all". Had I been wrong with my guesses I would have not been able to do it but I was lucky...

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Good luck!

I played this game and I enjoyed just about everything about it:

- Most of all, I really liked the puzzles. I found them challenging enough to keep me wanting more but not so difficult that I would feel that they can't be solved. I completed the game without any hints from the walkthrough. I feel that the puzzles were clever and well-designed.
- I don't need to praise the graphics; the screenshots and trailer show how absolutely stunning the visuals are. Smooth animation and beautiful art and appropriate sound effects really create a compelling experience for the user.
- The story was intriguing and also compelled the user to continue. The length of the game was appropriate for the single-task mission of the game.
- It may seem minor but it's not often that one plays a game with impeccable spelling and grammar. To me, this really adds to the overall polish of the game.

It's clear that the game is a true labour of love and I really want to commend the team who developed it.

Just some concerns that you might want to address if you want to continue working on the game:
- I see credit for voice acting but I didn't hear any voice acting. Did I miss a setting in the setup...?

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You may want to put in an animated sequence for crossing the lake rather than the screen going dark and then coming back

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My biggest concern:

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The ending. After such a complete game, I would have expected an ending with a bit more to it. It would have been nice to find out what's going on in the game, why he was stuck, what the house is about, what the light is, who the bad guys are or any information.

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You may want to develop this aspect a bit further.

Overall, an exceptional game, especially for a first release. I hope many others play and enjoy it as much as I did. Once again, congrats to everyone who participated.

Thanks, Shadow, I've completed it now!

I'll write down my thoughts once I've finished all the games.

Most welcome. Looking forward to your comments and vote-verdict!