Messages

sorry guys, but can somebody explain me what the debugger is?
stupid question, maybe but i would like to know  

A debugger is a low level machine-code control tool that very naughty programmers can use to hack anything.

Screenshot: http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/9020/debugging.png

Well, yes. To be honest, I was hoping it would take a bit longer for the answers to come out without the community having direct access to them within the first day, especially since there's no other form of gameplay to Cryptic other than its riddles. However, I do understand that this is the internet, and where there's a will, there's a way. I hope that most will try their hardest before looking up the answers, though.

Here's how I'd go about making it virtually uncrackable. I don't know that much about AGS itself, but turn off any debug modes in the game / change it to release mode. Make sure your uncompiled game script isn't being written into the release executable.

When you write your riddle answer checking code, use a hash function (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptographic_hash_function).

Then compare the hash of the player's answer against the hash of the real answer.

Otherwise anyone can put a breakpoint in the main event loop and watch the stack for the correct answer to pop out.

This way they could only get the hashcode of the answer by interrogating the CPU during play, which isn't of any help.

He never played HHGTG as the original and he got stuck once in the game, because it wasn't hinted at all by a programming glitch..that says it..

I think it's fine to have good skills with a debugger; but I didn't post the solution even though I had them within 45 minutes. Seems like the sort of thing you might want to hold off on considering the work that goes into producing a game.

Also, I've killed debug mode. Quite impressive...

Wouldn't have stopped me, I was using a real debugger.

Please do... I can't wait!

I must say, 19 was the hardest. I stumbled upon the answer by accident while Googl'ing...

Leon, did you really finish it?

No help from Mr Debugger??

Found another bug... When you press F9 to restart, there's no way to give an answer. Since you don't have a mouse cursor and the keys won't work you have to crash the game and start all over. Effect is the same but not very elegant... ;-)

Yeah you just hit escape then guestimate where the cursor should be in order to click the No button.

But you'd only have trouble with this if F9 were the cycle key on your debugger

Here it is!
If you want it....

You can get it from my website:
http://domithan.com/?page_id=58

Or from the games database:
http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/games.php?category=&action=detail&id=1272&refresh1264373953

There's a bug in puzzle 18. "Repeat" repeats the sequence from puzzle 17. The bug doesn't appear anywhere else I can see.

Can I have another hint?... I mean, don't tell me what the answer is, just a little clue to stop me banging my head against the wall...

The answer has nothing to do with the numbers (neither numeric nor non-numeric). The seven sevens nines blah blah is a red herring. Repeat the question and read all the other text instead. Read it literally.

Sythe, there is actually some method to my madness. The Queen, feeling cornered, decides to offer a compromise to Little Girl so that they can "rule Underland together." So she describes what is actually a very fair system of government (federal laissez-faire, with the exception of some social services). But you know, as a faithful daughter of the republic, Little Girl can't allow that to happen.

I don't mean to be rude, but the system described is in no way fair.

A controlled highly regulated market in medicine, healthcare, and education pushes up prices astronomically by imposing state limits on supply meaning the poor cannot afford to purchase these services, as otherwise they might.

Once the price of these goods and services in the controlled market is astronomically high the state calls for their complete (or nearly complete) nationalization, which is then implemented and results in an expanded bloated socialist state.

The state is then unable and unwilling to meet its socialist promises of free services and a blackmarket for those services develops. At this point the government either gives up and re-opens the markets or passes new legislation to try blot out the blackmarket, at which point the state becomes authoritarian with military police controlling all economic transactions and meetings between people.

So really the economic system you have described is an unstable precursor to an authoritarian state socialism (communism), or a reduction of government. Either way it is not a stable system, nor fair system. And this is further evidenced by the fact that 10% of the American population pays 90% of the taxes.

Socialism, even market capitalism with socialist restrictions, is based on theft -- the violation of the right of private property. Being as this game is a joke about communism -- which is the complete abolition of private property -- it would be appropriate at the end to advocate a system of inviolable private property such as voluntarism. Rather than a violent system which has a considerable chance of becoming the very system you are laughing at. 

Why was the final boss the statue of liberty whilst also being an advocate of state socialism? That doesn't make any sense at all.

Thanks, but that's not a bug. As Maeldun has (likely) been trapped in a faerie spell a couple times over the course of the game, he knows it's possible to escape from that; it just takes awhile.

Ah, a real bug this time... although it did not affect game play.

* error seeking entry!
(please note room number 17, and from where exactly you entered it)

Spoiler

This is after being turned into a rabbit when I emerge outside. Game play wasn't affected however

[close]

This game is really excellent. I find many AGS games lack good narrative, this one does not. Excellent work.

I have a bug to report (may have already been reported:)

Spoiler

At the goblin place I never saw the rune and never picked it up.
Thus when it came to freeing the princess from her enchantment, I could not.
So the princess remained in limbo until I approached the end of the game.
After retrieving the truth gem I returned to the castle and the princess was magically there despite never having been released from limbo...

Maybe this isn't a bug, but I never read any explanation for it.

[close]

Tenacious Stu,

I have uploaded a zipped version of your game.
Also: your executable was renamed at the last minute from "My Second Game.exe" to "The Adventures Of Turquoise Mcdonald.exe" which will not work correctly. I renamed it back to work with the other files.

Please update your link:
http://rapidshare.com/files/51170292/Adventures_of_TM.zip.html

This game was very professional, minus the translation errors which have already been discussed at length.

It reminded me strongly of The Dig. Definitely one of the best AGS games I have played so far.

One bug which had me stuck (I was playing version 1.03, so maybe you've fixed this):

Spoiler

The area to the far left of the crashed ship in the jungle part. I used pickaxe on stone head, revealing the 'lattice' (grate) before I had actually been down into the tunnel. I did not see the vine above ground at the time. But when I went down into the tunnel the vine was already hanging down. Later I found the vine outside but incorrectly concluded that the two grates were completely separate. Because the one seen from below had the vine hanging down and the one seen from above had no vine. This caused me rather a lot of confusion, so much so I eventually went to the hints and tips thread.

Which is a shame really because I had already thought of putting screws in the vine and using the scanner, but couldn't reach it.

[close]

Exit to the ship is bottom left of the room.

Some definate DOTT influence here

Time machine, diamond, getting stuck in the past. Crazy inventor, even the art style.

Perhaps not as orginal as it could have been, but not bad.

Really great game. Enjoyed it a lot. Puzzles were challenging, characters had good depth. Humour was excellent, and often spontaneous. “That ladder looks pretty rickety, its not even coloured in!” “Carrots of the Caribbean”  and my all time favourite: “Apparently Vin Diesel is in one of these, he deserves as much.”

The game made me laugh over and over, and sometimes made me think (the cipher puzzle was great fun.) The art was very stylish and unique, it helped the atmosphere of the game.

Really the only gripe I have is with the final puzzle, but I suppose there has to be one of those in every game

10/10

Hmm, that's Bananaman out of the Beano. Looks like you have legal issues on your hands...

Who's a scared little idiot? Yes you are, yes you are. Seriously folks, big companies do not sue amature game and comic creators. There is no point. Copyright and trademark violation is about stolen potential profits. The only instance in which a law suit would be brought against someone for copyright violation is when that someone has a competeting product. For example, if I were to release a softdrink called coke which was in a red can, then I would be violating copyright law. But if released a book called coke, I would not.

Understand? Good. Now you can stop the fear mongering.

PS: the game looks good, might try it later.

Lmao what a terrible game.

Excellent game!

Your reactor concept has the tiny problem of violating the second law of thermodynamics, but very atmospheric none-the-less. (Perhaps a nuclear reaction would have been more believable.)

Puzzles could have been a bit harder, but I liked the trust meter! Graphics were great. Characters had depth. And it actually felt like an adventure.

I can't believe you almost didn't release it!? This is one of the best AGS games I've played yet.

Man I love those games, thanks a lot to Yahtzee for those nighttime adventure games

Though I feel a bit daft, I simply didn't get the ending
If anyone finished and got it, please read the hidden text below, thanks

Spoiler

What was the big punchline at the ending - why did the whole events take place ?
And who was that black cloaked prince, and what does he have to do with anything ?

Please reply using the [ hide ] tags, thanks.

[close]

Spoiler

Yeah I wasn't paying enough attention to the story line either. I think it went something like this. The events in the future and past and present are all interconnected because the god of pain sees future present and past all at the same time.

The events were so 'powerful' they sent 'ripples' of weakness back through time. Where the ripples built a standing wave (in the present) an especially weak spot occured between the dimensions. The bomb tore the gateway at this point and the character you play is taken across to become the new prince.

I can't remember how the old prince was enstated but I think its supposed to be symbolic of a feedback loop.

One thing that did annoy me about the game is the 4 pointed star. I think it is pretty much common knowledge, and commonly expected, that satanism in any form uses some nature of pentagon (usually upside down.) Obviously he was just trying to be different, but I think the star still should have been a pentagon.

[close]

Why doesn't Yahtzee return to AGS forums? This forum remains his main audience, it seems stupid that he would develop by proxy because of pride.

Regardless of what he has done in the past, I think many (if not all) of us have so much respect for him that it is comparable with our respect for Chris Jones.

Yahtzee's games remain, and always will be, a big part of AGS history. Without which I am sure many people would have never found the inspiration to make their own serious games.

I know Yahtzee reads these threads, so this post is mainly for him.