Messages

At CJ's suggestion, I'm posting about a problem I'm having to see if anyone else is having it too. I want to be able to do screen transitions by having the "camera" actually pan quickly from one point to another, seamlessly changing the rooms. For instance, in Prodigal 2 I have a bookstore you visit early on. I want to make each isle of the bookstore its own room, and have the main character walk along the end of them, with the camera panning quickly to the next AGS room.

I can't do this with a fullscreen object, because it obscures the characters in the room.

What I'm finding is that 4 frames just isn't enough and looks too jerky and goes by too quickly to have a good effect. I'm wondering if anyone else thinks that the 5 frame animation limit is too few?

If there is anyone else who would like to see CJ put more frames into the background animation, please sign in here. He said if he knows there is a demand for it, he will "up" it on his list of things to do.

Thanks,
Ben

OblivionOblivionOblivionOblivion!!! BESTEST GAME EVER!!!     

Geeze. I finally am sitting down to begin coding again after a year and a half...and AGS feels like a foreign language to me!  :

...Some things have changed in AGS' newest version, I see. I always have made my intro and cutscene rooms start at room 300...yet when I'm doing that in AGS 2.72 it calls it a "non-state saving" room AND an "Extra non state saving room..." What in the world? I understand what non state saving is, but what is an EXTRA non state saving room?

Further, what are the ranges for these new rooms? I looked over the manual a bit and didn't see this info...

Also, does AGS still have problems with alignment of sprites on 640x400 games? (e.g. you can only align every other pixel, 320x200...so if your sprite needs to go in on an odd pixel, you have to enlarge the sprite...)

Thanksya fer yer help,
Ben

I'm in need of a 3D modeler for Prodigal 2. The job will be for several low polygon models (in game models, for things such as trees and statues and cars) and several (4-6) high polygon models of monsters.

As the game is a commercial project, I will be PAYING for the work, $20 an hour. However, because of this, I have some strict requirements:

1) I want to see some examples of your work in 3D, specifically of NON HUMAN work. Animals, trees, vehicles, if at all possible. I want to be able to see that you can render more than just a face.
2) I will need STATUS UPDATES from you in email EVERY OTHER DAY. This is not a request, this is a requirement. Even if no work has been done due to lack of time, I will want to know about it. Failure to do this will result in severance of your employment and the removal of all contributed items out of the game.
3) I need someone who is either a native English speaker, or is very fluent in English. While I am aware that there are tons of non native English speaking modelers out there who are very good, I need to be able to convey what I need rendered and have it understood. I can't afford for renders that are done incorrectly because of miscommunication.
4) Because I will be paying for this, and I don't want the headaches of trying to change currency, only those living in the US can apply.

Prodigal 2 will be a horror/thriller adventure in the vein of Gabriel Knight! I'll be trying to push the envelope as far as I humanly can, so if you feel you can help make an awesome sequel, sent me an email at

real_trisk(at)yahoo(dot)com

Thanks much!
Ben

Yeah. See the other post about this. This problem all of a sudden cropped up...I've never heard of it before...so I'd guess the file got corrupted on the server that is hosting the game. More details in the other post.

Trisk

Hey, sorry, this was just brought to my attention. I used Adobe Audition, which is a pro level sound authoring program. I would guess that the corruption has come about in the master files of wherever folks are getting the download from. I've never run into any reported problems with .mp3 corruption before now.

Is it the download link from the AGS games page that people are getting the corrupted files from? If it is I'll reupload that link and see if that solves the problem. Thanks, to SSH for sending me a PM about it.

Pumaman, how were you able to tell the files were corrupt? I'd like to test my master copy and make sure it is OK...

Thanks,
Trisk

lol, you can lead a horse to water...  :

  I have no comment. 

These are some interesting thoughts, however!  Not that I'm sayin' they're right or wrong, mind you...but they are interestin'.

And what about the World Walker Chief? Where does he fit into all this? Anybody have some guesses?

Hammerite-

Did you watch the end all the way through the credits? The story keeps going until the game takes you back to windows...and once you see that, you should know why there should be a sequel. 

In less broad terms, I'd say Prodigal was only the PROLOGUE to a much larger story. You've been introduced to many concepts (Ulisigi Ela) and characters (Alexander Demelza) that really didn't have alot of point in this game. They are all setup for the NEXT game. Plot threads abound in Prodigal when you start to gather them up. And they ALL go someplace!

It would be a great disservice to Nathan's excellent story to NOT do a sequel. There are so many questions left unanswered! 

Anyway,

Ditto for me! King's Quest 3 was the first adventure game I ever played when I was a little kid, and I have VERY fond memories of the game. It had a really cool system that hasn't really been done before or since. It'll be great to see how you've brought it up to more modern standards!

Best of luck, and I hope it's a winner!

Trisk

reloaded.org, a great sight to find freeware games, has interviewed me about the developement of Prodigal! Learn all about the game's production and history! Learn how Prodigal started out as an AGI game! Learn the inspirations for Prodigal! Learn about how the games rich audio environment was developed!

It's all there for you! Just head over to
http://www.reloaded.org/interview.php?IntID=21&GID=142

And drop me a line to say what you think!
Trisk

Fanton- that's an idea for the sequel. :b

Nodnerb- FYI, you can hide spoilers by typing [ hide]spoiler text here[ /hide]. Just remove the spaces after the open brackets.

Spoiler

Well, it was supposed to be kind of funny that he was such a dip, although I did notice alot of people get stuck at that point. The ellipses in the discription text was supposed to give you the hint that there was more to see. It's pretty hard to make a game that NOBODY gets stuck on, so I included the walkthrough to keep frustration down. I figure the player can decide when they've had enough and want to look it up.

[close]

-Ksirt

I don't have anyplace to vote for a sequel, splat44. It was just a joke.

Babyjoe, while the middle part of the game is definitely less on the chills aspect, this is very much intentional. And yes, there is a bit of humor in the characters. Don't worry though, the game will get much scarier later on again, and stay that way 'till the end.

This story isn't ALL horror, and was never really intended to be. Prodigal 2, while it will (if it gets made) certainly contain some scary and gruesome scenes, will be even less horror overall. That's kinda why I billed Prodigal as a horror/thriller.

Anyway, beat the game and you'll understand a little of why the middle part is there. Play Prodigal 2, and you'll realize the story couldn't exist without it.

Nikolas-
Yeah, I realize there is always a risk of someone abusing the walkthrough if you include it with the game. I tried to keep story elements out of the walkthrough (I think...) but you just have to hope that people will just use it if they get stuck, and not just burn through the game using it.

Thanks, Splat44!

For those of you who might have been living under a rock and missed the AGS awards, (tsk, tsk...where were you?  ) I'd like to announce that Prodigal took home the "Best Story" award for 2005! So if you are looking for a game whose tale will stay with you long after you turn off the monitor, well...look no further than Prodigal!

My brother penned the story for both Prodigal and Prodigal 2, because I realized early on that I wasn't gonna be able to write much of a story. So this award goes out to his awesome skills! He came up with a doozy of an idea, and it is just getting going in Prodigal! I don't think anyone has conceived of what happens next!

So vote "YES" in the Prodigal 2 sequel campaign, and cross your fingers and hope that chapter two will come out! 

laters,
Trisk

OK, let's assume for the rest of this thread that I'm not a TOTAL IDIOT, so I'm not going to respond to the "standard idiot checks." 

When it doesn't work it doesn't work. There is no rhyme or reason to it, but it will not type ahead for anything. cEgo won't be recognized, and the period after it brings up no drop downs. I can delete the word and retype it 'till my keyboard breaks, it won't ever recognize it, or any other keywords, ever. Furthermore, it'll work one time, then not work 1 minute later when I access the exact same script.

As a work around, I found that if I went to the "Edit script" window instead of the "interactions" window, it worked from there. I'm going to keep doing that and see if it solves the problem.

C'mon...somebody else must be experiencing this...?

I'm sorry if this is a repeat thread, but I didn't see another thread mentioning this.

I used AGS 2.62 for Prodigal, and this is the first time I'm coding with the new command structure introduced in AGS 2.7. I haven't learned all of the new commands yet, so I NEED the context sensitive drop downs when I'm working on a script...but they don't always work! ARGH! This is really driving me nuts, because it makes something that would normally take me 2 seconds take 5 minutes as I then have to go into the help files and figure out what the command is. What is going on with this? Is this a bug, and if so is there a work around?

(It doesn't always happen, but every time I enter a script, it is a dice roll as to whether or not it'll work. Even if it worked in the SAME script 3 minutes ago, it may not work.)

Any help would save my sanity,
Trisk

ProgZmax-

1. The "F" is really not that big a deal. Once my brain figured out it was an "f," I had absolutely no problem reading. I don't think this is hardly worth the time to fix. I just noted it. 640x400 doesn't fix it, BTW, just makes it smaller.

2. D'oh! Yes, I missed the f12 reference. And I complain about people who don't read the manual carefully for My game.  : Feel free to kick me around the block a few times. That said, however, my complaint about the save (and quit) button still stands. They are so tiny and unremarkable, I wouldn't have found them even in the f12 menu.

3. Yes, I did find the f1 option. I like to sit back from the computer while playing point n' click games though, so I didn't use it.

As for not placing the GUI at the top of the screen because of the speech baloons, that seems to me like a case of straining at a nat and swallowing a camel. since you rarely need to open the GUI while playing, it seems unlikely to be an interference. All icons are accessed through right clicking. The GUI is only used for save/load functions, and inventory...which don't get used that much anyway.

Further, any adventure player worth their salt is going to quit doing what they were doing when they see a conversation start, and just sit and read the conversation.

On the flip side, you are constantly having to deal with clicking at the very bottom of the screen, so the popup there is irritating, especially in timed areas.

As for the Delirium mode, that isn't even an issue. You have absolutely no reason to use the GUI while in this mode...just disable the GUI while the scene plays out, then enable it at the end. Problem solved.


And please don't think I'm making a huge deal out of this...Mind's Eye was far too good a game to be ruined by such small details. I only point these out because they are the only things keeping this game from, in my opinion, absolute perfection as it stands. I'd like to see it hit perfection, so I'm giving my thoughts on these gnawing details.

People! You need to play this game! It's really good!

[Please! If anyone was linking to the Prodigal files from their webpage, update your links to the filefront links! The old links will stop working soon, if they haven't already!]

Just a quick note:

LGM said Prodigal was killing his bandwidth, so we made a slight change to the websight address, and the Prodigal files are now up for download on Filefront.

Please! If anyone was linking to the Prodigal files from their webpage, update your links to the filefront links! The old links will stop working soon, if they haven't already!

New website address:
http://www.lilgryphmaster.com/prodigal/index.htm

New download address:
http://files.filefront.com/Prodigal_11/;4673456;;/fileinfo.html

We apologize for the inconvenience.

Reloaded just reviewed Prodigal! Heres a bit of what they had to say!

"With Prodigal it is very clear how much effort and time went into developing this very excellent adventure game, in such things as the different graphic styles seen in the game."

"The story itself really drew me into the game and really made me want to keep playing."

They finish off the review saying: "If you are looking for a lengthy adventure title, that really has had a lot of effort put into development, look no farther than Prodigal, a worthy adventure game that you should definitely check out."

Sounds great! You can check out the full review at http://www.reloaded.org/download/Prodigal/142/




For those of you who don't know, www.reloaded.org is a website devoted to various freeware games made and distributed over the Internet. They post reviews and make download links available for people. It is a great site to find free games, and get a guage of their quality before downloading!

Just completed Mind's Eye! I'll give you my full opinion of it (like you care...but hey.)

The good-

Graphics-
Great! Nice, clean, easy to see...The halls are antiseptic white and marble floors, the cell dark and depressing. Everything really looks fantastic. Easily up to the quality of games like Sam and Max. The font was a little hard to read at first, particularly the letter "f," but after that, it was a great look for the game. All the little touches of professionalism are here in spades.

Animation-
Smooth as butter! Of course, I expected this since you helped me with my game!  Noah really looks cool. All the facial expressions for the conversation closups are a great touch. The other inmates, and all the doctors and orderlies all look distinct and instantly recognizeable.

Music-
Nice stuff! Fittingly dark, moody, and nervous. Instantly sets the player on edge. Use of Beethoven was a nice touch, too!

Sound-
Spartan, but fitting. Doors, computer keyboards, shutters...all sound as they should, without drawing undue attention. Usually when sound DOESN'T draw attention, it's a good thing. It means it sounds correct and you accept it without even thinking about it!

Story-
Nicely told. The twist is a surprise, and yet there are clues that it is there.

Spoiler

I especially liked the second flashback, the one in the exam room...you could see an outline of someone watching through the one way mirror. Nice touch!

[close]

Atmosphere-
The combination of all the above made for a wonderful gaming atmosphere. To create a horror/thriller game, you MUST create a good mixture of sights and sounds to draw the player into a sense of unease. Mind's Eye did that from the opening shot in the padded cell, to the last scroll of credits. This is not easy to do, and you did it very well! You have a flair for the macabre, no doubt! 

Puzzles-
Well conceived. Nothing too hard, nothing too easy. Clues are all in place, so being careful to look at and think about everything will usually nudge you towards the solution. I had to play through twice to get the good ending, and didn't mind a bit! 

Cool GUI-
While I had problems with this (more later,) it is a nice, clean, and efficient GUI. It is refreshingly different from the stock GUI, which is very cool. The "Mind Meter" in the middle is a neat idea as well.

Mouse Icons-
Nice! Animated, and easy to find hotspots with! You can't go wrong with them! Things like this help make the interface transparent, so the player can just plain work on playing the game. That's a very good thing!



The Bad-

Lack of adequate manual-
Ouch! The interface may be obvious to you as the designer, but it isn't obvious to us players! I had to look in the hints and tips forum to find how to save! That tiny little button looks like graphics, not a manipulatable GUI! I never even realised the "Mind Meter" was there until after I beat the game. I know writing a manual is boring, but you do your hard work (and obvious game making talent) a disservice by making the first puzzle in the game "figure out my esoteric interface!"

Questionable GUI placement-
OK, I know everyone puts their GUI on the top of the screen, but that is because it works, and works well. The bottom...well...doesn't. There are over a dozen zone lines in Mind's Eye that are on the bottom of the screen, and I was accidently bringing up the GUI on every one. The zone line is almost always maddeningly close to the "pop up point" of the GUI. Making several of the timed areas VERY annoying and frustrating. I had to do both timed areas over again at least once because the GUI popped up and wrecked my chances. Conversly, I noted that there was NOT ONE point of interest EVER on the top of the screen. Not a single one to interfere with the GUI, had it been up there! Why was it so important to be different that you had to add this level of frustration? It's a booger on an otherwise spotlessly clean windshield.


I really liked this game alot! The lack of polish in GUI design was the only mar on an otherwise thoroughly enjoyable game. To achieve this level of quality and professionalism is no mean feat. Great stuff, and I hope to see more from you in the future!

Trisk