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Messages - poc301

#481
AGS Games in Production / Re: Police Quest
Wed 15/04/2009 19:47:59
Interesting indeed.

I would tend to agree that maybe your first ever game might want to be a little less ambitious.  Its going to take a LOT to do a game of that magnitude.  I mean a LOT.

I wish you luck on it, but make sure to do a lot of beta testing prior to release.  I didn't think to do that on my first game, and it was buggier than a big bag of trash on a hot summer day (ba dum, ching!).

-Bill
#482
Thanks for the input guys.  I hadn't thought of the alternate ending idea, that is an interesting way to go..


Quote from: Ghost on Wed 15/04/2009 16:23:42
I'd also like to add that I enjoyed Murran2 quite a bit, despite
Spoiler
the horrible thing you did to the cow
[close]
.

Hahahha :)  I didn't do it, the big bad winged thing did!  :)

-Bill
#483
I am in the middle of working on the 3rd game in my series, and have come across a slight dillemma..

In Murran Episode 1 and 2 I took precautionary measures to not let the game progress if the player didn't have a required item.  For instance, in Talons of Terror, I made it so that if the player didn't have the end-game-item needed (or the items required to build it on the spot), the end-game-confrontation did not occur.  This kept the game from dead-ending (in this case LITERALLY dead-ending :) )

In episode 3, I have a bit of an issue that one or two items in the game are found very early on, but not used until the end of the game.  Not giving anything away, but by the time you are needing these items, you are.. lets just say.. somewhere else, and are unable to get them any longer.

How do you, as a player, feel about dead ends in games?  One thing I used to HATE about the old Sierra games of old were the dead ends.  But at the same time, I used to LOVE the feeling of getting through something which would've been a dead end had I not had the foresight to get, use or do something beforehand.

Should I go ahead and include the dead-end in the game, or does it irritate you as a player to have to go back and restore a prior saved game to continue?  I can personally go either way with it.

Thanks,

Bill
#484
Quote from: leon101 on Tue 14/04/2009 09:20:41
But is it possible to make a graphical interactive fiction game using AGS?

Unless I am misunderstanding your question..   I would  have to say that is precisely what AGS is designed for..

Interactive (the player interacts with the game), fiction (you make it up), graphical (put together artwork and link it all together)... Yup..

Check the various games available for demos of what AGS can do ; http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/games.php

-Bill
#485
Glad you liked it!

Thanks for the feedback too.  I am definitely putting in something to skip the animations in game 3.  I got several suggestions to do that, and I didn't realize how much people hate it :)  Or I could just disable the speed scaling from distances.. Either way..

I like the dialog driven puzzles because my fear is in putting in object oriented puzzles which don't "fit" the feel of the game.  I hate games that put in inventory puzzles just for the sake of putting them in.  Game 3 thus far has more inventory or 'quest' type puzzles than ep1 or ep2.

Thanks again!

Bill
#486
Quote from: SuperDre on Mon 13/04/2009 17:36:51
I just finished it.. had a problem in the beginning as it took me a while to see the teddybear laying around..
Liked the story even though it was a bit short.. but graphicswise it was a bit of a mess IMHO, good enough to still enjoy the game, too much difference between every character/background..
But I'm definitly going to be playing number 2 (in a moment) and 3 when it's finished.

Thanks for playing!

Episode 1 was basically me teaching myself how to use AGS.  I got much more refined in Episode 2, and Episode 3 is going to be even better.  Experience is a good thing, hahaha. :)

Things are a little more refined, the characters/backgrounds are more uniform, and everything is in the same scale :)

-Bill
#487
Wonderful!  Thank you so much!

-Bill
#488
I did some looking through the forums for information on how to use speech files in conjunction with the written dialog for my game. 

I found the &## command is what is needed (I am using AGS ver 2.72 if it matters), but am a little confused as to how to do it..  Do I need to insert the &## command to each and every string of dialog in my dialogs in the game?  Or do I need to run a script from within the dialog option?

For example..  Say a character Gary has the following dialog-

gary: I don't know what to say..
gary: Hmm..
gary: Well, we could do it that way, I guess.

Would I need to use &## on each line?  Or do I need to run-script on each line to call the voice file?

Would it be-

gary: I don't know what to say.. &##
gary: Hmm.. &##
gary: Well, we could do it that way, I guess. &##

Would that work?  Or will the game display the "&##" text?


In room messages, I am assuming I do it as:

DisplayMessage(##, &##);

Is this correct?

Thanks in advance, and I know I am using a slightly outdated version of AGS, but its what I learned with and I feel comfortable with it :)

Thanks,

Bill
#489
General Discussion / Re: R.I.P Red Dwarf
Mon 13/04/2009 09:33:43
I had no idea it was still on.  I used to watch it here in the states when I was a kid.  I think we only got the first few series on television here.  I used to LOVE IT.  It would be on public television with Dr. Who, and I used to stay up late to watch it.  The last season we got here was I think the one when Kreiton (sp?) came on-board.  I remember the one about Toaster Heaven as being one of the last episodes we got. 

Sorry to hear they crapped on it :(

-Bill
#490
Quote from: Xenogia on Sun 12/04/2009 23:45:46
So Bill, how did you go about collecting images for the game?

Some a take myself (I live in a small town, so a bunch of the small towney photos were really easy for me to get).  The rest of the photos are public domain images I find on the internet.  I never use anything which is copyrighted or has any kind of licensing issues about them.  I am cheap and don't want to pay for images, and prefer to avoid lawsuits for copyright infringement (see cheapness clause above)  :)  Hahaha

-Bill
#491
Quote from: Leon on Sun 12/04/2009 20:41:28
He reminded me of Jim Walls....  :)

Ah!  Nope, no Police Quest stuff in there.  There are a few things in the police station's pamphlets, but not the sheriff himself :)

-Bill
#492
Nope Leon, the Sheriff was an actual Sheriff.  Not any throwback to yesteryear :)

In Episode 1, Larry Lowe in the library was Al Lowe's face, but thats about it.  But I consider Episode 1 to be more of a "teach myself AGS" type thing because the character, portrait and animation graphics were very inconsistent. :)

Also, in Episode 1 I screwed up and imported an ENORMOUS version of Al Lowe's face as an inventory item, and couldn't change the image since it was off the screen.  So I left it in there (not gettable, but in the game nonetheless).  hehe.

-Bill
#493
Dualnames : I hope you like it :)  Please do let me know how you like it when finished. 

Snake: I see by your user tag that you are a fan of nostalgia :)  There are quite a few toss-ins saluting older Sierra games: Sheriff's name, the sign above the window in the vet's office, 'using' the fake tree in the police station, etc, etc.  :)

-Bill
#494
Hints & Tips / Re: Talons of terror
Sun 12/04/2009 15:46:53
What joke?  Leon's link was the walkthrough for my game :)

-Bill
#495
Thanks for the kind words!  I am glad you liked the game.

I might (probably will) take you up on the voice acting offer for game 3.  The game is coming along nicely, and I AM planning on adding in voiceovers.  I will post the open call once I finish the dialog scripting with it.

As for the green screen, I have no idea how to go about doing that and make a good sprite set animation from it.  Art is not really my strong point, which is why I try to focus on having as intriguing and (hopefully) well told story as possible.

Thanks!

Bill
#496
Hints & Tips / Re: Talons of terror
Thu 09/04/2009 02:36:25
LOL yeah, that would do it. 

In fact, if you click the "Use" button in the inventory on the gun, I yell at you for doing so lol.  That IS why I put the gun button on the GUI at the top :)

-Bill
#497
Hints & Tips / Re: Talons of terror
Thu 09/04/2009 02:34:40
More info:

Spoiler
It is on the right side of your screen.  It is called "Tree By Hardware Store".  It is the same tree where if you look at it, it makes fun saying that it is abnormally wide, and would be easy to shoot or something.
[close]

If you need more help, click the link below to view a screenshot I took from the AGS editor of that screen.  I circled what you need.  I didn't want to show it in the page because it is a bit of a spoiler.

http://www.billandnicole.net/games/ep2/tree.png

Thanks,

Bill
#498
Hints & Tips / Re: Talons of terror
Thu 09/04/2009 01:26:59
Wow, someone is playing my game :)

Yes, what Leon said is true.  To finish that sequence you must:

Spoiler
Use the totem, find out Mingo is stronger.  Shoot the tree to distract him, then re-use the totem without him countering you.
[close]

Hope you like the game!

-Bill


#499
Thanks Dualnames.  I hope you enjoy it.

Thanks also Leon.  Couldn't have done it without you :)    Part 3 is underway, and I will definitely message you when Beta opens :)

-Bill
#500
The Murran Chronicles Episode 2: Talons of Terror v1.1


STORY :

After the experience in southern New Jersey, you are moved to another division of the FBI and promoted to special agent status. This new division investigates the stranger cases, and this is one of them. Cattle have been mutilated, taken long distances from their farms and eaten by something. There have been sightings of large creatures in the sky and three unsolved murders within recent months. You are thrust into an investigation ripe with intrigue as you explore Montana while trying to solve the mystery of who or what is killing the cattle, and why three people have turned up dead. Could it be a creature thought extinct millions of years ago? Or do the Sioux Indians have something to do with it?

UPDATE LOG:
v1.1
-----
- Fixed crash problem if gun is drawn in the Sheriff's office.
- Fixed crash problem if gun is drawn with inventory window open.
- Fixed scaling issues with Arsay on some screens on Day 3.


INFO:

Talons of Terror is in 640x480 resolution, running in Hi-Color mode, and is a free download.  This was my second game using the AGS engine, and is much better (in my opinion) overall than the first game.  It is longer, more professional and polished and a much better experience overall.  There was rather extensive beta testing on this (special thanks to all the testers who helped iron this thing out, add a few more puzzles, and make it a much more enjoyable experience overall).

The game focuses on the experience from a story-telling perspective.  I try to be as immersive as possible (with some light hearted quips and such mixed in, along with a bunch of hidden and not so hidden references to Adventure Games of old).

I am really proud of this game, and hope you take the time to download and play it.  The file size is about 25mb.  No voice acting, but maybe in Episode 3.

WEBSITE / DOWNLOAD:  http://www.billandnicole.net/games

SCREENSHOTS:

     
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