Since the last update I have been doing nothing but fixing bugs and polishing the game, and I think I have finally reached the point where I can release a short demo! Progress with the story and general length of the game has been slow because I've been focusing on the engine and what not, but now I think I can add more content a little bit quicker than before.
But here are some screen shots from the game:
A few notes about the demo:
1. The title screen is temporary
2. There is currently no backing up ability, but it is planned
3. By default, use the 'E' button to interact and close messages
4. Checkpoints are saved to a file "save.txt" located i
n the same folder as the executable
5. The Main theme entitled "Freak" (Played in the title screen) is by Yonatan Luria and I strongly recommend checking out his music here: Yoniluria's Music
Download
I hope you all enjoy it and thanks for all of the support!
Getting error at launch.
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Sound system error
alcOpenDevice failed - device 'Generic Software' could not be opened
Do you want to continue without sound?
Yes No
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Selecting No sends me to the game without sound when I was expecting it to terminate.
I like it so far. Transition of headlamp when switching to right or left facing character model is a bit annoying. Could be smoother. Good luck!
Hmmmm, never saw that before. My first thought is that it's a driver issue, so try updating your sound drivers. What are your computer specs and OS?
I'll take a.look when I'm home later today, thanks for the report!
Updated my drivers. Same error. I'll keep testing.
Found the problem, forgot to include wrap_oal.dll with the exe. Uploaded a new archive with the dll added, just waiting for authorization.
I look when it is a real great work! +!
hey, i just played through the demo and liked it really much! great atmosphere, kind of limbo-esque (in a positive way ;)
i especially liked that you could go into the broken hut and discover the dead mans story. i think little explorational elements like that would make the final game very interesting! =)
Problems i ran into:
Had the same sound problem as billyboob, so i had to play without the sound.
Sometimes the character started to float through the air uncontrolled. it always came back to the ground and stopped so i could keep playing, it was strange though.
Found the problem, forgot to include wrap_oal.dll with the exe. Uploaded a new archive with the dll added, just waiting for authorization.
As for the floating, when did it happen? I have noticed it occasionally happen when jumping, mostly jumping into a ledge. Thanks for the report!
Okay, you're going to have to at least give me a way to see my own feet if I'm expected to jump over gaps. Right now, it's impossible to tell whether or not I have enough room to keep sprinting while I jump. Flashlights tend to give off ambient light in a certain radius, so I suggest you give at least a little glow around the protagonist.
There is no flashlight. What you are seeing is the eyesight of the character, it's like a side scrolling FPS. I did enlarge the view a bit for the next version to make it easier, but one of the main aspects of this game is realism. If you were to run and jump off something you would look down at the ledge at some point to know how far away it is, right? Try the same thing here. Either stare at the ledge the whole time when running to it, or look once and run until you feel you are close enough to jump. What I'm really trying to accomplish with this game is to get the player to think and act like they are really there. Thanks for the comment and I hope you give it another try :)
But with games, all you have to sense with are your senses of hearing and sight. While I can run and jump in real life without actually seeing the ground, I can't in a game like this, especially with such stiff controls, because I don't have the sense of feeling/kinaesthetics to make sure that my feet are in the right place. To make up for this lack of realistic sensation (we don't have Holodecks yet, after all) you need to include at least a little handicap. Increasing the field of view will help, but if this is the character's eyesight we're talking about, it would work wonders to make the FOV larger and add softer spaces on the edge with just a little light to help mimic peripheral vision.
I can also see having something like that, which can mimic peripheral vision, helping great with a horror/thriller/morbid atmosphere, since you'd be able to notice more but not actually see it all so well.