This is my entry for Frictional's fan_jam. My mini custom story (Total Conversion)
I felt like the storyline was too messy for my taste, but I could get over that since the environments are at least different than your typical custom story but what killed this mod for me were those illogical puzzles, such as hitting a lever with a rock so that it breaks so that the water stream can be accessed? Not only do they make no sense, but also none of this stuff is hinted by the environment, so the mod will have you run around like an autist clicking all kinds of different things with your inventory itmes just to see if anything at all works. The other puzzle I really disliked was the one where the player had to pour water over a random, unmarked dirt pile so that it would wash the dirt away and reveal the key. There was nothing signalizing that there's a key inside this pile.
A good thing is that you didn't use too many jumpscares and actually took the time to create some dark ambience for your levels. But as of now, it feels like playing a skeleton of a mod. The levels, visually, seem to be there but I just can't help but feel like they're unfinished, like there's not enough backstory to really make this place seem authentic, not in a way that it's just another spooky Disney Mansion.
Sorta disappointed with this entry, I liked your previous mod a lot more. But yeah like I said there's potential in this, you just need to utilize more level and story design techniques.
I thought this would be an amazing story!
Great looking, nice mapping..
but then,....
The grammarmistakes kicked in!
Why dont you look for someone for proofreading?
My english isnt good as well, I always asked someone english-native to proofread?
They will change all the mistakes for you.
Also the lack of hints\quests did bother me a little.
Just wandering around for (A candle in a pile of sand.. I didnt even see the candle at all!)
Some soundeffects are INSANELY loud! lower that down, no need fot it to be so loud.
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Missing voiceacting is a big nono these days.
Overall
Mapping amazing
Scripting ok
Sound effects ok, but reapeating waaay to often.
story makes no sense
Way too short
Very bad grammar
overall 5\10 for me
Keep it up and your next one will be better!
Intriguing map design dripping with atmosphere and a compelling narrative are let down by a couple unintuitive puzzles and an overall lack of polish. Still absolutely worthwhile for any Amnesia fan!
Excellent mod!
maps 10\10
music 10\10
story 6\10
scary and dark atmosphere! 9\10
It's a pity that you didn't make subtitles for the moment where the hero's father, recorded a message to him...
I'm about the second message*
Beautiful in design, interesting in story. Short and less scary, ended too abruptly but overall very enjoyable custom story.
Extremely well done, but also extremely short!! Also, the father's text-to-speech voice sounds hilarious.
Still, I loved it!
Excellent mode. For full walkthrough see my Youtube channel: Swankest CZ
A short journey with an atmosphere aimed at the one that a machine for pigs had, which could be good in my opinion. The maps were set up nicely, visuals and audio were a good experience. Darkness was a bit dense sometimes, but with an infinite lantern it wasn't really a setback. The level of interaction was kept simple, just like in AMFP. In return i would have expected a great story or some action, none of which i was able to witness sadly. The lore was barebone, felt disconnected from the ingame events, and i didn't read or see anything i haven't experienced before, even the puzzles, which additionally made no sense at times. The eye blinking was a nice detail but it was slightly annoying, please leave it out next time, we can do that in real life :) The one monster encounter the mod had was an unpleasant experience as well, the poor thing had to be lured into the trap while getting stuck multiple times on the corridors, and if the player got caught while trying to get him back on track, the developer threw a bad ending message, and that was the end. After reloading some times, i was able to get the good one, which only had a final farewell outside area with nothing to add to the story, and the credits rolled.
When i started playing i thought this will be one of the mods i'd safekeep for replaying, but i was mistaken :/
For the time limit it was made in, the level of detail in the maps, and the good usage of custom elements i can give this mod a slight 7/10 at best. I'd definitely like to see a more coherent, and better written story next time if you can keep the mapping on this level. Spend more time on it, and asking for help or constructive criticism from testers with these type of things holds no shame at all!
Let me start by saying this
"FRICTIONAL GAMES like my mod, so don't tell me this mod is bad, or puzzles are bad :) because They finished that mod, and apparently they like that mod :)."
Why do you think you are immune to criticism because Frictional games blog mentioned your mod? I completely disagree with it, and I sorta doubt its credibility, not only because this mod is far from deserving of any spotlight attention, but also because they can't even get the basic description right. "it was made in three short weeks", when you yourself wrote on your mod page that you made it in two weeks.
I hate to break it to you, but they most likely looked at the screenshots and that's it. Oh, it looks kinda good on the surface, let's mention it.
In any case, what do I think of this mod?
This is a bad mod with incredible potential.
You show a high level of creativity with your design. There are a lot of ideas I have never seen before. Same goes for models and overall atmosphere.
That is unfortunately where the good things end.
My immersion was broken almost straight away by horrific grammar, glitches (a couple of them had me reload a previous save), a mediocre story with a super cliché premise, and some weird design choices.
Several walls, for example, were not connected well, so I could see "outside of the map". Several maps had the famous glitch that made items warp through them, I got stuck at one point touching an outside wall as well, and got myself locked up in a room because a move-able bookshelf couldn't move any more. At the hole in the cellar, I was able to jump on a rock and look outside only to see that you didn't add any grass. Found countless texture glitches as well.
Every third note or so, was okay written, which begs the question why the rest of the notes have horrific grammar. For some reason, even if you survive, you still get the "You died" credits at the end.
The mud puzzle. Come on, no hints at all, and we're supposed to know there's a key down there, and that water brings it out of the mud, somehow?
Lastly, the blinking. No, just, no. It's just annoying.
This is such a mixed bag. On one hand it has a lot of cool ideas and very neat design.
On the other hand, it is so difficult to enjoy this mod and feel immersed with the gigantic amount of glitches and horrific grammar. It's a 5/10 for me. It could have been a 8/10 tbh, if you took time to properly fix all the issues and improve your grammar, but as it is now, I can't really recommend it.
Wow this custom story really made me tense and scared, which I have not felt for a while playing Amnesia.
The problem with the "vanilla" amnesia experience is you kinda know what you will get eventually. However this custom story made me feel that I was in for something else than the "vanilla" experience, which makes this custom story stand out so much in comparison with many other short custom stories.
The developer used the "lovecraftian" horror feeling pretty well. The environment combined with the music and sound effects really unnerves the player throughout the custom story. The player really gets immersed into the game with the awesome way the developer has interwoven the environment, sounds and music. The story itself was okay, nothing really special, but the rest made sure you were immersed. The scares were really good as well and got me most of the time.
The scripting was good as well (as far as I know as I never really looked into the scripting and making of a custom story). No flaws in the structures and no bugs encountered. Everything went smoothly, however there was this black flash at times.
The puzzles were also really great. Some people on this page complained about the puzzles being too obscure and hard to get. Which I totally disagree with. The puzzles were great, since I really get tired of continuously doing the same puzzles with for example finding rods for the machine or cogwheels for the elevator. This mod has some refreshing puzzles in it that are not too straightforward yet not too challenging to figure out. The developer gives hints in the notes, which is DEFINITELY enough to figure out what to do.
The story itself is okay, however I will not judge a custom story by the level of English of the developer. There was some text 2 speech "voice acting" (if I can call that) which was actually okay (compared to like extraction point).
I have rated this a 9 since the story is okay and I really wished there were a bit more encounters. Also because there were these black flashes at times. I do not know the source, but I do not have this with other custom stories.
Dear developer, since you made this in 2 weeks, this custom story is amazing! If you would develop a long custom story like the length of Amadeus, I am sure you could make an unforgettable experience!