PAX East 2016 Report
Apr 23, 2016
We just finished the first day of PAX East and I thought I'd give a quick update.
Here is our Thimbleweed Park booth just before the gates were opened:
And here is a few hours later:
We had four stations to play Thimbleweed Park and they were full all day long, with a line several deep always waiting to play. The thing that excited me the most was - with the exception of a couple of people - everyone played through the entire 20 minute demo. That is always a good sign. You know you're in trouble when they leave part-way through.
As I mention in the podcast, we've done some work on the UI. The big change is that we're taking all the rooms fullscreen, then floating the UI over the top. We also switch to a new pixel based font.
You can always switch back to the classic C64 font if you want.
The black bar under the ui was a holdover from the SCUMM days. Back then we didn't have the memory to do full screen room, nor the ability to overlay the UI. It took me a long time to realize that none of this was a constraint anymore and needed to go.
The other advantage is that during cut-scenes, you no longer have the ugly black area at the bottom of the screen. You now get fullscreen goodness.
I write more about this when I get back... Off to another grueling day on the show floor.
- Ron
Anyway I do believe it makes it more immersive so I guess it's just matter of getting used to it.
Coming to the font: the old one looks so much better IMO, but maybe it's just because it brings back memories. Glad we will have the option to choose what we prefer :)
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/images/16/mar/thimbleweedpark1.jpg
You can see, nothing was cut, instead stuff was added. I suppose the extra art is more in the likes of simple and unimportant foreground stuff, so its not a big thing if its partly occluded.
And chapeau to the extra lighting in the scenery.
I must say, i like it very much. Its still the same setup, but more modern.
In contrast, as many others, i dislike the new verb style. (Can't say the same to the text font, as i have to see a little more of it in a dialogue or so to form an opinion)
I am very happy that i can switch back to old school !
Beside my nostalgic view to the matter, it is ok to change the default verb style, it is never bad to have a unique look. And it is not that bad. You may consider to give it an overhaul though. You still have time for some fine tuning.
But still, I will switch to C64 classic style (both font and verbs), because I'm a inveterate whippersnapper (with gray hair).
Ron, could you please, when you have some time (after PAX), post an image with dialogue options and actual dialogue inside the main view with the new font?
Until then, i will refrain from dispraise :)
That one pixel outline on it just makes it wayyy harder to read and unnecessarily bolder.
Actually I'm kinda hoping this and the box change are all just one big late April fools joke...
Also, Ron famously doesn't do April Fools because it's stupid.
Yea just zoomed it to full screen on my phone (as this is the platform of choice I will be playing on in the future) and on this handheld size that font is quite a jumbled mess...
I'm not saying the old pixelated one should persist. Just choose a different font other than this new one.
Not really into the pixel based font, but it looks neat as well.
Keep up the awesome work you guys are doing! Really looking forward to playing it!
Non the less the game looks awesome this way. Good job!
It's just the dialog text ("Walk to") that does not look crisp. It's using anti-aliasing which makes it look blurry imho. Would it be possible to render this font in without anti-aliasing?
Especially, I hope that the new design of the verbs is going to be available in the retro mode as well. I've always disliked the oversize C64 verbs.
The transparent UI.... I dont know, it looks good... but I am too retro-biased to give an honest opinion, because I would love it to look like a UI from the 80s. As in Maniac Mansion..... but then again, the game should also give one an overview over the environment, and be easy to play. Damn you design dilemmas.
I felt the classic C64 font was cool but too generic, so I think this is a lot better.
Though I think the white writing for creating the sentence (showing "walk to" in both screenshots) is better in the old font, I don't think the thin new font for that part is quite as good... so I would keep the new verbs font but with the old sentence font.
I am generally a fan of having config options like that (which obviously is additional work).
If possible, I'd also vote on such an option for the black bars - although I have to say the overlay is a great idea and also looks very good.
Regarding the font this is up to taste. I like the new one but the old one is OK, too. The only that that bothers me about the C64 font is that in my opinion the text should be brighter.
It would be cool to have a couple of UI choices actually, not just the two. Don't get me wrong, the UI is classic and great, but on a Desktop or even a laptop, I feel like you are telling me I need glasses with the font size you are using. If you already have a big screen, maybe you can come up with a bit more compact UI with smaller font that only covers part of the screen. I don't have an actual idea how this would look like at this time though.
Since you want to release the engine itself, maybe users can produce UI mods? :)
Anyways, great work and have fun! Wish I could be there.
- Andreas (Germany)
1.) Did you guys design the new verb-font by hand?
2.) Is the same font used for the dialog text?
We will see the result soon enough :-)
For comparison here's a screenshot not so long ago: https://storage.googleapis.com/images.thimbleweedpark.com/factory.png
Hi, would it be possible to release a desktop wallpaper (4K) of the mountain view panorama (as seen in the back wall of the booth)?
My patience for a revised interface (okay, sometimes it was rather an impatience) has been worth it.
You've never shown us the fullscreen versions, have you?
Has Mark done all the rooms in a fullscreen version from from the beginning?
Though, you should still keep the black GUI background as an option in the game, for everyone who wants it to be 100 % classic.
All of the backgrounds shown on his GDC talk were with original height.
I have to say I actually like the new font!
It looks like a logical "update" on the classical C64 format yet is obviously still pixelly enough!
I'm sure people will get used to it.
The challenge with the full screen images will be to actually fill this additional graphics area in an interesting way (rather than just with "filler material") even though there won't be any hotspots down there.
Keep up the great work guys!
A.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/56qhuqi1uh84yt5/Thimbleweed_Park_new_ui_1.png
Also the "Walk To" seems too out of place as it seems to be way sharper than the rest of the graphics. I would go with the C64 font here.
Have a merry PAX East! Really wish I could be there.
Maybe a midway between the two?
+1 for the new UI design (and hopping it can appear/disappear with a keystroke)
-1 to the new font. I'll stick to the old font as well.
(i) the new font hijacks my attention from the room to the verbs, what may disrupt the immersion;
(ii) the bright corners of new font do not go well with the gloomy theme of the game.
As long as I can use the old fonts, I am ok with the new UI.
I would feel better if there was still a distinct line that separated the UI from the ineract-able scene.
"Use white edding with monitor"
I know it's a hardcore solution, but it's a distinct line on a distinct monitor :-)
(btw. I agree with aspect ratios, it's sad what often happens e.g. with 4:3 material like movies on TV or similar: it's sometimes stretched, sometimes cropped (also both)..., just horrible, brr)
But it might be a bit different with the vertically scrolling room, as one might which to click hotspots under the UI directly
Great job!
P.S.: do you still need some testers, to play the game under the eyes of one staff member?
I'm never really a fan of UI overlays, but that's the OCD screenshot collector in me.
I'm also happy that we can switch between the two fonts, great decision!
At first glance I wanted to just dislike it because it is such a change from what once was, but I can't. I am amazed at how you, with small but important changes, are able to make the game look so much more fresh and moderne, while still retaining the old-school feel (at least as we remember it) ;)
Great work you guys!
This would save significant resources both in developement, and system requirements. The release time of the game could also be anticipated, maybe even one week.
I see where you're coming from, because it's a little change which could make the game more modern-looking, but I still think the game looked a bit more elegant with the black backdrop behind the interface. You could still make the backdrop optional...
Anyway, maybe I just have to get used to it.
To my eye the outlined verbs just steal the show. I would like to use the new verb font over the old, but with outline, I would have to go with the old.
Since I'm used to the old SCUMM games, I've always perceived the screens in TP, which is optimized for 16:9 displays, as being a bit too wide due to the black background of the GUI. So, it's even logically consistent to use the full 16:9 screen for the rooms, even if there is a classic verbs interface at the bottom. It's a great idea, even though I also like the classic black bar. Therefore, I hope for an optional black background mode - or even better an adjustable transparency.
But what I know for sure is, that I will like TP, no matter what it will be like!!!
Keep that great work up, you are awesome!
That said, I do like the new look. The fonts look fine too. Not sure about the brightness of the blue verbs, since all the backgrounds I've seen so far have quite muted colors. The verbs need to be legible, but they don't need to be the visual focal point on the screen. They stand out a bit too much right now, maybe? Then again, like I said, we haven't seen the verbs over different backgrounds yet. And I guess they still change color to match the character you play with?
P. S. Full screen idea is really cool!
P. P. S. Think about other font, please.
Back in the Lucasfilm Games days the verb "USE" was always on the top right position with "PUSH" & "PULL" underneath it. It may be a small detail but for me the USE-verb is on the "false place" now. So I suggest to change its place where it always was in the "old days". :-)
In my opinion, the more important verbs ought to be at the top. So, I would have put "use" to the top, too, but I'm not sure in terms of the other verbs.
When I played such a game, I used "give" rather rarely. For this reason, I fully understand the decision to put it to the bottom. Maybe Ron should implement counters which count every click on a particular verb during the playtests, so that he would be able to arrange the verbs frequency-based, eventually.
On the other hand, it's almost equal however you arrange the verbs, as the player would get used to any newness.
Moreover, this game is intended for paying homage to Maniac Mansion, which actually featured a completely different interface - but these nine verbs are hardly adaptable to the MM interface, of course.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/wzvvjh02dnntzvv/tw5.png?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ayqw5b558og74sc/tw6.png?dl=0
Isn't that a HUGE work? I mean, you do not have to simply draw a new part of the backgrounds: there's a lot of layers, lighting effects, scrolling concerns.... It seems to me a really long job, because drawing the rooms fullscreen from scratch wouldn't have been much different in terms of effort than drawing them with the black board....but adding a whole new sector to 100+ rooms should have been... crazy!
Anyway, I love the effort. and the effect.
I don't care about the font, even if I don't like very much the new one too. I agree you should let the player to choose if playng with the black board. I won't certainly do that, but if somebody prefers it, why not? It is easy to implement.
Last, marginal thing: I agree to put "use" verb on top in the right column.
The font could be better, but, uhm... it could have been worse. It could have been a rainbow comic sans.
No, wait a minute: there's something even worse: comic sans, rainbow, 3d effect and shadowed.
But really, I don't mind the font, if the counterback is the fullscreen.
By the way, I'm glad, that you didn't write "blinking", since it would be nice to see some blinking dialog subtitles in TP, similar to those from Monkey Island when the three "important-looking" pirates in the SCUMM Bar are laughing or simultaneously crying for grog.
Blinking texts have become rare, since DOS is out of use. That's one more reason for using such a stylistic device in a retro game, provided that you do this in a reasonable and conducive way.
You have certainly creating a firestorm of reaction with adding a new (optional) verb font, Ron! I'm curious to hear what the reaction was like from the live crowd at Pax East.
I like the floating UI.
I dislike the new verb font, perhaps more for the interior pattern / colors than the font itself. As is I think it is too brash.
I will play and enjoy the game no matter. Kudos for the great booth!
http://img.gamefaqs.net/screens/e/d/b/gfs_29620_3_5.jpg
http://www.mobygames.com/images/shots/l/74615-the-legend-of-kyrandia-book-3-malcolm-s-revenge-dos-screenshot.gif
It will be like an original version and remastered version in one!
oh well, can't complain.. full screen graphics looks awesome!
The new UI looks great! I'll take more great art any day.
An Amiga 1000 could do a pretty close approximation in HAM mode. Same with VGA PCs or Pro Macs from back then.
If you consider the screen to be static and deprived of most (if not all) animated elements... yes, the HAM mode could handle it. :P
A far better would be using the Extra-Halfbrite mode (with some clever Copper-tricks one wouldn't notice any huge difference).
( Fun fact: the Amiga 1000 you mention, in some older revisions, lacked the EHB mode )
The transparent UI is rather nice looking though.
You have a better impression of how it looks in general (and i envy you for that :). We are just wild guessing how it may look by seeing "Walk to" and extrapolating.
And nothing to worry about, it is
a) just the font and verb interface
b ) you can switch it back
p.s. I would like to see a screenshot of the 100 page options screen :)
Excellent work!
(Sarcastic BS mode off)
Isn't that Gary standing in the background on the second picture? Although everyone here was probably more focused on geeky gamer girl!
:P
The idea of UI floating over the background is great. Also because it corrects the proportion to a real 16:9 (otherwise the background would be a 20:9). I can only imagine what a work it's been for Gary, Mark (!), and Octavi to upgrade all the images.
Oh yes, that's Gary in the right corner, what is he thinking? Is he worried about something? I don't think so :-).
And what is Jenn explaining to the people with the help of her right hand? Maybe the game controls? They seem so young afterall...
It's an exhausting job, for sure! I hate to stand around for hours.
Jenn - or whoever that likeable person is - is seemingly distributing flyers, on which you can see Ransome.
Ron will love it >:D
Can't wait to play it! But before that I still need to record my voicemail. Wait for me guys :)
Why the hell i want to play a little on my 64 when i see a damn FONT?
https://www.twitch.tv/xsplit/v/62544477
Skip to 3:53. Watching it in action makes me wanna play it ASAP. And i must say, it looks very nice. The floating UI is well done.
If you like, you can compare it to the GDC demo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVmioEtIZiU
You can see how the bottom part was filled up with art (in all parallaxing glory). I like the last row of people in the circus tent. Full house, every time :)
You can also see lots of refinements.
Now that i have seen the new font in a whole, here's my verdict: Guilty of just being okay. But i'm biased. C64 is my friend. I'm one of this odd creatures who turns off font anti-aliasing for maximum crispness (combined with a font with proper hinting of course. Modern Typie McTypefaces look like *beep* without antialiasing). I was carried away.
Don't watch the videos! Wait and play.
(p.s. don't watch the videos)
Yes don't watch the videos! Just stop at the opening scene which is wonderful!
P.S.: I hate clear type with passion. I mean it's OK on smart phone screens and such, but on a proper monitor with just 1080p... I just can't understand that other people aren't bothered by it.
If you use Windows, by clicking on my name you will be redirected to the forum where I found infos about how to disable segoeUI and use Tahoma font. What a Joy!
Watching the video with the Ron Gilbert's interview at PAX East, I noticed that when you put the cursor on a verb, an inventory icon or a line of speech, it shakes. Since there are two different interfaces, the old one with C64 font, and the new one, it would be great if the "shaking" would happen only in the new UI, leaving the old one in classic style, without shaking elements, words above all.
I say this because adventure games have a direct link with written storytelling, since they all come from text adventures. To me, it is always an experience close to "interactive" reading, especially when dialogues and stories are well written like in this case. So leaving the classic C64 UI without shaking would be great because I don't really expect words to shake, but only characters or backgrounds, and it gave me a headache sensation!
For Windows it is not necessary to do ux patching. Easiest way would be to use the tool "ClearType Switch" plus you need to change the metrics (size 9->8) and delete segoeUI from font substitution. For Lazy Jones' look out for the reg in the link.
For Linux, more complete:
copy a font file in the directory /usr/local/share/fonts (for all users) +
sudo apt-get install ttf-freefont ttf-mscorefonts-installer ttf-bitstream-vera ttf-dejavu ttf-liberation
You need to change the default fonts in your browser too, or your world gets ugly.
--
now back to topic :)
You are probably right that there should be no shaking with classic verbs. But i can't guarantee that i won't like it. I already pity Ron for adding this huge amount of options, just to satisfy everyone :)
I guess putting everything in would end in too much clutter in the options menu, so that crazy stuff and weird combinations will end up in a config file like:
resolution = 1920 1080
fullscreen = true
gv_EGA = false
square_pixels = true
IRQ = 7
dma = 1
port = 200
pc_speaker = false
verbs_classic = true
verbs_custom = circus.bmp
verbs_shaking = true
verbs_brighness = 80
verbs_outline = 30
ui_opacity = 30
ui_rollover_opacity = 50
ui_black_bar = false
ui_autohide = false
ui_windowed = false
ui_paralax_ratio = 1
ui_follow_up_movement = 50
ui_smooth_movement = true
walk_speed = 20
font_classic = true
font = comic.ttf
font_size = 16
font_speed = 30
turbo_loader_garble = true
override_font_color = unicorn_rainbow
pixel_purist_mode = true
show_mi_secret = true
disk_22_inserted = true
custom_translation = klingon.xlf
custom_speech_path =
swear_words = true
toggle_wireframe_art = false
annoying_random_character_toggle = true
mansion_stairway = true
custom_keyboard_mapping = false
force_tabletpc_mode = false
disable_cutscene_skipping = true
i_m_feeling_happy = true
GUI_type = modern / oversize_C64_font (+ classic_MM_like_text_only - maybe?)
verbs_shaking = true / false
verbs_brightness = custom / auto
black_bar_opacity = 30
pixel_purist_mode = true / false
command_line_font = pixelated / modern
:-D
So, I want to trust you and I will not watch the video, but the curiosity is increasing....
So I did.
Just to see the wonderful animations of the very first room, where the dead pixellated body is. My jawbone hit the desk!
After Ron Gilbert said 'you can pick up the b****e', and after having watched what happened... I decided to stop the video!
It's really, really wonderful and I don't want to riun the surprise when the game will finally be completed!
I agree with you: DON'T watch the video!
Gladly I looked and listened just partly to get a glimpse of movement and gameplay, so i don't know how to solve anything. ^^
MINOR SPOILER!
What a fantastic polaroid camera - when you take a picture from the top of the head in direction of the feet, the photograph shows the body from the side :P
On the down side, it was not too noticeable when the inventory was opaque, but now, with the bridge reflected in the river, the lack of sprite reflections is more visible...
Ransom has a combination safe in his trailer, Ransom F!#&ing hates Combination locks.
If you look through his Swear Jar you're bound to find half the code.
I wonder when the new font starts to sinus-scroll over the screen....it's way too C64/Amiga intro style
Good you keep a font-switching option in.....make the old one the default ;-)
THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!
I recommend three of my favourite catholic authors: Chesterton, Malachi Martin and Michael Burt (The Case of the Angel's Trumpet is genius), though I would take Malachi Martin with a grain of salt for his tendency (I suppose) to certain sedevacantism.
Speaking of radio signals and signal processing
Here's my new "EGA" picture, now dithered with a 4x4 matrix (looks a little better, though I prefer the "bad looking EGA")
http://www.freewebs.com/gfvh/sci/tw8.png
Now it is clearly not EGA, it's 8 colors: Red, Green, Blue, Magenta, Yellow, Cyan, Black and White.
I did it with VB for Excel. I took the bytes of the image with a Windows API function and for each byte, if it is less than 128 it is 0 and if it is greater then it is 255. That means that each color component (red, green, blue) can only be 0 or 255, thus the 8 possible colors. That is without a matrix, if I use a 4x4 ordered dithering matrix (see Wikipedia) I have to check against that matrix, if it is greater than the value in that pixel, corresponding to that matrix value then I change the pixel red green or blue to 255, if it is less than the value then it is 0. Basically that is what I did. It is not EGA, but almost :)
obviously I was too late for backing your project on kickstarter, book a flight to the US and visit you at PAX East or anything else to get me a fancy TP-shirt. What a f*** pitty ! But instead of drown in boundless despair I could make you a nearly irrestible offer: as a singer in numerous classical german choires with a wide audience (potentially fan base!), I would wear that shirt during our appearances (proof pics included). Too few people in germany know about your groundbreaking project! It's time to change that! As a poor student I only can afford the Pirate Bundle, what I'll certainly do to get my fingers on the reason I'll have to pause my studies.... So help me, help you!
Best wishes from the beautiful south of Germany!
If you click on one stack of old newspaper in the thimbleweed nickel™
https://storage.googleapis.com/images.thimbleweedpark.com/german_nickel.png
you may grab one issue with an article describing a riotesque gathering of people with pitchforks and torches after the thimbleweed nickel™ changed its main typeface.
Or as the kids say: +1
Rather than a newspaper, just have it as part of a dialogue... Or a full animation, now Gary has finished the circus crowd ;)
I also want to say that I really like the floating UI style shown off in the blog post, and although I have no issue with the font itself, I personally would prefer it to be a slightly darker shade so that it is less harsh on the eyes and matches better with the other components on the right side of the UI. The mock up someone else earlier in the comments made looks more like I would prefer.
I have to admit that I've become accustomed to the brightness of the new verbs. They may be brighter than the C64 verbs, but never mind, because the C64 verbs are pretty dark. Furthermore, there are brighter rooms in the game. And even the above "room" has some brighter areas, which are at least as bright as the new verbs.
2) As for the completely transparent UI, I am afraid that it will cause legibility issues on some backgrounds. The text looks fine in this screenshot as it is on mostly black, but it's already visible that the icons blend in just too much. I think that at least somewhat translucent background would help.
3) As someone else mentioned - how do I know where the screen ends and inventory starts? I am worried about being able to click on the hotspots in the lower part of the screen, especially on vertically scrolling rooms.
4) I always ment to ask - is it just me or does anybody else find the names Ray and Reyes completely confusing? I never know who is who. They sound almost the same, they spell almost the same, and provide no right clue about gender of the bearer (quite on the contrary - normally I would assume Ray is a male name). Unless there is some intended plot joke which relies on this, I would say it's about as bad choice as casting two similarly looking actors in a movie (The Departed, I am looking at you).
GIVE FBI badge to Ray
(I think you could also do that in Zak with the credit cards... Or was it just with the monorail tickets? Time for a re-play!)
David Fox could confirm :-)
1. It's called CashCard, blasphemer!
2. When you try to give your CashCard to another person your character says: "That's useless - it only works for me."
3. You can pick up Annie's card as Zak and give it to her. You cannot use it to purchase something and she cannot give it back.
2) correct!
3) correct!
WE HAVE A WINNER and a NEW CHAMPION!!!
(Applause!) (Confetti)
Just checked the German version: It also says CashCard, luckily they didn't translate it.
CashCards are much cooler than credit cards: You can just look at the card and see the current account balance!
At that time credit cards weren't common where I lived so I thought CashCards are really futuristic, although now I realise there isn't really much difference between those two.
Nowadays it even doesn't seem too absurd that a bum has a mobile card reader for accepting donations...
"... 'currency bulge' is not only unsightly, it's unfashionable"
"Panhandlers are no longer asking for 'spare change', but for 'spare charge' - on a CashCard."
So I was wondering if that's because I am not a native English speaker, or if someone else has similar problems. I didn't mean it as a criticism - I guess it will sort out itself once we can play the game and get more attached to each of them.
"Har har! Guybrush Threepwood? What kind of name is that?"
"Oh yeah? What is YOUR name?"
"Mancomb Seepgood."
Classic!
https://blog.thimbleweedpark.com/podcast41
Once the game will be released, we will find out, that Ray is actually a male.
For Reyes the story is more complex. We will find out, that he is actually a female FBI agent named Monica Reyes (Google it). And Reyes translated from Spanish is "Rey is". As such we would assume that the sentence should go on, but if we use Yoda-translator, "Rey is" = "is Rey", which is a rock solid proof that Reyes is actually Rey from Star Wars.
Come to think of it, why is Fox Mulder 's first name a surname, Mr. David Fox? (If that *is* your actual name...)
The conspiracy plot thickens !
But thanks for your english/spanish surname mnemotechnics - that seems to finally solve it for me.
the phonetic pronunciation is:
Ray: [rei]
Reyes: [reies]
BTW, I kind of like how the names of Ray and Reyes are confusingly similar.
Perhaps it could work that way that the background of the inventory area would fade in to say 40% transparent black when your mouse is over it and fade out to completely transparent background when the mouse is over the screen. That would also solve my problem with not being able to see whether I am clicking inside the screen or inside the inventory area near the border of the two, while still being able to enjoy the full screen view, which I like, too.
Such a slim bar might be a sufficient method in order to indicate the edge between the interface and any walk-boxes, even if its transparency would be of high degree. Furthermore, the dimmed area of the room screen would be minimized, compared to the classic big bar.
WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!!! ;-)
It all appears to be working just great.
It’s just a pity that now there is nothing left of the originally presented pixel style. The “old” version is lost forever. I wish you would have spared the new style for game #2; it looks a lot more like 1992 than 1987.
Still I’m eagerly waiting for the finished product. Will you present something on this year’s Gamescom in Cologne, Germany?
The pixel purist mode will be, that the resolution stays the same all the time. So the character will look more and more blurrish when moving to the background.
Just compare the Kickstarter trailer to the latest “Ray” trailer. It’s a completely different style.
Could you possibly comment on the scope of the game? Or perhaps what you'd expect the average play time to be for a full play-through?
Cheers!
A.
Because for a moment I was frightened it would be too short ;-)
To me it feels like the beep should be separate to the rest of the word i.e. *beep*face *beep*ers *beep*ing etc.
http://i.imgur.com/ID2QU3B.png
the verbs are askew :)
It is Billy and Bobby now.
;P
https://www.twitch.tv/xsplit/v/62544477
WARNING: high spoilers!! Very High!!
I liked most of what I saw. I am even more convinced now that the new UI is a good fit, after seeing it against several backgrounds.
The two minor complaints I have are that:
* the shader animation seems (to me, at least) just a little too fast-paced, particularly in the case of the river and the flags.
* the animation job on the audience clearly has very few frames and it looks kind of inconsistent with the rest of the stuff; obviously, I understand that there are a lot of characters in there that are only used once so the economics works out better that way but still thought I'd mention this.
Like someone said, the level of opacity of the black bar could be customizable, also the color.
What bugs me still it's the not pixel-perfect alignment (pixels of different sizes and the sort).
I hope it will be fixed with the retro-mode.
Keep up good work.
But the idea of a transparent interface seems great to me. It could just disappear if you don't hover the cursor over it (or the user could lock/unlock it by double-clicking inside the UI) to allow the player to admire the screens in full. After all, there won't be that many cutscenes going on in every screen, will there? So some art would permanently stay hidden, frustratingly enticing...
The game looks magnificent, by the way!!
Though not sure if I can do it before the weekend.
GOG is selling some discounted games for the next days: Many great LucasArts games for e.g. $16,90:
https://www.gog.com/promo/bundleopolis_academy_of_lucas_arts_250416
Also includes Zak!
P&C Adventure Games including Grim Fandango (hey it's point and click now!) and a lot of Wadjet Eye games:
https://www.gog.com/promo/bundleopolis_pointnclick_park_260416
And since you are at it, they take also your money:
https://terribletoybox.pledgemanager.com/projects/thimbleweed-park/participate/
Regards,
Carlo Valenti
By the way: there's a three-headed tuna right behind you.
of the Lost Podcast
(?)
my 'fake' David Fox is ill, so he couldn't record his voice.
Maybe the new verbs arent all that good after all, maybe Im a fucking nostalgic but that would be the combination I prefer.
Article in italian.
http://www.tomshw.it/news/retro-corner-la-storia-di-lucasarts-75661
What a crappy article!!! Even Wikipedia is better.
I recommend the mix n Mojo archives and another series of articles describing a year of retro adventure gaming (I'll post the links later)
http://m.ign.com/articles/2015/02/02/a-year-of-adventure-wrap-up-spectacular
(The beginning of this last article has a link to all in the series.)
And for more lucasarts biased goodness:
http://mixnmojo.com/news/All-the-LucasArts-Secret-History-articles-back-online
(Also check out the main page)
make sure you read the other articles in the series too,
http://au.ign.com/articles/2014/12/01/igns-year-of-adventure-all-our-point-and-click-adventures
just click on the pictures to go to the articles: they're even more interesting when they feature Lucasfilm/Lucasarts games
And there is also an interview with David Fox and one with Ron and Gary (who had just begun on TWP) to be found on that site if you look around a bit!
I remember playing the sequel to the colonel"s bequest, something with a murder case in an Egyptian museum. And at every mistake you ended up getting killed of course - as in any Sierra adventure-...
So I am really looking forward to solving a murder mystery the LFL-way this time with TWP!!
I will definitely go through does articles!
And yeah, Sierra... but there is quick save and quick load in ScummVM so...
Bravo!
The new font looks great, and the updated interface is very slick. Just the right amount of "retro" and "modern" sensibilities. Personally, I'm a bit biased towards the Commodore 64 font because it immediately gives me a burst of warm and fuzzy nostalgic feelings, but I like it either way.
Great job! I can't wait to play the game on my Mac, iPhone, iPad, and PC -- in series! :)
-dZ.
Is there any chance you will release the game for older PlayStation editions (e.g., PS1, 2 or 3)? I stopped buying consoles the moment they started requiring an Internet connection for the most mundane reasons. (I also program games for ancient consoles from the 1980s golden era, so I am partial to the retro feel.)
dZ.
https://www.youtube.com/user/gfvh2003
I cannot image children and "smartphone" boys and girl today playing on Amiga or Atari or some commodore 64 :)
Gaming is so caotic now and internet destroys all the fun, but hey adventures are still here!
A lot of trial and error, which i normally dislike very much. But here it was part of the concept and kind of rewarding (with stupid slapstick).
The Grandfather of Samorost, Machinarium and Botanicula. A big recommendation! (Hint: ScummVM plays them)
Hmm, always wanted to play Woodruff...
The third one was hard, but I remember it at least somewhat knowing what to do and the puzzles were kinda logical. (It also included a hint system which I'm sure I had to use at some points.) Also some environments spanned multiple screens.
The second one was so hard (at least for me) because of multiple screens puzzles, a real adventure-game-like-inventory and timing (I remember timing puzzles in 1&3 being much more straightforward).
I should really try it with ScummVM again when I have time, I think I haven't played Goblins 3 since its original release (had issues running the CD version with DosBox).
It was only much later that I found out how well designed the game actually was, having nearly no dead ends!
E.g. when I wasn't fast enough to get that steering lever before the bird-like creature I thought I've lost.
Or when I didn't go through the portal right at the beginning I also thought there is no other way to complete the game.
Given that the UI transparency is a change done well within the production phase, did it require an overhaul of the background and parallax assets? Would you have laid out the backgrounds any differently in view of this design decision?
Regards,
Colin,
P.S big fan and super stoked about TP. If only I spotted it any sooner on KickStarter!