Hype Up Your Game Thread

A few more screenshots... probably the last batch for a while.



Custom "Run" command, basically a better version of the one previously seen in The K'hyurbhi Lands (which you might have noticed if you paid attention to anything in that game other than "hey, those things kinda look like Kirby.") Trying to escape lowers your defense for that turn and lets each enemy get a free hit in on you. It usually works, though not quite as reliably as holding ESC in games that let you run by holding ESC.

The "panic while jumping off the screen" animation is an interesting side-effect of the "run" attack not having "do not cause target to flinch" bitset. Maybe technically a bug but in this case it works. XD



You're not stuck in the house the whole game--using a secret ninja kitty technique (...jumping down onto a door handle at just the right angle while pushing just hard enough to force the door open), you can sneak out and explore some other places.



Enemies get a little weirder once you're outside.



And... what the heck is this place...?

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FYS:AHS -- Swapping out some step-on NPCs for zones + each step script
Puckamon -- Not until the reserve party is expanded.[/size]

Been a while since I've hyped up The Adventures of Powerstick Man: Extended Edition. So, here's one of the reasons I've completely bonked out of the Hans Stinkman contest:



This is a back room in a dungeon area I call the "Den of Filth." It's part of a giant subplot where Powerstick Man (and whichever Risen Ordinaries are traveling with him) has to (or has the option to, rather) rescue as many as 20 captives from this sleazy group of lowlifes called "the Pirate Force." Two of the 20 can be found in this area alone.

In the map you see, Powerstick Man must navigate a switch maze to turn on the lights, so that he can see more than two spaces ahead (or more if he's carrying that Flashbringer he got in the Sewer of Shadows), but he must be careful not to overload the system (because the Pirate Force is a little shoddy on maintenance and upkeep). Turning on more than six switches (out of 10) at a time will blow a fuse, and all the lights will once again diminish. It's a tricky balance because some switches will open those gates or lower the small platforms that allow him passage to the computer room, so he must still experiment. But getting to many of those switches will require shifting a 2x4 around the larger islands to create a directional bridge. Of course, both of the available 2x4's are in boxes out of his reach. So, he might want to call on a professional leaper to cross those gaps and retrieve one of the planks. But where might he find one such professional? And would the leaper have the wherewithal to avoid running through the oscillating spike tiles while they're in the "injure" position? Better yet, would Powerstick Man have enough sense to avoid stepping on them in the dark? And exactly how is he supposed to free those hostages if the Pirate Force has them not only locked behind bars, but also chained to the walls? Oh, the situations our hero finds himself in.

Fortunately, he's got a list to keep track of whom he's rescued and who's still out there (requires two pages of listings):



Even though he doesn't have to rescue everyone, he can effectively demoralize the boss more with each person he frees, turning a terribly powerful villain into a blubbering mess if he manages to free everyone.

I've been working on this subplot since 2011 (while fitting in plenty of other projects in-between), so you can imagine how happy I am that I'm close to finalizing it. As of now it covers seven maps worth of exploration (including indoor areas and dungeon parts like the one above).

The Adventures of Powerstick Man: Extended Edition is still a ways off from public availability, in spite of my old expectation to release it in 2008, but it's coming along quite well.

I may post a small video showing off this area in motion soon. Maybe.

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Place Obligatory Signature Here

So, to follow up with my last post (immediately above), I thought I'd show you guys a video of my latest addition to The Adventures of Powerstick Man: Extended Edition in action.

Now, before you assume the gameplay is just a simple matter of walking through a map (specifically the one I posted above), let me ease your assumptions now: There's a lot more going on here than just going from Point A to Point B. This is actually a complicated puzzle in action, filled with twists, turns, and atmospheric details that even Powerstick Man XE isn't used to. Even though I've spent just a week and a half on it, I'm still pleased with how it's shaped up. This isn't to say that it needs no improvement--it is still a work in progress. But I'm happy with what it adds to the side quest it belongs to. And now I want to show it off.

I'm posting two versions of the video playthrough.

The first is the straight-to-the-point version that features just the footage (which covers some of the map and some of the gameplay elements) and ends after the fifth switch is pulled. I recommend this one if you want to see the gameplay without my commentary or if you have only a few minutes to spare. It will give you enough local information to kind of get the gist of it..

The second is a much longer, more in-depth video with creator commentary, game and situational backstory, and plenty more to listen to than what the first has to offer. I recommend this one if you really want to know the richer details about this game, this area, my vision for it, and so forth, and not just an over-the-shoulder view of a quick playthrough. Warning: It is a long video, so watch it only if you have the time.

Click on the play buttons below to watch.

The Shorter Version (Gameplay Only):



The Longer Version (Gameplay and Commentary w/ Background and Additional Info):



Let me know if you have any questions that either video has raised (or questions about anything I should've explained in the video but didn't).

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Place Obligatory Signature Here

Cool; this is quite a sophisticated dungeon. The directional multi-source lighting and field of view, the pulses that run down the cables, and lots of other little details are impressively done!

The first 10.5 minutes of the commentary video discusses the history of the game and the plot and various plans, which I found interesting to listen to, but might not be for everyone else.

The part in the explanation of the puzzle about the two way cell didn't make much sense to me. I think it would make a more sense after you see it or what problem it's needed, and I wonder whether it's actually necessary to explain it, or to explain it at that point.

That cellphone is great. Getting Leaper's answerphone was a hilarious detail. I wonder whether there are going to be many more uses of it in the game. Having a specific map where you should call a specific person (even if given the hint) in an enormous game sounds like it could be problematic... am I going to end up trying the cellphone in hundreds of different areas to see what happens?

The two-way cell is more for story-building than it is for puzzle-explaining. I'm probably gonna put the text through another rewrite before I'm done (I wasn't happy with some of the dialogue in this section), so this may be explained better later.

The part that is important is knowing that it takes two switches to open and close gates. That means you can turn off one switch once a gate's open and not worry about the gate closing. That's how you avoid fuse blowout.

And for those worried about not being able to turn on all the lights at once, it's okay; it's part of the story. You're not supposed to have all the lights on at once. The Pirate Force is a culture of hedonist dereliction. It makes sense that not everything one would consider necessary for general comfort is going to receive the greatest care or attention here--only the things that they take personal comfort in, which does not include lighting.



As of now, the cellphone is extremely WIP. The idea here is that any phone number you collect (Rachel Faberge's and Julie Alundruss's were available to collect since the original game's demo) will activate a menu selection item allowing you to call that person. Most of the time you'll get voicemail because most of the time you won't be in a position to need that person's service or attention.

But, it is voicemail. What do you do with voicemail? You leave a message.

The cellphone will be more plot-friendly than you might think initially. You call someone once, it'll store your number on their phone. Then they can get back to you at a time that's convenient (and plot necessary) for them. Occasionally, like in real life, you might get lucky and get the person straightaway. For the five women you'll be able to call (the third one is in the game but doesn't yet give her number; one has a walkabout set but isn't available anywhere yet; one has nothing so far), you'll pretty much have this game of phone tag relationship until you're at the point when you can take one of them out to the restaurant. I'm still thinking through the logistics of this.

For characters like Leaper, who are designed to help you progress in the moment, the phone will be more intuitive. In the machine room, it'll make sense that the player might not immediately think to call him. He's the first on-call hero in the game, and you can't find him unless you embark on this side quest. That's why I've implemented a fail-safe: try to cross the gap three times without calling, and Powerstick Man will say something about it (you can see that happening in the short version video). After that, you'll know that any treasure located beyond a one-tile gap could probably lead to Leaper showing up if you call. Usually. Of course, I may implement exceptions, which would lead to Leaper collecting the treasure on his own time and you going to his residence to pick it up (and paying him for his service, but getting a service discount for having to go to his house). Nothing's in stone, though. I'll implement features like that on an as-needed basis. Other characters that may show up for on-call service in the future will receive similar treatment.

The other thing to consider is that the cellphone works like a real phone. Which means some areas won't be phone friendly. For example, if you're underwater, don't expect Powerstick Man to even use the phone. If you're in a field deep in the middle of nowhere, you might not have any service. If you're in a highly electrified area (like the power plant, or even the northern end of the machine room), you'll get interference. Again, some places may need an exception (oh look, there's a signal enhancer nearby, even though I'm deep in this cave!), so I'll have to figure out the logistics there, but once you get a feel for using the phone in the game, I hope it'll become intuitive on when and where to use it (and whom to call). It's something that'll require a lot of retro development to fully implement, so I won't be worrying too much about it yet. I will later.

But that's essentially how it will work, and why it won't be as problematic once it's fully implemented as it might seem on the surface.

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Place Obligatory Signature Here

Sorry to post a buzzkill in the middle of a hype thread, but I've experienced a complete system crash and lost (pretty much) all work on my games done in the last year. Even the backups are gone, which pretty much means that any hope of completing M3h, Vikings, or anything else is pretty much over. That's what happens when your house floods

Be seeing ya Space Cowboys!

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To friends long gone, and those I've yet to meet - thank you.

Oh man, that's seriously crappy news. I was hoping to see a finished version of Vikings at some point in the future (...and with Vikings apparently in the never-going-to-be-finished category now, what does that mean for its "pack-in game" status with the OHRRPGCE engine/editor itself...?)

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FYS:AHS -- Swapping out some step-on NPCs for zones + each step script
Puckamon -- Not until the reserve party is expanded.[/size]

While that's sad to hear, was Dropbox or other, similar sites not an option for backups of your things?

And not to pile on a guy with solutions to the problem after the fact (Sorry to hear about the flooding!) but since you can attach files to any post now, you could PM yourself copies of games to keep back-ups that are... well, as reliable as SlimeSalad's servers.

I've got backups (Dropbox, USB drives, External drive), but they're from a few months back, and there's been some MAJOR work done since then. Picking up again from scratch just.. doesn't seem feasible right now without a working compter. (OHR projects weren't the ONLY thing that I've lost)



...Wandering Hamster?

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To friends long gone, and those I've yet to meet - thank you.

Ack! Floods are awful. Very sorry to hear about yours.

So your computer was destroyed? Please post a link to the crowd-sourcing campaign to fund you a new one.

YA! Fenrir Kickstarter!

I had this idea a while back about maybe taking the old tutorial games from those robot dudes, they might not even be easy to find anymore, and making updates to them. Maybe if Vikings is out, we could make an RPG file with various tutorials built into it rather than focusing on one story? I know when I started out, it helped me figure out stuff. Each tutorial within this 1 RPG could even star various OHR characters. It would be a perfect way to introduce new users to our popular characters and make some of the scripting commands accessible on a beginning level. It'd also be a great thing to update as the OHR is updated in general.

Losing an RPG file even for 1 month (happened to me with Triangle earlier this year) is a very tough thing to bounce back from. My friend in town lost pretty much every game he ever made from crashes. It's very tragic to know that such great ideas are just gone.

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Check out Red Triangle Games!

Update: Hard Drive's in the process of being recovered (fingers crossed!). I've managed to get SOME of the data off it. So far it looks like the only project of mine that came through unscathed is this one...



Pretty sure this means my laptop became possessed by some eldritch abomination and decided to take the only way out it could.

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To friends long gone, and those I've yet to meet - thank you.

Reply to Pepsi:

I didn't find it 100% clear that "it requires two switches to lower or raise a gate" means that you can turn off one switch after raising a gate without effect. Maybe stating "both switches on are required to raise a gate or both off to lower it".

It would actually be really neat if they respond to voicemail messages when it later becomes appropriate. Seems like you've thought this through already. Could be a fun little feature. But also seems like a lot of effort for a small addition to the game. How many one tile wide gaps are there in the game? I wondering how generally useful the cellphone will actually be. I assumed it would just be for rather specific and limited points in the game.

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Robot dudes? I'm guessing you mean PSTUTOR.RPG, the one that had a robot. SAMPLE.RPG, NPC_TAG.RPG and WELCOME.RPG are also on the wiki. They're linked to from the articles that actually use them; no point including them with the OHR when the HOWTO articles themselves aren't.

It would be nice to have RPG files for other HOWTO chapters and articles too to encourage people to follow the steps of the guide. I guess it would be neat if different chapters shared the same file, so that you can gradually build up a whole game as you follow along.

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If your laptop suffered a power surge then I can't really understand how that would corrupt a significant portion of the data on the harddisk and not the rest?