Macabre

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Meatballsub
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Post by Meatballsub »

Yes, unfortunately the location of the save file had to change with the game name change. But if you haven't started fresh yet (or uninstalled the game), you probably still have your save file intact!

Copying this from a post I made on Steam regarding this change.

Your saves will remain intact, but you will need to rename your save folder and the actual save file(s) to macabre instead of ruin.

To do this, right click the game in your library and go to properties. Click on the browse local content button and it will open up the file directory.

From there, navigate to the ruin.saves folder on Windows, or the saves folder on Mac/Linux. Replace "ruin" with "macabre" on both the save folder itself AND the save files inside (.rsav extension). After doing that, your saves should work properly in-game.

I apologize for the inconvenience that this has caused. If you run into any issues, please let me know.
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kylekrack
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Post by kylekrack »

Oh, that makes perfect sense. Thanks for the info.
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Foxley
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Post by Foxley »

I don't know how feasible it'd be to make a simple launcher with fullscreen/windowed, window scale multiplier (x2, x3, etc.), smooth/interpolation, and other options for OHRRPGCE games. But it might make releases on Steam and other platforms where you get more of a general audience a bit more user friendly and seem more professional. I'm seeing some negativity in reviews around that; e.g. someone says the game is a fixed 640x400 when you can in fact resize the window by dragging the border and you can do fullscreen with Alt+Enter, but making video options like that for the engine more readily available and less arcane could be a big help.

Again, not sure how feasible making that would be. Barring that, I would recommend adding that kind of info to the game in some way, at least, either in the store page or in the title screen menu.
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Meatballsub
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Post by Meatballsub »

Yeah, I'm going to mention it in the next update. But if it wasn't that, it would just be something else. Some people will just complain for the sake of complaining.

I imagine that I won't be able to make everyone happy, even if I outline everything you can possibly do. You still run the risk of people ignoring the documentation and giving you a bad review regardless. And the way Steam reviews work, there's nothing you can do about it even if they're in the wrong.
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Post by TMC »

I noticed the rename a couple days ago and figured someone had complained.

It wasn't necessary to rename the .rpg file though; the name of the .rpg file in steam doesn't matter because it's just a hidden data file.

I actually implemented an option to set the scale factor for the window a couple weeks ago, and was going to next also add options to turn on smoothing or default to fullscreen. However I haven't pushed that feature to the OHR code repository because I was thinking of changing it a little; I've pretty much decided that now, though.

However you can also just use commandline arguments. Game and Custom will check for a file named ohrrpgce_arguments.txt and read additional arguments out of that, one per line.

I also think having a game run in a small 640x400 window is both unprofessional and hard to see, that's why I already changed the default to filling most of the screen (again, I haven't push it yet).

What graphical updates did you make?
Last edited by TMC on Thu Jul 16, 2015 7:34 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Meatballsub
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Post by Meatballsub »

Some minor stuff here and there, most notably some changes to the hero battle sprites.

I don't know about these command line things you are talking about. Can you elaborate? I'd absolutely set it up that way if I knew how to do it, or even what the commands were.
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Post by Mogri »

Meatballsub wrote:There are another 1,400 activations from the game from a bundle I was asked to be in. I've made some money from that, but not as much as I would have made from Steam. The exposure from something like that is invaluable of course, but I really wonder when bundles start to become counter-productive in a game's life cycle.

I've been asked to be in another bundle in September, but so far I'm kind of undecided on that.
I'd recommend holding off on bundles and working on other avenues of promotion first. You can always get into bundles later.

I'll take a Steam key if you don't mind.
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Post by TMC »

You can see the available commanline arguments by passing --help or /? to game.exe or custom.exe. For example

Code: Select all

$ ohrrpgce-game --help
If a file named ohrrpgce_arguments.txt exists in the current directory then
additional command line arguments will be read from it, one per line.
-? -h -help         Display this help screen
-v -version         Show version and build info
-log foldername     Log debug messages to a specific folder
-full-upgrade       Upgrade game data completely, as Custom does (for bughunting only)
-autosnap N         Automatically save a screen snapshot every N ticks
-runfast            Run as quickly as possible (no FPS throttling)
-autotest           Run quickly and write screenshots on _checkpoints
-errlvl level       Override script error suppression level (4 default, 3 hide warnings, 5 hide all but corruption/bugs)
-recordinput file   Record keyboard input to a file
-replayinput file   Replay keyboard input from a previously recorded file
-gfx backendname    Select graphics backend. This build supports:
                      sdl fb  (tried in that order)
-no-native-kbd      Use US keyboard layout instead of OS-based text input
-f -fullscreen      Start in full-screen mode if possible
-w -windowed        Start in windowed mode (default)
 Backend-specific options for gfx_sdl: (use -gfx XYX -help to see others)
-z -zoom [1...16]   Scale screen to 1,2, ... up to 16x normal size (2x default)
-s -smooth          Enable smoothing filter for zoom modes (default off)
-input-debug        Print extra debug info to c/g_debug.txt related to keyboard, mouse, etc. input
For example, if you create ohrrpgce_arguments.txt containing:

Code: Select all

-z
4
then it will run at 4x zoom (a 1280x800 window).
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Bob the Hamster
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Post by Bob the Hamster »

...which would be very bad for anyone running on a screen smaller than that.

I think I would like to see an option to default a game to full screen, and a feature to remember the last full screen/windowed state.
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Post by TMC »

Yes, I don't recommend it. Instead I recommend waiting for me to push these changes, which include ensuring that the window is never larger than the screen.
I'll add an option to default to fullscreen, though I expect it to break at resolutions other than 320x200 right now (however, that's an experimental feature anyway).
Remembering the previous setting is a completely separate feature. I guess it shouldn't be too hard now that we do actually save and load an .ini file with settings.

I've heard that on steam typically a huge portion of purchases occur during sales; it's a race to the bottom. A lot of people are pretty saddened by the state of affairs. It seems like the only way you can get by without sales is for it to be public knowledge that you won't run sales. It worked for Minecraft but I've only heard of it backfiring on other people.
Last edited by TMC on Sun Jul 19, 2015 6:23 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Post by Meatballsub »

No problem. I'll wait when the feature is a little more usable for sure. Definitely don't want it breaking on people.

As for the sales, I'm pretty happy with the response up to this point. While it has died down drastically, I've still sold more than I ever thought I would. Considering it is an unknown game from an unknown company, I'm happy with the results thus far.

I've been trying to partner with some YouTubers and Steam Curators to see if I can get a little action that way, but that could also be detrimental if they hate the game. Either way, exposure is exposure I suppose. I've gotten with a couple people that, if they do what they say, could really help spread the word. Only time will tell what happens though. Staying on top of questions asked via email, social media, and even the Steam forums is going to help too (I hope).
Last edited by Meatballsub on Mon Jul 20, 2015 3:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Pepsi Ranger
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Post by Pepsi Ranger »

Hmm, not sure how I missed its release. Congrats on getting Greenlit. I knew you had it in you.

I'll want to get this eventually. I'd take a free key, but I also think you've put enough of your time into this to deserve some payment. And I'm glad the reviewers who understand this game are giving it good reviews. The ones who review poorly often demonstrate their ignorance, so I wouldn't take those to heart too much.
Foxley wrote:I don't know how feasible it'd be to make a simple launcher with fullscreen/windowed, window scale multiplier (x2, x3, etc.), smooth/interpolation, and other options for OHRRPGCE games. But it might make releases on Steam and other platforms where you get more of a general audience a bit more user friendly and seem more professional. I'm seeing some negativity in reviews around that; e.g. someone says the game is a fixed 640x400 when you can in fact resize the window by dragging the border and you can do fullscreen with Alt+Enter, but making video options like that for the engine more readily available and less arcane could be a big help.
Graphics and screen options support my greatest fears about releasing an OHR game onto Steam. With so many games supporting high resolutions and the ability to resize within menus (not everyone is intuitive to resizing by dragging a screen unfortunately), I think the OHR's limitations could harm a game's appeal to general audiences, in spite of how well the game in question (in this case, Macabre) actually uses the engine it's designed with. I think this is especially frustrating for any author who cannot satisfy the demands of the general public by adding those options himself, and having to field complaints that he would love to fix can be equally frustrating. With Steam naturally attracting a fairly divisive crowd, this could make it difficult for any game made on the OHR to excel among reviewers. Ruin's (Macabre's) current 66% rating is so far demonstrating this, even though it may not be completely accurate since the people who are reviewing it negatively are demonstrating the traits of complete chowderheads.

Long story short, I hope the OHR will have the ability to resize within graphics options menus someday, and not just through window-dragging alone.

I think in the meantime, any game author who releases on Steam should be upfront about what he can and cannot fix, and why. It won't silence the naysayers, but it will give more tolerant people a reason to be tolerant.
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Meatballsub
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Post by Meatballsub »

It's been 7 months since Macabre was released. Wow. Looking back it's still hard to believe that a game that was intended to overhaul the graphics of an earlier game (The Omega) ended up developing into its very own title four years later.

I've received quite a bit of feedback from Amazon/Google Play, as well as some of the more detailed Steam reviews. I also got a pretty detailed review from the folks over at RPGFan, but haven't heard a thing from OHR users about it.

Pepsi Ranger was kind enough to begin a video playthrough/review of it, but that ended up being cancelled due to software issues. Seeing as the game is first and foremost an OHR game, I'd love to hear more about it from you guys, if possible.

If you don't have Steam, there are other ways I can get you a copy of the game. Just PM me and I'll see what I can do.

You shouldn't run into many issues while playing. If you do, PLEASE let me know. The only issues that have been reported globally have been a wallmap glitch, as well as an occasional issue with the random battle system. Other than that, I can only assume that everything works as intended (as nobody has really mentioned anything else).

I really appreciate it.
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Bob the Hamster
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Post by Bob the Hamster »

Oh! I had an issue I wanted to ask you about, but I got sidetracked and forgot.

I think I am stuck in Auguropolis Spire. It is an area with crystal platforms, and there are four round yellow/blue switches that toggle sections of the floor into and out of existence.

I can't figure out a combination of switches that allows me to advance north past the second platform

I can post screenshots and/or a copy of my .rsav if it helps
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Post by Meatballsub »

I had someone else have a similar issue, and come to find out it was an earlier switch that was the culprit. I just ran through them all again to make sure things were working properly, and they did.

If you'd like me to make a video on it, I'd be happy to. Or, if you want to send me your .sav to check out I'm fine with that as well.
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