TIGSource Forums

Latest builds:
Windows build v 0.001 (http://www.filedropper.com/honestabrahamwinv0001)
Linux build v 0.001 (http://www.2shared.com/file/6466228/46ebdca9/Honest_Abraham_Linux_v0001tar.html)

(Edit: changed linux download link)
The Linux build does not have the following dependencies included, so you'll have to install them on your own:

OpenGL
Glut
FreeType (a text rasterizer)

I would love to wait until more substantial progress has been made before posting a new build, but I will be losing my Windows dev. machine tomorrow. I'll also be starting a few weeks of internetless travel next week, so I won't have much of a presence here for a while. I'm riding a train from Shanghai all the way across China into Lhasa, Tibet. Then I'm traveling overland to Kahtmandu, where I catch a plane to New Delhi. After 5 days in India, I finally return to the Midwest. I haven't been home for 10 months, so I'm really starting to get excited to be back in the States. Anyone have any suggestions for cool things to do in Tibet or India?

This version includes the following improvements from v 0.000

Tentacle Crabs! (go through the door on the pipes in the basement of the first level)
Carrying blocks while entering a door no longer causes a crash.
Characters face eachother during dialogue.
Objects can't be forced through eachother (I hope).
A loading screen has been added.
Both W and Space can be used to jump.

The tentacle crabs are an important new development. I hope they can introduce Abe's initial combat method without literally spelling it out for players. Also, the tentacle will be an important enemy feature, at least in the first phase of the game.

Controls:
A&D are left and right.
E talks to NPCs and lets you go through doors.

The rest of the controls should be explained through the course of the game.

Linux user reporting in.

I opened a tigsource account (long-time lurker) just to say this game plays great.  It's hard to use wasd and jump with space.  I think it will be hard to jump in general, no matter the button, unless maybe it's the right-click on the mouse.  I hope there are tons of physics puzzles in this!  I really like how smooth he moves, too, and was delighted to see him run up that ramp and right up the wall.  Keep the controls just as weird as they are.

@bamcqern

Thanks for the positive comments. Eventually the controls will be customizable, so that should clear up any problems you had. And physics puzzles are definitely the focus of this game, so I hope I don't let you down  :)

@lulzaricot

Right on. I'll get linux binaries uploaded ASAP.

It worked fine for me, running in Windows XP.

Seems like it could be pretty good.

You could reduce your file size by quite a lot if you converted all of your .bmp files to .pngs.

Download link doesn't work for me :cavestory:

"Page Not Found"

Indie game makers need to understand the power of multiplatformity. Take this for example. (http://www.vg247.com/2009/02/17/world-of-goo-linux-is-success-for-2d-boy/)

Anyhow, mac user here, gonna try it on Crossover.

I have encountered several bug (ex: after I exit the theater,  I jump to the right and fall right through the floor.
And there are some control problems (arrow keys don't seem to work properly, -and WASD is a bad control scheme)
Also : I don't see any beard is it normal?

I think this game woud have been a great contender for B games compo.

@moi

Ok, I have some questions for you.

First, do you mean, after you complete the first level puzzle and get through the locked door, you fall through the floor? If so, the second level is a place holder, and if you jump over the grassy area, you've jumped out of the level.

The no beard thing is more worrying to me. You should definitely see a beard from the beginning. You should be able to control the beard using your mouse and arrow keys. Were you able to open the hatch, even though you had no beard? Did it react as if you did have a beard and you just couldn't see it? Can you take a screen shot so I can get more detail?

Thanks!

Haha, this is an awesome idea for a game :)

1) Does it run?
Yes

2) Is it running at a playable speed? (not too fast nor too slow)
Yes

3) How is the difficulty of the first level?
Easy.

4) Do you like the idea?
Yes, very much :)

5) What setup are you running on?
Windows XP SP2, P4 1.3GHz, 640MB RAM, GeForce 6200


I agree that Space for jumping is kind of a bit difficult to get used to, usually in these kinds of mouse-aim platformers the jump key is W, which is much more comfortable imo. 

Bug:  Walking through a door while carrying an object with your beard (either the stone block or the little chompy guy) will crash the game every time for me.  Other than that I found no problems.

Okay I found problems:

(http://i43.tinypic.com/2uj5enk.png)

I was able to stick the block through the wall here, without any effort (why yes I did carry it all the way back to the beginning ???).  This renders the level impassable since you can't retrieve the block.  Not something that's likely to come up in the first level, obviously, but something to keep in mind.

Yes that's it, so it's normal, but the aspect of the level makes it look like I could step on the gray surface

Nope no beard, I intuitively understood that I could use it with arrow keys (contrary to what I said in my previous post) and I could see it's effect, but I couldn't actually see the beard, only the unbearded character.
Sorry no can screenshot.

1) Does it run?
2) Is it running at a playable speed? (not too fast nor too slow)
5) What setup are you running on?

Game runs properly and quite fast on my wife's laptop (Intel Core2Duo @ 1.66Ghz), Vista Home Premium.

3) How is the difficulty of the first level?

The controls are really quite awkward. Easiest to solve problem is probably allowing W to jump, since a number of games that use WASD have that setup.

4) Do you like the idea?

Tricky question. I couldn't seem to figure out what I was supposed to do, other than use my beard to manipulate objects and jump around the levels a bit. Truthfully, I thought the graphics were too inconsistent to really communicate a solid idea. The core idea of an licoln/beard-based platformer is quite zany and I think can work. Some ideas:

- What if the graphics (including Abe) were just simplified block-colors?
- What if you could control the entire game with the keyboard, or something like that? I don't mind the platformers where you click to shoot, but the beard just felt somehow a bit jerky.
- What if Abe was smaller?

Keep on truckin'! Interesting concept and lots of polish in some areas. I definitely like the paper-doll animation system.

I think "jump" and "super speed boost while running on walls" should be separate keys.

All this feedback is great!

The next version will fix the following bugs/problems:

-w for a jump key for sure. I think I'm just used to space from FPS games.
-Holding a block while going through a door will not cause a crash.
-I'll make sure you can't shove the block into that unreachable area.

Also planned for the next version

-a loading bar when first starting a level.
-a new enemy type. This one will be important to get right, because it will also introduce a key AI interaction- the tentacle.
-beard swinging: when you're hanging by your beard and not touching the ground, you should be able to build up momentum and swing right to left.
-linux download

I've also been toying around with a new control idea. What do you guys think of making the right mouse button be an auto-target trigger? Pressing the RMB would cause the beard to shoot at the closest target, so the user doesn't have to aim perfectly.

As for the art stuff- I'm still toying around with a way to make things look cohesive. I'm not an artist, and I consider what I have here to be little more than solid placeholder. Maybe it would be in my best interest to simplify the look a little bit. I have to keep playing around.

Thanks again!

I personally prefer space bar to w for jumping.

Until I do fully customizable controls, I'm going to keep both space and w for jump. I prefer space too.

New builds available!

Windows build v 0.001 (http://www.filedropper.com/honestabrahamwinv0001)
Linux build v 0.001 (http://www.2shared.com/file/6466228/46ebdca9/Honest_Abraham_Linux_v0001tar.html)

Note: The Linux version has some dependencies that you will need to install separately. If anyone is experienced in making installation packages for Linux, please drop me a line. The needed dependencies are openGL, glut, and freetype.

See the main post for more details.

I think your linux download might be corrupt, maybe it was just mine though.
(MD5 20060f4d976646b36ac2fb6c45b6865b)


gzip: stdin: not in gzip format
tar: Child returned status 1
tar: Exiting with failure status due to previous errors



Retrying...


EDIT:

Nope, failed again, but with a different MD5 this time.  Could you possibly please upload it to another place as well(instead of just possibly-faulty filedropper)?  Say... Mediafire (http://www.mediafire.com/)?   Thanks

Sorry bout that. Try this link:

Linux build v 0.001 (http://www.2shared.com/file/6466228/46ebdca9/Honest_Abraham_Linux_v0001tar.html)

Also, check out the list of dependencies in the posts above.

2shared link worked perfectly.

The game itself is pretty cool.   Ran perfectly too, except for one bug, when you leave the theater and are out on the grass I just jumped out and went falling infinity, you are probably aware of this though.

The tenticle thing made my laugh as it grabbed me. :)

Thanks for helping lulz!

Yeah, I'm currently working on putting together the second area. Unfortunately, I probably won't get it finished until I'm back in the states.

I have a question for you (or anyone else who's checked out this version): were you able to figure out how you're supposed to kill the enemies? I think its kind of a weird mechanic, and I want to make sure its clear enough without needing to tell players directly.

No, I was not able to figure out exactly what killed the enemies.  Although I did kill them both I'm not sure what exactly was the cause, I sort of just banged them into walls and soon enough they became a ghost. xD