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[larsiusprime]

Random thought:

I really like how this looks in motion, seeing a screenshot doesn't do it justice. I figure standard video treatments of it might also not do it justice because of the way they deal with compression, so:

Could you make a dedicated animated GIF recorder that ships along with the game? Since you literally only have 1-bit visuals it might be pretty efficient?

Extra credit: throw together a little Haxe-based web app to package the gif along with synchronized audio recording, generates a little Flash and/or HTML5 app that works like a (very simple) video player.

[Messofanego]

Speaking of gifs, I made one. Reminded of SUPER HOT when a gun is pointed at you point-blank in bullet time.

[RatPatrol]

I found that playing on anything but the framed views gave me considerable eye strain after not too long.  As in, my eyes really really hurt now. It was really really bad It'd be nice if there was a 'low-impact' mode where the white isn't so strong, perhaps ALA f.lux colour temperature changes.

Sensitivity slider would be very nice.  I'm probably an outlier, but I use a very low sensitivity in most first person games (52.2cm/360) and the default high sensitivity was really disorienting at first.

you are not, I had to do the same thing ....

 .... interesting game play, it took me 3 tries wandering around trying to pick up the bloody ax to fine the case and get with the program ...

[Tuba]

 

I was expecting just the boat to walk around and see how it was looking, wasn't expecting so much stuff.

It's definitely looking much better in motion and the mechanic is pretty cool, wasn't expecting that. I'm curious about how we're supposed to find out the names of the crew. Also, there's seem to be quite a big number of names in there, are they supposed to change on each play through?

Anyway, great job, can't wait for the final version

My stumbling block was just finding the clock at first, it's not a big issue, I think it's good that I got a bit stuck with that as it sets a precedent, I think this is fine.

Yep, took me a while to find it too. Just a nod.

[Twario]

The interface for filling in the crew muster is cumbersome and as i flicked through the pages I found myself dreading ever having to fill it in.  Even filling in the 2 fields you can deduce in the demo felt troublesome. Perhaps holding USE and dragging the mouse could turn the page, rather than fingering the corner of the page. Using A & D to turn the page, space to select and W &D to select options (all the selection dialogues are lists, vertical, you could navigate them easily with W/S). 

As you fill in the death report, automatically opening the next menu you could fill out turns entering "Killed > by Crewmate > Name > via Weapon" from 9 clicks to 4-5 clicks, which means a lot when you're entering in 40-50 names.  At present the book interface feels finicky.

Maybe I'm misreading, but how is holding use and dragging the mouse to flip the page more intuitive than a mouse click? Having to drag the page every time like that sounds x100 more cumbersome and gimmicky than a simple mouse click. Also, I'm sure not many people would be thrilled about having to navigate the menus solely using the keyboard, I had zero problems using the menus with the mouse. No offense, but if I'm reading your comment correctly, then a lot of your menu control suggestions sound more cumbersome and needlessy complicated than intuitive IMO.

[tracey]

I just discovered this and spent the past 3 hours reading the whole thread. Wow!

I can't wait to try the game out, but I'm using Linux You mentioned that it shouldn't be much of a problem with Unity, so I was wondering if you could add a Linux release too?

Great stuff 

[barneycumming]

hi, this is really spectacular, i love the art style and tone- lovely!

I'm not sure how close the human models are to your final intent or how much you still plan to experiment with them, but if you do plan more experimentation, i can't help but think more low poly characters might actually come up better in the art style in terms of shading- i mean not rounded at all, made up of clearly flat planes, so each angle would just have a single dithering density (or whatever you call it hehe)

just a random thought- game looks lovely, and the only thing that sticks out a little is the more messy look of the dithering over the curves on the characters

keep it up anyhow!

[premonster]

Sorry, I already played this game:
http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/10/02/the-vanishing-of-ethan-carter-review?watch
And it's much more enjoyable.

I just found out that Ethan Carter has a similar mechanic. Apparently Cryostatis too. I guess this ground is fairly well tread.

Anyone that's played Ethan Carter, how similar is it to this Obra Dinn build? EC looks really good but I probably won't play it for a bit to avoid any kind of influence.

I've played and finished both games.

You can definitely refer to Obra Dinn as "it's like Ethan Carter". You get near a body and activate your vision, so people stay frozen in a pose from the past that you can explore. Even has the exact same shader effect like burning. You have to find everything by yourself as the game doesn't guide you by the hand, etc. Some great puzzles. Mystery game.

But thats not much of a problem, lots of games in the market are non-original. Almost all of them.

[sympathyforagiblet]

Hey. I just made an account to report your demo is amazing and told some friends to check it out pronto. I've really enjoyed your games ever since I first saw 6 Degrees of Sabotage on Ludum Dare. Keep up the great work!

[Nico May]

Wow.....Amazing:O people have been praising all over, so just take that as my opinion as well:D, one thing, (I played fullscreen sharp pixels) I love the rendering, and the model quality astounds me (especially how well they show up in 2 bits....:O) but they sky was too much for me, I felt it distracted my eyes, the dithering was too noticeable I guess....But overall WOW:D

[He-Who-Develops-Games]

Any plans for a Linux version? It looks really fucking rad, can't wait to see what it turns into! Also, I really dig the graphical style, too! Great work.

[StephenM3]

Isn't it possible to figure out three fates? I did, anyway, and the counter on the first page says I got them right.

Actually, my first time through, I missed the book. Getting the watch before the book is kind of distracting, and I spent most of my time in flashbacks because you're stuck in them for 50 seconds, plus the audioplay, every time you look at one.

I understand how keeping the flashbacks to a strict timer helps the pacing, and it definitely makes the watch feel more like a "real" magical artifact, with less precise control.  Here's a compromise, perhaps: if we could check the contents of the audio, without going into the entire flashback, that would be helpful. Sometimes I just wanted to check the audio for a piece of information (like to confirm Abigail's name, so I could mark down her brother as "shot"). Say the player-character took notes, so we could check a log of what we heard in these -- that would be useful.  

Other times I wanted to explore the scene (like to see the guy who jumped over the back of the boat), and the locked timing wasn't annoying then -- it created a sense of urgency, and encouraged me to keep looking around for the entire time limit. Having to sit through the audio clip before walking around was a bit frustrating, but understandable for the context.

[Zaphos]

Really nice style

I didn't really understand what I was doing; I got the watch and watched the flashback things, then was stuck in past world for a while and spent most of that time randomly pressing spacebar / wondering what it was that triggered me going back to present world.

Noticed a graphics glitch where sometimes the game decides not to render objects that are in view, like the shelf in the back of the room:

if you move the camera slightly the shelf disappears:

This can cause a bit of flickering if you head is lined up just wrong while you turn.

Anyway, definitely looking forward to seeing where you go with this!

[One-bit Punch]

Played the build last night, I've been looking forward to this one. First thing - I'm really, really astounded at how well the dithering style works. I don't quite know how to put it into words. All the prior still screenshots look great but as soon as I start moving around the ship, it sets a unique tone to the game.

As an animator I'm nitpicky with how a game "feels" when played, and its really nice to see an alpha build that controls nicely. Moving about has a tangible weight, ditto with going up/down the steps and opening of doors, as well as the idle camera motion. Its very telling (and much appreciated) that you put in a lot of work & thought to these little details.

I'll skip commenting on the plot/content since its such an early alpha build, but I absolutely love what I'm seeing/experiencing so far 

[Danrul]

Maybe I'm misreading, but how is holding use and dragging the mouse to flip the page more intuitive than a mouse click?

these options do not have to remove the existing controls. They don't conflict at all. 
My beef with the corner turning has nothing to do with the clicking, but it has everything to do with having to click on the fiddly little turned corner every time I want to turn page.  Seeing as the book looks to be something which will be navigated through often, I think its worth making sure its something you can do quickly and easily without having to click on the tiny corners of menus.  If i could turn the page by clicking off the left or right of the pages, none of the controls have changed but its like 1000* easier to flick through the book. 

[Zeyes]

Another one who's been following this devlog from the start after becoming aware of your work via Papers, Please. I'm loving the style of Obra Dinn and can't wait to explore more of the ship! I must echo one of the earlier comments though - while I generally like the way the dithering works out, the sky comes across as too "busy" to me, making it look almost like a fixed tangible backdrop rather than, well, distant sky.

I think I'm also in the camp that would prefer some type of shortcut for information review - either the ability to interrupt the watch scenes on repeated viewings, or perhaps some type of automated notebook that would allow the player to re-read what he heard during a scene. (Doesn't have to be a literal notebook, just some sort of access to your character's memory.)

Two things about the potential crew fates: I'm not a native speaker so maybe that's the reason, but "killed by gravity" comes across as an oddly stilted phrasing to me. And the presence of Europe on the "Alive in..." list seems a bit weird when five separate European countries are also on it. (Although my story interest has been piqued about how crew members might be alive somewhere when the ship was supposedly out at sea all this time!)

And at the risk of being "that guy" - will there be some type of in-universe explanation for what the watch actually does (or what the character does that's represented by the watch), or will it be a suspension-of-disbelief thing? As it stands the emotional disconnect between being just some officially appointed investigator and being able to "see" past events involving dead people feels a bit strong to me.

[makerimages]

Why the hell haven't I seen this yet? Looks awesome and will play it as soon as I can :D!

[KingSpycrab]

Amazing pocket watch effects? Old mac 1-bit rendering? Incredible animations and artwork? Is this game a large amount of my favorite things all bundled up into one beautiful looking game? This dev-build is amazing. Even with such little content, it is so much fun just being inside the game's atmosphere. I also love how you have made this game so gorgeous, and very different from the average game made with Unity. *Applause* Good work! I am looking forward as always!

[Spyd]

I tried the playable build. I love it. I haven't had any performance problems.
My opinions:

Graphics:

• I would love to have the option to up the resolution. If you don't want it because it's not how you want players to experience the game, at least make it a hidden option, or a "reward" after completing the game.
• Following the same idea about "rewards" for completing the game, would be the option to change the dithering method to bayer. I know has several problems, but having it as an unofficial option is cool. I think in Minecraft this is called a "super secret option" you find on the options menu that lets you select between several shaders.

Controls:

• The mouse sensivity is way to high. The first seconds you have control of the game, you move the mouse and the camera spins like crazy.
• I find strange that you can left click to open a door, but you must use space to use the Memento Mortis. I found myself several times clicking like mad at a skeleton to then remember that that's not they key.
  

Gameplay:

• The first time I played didn't find the book. I got distracted when I got the Memento Mortis and I thought that there wasn' t more to the playable build than wandering the boat and looking at the 4 and half flashbacks. Today I read the comments and revisited the game to find the book, and after playing with the book I have seen the game itself (didn't get the idea the first playtrhough)
• It seems a bit strange to me that the doors are closed before you use the Memento Mortis, but they are open after you use it. I guess it's to force the player to see the scenes sequentially, but I'm not entirely sure if this is really necessary.
• I don't know if it's because I'm really bad remembering names (and faces), but I think that some kind of method to "tag notes" to skeletons (post-it notes?) would be nice. Like when you discover the name of someone or what was its job or how was killed, to be able to write it down ingame would be nice.

[the_awkwardness]

Oh I love it so.
Small side note: Using a MacBook and a Magic Mouse, the sensitivity is SUPER HIGH.
Also, from all the screen modes, "Small Framed" has appealed to me the most, as it's giving me a very Classic-1bit-Mac-Game vibe. I could almost see some UI elements like an inventory or something within the frame area.