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[Loren Schmidt]

Many of us remember playing Oregon Trail in the school computer lab. Was it a good game? No. But it was often the only piece of available software that was any fun at all. Even if the game is lacking in the finer qualities, there's something undeniably epic about attempting to ford a 15 foot deep river, dying of dysentery, or losing your last ox and frantically attempting to trade for a replacement as winter approaches and ammunition runs low.

This satire/tribute takes our wagon and transplants it into a generic medieval fantasy world. What awaits us there? Will our party be eaten by manticores? Will we run afoul of a wandering wizard? Will we discover hidden gold, or be eaten by a dragon?

[Loren Schmidt]

As of tonight, the game is playable and nearly complete. If anyone would be interested in helping test, please send me a PM. I'm also looking for suggestions. The plan is to get the core game all tidied up, then add a huge heap of unique events and landmarks.

[Inanimate]

This looks really nice! Your style really fits this game, actually. 

[undertech]

I was really sad when that Oregon Trail game for the Adult Compo was abandoned. I'm really looking forward to this .

[Loren Schmidt]

A few people are testing right now. It currently feels a bit dry to me, but hopefully once there's more content that won't be the case any longer. I'm currently adding a hunting mode, and after that I want to add a heaps special events and landmarks.

Does anyone have any fun suggestions?

Here's a partial list of things in the game so far:
leper colonies (and party members with leprosy)
the Black Death
dragons that demand gold (and eat party members if they don't get it)
wizards that randomly turn people into frogs
poisonous toadstools

[Hangedman]

"Heroes" who insist on taking things from you and threaten to smite yon evildoer (your wife) if you disagree

A two-foot high fence that you inexplicably cannot traverse, wasting your time as you go around

An NPC who refuses to move after randomly wandering in front of your cart and won't stop saying the same thing over and over

Elves who object to your cart being made of defenseless wood and who picket you/demand you pay reparations

A bard who won't stop following your cart and whose singing prevents your characters from sleeping, stopping passive healing or somesuch

A wayward and hungry time traveller who holds you up at gunpoint to get some food

[undertech]

There should still be fording sequences. Of course add your own hilarious twists.

The final journey from OT should be in here somehow...maybe replace the river with a ... river of LAVA!

[Brother Android]

There should still be fording sequences. Of course add your own hilarious twists.

Definitely.

Do you... caulk the wagon and float it?
hire an elf to help for three tunics?
or take the detour through Gatesfordshiresburg?

[Loren Schmidt]

Ford it! Always.

Yeah, the river crossings from the original are one of the best parts. I also like the final journey idea, hmm...

Thanks for the fun suggestions. Hmm, I wonder how to incorporate that final journey idea. I like the time traveler idea a lot too, I think that will have to get added .

[Loren Schmidt]

I was adding a tombstone today, and I accidentally made the centering function turn the epitaphs into bad poetry:
Here lies
Here lies Fred
Here lies Fred who died of starvation
died of starvation 1 October

[Maxim Schoemaker]

Poetic glitch, yay! ^^
It's actually quite nice xD

[knight]

Wow could I please test this!

[Loren Schmidt]

I'm making progress on the hunting system. As in the original game, there will be action sequences where you can use your skill to get food. There will also be monsters in the hunting sequences, so hunting risks the life of the party leader as well as resources (party members are essentially extra lives). I'm also planning to use the combat system in other ways. For instance our wagon might get attacked by ogres as a random event, and we might have to fight them off in an action mini-game.

As part of getting hunting working, I added a new system that renders characters using little components. Now I can mix and match outfits, diseases, and actions, without having to hand-animate a million crazy permutations (for instance, a leper running right while holding a bow and arrow wearing a green dress). I'm adding a few different costumes to the game, so in addition to naming party members after your friends it's now possible to make them wear embarrassing outfits.



Also Gainsworthy had an awesome idea, but I'm not going to spoil it! I'll wait until I have it implemented and then post some screenshots and spill the beans.

Wow could I please test this!

Sure, thanks for offering to help. I sent you the link via PM.

[FishyBoy]

This is looking really cool! I'd definitely be down for testing it.

[Loren Schmidt]

Thanks FishyBoy- I'm just finishing up the hunting and a few other additions, so I'll send you a link to a build as soon as I have those features added.

[RabTom]

Very cool. What platform(s) is this currently running on?