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[ProgZmax]

Excitement!  Alcohol!  A cargo bay full of freeze-dried meat patties of dubious content!  This is the life of our ex-war hero and parolee, Ace Starkiller, a drunken spacefarer with an itchy trigger finger and a past chock full of enemies and debt.


GENRE:  Sci-Fi Comedy (Think Space Quest except you're not a chump)
STYLE:  Point and Click Adventure (with some action elements)
PLATFORM:  Adventure Game Studio 3.0 beta 3a

IMAGES:






PROGRESS:  7/possible 10 rooms complete.

All of Ace's primary animations (including gunplay) are complete.  He can even
drink booze!

Most ship computer systems are programmed.

I changed the fonts a bit so the one above is not the final.

The toughest part will be drawing the inside of the Hillbilly Burger Bastards' Bar and Grill since I want to fill it up Star Wars Cantina style with lots of aliens...which means animations...which means time.

Edit:  I forgot to add that it's all being done in Commodore 64, 16 color double-wide format.  Some people might find that cool.


March 12:

7/(possibly) 10 rooms complete.  This pretty much finishes the ship interior.

Sound:  4% complete.  Just the title animation as of now.

Music:  0% complete.  I'm trying a different approach to design this time around, and that is not to worry about music or sound until the game is fully working.  I have plenty of pre-made tracks I've done that I can toss in as needed, anyway!

March 14:

Quit GUI implemented.

Crane GUI implemented.

All currently drawn characters are fully animated (6).

Great news!  Gunplay is now working (meaning that you can shoot some bad guys if you want) and all the puzzles for the ship section (the major section) of the adventure are done.  You can count on Ace!

And a new screenshot:

Looks like Ace needs to use tough love on these guys!


Linguini and Marinara (the Repairio Bros.) walking



March 17,2008:  After working on this every day my energy is starting to flag a bit  so I decided to upload a demo of what could be the first 1/2 of the game. 

What I could use right now is some reassurance that you like what you see and want more, and also I could use some feedback on:

Ship combat solutions:  did you like the options available?

Gun combat:  Is it challenging without being too hard?

The Game:  Is it fun and humorous without falling into slapstick?

Bear in mind I spent a considerable amount of time testing this for bugs, but some still exist that shouldn't prevent you from getting to the end of the demo.  Also, there are multiple solutions to each of the puzzles, and I've tried to reward people for thinking creatively.  One thing I hate about standard adventure games is static solutions to problems that feel unsatisfying, so please let me know if I've succeeded in making it fun for you.  Also, there's still no music and very little sound but I'll get around to it, hopefully.  Enjoy!



March 19:

Still plugging away at the second location, though I've got to micromanage work on this with work on two indie commercial games...sigh.  Here's a screenshot to show I haven't been too lazy, though!

Welcome to Borgo Station, the most underfunded Starstop in Galactic Command!


March 22:  Room count is up to 13! out of 14 now, the last room being the actual Burger Bastards Bar and Grill interior.  I've been sick the last couple of days but hopefully I can finish this last room and wrap up the game.  Music and sound seem like they're not going to happen unless I feel drastically better soon.







March 24:  It was a tough road, but in the end I couldn't find time to do music and sound for the game.  The good news is that the game is essentially playable from beginning to end with multiple solutions for pretty much every single puzzle.

I did manage to make one quick tune that plays during the intro and space cutscenes, but that's all.  Sorry .  I'll make some more for it later, I promise.

Other concessions:  I couldn't get to the bar interior, guys.  Sorry.  I WILL add it in later, though.

I've spent up to 12 hours on weekends alone polishing this and nailing bugs so I hope you don't have too many problems.  And if you enjoy the game, do let me know!




March 30:

Big update!  I've finally made the music and sound and some other fixes and added
them all in.  The game is not extended yet, but I'll get around to it!

And here is the game:

http://www11.asphost4free.com/veradinx/HBB.rar

Enjoy!


And now for a rest!

[Derek]

Looks absolutely fantastic!

Great that at least one of the entries is an adventure game, as well.

[deadeye]

On a positive note, I agree with Derek.  You've got some nice looking old school pixels there.  And it's good to see some content that has to do with your theme.

On a more personal note:

...and labeling someone as defensive for standing up for themselves is just another way to try and say your behavior was acceptable. 

Dude, listen... you posted a screenshot that had no relevance to your subject matter and I called you on it.  It's as simple as that.  If you really refuse to see how that might be a legitimate concern then I can't help you.  And if you think that's unacceptable behavior, then I envy your rosy-colored world.  My advice, to put it bluntly (yet without intent to slight), is "get over it."  It's totally in the past, yet you keep harping about it even after I said I'd take your word for it.  And why is that...?

I just expected more of a positive response!

Ah.

[superflat]

I'm really looking forward to this, it's right up my street. 

[Alex May]

thumbs up!

[team_q]

Wasn't Ace Starkiller, Luke Skywalker's original name? Back when he was supposed to be a grizzled old General?

[Derek]

Dude, listen... you posted a screenshot that had no relevance to your subject matter and I called you on it.  It's as simple as that...

Okay, definitely give it a rest now.  The ultimate goal of these competitions is to get people to make games and have a good time.  There are no prizes involved.  Let's be constructive.

[ProgZmax]

Wasn't Ace Starkiller, Luke Skywalker's original name? Back when he was supposed to be a grizzled old General?

I have no idea, but it sounds good to me!

[TooMuchSpareTime]

Haha, he looks like Ace Ventura.

*captain obvious to the rescue*

[ProgZmax]

Update above!

[Derek]

Those guys in the back look familiar!

[ProgZmax]

You mean...THE REPAIRIO BROS., Ace's hard working engineers?  :D  How about some animations of those lovable space italians?

[seregrail7]

They're brilliant! :D

[Mindro]

haha cool :D

[ProgZmax]

Demo in first post!

[Lurk]

Good work! Looks like you put in a lot of effort, I just started playing, but I don't want to spoil myself the opportunity to discover the final game. I like the overall atmosphere though, and already am wondering if there are more than one way to come out of that boarding situation. Keep it up!

[ProgZmax]

Update + screenshot above!

[ProgZmax]

Sorry for the double post.  Last update before release above!

[ProgZmax]

Ace Starkiller  status:  Complete!

[Melly]

I played it a bit but didn't get very far. I can tell it's one of those witty adventure games, but like those witty adventure games the interface is on the cumbersome side. Having to press a different button to either walk around or interact with objects seems disnecessary. And this might be too much of a pixel-hunt, which is always a bit on the annoying side, especially since I can't tell when the cursor changes to inform that something can be interacted with, or if that happens at all. The low resolution may be a hindrance to the gameplay as well because it's hard to tell what most things are.

I'll try to get farther in it on my second try, but you probably should consider working on your interfce and maybe making the icons at the bottom larger so I can tellwhat they are a bit better. I can figure out some stuff by experimenting around, but I expect this present system to lead to future frustration.