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[mtarini]

I don't understand what so special about the graphics of this game.

I tried the demo on my compy and it looked totally ordinary to me [screenshot].

[dukope]

And, dithering, right? Wasn't that experimented upon / improved as well?

Yeah, that was in a recent post so I figured it was covered well enough.

And the "blur"/"noise" things, but I think that was scrapped eventually right? (if so, I agree with that choice).

I found a place for the blur but it's pretty limited: any changes brought from the past to the present are 1-bit-blurry. I experimented with much more but the noise level was just too much and I found a better solution for vignetting the flashbacks, which you'll see in the demo.

I don't understand what so special about the graphics of this game.
I tried the demo on my compy and it looked totally ordinary to me [screenshot].

Putting this inline:

Best Computer Ever

[gimymblert]

hahahahahahahahahahahahha, good one, letme catch breath'
HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA
you pal is great! I remember using photoshop 1 on this

[swipefaststudios]

I did not expect it to look so amazing!
But it does!
Especially with all those pixels and the 3D look it basically blew my mind!
Really cool environment sounds and interaction!
Can't wait to play more!
Cool Game so far!
SFS

[JobLeonard]

If you add a "not zoomed in full-screen mode", you might want to include that as a border

You know, kinda like how the Super Gameboy had a GameBoy border on your TV.

[Columbus007]

If you ever make a VR version of this game, it should be an empty room with a Macintosh on a desk, and the game looks exactly like that screenshot.

[Mark Mayers]

If you ever make a VR version of this game, it should be an empty room with a Macintosh on a desk, and the game looks exactly like that screenshot.

Reminds me of this.

[mtarini]

(but, we are digressing)

[de11ed]

Just played the demo. F***ing ba**s it's a cool game! I love how you progress in the story by going backwards, much like the movie Memento(my typ 5 movie). And the graphics... My gaud the graphics! I'm sorry for all the swearing but, I can't bloody wait for you to release this!

[dukope]

New Playable Build

The GDC demo build is finally ready for release. Hopefully my previous post tempers any wild expectations. I'll be happy if it runs without major issues.

Download version 0.1.23 from itch.io

Changes Since Dev Build, Eons Ago (Briefly)

- New intro sequence (voiced dialog, start on ferry, clearer watch quest)
- Vignetted flashbacks
- Fully modeled top deck
- One new music track, remastered the rest
- One additional flashback
- Take a few steps below deck
- Pause/settings menu
- I think that's it


Changes Since GDC

Theatre demo at GDC (pic stolen from William Chyr)

This release is basically the same build I showed at GDC with a few minor changes:

Optimized
The machines DoubleFine provided were insanely fast and I took a few liberties with performance at GDC that I needed to clean up for a general release. This mainly came down to replacing all the dynamic lights with the custom lightmapping system.

Tweaked
- Added a new scaled down screen mode for more comfortable in-your-face viewing
- Added an exit game button to the main menu. 'sif you'd ever want to leave
- Changed the method for exiting already-seen flashbacks early. No one at GDC found the old method
- Fixed some issues with keyboard/mouse control (only used a DS4 at GDC)
- Fixed the post processing on older versions of OpenGL
- I think that's it


Moving On

There were a few more things I wanted to fix but I doubt anyone will notice. Now it's time to work on finishing the full game and there's already a long list of stuff I want to do. I'll get another post up soon about some of the spoiler-ish new stuff in the demo.

[RobertGameDev]

Downloading now.

I would like to add my two cents on one simple but very important aspect. I'm a sucker for First Person camera games and this one looks amazing and something I would buy. But this image made me not wanting to play the game for over a year!

Let me explain: When I saw that image I thought of a 2D platformer ship pixel art game where you move the ship around in kind of a melodic music and it's just not my cup of tea so I just passed on the thing. During the last year and a half the image just crops up and I keep ignoring it until one day I just click on a link to see what everyone is so excited about and lo and behold the game has nothing to do with the cover!

I'm very concerned you are not going to reach the market you aim for with this cover image. As of right now I think people like me are not clicking on your links because they think the game is something completely different. And yes a lot of people already know but from a business perspective I argue that it's an easy fix that could potentially bring a lot of attention from the right part of the market.

Anyway, just my personal experience with your game so far. I'm really digging this project. 

[Timo Vihola]

Didn't encounter issues on my system.

The ship deck in particular is a massive improvement over the dev build and due to the new intro sequence the gameplay flows more naturally. Did I mention the ship looks remarkable, gotta love all those ropes! I was more than ready to continue below the deck.

One minor thing that felt a bit off was using X button instead of A to confirm choices on the Xbox 360 controller but that could just be my personal preference.

I would buy a 3d printed version of the Bitfrost showcase flashback

[AnotherPlace]

Played through, no issues to report. The ability to 'change computers' is a cool touch I liked the 'analogue' mode the best. larger screen and all. Looks great. Super cool and unique style.

Excellent voice acting and very intriguing... Looking forward to further developments.

[ZoidZilla]

I played the new demo and must say the game comes along nicely. The ship looks great already and as someone who builds models of sail ships I love all the attention to detail. The 'Abigail' scene is impressive and my first reaction was "oh, that's great!". Even though as someone who overthinks things to much I had problems to deduce what actually causes her demise. One could pick three different things and they all would make sense. But maybe that's just me. 

Some things I noticed;
-There is at least one rope with inverted faces.
-In the small cabins, the arm sometimes clips through the furniture.
-For some reason I find this version more straining for the eyes than the old one. Might be the many new details or the new dithering. I think this might become a problem for people who are more sensitive than me. I think a higher resolution might help.

That's all for now, will give it another shot, soon.

[Retrospecs]

Hmm... that really is rather lovely.

Fantastic voice acting/music, loving the dither and the whole aesthetic - "The Beast" scene is a stand out. I can understand why some have suggested a slightly higher resolution (it would certainly help with the font in the log book for example), but it's certainly not a deal breaker.

One minor issue you're most likely aware of is that the mouse isn't locked to the window, so on a dual screen you can move the cursor onto your other monitor, at which point clicking kicks you out of the game.

[mtarini]

Tried the new demo.
I had extremely high expectations... all the same, it blew me away!

You really are a Master Videogame Artisan.

I still can't see how you will be able to scale this up into a complete game, but I guess I'll wait and see.

For now, there's just too many great things I enjoyed and appreciated in the demo for me to report. Instead, I'll give you the usual nitpicking...

First thing: whenever you stop walking (I mean by simply releasing a movement key), there's a long moment where there you have just enough speed left to make the dithering go all crazy, but nothing else changes on screen; only a bit later, when you finally reach real stillness, the effect stops and it looks much better. It seems that it would pay to stop movement for good  earlier. I'm not saying the dithering has to be more time coherent. It looks great when things move in screen space. The issue is just when everything is apparently still (objects and camera alike), but dithering alone isn't. It happens only on some surfaces (e.g. the head of the lady in the bed).

Second tiny suggestion: I wonder how would it feel if, in that scene (you know, the... impressive one), the up-vector was tilted a bit to suggest that the gelleon is not too horizontal at that point in time. I mean a very simple effect, where up vector is off (and stays fixed), and nothing else (movement, etc) is affected. Not by an excessive amount either, I would try between 10 and 25 deg.

[ItsaMiaMario]

I made an account just to praise your hand animation: perhaps the most realistic I've ever seen! The way the hand extends and eases in as you approach the handle, or moves between two different handles, or rocks when you've gripped the object while standing on the boat. It's incredible. These details and your hard work don't go unnoticed.

I also remember watching the entirety of your time-lapse video two years ago...
I appreciate the insight, and I'm looking forward to seeing more.

[plauk]

Been looking forward to this day for quite a while. Downloading...

edit: Oh my, that new part... Wow!

[Tukimitzu]

Loved it.
But after I finished the demo I was able to go back into the ship and solve the whole mystery, was that intentional?

jk

[dukope]

Thanks for the feedback, all!

[...] When I saw that image I thought of a 2D platformer ship pixel art game where you move the ship around in kind of a melodic music [...]

Gotta say, I never expected that It does make a certain amount of sense though. The title screen is the very first thing I created for the game and the goal was to evoke the mystery and not be explicit about what form the game would take. I could probably fix your impression by adding the tip of the rowboat (viewed from 1st person) at the bottom of the screen. Will think about it.

One minor thing that felt a bit off was using X button instead of A to confirm choices on the Xbox 360 controller but that could just be my personal preference.

Whoops, I forgot to create a profile for the x360 controller. It's only set up for M+K and DS4 right now. Will fix.

Even though as someone who overthinks things to much I had problems to deduce what actually causes her demise. One could pick three different things and they all would make sense. But maybe that's just me.

Not just you. I think I'll end up supporting multiple answers in some cases. Actually I'm planning to change the grading system in some way but I haven't quite worked it out yet.

Some things I noticed; [...]

Good eye. Did you find the floating knife? I noticed it for the first time while running through the pre-upload build check :/

For some reason I find this version more straining for the eyes than the old one.

It's probably the dithering. Does playing in Reduced mode help?

One minor issue you're most likely aware of is that the mouse isn't locked to the window, so on a dual screen you can move the cursor onto your other monitor, at which point clicking kicks you out of the game.

Yeah a few people reported this. I'm gonna try to fix it in a quick update.

But after I finished the demo I was able to go back into the ship and solve the whole mystery, was that intentional?

Easter egg!