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[ThetaGames]

I won't be changing the van's play control...because, you know, it's a van and not a sports-car.  Besides, I find that, with using the arrow keys, it's not too bad. 

I agree, van controls should not be perfectly precise.  I do think, however, that you should invert <Z> and <X>.  As it stands, <Z> is accelerate and <X> is brake, which kind of feels weird because that is the opposite of how the two pedals are arranged in a real car.

Did anybody even bother to get the happy endings?   

I think I got some of them.  There is a different ending for each kid, right?

[Aquin]

Umm... z is accelerate and x is brake.  That's weird.  OH WAIT, we might be using different keyboards! 

Damn, how will I account for that? 

Also, if you pull an impossible question it's because the game is forcing you to punish the children.  Stage 2 does gradually take away control from the player if you start sliding down that particular path.

But it's random; I think you just got a bad draw because it's fine on my end. 
So far I've fixed the cops on stage 1 and the time on stage 2.  I'd like a little more information about the "van offscreen" comment.  Did you get outside the boundaries of the screen?  Could you not see the cop because it was offscreen?

[ThetaGames]

Umm... z is accelerate and x is brake.  That's weird.  OH WAIT, we might be using different keyboards!

No, I don't think we are (the only keyboard difference I can think of is the German one, where <Y> and <Z> are switched - i.e. 'QWERTZ'); I just mixed them up in my post [EDITED].  So, currently, <Z> is accelerate and <X> is brake - I personally think it should be the other way around because in a normal car the brake pedal is to the left of the gas pedal.

[Aquin]

Heh.  Wow that would confuse my hands.  Maybe I'll put in a key config, since I don't really like the idea of switching them.  I'll add it to my to-do list. 

Also, I'm looking into the crashing problem right now.  I'm thinking it could be a problem with Allegro 4.2's drawing functions.  I'm gonna roll-back the DLL and see if that solves the issue.

[Mr. Yes]

Also, if you pull an impossible question it's because the game is forcing you to punish the children.  Stage 2 does gradually take away control from the player if you start sliding down that particular path.

Oh, alright. Though I don't recall it actually showing any impossible questions (I remember it giving that message and then showing a simple math problem).

So far I've fixed the cops on stage 1 and the time on stage 2.  I'd like a little more information about the "van offscreen" comment.  Did you get outside the boundaries of the screen?  Could you not see the cop because it was offscreen?

I held the right arrow key down while driving and eventually the car moved off screen. I can't seem to make it happen again though (bumping into things seems to move you outside the screen's boundary a little bit, but that's not what I did before).

[ThetaGames]

Heh.  Wow that would confuse my hands.  Maybe I'll put in a key config, since I don't really like the idea of switching them.  I'll add it to my to-do list. 

I see what you mean - I kind of got used to it as well.

[Aquin]

Found and fixed.  Thanks for pointing that out.  For those curious, the map wraps around eventually.  The van was screwing it up right on that boundary point when it's supposed to wrap around.

Also, I have a new DLL for those that are crashing.  It probably won't fix it.  It might break it further, but I'm out of options.  I think Allegro 4.2 screws up the drawing functions for certain PC builds.  I can't find a solution anywhere so I'm rolling back the DLL.

http://www.dreamofwinds.com/alleg42.dll

Let me know what happens!

[Aquin]

The game has been updated to 0.99.  It fixes a few problems.  You can find the link on the first page (along with the DLL possible fix.)

I'll get to the rest of my list later this afternoon.  I'm a go hit the gym and such.

[Hima]

I'm actually kinda used to the van control so the z/x isn't really an issue to me :O

As for the van offscreen, I have never got that since I will try doing accelerate while holding the left button to pull the screen back. But if you could fix this it would be nice too - maybe adding a key to move camera to center at the van or something.

One last thing, would it be possible if we have a log of the ending for each playthrough, like the game Façade?  It doesn't have to be the whole game log, just the ending. It's ok if you don't though. I just want to see how many endings or possibilities are there in the game   I know I could look in the code you gave but still I think it could be a pretty nice feature for this game 

[Aquin]

Wait, so give you the ability to read an ending once it's unlocked?  I'm not sure I understand, and I never did play that game you mentioned.

I guess I really need to work in a whole menu at the start.

[increpare]

I really liked the slant of this game.  Though, I never figured out how to avoid the cops...

[KennEH!]

I enjoyed it in the beginning, later on it got way too frustrating. That just may be my lack of driving skills.

Some adults when they walk up "stick" to the front, Back up just has them keep following me gowning forward runs over them. The only way is to slowly maneuver around them so they can get what they want and leave.

[Aquin]

Hmm, I'll tinker with the adult patrols a bit.

If you want to avoid a cop, simply duck out of sight.  Hide behind some bushes or a building or...well, as long as they can't see you.

Is the gameplay still frustrating with the cops later on?  I added another 2 seconds to the warning and reduced the # of patrols... what else could I do?  Suggestions? 

[Hima]

Wait, so give you the ability to read an ending once it's unlocked?  I'm not sure I understand, and I never did play that game you mentioned.

I guess I really need to work in a whole menu at the start.

No. What I meant is, you could ask the player after they read all the ending whether they want to save the ending or not. If they do, then the game create a txt file, maybe with a current date on the filename. And inside the file is the ending.


I haven't tried the new version with less frequent cop patrol. Will try it and come back with feedback later

[Aquin]

Actually I'm putting in an Endings screen selectable from the start menu.  It lets you read any ending you've EVER seen for any character (including yourself.)  It also tells you how each one was achieved.

I'm working in savefiles and a stats screen as well (request of another player.)

If you guys have any other awesome gameplay suggestions, I am so there.  Hopefully it's all done by Thursday!

While I was at it, I fixed the fps of the game... you know, in case your computer is crappier than mine.  It should now run on a pretty old system without too much trouble.  Still optimizing as I write this.

[Aquin]

The download has been updated to fix some bugs.  I also added a useful stats screen and some sound effects.

I'll be finalizing sound + music tomorrow.  Tonight I'm gonna get the Unlocked Endings menu working at the start of the game.

EDIT: Dear God, there are nearly 50 endings.  This could take some doing. 

[Aquin]

I've added the Endings Screen to the current download.  If you aren't sure how to play, read it!  It will give you hints on how to achieve certain outcomes and you can also read past endings you have unlocked.

Save games, music, and expanded dialog trees will be added tomorrow.

[pgil]

I think I found a bug. Once the lessons start, I don't see any questions. Here's a acreenshot.

[Aquin]

Does this happen every time?  It looks like the background itself simply isn't loading.  I wonder why that is!  I'm poking through my code... hopefully I have an answer by the end of the day.

[Aquin]

I added savefiles and some extra dialog.  I also made the game a bit easier and I'm pretty sure I tracked down that line of sight bug.

There are still probably a bunch of errors.  Let me know if you find one!

Also I wouldn't mind hearing if people found the game boring/fun/whatever.  There hasn't been too much of that.  I expect, like me, many of you are waiting for Derek to compile all the downloads.