Bone is said to be available! - Page 5

Tramboi · 09-15-2005, 12:32 PM

Now I feel like a jerk being the first one in the world to notice and annonce Bone's availability cause of too much F5's on Telltale's page

Richard · 09-15-2005, 12:32 PM

Very poor demo indeed. The full game may be great - but they /really/ dropped the ball on this sampler. Almost AGON level bad.

For starters, the installation program is borked. It doesn't put a link to the game in your Start menu - only on the Desktop. Strike One, before it's even loaded.

As for the game - I have no idea what is going on. I don't know anything about these characters, what they're doing, or for that matter, why. All I know is that at least two of them are pretty irritating (by design, admittedly), and it looks like Snoopy and friends in the desert for some reason. I don't even know which one is which.

To compare to an old classic, the Sam and Max demo may have been about the same length, but it got you bang into funny stuff, there was loads to play with, and you got a real feel for what the game had to offer. With this, I still have no more idea what Bone is (either the game, or the comic, despite the constant screens at the start seemingly assuming that I would) than I did before I downloaded it, and to clarify, I've never heard of it, ever.

The scripting and characters and all that seems okay, but there's no time to get to know the characters or do anything with them - it's a strong contender for the single most boring location I have ever seen in an adventure game (a largely featureless lump of rock in the desert), whose interaction is largely handled by flashing up intrusive tutorial hints, and then running a horribly slippery arcade sequence that's simultaneously a piece of cake, and exceptionally irritating. There's just nothing to do, nothing to play with, nothing to explore - heck, there isn't even a puzzle to solve.

I still may buy it out of interest - the script shows promise, even if I still have no clue about its merits as an adventure game - and yeah, the graphics look okay for...I think this warrants a reminder...a featureless lump of rock in the middle of the desert...but all that has absolutely nothing to do with playing the demo. At least, I might consider it, if it stops bombing out with Access Violation errors every time I try loading it after switching it to Windowed mode last time around.

Bah. And just when I was getting really excited about the idea of these digital episode downloads. Still a great idea, hope to see it work and for them to do well out of this, but really hope the next one has a much better sampler to try and hook people with.

Aurebesh · 09-15-2005, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jake

Man we've apparently seen it all now.

True adventure games are not only

2D only.
Point and click Only
No Action Sequences Allowed

Who said that?!? It's ridiculous!

Quote:

But ALSO

Must be sold in a store, in a box and not be episodic

otherwise they're not real. No box? It's not an adventure game!!!

Yep, that's the really important criteria.

Quote:

What the hell is wrong with people?

We just went insane because of all these boxless pseudo-adventure games!!! WE WANT OUR CLASSIC 3D 1ST PERSON MACHINERY-PUZZLE-ONLY BOXED ADVENTURE GAMES BACK!!!!!!

artwking4 · 09-15-2005, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Legolas813

I've uninstalled the demo now, but when I played it I believe there was something in the options menu called Laptop Mode. I turned it on because I'm on a laptop, but I have no idea what it did. Any ideas?

The Bone pdf manual says:

Quote:

Laptop Mode
If you are having performance issues playing the game on your laptop, you may try turning on laptop mode. laptop mode is off by default.

artwking4 · 09-15-2005, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aurebesh

We just went insane because of all these boxless pseudo-adventure games!!! WE WANT OUR CLASSIC 3D 1ST PERSON MACHINERY-PUZZLE-ONLY BOXED ADVENTURE GAMES BACK!!!!!!

Hahaha! We?!?!

***fov*** · 09-15-2005, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aurebesh

Wasn't it GREAT?

Yeah, maybe, but there were all these other things like being a kid and not having any responsibilities that contributed to its greatness.

Quote:

So did I at first, that's why I was soooo disappointed to find out they chose a TV-series-like approach instead of full games. I believe cinema is very superior to television.

They are full games, just short ones.

And they're self-contained. Think Seinfeld episode, not soap opera.

Quote:

And they're giving hard time to collectors! What, after the purchase, I'm supposed to burn the game on a CD and print a cover for it and put it in my collection?

These are smart guys. I'm sure they've thought about releasing the game in a retail version at some point down the road. But they might have to prove themselves to publishers and/or make some money first.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gillyruless

Feel like starting another thread about AGs, Jake? Your AG threads tend to generate fierce interest. ...We haven't had a thread like those here in a while.

Aww, c'mon... can't we all just bask in the day's good news? This is the happiest I've seen the forums in a long time.

Legolas813 · 09-15-2005, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by artwking4

The Bone pdf manual says:

Ah, I see. Thanks for the info.

Lucien21 · 09-15-2005, 12:50 PM

Dammit.

I'm all packed ready to go on hols and they release it now. AND announce Sam & Max.

I'll have to wait 3 weeks before I can download and play it.

Aurebesh · 09-15-2005, 12:53 PM

Wow, I'm getting the demo at 65Kbps! I thought their servers will be jammed. Anyway, what I'm downloading is actually the complete game, I just need to "register" it to unlock everything else, right?
Oh, and does it have a clean uninstall?

Legolas813 · 09-15-2005, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aurebesh

Wow, I'm getting the demo at 65Kbps! I thought their servers will be jammed. Anyway, what I'm downloading is actually the complete game, I just need to "register" it to unlock everything else, right?
Oh, and does it have a clean uninstall?

I was downloading near 1 MB/second. They seem to have a great server.

Yes, you are downloading the complete game, and yes it does have a clean uninstall.

Richard · 09-15-2005, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Legolas813

I was downloading near 1 MB/second. They seem to have a great server.

Yeah, downloaded seriously fast here as well.

Aurebesh · 09-15-2005, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Legolas813

I was downloading near 1 MB/second. They seem to have a great server.

Yes, you are downloading the complete game, and yes it does have a clean uninstall.

1MB/second? My ADSL can't handle that.

*Dale Baldwin* · 09-15-2005, 01:13 PM

BAH. That was over too soon

RemiO · 09-15-2005, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard

Lots of stuff about the demo

They did make a pretty poor choice of location for a demo. I've read the comics, and the opening section (the demo) is really more of an introduction to how the cousins get separated than an actual introduction to the story. The demo should have continued to the more intriguing early parts, where characters like the dragon and the rat creatures are introduced. That's the part that gets you hooked into the comic, and I'm sure it would have had the same effect in a demo.

Que sera sera, I guess. Hopefully Telltale won't lose too many customers that are unfamiliar with Bone.

bigjko · 09-15-2005, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard

..heck, there isn't even a puzzle to solve.

Granted, it wasn't much of a puzzle, but it was a puzzle. It gets a bit more puzzley, but not so much.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fovily

They are full games, just short ones. And they're self-contained. Think Seinfeld episode, not soap opera.

Not so much Seinfeld. I've played through the end, and it doesn't really feel so self-contained. Doesn't exactly end in a cliff-hanger, though. So, let's place it right dab in the middle of Seinfeld and Soap Opera.

That said, having played through it now, I've got mixed feelings about it. I think it's got great potential, that's ruined a bit by a shabby engine. Don't get me wrong, the engine's got lots of great things going, but also a lot of quirky stuff (twitchy animation, cutting off the end of dialogues, etc.)

Could use an extra slab of polish, IMO.

Intrepid Homoludens · 09-15-2005, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jackal

The review is scheduled, but I'm not telling you when.

Won't be too long, though. I'm cracking the whip so hard I'm even scaring myself. If you want, I could push back the Indigo Prophecy review to make room. (Naaahhh....)

You know, ~~cute little doggie~~ Jackal, if you'd stop flagellating yourself for pleasure you'd have more time to actually get things done.

Orange Brat · 09-15-2005, 01:26 PM

Good stuff. The demo gave us just enough to know what we need to know about the three main Bones personalities. The arcade sequence was ok, but I don't see the point in it. I'd rather had a bit more exploring or puzzling instead. Perhaps that is in the book? If so, they could have thrown in a bit more meat between the conversation and the chase.

The graphics and animation are great, although I find it funny that you can't adjust the resolution for a realtime 3D game. I think they did this so they wouldn't have to provide separate panel art for each possible resolution. This would help reduce the overall size of the download, so I guess I'm all right with that if that's the reason why.

I liked the camera, as well. Reminds me of the one in my own title.

Richard · 09-15-2005, 01:28 PM

Quote:

They did make a pretty poor choice of location for a demo. I've read the comics, and the opening section (the demo) is really more of an introduction to how the cousins get separated than an actual introduction to the story.

Well, quite. Except that we don't know them at all by that point, or have any reason to care about them. Actually, I hadn't even noticed they'd disappeared. It just seems mad to cut things off so early, given that you've had to download the full game anyway. You want to end on a really big, exciting moment, not a piece of text simultaneously telling you that the others have vanished and asking if you want to go find them (and yeah, they disappear in the locust chase, but you're looking at the top of the screen by that point).

It really does feel like they assume you know and care about all this stuff in advance, and I don't. Like I say, I've never heard of Bone in a non-game context, nor the guy who wrote it. For a light-hearted cartoon adventure, that's a seriously unwelcoming demo.

Captain Blondebeard · 09-15-2005, 01:32 PM

How much is the full version?

Legolas813 · 09-15-2005, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aurebesh

1MB/second? My ADSL can't handle that.

I'm on my campus ethernet here in my apartment. I've gotten over 2-3 MB/second before. It depends on how much the server you're downloading from can handle. More times than not, I usually get pretty fast speeds.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain Blondebeard

How much is the full version?

"At $20 (U.S.), Out from Boneville (along with each subsequent episode) is expected to provide 4-6 hours of gameplay."

09-15-2005, 12:32 PM	#81
Tramboi Barroom hero Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Paris, France Posts: 525	Now I feel like a jerk being the first one in the world to notice and annonce Bone's availability cause of too much F5's on Telltale's page Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ Where are they now?

09-15-2005, 12:32 PM	#82
Richard Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 322	Very poor demo indeed. The full game may be great - but they /really/ dropped the ball on this sampler. Almost AGON level bad. For starters, the installation program is borked. It doesn't put a link to the game in your Start menu - only on the Desktop. Strike One, before it's even loaded. As for the game - I have no idea what is going on. I don't know anything about these characters, what they're doing, or for that matter, why. All I know is that at least two of them are pretty irritating (by design, admittedly), and it looks like Snoopy and friends in the desert for some reason. I don't even know which one is which. To compare to an old classic, the Sam and Max demo may have been about the same length, but it got you bang into funny stuff, there was loads to play with, and you got a real feel for what the game had to offer. With this, I still have no more idea what Bone is (either the game, or the comic, despite the constant screens at the start seemingly assuming that I would) than I did before I downloaded it, and to clarify, I've never heard of it, ever. The scripting and characters and all that seems okay, but there's no time to get to know the characters or do anything with them - it's a strong contender for the single most boring location I have ever seen in an adventure game (a largely featureless lump of rock in the desert), whose interaction is largely handled by flashing up intrusive tutorial hints, and then running a horribly slippery arcade sequence that's simultaneously a piece of cake, and exceptionally irritating. There's just nothing to do, nothing to play with, nothing to explore - heck, there isn't even a puzzle to solve. I still may buy it out of interest - the script shows promise, even if I still have no clue about its merits as an adventure game - and yeah, the graphics look okay for...I think this warrants a reminder...a featureless lump of rock in the middle of the desert...but all that has absolutely nothing to do with playing the demo. At least, I might consider it, if it stops bombing out with Access Violation errors every time I try loading it after switching it to Windowed mode last time around. Bah. And just when I was getting really excited about the idea of these digital episode downloads. Still a great idea, hope to see it work and for them to do well out of this, but really hope the next one has a much better sampler to try and hook people with. Share Share this post on Twitter Last edited by Richard; 09-15-2005 at 03:30 PM.

09-15-2005, 12:50 PM	#88
Lucien21 Psychonaut Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Edinburgh Posts: 5,114	Dammit. I'm all packed ready to go on hols and they release it now. AND announce Sam & Max. I'll have to wait 3 weeks before I can download and play it. Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ I'm not insane, my mother had me tested!

09-15-2005, 12:53 PM	#89
Aurebesh Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 692	Wow, I'm getting the demo at 65Kbps! I thought their servers will be jammed. Anyway, what I'm downloading is actually the complete game, I just need to "register" it to unlock everything else, right? Oh, and does it have a clean uninstall? Share Share this post on Twitter

09-15-2005, 01:13 PM	#93
Dale Baldwin Super Moderator Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Southampton, UK Posts: 3,139	BAH. That was over too soon Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ Now Playing: Catherine, Sword and Sworcery:EP Recently Completed: The Witcher

09-15-2005, 01:26 PM	#97
Orange Brat OB Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 662	Good stuff. The demo gave us just enough to know what we need to know about the three main Bones personalities. The arcade sequence was ok, but I don't see the point in it. I'd rather had a bit more exploring or puzzling instead. Perhaps that is in the book? If so, they could have thrown in a bit more meat between the conversation and the chase. The graphics and animation are great, although I find it funny that you can't adjust the resolution for a realtime 3D game. I think they did this so they wouldn't have to provide separate panel art for each possible resolution. This would help reduce the overall size of the download, so I guess I'm all right with that if that's the reason why. I liked the camera, as well. Reminds me of the one in my own title. Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ The Disenfranchised™ - A Film Noir adventure series for the PC. Coming later.

09-15-2005, 01:32 PM	#99
Captain Blondebeard Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Tornado Alley Posts: 1,541	How much is the full version? Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ Glad to have my old username back. GhostPirateLechuck no longer.

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