[Moloc Lab]

Hi everybody,
first post in Adventure Games Forum to introduce my own project.

1899 Steam & Spirit started about six months ago as an experiment and now it's becoming an old-style adventure game. It's written entirely in HTML and Javascript so you can play it directly from your browser without Flash player or any other plugin or installation.

The game is set in late Victorian Age and tell the story of some "celebrities of the time" in the background of a espionage war between French and British empires. You will meet and use people like Winston Churchill, Wright Brothers, Guglielmo Marconi,....

You can already play the first episode in wich you will guide a young Winston Churchill through meanders of Leviathan, a steampunk submarine born from the mind of Lord Kelvin.

Just go to www.moloc.net to play it.

I hope you can appreciate it.

[stepurhan]

Interesting concept and I like that you've made it so no plugins are needed. it's good to be able to get straight into a game without having to install add-ons. I don't have a problem with the 8-bit aesthetic but I suspect this may put some off. You've done a decent job of making objects recognisable even in the pixellated style, which is always important at this level of graphics. Graphically, the main problem I have is that the menu text is eye-strainingly small. Is there some reason you didn't use the same size text as in-game for the menu? The opening few puzzles seemed reasonably interesting as well, though asking an agent to put together his own diving suit did feel a bit odd.

I think it would be good to enlist the help of some English proofreaders. It is always hard working in another langueage and I never cease to be amazed at how well many non-native speakers handle English. Simply translating the text must have been a huge effort by itself. However, there are several sentences that come off sounding odd with a handful where the meaning isn't entirely clear

I did have a couple of initial problems, but I think these were largely due to my being used to Flash for online games. The natural inclination is not to right-click on that basis. Not right-clicking obviously renders the game very hard. The other problem, which might be as a result of the HTML/Javascript engine, is the ability to drag items around. Initially I thought this was how you used inventory, since I could drag items from inventory into the environment. More disturbingly, you can actually drag pieces of scenery around as well, though you move a ghosted image rather than the actual thing. Dragging the door across the room would be one way of solving the initial puzzle.

All in all, I'd say it was a decent introduction that just needs a bit of polish in some areas. I look forward to seeing more from you.

[Moloc Lab]

Hi stepurhan,
thank you for your reply.
1899 is an one-man project so any feedback is like water in the desert.

I try to answer to your observation:

Originally Posted by stepurhan

the main problem I have is that the menu text is eye-strainingly small.

I can read it well on my 1440x900 screen. Anyway I'll try to improve it in some way.

Originally Posted by stepurhan

asking an agent to put together his own diving suit did feel a bit odd.

It's true. In the first plot of the game there was a reason for it. Then I removed it, I thought it would make the plot too complex. Maybe I can restore it.

Originally Posted by stepurhan

However, there are several sentences that come off sounding odd with a handful where the meaning isn't entirely clear

I agree. I did my best to make the translation as clear as possible, but I know my limits school. On the other hand it's hard to find a native speaker of English that can fix my translation.

Originally Posted by stepurhan

I did have a couple of initial problems, but I think these were largely due to my being used to Flash for online games.

In the new version of the game I'm working on, I introduced double-right with the same functionality as right-click. I hope this improvement can make the game more user friendly.

Originally Posted by stepurhan

the ability to drag items around.

It's true, it is a unique feature of firefox. I never use it, so I never considered it. Anyway I can disabled it easily. A major problem of development was to make the game compatible with most browsers.

Thanks again for your ratings, I will keep you informed of all future developments.

[gray pierce]

You're probably not gonna believe this but I'm stuck.

Spoiler:

How do I get to play cards with Harris? Cause every time after the conversation I click on the table and good ol Winston says he first has to get invited wich he just was.

Also how do I get these irritating speachbubbles out of the way so they stop blocking everythin in view. Otherwise it's a really nice game and up to this point I was enjoying it a lot.

Edit: never mind I figured it out.

Spoiler:

I just imagined Winston had them on him wich he obviously didn't. Power of mind I suppose.

[QuinnS]

I'm really impressed that you were able to do all of this with Javascript. I feel like this is a little glimpse of online gaming's future!

[Moloc Lab]

Originally Posted by QuinnS

I'm really impressed that you were able to do all of this with Javascript. I feel like this is a little glimpse of online gaming's future!

It's very kind of you. I'd like to release the engine as open source, but I think that I still have to work on to make it more stable and readable.

[stepurhan]

Originally Posted by Moloc Lab

I can read it well on my 1440x900 screen. Anyway I'll try to improve it in some way.

May just be me then. Probably one of those "Your Mileage May Vary" problems.

I agree. I did my best to make the translation as clear as possible, but I know my limits school. On the other hand it's hard to find a native speaker of English that can fix my translation.

People have appealed for, and got, proofreaders on here before. It helps if you have the text available in some sort of easily editable format separate from the engine itself. If you have got it in that format then I'd be willing to give it a look myself for this game. Can't make an open-ended commitment for all future episodes though.

In the new version of the game I'm working on, I introduced double-right with the same functionality as right-click. I hope this improvement can make the game more user friendly.

I think the interface is actually fine as it is. It is just the expectation from online gaming with flash that makes it seem awkward. I'd suggest putting the controls on the title page (people hardly ever click through to separate instructions. ) so that people know they can right-click straight off.

It's true, it is a unique feature of firefox. I never use it, so I never considered it. Anyway I can disabled it easily. A major problem of development was to make the game compatible with most browsers.

Never realised it was a Firefox feature. I can even drag around the buttons on this page so I guess that is a universal thing in Firefox. I can well imagine the multiple browsers available make life difficult for you.

Thanks again for your ratings, I will keep you informed of all future developments.

No problem. Please do keep us informed.

[Moloc Lab]

If you have got it in that format then I'd be willing to give it a look myself for this game. Can't make an open-ended commitment for all future episodes though.

Thank you very much, I really appreciate it. Yes, I have got a "dictionary file" in a easy editable format.

I can send it to you by private message. I think the sentences are more than you think so feel free to forget it.

[Moloc Lab]

UPDATE: new version of the game published!

- demo episode 2
- new game interface (right-click killed)
- new soundtracks
- help option to highlight hotspots
- revision translation of episode 1 (thanks to stepurhan)
- some minor bugs fixed

[stepurhan]

No worries, though it meant I had to put a disclaimer in this month's Following Freeware.

[Moloc Lab]

Originally Posted by stepurhan

No worries, though it meant I had to put a disclaimer in this month's Following Freeware.

Thank you Stephen!
I really appreciate your review and your support.

[QuinnS]

The new interface is much better! This game and its engine are really shaping up.

[Moloc Lab]

1899 Steam 'n' Spirit - Episode 2 finally released!

- Over 12 new rooms
- 9 interactive characters
- New astonishing illustrations

Puzzles, adventure, irony.
Play it directly from your browser for cheap.