[Fien]

Originally Posted by AndreaDraco83

While I (partially) agree with your other posts, these were probably problems related to your configuration.

Yeah, right... I wasn't the only one, you know. Posters here blamed my specs, my antivirus software and now it's my configuration. My PC was only a couple of months old when I played So Blonde. The specs were more than adequate, I disabled my virusscanner, I asked for help. Nothing. Whatever. It couldn't be Wizarbox's fault, now could it. And thanks a lot, that probably means I won't be able to play Gray Matter without loads of problems either, so at this point I'm no longer sure I'll give it a try. You've made my day.

I'm afraid I'm not at the liberty to elaborate as much as you'd like. What I can say is this: while I never had a single problem with long loading times in any version of the game I tried, the last version I had the pleasure to test had extremely quick loading times. Really, really, really quick (I'm talking about scarcely two seconds).

Seeing is believing.

PS: Two seconds isn't all that fast for the next screen to appear. So it was much longer before. No wonder the Polish reviewer complained.

[Intense Degree]

Originally Posted by Fien

...that probably means I won't be able to play Gray Matter without loads of problems either, so at this point I'm no longer sure I'll give it a try. You've made my day.

Seriously Fien, what are the chances of you honestly not getting Gray Matter?

I am trying not to let my expectations get built up too much, but pre-judging this game (including the job the developer has made of it) can work both ways.

[Roper Klacks]

Originally Posted by AndreaDraco83

I'm afraid I'm not at the liberty to elaborate as much as you'd like. What I can say is this: while I never had a single problem with long loading times in any version of the game I tried, the last version I had the pleasure to test had extremely quick loading times. Really, really, really quick (I'm talking about scarcely two seconds).

Two seconds is not bad depending on the frequence that they appear. Is it a load for each screen? If it is i wouldn't call it fixed, i'm expecting no load times in the same area of the game (like going through the kitchen to a room then bathroom etc). Switching between diferent locations (like traveling through different spots on a map) is fine though.

[Fien]

Originally Posted by Intense Degree

Seriously Fien, what are the chances of you honestly not getting Gray Matter?

Heh. I have supported the adventure game industry for a very long time, in particular indie developers. You should see the amount of money I spend on adventures and paraphernalia each year. Hell, I even feel a bit guilty when I buy a game like Return to Mysterious Island from Big Fish for $6.99 instead of going to the developer's site and paying over 20 dollars. But there's something about the development, marketing and publishing of Gray Matter that really irks me. I swore I would not spend one penny on this game.* Incompetent DTP doesn't deserve my money and Jane doesn't need it, she sold her soul to the casuals devil ages ago.

So... can I borrow your copy of Gray Matter...?

*post 494 in this thread

[UPtimist]

Originally Posted by Fien

Jane doesn't need it, she sold her soul to the casuals devil ages ago.

Ooh, how horrible, she's made casual games...

[Intense Degree]

Originally Posted by Fien

So... can I borrow your copy of Gray Matter...?

No problem... after i've finished with it that is!

[AndreaDraco83]

Some of the posts on this page make me really, really, really depressed.

Especially because I can't stand prejudice. In any form.

[Fien]

Hey, ID, you're the best! Just for saying that.

@Andrea: Do you want to talk about it?
BTW, everybody is prejudiced in one way or another. You too. Yeah, I realize you don't want to hear that. But you know it's true.

[AndreaDraco83]

Actually, Fien, I played the game. I may have been prejudiced before, but now my judgement is based upon the game itself, and since I can't talk about it until it is released, you can't possibly know what my precise opinion of the game is, beside two very general senteces I wrote in this very thread.

I'm sorry that you are determined to avoid the game, both because of DTP and because of Jane's casual escapades, and it's this second point in particular that makes me wonder if your issues are genuine or if you're, on the other hand, prejudiced against Jane, or - better - prejudiced against the reverence some people, myself included, have toward her.

[DustyShinigami]

On another topic...

How did you get to playtest the game, Andrea? How did that come about exactly? Did you go someplace for the playtesting or were you sent a demo via email?

[AndreaDraco83]

I had access to an entire build of the game, which I got to play through completely thrice already. I'm not sure if I can discuss how I was recruited to betatest the game, so let's just say that the Gabriel Knight community is pretty tight-knit

[DustyShinigami]

Ah! Cool.

[D.C.]

There's a lot of shifty eyed people over at the CORT-X forums too. Coincidence? I think not. Though to be honest I don't think I'd like to be a beta tester. The perks of playing the game earlier in my opinion are outweighed by not having an entirely finished product. I can wait... for now.

[Fien]

I've removed my long reply to Andrea. There's no point. It's okay if he feels I'm prejudiced.

[Bakhtosh]

@Fien:

Regarding So Blonde I would a gree on some points. But some things you mentioned never occurred to me. And Wizarbox abviously took some criticism seriously because they improved some gameplay elements with So Blonde - Back to the island.

It looks like you think that So Blonde - Back to the Island is just the console port of So Blonde. But that's not true. It's a completely new game with the same background, but tells the story from a "What would have been happened if Sunny would have stranded on the other side of the island?" perspective. Puzzles and story are 90% different from So Blonde. So they didn't make a console port with new features while the PC version stayed as it was. They made a new game which just wasn't released for the PC because it was especially designed for the consoles.

Originally Posted by Fien

It's not a real maze, but you have to traverse it a zillion times to get to the other parts of the island, only to get the message from some drummer or chief to go back where you came from and ask the gardener or the guy in the pub for help, etcetera.

I totally agree on that one. And I think alle people who played So Blonde agree. Therefore Wizarbox implemented a map into So Blonde - Back to the island, so that you could jump to different places at the isle and don't have to cross numerous locations. Additionally the loading times were also shorter - and that even the game has to be loaded from the DVD at the Wii constantly.

Another thing they changed from So Blonde to So Blonde - Back to the island was the german voice actor of Sunny. With So Blonde many people thought the german Sunny voice was unnerving.

Originally Posted by Fien

Half the time I couldn't get Sunny to run, doubleclicking on exits to skip screens would work only every once in a while, sometimes you had to click on specific spots for it to work.

I think that is the part that might partially connected to the system you've used or connected to certain systems. I remember that there were some situations where doubleclick didn't work. But in these cases always something happened at the location when Sunny passed a certain point. For example Sunny noticed something while running from one point to the exit and made a comment. Or some other characters appeared to capture Sunny. Things like that. So the game blocked exit on doubleclick in these cases so that you wasn't able to miss these comments/events. But apart from these situations exit on doubleclick always worked. So I think either you overlooked the connection to certain comments/events when the doubleclick didn't work or that there was an additional problem connected to certain systems.


So I'm quite optimistic that we don't see many of the things that were criticized when So Blonde came out. Because Wizarbox already showed that they've learned when they made the next So Blonde game. And there's another technical point. Wizarbox took over the development from another developer. And it uses 3D models as characters. So I doubt that they are using the same engine like with So Blonde. From the Previews I've read and some videos I've seen there's a map to travel between different locations and that the loading times are much shorter. But I will probably visit the gamescom next month and DTP is showing Gray Matter. So I have the chance to test it myself and decide if it meets my expectations.

[Fien]

That was a very informative post, Bakhtosh, thanks! And a good point about the engine, I feel more hopeful now that Gray Matter will perform well on my computer.

So I think either you overlooked the connection to certain comments/events when the doubleclick didn't work or that there was an additional problem connected to certain systems.

I noticed the connection to other events going on, but that can't have been the reason. Doubleclicking didn't work most of the time.

But I will probably visit the gamescom next month and DTP is showing Gray Matter. So I have the chance to test it myself and decide if it meets my expectations.

Please keep us informed!

[rtrooney]

Originally Posted by AndreaDraco83

I had access to an entire build of the game, which I got to play through completely thrice already. I'm not sure if I can discuss how I was recruited to betatest the game, so let's just say that the Gabriel Knight community is pretty tight-knit

How nice for you! The rest of us are still waiting, and not waiting nicely.

[AndreaDraco83]

Originally Posted by rtrooney

How nice for you! The rest of us are still waiting, and not waiting nicely.

Sorry about that, but - believe me - when you'll be able to experience the game at its fullest, whereas I had to experience it as a work in progress, you'll feel satisfied because it will be the final product. Whilst it was priceless to see the development of a game first-hand, I sometimes envy those of you who will be able to play Gray Matter for the first time with every sound effect in place, with every voice finetuned, with every visual touch polished and so on.

[lobotomy42]

I can't wait for this game! I just wish it had a U.S. publisher already...the fact that it doesn't is making me worried that it won't come out stateside (or least, not until much later.)

[inm8#2]

Originally Posted by lobotomy42

I can't wait for this game! I just wish it had a U.S. publisher already...the fact that it doesn't is making me worried that it won't come out stateside (or least, not until much later.)

Will it be released on the net via the European publisher? Then maybe some of us can buy it through the company's website, or an equivalent of Steam.