Adventure Gamers - Forums

crabapple - 16 May 2015 12:34 PM

Agustín Cordes - 15 May 2015 09:25 PM

but CoR insisted on using that unnerving chord upon entering the basement.

Does that chord actually get louder the longer you stay in the basement?
Or is that imagination?

It does

Scratches can be picky with the resolution. Please, bear in mind that you’re not supposed to change the width and height settings in the SCREAM.CFG file. The will irremediably break the game. However, you can try windowed mode if that helps.

My suggestion would be to set the desktop resolution to 1024x768 (whenever supported) before launching the game. Sorry about this hassle—like I said, the Scratches code interfaces with a dated Windows API. Nowadays I’d have just used SDL or GLFW.

@ Agustín: thanks for the elaborate answer regarding Stephen King!

Agustín Cordes - 18 May 2015 02:35 PM

It does

That’s evil! I approve!

By the way, I want to say some other things about the game but I’m holding off to avoid spoilers. For example, if I mention movie influences, chances are you will realize some of the twists in the story.

I can, however, tell you about this useless piece of trivia: the cursors in the game are my actual hands.

Finished Day 1.

Lots of good things to say, particularly about the atmosphere. With headphones on at night and cellar of rats doing his thing, the house at night (in game terms) doesn’t just feel empty or secluded, but downright eerie and somehow more dank and dilapidated. The house seems to have a presence of its own - It’s really well done.

I agree with others that it is good that the first day is slow, somehow the fact that the excitement of the exploration of the house has time to die off before the night really aids the unsettling feelings at night.

I do have a couple of gripes though (sorry Agustin!), as well as the one or two that Timo mentioned.

1. The amount of phone calls to Jerry! Especially that they are the only thing driving half of the plot forward.
2. In the night Scratches coming from the bedroom fire place are quite loud. I check downstairs in the lounge and they are quieter but somehow Michael deduces from that that the sound must be coming from lower down rather than higher up? MY HEAD ASPLODE!
3. Time mechanic seems arbitrary and I keep thinking I have missed something every time the clock moves forward! (Laura Bow flashbacks!)
4. I am really embarrassed about this one, but I’m going to be honest and say it anyway. In a game where we are so reliant on “diary entries” and newspapers etc. some of which are quite old, the English is unidiomatic and ungainly. This makes it harder to wade through them and get caught up in the story they are telling. YES, I do realise that this is probably just me being an arrogant native speaker being condescending and that this probably isn’t a problem for anyone else. As I say, I feel embarrassed about it and I hope no one takes offence - least of all Agustin, it’s not meant to offend, but it is my opinion.

OK good, neurotic crisis over! Looking forward to Day 2.

I’m taking my time exploring. I’ve seen the grounds and the first two floors, but haven’t made it into the attic or the basement yet.

A splendid idea! This is a great game - to just explore. And there is lots of that to do - outside is pretty cool to check out too….......especially——well, I’ll keep mum for now.

Don’t know how long it takes to play the entire game - but….why be in a hurry when the game is SO INTERESTING…....!?!

TechnoSpike - 18 May 2015 07:43 PM

Gaaaaaaargggh! Dang it… I’ve messed with the compability settings like suggested and lowered my resolution to that insane ammount of 1024x768 (Yeekes! I still remember using a PC with lower resolution than this… and yet it seems so strange looking now, how times can change/spoil you), but it’s still cropped!

Can you post a screenshot of how it’s looking?

Agustín, I actually just thought that King remark was totally instory opinion of the protagonist. Although King is one of my favourite writers, it’s been ages since I’ve read anything from him, so I can’t really recall what I’ve felt regarding the endings. I guess that would probably depend on the books I’ve read. For instance, I’ve yet to read “It”, and I’ve a vague idea of Bag of Bones, although I can’t be sure if I’ve read it or not. What about his short stories? Do you feel the same way?

I’m glad you brought that up because, yes, I actually believe that King is a much, MUCH better writer in the short story form. I own a large volume of his tales which is nearly perfect, and yet another book with this story about a castaway that has no other choice but to start eating himself that is pure genius.

Intense Degree - 18 May 2015 05:04 PM

I do have a couple of gripes though (sorry Agustin!), as well as the one or two that Timo mentioned.

I actually agree

Except…

2. In the night Scratches coming from the bedroom fire place are quite loud. I check downstairs in the lounge and they are quieter but somehow Michael deduces from that that the sound must be coming from lower down rather than higher up? MY HEAD ASPLODE!

This is explained later in the game. There’s a good reason for it.

Agustín Cordes - 18 May 2015 04:13 PM

I can, however, tell you about this useless piece of trivia: the cursors in the game are my actual hands.

That’s neat!  Come to think of it, despite their great variety in games, I never thought about how cursors are made.  Are they usually custom made or do they come prepackaged with a game engine?

Lady Kestrel - 19 May 2015 10:59 AM

Agustín Cordes - 18 May 2015 04:13 PM

I can, however, tell you about this useless piece of trivia: the cursors in the game are my actual hands.

That’s neat!  Come to think of it, despite their great variety in games, I never thought about how cursors are made.  Are they usually custom made or do they come prepackaged with a game engine?

I’d say they’re usually custom made. Very rarely generic cursors are used because they’re quite easy to do and bring personality to the game. I mean, you’d have to be very cheap to use generic cursors

Ah-ha!  So it was your hand that just led me to do that stupid climbing stunt in the rain!  I’m glad I’m not afraid of heights. 

That said, I consider the second day to be the highlight of the game. Instead of pushing you around, I casually drop two important hints and let you pursue them on your own, no hand holding. Hope you all enjoy that moment!

So far, I simply have to agree with this - day 2 is very good. I didn’t mind day 1 at all, BUT day 2 is really good so far, I like the storm - it adds some great atmosphere to this delightful game.