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Wadjet Eye Technobabylon by Wadjet Eye

MRY

Wormwood Studios
Developer
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Or several King's Quests, or Rise of the Dragon, Dragonsphere, etc., etc. :/

Many of the AGS complaints are exactly how I felt after we released Primordia, but it turns out there are workarounds -- maybe just because Primordia's coder "leveled up,"* but you can avoid the patches breaking things in most instances, and you could avoid it altogether with a custom save system. Other problems would be fixed by using the newest version of AGS; it's just a WEG preference not to.

(* As will be clear when he releases his next game, Until I Have You, an action-platformer made in AGS.)

Still, I tend to think that AGS is a problematic system to use, less because of those concerns and more because of how it handles assets of all sorts (requiring a very centralized development system), struggles with modern hardware, and pegs the game as a certain type. For a certain kind of development of a certain kind of game (very small team, low-res P&C adventure) it's still probably the best option, but outside of that, I'm less sure.
 

Redlands

Arcane
Joined
Mar 23, 2008
Messages
983
Still, I tend to think that AGS is a problematic system to use, less because of those concerns and more because of how it handles assets of all sorts (requiring a very centralized development system), struggles with modern hardware, and pegs the game as a certain type. For a certain kind of development of a certain kind of game (very small team, low-res P&C adventure) it's still probably the best option, but outside of that, I'm less sure.

Show me where on the doll the Big Blue Cup triggered you.

Seriously, you're right: AGS is pretty good for a very standard Sierra/LucasArts-style adventure game that you and maybe a couple of your friends want to work on to fuck around with. That's what it was designed around. Anything else, though, and you'll quickly run into trouble, since you're then having to fight against a system to get it to make something for which it wasn't intended. This is why using it in a professional capacity or for another type of game seems just laughable to me.
 

SCO

Arcane
In My Safe Space
Joined
Feb 3, 2009
Messages
16,320
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
If the AGS centered developers abandon it, what's likely to happen is a pile of bugs and suddenly lots of ongoing series losing their 'soul' by changing style dramatically (and probably increasing costs).

And it's not like 'modern' engines saves can't be buggy (although they're generally faster due to saving less stuff). Just look at Dragonfall.
 

MRY

Wormwood Studios
Developer
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Messages
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Checking my spam email address, I discovered that I have a Steam key for Technobabylon thanks to my testing work. Anyone want it (preferably not for resale).
 
Self-Ejected

Bubbles

I'm forever blowing
Joined
Aug 7, 2013
Messages
7,817
I'll play it and give a review in this thread.
 
Self-Ejected

Bubbles

I'm forever blowing
Joined
Aug 7, 2013
Messages
7,817
Well, this was okay. The puzzles were nothing special and were only remotely challenging when I missed a hot spot. The writing was full of cliches, and not in a fun way, with a couple of really stupid concepts like the maladism stuff. The trance also struck me as badly realized; at the beginning it was established as this highly addictive interconnection of human minds, and then it just turned out to be a string of tiny chat rooms, plus a few casual games on a "local server". Badly, badly wasted potential. The detective investigation of the bombing suspects could have been very interesting, but instead it just seemed rushed, much like the rest of the endgame (a guy says "Sorry, I can't read English", and an old-school supercop accepts that as proof? Come on!).

Still, I didn't encounter anything outright bad in the game's design either. It just seemed half-assed in every aspect except the sound and graphics.
 

Jaesun

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Yeah, I never did finish this yet (I got really stuck at this one pont) and I have to agree with you. Still I really liked the setting, and I am hoping this did well enough so they can make another one, in this setting.

Also the music was fucking awesome :salute:
 

Gambler

Augur
Joined
Apr 3, 2006
Messages
767
Melan's overview makes many good points. I will post my own impressions anyway.

The game has excellent art direction. Stuff like that scrolling shot of a skyscraper with a single broken window was great. Not something I often see in point-and-click games. And there were many cutscenes like that. They really made me feel like I'm looking at an interconnected world, rather than a bunch of disjoint screens.

Very good, non-generic music. (I'm sick of modern techno-filler tracks like in Human Revolution.)

The story isn't super-deep, but it's reasonably mature and nuanced. Authors masterfully used the multi-protagonist aspect to advance the narrative in interesting ways. I would call this innovative. Even Resonance didn't do it so seamlessly. At times, the main characters act in parallel. At times some of them act completely on their own. During the murder investigation in that apartment Lao acts as a kind of "helper", and while the concept itself is not new, the implementation is the best I've seen anywhere. And all of it, all of it feels entirely natural, rather than some forced "mechanic".

The characters themselves are okay. Wouldn't call them deep or particularly fascinating either, but they are not one-dimensional or entirely archetypal. Most of them are reasonably connected to the world around them. They have education, past work, habits, old enemies, etc.

The setting feels refreshing. It's neither 80s cyberpunk with its fashionable corporate gloom-and-doom, nor is it a world made mostly to whine about contemporary issues. The traditional cyberpunk themes are well-balanced against novel elements, so the world is interesting to learn about.

Lots of well-voiced dialog and interactive items with descriptions. The game is great at giving you a lot of information about how the main characters see the world around them - something often forgotten in modern adventures. Also, it's full of humor typical for old-school adventures.

All puzzles were logical. There wasn't anything particularly challenging, but... really, the point of puzzles in adventure games is so you pay attention and think about what's going on, rather than just passively watch. Tehcnobabylon's puzzles did a reasonable job in that regard. Besides, while investigations had some minor flaws, overall they want way, way beyond typical "obstacle that blocks your progress" pattern. Also, despite typical adventure/quest convention where time is not a factor, the game managed to convey a sense of urgency when required. That sequence when Regis fought through a building full of hostiles was pretty neat.

Overall: definitely worth playing.
 
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StaticSpine

Arcane
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Moscow
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Why the hell the game is so underrated??

Finished today. Only looked into the walkthrough once, though I could have guessed myself to
throw food into the camera
A big progress for me, a lame-ass adventure player. The puzzles were okay.

A good game, not top-tier, but still decent and fun to play. Nice characters. Great music. Atmosphere.

Go play it, you faggots!:rpgcodex:
 

Anthedon

Arcane
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Joined
Jan 1, 2015
Messages
4,487
Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire
Picked this up from GoG recently and put about 5 hours into it now. I heartily recommend it if you can tolerate pixel art. The atmosphere and soundtrack are pretty good. Puzzles are very much on the easy side of things, so far at least. Writing is also decent, the little bits of news you get on your PDA/phone thing add some nice depth to the setting. I'll ramble some more once I've finished it.
 

Anthedon

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Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire
This is the Codex. We don't mind pixilated games. As long as they are good adventure games.

I was going to bring up all the bitching about pixel graphics when it comes to Serpent in the Staglands, Telepath Tactics, etc. But those are not adventures.
 

Jaesun

Fabulous Ex-Moderator
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I was going to bring up all the bitching about pixel graphics when it comes to Serpent in the Staglands, Telepath Tactics, etc. But those are not adventures.

Anyone complaining about those graphics were complete morans (of which we have in abundance here).
 

bertram_tung

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Sunco Gasoline Facility
Insert Title Here
I still do not get why nobody here plays Technobabylon, it's great!

There's plenty of people in this thread who have played it or are playing it, you wacky slav.

I've been playing through it the last few days, but not as much as I'd like thanks to work. Liking what I'm seeing so far, but I'm very early in the game. I was also a fan of Primordia, the Blackwell series, and Gemini Rue.
 
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Anthedon

Arcane
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Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire
Just finished it, took me 10h 29m. Overall an enjoyable experience, if a tad simplistic. Puzzles never had me scratching my head, I didn't get stuck once. The Trance is underwhelming. Like in the recent Shadowrun games, that's probably down to the effort it would require to put something on screen that would do justice to cyberspace á la Gibson or Stephenson (massive 3D environments, megastructures, super fast travel times, etc.). Characters are well realised with one or two exceptions (the Chinese guy in the restaurant). Even the voice over is decent all around. I'm looking forward to their next offering now. Gonna take a look at Resonance and Gemini Rue in the meantime.
 

Ivan

Arcane
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Jun 22, 2013
Messages
7,460
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California
Hate how there aren't Hint sites for adv games, just walkthroughs.


Can anyone give me a hint concerning accessing the Van Der Graff's terminal? I need their biometrics to get it, and I have the severed hand and a cooking gel. I tried using it hot and cold, nothing. Am I close?
 

StaticSpine

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Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Hate how there aren't Hint sites for adv games, just walkthroughs.
Can anyone give me a hint concerning accessing the Van Der Graff's terminal? I need their biometrics to get it, and I have the severed hand and a cooking gel. I tried using it hot and cold, nothing. Am I close?
You need the hand to have a specific temperature IIRC.
 

Ivan

Arcane
Joined
Jun 22, 2013
Messages
7,460
Location
California
any clue in the game or is this a common sense thing? I know Max hints that a person usually tells if another is dead by their pulse.
 

StaticSpine

Arcane
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Moscow
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
any clue in the game or is this a common sense thing? I know Max hints that a person usually tells if another is dead by their pulse.
Common sense. Body temperature.
 

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