Azrael's Tear

[SCO]

Ahah the flaw in your character becomes evident (i suspected it when you were talking about the grailstone in a "stable environment"). You'll fit right in.

The ending is just madness. Even if it was possible (which it is not), it would just mean the extinction of the human race itself.
Beside the need for the "most accomplished athletes" escapes me. Escapes me a lot really.

 

[SCO]

Okay I got this to work. Movement is slow and awkward (WTF IS IT WITH THE INVERTED UPWARD/DOWNWARD LOOKING FFS ), graphics look rather shit, but I'll get used to that. Interface isn't too bad.

Use the dos32a hack in the last page there. You WON'T regret it.
If you hold the mouse button you have a primitive mouse look.

 

[Black Cat]

Okay I got this to work.

Welcome to one of the best games ever.

 

[JarlFrank]

Okay I got this to work. Movement is slow and awkward (WTF IS IT WITH THE INVERTED UPWARD/DOWNWARD LOOKING FFS ), graphics look rather shit, but I'll get used to that. Interface isn't too bad.

Use the dos32a hack in the last page there. You WON'T regret it.
If you hold the mouse button you have a primitive mouse look.

I'll try your hack when I get home.
And by mouse button you mean the RMB, right? It's okay, but it's annoying that up/down looking is inverted. To look up, I move the mouse down, to look down, I move it up, LOLWUT. Can't even change that setting.

Other than that, I explored the first area a little, voice acting sounds good, you get directions instead of quest compass (go left to that room, then left, then first door to the right etc) and the shooting mechanics aren't too bad either.

Also, cause I'm too lazy to read through the whole thread, a question about notes: do I have to take them myself, or is there a journal?

 

[DraQ]

Apart from documents you collect, which you can access at about any time, you'd do well to take out some good, ol' pen&paper.

 

[Bubb]

Jarl: Whatever you do, stick to the game. It is kind of boring at the start, but it REALLY picks up halfway. You won't regret it.

Also, all of the puzzles are logical, but some of them can be quite tough, specially if you are used to playing games like Dreamfall! Use a walkthrough if needed, what we really want is to get another fan for this gem.

 

[Bubb]

I was just looking at the "playground". Do you think it is worthwhile to do an LP of this game?

I'm afraid it might be quite diffcult since the game does not have a journal and dialogue logs. I'm also afraid it won't do the game justice... but I'm tempted to do it. What do you think?

 

[Elwro]

I say go for it. I'm sure people here will tell you if they don't like it. But if you do well, the thread will be preserved for posterity and future generations of gamers will know more about the game...

 

[Bubb]

I'm starting an LP of it.

I'm having a problem with dosbox not taking screenshots for some reason, though. I have no idea where on the forums I should post a thread about this.. GD, maybe?

If a knowing person would like to help, please pm me, I don't want to cluster the thread with off topic.

 

[DraQ]

ctrl+f5.

You don't need dialogue log or anything, just take screenshots of everything relevant (including at least some of the dialogue, the rest can be put in as text once we get the gist of who you're talking with) and do a decent write-up.

 

[Bubb]

I can google.. I know you are supposed to press control+f5, it's just that on my particular case it doesn't do anything. I started a thread on gd, if you can help please check it out.

I think the LP will be cool, I think the hardest part will be writing down the conversations. It will simply be a pain in the ass, I will have to reload and do the talking again on the longer monologues. I'm also not sure if the screenshots of the documents will be good enough, I hope I won't have to transcribe Tobias journal and all the papers you come across.

Also, the graphics can get a bit murky... hope the screenshots are clear.

 

[Bubb]

Gentlemen, if anyone is interested, the lp is on its way:

http://www.rpgcodex.net/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=55295

Hope I do the game some justice.

 

[SCO]

So, Jarlfrank, did you start yet or are you stuck?

There is a puzzle right at the start that could stump most.

 

[Bubb]

Jarl, if you are too dependant on popamole antics and didn't manage to enjoy the game, at least follow my confessedly mediocre and lame lp. I'm just starting to get to the sweet spots of the game just now

SCO and Draq: Do you still think the "ancient byzantines" bit was a huge fail on the game's writing or do you now accept my theory that it is simply meant to be the ignorant medieval interpretation of Tobias? On my lp I am showcasing every document found in the game and every conversation related to this. I think if you pay attention specially to the conversations with Geoffrye(haven't gotten there yet, though) you will be convinced that I'm right and that the game is cohesive in this department.

Also, if the developer wanted this ancient civilization to be a greek offshoot he wouldn't have showcased that weird african looking talisman or the "ziggurat" structure(which is mesopotamian). Every description of the customs and religion(human sacrifice, etc) of this civilization is also against this. It is all cool in keeping the original miners of grailstone as obscure and as mysterious as possible in the game, but all the evidence found in the game points to them being babylonians or some even older and unknown western asian civilization.

 

[SCO]

I am tending to that interpretation yes.


The 400 years thing with the pictish tribe and the well bothers me more.
If you can find corroboration of the of the grailstone time altering properties it would be good, but IMO you should put it at the end of a update as a aside if it is a subtle thing like that, not as part of the LP itself. You don't need to defend the game narrative.

Alternative interpretation is that its a alternate universe. That is lame though and full of inconsistencies.

 

[Bubb]

Lol, I just remembered that the most legendary "ziggurat" type structure is none other than the mythological tower of babel. In lieu of playing this game reading about it and similar structures is a lot of fun:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etemenanki

Some archaeologists speculate that this type of building already existed 2.000 years before Christ, and that the biblical descriptions of it are solid evidence of this. Great design choice, actually. Making the fearsome and mysterious crafters of the grail none other than the mythological people who tried to unite the world and physically reach the heavens...

Seriously, my admiration for this game grows everytime I play it. It is too bad this kind of quality in design was abandoned alltogether from the industry after this one failed.

 

[Bubb]

I am tending to that interpretation yes.


The 400 years thing with the pictish tribe and the well bothers me more.
If you can find corroboration of the of the grailstone time altering properties it would be good, but IMO you should put it at the end of a update as a aside if it is a subtle thing like that, not as part of the LP itself. You don't need to defend the game narrative.

Alternative interpretation is that its a alternate universe. That is lame though and full of inconsistencies.

Oh, that is easy. Didn't you notice that right at the ending of the game, when you are about to climb the ladder outside, the computer points out that it is now 2015 and that 12 years have passed since the raptor first entered Aeternis? I thought that was one of the coolest ending details.

The knights are also constantly refering to the time spent at aeternis as "decades" instead of "centuries" and one knight mentions that the rift between the guardians and fouding of "Malik's court" happened less than 70 years ago.

Also, the WWII soldier that entered aeternis by accident at 1943(Jack) states that he has been in Aeternis for less than 8 years or something of the sort.

Edit: bringing some of the lp discussion to this thread for convenience and to keep that thread spoiler free:

Damn, I just realized how little info about this game's nonlinearity is around the net... and how little I've fooled around with it in the 2 times I completed the game... and in this lp(which is going through conventional routes). I began to wonder:

What happens if you don't grab the elephant gun and let Tallum kill you? Can you pick it up later and use it on something else? Also, both times I finished the game I actually sided with Philip and Edgar and went through their schemes(both times I tried different things with that chest). What happens if you actually tell them to fuck off?

I'm asking because I know some people watching this(namely black cat, SCO and Draq) have already played this game and might have tried something different along the way. I might restart the game after the lp, but it is a longshot.