Hold your horses, this is all still very early progress. There's a lot of work left to do here. :P

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Well, I'm thinking developing all gameplay commonalities together for each game makes sense: scripting system [1], walking characters, pathfinding, proper ingame camera perspective, the notion of inventories, dialogue [2], combat mode, .... Basically, each game would be somewhat playable, the gameplay recognizable as such.

That doesn't mean that the games would each be very close to finished. There's a lot of script functions that need to be implemented that are mostly independant from this.

Of course, this all is just my current view and might change when I'm further in, as I discover more. More people joining in can also shift around things a lot. And yes, I can always use more people joining in! :)

[1] NWN already has the bindings, but ImperatorPrime is currently working on rewriting that, because the code is a bit awkward. Once that's done, it should be neatly applyable to all games [3]
[2] NWN already has that. Dialogue working is closely tied to having an ingame GUI (the GUIs in the games are wildly different) and the script system (because dialogue nodes call scripts to check and set states).
[3] Well, except The Witcher, because NWScript + Lua...

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Quoting: minjThat was an interesting read but it seems xoreos.org can't handle the image traffic.

Yeah, seems my server didn't like the initial surge of requests. It's calmer now, though.
Maybe I should start putting the images up on imgur next time, like other articles here do.

Quoting: Maquis196but are you planning on getting some basic grounding in (like the areas) then going all out to make at least game work?

Well, right now, I am trying to get areas to show for all games, to have something to show for myself, so to speak.

And in general, if I already know how to do one thing, one concept for one game, it's easier getting that thing adapted to the other games. It also helps in making sure these subsystems are flexible enough: if I implement something for one game only, and then continue and build upon it, it's of course harder to change later, should the need arise (because a different game might use that thing slightly differently).

So I do expect that I will probably have all games completed up to a certain point until one single game is 100% done, yes. Otherwise, I would probably break the game that's declared as 100% done a lot while focusing on another game.

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Quoting: AuleHard because you die very often, or hard because of the puzzles?

Yes.

View this comment - View article - View full comments

I played the Win3.1 version back in the days: http://www.mobygames.com/game/win3x/shadowgate/screenshots/gameShotId,145542/ [External Link] <3

It is punishingly hard, though.

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Quoting: omer666Sorry for making such mistake.

No worries. :)

You weren't exactly wrong that such a right of withdrawal existed prior: there's the directive 97/7/EC [External Link], which 2011/83/EU repeals/replaces. It originally covered the ordering of goods and services by mail, phone, fax, etc., through the use of a catalogue, the TV and the like.

You can see that it also included withdrawal exemptions for "the supply of audio or video recordings or computer software which were unsealed by the consumer" (but was of course missing the bits about digital content). As such, the actual intend of the law never changed.

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Quoting: tuubiWell, obviously it's quite recent.

omer666 didn't know, though:

Quoting: omer666That's what you get, applying centuries old laws to new technologies.

Quoting: tuubiI do not see why our rights as consumers should be dependent on distribution mediums.

It isn't. Here's the full text of the EU directive: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32011L0083&qid=1403274218893 [External Link]

Specifically, it says this in Article 16:

Member States shall not provide for the right of withdrawal set out in Articles 9 to 15 in respect of distance and off-premises contracts as regards the following:
[...]
(i) the supply of sealed audio or sealed video recordings or sealed computer software which were unsealed after delivery
[...]
(m) the supply of digital content which is not supplied on a tangible medium if the performance has begun with the consumer’s prior express consent and his acknowledgment that he thereby loses his right of withdrawal

I.e.: physical copies of games you already opened are likewise exempt. The intend of the law is to give you the ability to observe and inspect the item as if in a brick and mortar store; not to give you 14 days of free use.

the consumer should be allowed to test and inspect the goods he has bought to the extent necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and the functioning of the goods
[...]
In order to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods, the consumer should only handle and inspect them in the same manner as he would be allowed to do in a shop

Although, for most items, if you do use them beyond what is necessary to establish this, the result is not the complete loss of your right of withdrawal, but you "should be liable for any diminished value of the goods". Videos, movies and software are different in that respect, since they're not exactly a physical thing, but the contents of the medium is what counts.

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Yeah, that "loophole" of requiring people to waive their 14-days cooling off period was actually put in place for exactly this situation: marketplaces for digital good, like Steam. This is not Steam gaming the law; this is the exact intention of that law.

View this comment - View article - View full comments

EDIT: Also, I probably should have read the article in full before commenting... Sorry for repeating several things here...

This is even the Zak256 version, the one with 256-color graphics, exclusive for the FM Towns Marty console [External Link]. Original Zak FM-Towns games are pretty rare, and usually go for about $500 on eBay.

Additionally, the GOG download includes the MS-DOS version of the game. Or more specifically, the V2, with enhanced EGA graphics.

As a comparision, here's the same room in

• V1 graphics [External Link] (identical to the C64 version)


• V2 graphics [External Link] (identical to the Amiga and Atari ST versions)


• FM-Towns graphics [External Link]

The GOG Loom release, however, is the inferior DOS CD version.
There's three version of Loom:

• The EGA floppy version [External Link]


• The VGA CD-ROM version [External Link]


• FM-Towns version

The CD-ROM version, while coming with updated graphics, contains speech in Red Book audio format, and due to its limited space, had to be cut quite a bit. The FM-Towns version uses the updated graphics, but doesn't feature speech, so it's uncut. The FM-Towns version is therefore considered by many the superior version. Like Zak McKracken, it's also very rare and expensive on eBay.

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Quoting: melkemindIt would really be awful if they decide to change their minds about licensing it halfway through the project.

Well, presumably, there's now a contract that would prohibit this.

View this comment - View article - View full comments