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Anyone dig Beneath a Steel Sky?

TimesNineXiXTimesNineXiX
edited January 2010 in General Chat
Man, I really liked this game. I was really impressed with it when I it became freeware. Considering it wasn't made by one of the big two (Sierra / Lucasarts), I was even more impressed.

For me, I feel like this game and Full Throttle feel really similar. Even though Steel Sky feels like something written by William Gibson or Neal Stephenson, I felt like the grittiness in both was really good territory for the adventure genre.

Comments

  • BlankCanvasDJBlankCanvasDJ
    edited December 2009
    YES.

    It wasn't made by one of the big two but it was made by the same company that went on to do Broken Sword, so I'd say it was made by one of the big three. Awesome game.
  • GuybrushWilcoGuybrushWilco
    edited December 2009
    I thought it was a great game.
  • corruptbigginscorruptbiggins
    edited December 2009
    Loved BASS. Hell I still do, thanks to the iPhone/iPod Touch version.
  • GozzoManGozzoMan
    edited December 2009
    Yeah, I loved it too!

    And the accompanying comic book, which constitutes an intro, was drawn by no less than Dave Gibbons! :) (Watchmen, anyone?)

    I also liked to original idea to counter piracy by inserting something of value, the comic book, in the box instead of cumbersome codes or whatever...

    (For the cd version, the comic book was scanned and inserted as a sort of slide-show intro at the start of the game...)


    PS:
    Of course the pirate wheel and mix-n-mojo wheel of MI are heartily pardoned as an absurdist piratey anti-piracy measure! :D
  • Darth MarsdenDarth Marsden
    edited December 2009
    I've never really liked adventure games where you could die, or when you can go past a point of no return without having everything you need (I'm looking at you, King's Quest), but this is the exception that proves the rule.

    It's the setting, I think. The setting and the dialogue. Both just really appealed to me and kept me ploughing through to the end. I've never replayed it since I first finished it many years ago, but I have many fond memories of it.
  • MatakuMataku
    edited December 2009
    I wasn't much of a fan. Probably because I've played it way too late after it came out. didn't age so well, imho. Also, I remember some puzzles really annoyed me. I don't even remember whether or not i've finished it.
  • BaggeBagge
    edited December 2009
    Darth Marsden wrote: »
    I've never really liked adventure games where you could die, or when you can go past a point of no return without having everything you need (I'm looking at you, King's Quest), but this is the exception that proves the rule.

    You can indeed die in BASS, but you're usually given a fair warning before you find yourself in a dangerous situation. I'm pretty sure there are no dead ends in the game, though.
  • One-Eyed KijinOne-Eyed Kijin
    edited December 2009
    BaSS is a fantastic game. There isn't much of a plot but it's gripping. The puzzles are challenging, and they require you to think. If anybody hasn't played this game, then go and play it. It's freeware currently, so go ahead and get it from the SCUMMVM site.

    Out of all the old adventure games I can think of, BaSS would benefit the most from a remake - especially if its graphics were made similar to those in Machinarium.
  • AwesomepantsmanAwesomepantsman
    edited December 2009
    Strangely, the thing I love most about BaSS is the opening theme music that was cut from the CD Version (not sure if it's in the iPhone version), and the rest of the music aswell. It really ties the rest of the music in the game together, and to me, the game kinda feels incomplete without that piece. The game has a lot of reoccuring tunes from the theme music.
  • Rather DashingRather Dashing
    edited December 2009
    Anyone who has limited themselves to the "Big Two" has no experienced anywhere CLOSE to enough adventure gaming to call themselves a fan. Especially if they made the far stupider decision to limit themselves to ONE of the Big Two.
  • Darth MarsdenDarth Marsden
    edited December 2009
    Bagge wrote: »
    You can indeed die in BASS, but you're usually given a fair warning before you find yourself in a dangerous situation. I'm pretty sure there are no dead ends in the game, though.
    The 'point of no return' is once you enter the sewer through the window in the club's bathroom. If you didn't take a lightbulb with you, then you couldn't ensure your safe passage through the subway tunnel and therefore hit a dead end.

    At least, I think that's right. I'm not playing all the way through again just to find out!
  • tredlowtredlow
    edited December 2009
    Loved it, but I haven't gotten around to actually finish it.
  • StarEyeStarEye
    edited December 2009
    Great game, one of the biggest games on the Amiga (in terms of bytes). Didn't have a harddrive, and it came on 15 disks - not counting the savedisk. The game lasted much longer because of this. I've noticed how much shorter adventure games from that era are than I remember them being. Guess that's because a lot of the time was spent waiting for the game to load.

    Didn't complete it until years later though, on the PC.
  • TeaTea
    edited December 2009
    StonkBad wrote: »
    Strangely, the thing I love most about BaSS is the opening theme music that was cut from the CD Version (not sure if it's in the iPhone version), and the rest of the music aswell. It really ties the rest of the music in the game together, and to me, the game kinda feels incomplete without that piece. The game has a lot of reoccuring tunes from the theme music.

    Add BASS to ScummVM, then open CMD (start - run - cmd) or any appropriate command line for your OS.

    Now run ScummVM like this:
    scummvm --alt-intro "sky"

    If you're on Windows:
    cd C:\Program Files\ScummVM
    scummvm.exe --alt-intro "sky"

    :)
  • BaggeBagge
    edited December 2009
    Darth Marsden wrote: »
    The 'point of no return' is once you enter the sewer through the window in the club's bathroom. If you didn't take a lightbulb with you, then you couldn't ensure your safe passage through the subway tunnel and therefore hit a dead end.

    At least, I think that's right. I'm not playing all the way through again just to find out!

    No, you need to pick up the lightbulb in order to combine the plastic explosives with the socket.
  • FriarFriar
    edited December 2009
    I bough the broken sword trilogy last week, and this came on the disc aswell. I haven't played it yet (i hadn't even heard of it until it installed itself on my computer), so i'm glad to see you all seemed to enjoy it. I will look forward to playing it.
  • Darth MarsdenDarth Marsden
    edited December 2009
    Bagge wrote: »
    No, you need to pick up the lightbulb in order to combine the plastic explosives with the socket.
    Oh. Well, like I said, it's been a while.
  • drunkenmonkeydrunkenmonkey
    edited December 2009
    Darth Marsden wrote: »
    The 'point of no return' is once you enter the sewer through the window in the club's bathroom. If you didn't take a lightbulb with you, then you couldn't ensure your safe passage through the subway tunnel and therefore hit a dead end.

    At least, I think that's right. I'm not playing all the way through again just to find out!

    I haven't played bass in a few years, but I believe you had to take the bulb out of the socket to put in plastic explosives. So you would have had the bulb. But yeah we would all like to see more games like BaSS. One of the few adventure games that got it right.
  • AshtonAshton
    edited December 2009
    I really enjoyed BaSS, though I did get stuck a LOT on it. It frustrated me also that you coudl only die SOMETIMES. Usually death wasnt an option, I neglected to save for this reason and died in the subway tunnel and had to restore to a save back when I first met the dog lady (iirc) Later I accidentally formatted that PC without pulling my ScummVM saves. I never went back to it, sadly.

    Another one I liked was The Dig. I think it was LA but I dont remember for sure...
  • HarukuroHarukuro
    edited December 2009
    I bought it a while ago for my iPod touch and became completely addicted to it. It was overall a fun experience but, the ending seemed rather odd to me. All in all though it was a fun game with great characters, puzzles and an overall great game. :)
  • BaggeBagge
    edited December 2009
    Ashton wrote: »
    I really enjoyed BaSS, though I did get stuck a LOT on it. It frustrated me also that you coudl only die SOMETIMES. Usually death wasnt an option, I neglected to save for this reason and died in the subway tunnel and had to restore to a save back when I first met the dog lady (iirc) Later I accidentally formatted that PC without pulling my ScummVM saves. I never went back to it, sadly.

    You were pretty close to the end of the game if you reached the subway. I might have a savegame in that exact spot if you're interested?
  • FriarFriar
    edited December 2009
    Bagge wrote: »
    You were pretty close to the end of the game if you reached the subway. I might have a savegame in that exact spot if you're interested?

    Does the subway involve i giant squid/monster? I'm sure there was an easter egg for it in Broken sword ...
  • TeaTea
    edited December 2009
    Friar wrote: »
    Does the subway involve i giant squid/monster? I'm sure there was an easter egg for it in Broken sword ...
    Yep, there's an arachnoid creature down there. For some reason if you don't turn on a light, it jumps out and eats you!
  • AshtonAshton
    edited December 2009
    Bagge wrote: »
    You were pretty close to the end of the game if you reached the subway. I might have a savegame in that exact spot if you're interested?

    REally? thanks, that'd be awesome!
  • FriarFriar
    edited December 2009
    I completed it yeasterday, and overall, i would say it was pretty good, but not the best P&C game i've played. I loved the different feel it all had, but it felt a bit repetitive (the atmosphere that is) in parts. Mainly the top floor.
  • AshtonAshton
    edited December 2009
    IT has a very different feel to most of the PnC games I've played. I cant really explain it, but it reminds me a little of SpaceQuest, The Dig, and even a little of KingsQuest...
  • FriarFriar
    edited December 2009
    Ashton wrote: »
    IT has a very different feel to most of the PnC games I've played. I cant really explain it, but it reminds me a little of SpaceQuest, The Dig, and even a little of KingsQuest...

    I think it was the fact because it was eti in the future, some of the puzzles involved you thinking futurelike (building robots, integrating into the internet etc)
  • patterspatters
    edited December 2009
    I absolutely adore BaSS.
  • JohanShogunJohanShogun
    edited December 2009
    BASS kicks ass!
  • floweroftheforestfloweroftheforest
    edited December 2009
    I'm playing it just now.
    I didn't think I'd like it but I'm enjoying it a lot.
    I've had this game a while now as it came free with the broken sword trilogy and I've only just got around to playing it.
  • leandro_tamileandro_tami
    edited January 2010
    BASS music remains in my head even though so many years have passed since I last completed it. Well maybe it wasn't so many time ago, maybe just a couple of years, but still...
    I liked how complete it was the futuristic world pictured in it. They took care of many details that added realism and some humoristic touches as well (remember the Schreibmann port? ;) ).
    Simply thinking about this game makes the music come back into my head! :P Now it will stick in my mind for hours!
  • Juicius MaximusJuicius Maximus
    edited January 2010
    Played BaSS a while back when it first became freeware, and enjoyed it a lot but don't remember the details so well. I'll have to revisit it sometime. Revolution also made their first game, Lure of the Temptress, freeware, which I don't recall being so great. One interesting thing about it though, was that NPC's would go about their business independently in the game world. To my knowledge, that's never been done in an adventure game before or since, probably because most players don't want to wander random screens to find the character that sent them on some fetch quest. Anyway, Revolution's always been an interesting company that brings their own flavor to the table.

    EDIT: Totally forgot about Dave Gibbons' (of Watchmen fame) involvement in BaSS. Sweet!
  • StarEyeStarEye
    edited January 2010
    Jucius Maximus wrote: »
    Revolution also made their first game, Lure of the Temptress, freeware, which I don't recall being so great. One interesting thing about it though, was that NPC's would go about their business independently in the game world. To my knowledge, that's never been done in an adventure game before or since,

    Actually, it was done in BASS as well. But in more controlled form and not so damn random, so you always had an idea where the NPCs were.
  • corruptbigginscorruptbiggins
    edited January 2010
    Jucius Maximus wrote: »
    One interesting thing about it though, was that NPC's would go about their business independently in the game world.

    Virtual Theatre, I think they called it. Interesting concept but could be bloody annoying when trying to find one particular person!
  • onlyamonkeyonlyamonkey
    edited January 2010
    It's just an insanely well made game, in all aspects. Def one of my all time favs in the genre.
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