And concerning Shakespeare... well, there was a reason he titled his plays things like "Hamlet" rather than "'Lo! My murd'rous Uncle doth stab at me and sparrows fall with special providence!".
Constructive criticism? Rein yourselves in a bit. Show some restraint in writing. What you leave out is often more important than what you leave in. Brevity is the soul of wit. That's honest, constructive criticism.
You've got a beautiful looking game, with wonderful sound and music - but the storytelling leaves something to be desired. The plot elements are interesting, but the execution is overly self-indulgent.
Bt
QFT
Thw way story is told now in the Silver Lining drove me off from the game. It has many good elements in it, but the narrative really brought it down for me.
Meh...it's just a fangame. They can do whatever they want. If they had gotten the King's Quest license from ActiVision to produce commercial titles, THEN I'd be the first to jump the gun and defend its innocence.
Constructive criticism? Rein yourselves in a bit. Show some restraint in writing. What you leave out is often more important than what you leave in. Brevity is the soul of wit. That's honest, constructive criticism.
You've got a beautiful looking game, with wonderful sound and music - but the storytelling leaves something to be desired. The plot elements are interesting, but the execution is overly self-indulgent.
Bt
Duly noted.
Looking at it now, I actually think our cutscene material is very strong, while our conversations with characters/narrations could use a lot of editing. But you know what they say about hindsight, right? I was too in love with my prose, that's very true.
The conversations needed an editing pass that they never got, mainly because we were scrambling to finish the script in time for when recordings started. So, Katie did a great job, but only in fixing my broken English --since it's not my native tongue and back then, it was very broken.
With narrations, we took the wrong turn when the demo feedback requested for more. I think we had the right amount back then, as we never received this type of feedback then. And then I unleashed a self-indulgent beast I should have never released.
Regardless, I think we have a strong storyline. I also think that thanks to the feedback, we've managed to make the new elements that we've included in every episode very strong and fans favorite, because we've now dedicated the time to write the right amount of text and take our time to properly edit stuff --noted by sections like the brevity of the tower narrations, or the conversations with Lt Shorty, or even the ending cutscene to Episode 3, all which have received good amount of feedback as they were edited and re-edited and touched and re-touched until they felt right.
Episode 5 was fully written taking all the feedback in consideration. The flowery prose is still there, but only used when necessary to keep up with the story tone. Gone are the long, long narrations except in few cases, where, again, the story demands more detail. And gone are also the unnecessary conversations --helped by the notion that Episode 5 is very desolate.
So we do appreciate the feedback. It has helped immensely to make every episode better and better. Episode 3 has received a lot of praise and it's because we listened to this feedback, and we'll continue to listen as we go, but there are also things we cannot change at this point without having to cause a major rework. There's also the fact that the story's tone, for what The Silver Lining is, is also one we are extremely happy with, and that is something that may not be everyone's cup of tea.
The conversations needed an editing pass that they never got, mainly because we were scrambling to finish the script in time for when recordings started. So, Katie did a great job, but only in fixing my broken English --since it's not my native tongue and back then, it was very broken.
With narrations, we took the wrong turn when the demo feedback requested for more. I think we had the right amount back then, as we never received this type of feedback then. And then I unleashed a self-indulgent beast I should have never released.
The "beast" being let loose is why there's a joke about long narrations somewhere in, I think, the IoW Garden--I was sick to death of editing them, deleted one and wrote that instead!
I still give Cez grief about that damn grapes narration in the IoW garden, heh. :P
And now episode 4 has November 6th as a release date, according to this trailer.
This is unacceptable. When they say it's going to release it October, they had damn well better release it in October too, and by an October release I do not mean October 31st.
If I could be arsed to make an account, I'd go over to the PoS forums and tell them exactly what I think.
Why? Because you gave them your hard-earned internet cookies and you're entitled to "customer service"? You're not a customer, you're a fan. Wait your turn.
And if you were being sarcastic, then redirect this to whoever isn't.
And now episode 4 has November 6th as a release date, according to this trailer.
This is unacceptable. When they say it's going to release it October, they had damn well better release it in October too, and by an October release I do not mean October 31st.
If I could be arsed to make an account, I'd go over to the PoS forums and tell them exactly what I think.
We had quite a bit of other stuff going on in October that ate into our time a little bit and we wanted to make sure we released a solid Episode. Since you don't even have an account, I'm not sure why you care so much. But if you did have an account you might have noticed the frustration that came up when we released Episode 3 without giving ourselves the proper amount of breathing room and there were some fairly annoying bugs. We have resolved all of those issues for this release and want to just be sure that we have a few days dedicated only to testing before we throw this episode out to the public.
And you're the only person I've seen who's even complained that instead of releasing the game this weekend we had a big party to announce our first major commercial title with guests from Fable Foundry showing off some really awesome stuff they're working on, various presentations, and even a visit from Jane Jensen. I guess if you really would have preferred a buggy and unfinished game over that then that's your own preference. Oh well.
Releasing a bug-free game is all well and good but what annoys me is you promising a release within a certain time frame and not upholding it.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who was mentally prepared for an October release, and coming with a trailer on the second-last of the month and giving a completely different release date is the equivalent of you telling your customer base "screw you".
It would have gone a long way of alleviating the frustration if you would have just informed the public of developments and posted some updates, but you didn't even do that. I don't think that's fair.
Releasing a bug-free game is all well and good but what annoys me is you promising a release within a certain time frame and not upholding it.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who was mentally prepared for an October release, and coming with a trailer on the second-last of the month and giving a completely different release date is the equivalent of you telling your customer base "screw you".
It would have gone a long way of alleviating the frustration if you would have just informed the public of developments and posted some updates, but you didn't even do that. I don't think that's fair.
And you continue to come across as a whiny little bitch. The fact that the release date is literally a week away from your original bitchy post really makes you sound like an impatient little child. Might I suggest growing up and getting a life outside of complaining about not getting your free game sooner?
And you continue to come across as a whiny little bitch. The fact that the release date is literally a week away from your original bitchy post really makes you sound like an impatient little child. Might I suggest growing up and getting a life outside of complaining about not getting your free game sooner?
Oh, so we're resorting to insulting people now?
First of all, everyone's got a right to state their opinion. And secondly, yes, it is a big deal. Not getting what you're paying for always is.
I won't accept this kind off treatment.
I'm also tremendously curious about the "paid for" part. Exactly how much did you pay for TSL? By your own statement, you've never even created an account on our website so you haven't even downloaded the game period. So what exactly are you complaining about anyway? Something you weren't going to play not being done when you heard it was going to be done?
I'm also tremendously curious about the "paid for" part. Exactly how much did you pay for TSL? By your own statement, you've never even created an account on our website so you haven't even downloaded the game period. So what exactly are you complaining about anyway? Something you weren't going to play not being done when you heard it was going to be done?
I don't understand what creating an account has to do with downloading the game episodes. I certainly can't recall ever creating one, and even if I have the forums and its discussions have no appeal or interest to me due to them appearing to be extremely unconstructive, which is why I won't bother.
So how can you say I haven't played your game when I have in fact played through the 3 episodes twice? There is something about that that makes no sense whatsoever.
And the cost of the game can be measured in the insanely large amounts of time and energy expended in both playing it and wasting time here pointing out its positive and negative aspects, which it is obvious that people seem intent on ignoring anyway. Just because it doesn't involve pure financial expenses doesn't mean to say there's no cost involved. Sheesh.
Now if people could stop with the name-calling and blatant disregard for forum etiquette and accept that overly late releases is NOT a done deal, it would be much appreciated.
OK... caeska its a game that they put a ton of love and effort into without financial compensation.. If they are late give them a break... I dont care if its a year late... what they are doing for fans of KQ is great and appreciated.
Everyone else stop baiting him...
Debate all you want but name calling ends now MMMKAY?
ITT - somebody cries because a game that's being made entirely by volunteers in their spare time took a few days longer than anticipated to finish up and he calls it being "overly" late.
Seriously though - not one other single person has complained about the release needing one extra week to make sure we do things as nicely as possible for the final game we're ever going to do in our current engine. I really don't understand why you're so incredibly upset - major commercial titles are often delayed far longer than this. I'd say getting a team of 70+ volunteers to finish something off only a week behind schedule is pretty freaking impressive.
And the cost of the game can be measured in the insanely large amounts of time and energy expended in both playing it and wasting time here pointing out its positive and negative aspects
And the cost of the game can be measured in the insanely large amounts of time and energy expended in both playing it and wasting time here pointing out its positive and negative aspects, which it is obvious that people seem intent on ignoring anyway. Just because it doesn't involve pure financial expenses doesn't mean to say there's no cost involved. Sheesh.
This is the biggest load of crap I have ever heard. Have you ever experienced ANY kind of real hardship in life? Seriously, the privilege of your position bleeds through everything you say. Playing it and COMMENTING about it COSTS YOU SOMETHING? Seriously, bite the big one, dude.
Speaking for myself, I'm not particularly interested in TSL given that it's apparently filled with much more drama and melancholy than the King's Quest franchise is known for.
I can appreciate the amount of time and effort put into a project, especially one that is available for free, but TSL's style isn't really my thing.
Speaking for myself, I'm not particularly interested in TSL given that it's apparently filled with much more drama and melancholy than the King's Quest franchise is known for.
I can appreciate the amount of time and effort put into a project, especially one that is available for free, but TSL's style isn't really my thing.
Of course I'm going to speak in pro of the game (duh!), but a lot of people have enjoyed TSL's gameplay (especially in episode 3) as a real throw back and challenge close to the Sierra days.
While I won't deny to you that there's a heavier drama tone than any past King's Quest, TSL also has its very lighthearted and adventurous side. There are also elements of it that have been well praised, like the music and the "attention to detail" 3D revamped Green Isles. If you like the Green Isles, there's also our view of what lies beyond some of the lands (Inside Chessboard land, past the gate of the Beast castle, inside the city of the Winged Ones, etc).
Yes, there's a dark tone that you may consider doesn't fit in a King's Quest game, but in all honesty, Tales of Monkey Isle also has its very dark moments (like the whole of Episode 4) that you don't see anywhere else in the series. TSL is not all about that tone either. it does have a collection of throwback moments that even the people that have had problems with its tone have thoroughly enjoyed.
Episode 1 was not really a good first impression. Give 2 and 3 a try, and then make up your mind. That's all I ask
I'd also recommend waiting until this sunday and grabbing the whole build of ep1-4 which contains all of the Green Isles and the culmination of our work in many ways (since Ep45 will take place in the Dreamworld, and will employ a new engine). It's also more stable since we killed a bug that was causing random crashes to some machines.
The other 41 episodes from now til then will continue to take place in the Green Isles. We have 10 whole episodes solely dedicated to Graham counseling people who are depressed.
The other 41 episodes from now til then will continue to take place in the Green Isles. We have 10 whole episodes solely dedicated to Graham counseling people who are depressed.
Yes, there's a dark tone that you may consider doesn't fit in a King's Quest game, but in all honesty, Tales of Monkey Isle also has its very dark moments (like the whole of Episode 4) that you don't see anywhere else in the series.
Let's see...Tales of Monkey Island Episode 4...that was the one set at night, wasn't it? Is that what you mean?
Let's see...Tales of Monkey Island Episode 4...that was the one set at night, wasn't it? Is that what you mean?
lol no. I mean...
no spoilers tags here? Or am I too tired to see it?
SPOILERS***
Guybrush and Morgan murdered by stabbing, plus the whole stuff going on with the Voodoo lady is not exactly your definition of lightness. If I recall correctly, Monkey Island never really treated that stuff as serious as it was handled in ep4. But I could be wrong.
no spoilers tags here? Or am I too tired to see it?
Guybrush and Morgan murdered by stabbing, plus the whole stuff going on with the Voodoo lady is not exactly your definition of lightness. If I recall correctly, Monkey Island never really treated that stuff as serious as it was handled in ep4. But I could be wrong.
I'm not drawing a parallel or using it as an excuse. I'm proud of what we've done with TSL, and we all like the tone in our team. We feel it fits what we wanted to do and the statement we wanted to give about the type of games we want to make. There are things I'd redo if I could, but the tone is not one of them. I will say, however, that I do understand it's not the tone I'd give a King's Quest if we didn't have the "freedom" of being a fan project.
no spoilers tags here? Or am I too tired to see it?
There are spoiler tags here. Just write "spoiler" in square brackets (without the quotation marks, obviously), followed by spoilery information, followed by "/spoiler" in square brackets.
There are spoiler tags here. Just write "spoiler" in square brackets (without the quotation marks, obviously), followed by spoilery information, followed by "/spoiler" in square brackets.
Comments
Love this!
QFT
Thw way story is told now in the Silver Lining drove me off from the game. It has many good elements in it, but the narrative really brought it down for me.
Duly noted.
Looking at it now, I actually think our cutscene material is very strong, while our conversations with characters/narrations could use a lot of editing. But you know what they say about hindsight, right? I was too in love with my prose, that's very true.
The conversations needed an editing pass that they never got, mainly because we were scrambling to finish the script in time for when recordings started. So, Katie did a great job, but only in fixing my broken English --since it's not my native tongue and back then, it was very broken.
With narrations, we took the wrong turn when the demo feedback requested for more. I think we had the right amount back then, as we never received this type of feedback then. And then I unleashed a self-indulgent beast I should have never released.
Regardless, I think we have a strong storyline. I also think that thanks to the feedback, we've managed to make the new elements that we've included in every episode very strong and fans favorite, because we've now dedicated the time to write the right amount of text and take our time to properly edit stuff --noted by sections like the brevity of the tower narrations, or the conversations with Lt Shorty, or even the ending cutscene to Episode 3, all which have received good amount of feedback as they were edited and re-edited and touched and re-touched until they felt right.
Episode 5 was fully written taking all the feedback in consideration. The flowery prose is still there, but only used when necessary to keep up with the story tone. Gone are the long, long narrations except in few cases, where, again, the story demands more detail. And gone are also the unnecessary conversations --helped by the notion that Episode 5 is very desolate.
So we do appreciate the feedback. It has helped immensely to make every episode better and better. Episode 3 has received a lot of praise and it's because we listened to this feedback, and we'll continue to listen as we go, but there are also things we cannot change at this point without having to cause a major rework. There's also the fact that the story's tone, for what The Silver Lining is, is also one we are extremely happy with, and that is something that may not be everyone's cup of tea.
Thanks and sorry for the long email
Bt
*Sobs*
Thank you. THANK YOU!
With that admission, I can now die happy.
My life is complete.
I know I was very vocal about those issues!
I still give Cez grief about that damn grapes narration in the IoW garden, heh. :P
This is unacceptable. When they say it's going to release it October, they had damn well better release it in October too, and by an October release I do not mean October 31st.
If I could be arsed to make an account, I'd go over to the PoS forums and tell them exactly what I think.
And if you were being sarcastic, then redirect this to whoever isn't.
We had quite a bit of other stuff going on in October that ate into our time a little bit and we wanted to make sure we released a solid Episode. Since you don't even have an account, I'm not sure why you care so much. But if you did have an account you might have noticed the frustration that came up when we released Episode 3 without giving ourselves the proper amount of breathing room and there were some fairly annoying bugs. We have resolved all of those issues for this release and want to just be sure that we have a few days dedicated only to testing before we throw this episode out to the public.
And you're the only person I've seen who's even complained that instead of releasing the game this weekend we had a big party to announce our first major commercial title with guests from Fable Foundry showing off some really awesome stuff they're working on, various presentations, and even a visit from Jane Jensen. I guess if you really would have preferred a buggy and unfinished game over that then that's your own preference. Oh well.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who was mentally prepared for an October release, and coming with a trailer on the second-last of the month and giving a completely different release date is the equivalent of you telling your customer base "screw you".
It would have gone a long way of alleviating the frustration if you would have just informed the public of developments and posted some updates, but you didn't even do that. I don't think that's fair.
And you continue to come across as a whiny little bitch. The fact that the release date is literally a week away from your original bitchy post really makes you sound like an impatient little child. Might I suggest growing up and getting a life outside of complaining about not getting your free game sooner?
Oh, so we're resorting to insulting people now?
First of all, everyone's got a right to state their opinion. And secondly, yes, it is a big deal. Not getting what you're paying for always is.
I won't accept this kind off treatment.
?????
"I DEMAND MY FREE GAME!"
Sorry you find it so "unacceptable". Now here's a handkerchief to mop up your tears, man up, wait a couple days and play your free game.
Bt
I don't understand what creating an account has to do with downloading the game episodes. I certainly can't recall ever creating one, and even if I have the forums and its discussions have no appeal or interest to me due to them appearing to be extremely unconstructive, which is why I won't bother.
So how can you say I haven't played your game when I have in fact played through the 3 episodes twice? There is something about that that makes no sense whatsoever.
And the cost of the game can be measured in the insanely large amounts of time and energy expended in both playing it and wasting time here pointing out its positive and negative aspects, which it is obvious that people seem intent on ignoring anyway. Just because it doesn't involve pure financial expenses doesn't mean to say there's no cost involved. Sheesh.
Now if people could stop with the name-calling and blatant disregard for forum etiquette and accept that overly late releases is NOT a done deal, it would be much appreciated.
Everyone else stop baiting him...
Debate all you want but name calling ends now MMMKAY?
Seriously though - not one other single person has complained about the release needing one extra week to make sure we do things as nicely as possible for the final game we're ever going to do in our current engine. I really don't understand why you're so incredibly upset - major commercial titles are often delayed far longer than this. I'd say getting a team of 70+ volunteers to finish something off only a week behind schedule is pretty freaking impressive.
In honor of your valuable time:
This is the biggest load of crap I have ever heard. Have you ever experienced ANY kind of real hardship in life? Seriously, the privilege of your position bleeds through everything you say. Playing it and COMMENTING about it COSTS YOU SOMETHING? Seriously, bite the big one, dude.
Bt
Speaking for myself, I'm not particularly interested in TSL given that it's apparently filled with much more drama and melancholy than the King's Quest franchise is known for.
I can appreciate the amount of time and effort put into a project, especially one that is available for free, but TSL's style isn't really my thing.
The "cost of being a fan and commenting" crap is quite a ridiculous argument.
Of course I'm going to speak in pro of the game (duh!), but a lot of people have enjoyed TSL's gameplay (especially in episode 3) as a real throw back and challenge close to the Sierra days.
While I won't deny to you that there's a heavier drama tone than any past King's Quest, TSL also has its very lighthearted and adventurous side. There are also elements of it that have been well praised, like the music and the "attention to detail" 3D revamped Green Isles. If you like the Green Isles, there's also our view of what lies beyond some of the lands (Inside Chessboard land, past the gate of the Beast castle, inside the city of the Winged Ones, etc).
Yes, there's a dark tone that you may consider doesn't fit in a King's Quest game, but in all honesty, Tales of Monkey Isle also has its very dark moments (like the whole of Episode 4) that you don't see anywhere else in the series. TSL is not all about that tone either. it does have a collection of throwback moments that even the people that have had problems with its tone have thoroughly enjoyed.
Episode 1 was not really a good first impression. Give 2 and 3 a try, and then make up your mind. That's all I ask
I'd also recommend waiting until this sunday and grabbing the whole build of ep1-4 which contains all of the Green Isles and the culmination of our work in many ways (since Ep45 will take place in the Dreamworld, and will employ a new engine). It's also more stable since we killed a bug that was causing random crashes to some machines.
You can see the trailer to Episode 4 here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hEnPvghuvY&feature=related
The other 41 episodes from now til then will continue to take place in the Green Isles. We have 10 whole episodes solely dedicated to Graham counseling people who are depressed.
Lol...Not funny.
Let's see...Tales of Monkey Island Episode 4...that was the one set at night, wasn't it? Is that what you mean?
lol no. I mean...
no spoilers tags here? Or am I too tired to see it?
SPOILERS***
Guybrush and Morgan murdered by stabbing, plus the whole stuff going on with the Voodoo lady is not exactly your definition of lightness. If I recall correctly, Monkey Island never really treated that stuff as serious as it was handled in ep4. But I could be wrong.
END OF SPOILERS**
There are spoiler tags here. Just write "spoiler" in square brackets (without the quotation marks, obviously), followed by spoilery information, followed by "/spoiler" in square brackets.
Thanks!!
been too sleep depraved for the past two weeks!
Hahah, sleep depraved? Have you been committing base and vile acts in your sleep again, Cez? Methinks you're sleep deprived!
Bt