I found out what was causing the strange load/save behavior, and it's very simple and nothing to do with Vista. However, doing some research gave me more understanding of what happens in Vista, so that's very useful to know.
Recent changes:
*The game's been renamed! Not as dramatic as it sounds. I previously called the EXE file "Enter The Story" but it's now called "Les Miserables" and the FOLDER it goes in is Enter The Story. Sounds trivial, but until yesterday I didn't know how to rename the game (it's not just a case of changing the "game name" file or renaming the EXE file from Windows)
* the Windows start->programs menu looks better and actually works (though note the caveat about using shortcuts). It includes a direct link to the game folder for your convenience.
* everybody should now talk when you double click on them. If you find any people who still don't talk when you double click, please let me know.
* the first few references to the library: they now say "by the prison" - a lot of people were getting lost at this point.
* the space bar showing exits: I fixed a bug that made some exit arrows not show up. This is especially useful if you're trying to find Toulon, or escape from the garden, etc. (I never realized how many people rely on those arrows!)
* added clues to get you to look upward in the church (in case you wander round the city instead)
* ESCAPE: now brings up 'quit' button in the top left corner for 5 seconds (and it stays on if your mouse is at the top of the screen about to click it)
* you can now open a saved game by pressing 'O' at the start before the book opens (assuming the game's being loaded in its own folder - see above)
* if a saved game exists (in save game slot '1'), then the opening graphic reminds you to press 'O'.
* help page: load and save commands (And other stuff) are now more prominent
* Auto-scrolling scenes: now 50% faster
* tiny people walking: now 50% slower
* default text speed: now 50% slower
* removed/toned down out-of-character jokes
* fixed a few typos (still a few to do)
* made sure you always see the intro dialog (unless you don't want to). Also sped (speeded?) up the game's response to skipping the intro (it used to take a second, now it's mostly instant)
* it installs to a better place by default ('My Documents'). On balance I think Windows is happier with that than the previous place. I can't install to Program Files because Windows doesn't always allow saved games to go there, and I strongly dislike the sloppy practice of scattering bits of games around different folders, but that's another story.
* And a few other minor things (like making the 'free Valjean' task easier).
WARNING: SAVED GAMES CAN ONLY BE LOADED IN THE SAME GAME BUILD THAT CREATED THEM. OLD SAVE GAME FILES WON'T LOAD IN THIS GAME, AND VICE VERSA. But note that, using the Ctrl-P test page, you can start any game at any point if you want.
If there are other major changes over the next seven days I'll probably upload another version, but of course it's up to you whether you want to download them.
Hope this helps. Thanks again for all those who are bravely ploughing though. I hope someone gets to the end.
11 comments:
Check that setup.exe still works when you rename the main exe: AGS hard-codes the exe name into the setup exe, too.
Chris,
I had meant to get further this weekend, but I got stuck on the very next event after finding Cosette - I can't for the life of me figure out how to "confront" Thenardier! Every time I speak to him, the "cost" goes up. I gave up at 37,000 francs... :) I saw the gun and tried to get Valjean to destroy or hide it before asking again, but that didn't seem to work. (Also, it seems unrealistic that Valjean has 37,000 francs at this time - and that he keeps paying more money.)
RE: saving games locations: I have to disagree with your disagreement of the 'standard practice.' While you're certainly free to put the game where you would like, for "power users" (myself included), a game that doesn't follow standard installation practices is a red flag. The general best practice is to 1) install the game to the Program Files directory, and 2) to put saved games, screenshots, logs, etc. in a subfolder of the current user's My Documents\My Games directory. This has several advantages:
-The program is separated from the user's data (note that Program Files and My Documents are often placed on separate hard drives or partitions for backup purposes)
-During uninstall, you can opt to keep the saved games around for when you reinstall the game someday
-You automatically follow the rules in every Windows version (or other operating system) about where things can be written to. (On Linux systems, just substitute the %HOME% directory for My Documents)
But other than that, putting everything in a subdirectory of My Documents is probably the second-best solution.
By the way, what is the "caveat about shortcuts" that you mentioned? I remember being frustrated that I couldn't access the game through the Start Menu (I always refuse a desktop icon, and there was no shortcut in the Start Menu folder).
I'm hoping I can play through the rest of the game this weekend. (No promises, though - I may end up writing physics lab reports instead!) If I do, I'll skip events whenever I get stuck, and send you the list of "hard" puzzles.
-Caius
(Larskemmann@aol.com)
re: the setup name - as far as I can tell, simply changing the folder name is all it needs, then the editor loads the game as if it's new. (I also changed the name in the editor for good measure). Seems to work... as far as I can tell!
re: confronting Thenardier. Ah... this is where I get embarrassed. I spotted that a couple of days ago and fixed it. The problem is with the clues. I was being "clever," having three puzzles running simultaneously, but I only just realized that this makes the first two sets of clues inaccessible!! The clue to confront Thenardier only makes sense AFTER you've distracted his wife, removed the gun, and got Fantine's letter. Gosh, you're going to hate me now.
If downloading isn't a problem for you I'd strongly recommend downloading the more recent build of the game, then starting from the previous task (using Ctrl-P).
Go to
http://enterthestory.com/dec3test/ and click on the link.
Otherwise, if you want to stick with the version you have, use the Ctrl-O and Ctrl-P features to either (1) see what should be combined with what at each stage, or (2) skip stinky tasks entirely. Another problem I found with the rescue is that on the next task, where you find the Gorbeau house, when you walk in then Valjean and Cosette aren't there. It doesn't make the game unplayable (at least I think it doesn't - but maybe that's because I used the Ctrl-P feature when I tested it) but either way, it's fixed in the newer version.
Re: putting everything in one folder. As fas as I understand, AGS simply won't let anything be saved outside of its own folder, for security reasons. Though the 'start in' option might be a way to bypass that. I could experiment with that, but it's more time taken away from the actual game. Do many people actually use My Documents?
And will they still use it in twenty years time when Enter The Story part 50 comes out and Windows is just another legacy option in the Linux cloud? :)
re: the caveat about shortcuts: I just mean that the game notices if you have saved games. But if games are saved somewhere else then of course the game won't notice them.
Re: finishing the game: I am forever in your debt.
UPDATE: since it's you (I wouldn't do this for anybody else!) I'm going to have a go at the save-elsewhere thing. Turns out AGS version 2.72 does have a new feature called 'SetSaveGameDirectory' but I don't know how that affects the settings file, the 'my story' file, or temporary 'between games' files. Looks like another late night :)
Hi Chris,
I have continued playing using the version from a few days ago, so some of these typos and bugs you may have fixed already. I am currently at the place where I just helped Valjean get to Arras.
Typos:
Victor Hugo: "You need to the old conventionary" should have "go" in between "to" and "the" I think.
"If there are twoo many to release" said by a guy near the assembly hall I think.
Hugo: "But tie is running out" should be "time" I am sure.
"I though it was you" by Fantine I think should be "thought".
Bugz:
In scene when Javert has figured out who Valjean is, he goes to talk to him and says "you should arrest me, etc." and I see Valjean in the factory office talking but I don't see Javert's body, only the word bubbles for it.
I was stumped and had to use Ctrl P to skip past the: show young lawyers where the letter was. The F1 hint didn't help me and it didn't give me a more obvious hint when I kept doing F1.
Enjoying the game!
Thanks! That's exactly the kind of information I need. I'll fix those bugs today. Much appreciated!
It seems that you're almost ready. Glad to see that. I wish you best luck..
Thanks. I hope so. But I'll feel better when someone has actually reached the end. :)
Post a Comment