Thursday 9 April 2009

The version 0.94 beta test period is now closed

I want to thank everybody that have been so helpful with this first external test. I hope that you will recover without any permanent mental damage :)

My thanks goes to (in so specific order)
- Princess Eve
- Shaugn
- Lance
- Wyrin
- E.C. Patterson
- Tobbe76
- Valentine & Mikky from the Zorkian Fanbozz Club

// Posted from my iPhone //

What did they find then? Well, lots of typos, of course, and some bugs. Not a huge amount but enough to keep me busy for a while. Then they found a intricate mesh of problems with my NPC interaction and combat functions. Some of them I haven't been able to reproduce other I have solved partly and will keep working on. A surprisingly big number is about bugs and flaws in NWN2-itself. And how much I would like to solve them I cannot do much about it.

Another source of questions and confusion seem to be that Zork (the original one) is a really, really hard game. Many of the reported issues are about how things are unclear, too hard to solve and not so logical. Here I stands before a road sign saying "This way - that's how Zork I was, you have violated this fine game enough as it is!" and "That way - Here's your chance to make amends for sins made by Infocom decades ago" Some part of me would like to say. "Hey, it's an fantasy adventure! Why can't a door lead to one place and another place back?" or "Wait, now. Your think that a talking Cyclops and a Axe-fighting Troll is realistic but walking on a rainbow is not?" But I don't. I collect all those comments and ideas of how to make the game better/different/easier and if time allows it I'll try to implement some of therm.

Once again thank you and a Happy Easter or whatever everyone out there celebrates this time of the year. Me, myself, eats candy and hunt down bugs :)

/A

// Posted from my iPhone //

2 comments:

Lance Botelle (Bard of Althéa) said...

Hi Amraphael,

You are in that difficult position where you can only please some people and not all. :( The main person to please in this though, is YOU! :)

After all, you are the one who put the time and effort into making it, and so it would be unfair if it did not do everything you wanted it to. If part of that goal is to stick close to the original design as possible, then so be it. Alternatively, if you hope to do some things that might make the game play differently, then that is a different design decision.

Both have their pros and cons, and I know how difficult it would be trying to make the right decision.

I am waiting for the next version to become available befor my next testing bout. Let me know when it's available.

Cheers!

Lance.

P.S. I take it you mean "no" particular order and not "so". ;)

PJH said...

May you get lots of chocolates for Zorkster that keeps you wired and up through the night completing Zork!