Oops. I messed up a bit when I fixed that bug I talked about in my last post, so it was still slightly broken. (It would work sometimes, but sometimes not.) Now it should work fine every time. I’m uploading new files right now. (The torrent downloads are already updated, so you can download the new files there immediately. If you prefer the traditional download, you should wait an hour or so and it too should be updated.)
I’ve fixed a bug in Frasse that would cause some saved games to become impossible to load. Big thanks to Isabelle for letting me know about it! The updated version is being uploaded as I’m typing this. (Please use the torrent download if you can.) Unfortunately, saved games from the old version of the game can’t be read by the new version, but if you’ve encountered the bug and send me an e-mail I’ll mail you a new save game so that you won’t have to play through the whole thing again.
Yes! It’s done. Frasse and the Peas of Kejick – Special Edition is now available for download.
The new version of the game runs on Mac OS X as well as Windows (and even Linux, but then you’ll have to get the game engine separately). It also has added voices, improved music and some improved graphics. It still isn’t perfect, but it’s good enough for me to be proud of what I’ve made, and now I can move on to make my next game. (Unless someone finds any bugs in this one.)
Enjoy, and please let me know what you think of it!
As I stated a public deadline earlier, which has long since passed, I suppose a progress update is in order. In case anyone reading this is wondering what’s going on with my game.
I’m still working on the Special Edition of Frasse and the Peas of Kejick. The main reason that I failed to meet the deadline I’d given myself was that I hadn’t received all the voice recordings from other people (I’m still waiting on two persons), but that wasn’t the only reason. When I realised that it would be impossible to finish the game on schedule, I didn’t push that hard to finish the things I could have finished either. And now that I’m waiting I’ve also started to go through all the background graphics, updating them to take advantage of the unlimited colour palette in the new version of the engine, and touching them up a bit where I find things that I can improve.
I’m now really looking forward to when I’ll finally be able to wrap up the game and finally call it done. (This has gone on a lot longer than I originally planned.) I can’t make a new estimation of a release date today. As soon as I have the parts created by others that I need to finish, I’ll put it together as quickly as I can, but until then I’ll keep making small updates all over the game. I just hope the end will come soon, so that I’ll be able to move on.
The special edition of Frasse is coming along nicely, and I may still be able to meet my deadline of releasing it before the end of this week. (But it’s also possible that I won’t – there’s still a lot to be done.)
Today I’ve spent some time on a piece of music from Frasse. This time it’s a piece from the last part of the game, so if you’re afraid of minor spoilers, read no further. (more…)
I’ve previously mentioned that I’m working on a Special Edition of my adventure game Frasse and the Peas of Kejick to celebrate that it’s becoming playable on Mac OS X, but I have not talked much about what the update will contain.
In case you’re wondering what’s up, here’s a quick update.
I got a lot done on the SLUDGE adventure game engine during the summer. (If you’re interested in knowing more about that, and maybe trying it out, you should head on over to the Adventure Developers forum. That’s where the SLUDGE action is.)
Now my SLUDGE-making speed has slowed down a bit, for two reasons. One is that the vacation is over, and my paid work naturally has priority over this stuff. The other is that I’ve been spending a little time [i]using[/i] the SLUDGE development kit, making Frasse and the Peas of Kejick: Special Edition. No estimated release date for that yet, but I’m hoping to get it done this side of Christmas.
I was happy to find that “JD” has reviewed Frasse and the Peas of Kejick on his blog, where he reviews a lot of freeware adventure games (check it out). He mostly liked it, and I agree him where he mentions things he didn’t like so much.
Thanks, JD, for taking the time to write reviews! (And I’m not saying this because he liked my game. If anyone who doesn’t like my game would like to review it, I’d be equally grateful. I’d probably learn more from that review.)
I’ve only done minor things with Sludge this week. (Done some small fixes, and changed how resolution is handled.) The rest of the remaining work will have to wait until I have the books I mentioned in my previous post.
Instead I have spent some time with Frasse. The original game, and not the sequel. When I release it for the Mac, it will be an updated game, and the area where I really want to update things in in the sound department. I want to use real instruments in the music. Here’s an example: The original version, and the updated one with a live trombone. The new version is far from perfect (I need to practice recording myself) and I’ll probably return to it again before the game is re-released, but I hope you’ll agree it’s an improvement anyway. I plan to do this all over the place, and also add other sounds.
I’ve been working on the engine that powers (among other great games) Frasse and the Peas of Kejick (and will power its sequel). Tim Furnish, who made the engine, opened up its source code almost a year ago (how time flies!) and I immediately downloaded it and started looking at it with the intent of porting it to Mac OS X. As you might imagine, that’s not a completely straightforward process. It took me a while simply to get it to compile and run in Windows (using another compiler than the one Tim used).