- oscar66
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Re: Sneak Peek Betas (Possible Spoilers)
I beta'd Emberwing Lost Legacy today. It is by Boomzap and it is gorgeous. The graphics are stunning, the music nice. Voice acting is well done. The puzzles in the demo were varied from easy to middling. Some different ones. And there are layered puzzles. The story is about dragons and Dark Elves (I don't trust the one, I think he's up to something)and you are trying to rescue your son from a dragon. The hint system when you clicked on it showed you a picture of where you should go and gave you the option of going there. This was outside of a HO scene. I didn't use it in one. There were some neat little things in the HO scenes, levers to click, drawers to open. There was a little diarama scene where you had to move things about and finish a puzzle in it to find gems. The map was a jump map. There were collectibles that you apparently can use later on. There were only 9 available in the demo so I'm not sure where that will go. And I didn't see any achievements, not that there won't be later. (and the only cute little animal was a mechanical dragon that is your hint button)
Funny at the end of the survey they asked how you started playing HO games. Internet search, friend recommend etc. The question specifically asked how you started playing period not just on BFG site. It didn't ask where, just how you came to play them.
It's a big thumbs up for me
"There is no more perfect stillness than the solitude in the heart of a snowstorm." Diana Gabaldon
- TiramaSue
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Re: Sneak Peek Betas (Possible Spoilers)
I received a beta from BF for Botanica: Earthbound. I played the first one back in February and don't remember much about the mechanics.
This one has some nice features. The interactive map shows you the locations where you need to find collectibles. And under options, you can choose to shut off the pop-ups that occur when you find a collectible or earn an achievement. The game is divided into self-contained chapters (like the Dana Knightstone games). In the first chapter you play as Ellie, in the second chapter (which the beta only allowed you to see about 5 minutes of) you play as Ian.
The puzzles are encountered were multilevel and I think I only plyed 3 HO scenes in the first chapter, 2 were lists, 1 was pictures, all were very interactive and not the usual easy-peasy interactive (such as slice the apple to find the worm).
For every minute you are angry, you lose sixity seconds of happiness. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
- stusue
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Re: Sneak Peek Betas (Possible Spoilers)
I betaed a game just before my sister got here called Nightwalkers: The Lurker. I loved it and can't wait until it's released. Sorry but I've forgotten who made it and I didn't make a note of it. The things that I listed that I loved are:
- the custom mode
- the voiceovers
- the way you had to open up some inventory items to open/interact with them
- the different HOSs
- the collectible bells as they were well hidden
- you also sometimes have to do something to get them
- the funny comments when you try something and it doesn't work
eg. the 4th of 4 is, "Maybe it's a German compatability thing."
- inventory items go straight into inventory without you having to close a box
- you find pieces of the jump/task map as needed - different
- the details like the owl's eyes moving with the cursor
- the great, atmospheric music and ambient sounds
- the progressive jigsaw story (I think a HOP/minigame)
- the water droplets
I only noticed one spelling mistake and that was something written in German (it's set in Germany). I noted that in the survey so it'll be interesting to see if they change it. The correct spelling has an umlaut, which they may not want, so I gave them some alternatives.
This one gets the thumbs up from me and I'll be keeping an eye out for it. I just hope it doesn't take too long to be released as it seemed pretty finished to me. I also hope it's released on or just before a BOGOF weekend so I'll be able to get it and play it straight away. 
ETA: I forgot to say that for this survey, unlike any others I've done, I gave it top marks for every single question. I think I've rarely given top marks for anything before, always having something to say that could improve whatever it was. But this time I couldn't improve on anything, hence why I think it might be almost ready for release and why I want it! 
I also think, also for the first time, that, when asked if I was likely to buy it, I said a definite yes, not a maybe or don't know or anything I normally choose.
Last edited by stusue (January 5, 2014 8:33 am)
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because you're exchanging a day of your life for it.
- stusue
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Re: Sneak Peek Betas (Possible Spoilers)
I just submitted the survey after playing the beta for a HOPA.
Name: Spirit of Revenge: Cursed Castle
By: Vendel Games
Story: A cursed family has gone missing, all except a little girl, in a cursed castle.
What I loved about the game:
- The first thng I noticed was that the Inspector looks and sounds exactly like Inspector Barnaby from the English TV series.
- The interesting HOSs - for eg. in one you find objects, then in the next you have to put them into a different scene in order for numbers to show up (eg. you light a lamp, or steam), and you have to find a piece of paper with the code to open a case.
- The great English voiceovers.
- The map.
- Thank heavens you can use your hand to move leaves out of the way and don't have to go and find a rake!
- There's story animation in the HOSs - eg. some things ignite then go back to normal, or a black shadow passes outside a window.
- There are morphs and collectibles. And you collect the collectibles for a reason! You collect 8 frames in the game and for each you find 8 puzzle pieces in the zoom-in areas. When you've found 8 puzzle pieces you can do a jigsaw puzzle (which is hard even though there aren't many pieces) and then you get one of 8 large pieces in a painting that you need to do the bonus. So one of the most interesting ideas I've come aross for the collectibles. Although I would have preferred that the puzzle pieces were harder to find as, when you zoomed in, they were huge and just there.
- Some original HOSs and puzzles, although they were very easy
- A HOS where you first had to build a little girl's lamp (too easy) but then the objects you had to find were the reflections through the lampshade and that was fun and different.
- When you open a kid's book and click on it a child read's the words.
- There's lots to do in each scene.
- Great music.
- All the information you need is kept in the Memos section of your journal, so you don't have to flip through all our journal to find a number or something.
- There's a book where, each time you turn a page (I think you have 3 or 4 pages) you have something different to do, like a jigsaw puzzle or a spot the difference.
- The inventory bar seems smaller than more recent games, which I loved as it wasn't in your face. However, the objects in the boxes were very small and sometimes a bit hard to see what they were. But there was a lot of space around them so they could be a bit larger.
- In the beta there was an equal number of HOSs and puzzles.
- The backstory of the family is given through videos, found, for example, when you pick up a newspaper and the photo turns into a video.
- You collect morphing objects to get more hints. However, if you don't use hints then it's useless. I don't know if there's any other reason to collect them as there was no Extras button on the opening screen so I couldn't check.
What I didn't like so much:
- The HOSs and puzzles were fun but very, very easy. I recommended only for Beginners and Intermediate players
- When you find an object in the HOSs it's almost blacked out. You can still read them but it's very difficult. As I clicked on something accidentally and just happened to find an object but had no idea what I'd found, it would have been great to have been able to easily see what I'd found.
- In the spot-the-difference game on one side there was a sparkling circle that I found so distracting and I couldn't stand looking at it. So I moved the cursor off-screen while I looked for differences and then quickly clicked on a difference and then moved it off-screen again. I don't know if that would be a problem for epileptics or migrain sufferers.
Recommendation:
If it's released as an SE, as the first one was, I'll get it automatically as I really liked the graphics, music, gameplay, story. However, if it's released as a CE I'd have to find out first how long and how interesting the bonus chapter was (I'm assuming the bonus is a chapter), as well as if it gets any harder as the game progresses. However, I will be getting the game in some form. Hopefully it will only be an SE but I loved the collectibles idea, although they were way too easy to find.
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What you're doing today is important
because you're exchanging a day of your life for it.
- sunshinej
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Re: Sneak Peek Betas (Possible Spoilers)
Two Desparodos game developers are looking for Beta testers their website is
They're game is Dreamatorium of Dr. Magnus and they have a new one coming soon.
Evil Pumpkin: The Lost Halloween
Last edited by sunshinej (April 21, 2014 11:58 am)
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- sunshinej
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Re: Sneak Peek Betas (Possible Spoilers)
Anyone interested in the Mystery Case Files: Dire Grove, Sacred Grove beta? I am looking forward to this as I really liked the first one so much. I am going to be playing it when it comes out and not wait like I usally do, because I want to be caught up in the excitement. I haven't done the beta and want to wait until the game comes out.
i ♥ nirvana
- sunshinej
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Re: Sneak Peek Betas (Possible Spoilers)
Looking ahead to Christmas is another Christmas Stories 3: Hans Christian Andersen's Tin Soldier.
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- sunshinej
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Re: Sneak Peek Betas (Possible Spoilers)
The next Awakening Game that lilyr liked so much. Awakening: The Golden Age.
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- lilyr
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Re: Sneak Peek Betas (Possible Spoilers)
GreyAlienGames -- the folks who brought us SPOOKY BONUS (actually essentially folk -- it's a one-man operation) is looking for Beta testers for the new card game Jake's been working on. He's over in the DEVELOPERS CORNER (or thread) on PondFriends. You could also email him through his web site. He hopes to have the game ready to test in a month
- TiramaSue
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Re: Sneak Peek Betas (Possible Spoilers)
sunshinej wrote:
Anyone interested in the Mystery Case Files: Dire Grove, Sacred Grove beta? I am looking forward to this as I really liked the first one so much. I am going to be playing it when it comes out and not wait like I usally do, because I want to be caught up in the excitement. I haven't done the beta and want to wait until the game comes out.
=============
When betas of 13 skulls were sent out, I felt really let down that I didn't get one. The MCF games after that one were such a disappointment that I was relieved not to have won a 'golden ticket' to test drive them.
I still haven't played the latest which is supposed to be excellent. But it's next on my list. I have high hopes for this Fire Grove sequel and want to play it when it's released rather than let it gather dust.
For every minute you are angry, you lose sixity seconds of happiness. - Ralph Waldo Emerson