This weekend we have an enormously interesting game to share: Digital: A Love Story. The title encapsulates the experience quite well, as it's a game that's both about 20 year old technology and love.
Jump, Copy, Paste (Windows, 2MB, free) - Another experimental platform game by Hempuli! Jump, Copy, Paste describes itself with its title, as that's pretty much what you'll do for 16 levels. Copy chunks of the level and paste them over top other parts, creating platforms, blocking dangers, or hollowing out sections of wall to move forward. Simple idea, but as usual, Hempuli pulls it off with an unusual charm.
Digital: A Love Story (Mac/Win/Linux, 34-41MB, free) - A wonderful piece of interactive fiction that plays as if you were using a computer back in 1988. Once you log in to your new system, check your messages and see what's going on. Looks like Mr. Wong sent you instructions on how to dial in to a local BBS. Why not check it out, see what's going on? Soon, a tiny mystery starts to unveil itself, wrapping ribbons of intrigue as you continue playing the game. Very well-written, emotionally touching, and utterly charming thanks to its nostalgic interface.
Ruined (Windows, 3MB, free) - A tiny li'l exploration game with obvious design inspiration taken from Knytt Stories and a few notable Metroidvania games. Trapped in the desert for years, you play a man named Alec who wanders through passageways looking for a way to repair his ship. Digging deeper into this planet's core turns out to be a bad idea, though, as he continues to uncover things that should have remained buried. At least you get to upgrade your abilities while you're doing it, though!
Note: All games have been confirmed to run under Windows Vista and are virus-free. Mac users should try Boot Camp, Parallels, or CrossOver Games to play Windows titles, Linux users can use Wine. If you know of a great game we should feature, use the Submit link above to send it in!
Hmm, the link to Hempuli's site works fine but the Jump, Copy, Paste download link does not work. Looking forward to another of his games!
The download link for Jump, Copy, Paste on Hempuli's site doesn't work.
I played through Digital when I saw it over on TIGSource. It presents a wonderful experience to any who are willing to let it. There are a few puzzles that appear to stump some, but I can attest to their simplicity.
The safe bet in the game, however, is to do everything that you can think of. Something will move you along in the story.
Can't wait to get to the other two titles.
Ugh. I gave Ruined a shot, and it's got a lot of problems. There's the flickering number on the title bar, which I'm guessing is framerate, but which isn't something I need to see. There's the map in the upper left which is typically very hard to read against the background. Mostly, though, there's the fact that it froze up and I had to force it to quit. I wish you'd waited to feature this until it was a little more complete.
Apparently opening Ruined from a browser's download manager does not allow it to save properly. Also, the game is not giving me any idea of what the condition of my health is. Rather frustrating. I'll give it another go and see if there's anything worthwhile on the other side.
The flickering framerate is also a bit needless.
I'm terribly sorry about the nonworking link. I had accidentally uploaded a .rar instead of .zip, hence the file not being found. The problem should be fixed now.
Hello, I am one of the team members who worked on Ruined (I'm the spriter). I am so honored for this feature.
However, the game feels very incomplete due to the fact that is IS indeed incomplete. As you can see on the GameJolt link, it is still a work in progress.
@Tahnan: Again, the framerate will be removed from the completed version. Thanks for the comment on the map. And where did it freeze?
@ChaoSpectre: The health is displayed in the big blue circle above your head.
I'm stuck on Digital. The password given for
the underground library
didn't work,
All the C0dez numbers are unusable
, and nobody's saying anything on the only usable BBS,
The Matrix.
Help?
in JCP i can only beat the 1st level, then there is an empty room except for 2 doors, both of which don't open.
Having observed that circle, since it's meaning was slightly obscured for me, I noticed no change in that circle while taking damage. Also, the circle hides one of those
blue floating damage things in the clouds
. It was a little surprising to see one there. Perhaps the circle hides other things as well?
@Reece, I played it a little while ago, so I don't remember anything specific (perhaps I should go through it again and write up a... you know... one of those...
Anyway, either you haven't yet
found another BBS (I can't remember if you do at this point), or haven't been paying attention to messages on the Matrix.
If you're out of c0dez, someone should post new ones on the Matrix whenever you do.
Try sending messages to anyone and everyone you can, and replying to threads. But read each thread carefully. What you are looking for should be in a post.
Well, I found new
C0dez codes,
but the
Underground Libray code still won't work!
. Help!
mattt: This should happen only if the game cannot find the proper level files. Are you sure that you extracted all the files in the zip to the same folder? Is someone else getting this?
Let's see, I didn't get very far...the game froze when I was trying to punch the blue robot at the bottom of a long fall, if that helps.
Reece: You have to increment the number on the end by one each time you're locked out. The exploit was posted on the Matrix (I think)
@Reece,
Try to think just a little bit more about it. I promise that the information is in a BBS post, it might even be the one you find the password in.
So just look around a bit more. This spoiler will be here for you when you come back.
Pay special attention to posts that discuss malfunctioning software or software bugs.
Perhaps even BBS software bugs.
OK thanks for the report. Was there an error or did it just freeze?
Also, it might just be that one part. You can just jump over the blue thing because it can't hurt you, so if you feel like playing the game again, you could easily get past it, hopefully without it freezing.
For digital you can get a password cracker for the other domain from the matrix.
Perhaps I should be more clear about this health bar bug in Ruined.
The circle that should be blue and is blue in screenshots is transparent.
Also the
chamber of death in the basement of the temple with all of the flying implements of death is rather frustrating. There doesn't seem to be a strategy except have heightened reflexes. Not to mention that entire path before that with the OOPS GO BACK TO START orbs.
Touched a blue orb in sky zone, near purple (palace?), got this error
ERROR in
action number 1
of Step Event
for object obj_energyJump:
Error in code at line 16:
timer -= 1
^
at position 6: Unknown variable timer
game crashed. Mabye I didn't have a certain powerup?
Something about the Lake city local, I took some screenshots to see what the errors said, and in one it said FEAR THE REAPER. Reaper=Antivirus.
...Ruined is quite charming, but I'm steadily getting frustrated.
I still have no idea what the deal with my transparent health bar is, and I feel like that is crippling my strategy. As opposed to another game where I've played without a clear definition of health, instead of strategy becoming more survival oriented and less technical, I just felt lost.
Also, what's the deal with the dragon boss. I've been stomping on it to deal damage. So I stomped on it, and died as his head fizzled out of existence. What's the deal?
I'm stuck in Ruined. I'm in the purple castle, in a room where
you activate a switch and a stairway of blocks falls from the sky, along with a number. Stepping on any of the blocks causes them all to fall and drop me back down to the floor. Can't figure out how to get through this or what significance the number has.
@Chaos: OK thanks for the report...
@Shocker: Yes, you do not have the powerup needed to jump on those yet. Of course, the game isn't yet completed so that error should be removed in the completed version.
You get that powerup after defeating the sky zone boss.
@Chaos: Sorry I didn't see your latest comment before. I am sorry about the HUD bug, I have no idea how it happened. I understand your frustration. Again, the game is still a WIP.
OK, you are right, the last part of the dragon boss is unfair. It shouldn't be able to kill you coming down, because that just isn't right.
@Neddo:
The number means how many blocks you have to jump over in order for the block you fall on to be stable. For instance if the number is 3, then you go to the first block, and then jump to the 5th block, then the 9th, and so on. Sorry if that was a bad explanation.
One thing I'd like in Ruined is to be able to reach a savepoint from anywhere. I've jumped down a chasm a few times, and found an impossible challenge (due to lack of upgrades), and had to restore from the last save. If there was a savepoint somewhere down there, I could have teleported out instead.
I like it so far though. It reminds me a lot of An Untitled Story, which was also great.
In Ruined, the jump bubbles and jump restores are really frustrating.
I really want to like Ruined, because it's got a lot of good things going for it, but overall the flaws are making it more of a hassle than a pleasure to play.
There are several areas where you have to make blind jumps. Many times in the clouds you will be jumping to a platform but will have to jump into the screen above you, and the screen switching makes it very difficult to tell where you're going to land. And in the areas with the teleporter orbs that send you back to the start, I finally made it past several screens and dropped down a hole only to land in more orbs; there was no way to know in advance that I would need to move to the right to avoid them. I understand that this is a level design decision as a way to add difficulty to the game, but in a game like this I personally prefer the challenge to come from obstacles that you can see and must skillfully avoid, and not something that sneaks up on you with zero warning.
Even that, though, wouldn't be a problem if I weren't constantly wrestling with the controls. Even something as small as slightly extending the distance you can walk to the edge of a platform before falling would help trememndously; several times I've been trying to make difficult jumps but because I waited a split-second too long to jump, it counts as my double-jump instead of my first jump and I plummet down. Very frustrating.
In Ruined:
I like this game, and I like getting links to these games from JIG because you folks are smart, and post walkthroughs!
Having said that, I'm stuck.
I've explored the following areas:
Purple Castle
I've gotten up to the third floor, and have made it to the dead-end area with the save point and the closed door.
I've also encountered two holes that I can't drop into (both on the first floor, I think; one is blocked by big purple blocks that I can't punch through, and the other is covered by a thin line.
Desert
I've made it past the bee hive, and the floating balls at the top of that screen return me to the start.
Evidently, I don't have the proper power-up, from killing another boss - but I can't find that boss.
Cave
I've gotten to a dead end in each direction, and have even gotten to the little cave that's on the right side of the big drop you jump into from the left.
I've found two different caches of supplies (look like, anyway - they look like some of the same stuff as the guy has with him) but haven't been able to do anything with them.
I have seen at least one hole that I can't drop through, due to a very thin line over it.
What I think I'm missing is
an ability to punch or dig through rock. I don't know if that's coming or not, but there are some areas where it looks like that would be a natural progression of my abilities.
I really, truly ENJOYED Digital, which isn't something I can say about most games recently. I actually WANTED to keep playing to see what would happen next, somewhat like when reading a REALLY good book.
I especially liked the fact that you were NOT privy to the outgoing messages.
I'm playing Digital, and LOVING IT so far.
I'm stuck, though!
I've just been accepted by *Delphi and can't find any new developments. I'm sure I'm missing something, but is the only suggestion really just to PM everyone you possibly can? Do you end up having to wait for Fidonet replies?
Never mind! There's a difference between Replying to people and PM'ing them.
I went through Digital and thought that it was an absolutely amazing piece of work. I wish that the ending was different, or that you could have taken another path or two, but I understand why it had to end that way. My compliments to the game's creator and to JohnB for bringing it to us.
After I got the double jump upgrade in Ruined, over the sandpits to the right of the start point I double-jumped to a platform which you can walk on top of (off the screen), but then afterwards I couldn't move, so I needed a restart. Which leads to my next comment...
How do you actually quit Ruined? I can't seem to quit the program without having to go to the Windows Task Manager to shut it down manually. Also the music does not run smoothly on my computer, even though there is no obvious lag anywhere else with my computer at the time.
Also as somebody else has already pointed out: just say no to blind jumping!
I was dismayed that in the passageway towards the little machine thingy that
makes the little brick tower rise up so that you can walk amongst the clouds above and left of the starting point
, you can get stuck. You only need to have high jumping skills to reach this passageway, and have to fall down a deep pit to reach this passageway, but need the double jump to get out. At least you can commit suicide in that passageway but still, it's not really fair to people going through it their first time through.
What a wonderful, emotional game. Thank you so much for creating it!!!
In Digital...
I've rebuilt *Emilia and stuff, but the error that comes up during LCL's breakdown earlier in the game is all I see in a window after dialing.
I've been stuck for quite a while. Any help would be appreciated,
Only if you really really can't find the library password
One of the messages states that an error in the random password generator used for the Underground Library causes the next randomly generated password to be exactly one greater than the last. For instance, if the first password ended in 873, then the next password ends in 874. So the last guy's password ended in whatever number it ended in. Add one to that, and try that. Each time you view a message, you'll get booted off the system, and the password will be re-generated. Of course, you only need to add one to this in order to get the new password. Delphi is gonna be incredibly irate for the first three or four times. You can also download messages, which won't get you booted from the server.
John, I love the weekend download feature, but I kinda wish you'd cut back on this habit of using incomplete games and works in progress. The way these things are described, you seem to prepare us for a completed creation, and it's disappointing to discover otherwise.
I also feel bad for the game creators, who don't have the game acting how they'd like it to yet, being pinned down in the process. They get complaints from people about really obvious things that wouldn't be a problem in a finished game. I'm sure the publicity is helpful and good for motivation, but they're being misrepresented!
Could you at least put a disclaimer or mention somewhere in the blurb when something is a work in progress? It really is an entirely different animal from a finished project.
@Black Ninjakoopa
Go check out the Underground Library.
Hmm, interestingly enough, after receiving emelia.core, if you type the binary into a translator, you get
my name is emiliai was born to understand poetrybut acci
Which, considering the ending, makes it a little more sad.
I'm stuck in Ruin too. I need one more gem. I know where it's at I just need to find the last podium to move the rock in front of it. Anyone find it?
Glad to see Digital was featured... I submitted it after playing through it, and I greatly enjoyed it. The gameplay is interesting, partly because it's so old-school. At times, I didn't know what to do next, but checking all the BBSes wasn't as frustrating as "trying everything" is in some games. It's a fantastic game, and very well-written. I liked how you had to guess at what your "replies" said based on how they responded.
All in all, good stuff.
Man... Ruined. Despite what I said above, I know there could be something really good here, because that's the only way to explain why I spent the last hour trying to get through the sections of jump orbs inside the purple castle. I finally made it through the first one, only to find my reward was access to yet another section, with no way to save what took me over a hundred tries to accomplish. I gave it a valiant effort, then said "no more" and erased the game from my hard drive.
I understand now that this is a work in progress, so I please with developers to stick with it, because with a lot more polish this could be a really great game.
Digital was... just... amazing. At first I wished I could see what the outgoing messages were, but by the end of it I knew what they would be. And to be honest, I'm a sucker for romantic tragedies. Man that's so unmanly. D:
And it was the first game's story (if I can call it that) in a long time that I actually cared about and felt involved in. Like when
*emilia says she loves you, and you go back into the BBS to see what her reply to your reply is, and it's all CRASHED NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
And multiple other parts, including the ending. I saved before it hoping there was more than one ending, but nothing popped up with what I tried, so I sadly hit compile. I felt like crying. Then I thought perhaps something would happen that would prevent the inevitable, but alas...
Amazing game. Loved it. More please. :)
Neddo, although it's too late now, touching jump orbs does not kill you, it simply teleports you back to the giant orb. That means that the button that you pressed still should have been open, even after falling onto the orb.
Oh, yeah, believe me, I fell on the orbs enough to find that out. I meant there's no way to get out of that room and to a save point after finishing the first section, so I'd either have to try another hundred times to finish that second section and hope for a save point after that, or leave my computer on with the game running until I had time to play again.
My 2p. Digital is a piece of genius...
In Digital, I've gotten stuck near the end :
I've connected to ARPANET to find Paris, where there's another phone number for setting up your account. However, calling it does nothing (presumably because it's not a modem.
I haven't found any new messages on any of the BBSes, replying to the people who gave me the number does nothing, and Delphi just repeated her spiel about how she can no longer help. Any suggestions?
In Digital, I'm stuck where
I've managed to get into The Underground Library, but I've been blinded by *Delphi
and I can't seem to figure out where to go from there! I've checked through all the BBSes for new messages, and I just don't know what to do!
@Aegeus
Any problem can be solved with the right amount of force.
@Xanny
Did you update your computer? Should probably restart it then, no?
My complaints about Ruined are ones that should be fairly easy to fix (and, in all probability, were going to be anyway). I find it annoying that there's no fullscreen option, that there's no option to turn the music off, and that there are no sound effects. Other than that, I'm liking it so far.
I really adore games like Ruined. Small cute pixely graphics, nice gameplay, very good! There are indeed a few small bugs which have already been mentioned above, but still it is very playable. 'Bugs' I found as well:
- Falling off an edge too soon which uses my double jump (because I'm falling). This happens a LOT in the cloud zone.
- Touching the blue orbs in the sky zone gives some sort of script error
- At some point my little protagonist kept walking to the right, no keypresses had any effect anymore.
And, to finalize this message, I am stuck in the cloud zone. I can get past the first jump ball screen, but in the second screen I cannot reach the second jump ball. Am I missing something or is my timing just off?
And what's with the 'jump ball powerup'? How does that work? Can anyone help me? :)
Having played a bit more of "Ruined", I have to say that I agree with some of the other comments - the parts where jumping takes you off the screen are frustrating - but in a "I'm going to delete this programme" way, not in a good "I'm going to keep trying to beat this" way. It's incredibly frustrating to do long jumping sequences - especially when the platforms you're jumping on to disappear quickly - if you keep missing the jumps because you can't tell exactly where it is you're jumping to.
I'd also say that something that would improve it before a final release is either a reassignment of the keys, or the ability to redefine them yourself. Having the jump key on the same hand as the movement keys works well when you're constantly using the other hand for something like shoot, but if the direction keys and jump are pretty much the only ones being used and there are extended jumping sequences, then it can become awkward and give you cramp if you're just using the one hand.
Just started playing Digital, but just had to say I laughed hysterically at the hat tip to the old Amiga 1.3 Workbench. Ahhh...memories...
@JIGuest: To quit Ruined, use [ESC] to bring up the menu, then right and left arrows to select 'Quit Game', then [SPACE] to select. Up and down arrows move the selection on the right, left and right move up and down through the list on the left.
Took me a while to figure out the jump orbs as well. You have to hold up as you jump onto the orb and it will allow you to jump higher in the air. It can get confusing becuase up is jumo and double jump but do it a few times and you will get it.
Ok, regarding my previous remark, I think I'm getting the hang of it now I finally understand the jump ball powerup:
If you keep the 'up' key pressed while hitting a jump ball you will boost higher. Kind of slow of me that I didnt' realize that earlier.
But still, I think the jump balls still cause waaay to much frustration. Agreed, they're a nice touch and a good test of your agility (and patience), but my humble opinion is that your jumps have to be too pixel perfect.
CrankYanker: use what to bring up the menu?
Ok, finally made it through those dreaded teleportbubble levels, currently I think I'm getting stuck with:
The dragon boss in the cloud zone
and
The parcel and dart throwing blue dot
No idea yet how to make it through that.
Although it seems I made it through the teleport stuff, I still feel that part is pretty unbalanced, especially
You cannot save in between the TWO sections, one section alone is pretty frustrating, let alone two of them.
For the dragon boss in Ruined
The head is sensitive. And one of your special abilities allows you to fall forcefully downward
For the blue dot boss in Ruined
Avoid everything. Eventually a small dot will appear in the middle of the floor, where you can hit it
Aegeus:
The dictionary password cracker still works here. You just need a student account, and students aren't very good at remembering complicated passwords.
Xanny:
Well, you need to fix your workstation.
If you reply to a message in the Matrix about VRAM overflows, someone will mail you a patch to fix the display bug. Download it, and then reboot your workstation by closing and reloading the game.
You also need to stop getting kicked - just think about what you would do in real life...
Send a PM to the Underground Library server admin, Delphi. You'll need to have a copy of the core with you, and maybe need to have read one of the bb entries on how to talk to AIs.
I played Jump, Copy, Paste using Wine, and it worked perfectly. Lovely little game with an awesome concept and some nice puzzles, but rather short. An expansion pack and/or level editor would be quite welcome. :)
Another thing which would be nice is support for the arrow keys. WASD is sort of awkward.
Ruined was a fantastic game, I really enjoyed it... Until it crashed and apparently deleted my save file. I'm sure once it's finished and the bugs are ironed out it will be a great game. Also, I wholeheartedly agree with the commenter who said it reminds them of An Untitled Story.
@L
Thanks for the hints, totally forgot about that powerup, going to try that now!
About the other boss,
I was indeed trying to avoid everything and noticed the blue dot. Seems I just need a lot more practice to avoid enough stuff to keep hitting the blue dot.
@JIGuest: Sorry... my keys got "tagified"!
Use ESC to bring up the menu, right and left to choose from the vertical options on the left side, and SPACE to select.
Up and down select the options on the right hand side.
[Fixed. Please use square brackets, not angle brackets next time. Angle brackets have a very special meaning to HTML pages and the way browsers render them. -Jay]
Swoopie
That boss is very hard, My life bar was really low towards the end because it gets harder to avoid everything. Just keep trying!
Did anyone find out how to get that last gem in Ruined?? Where's the final podium to move the rock?
Pfff, I'm about to give up on this game now. Can't beat the cloud boss and I cannot find the parcel boss anymore. Kinda frustrating... but maybe it's just too late in the evening ;)
The last podium to move the rock is in the far right of the underground. Remember the boulders that fall from the sky, right after a save point? There is a purple rock thing that you have to press space to remove (from the powerup in the temple) and then keep moving right. It's there.
@Ethan: Can you give me any hints on where to look now? I tried to detail out everything I've done, but am still stuck.
Well, let's start with thin line that blocks a part of the cave.
You need to find the ground pound powerup in order to break that thin line. That can be found in the sky. I don't know if you've been there or not, but if not, there is a group of purple blocks in between the temple and desert. Climb up those blocks to reach the sky.
@Ethan: I hadn't been there. This is exactly the pointer I was looking for. Thx!
I didn't even see the difference in the parts of the wall.
Just finished Digital. Definitely one of the best IF pieces I've played in a while (and that includes the 20-odd games I played from this year's CGDC). The plot is a bit on the predictable side but very well done, and the wonderful mix of star-crossed romance and some nostalgic bits of computer history serve to make it worthwhile.
Those were the days, my friend: BBSing til all hours of the night, listening to the shriek of the dial-up modem handshake, wardialing, anti-aliased banners and that godawful Amiga Workbench 1.3 GUI that I learned to love so much (ah, interlace, we knew ye well...). I found myself hoping the authors had worked the Hayes command set into the game somewhere (I've still got my first SupraModem 2400 believe it or not), and was disappointed just a bit there wasn't at least one GURU (no, Delphi and Oracle don't count, silly)...
My only gripe was that play was just a bit repetitious and sometimes getting replies to PMs required bouncing back and forth between the "Messages" and "Send PM" screens on the BBSes, but wasn't too bad once I got the hang of it.
The "Notepad" app was a nifty little addition. Very handy.
Excellent job on this one. Worth the time.
What is the password for the Gibson BBS?
Nevermind I accidently restarted at the bubble teleport level but somehow I'm still missing 2 gems. I thought I got them all
Okay apparently I'm missing the gems from underground and the purple castle. Anyone know where they are?
I'm so confused with Ruined. I could have sworn I got all the gems but I can't do anything.
So, in Ruined, now that I have
gotten all the battery parts, collected all the gems, and my ship is still blocked by a black box that looks like I should be able to put the gems in but I can't
what do I do? It feels like I have won the game, but the game won't let me claim the victory.
I'm in the same boat JIGuest. I think that other stick guy said there's more but I don't know where to go!
I've been playing Ruined under Wine. The game mostly works, though the music doesn't play. Wine prints lots of "fixme/stub" errors along the lines of
fixme:dmime:IDirectMusicPerformance8Impl_PlaySegmentEx (0x16af88, 0x18f1f4, (nil), (nil), 16384, 0x0, 0x32eecc, (nil), 0x18e4ac): stub
(as well as corresponding errors with IsPlaying and StopEx in place of PlaySegmentEx)
which would seem to be the reason why.
In the game I've...
finished everything I can find in the desert, purple castle, and sky. I've beat the dragon boss and the box and dagger boss, as well as getting through all the bouncing ball rooms in the lower parts of the purple castle and flipping the switches above and below to unlock a crystal past a rather cruel spikey section in the underground, and I got that crystal.
However, I'm stuck on...
Trying to figure out how to raise a second door in either of two rooms near the middle of the very bottom of the map. (I only have 3 rooms at the very bottom so far.)
One of them looks like it should be opened by a switch on the other side of it, and so I've spent a good deal of time working my way along the southeast boundary of the map, but I can't find any other way to the other side of that door.
Is the game completable yet?
As for general comments about how to improve the game... it would be really nice to have a way to *run*. Walking everywhere takes forever. The save teleport helps, but it's still really slow through the boring sections where you're just holding the arrow key while your character slowly walks along through the rooms.
Other than that, it's pretty awesome. I noticed a bug or two where an error message popped up (particularly one where touching an energy boost before I had the corresponding powerup produced a script error that I now forget).
Wow... I just finished Digital. If you haven't checked it out yet, do so now. It was absolutely amazing... It hooked me up and reeled me in. The ending was tragic, and I too tried to find a way to avert it. But alas, it was meant to end that way... Great game. Definitely didn't feel repetitive despite the recalling of the BBSes.
So yeah, if you haven't played it yet, what are you waiting for?
This might make me sound stupid, but in Ruined, does anyone have any advice on beating the beehive boss?
I'm totally stuck in Ruined, the only thing I can fathom I need to do in order to progress is kill the beehive, but how to do that while being swarmed constantly? I can't jump past the ledge in the lower right section of the caves where the red ball smears me, I can't jump up on the little islands to progress to the left on the land level, I fall right through them. I'm reading how other people are much further along in the game, I have no idea how.
To everyone who feels there is no sense of victory.
OK. Here's the deal. The author who posted Ruined on this page (thank you so much btw) didn't quite see that it was in the WIP stage.
So no, the game is not yet completable. I apologize. The game files you have now WILL be compatible with the full version.
A version with a final boss/endings should be out very soon. I imagine within the next two days for sure, probably tomorrow.
Again, thanks so much for all of the feedback and comments, and I feel bad that you all got a non-finished game thinking it was complete. Sorry about that empty, incomplete feeling you got after getting all the gems.
Ethan: I absolutely could not get Ruined to work. I don't know if I was doing something wrong or my computer simply rejected it. Please report your game when it's complete as I would love to play it.
Hmm... that's very weird. Could you help me out and be a little more specific? Like, would it not even go to the main menu, or would it crash after the first custcene or...?
Make sure you are not playing directly from your Download manager.
I seem to be stuck in Digital. So far I have:
Hacked GibsonBBS using the dict hacker, but I can't get on to Sector 001, let alone the Library. I've tried replying to/PMing everyone, but to no avail.
Any tips?
Marina:
I think there's a message posted in Gibson that actually tells you the number for Sector-001. I don't remember having to do any work to get it.
The underground library's number was from a forwarded message from the guy who ran Lake City Local. I replied to a message that he posted on the Matrix to get the PM.
How funny that there are so many comments for Ruined over and above praise for Jump Copy and Paste which I thought was extraordinarily refreshing and wonderful.
Great design great coding great gameplay good music.
Many many congratulations to everyone who was involved in it. Innovative, challenging (yes a but short) but over all extremely good.
Personally I didn't care for Jump, Copy, Paste. It felt too much like busywork and I didn't find it fun.
To Alex and Username re: the beehive:
When the bees are swarming, run back and forth constantly along the ground. This will minimize the damage you take. When the platforms appear, jump up onto them and get as close as you can to the hive, then kick until the platforms disappear. You will take damage, but if you keep moving you should still have plenty of energy left by the time the fight is over.
Im currently starting on Digital, and I only have one complaint. You can get a bit confused not knowing what messages you send out, especially when others reply to messages you didn't even know you sent out. Im sure I'll get use to it, though.
I just finished Digital and I have to say, thats the most emotional a game has ever made me. The gameplay was so immersive and involving, I had almost forgot I was playing a game. I'm glad I decided to try it.
Merrelise:
It isn't actually the numbers that I'm having trouble with, but the passwords. Sorry if I was unclear!
About "Ruined". First off all - it's really great, despite some of the mazes are very difficult. But it's ok, if the game is challenging it's good.
Anyway, some things i wanted to say about it:
1st - the already mentioned "punch the blue guy out of the screen" freezing bug.
In the clouds left top, the "recharge your second jump" orbs area: it gives me an error and kills the game if i don't yet have the ability to use them.
Also i found some shortcuts, probably not intended, you should remove them:
same area, first time you meet the recharger (on map it's [x=4, y=2] if top left is [1,1]), you can simply double jump to last (top left one) and jump again to platform without going the long way
a bit later (at [x=3, y=1]) you can reach the second orb from the ground with double jump, and using it continue left without going to upper platform at screen [x=4,y=1]
at [x=22,y=7],[x=23,y=7] instead of going along with spiky maze, you can just go right while jumping (to save more health), and at second screen jump trough the spikes to that jump ball, and from there up as you supposed to
Digital...is now one of my favorite games. At first I was cynical of the love story part, but the more I played, the more I understood. The ending is so bittersweet, and while the story is confusing at first, it is easy to pick up. I didn't like how you couldn't see what messages you were sending out, but towards the end it was nice. It allowed you craft your own messages in your mind.
The only part I didn't like was:
After Delphi blinds you, how was I supposed to know that I had to go back and find an old email that was sent a while back, reply to it for the second time, download the attachment, then restart the computer?
An amazing game.
Oh man. Digital was amazing. Hope there will be a sequel :)
RE: Digital
WOW. I've been a lurker at JIG for a couple of years now, but I can't recall a game that I've played with quite as much depth or pathos as Digital. Bravo to the creator(s).
It's left me with a faint feeling of reminisence combining the film "Electric Dreams" and playing around with my C64.
Once again, well done.
Hey guys, I'm the programmer and level designer for Ruined.
Thanks for all of the comments about Ruined, they're really gonna help me make sure the game works out well and it appeals to everybody.
I justify this constant frustration by my love for difficult games, I take a challenge not as frustration but as fun, and I realize that is not the case for everybody and I do plan to make a few difficulty modes for those who prefer a game with a few less cruel touches.
Sadly I had to cut it short for the competition deadline coming up soon, but I will make a post competition version
For those wondering about the lack of adjustable controls and full screen, the competition I'm entering does not allow such things (you can only use certain controls and a certain resolution).
I just uploaded the shorter competition version of the game, so could you kind people take a look at the page there and rate it?
http://www.yoyogames.com/games/119609-ruined
Thanks :)
Still am stuck. D: Was digital easy for you guys?
I have to say, Digital was very well done, with a great story, and rather believable characters, one of the best downloads I've made in quite a while.
CONCLUSION: A worthy play for anyone.
Help with Digital?
Apparently I've been "blinded" by *Delphi, if being blinded means your dialer only shows the same error no matter what you dial. I guess I'm supposed to go re-reply to a Message, then download an attachment. Therein lies my problem; I can't figure out which Message to reply to.
So could someone please tell me the title and or sender of the Message?
I really love Digital, and this is the first problem I've had with it.
Help with Digital?
I've downloaded the compiler but Paris won't respond. The compiler itself doesn't show up on the desktop like the other apps do (notepad, etc.). I've cycled through the BBS's a few times with nothing new, so I'm not sure what to do next or how to get Paris to understand that I've got the compiler.
Generally, has a walkthrough for Digital been posted somewhere?
Well, I finally finished Ruined. The game seemed impossible at parts, but with enough tries, I eventually got lucky.
About the ending,
It could have been better, but I suppose the ending isn't really the reason for playing the game. The short text ending was enough for me to feel satisfied completing the game. Still, it would have been nice to at least see the guy take off in the ship.
This game was more difficult than most I've played of its type. I'd probably be more comfortable playing an easier game next time. Still, the exploration aspect was good enough for me to play to the end.
Oh, and since there doesn't seem to be one already, I'll post a final boss guide.
Save before activating the box. The boss has three parts.
Part 1: He'll shoot himself down at you. He's vulnerable when stuck in the ground. Jump shallowly and smash down on him (repeat once more). It is difficult, but possible to avoid him when he shoots down at you. I usually got hit at least once in this form.
Part 2: He'll shield himself and rapidly shoot white orbs at you. Just keep walking to avoid the attacks. Occasionally, an orb will hover in the center. KICK it before it disappears. You'll need to do this four times to finish off this form.
Part 3: This one's tricky. He will hover out of reach in the sky and shoot a brown orb at you. Get far away from him and kick the brown orb back. It will rebound off him again and gain speed. Time and kick it 3 or 4 more times. Eventually, it will hurt him. You need to do this twice successfully.
Ending: Just punch (maybe kick) him. He'll start spitting out brownish orbs (alien blood?). I don't think these hurt you, but you may want to avoid them just in case.
Just finished playing Digital. How wonderful!
J -
Have you run the compiler? I think I left ARPAnet, ran the compiler, and then logged back in to ARPAnet. If not, try saving and then rebooting the Amie OS.
Just finished Digital.
Lovely feeling, dialing around the city all night :)
For everyone who is stuck (I was at the final Delphi part): The source code of the game is written in very human-readable Python. Until someone compiles a walkthrough, this is probably your best bet.
I'm stuck on the bit in Digital where I have to
register for arpanet, I've tried ringing the number on the screen but apparently it's not a modem.
Never mind, it turns out I had to use the
dictionary hacker
can someone give me another hint for Digital as to the password into the Underground Library? I've been trying to make sense of the hint in the game, but I just can't figure it out...
could someone please give me a hint for Digital as to how to get into Underground Library? the hint in the game was too confusing for me...
Came back here to play Digital after playing through the author's latest game 'Don't Take It Personally Babe...'. Digital was also very good. It was a little time-consuming having to input lots of numbers using the deliberately clunky interface, but otherwise a great story told well.
@mirosango14, Rachel
Lucky I'm in a helpful mood right now!
Underground Library:
You need the information from NORAD's message, which tells you...
that the CoreBBS system password generator can be exploited - new passwords will have their final digit increased by 1.
You need the password from Nauseahare's message:
it was x7JRiab882 but doesn't work anymore
And you will notice that the Underground Library BBS uses the CoreBBS system. Need I say more?
I need help with Runied. I have beaten bee boss, bolder boss and box boss but can't get any further. I have gotten to third save in clouds but need jump orb upgrade or something? Is there a walkthrough somewhere? Help I want to finish this game.
HELP! I am looking for a walkthrough or just some tips on the game Ruined.
Update