Repton Overture Finally Finished

[streaks]

Pheeewww. It's done. 32 maps that start off quite easy and introductory and then get trickier. I wonder how veteran Repton-heads will manage with the later levels.

http://www.streaks.xyz/project_ReptonOverture.php

Even though it's done, I may still update it with bug fixes, tweaks, possibly even new features. At some point I want to make an easier "for kids" set, and compile a set by Dave Jeffery. The editor (hopefully) is intuitive and fast and authoring maps/games is easy and enjoyable especially with the instant play-testing.

I worked my arse off so please give it a bash and let me know what you think.

[FourthStone]

Love it! Looking forward to getting some time to solve more of the puzzles, has a really great Repton look and feel.

Made it level 4, no dryness experienced so far

Well done and hopefully I can do a bit more play testing.

[barbarossa69]

It's a really good game, I love it!

I just need to fine time to play it...

I see you've added some extra hints, which is good because last time it took me ages to work out what to do with the spirit and the skulls on level 2...

[streaks]

Ah cheers.

Yeh the skulls are utility objects. Spirits have new mechanics and they don't hurt you anymore (except white spirits). I showed it in the preview video but neglected to introduce it properly in-game. There is a classic skull equivelent that makes an appearance later, based on the Repton 4 skull.

Something else I should have put a hint about somewhere is that cracked eggs still fall, roll and can be pushed. Monsters can dig through earth like Repton as well.

Other than those things it's basically Repton with smoother rock movement, non-random fungus and new features.

There's an online manual that tells you what everything is when you click on it, in case something isn't as self-explanitory/discoverable as I imaged. (The hints about pushing skulls really should have been there in the first place but at least I realised that before release..)

http://www.streaks.xyz/project_ReptonOv ... Manual.php

[jms2]

I've just had a play. It's absolutely superb!

I really like the combination of old-style graphics and modern effects - also the features inspired by other BBC games such as the water (from Exile) and the particle effects (from... well Exile again really). I like the small levels as well (although I am guessing they get bigger).

My kids are going to love playing this. I'm not proving too good at it though, I'm stuck on the level where the time freeze capsule first appears. No idea how to get past the 2nd/3rd monsters.

[streaks]

Aaaand I've just had to make a change to the penultimate map because I just realised there was an extremely easy way to solve the final puzzle and miss out pretty much every intended step to it. Please download it again and don't tell anyone about my mistake or I'll be a laughing stock at the next pimp convention. :/

If you've already started a playthrough then the save file won't work with this new vesrion because it's outdated, so stick a password in to resume... or just ignore this and have an easier pentultimate map, but good luck explaining that to a jury!

[streaks]

I've just had a play. It's absolutely superb!

I really like the combination of old-style graphics and modern effects - also the features inspired by other BBC games such as the water (from Exile) and the particle effects (from... well Exile again really). I like the small levels as well (although I am guessing they get bigger).

My kids are going to love playing this. I'm not proving too good at it though, I'm stuck on the level where the time freeze capsule first appears. No idea how to get past the 2nd/3rd monsters.

Thanks >D. Yeh they get bigger. There are 32 of them so I could pace the puzzles in a way I thought was comfortable.

The two monsters together in the Red Warrens should be squashed by a rock brought over by the mine cart. If you push a minecart, anything on top of it gets pushed with it.

By the way the particles weren't inspired by Exile (never really played it which I know is weird). I just thought particles would add something. I use particles quite a lot in things.

[jms2]

Actually I managed to figure that out just after posting.

I'll download the new version - not a problem to start again as I'll want to show the children anyway.

[streaks]

How old are they? High on my to-do list is a map set for kids actually.

[jms2]

11-15, and very good at puzzles. They'll be ok with this, at least until it gets really hard.

[jms2]

The kids really love this game. Not exactly sure what level they are up to, but its into the twenties. They keep telling me about the cool new features and characters!

They say it's hard, but that said they are making steady progress.

[streaks]

Ah that's nice to hear. Let me know if they need a hint or something.

[jms2]

They have completed the whole thing today!
Don't take this as an indication that the game is too easy though - my kids are alarmingly good at puzzles.
The game was very popular with them and there was a lot of rivalry over who got to play it. A great achievement, considering that you've defeated the might of Nintendo and countless online games!

[streaks]

Woa, there's no way I could have finished it at that age.

I had to update that one puzzle again (twice) because I found another easy skip, and I didn't announce the update since the number of my oversights regarding one puzzle was getting silly. I can't imagine the finished version would have slowed them down though.

Hell of a compliment for me, thanks. They ever been interested in making maps? If they (or anyone else) wants I can host user maps on the main site.

[jms2]

Well... they have now moved on to making maps. But from my past experience they are not so good at designing puzzles as they are at solving them! It is a completely different skill to be fair.

We do have a bug report at this point though - quite a serious one - plus a question:

Serious bug:
The children have designed a bit of one level, and they have loaded it in order to test it. It loads OK, and runs for a short while (about 15 seconds), before the whole application crashes with this error message:

error.PNG (11.86 KiB) Viewed 2726 times

Question:
They have not been able to figure out how to create water in the editor.

[chrisn]

I've just been playing this. Congratulations streaks, it's a really good game, nicely done!!

[streaks]

Serious bug:
The children have designed a bit of one level, and they have loaded it in order to test it. It loads OK, and runs for a short while (about 15 seconds), before the whole application crashes with this error message:

Have you tried downloading the new version? I've fixed some nasty random crashes since we last talked about downloading.

To asign water level, you point at the height you want with the mouse and press L. A second press toggles water off again.

Some of the controls are mapped to keys so I listed the controls in the manual: http://www.streaks.xyz/project_ReptonOv ... Manual.php

[streaks]

I've just been playing this. Congratulations streaks, it's a really good game, nicely done!!

Cheers

[jms2]

Have you tried downloading the new version? I've fixed some nasty random crashes since we last talked about downloading

I downloaded the September 18th version. Has it changed since then?

To asign water level, you point at the height you want with the mouse and press L. A second press toggles water off again.
Aome of the controls are mapped to keys so I listed the controls in the manual: http://www.streaks.xyz/project_ReptonOv ... Manual.php

Ok, that's easy enough. Thanks.

[streaks]

I downloaded the September 18th version. Has it changed since then?

The last build was on the 21st. I've gotten rid of what I hope was the last crashable bug since the 18th.

[jms2]

I'll download a new version. Can I simply replace the .exe file rather than wipe everything? I dont want to erase their new level design, and they'll probably be annoyed if I lose the "won" message on the title screen!

[streaks]

Yeh pretty much, and the "Media" subfolder because there's a new wall-set (and possibly other stuff) and if media is missing it'll report the error and quit.

Oh and overwrite "Games/Overture.ro" for the final fixed puzzle, but if they're in the middle of another playthrough its best to leave it since their save will be out-dated.

[streaks]

You can just overwrite (don't delete first) everything in the old folder with the new stuff and it'll preserve their map and highscores and everything. The only problem, like I said, is that if they're in the middle of a playthrough then their progress will be lost if you overwrite with the new "Games\Overture.ro".

Any doubts, make a back-up. It's all nice and small.

[jms2]

I've updated to the latest version, but it has not fixed the "crash on custom level" problem. This happens if you play the level "properly" or use the playtest facility within the editor. It must be something to do with the level they have created, I presume.

I'd email you the level file, but I can't find where it has been saved! We found that if you rename the parent folder (eg to "ReptonOverture - Copy") the editor data disappears, but reappears if you change the name back.

[streaks]

I've updated to the latest version, but it has not fixed the "crash on custom level" problem. This happens if you play the level "properly" or use the playtest facility within the editor. It must be something to do with the level they have created, I presume.

I'd email you the level file, but I can't find where it has been saved! We found that if you rename the parent folder (eg to "ReptonOverture - Copy") the editor data disappears, but reappears if you change the name back.

I can't get another crash so a copy of their map would be helpful. If it's an exported single map, it's in the "Single Maps" subfolder, else it's in "Games".

[streaks]

btw if you email me at streaksy (at) gmail (dot) com then I'll get your messages faster since that gets checked more often.

[jms2]

OK, I'll email you direct.

[Natbud]

HI ,

I've started making the original Repton 1 levels for Repton Overture - I just liked the idea of having the original game built into this update. If anyone's interested in a copy let me know.

Or has anyone already done this?

Going to stick in Repton 3 levels too once done with Repton 1.

[barbarossa69]

HI ,

I've started making the original Repton 1 levels for Repton Overture - I just liked the idea of having the original game built into this update. If anyone's interested in a copy let me know.

Or has anyone already done this?

Going to stick in Repton 3 levels too once done with Repton 1.

Sounds like fun! Yeah I'd be interested, thanks!

[archie456]

I'd be interested too!