[big brother]

A few comments on the game (in no particular order) -

It would be nice to be able to set up a routine system: at the start of a day you can decide to free play it or you can schedule it ahead of time so you won't have to micromanage. It would make those boring, working months go quicker.

As it is, it takes FREAKING FOREVER to gain increases in the primary stats (intelligence and strength) except for charisma (thanks, Freudbot). My character went to the gym for an hour and 15 minutes a day for three months and her strength only went up ONE FREAKING POINT! (Health and nutrition was full). I found the same problem with knowledge, self-esteem, etc.

It might be nice if the characters on board had pre-established (randomly chosen or not) sexual preferences instead of being blank slates. Also, it would look better if they walked around, too, buying items for each other (and maybe you for a change) and borrowing library books. Maybe they could initiate conversation with you for a change. It might be nice if you could visit other NPC's rooms, so the residential decks serve more then just an intro-level job for the security grunts.

Overall, I would like to see more events happen. I volunteered my character for the exploratory mission, which ends in a game glitch. My character overpowers the guard and leaves the room, but the room doesn't change, I can still move my cursor, and interact with Gloria. There goes several hours of my game time down the drain. I'm especially frustrated since I'd spent the 30,000 to max out my room and achieved a full popularity bar (every indivual loved me) as well as a first lieutenant post.

Anyways, it's nice idea for an alternate use of AGS. Playing it kind of makes me want to make my own life simulator, with polished graphics and dynamic events...

[Yahtzee]

It would be nice to be able to set up a routine system: at the start of a day you can decide to free play it or you can schedule it ahead of time so you won't have to micromanage. It would make those boring, working months go quicker.

...

It might be nice if the characters on board had pre-established (randomly chosen or not) sexual preferences instead of being blank slates. Also, it would look better if they walked around, too, buying items for each other (and maybe you for a change) and borrowing library books. Maybe they could initiate conversation with you for a change. It might be nice if you could visit other NPC's rooms, so the residential decks serve more then just an intro-level job for the security grunts.

Well, I'll tell you what, you make a life simulator that incorporates all of that without being driven COMPLETELY AROUND THE FERCUCKING BEND by the INSANE AMOUNTS OF CODE that would be necessary to add that sort of AI to what is already a tooth-pullingly frustratingly complicated bunch of code and I'll concede that I was wrong to call you a big fat mouthy bastard, you big fat mouthy bastard.

Overall, I would like to see more events happen. I volunteered my character for the exploratory mission, which ends in a game glitch. My character overpowers the guard and leaves the room, but the room doesn't change, I can still move my cursor, and interact with Gloria. There goes several hours of my game time down the drain. I'm especially frustrated since I'd spent the 30,000 to max out my room and achieved a full popularity bar (every indivual loved me) as well as a first lieutenant post.

Uploaded a new version that should fix that. It should be OK to play from your last save. You were saving often, right? I did tell everyone to do so for precisely the reason that freezes could occur anywhere. This is why a beta test is necessary.

[Colxfile]

I've played through until the end of the first away mission, and I'm afraid I have a slew of points for you to look at:

1) Already been said: Hacking into the library computer doesn't extend the due date. Instead, it makes the book overdue.
2) Despite knowing that, I'm finding it next to impossible to hack into the main security computer. My character's no dunce, but he keeps getting caught and sentenced to 56 days in the brig. Gah.
3) Having retrieved Doreen's documents from the computer, if you actually use them on her, she goes "Are you trying to buy my affection?" Shoudn't she say something like 'Why are you showing me those? You know what to do with them' or 'Don't fricking wave them around! You wanna get caught?!'
4) Having tried to scan the documents into my terminal, I get caught every bloody time. Wasn't Doreen trying to get the system off my back?
5) As you move between levels (Or between rooms if you use the map) some minutes on the clock are used up - presumably to reflect the time taken to travel between the levels. If you are expecting an e-mail to announce your promotion (Be it successful or not) then you won't receive it if the exact moment is 'lost' while moving around. This happened while I was waiting for promotion.
6) Suppose you work early in the morning. If you, say, clock on at 4am for four hours, and half way through get your email saying that you've been promoted, you will stil be doing the OLD job, but you get paid the NEW pay rate.
7) Oh yes, if you are working early in the morning, and the away mission actually starts mid work, the work report dialog stays visible through the whole mission. When I did it, the game crashed (Froze) during the first scene of the mission.
8) There's more. I decided to see in the away mission working out in the gym. I got the call and the away mission started as normal. Unlike with the above bug, the Fitness/Body Build gauge disappeared the mission went as normal. When I returned, I couln't interact with anything or move at all. My fitness was still maxed out, and my energy and nutrition were decreasing quite quickly... I think I was still 'working out' without actually being there...
9) The medikit from the shop replicator is not consumed by its own use. This means I can go to the gym with the medikit and one energy drink, use the excercise bike until I'm almost dead from exhaustion, drink the drink and then heal myself fully using the medikit.
10) Typo: The manual states that the first 3 months are 'January', 'Craven', 'March'. The ship database on my terminal gives the first three months as 'January', 'March', 'Craven'.
11) The away mission starts on 10th of August at 5am. If you are successful, it ends on the 10th of August at 5am. Surely it should take at least a day.
12) Typo: If you are successful in the away mission, your medal comes with the note: "...we are proud to bestow upon you this awar", the 'd' is missing off the end there.
13) If you die while in bed, gym or reading a book, the appropriate gauge is still visible over the title screen.
14) Typo: If you are caught hacking, the message reads 'You are order to pay the fine...' instead of 'You are ordered to pay the fine...'

Nevertheless, I'm finding this quite enjoyable . Couple of suggestions though: On the away mission I was imprisoned with Gloria. Perhaps, instead of saying 'What are we going to do?', she could maybe say '<NAME> What are we going to do?'
And this may sound silly, but when you put music to the final version, might I suggest that the Captain be associated with the theme tune to Captain Scarlet?

[Dr Lecter]

i played it for a while last night but i had to stop cos i was too tired

i like what i see so far tho, but i will be playing it more later

[LsTr_Of_SmG]

Bloody hell colxfile that is one heck of a load of points! Meh Im finally gonna download and play the game now so expct to see me either moaning or raving joyfully in the next coupla days

[Yahtzee]

Uploaded a new version fixing most of the bugs Colxfile mentioned.

2) Despite knowing that, I'm finding it next to impossible to hack into the main security computer. My character's no dunce, but he keeps getting caught and sentenced to 56 days in the brig. Gah.

...

4) Having tried to scan the documents into my terminal, I get caught every bloody time. Wasn't Doreen trying to get the system off my back?

Is your Knowledge high as well? When your intelligence is assessed, the game takes the AVERAGE of your Intelligence and Knowledge stats. The result has to be around 60+ to hack the security computer, and the same to get away with spying.

[llamaman]

Ok, a few things.

1) if you open multiple windows, they stack on top of each other, instead of switching from one to the other

2) I would also say that while the menus are open, the timer should stop, as of now, the only time it stops is when a message is on screen.

3) The Ok button bug where there are two buttons at work and only one of them works, and then the non working one animates.

[veiller_tard]

Hello there! The game is great, more addictive than most I've played.

A few more bugs though:
- The 'stuck in reading animation' bug doesn't seem to be fixed
- When I work in Engineering, sometimes the character gets mysteriously teleported to a higher level while walking from the teleporter to the jobclocker. It doesn't interfere with the gameplay but it does look kind of weird.
- Playing as a 'bad guy', I first went on the first away mission with all stats at maximum except Morals, which was very low. I didn't get a medal, obviously, because the character decided not to help the others. So I restored a game I'd saved on the eve of the great event and raised my morals to maximum with the help of the FreudBot. However, when I attempted the mission for the second time, the character seemed to be in two minds: first he went and opened the door, then said 'everybody for themselves' and walked away. Then the game crashed, and I got the following message:

Room 18 script line 23
Error: NewRoom: requested 2 room changes within one script

I understand this must be my punishment for trying to cheat the Higher Beings, but still, I may not be the only one who gets this idea.

[Colxfile]

Is your Knowledge high as well? ...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Oh... well that may explain it then...

[Dr Lecter]

is it a bug when i can just continuely hack hack and rehack the job clocker and make like 5000 credits in a few minutes... or was theat meant to be that way

[llamaman]

two bugs, though they may be just because of AGS.

1) when running the game windowed at 320x200 if you quit with the x button the shell locks up.

2) also, if you change the resolution, it invalidates the savegame, unless you change this back.

[Yahtzee]

1) when running the game windowed at 320x200 if you quit with the x button the shell locks up.

2)  also, if you change the resolution, it invalidates the savegame, unless you change this back.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes indeed, those sound like embuggerances in the AGS engine. There seem to be quite a few bugs in the built-in AGS save game system... there was a bit of a nasty one in 7 Days, as I recall.

[Colxfile]

Problems:
1) With this new version, the first away day cannot be completed. After it is finished, the game crashes with the error 'Newroom: requested two room changes within same script - Room18 Script Line 23'
2) As duty physician, it is possible to hack your own jobclocker from the floor above where you work. I'm not sure if this is true for the rest of medsci...
3) Having spent the best part of the week being my very own one-man crime-wave, I neglected to disable the security system before having my free lunch and found my character's steroid infused body sentenced to 336 days in the brig (On the 28th of August if I recall correctly). SEVEN UTTERLY TEDIOUS MINUTES of dissmissing the 'One day passes' messages, having lost all of my friends (Bar Doreen, whom I was already in league with) and promotion prospects, I was released on the 338th of August. This is despite the fact that there are only 300 days in in the Galactic Standard Year. Surely, I should have skipped right to the end, seeing the ending with my character's sorry arse still in the brig. Although my promotion aspects were at the lowest ever, I had not been demoted at all.
4) Possibly already mentioned: If you are reading into the early hours of the morning, and you receive your e-mail telling you whatever, your character ceases his reading animations, though he is still 'reading' in that his stats are changing.

Suggestions:
1) A greater choice of film / book titles (Though still in the high-brow / low-brow or dramatic / sci-fi categories. Maybe some ones with titles that blatantly identify themselves as porn)
2) More use of the hacking tools! Why not let us get free cinema tickets as well?
3) Less use of the hacking tools (!) There doesn't seem to be any limit to the number of times that you can hack your jobclocker. I mean if my payslip said I'd worked a total of 200 hours in one week (That's over 28 hours a day) shouldn't someone somewhere be going 'Eh? That's not right...'. Some (random?) upper limit on the times you can hack you jobclock per day (Even with the system disabled) would be a good move. Perhaps also, the penalty for being caught doing this should linked to wages earned that day...?
4) You know Dimitri is working on the security desk in the Blue / Yellow Residential ring... Well how about if you ring is doorbell while he is working there... perhaps an appropriate comment would be in order there.
5) The fact that my character bought and used more than 30 doses or steroids on himself with no il-effect (Funded, before-you-ask by hacking the job clocker) random drug-testing should surely be introduced at some point...

[Yahtzee]

Uploaded a new version. This one should make the first mission work properly, and the maximum brig sentence is now 30 days.

[OneWithStrange]

Just one bug from me so far:

Immediately after making whoopie with Gloria (when control of the player returns), the timer became buggy and began shifting digits out of the clock display.

Very fun and addictive game you've developed, Yahtzee. Makes 'Sims' look like a monkey in a negligé.

-Ben (OneWithStrange)