My thoughts on S&S EP

scaryogre · 04-28-2012, 11:11 PM

First, let me say I am a big fan of the artistic style/graphics this game uses and the sound is absolutely Great. That cannot be overstated. You hear birds, a popping and crackling fire, windy caves, etc. It's such an audio-immersive environment that it can be a shame when that feeling is disrupted (more on this below).

The game developers have a great start here. A series of games based on this world would be nice. Below are some areas where the game can improve:

Content - While beautiful, the world needs more interesting and interactive elements. You can shake bushes (nothing has ever fallen out for me) and look at stuff, but it's a pretty staid environment. To be honest it's so peaceful it puts me to sleep (literally this afternoon I had to take a nap). The rain, the lullaby-like music. It's great don't get me wrong..It's just there needs to be a little more going on in the story to maintain interest.
Combat - The animations of the monsters are enjoyable to watch, but the combat itself is so simple as to become more of an annoyance than anything else.
Controls - PC port from iOS should be cleaned up a bit. Some of the graphic overlays that are intended for tablets should be a toggle in the options. They are distracting to the overall experience. Movement is also a little weird with the mouse controls. Also, the scroll camera can sometimes get messed up (inverted axis).
Twitter Nag - At least allow us to turn it off. It's such a beautiful game and the twitter references and nags in the game are annoying and reduce the immersion. I realize this helps generate interest in the game, but so does word of mouth.
Game Dialogue (2nd person) - The game dialogue is occasionally amusing, but constant attempts at humor are overdone and feel out of place. More fantasy/story elements would help compliment the beautiful world that was built. The dialogue also references gaming pop-culture for humor (an early reference to Zelda being one). These just do not mesh well with the mysterious world and can be quite jarring.

I know it sounds like I don't like the game, but I do quite a bit actually. I just think it falls short of potential in several areas. Still, it is quite enjoyable and definitely worth your time to experience.

One suggestion for playing: Make a pot of coffee. The hypnotic music really does work wonders if you have insomnia.

SweetNothing · 04-29-2012, 05:53 AM

It's meant to be a slow leisurely game, more like reading a good book than running around doing battle with monsters. I had zero issues with the controls. I wouldn't mind turning off the twitter nag, but changing something like the combat style (right now it's about patterns, oh god I would hate for it to be a twitch or reaction style combat) or game dialog (I personally loved the sardonic comments made by the analyst/magician) would irrevocably alter the character of the game. I think the devs are satisfied with the title they made, and so are many of the rest of us.

Just countering an opinion with an opinion, nothing personal.

S_Jake · 04-29-2012, 06:21 AM

I certainly agree with the comments about the 'Twitter nag': It's irritating and makes the game less immersive than it otherwise would have been. I also agree that the controls, while functional, are not intuitive and should have been streamlined along the lines of a standard point-and-click game. I wouldn't want to see the actual combat changed and I thought the dialogue was fine as is.

DrZombo · 04-29-2012, 09:03 AM

I have zero complaints about the game, not even about the twitter thingie because i just ignored activating it. The controls are fine(I read there were issues when the game came out weeks ago, but they must've been solved), and work pretty well even though they're directly ported from IOS devices. The story might be slow but that's the way it's meant to be; God the developers even want you to actually wait for real life moon phases, so don't complain about it being 'too slow' because that's what it's meant to be.

Quite some people are complaining about the speech style(Maybe not really complaining, but saying it is odd), but i think that style is pretty unique and makes the universe even richer; it somehow makes it more magical, gives the sensation that the whole world is part of a dream, or it is disconnected from the real world, which it really should be, as it is a fantasy setting. Funny or not, a unique kind of speech helps shaping an universe a lot. Take A ClockWork Orange as an example.

scaryogre · 04-29-2012, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrZombo

God the developers even want you to actually wait for real life moon phases, so don't complain about it being 'too slow' because that's what it's meant to be.

I didn't say it was too slow anywhere in my comments. I have no issues with the pacing of the game, but rather with the lack of content. While beautiful, the game feels empty to me in some parts.

Quote:

Quite some people are complaining about the speech style(Maybe not really complaining, but saying it is odd), but i think that style is pretty unique and makes the universe even richer; it somehow makes it more magical, gives the sensation that the whole world is part of a dream, or it is disconnected from the real world, which it really should be, as it is a fantasy setting. Funny or not, a unique kind of speech helps shaping an universe a lot. Take A ClockWork Orange as an example.

I don't mind the 2nd person speech style either. It adds to the overall experience. For me though, the game's frequent attempts at gaming pop-culture humor doesn't fit the world they have created.

By all means, they should make the game they want. A lot of what they have done here is excellent. My opinion is that this is a very good game with some notable flaws. With more polish and better writing the game design could be great.

vagu · 05-01-2012, 01:19 PM

great review. very much to the point.

iOS touch controls... it should have been ported with mouse and keyboard in mind instead.

also F*CK TWITTER!

otherwise it looks like a great experience. (i ve only done one session so far)

Squigibo · 05-01-2012, 06:38 PM

I'm surprised at the somewhat negative comments some people are posting, but how many of you people posting such negatives were actually ALIVE in 1981? When these graphics were THE BEST we had? And the language that some of the younger crowd doesn't get, is a tip-of-the-hat to the old Infocom games, where were just TEXT. a.k.a. Zork I II III

and how much did you pay for this? Peanuts. and you complain, when this is an artistic near master-peace with a nod to the golden past with the remnants of imagination.

scaryogre · 05-01-2012, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Squigibo

I'm surprised at the somewhat negative comments some people are posting, but how many of you people posting such negatives were actually ALIVE in 1981? When these graphics were THE BEST we had? And the language that some of the younger crowd doesn't get, is a tip-of-the-hat to the old Infocom games, where were just TEXT. a.k.a. Zork I II III

and how much did you pay for this? Peanuts. and you complain, when this is an artistic near master-peace with a nod to the golden past with the remnants of imagination.

Yep, 44 here. I remember all that and then some. What you perceive as a complaint, I consider constructive criticism. It's one person's subjective review after all (i.e. mine). Your mileage may vary...

I have played all the oldies that you refer to when they originally came out. So, even those of us that did live through that dinosaur age of gaming can still have differing opinions. But I think you and I are saying the same thing. I love the old-school gaming. In fact, I just finished Lands of Lore the other evening. I am a huge fan of this game too. I just want to see it get better because there is something very fantastic about this style of graphics and sound.

If you want to play a game that S&S:EP borrowed from go to gog.com and purchase "Another World". I still have my original copy on 3.5" disks (on release it was called "Out of this World"). The scenes in S&S:EP with the 3-eyed wolf stalking the protagonist from somewhere in the background art was a direct tip of the hat to Another World who did the same thing back in 1991.

I'd love to see an epic quest game with this engine (even something episodic with an evolving storyline every 3-4 months).

04-28-2012, 11:11 PM	#1
scaryogre Join Date: Apr 2007 Reputation: 0 Posts: 8	My thoughts on S&S EP First, let me say I am a big fan of the artistic style/graphics this game uses and the sound is absolutely Great. That cannot be overstated. You hear birds, a popping and crackling fire, windy caves, etc. It's such an audio-immersive environment that it can be a shame when that feeling is disrupted (more on this below). The game developers have a great start here. A series of games based on this world would be nice. Below are some areas where the game can improve: Content - While beautiful, the world needs more interesting and interactive elements. You can shake bushes (nothing has ever fallen out for me) and look at stuff, but it's a pretty staid environment. To be honest it's so peaceful it puts me to sleep (literally this afternoon I had to take a nap). The rain, the lullaby-like music. It's great don't get me wrong..It's just there needs to be a little more going on in the story to maintain interest. Combat - The animations of the monsters are enjoyable to watch, but the combat itself is so simple as to become more of an annoyance than anything else. Controls - PC port from iOS should be cleaned up a bit. Some of the graphic overlays that are intended for tablets should be a toggle in the options. They are distracting to the overall experience. Movement is also a little weird with the mouse controls. Also, the scroll camera can sometimes get messed up (inverted axis). Twitter Nag - At least allow us to turn it off. It's such a beautiful game and the twitter references and nags in the game are annoying and reduce the immersion. I realize this helps generate interest in the game, but so does word of mouth. Game Dialogue (2nd person) - The game dialogue is occasionally amusing, but constant attempts at humor are overdone and feel out of place. More fantasy/story elements would help compliment the beautiful world that was built. The dialogue also references gaming pop-culture for humor (an early reference to Zelda being one). These just do not mesh well with the mysterious world and can be quite jarring. I know it sounds like I don't like the game, but I do quite a bit actually. I just think it falls short of potential in several areas. Still, it is quite enjoyable and definitely worth your time to experience. One suggestion for playing: Make a pot of coffee. The hypnotic music really does work wonders if you have insomnia.

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04-29-2012, 05:53 AM	#2
SweetNothing Join Date: Jun 2010 Reputation: 379 Posts: 1,190	It's meant to be a slow leisurely game, more like reading a good book than running around doing battle with monsters. I had zero issues with the controls. I wouldn't mind turning off the twitter nag, but changing something like the combat style (right now it's about patterns, oh god I would hate for it to be a twitch or reaction style combat) or game dialog (I personally loved the sardonic comments made by the analyst/magician) would irrevocably alter the character of the game. I think the devs are satisfied with the title they made, and so are many of the rest of us. Just countering an opinion with an opinion, nothing personal.

04-29-2012, 06:21 AM	#3
S_Jake Join Date: Jan 2012 Reputation: 5 Posts: 46	I certainly agree with the comments about the 'Twitter nag': It's irritating and makes the game less immersive than it otherwise would have been. I also agree that the controls, while functional, are not intuitive and should have been streamlined along the lines of a standard point-and-click game. I wouldn't want to see the actual combat changed and I thought the dialogue was fine as is.

04-29-2012, 09:03 AM	#4
DrZombo Join Date: Aug 2010 Reputation: 29 Posts: 293	I have zero complaints about the game, not even about the twitter thingie because i just ignored activating it. The controls are fine(I read there were issues when the game came out weeks ago, but they must've been solved), and work pretty well even though they're directly ported from IOS devices. The story might be slow but that's the way it's meant to be; God the developers even want you to actually wait for real life moon phases, so don't complain about it being 'too slow' because that's what it's meant to be. Quite some people are complaining about the speech style(Maybe not really complaining, but saying it is odd), but i think that style is pretty unique and makes the universe even richer; it somehow makes it more magical, gives the sensation that the whole world is part of a dream, or it is disconnected from the real world, which it really should be, as it is a fantasy setting. Funny or not, a unique kind of speech helps shaping an universe a lot. Take A ClockWork Orange as an example.

05-01-2012, 01:19 PM	#6
vagu Join Date: Oct 2011 Reputation: 0 Posts: 7	great review. very much to the point. iOS touch controls... it should have been ported with mouse and keyboard in mind instead. also F*CK TWITTER! otherwise it looks like a great experience. (i ve only done one session so far)

05-01-2012, 06:38 PM	#7
Squigibo Join Date: Jun 2009 Reputation: 10 Posts: 164	I'm surprised at the somewhat negative comments some people are posting, but how many of you people posting such negatives were actually ALIVE in 1981? When these graphics were THE BEST we had? And the language that some of the younger crowd doesn't get, is a tip-of-the-hat to the old Infocom games, where were just TEXT. a.k.a. Zork I II III and how much did you pay for this? Peanuts. and you complain, when this is an artistic near master-peace with a nod to the golden past with the remnants of imagination.