Fedora Spade 3 has been released. Instead of starting a new topic I thought I'd just edit this one. Fedora Spade 3 is a lot like parts 1 and 2, except it's a new case and has a new password system and a new interrogation system.



Name: Fedora Spade
Category: Adventure/Detective
GM Version: GM 6
Screen: Windowed at 640x480
Controls: Z - Confirm Button, X - Cancel button, C - Skip button.
Website: http://studioeres.com/games/fedora

Downloads:
http://studioeres.com/fedora/fedoraspades.zip - Cases 1 & 2
http://studioeres.com/fedora/deathwearsafedora.zip - Case 3 [NEW!]

Screenshot:

Wow! Takes me back to the "nessy" contra days...

Dude this is amazing!
Great gameplay and the graphics were awesome aswell.
I just completed Case 1, but perhaps you should make something that you can only pick the wrong evidence like 1 time or something.

Oooh, nice stuff. I can see why Tim liked this so much. The graphics and the engine were really great, and the writing was impressive. Really nice humour and the flow was perfect. The first case (only played that so far) was a bit on the short side, thouh, but still a worthwhile experience. Aside from that, the only complaint I have is the music. I don't really like midi, sounds like crap on my soundcard.

Will there be more cases in the future, or is this it? I'm heading out to play case two right now

There'll be other episodes, yeah. And, hmmm, you didn't get that... scratchy MIDI problem, did you? I'm not sure how I can fix that. I'll consider using OGGs for the future episodes.

I hate the MIDI too, but Orchard-L wants to save bandwidth when uploading the games (that's why both games are so small -- 2 MB each) due to living in Indonesia where they charge him by the MB used if it goes over a certain amount per month.

Also worth mentioning is that the first episode is mainly a prologue designed to get people used to the system and introduce the characters -- the second one is much longer.

Yes, I did. But only in the second case. The first was a smooth and bug free experience for me.

@Rinku: I noticed the second case was a bit tougher, and longer. I nearly gave up a couple of times. The newspaper thing at the end was a bit tricky for me. But I finally solved it. That was really the only place where I got stuck, which is pretty awesome, considering it took me a good hour and a half to beat it. Really loved the experience.

I can't wait to see more of this. The backstory with the mystery case that got Fedora into the Special Homicide Unit sounds intriguing.

Hmmm, yeah, I'm definitely ditching MIDI for OGG/MOD for future episodes. It's getting rather annoying. And yeah, that last puzzle can be pretty tricky... a couple of my playtesters got stuck at that point

Orchard,

Another great game, man. Love the graphics, dialogue was great, cool plot, interesting characters etc. etc...

Looks great. Can't wait to re-install windows XP.

Hmm... this is interesting. The metal detector detects anything in excess of .5 kilos. The murder weapon could be disassembled into 8 .5 kilo pieces. There were 8 security gaurds in the building during the murder. Hmmm... coincidence?

I can't figure out how to contact The Russian in his hotel room. I have this feeling I have heard his room number, but none of my items have it.

EDIT: Midi's worked fine for me.

edit edit: So he's in a grand suite... but that would be a three digit room number right?

edit edit edit: Nevermind, didn't realize room numbers reset to 1 at each class. Guess and check got my his number.

Pixxel:

-Try looking at the brochure at the Hotel lobby. There's an useful information there.

-Look up the Russian's info at the computer room.

Orchard,

OMG!!

This is what Game Maker was made for!! Truly amazing graphics, grasping storyline and plot..outstanding gameplay..fabulous music!!

Just a once in a lifetime experience to find a true GM masterpiece

10/10

~Joe

Just finished episode 2, amazingly well done. The newspaper part at the end I got pretty quick, considering the game taught me to recognize any 7-letter phrase to be a phone number. Keep the episodes coming, man, these rawk!

Second best GM game I've played. Second only to ID

Alright, this is the second best game maker game I've ever played
Next to ID of course
15/10
(I really cant wait for the rest of the story to develop! )

I still only played a few minutes, but I can already say the dialogs in this game are amazing. The graphics are very tasty too. I still cant judge the puzzling, but it looks good from now. I just arrived at the interrogation room, and still didnt even test it but I love the concept (show the right papers).

Great job!

Hey, can I PM you for help? I'm hopelessly lost on the second chapter now...

Sure, fire away.

Orchard,

rightieo, I really want to finish up this chapter

Edit:
Wow, I finished the second chapter.
I cant wait for the next one!

I find myself unable to complete the second episode. I have investigated every accessible area and obtained the first, third and fourth notes as well as the security card hidden underneath the armchair in Molotov's suite. I also researched the drug used by the victim (codatrolyn) on the database, but this did not seem to lead anywhere. How do I progress? How do I obtain the second note? And how do I contact the mysterious Baht Omen? Thanks.

This game is truly a masterpiece--enthralling, professionally constructed and supported by excellent dialogue. I found myself laughing on many an occasion in reaction to the protagonist's remarks. Perhaps you could merge the two episodes into one executable file, implementing a password system so as to force the player to solve the cases in logical order. This would spare fans the ordeal of hunting for every episode separately.

Very cool indeed. I've finished the first episode earlier today and working on the second. Awesome graphics, cool music (that titlesong is fantastic!) and some really fun puzzles. Looking forward to more episodes! Will there be any?

Oh and you gotta love Baldie btw!

this game is great, who thought of the storyline for the cases? i always get stuck a certain point though.

Now this is decent. Good gameplay and graphics. Nasty MIDI but then that's the fault of the format. NSF music made in Famitracker would fit the graphics greatly. EDIT: Actually musics starting to grow on me. Tunes themselves are fine its just the MIDI sound. For some reason also the MIDI music and the occasional sound effect reminds me of those crappy hentai games that I neeever played myself... nope... not me.

Must say I really enjoy this game a lot more than your ID one. This is one I would actually pay for. In fact I feel like donating a couple dollars or so.

Oh yeah how do I quit during conversations? I had to quickly quit and get something else done but couldn't quit the game til I was done talking.

Proper fullscreen mode would be nice too for that more NES feel...

Great job, but in scene 2, how do I get the Russian's number?

Edit: Wait, I got it. Now I don't know what to do, I found chaingun's security card, now what?

That...

Was....


.....

AWESOME!!!

I absoloutely love anything to do with detectives or crime solving, really. I read detective books and watch a lot of detective shows, and a detective game...

/love

I've only finished case 1, I'm on case 2 right now.

Keep up the good work!

Time Wraith, try calling Baht Omen (without the H). Once you've exhausted all the clues in day 1, go back to the hotel room, the Russian will be there.

Uzaki, you need to find the Russian to get the story going. You can find him at his room once you've done the following:

-Talked to Baldie about a suspicious fellow.
-Talked to Johnny.
-Asked the crazed old man outside the clinic about a certain suspicious man.
-Asked Charlie about the champ's past
-Asked Charlie about 4471
-obtained the sec_card, groeber file, gun_info, rrsr_nfo.

Once you've done all the things listed above. Just go to the russian's room again, he'll be there.

There will be other episodes, yes And I wrote the scenario.

Wolverine, I was thinking of using MOD/XM/S3M/IT in the first place, but my musician isn't well-versed in chip music. In the previous version, players can quit the game just by simply pressing ESC, but a couple of people complained about it. They said that they accidentally closed the game without saving the game, so I removed it. Hmmm, I guess I should consider putting that back again in the third episode.

Too much text for me. But its really nice to see something new on the GMC

I'd like it put back in the first episodes if possible too. It's the only thing that prevents me loading up the game as quite often lately I get interrupted. Could make it a lil menu in the way it's already got the ingame menus. Simple Esc then Yes or No.

And MOD music is pretty easy to get the hang of if you know how to make music. It's just lines of notes and control codes. I can make them myself easy but I have barely any musical talent cept for the odd fluke.

Where's the clinic (or is it the Morgue?)? And don't have the Groeber file yet, but I've already gotten everything else.

Have you searched through the Champ's apartment? There's a clue to the clinic's whereabout there.

Does it have to do with Baht Omen? Removing the h wold make it Bat Omen

Yeah, it has something to do with that. There are 7 letters in Bat Omen, which is just right for... a phone number.

Edit: Aww, it's over...This game is one of the best short games I've ever played...
I can't wait for the 3rd one.

Edit of an edit: Phone numbers in France have 10 digits, and it's been a really long time since the last time I dialed a 7 digit number .

Well I don't like those games types. Good game though.

See ya,
Miguel

I desperately want to apply for a beta tester for the next version.
Is there any way for me to do that?

OMG!
this was amazing!
12/10 (not a game, a GODS GAME)
I loved the retor style in the game keep it up

the start menu is messed up for me, it automatically flicks between 'new game' and 'quit' and i cant do anything

any suggestions? I really want to play this!

That's weird -- try restarting it, or perhaps unhooking your joystick (if any -- though I doubt it even uses joystick checking anymore, I forget). I'll look into it.

I'm having the same problem. The arrow keys move between new game and quit, but I can't actually seem to select any of these options. I tried the enter key and several others-- all the usual suspects-- but this is one case that has me stumped. :-P

The keys to control the game are z and x, you can try those. But I'll have to look into this -- do either of you have a joystick connected? This is the first time I've heard of this. It's pretty hard to fix bugs that don't happen on your own computer D:

Aha! Z and X do the trick. Thanks! :-)

Yeah, I kind of thought the controls were weird, and I wanted to use alternate keys in addition to those, but Orchard-L wanted them that way -- a lot of Japanese indie games use the Z/X/C buttons, Cave Story for instance, so it gives it a retro feel.

Well, I'm used to using them for platformers, so they're not too weird.

dudefather, hmmm, I'm not really sure what's causing this... but you should give rinku's advice a shot.

necromian, you can PM me your e-mail address if you want to be a playtester. Just a fair warning though... it's going to be a while before I release the third episode.

Wolverine, alright, I'll put the ESC feature back in both episodes. I haven't uploaded a new version yet at the moment. I still have quite a bit of spelling/grammar errors that I need to fix.

Orchard,

Thanks. Then I can give them a proper play without stressing out trying to quit when I need to close it. Really do like the graphics by the way. Anyone who knows me knows I'm a sucker for decent retro pixel graphics.

Okay, just finished playing through the first episode. I kinda wish the gameplay was a little less linear-- that I could discover evidence and new threads as I went along, instead of having it all dumped in my lap to start with-- but the dialogue was so fresh and funny that I can't really complain. A decent engine and amusing graphics, very quotable-- all-in-all, an enjoyable way to pass an evening.

EDIT: Some dialogue alternates might be nice. It was funny when I "proved" that Officer Baldie was gay-- the first time. Perhaps wrong answers could have prompted other "proven" assertions-- so that the player doesn't get frustrated and the joke doesn't get stale. :-)

Actually, episode 1 is like a tutorial. Episode 2 has evidence finding as well. Reminds me of phoenix wright without the health bar =P Very good job on the story. (Yes, I'm a new member =P)

Just played through case one, nice game. Later today I'll d/l the second case (hopefully it'll be a bit longer. Oh, and I figured out an exploit in the game. When proving the guy guilty by showing evidence and such, you can just "use" every item on the list until you get the right one.

That's why episode 3 is implementing a password system, where you have to type in a word directly.

And yeah, episode 2 is much longer than episode 1.

Eh? How would that work?

And a few things you should think about in episode 3:
Never used the take command.
How does he use the phone no matter where he is? I doubt he would have a cell-phone...
Maybe having X skip instantly through dialogue in case you get stuck hearing the same long talk twice.