SHP Forums

Collector wrote:I would expect that this is just the start of new games from Al. Perhaps you should pass on these observations as constructive criticisms directly on Replay's board they will be taken into account for future games. You can't improve without feedback. It is why I wish I had more feedback with what I do here.

Good idea.

Any ideas on how to make my observations sound more constructive and less critical? I know I sometimes come across as really harsh and I'd rather not insult anyone there if possible.

I did not think that what you posted was all that demeaning, I guess that all you really need to do is go through it look for anything that comes off as dismissive and rephrase it it a way of how you would like it changed. For the "Poor Animations" just use the last sentence. For the "Poor Game Design", drop the stuff like "Al Lowe is behind the times" and just state specifics of what needs to be improved. Also perhaps emphasize what you did enjoy about the game.

Although many of the puzzles present in the 1987 and 1991 versions exist in the 2013 copy, so do the mistakes that lead to an unwinnable scenario.

Actually... no. If you get tied to the bed without the knife, you can apparently chew through the ropes instead. You'll get separate achievements for doing it both ways, adding to the replay value. They've even fixed it so you can't go completely broke, so this game is completely winnable now.

This isn't me being a "graphics person," either. For some reason the animations have a very low framerate. Instead of running smoothly, the animations are jerky and look out of place.

Does Larry walk around smoothly? If so, then it isn't the frame-rate. The game is mostly just animated with key-frames and poses, as they did with LSL5 and 6. Obviously they didn't have enough time and money to get all the in-betweening polished up to LSL7 standards, just like how they didn't have time to add all the lip sync.

Collector wrote:I did not think that what you posted was all that demeaning, I guess that all you really need to do is go through it look for anything that comes off as dismissive and rephrase it it a way of how you would like it changed. For the "Poor Animations" just use the last sentence. For the "Poor Game Design", drop the stuff like "Al Lowe is behind the times" and just state specifics of what needs to be improved. Also perhaps emphasize what you did enjoy about the game.

Good idea. Maia made some similar suggestions. Although it's a good thing Datadog posted when he did, because apparently I'm wrong about the unwinnable situation issue.

Datadog wrote:Actually... no. If you get tied to the bed without the knife, you can apparently chew through the ropes instead. You'll get separate achievements for doing it both ways, adding to the replay value. They've even fixed it so you can't go completely broke, so this game is completely winnable now.

Okay, good. I didn't know that, but I'm glad you told me. That's one thing I can cross off the list now.

Datadog wrote:Does Larry walk around smoothly? If so, then it isn't the frame-rate. The game is mostly just animated with key-frames and poses, as they did with LSL5 and 6. Obviously they didn't have enough time and money to get all the in-betweening polished up to LSL7 standards, just like how they didn't have time to add all the lip sync.

Yeah, he walks smoothly, so I guess saying "animation" isn't quite accurate. I knew the problem had to do with keyframes, I just didn't mention that. I didn't know how many people here are familiar with animation terms (I first learned them with Flash and Director years ago).

I realize the problem probably came down to time and money, but even so, the game feels dated and poorly put together because of it. I'm not saying I could've done a better job, but I would've preferred they delay releasing it, give themselves more time and maybe get more monetary support to address this properly.

Of course the marketing decision of "get it out the door" is what leads to many software bugs or even half baked designs. Think Vista vs Win7 or all of the game bugs in the Sierra games. Because of this, I am not sure how possible it would have been to have kept it in development much longer. That said, now that the company/design team has proven themselves it might lead to more money or greater resources for future games. This is why I think that it is important for them to get feedback. To use those extra resources to improve what needs to be done better.

My main gripe is the long loading times of individual screens. The Vista I'm playing it on is not a PC that's up for much shenanigans, sometimes it hangs disturbingly long. Most notably when leaving the phone booth because that's when you have a very annoying beep to add to the misery.
The only other things that really get up my nerves, is it doesn't save the betting height, and the NARRATOR. Where's Neil Ross? I want Neil Ross! This guy's too annoyingly overdoing it, trying to place accents in Neil Ross way but he doesn't have the voice to carry it off.

This far I'm in the honeymoon suite with my new acquisition the bungee cord, wondering where that extra girl is, and having giggling fits when thinking of the "rough Dutch neighborhood.", not to mention the Tim Curry gags and Jan Rabson's cute voice work.

BBP, the new girl is at Caesar's Phallus, on the 2nd floor, at the door on the right. You'll need a key to get in there, however. I could tell you more if you want, but for now here's a hint: the key is hidden somewhere in the same building.

BTW, if anyone is tired of playing blackjack or slots and wants to increase their monetary amount quickly, here's a way to do it without touching the casino:

The following instructions are based on Windows 7, so it may differ slightly for WinXP and Vista, and probably be a lot different for Windows 8.

Before you change anything, make a backup of the file you're intending to edit. This should work, but just in case something goes wrong, it's good to have the original file.

1. Click the Start orb.
2. In the "search programs and files" field, type the following: %appdata%
3. Up at the top bar, where it reads [account name]\AppData\Roaming, click on AppData
4. Click on LocalLow, then N_Fusion Interactive, and finally on LSLR
5. Find the XML file for your most recent saved game and open it up with NotePad
6. Hit CTRL + F to bring up the Find Field and type in TotalMoney
7. The line that reads varInt=???? is your monetary amount. So you could type in 9999 so it reads varInt=9999 and you'll have $9,999 in your wallet.

The alternative method is to copy and paste this (making sure to replace [account name] with your own account name) into the URL bar in windows: C:\Users\[account name]\AppData\LocalLow\N_Fusion Interactive\LSLR

From there you'd do Step #5, #6 and #7.

I realize the problem probably came down to time and money, but even so, the game feels dated and poorly put together because of it. I'm not saying I could've done a better job, but I would've preferred they delay releasing it, give themselves more time and maybe get more monetary support to address this properly.

That's the problem with doing it old-school when you're working in high-def. People expect the animation to match the rest of the upgrades, and that can be a really tall order since animation has always been trial-and-error. And even more so when you want to develop a game that can run efficiently on smart-phones. For what they did, I think they were very smart on where to focus their animation priorities. An extra year spent on it could have made the PC version shine, though.

BBP wrote:I did the Jasmin-sequence without using your help. The one thing I'm stuck on now is I can't attach the bungee cords to myself.

I had that problem. It's really quite silly, but the solution is to click the bungee cord on the railing and then click the hand icon on yourself. That should attach it to you.

Make sure to get the right length bungee cord (you should have one long piece and two short pieces). If you don't, you'll end up dying and have to go through that stupid unskippable Frankenstein's Monster revive sequence. Hated that. Can't even stop it to load a game, you just have to sit there and wait it out.

I hate unskippable sequences. Usually, it seems to have more to do with the vanity of the game designer than anything else. Fine and dandy if the first time a sequence is encountered it is unskippable, but it can really drive you nuts if you have to go through it over and over again.

Me too. I clicked on the tutorial button only to find out that the whole thing is unskippable. Very annoying. I also hate it when the game language is set according to the Windows system language. Why do I have to change my system setup just because someone did a poor job at translating the game?

Other than that, I thought the game was okay overall. The visual style is pretty hit and miss for me but it's high-res and competently made. The real upgrade is with the sound. I would probably go for more of this if they got it made.

Say, that could be a fun reward, if you get every possible death scene in a game you get a special one for the last one.
Finished it yesterday, thanks DPX. Like it a lot, I just wish they'd done more with the dance scene and the final scene. The blow-up doll is hilarious!

I knew that this game was released but I do not know when exactly because I saw LPs uploaded of this game by an LPer on youtube known as the GameHorder and I suggest you checkout his other LPs because he is very funny. But fair warning he does his LPs with an R rated style with alot of cuss words etc.