Right now, you can use the keyboard to move around, but you still need the mouse to click stuff and manipulate your inventory. The alternative is to click and hold the left mouse button to bring up a red direction arrow over Guybrush. Dragging the mouse in this mode will make Guybrush walk steadily in whatever direction the mouse is moving toward. It's still a bit twitchy, and it would be nice if you didn't have to hold the left button down; but there's still plenty of time for the development team to figure it out.
Right now, you can use the keyboard to move around, but you still need the mouse to click stuff and manipulate your inventory. The alternative is to click and hold the left mouse button to bring up a red direction arrow over Guybrush. Dragging the mouse in this mode will make Guybrush walk steadily in whatever direction the mouse is moving toward. It's still a bit twitchy, and it would be nice if you didn't have to hold the left button down; but there's still plenty of time for the development team to figure it out.
As we've said, we're still not talking much about the controls because they're still being hammered out (and we'll be perfecting them to the last minute). See how we weren't lying when we said that? :P
It's worth pointing out that while it wasn't in for the demo Kotaku saw, in the game it's looking like we'll be supporting "click and drag to walk," and also "click to start walking, control by moving the cursor around, then click to stop walking," for those who prefer not holding the button down. (Click and drag to walk feels more comfortable to me, though.)
Sounds pretty exciting. I'm glad you don't have to go back to the Sam & Max-methods of controlling your characters, because after Wallace, that does seem a bit "boring" (not the games themselves of course, but you can do so much more cool stuff with direct control).
I do wonder if this method brings new limitations/possibilities to the design of these episodes. Stemmle mentioned certain puzzles in that recent podcast that are only possible with direct control (like finding a pattern in stones in the floor to proceed) which aren't possible with the Sam & Max-control method. This method sounds a bit less 'precise' then controlling your character with the keyboard or gamepad, so does this method still allow for those kinds of puzzles, or am I just worried over nothing?
All in all, I'm pretty positive about this method. I never had a problem with the Wallace-controls, but this will probably keep everyone happy.
EDIT: Wait, I just read it again, and if I understand correctly, this is basically the same as in Sam & Max, but now you don't have to click on the ground but you can click anywhere you want to walk in that direction? That's pretty much perfect!
I do wonder if this method brings new limitations/possibilities to the design of these episodes. Stemmle mentioned certain puzzles in that recent podcast that are only possible with direct control (like finding a pattern in stones in the floor to proceed) which aren't possible with the Sam & Max-control method. This method sounds a bit less 'precise' then controlling your character with the keyboard or gamepad, so does this method still allow for those kinds of puzzles, or am I just worried over nothing?
Haha, this reminds me of the Last Crusade.
I really like what Jake is talking about. Personally, I get tired of clicking over and over to move somewhere, as I've said before. And if it's new and inventive yet still traditional, then that's awesome; that's what Monkey Island is all about.
As we've said, we're still not talking much about the controls because they're still being hammered out (and we'll be perfecting them to the last minute). See how we weren't lying when we said that? :P
It's worth pointing out that while it wasn't in for the demo Kotaku saw, in the game it's looking like we'll be supporting "click and drag to walk," and also "click to start walking, control by moving the cursor around, then click to stop walking," for those who prefer not holding the button down. (Click and drag to walk feels more comfortable to me, though.)
Sounds great, but is the joypad control still available? How do you manage the inventory with the joypad?
Couldn't you do that clicking-and-holding thing in Strong Bad?
While you could "click & Hold" in Strong Bad, the system is totally refined. It's "One thing at a time."
We are always in the process of advancing our designs and upgrading out tools, but we can only do so much at once. For Strong Bad, we decided to focus on getting out tool to render the best possible Toon Type shading as possible, so that the characters looked as much like the Web series as they could, and the engine did it so well, that several reviews thought we had developed some kind of 3D Flash graphics!
By the time we started work on Wallace & Gromit we though it was time to start advancing our control scheme to better match the cinematic presentation we strive for. While those controls were fine for some people, others preferred a mouse only driven approach, so we started prototyping some alternatives.
We really do listen to you guys and want you to get everything you dream about in an adventure game, but it takes time, and with every game we make, we aim a little higher! Adding new features, improving graphics, maximizing compression, re-envisioning controls. We are glad you are here to let us know what you want, and we'll get there eventually, one step at a time.
Compromise idea was great even though I wouldn't have minded the proposed controls.
"The proposed controls?" We haven't changed any controls since the announcement, we've just added new mouse controls. You can still grab a keyboard and walk around fine, like W&G. We've added direct movement control that's entirely mouse driven, in addition to that.
I do wonder if this method brings new limitations/possibilities to the design of these episodes. Stemmle mentioned certain puzzles in that recent podcast that are only possible with direct control (like finding a pattern in stones in the floor to proceed) which aren't possible with the Sam & Max-control method. This method sounds a bit less 'precise' then controlling your character with the keyboard or gamepad, so does this method still allow for those kinds of puzzles, or am I just worried over nothing?
The precision is very similar to analog stick control. We haven't had to change anything in terms of how we've built the puzzles or camerawork, because it's a true direct control system which is driven wholly from the mouse. We'll be putting out some stuff talking about it soon.
As for dual analog support, ala W&G, I don't think we support that at the moment, but I can't confirm that.
"The proposed controls?" We haven't changed any controls since the announcement, we've just added new mouse controls. You can still grab a keyboard and walk around fine, like W&G. We've added direct movement control that's entirely mouse driven, in addition to that.
Errm, I'm sorry. I really meant the word "old controls" or something like "(current) standard controls," not proposed. I was thinking more of what the fans were proposing the controls to be. I know you guys never announced a control scheme.
I do wonder if this method brings new limitations/possibilities to the design of these episodes. Stemmle mentioned certain puzzles in that recent podcast that are only possible with direct control (like finding a pattern in stones in the floor to proceed) which aren't possible with the Sam & Max-control method. This method sounds a bit less 'precise' then controlling your character with the keyboard or gamepad, so does this method still allow for those kinds of puzzles, or am I just worried over nothing?
Don't worry.
I can think of at least one puzzle in the first Tales of MI episode that makes use of direct control. As Mike said in the podcast, the controls were still being discussed while the puzzles for Episode 1 were being designed, so there will be greater opportunities for this in later episodes.
EDIT: Wait, I just read it again, and if I understand correctly, this is basically the same as in Sam & Max, but now you don't have to click on the ground but you can click anywhere you want to walk in that direction? That's pretty much perfect!
It's similar to Sam & Max Season Two, where you could click and then hold down the mouse button, and Sam followed your cursor. Not exactly the same, but an evolution of the same concept.
I say NO to any kind of keyboard control. Full mouse, like S&M!
But is it gonna be 'one click fits all' type of thing? I mean, I Always liked different options, like the already cut down look\talk\use on things, now it seems like everything is one click default action.
It's similar to Sam & Max Season Two, where you could click and then hold down the mouse button, and Sam followed your cursor. Not exactly the same, but an evolution of the same concept.
I was wondering, is it possible to double-click to make Guybrush run (like Strong Bad and Sam in Season 2 and the console-versions)? If that's the case, and if you guys manage to get rid of the twitchyness mentioned in the Kotaku-preview, I think it would be pretty much perfect. Not that running in an adventure game is that important, but it would be nice.
I say NO to any kind of keyboard control. Full mouse, like S&M!
But is it gonna be 'one click fits all' type of thing? I mean, I Always liked different options, like the already cut down look\talk\use on things, now it seems like everything is one click default action.
Our games have always been "one click action" with no verbs. There is inventory combination, however.
Also, why "no to any kind of keyboard control" when you can have both? We're supporting full mouse-only play, but if you're a person who prefers keyboard, you can switch to that mid game with no problem. All control methods are active at all times to be switched between on a whim.
I was wondering, is it possible to double-click to make Guybrush run (like Strong Bad and Sam in Season 2 and the console-versions)? If that's the case, and if you guys manage to get rid of the twitchyness mentioned in the Kotaku-preview, I think it would be pretty much perfect. Not that running in an adventure game is that important, but it would be nice.
It's not double click, but we do support running. (I believe it's hold down "Shift" to run while using keyboard controls, or click w/the right mouse button while using the mouse.)
that's too bad. part of me was hoping for the return of the verb coin, in 3d glory :D
I would have actually preferred a system like in Hit the Road, swapping between actions with a click rather than having to hold down a button to pull up the verbs.
As we've said, we're still not talking much about the controls because they're still being hammered out (and we'll be perfecting them to the last minute). See how we weren't lying when we said that? :P
It's worth pointing out that while it wasn't in for the demo Kotaku saw, in the game it's looking like we'll be supporting "click and drag to walk," and also "click to start walking, control by moving the cursor around, then click to stop walking," for those who prefer not holding the button down. (Click and drag to walk feels more comfortable to me, though.)
I wonder if you guys read the forums in that control debate thread. Since the Click and Drag model pretty much is my idea 1:1 about my proposed solution to the drive method with mouse only.
I used a circle with a dot.... you guys put arrows on guybrush..... other than that they are the same.....
Hmm... still no word on the audio compression. Please comment, as I'm eager to preorder once my concerns are put to rest on this point! I'd hate for Dominic's performance to sound literally phoned in.
Salmonmax in the preorder forum one of the distribution engineers said the audio compression would be better for PC
Oh, I remember that!
Yeah. Wasn't basically said that the audio for the PC version and the Wii version of SBCG4AP were built at the same time, and that Monkey Island will be done separately?
Yeah. Wasn't basically said that the audio for the PC version and the Wii version of SBCG4AP were built at the same time, and that Monkey Island will be done separately?
Just so long as the audio is an improvement over Wallace and Gromit. I played through the demo, but the audio quality was so poor, it really turned me off. Anyone have the exact quote from the distribution engineer on this topic? Thanks.
Yeah. Wasn't basically said that the audio for the PC version and the Wii version of SBCG4AP were built at the same time, and that Monkey Island will be done separately?
I should note that we've changed how audio is done since and including Strong Bad. Before the audio was pre-compressed and fixed for all builds/platforms. Now the sound is re-compressed at build time with each platform having different compression ratios. While this increased the time it takes to make a build, we're in a lot more control of how little or much sound is compressed.
For WiiWare, we turn the dials a little high to fit the 40mb cap. Within the production cycle, we start with a blanket compression, then start tweaking by character and then individual lines. On Windows, it's a blanket small amount of compression to take the edge off, but usually leave it be; It's just that good.
If you didn't like the sound quality in Sam & Max Season 1 and 2, it's gotten a lot better!
According to this, the "new way" includes Strong Bad. Which means if you only had problems with Sam & Max, you shouldn't have problems here, but if thought the audio quality was bad in Strong Bad (and/or Wallace and Gromit), Monkey Island will probably have the same issues.
According to this, the "new way" includes Strong Bad. Which means if you only had problems with Sam & Max, you shouldn't have problems here, but if thought the audio quality was bad in Strong Bad (and/or Wallace and Gromit), Monkey Island will probably have the same issues.
You know, I didn't notice it being nearly as problematic in Strong Bad. It might be that I was so used to the audio compression in the original Homestar Runner Flash videos, though. The problem only seemed to reappear with W&G. I'm not the only one to feel this way: http://www.mixnmojo.com/features/read.php?article=grandadventures3
(I realize I've derailed this thread. My apologies to the forum etiquette gods.)
... Click and Drag model pretty much is my idea ...
Mouse-to-joystick emulation isn't really a new idea. I would have liked to add click+drag to Wallace & Gromit, but didn't have time to develop anything alongside regular WASD direct control. There was time to add it to Monkey Island, though!
though it sounds a little funky, i'm so glad that there are mouse controls.
i do so very much wish that there were verb options though. that just seems like such a defining part of monkey island, and it requires a little more thought (my main draw to adventures), plus i always love hearing the soundbytes when you try to "pick up" some girl
I just wanted to say that I am so psyched. I really like the fact that there are both keyboard and mouse controls because there are times when I have the patience for clicking and times when I don't so keyboard movement is AWESOME.
Mouse-to-joystick emulation isn't really a new idea. I would have liked to add click+drag to Wallace & Gromit, but didn't have time to develop anything alongside regular WASD direct control. There was time to add it to Monkey Island, though!
Well.... while you may be right I've played quite a bit of games and never seen it used like I proposed before.... lol. I just think it's funny how the whole thing ended up being nearly 1:1 with what I said.
Comments
As we've said, we're still not talking much about the controls because they're still being hammered out (and we'll be perfecting them to the last minute). See how we weren't lying when we said that? :P
It's worth pointing out that while it wasn't in for the demo Kotaku saw, in the game it's looking like we'll be supporting "click and drag to walk," and also "click to start walking, control by moving the cursor around, then click to stop walking," for those who prefer not holding the button down. (Click and drag to walk feels more comfortable to me, though.)
I do wonder if this method brings new limitations/possibilities to the design of these episodes. Stemmle mentioned certain puzzles in that recent podcast that are only possible with direct control (like finding a pattern in stones in the floor to proceed) which aren't possible with the Sam & Max-control method. This method sounds a bit less 'precise' then controlling your character with the keyboard or gamepad, so does this method still allow for those kinds of puzzles, or am I just worried over nothing?
All in all, I'm pretty positive about this method. I never had a problem with the Wallace-controls, but this will probably keep everyone happy.
EDIT: Wait, I just read it again, and if I understand correctly, this is basically the same as in Sam & Max, but now you don't have to click on the ground but you can click anywhere you want to walk in that direction? That's pretty much perfect!
Haha, this reminds me of the Last Crusade.
I really like what Jake is talking about. Personally, I get tired of clicking over and over to move somewhere, as I've said before. And if it's new and inventive yet still traditional, then that's awesome; that's what Monkey Island is all about.
Sounds great, but is the joypad control still available? How do you manage the inventory with the joypad?
While you could "click & Hold" in Strong Bad, the system is totally refined. It's "One thing at a time."
We are always in the process of advancing our designs and upgrading out tools, but we can only do so much at once. For Strong Bad, we decided to focus on getting out tool to render the best possible Toon Type shading as possible, so that the characters looked as much like the Web series as they could, and the engine did it so well, that several reviews thought we had developed some kind of 3D Flash graphics!
By the time we started work on Wallace & Gromit we though it was time to start advancing our control scheme to better match the cinematic presentation we strive for. While those controls were fine for some people, others preferred a mouse only driven approach, so we started prototyping some alternatives.
We really do listen to you guys and want you to get everything you dream about in an adventure game, but it takes time, and with every game we make, we aim a little higher! Adding new features, improving graphics, maximizing compression, re-envisioning controls. We are glad you are here to let us know what you want, and we'll get there eventually, one step at a time.
"The proposed controls?" We haven't changed any controls since the announcement, we've just added new mouse controls. You can still grab a keyboard and walk around fine, like W&G. We've added direct movement control that's entirely mouse driven, in addition to that.
The precision is very similar to analog stick control. We haven't had to change anything in terms of how we've built the puzzles or camerawork, because it's a true direct control system which is driven wholly from the mouse. We'll be putting out some stuff talking about it soon.
As for dual analog support, ala W&G, I don't think we support that at the moment, but I can't confirm that.
Don't worry.
I can think of at least one puzzle in the first Tales of MI episode that makes use of direct control. As Mike said in the podcast, the controls were still being discussed while the puzzles for Episode 1 were being designed, so there will be greater opportunities for this in later episodes.
It's similar to Sam & Max Season Two, where you could click and then hold down the mouse button, and Sam followed your cursor. Not exactly the same, but an evolution of the same concept.
*clasps hands to chest*
Oh Telltale. You DID listen when I hinted at what I wanted for Christmas. Here, have my preorder.
*preorders*
But is it gonna be 'one click fits all' type of thing? I mean, I Always liked different options, like the already cut down look\talk\use on things, now it seems like everything is one click default action.
I was wondering, is it possible to double-click to make Guybrush run (like Strong Bad and Sam in Season 2 and the console-versions)? If that's the case, and if you guys manage to get rid of the twitchyness mentioned in the Kotaku-preview, I think it would be pretty much perfect. Not that running in an adventure game is that important, but it would be nice.
Our games have always been "one click action" with no verbs. There is inventory combination, however.
Also, why "no to any kind of keyboard control" when you can have both? We're supporting full mouse-only play, but if you're a person who prefers keyboard, you can switch to that mid game with no problem. All control methods are active at all times to be switched between on a whim.
It's not double click, but we do support running. (I believe it's hold down "Shift" to run while using keyboard controls, or click w/the right mouse button while using the mouse.)
that's too bad. part of me was hoping for the return of the verb coin, in 3d glory
I wonder if you guys read the forums in that control debate thread. Since the Click and Drag model pretty much is my idea 1:1 about my proposed solution to the drive method with mouse only.
I used a circle with a dot.... you guys put arrows on guybrush..... other than that they are the same.....
Yeah. Wasn't basically said that the audio for the PC version and the Wii version of SBCG4AP were built at the same time, and that Monkey Island will be done separately?
Just so long as the audio is an improvement over Wallace and Gromit. I played through the demo, but the audio quality was so poor, it really turned me off. Anyone have the exact quote from the distribution engineer on this topic? Thanks.
Here's the quote, partially:
According to this, the "new way" includes Strong Bad. Which means if you only had problems with Sam & Max, you shouldn't have problems here, but if thought the audio quality was bad in Strong Bad (and/or Wallace and Gromit), Monkey Island will probably have the same issues.
You know, I didn't notice it being nearly as problematic in Strong Bad. It might be that I was so used to the audio compression in the original Homestar Runner Flash videos, though. The problem only seemed to reappear with W&G. I'm not the only one to feel this way:
http://www.mixnmojo.com/features/read.php?article=grandadventures3
(I realize I've derailed this thread. My apologies to the forum etiquette gods.)
Mouse-to-joystick emulation isn't really a new idea. I would have liked to add click+drag to Wallace & Gromit, but didn't have time to develop anything alongside regular WASD direct control. There was time to add it to Monkey Island, though!
i do so very much wish that there were verb options though. that just seems like such a defining part of monkey island, and it requires a little more thought (my main draw to adventures), plus i always love hearing the soundbytes when you try to "pick up" some girl
I just wanted to say that I am so psyched. I really like the fact that there are both keyboard and mouse controls because there are times when I have the patience for clicking and times when I don't so keyboard movement is AWESOME.
Well.... while you may be right I've played quite a bit of games and never seen it used like I proposed before.... lol. I just think it's funny how the whole thing ended up being nearly 1:1 with what I said.
http://www.telltalegames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=128175&postcount=245
Are you telling me nobody from Tell Tale read that? Are you sure? lol.