Blake's 7 feedback and review thread

[Dbug]

Blake's 7 feedback and review thread
I've set this thread as "sticky" so it will stay on the top of the list, and will put the links on the reviews and other external resources of interest.

We are currently setting up the webpage for the game, all the feedback about the game should come here

One important thing: When we release the game, please think of the other player, and make sure to avoid spoiling other players by giving the solution to enigmas. If you find actual issues, then please poke Chema directly, don't write here "I had a problem when I had to find the thermotransfunctioner, as soon as I entered the time machine a soldier arrived and shoot me, making me lose all the gribniffs I had collected".
If you do that, your message is going to be sent to Chema (the feedback is valid), the message is going to be deleted of the thread, and then you are going to receive a personal message telling you to not do that again. Ever.

Another important thing: If you find a bug, or a crash, and if you are using Oricutron, remember to use the SAVE SNAPSHOT feature (it's in the main menu), and send us the SNA file, it would really help us find the cause of the crash.

Official site:
- http://blakes7.defence-force.org

Reviews:
- Retro Gamer Magazine, issue #176, page 108: Sizzler 93% score

Posts on other sites and forums:
- https://atariage.com/forums/topic/27120 ... -blakes-7/
- http://www.indieretronews.com/2017/10/b ... takes.html
- http://idpixel.ru/news/478-blakes-7-kve ... lucasarts/
- http://www.thelogbook.com/bb8/forums/to ... es-7-game/
- https://retroinvaders.com/en/87897/blak ... n-the-oric
- https://www.facebook.com/classicGaming/ ... 2136084653
- http://retromaniacmagazine.blogspot.no/ ... ntura.html
- http://mag.mo5.com/actu/127023/blakes-7 ... -sur-oric/
- http://www.8-bitcentral.com/blog/2018/blakes7Oric.html
- https://retromaniacmagazine.blogspot.no ... l?spref=fb

Twitter references:
- https://twitter.com/simoncarless/status ... 0837110784
- https://twitter.com/8BitCentral/status/ ... 8096475136
- https://twitter.com/Indie_RetroNEWS/sta ... 3717673985

Enjoy

[Dbug]

I started adding some links, please add any you find, could be blog posts, game reviews, youtube videos, etc...
Thanks

[ibisum]

I'm stuck! But it sure is fun to play though!

[maximus]

hi all, thanks Chem for this new game

nice and intuitive interface, an adventure game point&click without mouse

I'm in episode 2

If stuck:

- look at the game page, screenshots helped me

- take some coffee, a real one

Hoo and What a Nurse !

[Chema]

I see Dbug has answered some questions already

I don't have problems with people asking for help to other users, on the contrary, it would be nice, as long as you don't spoil the game to others. I guess that "anybody managed to pass through the service door? I'm stuck!" is okay and people may answer you by pm.

With time I don't have any problem in posting the walkthrough of each episode, or some clues

iss, I am glad you reached episode 2. I really recommend you all play it. I think it is where things start to get interesting, and where the game becomes more enjoyable.

Thanks all for trying it!

[Steve M]

I'm stuck also. Tried every option with the technician, but he sends me away.

There are not many options left for things to try. Is there an object I should be carrying?

I'm hoping to find a large mallet so I can sort out that technician and the freaky nurse.

[maximus]

hi Steve lokk at your PMbox

Chem > I'm not ISS

[Chema]

Chem > I'm not ISS

Ups! Sorry...

[Pengwin]

After finally getting Oricutron running, I got a first proper look at Blakes 7.
Looks amazing... well done to Chema for producing this. Not played too much of it, yet, but it is definitely a game I would have thought beyond the capability of the humble Oric.

[ibisum]

I've had a great time playing it, and it is definitely a high quality title which I never thought would happen on the Oric (I will always be amazed!) .. but yeah, I'm stuck too. Trying to work out if its just me being an idiot or a real bug, lets see .. PS, I removed my earlier post as it contained spoilers - its far too soon for us to be spoiling this great title for others! I wanna finish it without spoilers first ...

[peacer]

I would not believe my eyes if I saw such a game when It was 80's .. During those times, I always envied my friends who have commodore and amiga. When they were playing with lots of colorful and excellent games, I had to settle for a few simple games that I had to type-in from hundreds of lines of codes and reached to simple pixel men crossing the screen.

I wish I had a time machine now, so I can go back to 1985 and show my Oric running Blake's 7 to my c64 and amiga owner friends and be proud of my Oric.

This is not "just" a game but a proof that Oric is highly talented and powerful device. I wish our oric had been able to continue to be produced and developed over time. Perhaps with today's technology would have been producing Oric computers, which overturned the apple-like market. This game clearly proof Oric's capabilities and margins which is just determined by imagination and vision of excellent codes like our beloved Twilighte, and of course, you Chema..

Thank you very much for making impossible become reality and all your efforts. I am sure this opens a new door to even better games in future.

I am also stuck the same place but I am sure I will manage..

[ibisum]

Totally agree with you, peacer, this is the sort of game which, if it were written in the 80's, would have put the Oric in an entirely different position in relation to the other machines of the era .. when I play Blakes 7, I really get the impression that the power of the Oric architecture is being put to use in a clever, yet sensible way. Okay, we don't have all the colours in the world - but the use of colour in this game is very skilful, and dare I say it artistic.

As I wander the lonely corridors looking for a way out (!), I find myself inspired by the graphics to the degree that I think a side-scrolling fighter game would be feasible, akin to the games like "Bruce Lee", "Barbarian", "Renegade" and .. especially "Karateka".

Just think about that: Chema has demonstrated that the Oric was perfectly capable of having a "Karateka" port!

[Chema]

Thanks for your kind words guys. All I hope is you like playing.

Remember all I ask is a picture of your computer running the game

Ok, now onto some not so happy news:

the bad: there is a bug in the shortcut system. You can see that it is not possible to Pick up anything you are already carrying. The action changes immediately to Look at. Well, as I always tell my students do not program by adding kludges and not thinking twice, or these nasty things will come back in the future to poke you in your nose. If you press 2 (the shortcut for Pick up) when selecting an item in your inventory, a check is not performed and the system tries to pick it up again, and you usually end up with the same object twice.

the ugly: This might result in inconsistencies later on, such as the object not being removed and you trying to use it later in the game, but even worse, the code associated to the object might have "changed" or other internal data might have been dispatched, so the engine might stumble upon the error and crash with a yellow bar at the bottom.

the good: You can simply avoid doing that. And if you do (by pressing 2 by mistake over an inventory item), you can simply restart the game from the saved point and continue playing.

Of course the bug will be ruthlessly prosecuted and eliminated, and soon a new version will be uploaded which suffers no more this little nasty thing

[Symoon]

Downloaded the "beast" yesterday, and hoping to have a spare moment this evening to try it!
Thanks Chema, for keeping the Oric alive
Will make a picture when there's some progress!

[Steve M]

I'm on to Episode 2
After learning of the bug I accidentally pressed 2 instead of 3 so now have two spray cans. Is there any way round this or should I start again?