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Post by jorpho on Aug 5, 2013 14:34:06 GMT -5
Anyone here have an extra copy on Steam? I'm being cheap and I don't really feel like paying the full $10 for it (but I'd be willing to work something out over paypal). The game might be slightly cheaper on Android or iOS. The engine was open-sourced and I think you can download the Linux version of the executable for free as long as you have the game data from elsewhere. I'm not sure if the same goes for Windows. The game has been humble-bundled three times now, so I might have a spare key, but I can't check at the moment. |
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Post by Joseph Joestar on Aug 5, 2013 14:38:08 GMT -5
Anyone here have an extra copy on Steam? I'm being cheap and I don't really feel like paying the full $10 for it (but I'd be willing to work something out over paypal). The game might be slightly cheaper on Android or iOS. The engine was open-sourced and I think you can download the Linux version of the executable for free as long as you have the game data from elsewhere. I'm not sure if the same goes for Windows. The game has been humble-bundled three times now, so I might have a spare key, but I can't check at the moment. That's cool. If not, I'll just pick up a copy since it's just $10...it just seems like it should be cheaper since it's from 2007  . How similar is it to Ecco the Dolphin? The videos make it look like an Ecco game in concept... |
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Post by jorpho on Aug 5, 2013 14:56:18 GMT -5
Heh. They were asking $30 or $40 for it when it first came out.
I'm not terribly familiar with the Ecco games, but you spend a good portion of Aquaria shooting furiously at things. Nonetheless, I like to think of it as closer to the later Castlevania games.
BTW, there's a port of the engine to the PSP as well (provided you have a modded PSP).
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Post by jorpho on Aug 6, 2013 12:24:26 GMT -5
A bit more digging reveals that there is in fact an updated version of the engine based on the open source for Windows/Linux/OSX, just released a month ago. You can use the data files from one platform to play it on all the others. (It doesn't say if the Android data files will work.) www.bit-blot.com/forum/index.php?topic=4313.0 |
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cardinalfang
Junior Member
i don't know what to say, so here's jeremy clarkson being fired from mcdonalds.
Posts: 87
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Post by cardinalfang on Aug 6, 2013 13:24:20 GMT -5
I think I'm being dumb, but I've screwed around in the song cave for the last 20 minutes and I can't figure out how to get the door to open. I found the wall with the "song" on it, but I can't seem to make it work anywhere.
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Post by jorpho on Aug 6, 2013 13:57:33 GMT -5
Not sure what to say. Are you playing the right notes? The symbols on the wall light up when you play them correctly.
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Post by Weasel on Aug 6, 2013 15:04:27 GMT -5
I was having some trouble with my mouse, but the song system seems to be relatively forgiving about filtering out any "crap" that you might have dialed in by accident, as long as you have the right symbols in the right order before you release the mouse button.
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Post by zerker on Aug 7, 2013 17:51:53 GMT -5
So I'm stubborn and prefer to play Aquaria with a gamepad, despite the game "recommending" the mouse. Aquaria's gamepad controls are actually quite good, but a bit outdated and require some fiddling to get configured nicely. Here are some of my notes for you all:
The customize control screen appears to have trouble recognizing/changing axis. To get the right stick of the 360 controller working right, I needed to edit the usersettings.xml file in the Aquaria directory. I changed s2ax="2" to s2ax="4' (2 is the "trigger" axis, I believe).
Unfortunately, with a 360 pad, it appears that you can't bind anything meaningful to either the Dpad or Triggers (without external software). However, you can still bind all the functions to the remaining buttons. What the game doesn't tell you is that several function are only active in certain screens, so it is safe to overlap keys that don't get used in the same context. Here are some of my notes and recommending bindings:
Left/Right button equivalent. Does what it says, and is ALWAYS applicable. I recommend binding to A & B for use in the menus, then ignoring these during the game.
Action 1 & 2: Direct action keys. Almost the same as above, but only active in game (not menus). I recommend Left/Right Bumpers
Swim in Direction X: Not applicable. Axis binding does this.
Roll: Only active in game. Does a roll move. I forget what it's used for. Bind to left stick.
Revert: Switch back to base form. Only active in game. I'd suggest X or Y
World Map/Receipes: Always active. Bind to Back.
Menu/Escape: Always active. Bind to Start.
Prev/Next Page: Active in any menu that has multiple pages (recipe book, cook menu with enough ingredients, collectables menu). Re-use LB/RB
Food Menu Left/Right: Add or remove ingredients on cooking screen. Re-use X/Y
Food Menu Cook: Actually cook. Unfortunately, we're running out of buttons here. There are two main options here: Don't bother with the "remove food button" (Food Menu Left), and bind this as Y. Or bind it to clicking one of the sticks, weird as that is. You could also try unbinding "right mouse equivalent" and bind this instead. I don't think you really need that one to navigate the menus.
Look: Pan the view to look offscreen. I used Right Stick.
Help: Who needs help?
[Edited a bit to correct some errors]
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Post by jorpho on Aug 8, 2013 0:28:36 GMT -5
Are you using the updated version, linked above? It advertises "better gamepad/joystick control".
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Post by Snarboo on Aug 8, 2013 11:26:15 GMT -5
I've gotten far enough to defeat the first boss and clear out some sort of underwater temple, and the one thing that stands out to me most is how far ahead of the curve this game was. For starters, it has a dynamic narrator 4 years before Bastion, a painterly style that would later become popular in indie games such as Braid, and a strong emphasis on exploration. This game has also aged incredibly well in the graphics department. I love how subtle some of the effects are, like the bubbles that are affected by the player as they swim through them. That said, there is some awkwardness with the controls. It seems like the game is trying to do entirely mouse driven and keyboard + mouse controls at the same time, and it can lead to some situations where one control scheme overrides the other. Sometimes the physics can be a bit off too, but otherwise this game seems rock solid. Does anyone know anything about Beat Buddy? This just came out on Steam a few days ago, and it looks a lot like an Aquaria clone at first glance. I may have to pick this game up for the podcast and compare the two. |
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Post by zerker on Aug 8, 2013 16:15:11 GMT -5
Are you using the updated version, linked above? It advertises "better gamepad/joystick control". No. At the time, I didn't have any compelling reason to switch. I'll check it out and report how much "better" the gamepad control is. Snarboo, though it does require some fiddling to set up, I would actually highly recommend you try out a Gamepad with Aquaria. It plays very comfortably as a twin-stick shooter with the Energy form. Also a brief tip for people. When you get to Mithalas (which is essentially the first area after the home waters), you can go inside many of the buildings. Look for buildings that appear to be missing roofs. One of these will trigger a memory event, and contains some sort of altar which opens up the item dialog when used. I'm not sure what gets used here though. EDIT: Tried the updated version, not too much is different in the gamepad control department. There is now a "drop food" button, but I wouldn't waste precious bindings finding a key for it. However, you can actually double-check the learned songs with the gamepad now, which is nice. Previously, the cursor simply wouldn't highlight them with a gamepad. However, the control screen still doesn't auto-detect axis, and you still can't bind anything to the triggers or dpad. So my previous advice still holds. |
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Post by Snarboo on Aug 11, 2013 12:55:06 GMT -5
I've finally made it to Mithalas, and the biggest issue I'm having with this game so far is that the maps are too damn big. This wouldn't normally be a problem, but most of them are empty except for enemies. There is a quick travel system, but it requires that you find giant turtles first. As a result, you spend a majority of your time swimming from samey area A to samey area B. When you do stumble upon a unique location that's filled with something, the game really picks up. Also some tips for you guys: - Once you learn the song that lets you pick up rocks, be sure to go back to the starting area. There are a number of hidden items that are hidden underneath rocks.
- Don't be afraid to kill stuff after unlocking the energy form. Most schools of fish will drop much needed ingredients for recipes.
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Post by zerker on Aug 12, 2013 18:25:35 GMT -5
Yeah, the open waters area is a bit too large for its own good. To help people out, here is a brief tour of the Open Waters to help you get where you want to go, and to save you wandering aimlessly to places you don't actually want to go to yet.
Northwest Quadrant: Where you enter the Open Waters. West is the Home Waters (duh), north is the Kelp Forest. Save Crystal Here.
Northeast Quadrant: East is Mithalas (first destination), North is the Veil (needs Beast form for east/real entrance). Save Crystal here and Turtle Express.
Southeast Quadrant. East is Arnassi Ruins (Optional zone, needs Beast Form). South is the Abyss, which you should avoid until much later.
Southwest Quadrant. South is ALSO the Abyss. Save Crystal here. There's also a side-cave system (which loads separately), but it seems to need some power involving blue crystals and steam vents to access.
FYI: The "altar" I was confused about before in Mithalas was just a cooking station. You can use these to cook 3-ingredient recipes. There's also one in your home cave, I believe.
Also, when anyone else gets to the Turtle Cave, if you can manage to make the final jump between bubbles to grab the costume at the very top, please let me know what you did. I've been trying to "boost" at the last second with beast form at least 10-20 times with no luck.
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Post by jorpho on Aug 13, 2013 11:51:40 GMT -5
Also, when anyone else gets to the Turtle Cave, if you can manage to make the final jump between bubbles to grab the costume at the very top, please let me know what you did. I've been trying to "boost" at the last second with beast form at least 10-20 times with no luck. Ah, yes, the jumps. Yarg. I can't quite recall exactly which one you are referring to (as there are several nasty bits), but I think you either need to toss a plant (possibly multiple plants) or use one of the food items that boosts your speed. |
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Post by zerker on Aug 13, 2013 14:57:14 GMT -5
Right! I forgot about those. Will try again tonight. EDIT: That did it. Just needed to drink some soup. I should try that with the Arnassi ruin time trial as well EDIT2: And I was wrong. You can do the Kelp forest first if you like. I just finished that tonight and didn't see any areas that absolutely require the beast form. The Kelp forest grants you two forms: Fish Form, and the Nature form. The former lets you swim through narrow passageways, and the latter lets you make plants grow, and use the flower/pod/tunnel things. Now I just need to figure out how to make headway in the Light Temple. EDIT3: Figured that out. The game tells you how to spin there, which is a big clue. However, what you need to do it go beside the large gear just at the water's surface and KEEP spinning. One spin isn't enough. |
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