AGDI's new King's Quest game is, as expected, absolutely incredible

[sahara]

You guys have got to download AGDI's new King's Quest III Redux.  I've been playing it for about the last hour.  You're all going to die when you see it... it's like playing an actual Sierra game... but better.  The music, the art, everything... is to die for.  I was already a big fan of the AGDI games and expected something good... and this still has really impressed me.

And now the team (as Himalaya) just posted info about their brand new original adventure/RPG game... some people who pre-order this game will get a cool KQ3 poster (way better than their QFG2 poster, which I also liked).  I would have ordered already, but there is no way to purchase yet.  They need to hurry up!  I'm not going to be able to be at the computer much this week... and I don't want to order after all the posters are gone.    I'm like in adventure gaming overload tonight.

http://www.himalayastudios.com/games/mages/
http://www.agdinteractive.com/games/kq3/poster/aboutposter.html

[Baggins]

So far I'm digging the background quality. Although I think some of the sprites could be improved.

Some aspects do not look as consistent as the Enhanced remakes of KQ1 and KQ3 (it might have something to do with the zooming/scrolling over the images or due to screen resolution on the computer I'm using at the moment).

It's also crashed on me, when trying to use the "restart" button for some odd reason.

[spoiler]I like the pacing of the intro, and the way it shows Manannan directly involved with the kidnapping.

I'm intrigued by some of the + elements like, the relocation of Medusa to a cave, a new character 'bard', and now Alexander can't swim, LOL. I'm still trying to figure out the changes to the puzzles, since some of the items don't seem to be in their exact locations, or don't show up initially. So far I can't find the key to Manannan's wand in its original location yet (so I'm wandering if it will show up later due to a scripted event).[/spoiler]

[sahara]

Aren't the backgrounds ridiculously good?  After I visit some screens for the first time, I'm like, "hello!"

I'm debating whether to use the official Erpy walkthrough at all after it gets published... I'm already a little stuck... but I'm going to do my best to avoid cheating.

[KatieHal]

Use spoiler tags, please, guys (I put one in your post, Baggins)

[oberonqa]

I love the game so far.... but alas I am completely and utterly stuck, and I'm loving it.  The changes to the puzzles have made things fresh and interesting.  Though...

[spoiler]
I want to strangle the person (or persons) who thought moving the key to the safe and replacing the latch with a lever puzzle was a good idea.  Seriously...  
[/spoiler]

EDIT:

Figured out the solution to the lever puzzle.

[spoiler]
It's a randomly generated sequence that is unique to each playthrough.  To find out the proper sequence, check the next spoiler tag...
[/spoiler]
[spoiler]
Find the journal of the previous Gwydion, which is located in the Port Bruce library (just north of the tavern).  To get into the library, check the next spoiler tag...
[/spoiler]
[spoiler]
Climb the boxes on the side of the building (use the hand cursor), then use your cutting knife on the partially opened window to unlatch the window.
[/spoiler]

You should figure out the solution to the lever puzzle as soon as you can, as Manannan will want to be fed whenever he comes back from a journey or wakes up from a nap... and there's only so many things you can feed him before you run out of food.  Furthermore, the sequence changes each time you start a new game or restore a saved game prior to finding the solution in the first place. 

I found this out the hard way.  I found the solution, then took a screenshot of if for future reference.  Then I made a mistake while fiddling around in the laboratory and restored my game (which I saved prior to getting the sequence).  Figuring I could shave some time, I tried to use the solution I already had... and it didn't work.  When I retraced my steps and found the solution, it was completely different from the solution I had the first time.

[Blackthorne]

Baggins

[spoiler]The key is in one of the robes in Manannan's closet.  The BLACK cloak.

[/spoiler]
Bt

[kindofdoon]

Downloading it now. The screenshots and site design all look amazing.

(Posted on: February 24, 2011, 09:51:43 AM)

YES! This is an amazing game! Great art, animation, music, voice acting, etc. - top notch!

[crayauchtin]

It's out already?? Ohmigosh!! *downloading*

[MusicallyInspired]

[spoiler]I'm intrigued by some of the + elements like, the relocation of Medusa to a cave, a new character 'bard',[/spoiler]

[spoiler]The Bard is not a new character. He's the same guy from KQ4.[/spoiler]

You should figure out the solution to the lever puzzle as soon as you can, as Manannan will want to be fed whenever he comes back from a journey or wakes up from a nap... and there's only so many things you can feed him before you run out of food.  Furthermore, the sequence changes each time you start a new game or restore a saved game prior to finding the solution in the first place.

That's not entirely true. You can never run out of food to feed Manannan if you're looking in the right place.

I found this out the hard way.  I found the solution, then took a screenshot of if for future reference.  Then I made a mistake while fiddling around in the laboratory and restored my game (which I saved prior to getting the sequence).  Figuring I could shave some time, I tried to use the solution I already had... and it didn't work.  When I retraced my steps and found the solution, it was completely different from the solution I had the first time.

You can take "solution" to the lab puzzle wherever you go. So you don't need to take a screenshot. You can view it at any time right while sitting in front of the levers.

[Baggins]

He is a new character to KQ3, however.

[MusicallyInspired]

Ah semantics. The bane of conversation.

[Arkillian]

Hmmm- I'm up to the part just after getting the treasure. I stopped cause I needed to sleep. The new editions to the game are excellent I'm really enjoying all of that. I LOVE what they did with the magic casting. A nice compromise between typing it all out by hand and point and click casting Took me a while to figure it all out, but once I got it, it was really fluid

[Damar]

This game was really great.  It was challenging, though not too much so.  Honestly the only part I got stuck on was the lever puzzle, and that wasn't so much me getting stuck as it was a textbook example of the brain recognizing what it wants to see.  When I first found the combination, I read the dash symbol as a missing symbol and since I made that assumption I didn't notice that the one lever symbol was actually a dash.  So yeah...I'm saying its an example of human psychology and how we see what we expect to see.  Otherwise I'm just an idiot who wasted a crapload of time looking for the second part to a combination I already had...

I'm not an idiot is what I'm trying to say.  Really, I'm not.  Sigh...ok maybe a little...

Outside of that, it was a great game.  I liked the little tie-ins with the other games like the bard and the yeti saying that he's going off to Serenia.  Often times I don't like things being tied together too much as it can seem too convenient and trite (like the idea of Hagatha being related to Mordack and Manannan.  Yeah I know the Companion said it, but that always seemed a bit much), but I thought those were nice touches.

As for the added things, I found it all entertaining.  That said, I've never been a huge fan of the Father storyline.  It always felt a bit shoehorned in to me.  Maybe that's because I grew up playing the games with one set plot, so the added stuff seems out of place, but still the whole plot never seemed like King's Quest to me.  So the references to First Mages and such just seemed out of place (possibly because the term "mage" sounds like modern, pop fantasy.  In King's Quest they've always been called wizards).  Likewise the side quest to find the treasure seemed out of place and tagged on.  But the puzzles were fun, so who cares?

As for the negatives, it's mainly nitpicky things.  I wish that Manannan would stay gone for longer.  Then again, that would allow someone to beat him in one absence, so the shorter journeys do add to the tension.  Still, it can get a little frustrating, especially since he demands food all the time.  Most of the voices were really good, but some weren't as good, or just sounded like someone reading the lines.  The visuals were great, but as with other AGDI games, there was some artwork that just didn't look right to me, usually closeups or dialogue boxes.  Heads that seemed too long, faces that seemed out of proportion, and that kind of thing.  But that's more artistic style versus personal preference and I certainly don't hold it against the game.  Likewise, the writers of this game, like in KQII+, seem to love to put little poems in the game and I really, really am not a fan of their poetry.  The cadence tends to sound rushed and the rhymes too forced.  But I'm also kind of a literary snob.  Like I said, any negatives I found in the game were nitpicky and didn't ruin the enjoyment of the game even in the slightest.

All in all, I really enjoyed the game, evidenced by the fact that I played it through in one sitting.  Well, once I finally figured out I was being an idiot about the lever puzzle I played it through in one sitting.  And then I played it through again.  The awards system at the end is a stroke of genius.  The OCD part of me will be playing this game over and over again until I figure out what all the awards are and collect them.

[Lambonius]

I actually thought the little random bits of poetry for looking at or interacting with certain background elements was a great homage to the original series.  That type of thing is straight out of games like KQ5 and KQ6, actually.  The one that stood out to me as being especially similar to responses from the original games was when you try to pick up the bottles on the shelf in Manannan's dining room.  Classic King's Quest, in my opinion.

At least it wasn't a multi-paragraph inner-monologue about Alexander's feelings.  *shudder*

[Baggins]

I really enjoy he music quality in this game. I like the Oracle theme.

[MusicallyInspired]

The Oracle theme is one of my favourites in the game. Seran's Glade is another.

[Damar]

I liked the update of the Sorcery of Old theme.  The original was chilling in its repetitive simplicity and I liked the fact that this version left it pretty much the same, except with updated sounds.

I actually thought the little random bits of poetry for looking at or interacting with certain background elements was a great homage to the original series.  That type of thing is straight out of games like KQ5 and KQ6, actually.  The one that stood out to me as being especially similar to responses from the original games was when you try to pick up the bottles on the shelf in Manannan's dining room.  Classic King's Quest, in my opinion.

At least it wasn't a multi-paragraph inner-monologue about Alexander's feelings.  *shudder*

Yeah, I agree that the alliteration and quick rhymes in random responses are very King's Quest and I don't mind them.  The poetry I was referring to was the straight up verse they attempt, such as the Father's curse and Valanice's words in the sand from KQ2+ and the back of the treasure map, the updated incantations, and so on in this version.  The full poetry just never worked for me.  I always feel like the cadence is rushed and the rhymes obvious or not quite right.  It's never been enough to derail the game, not by a long shot, but I've never liked it all that much.

Interestingly enough the long responses in TSL have been getting to me more recently.  Still not enough to ruin the game for me, but it is starting to wear a little thin in my opinion.  Basically I see the writing in TSL and AGDI as two separate extremes.  AGDI's games can be a bit trite in the writing department (though by and large the writing is fine.  Even better than fine often times) while TSL can benefit from a touch of triteness every so often instead of the long responses (though, again, by and large I find the writing fine.)

[Lambonius]

Yeah, I agree that the alliteration and quick rhymes in random responses are very King's Quest and I don't mind them.  The poetry I was referring to was the straight up verse they attempt, such as the Father's curse and Valanice's words in the sand from KQ2+ and the back of the treasure map, the updated incantations, and so on in this version.  The full poetry just never worked for me.  I always feel like the cadence is rushed and the rhymes obvious or not quite right.  It's never been enough to derail the game, not by a long shot, but I've never liked it all that much.

Oh!  Those parts.  Yeah, I like those less, but I don't really have a problem with them per se.  I did think a few of the rewritten incantations were clever, but then, I also thought others were not so clever, or reaching too hard for the rhymes and such.  So yeah, I see where you're coming from.

[Enchantermon]

My question was why they rewrote the incantations at all. It seemed pretty unnecessary. The only exception is the spell that used fish scales instead of fish bone (again, why?), but even then, just changing "bone of fish" to "scale of fish" would have been sufficient.

[Lambonius]

My question was why they rewrote the incantations at all. It seemed pretty unnecessary. The only exception is the spell that used fish scales instead of fish bone (again, why?), but even then, just changing "bone of fish" to "scale of fish" would have been sufficient.

They did it so that they weren't technically giving out the original Sierra copy protection answers (which is what the original spell system essentially was all about).  They thought Activision might frown upon that.