Forge

Hello fellow weavers.

I've been thinking a lot in the days preceding this update, puzzled about what words I could use to provide an effective mixture of explanations, news and apologies.

Well, despite all the thinking, I haven't come up with anything satisfying, so I'll simply rely on my guts and put my mind to rest. Improvisation, that's the word.

So, first of all, it's really been about a year since the last update. In the "New Year 2014" post there were hopes, expectations, plans and generally all seemed quite promising. Then reality stepped in.

To be as brief as I can, the worsening of the financial crysis that has stroke Italy and the conclusion of some previous job experiences made it necessary for me to actively look for other occupations. With only some occasional freelance translations and computer repairs, that search took most of my free time. The worst thing about this cyle is how it drains your energy, so that the little free time left didn't go into Forge development, but mostly into cheap relaxation passively watching movies, series or playing games. I didn't even had the time to go out much for fun, and this is neither healthy nor ideal.
I'm sure a lot of you can relate to that, though I'm not saying all this because I want your pity (or your money). Truth be told I didn't want to share all that in the first place, but then I decided it was worth it. At least you'll see that I'm truly passioned, to the point I try to struggle to carry on and still save Forge a little spot in my life.

So, has there been any progress at all in Forge? Yes! Has it been much? Sadly nope.

Managing other people's work was not an option, due to time required and the fact I already had a (now finished) job as a project manager for another game. It's sad, because I definitely loosened the existing bonds with our faithful cooperators, especially Jamison Alderson and Master Pixelmold. I hope they will still be interested to help out as soon as the development will regain a steady pace.
Anyway, what I did was concentrating on coding Ch.2, preparing the game for translations, fixing Ch.1 bugs and adding extra features. Some of them might look like a waste of time to you, but they were actually either quite easy to accomplish or useful in terms of learning experience for other projects and occupations.

And so, despite having called "v1.0" the last demo before the final release, I felt the need to present you an update, something tangible and full of requested features and fixes.


Thus I bring you "Forge - Chapter One v1.1". Here's a brief list of what you should expect:

• Bug-fixing. The (few) issues found after the release of v1.0 have now been corrected.
• Translations readiness. The complexity of the game required a lot of work and changes to prepare it for future translations. It should be done now!
• Italian translation. Since it was imperative to do some testing about the effective translation-readiness, I took a couple of days and carried that out myself. This is the only translation included in the package.
• Puzzle-fixing. I was bothered by how improvable the infamous Tomb's Puzzle was. I gathered all the critiques received and hopefully made the puzzle more interesting and fair.
• Extra-gameplay. Some cutscenes were really really long, without the chance for the player to have a break. Now interactions / cutscenes have a slightly better balance. Don't expect anything huge, though.
• Extra and improved commands. Middle and right mouse-clicks did nothing, now they clear the bottom right frame from the selected hotspot / object / character. Scrollwheel now can be used to select Y / N options from the confirmation GUIs. Double-click now launches Rusty's interaction immediately, without the need to wait for him to reach the spot. F12 saves a screenshot in the Screenshots folder inside the game's main one.
• Changes in the schematics' drawing system. In the end I realized there should be at least a Proficiency Level that is very easy, to encounter the favor of the adventure purists. Practice is like that now, with no boundaries at all: just connect all the dots in the right order, and it will be fine. Standard is a bit easier as well, and Expert is almost the same as before. Also, all levels are now a bit more forgiving: if you trace back just one dot, nothing happens and you can still complete the schematic; and going out of boundaries is a bit more unlikely.
• New launcher. This is one of the things I did mainly to learn a new scripting language and obtain a know-how useful in other contexts. But I was also very unhappy with the default winsetup.exe, both in terms of functionality and looks. Unfortunately the new launcher fully supports only Windows so far, but there will be Linux and probably also Mac support in the future, as Lua-LOVE is a cross-platform framework. I just didn't see the point in spending time for that until the game itself supports those OSes.
• Loom Recap. Much more people than I expected were bothered because they needed to play (or re-play) Loom in order to fully understand Forge. Having already some sort of Loom Recap from the Tech Demo era, I decided to tweak it a little bit and make it more complete and informative. The Loom Recap can be accessed from the corresponding folder in the main game folder, but also from the new launcher.

This should sum it all up.

For what concerns other translations, the ones currently supported are: Italian, Spanish, French, German, Swedish, Russian, Hebrew. This only means those translations will / should work immediately on this version of the game, as soon as they are carried out by the translators. Other languages, including Brazilian Portuguese, will be certainly supported in a future version of the game.
The big difference is people will need to download a whole next version again, while for the languages listed before they will only need to download a tiny file and place it in "v1.1" game's folder.

Beware that this release is still to be considered unofficial and unsupported, cause it didn't pass any testing phase. There might be new bugs, even awful ones that break the game completely. Use it at your own risk. Bug-report is welcome, but not necessary.
Same thing goes with translations (with the exception of the Italian one). Though I'll do my best to provide clear and complete guidelines, I lack the means to ensure the quality of the translations I won't carry out personally. I won't have time to perform a proofreading, but I put my utmost trust in all of the kind guys that offered as translators.
To all translators: you'll receive the necessary files and info in 1-2 days.

Well, I think it's time to give you a link. This time I opted for a simple archive and no-installer. Just uncompress it in a place where you have writing privileges, and launch it from either launcher.exe or winsetup.exe.

You can find in the usual place, the DOWNLOADS PAGE! (http://forgegame.com/?p=downloads)

For what regards the future of Forge, it's hard to say. Things are going a little bit better from a financial standpoint now, but it's still early to cheer up and until I'm "stable" enough to actually have time to reorganize the team, development will be sluggish. For the moment I still need to use most of my time for my current commitments and for actively searching other ones.
Good thing is I've already set up an organized environment, mainly using Redbooth, in order to make management slightly less time-tolling; and there's a couple of people which might lend me a hand with the game, as well.

Last but not least, I'm organizing a giveaway as a compensation for all the hardcore Forge fans in the next few days. Yes, you heard that well: it's gonna be something really sober, but still a giveaway.

If there's something I've learned long ago, and that I still base my life on, is that sharing and giving are the best ways to express our humanity. Don't let this wicked and twisted society teach you anything different. Be helpful to others, hug, love, give support. And don't expect anything back.

I truly love you all,

- Gabriele "Abisso" Nannetti

Thanks, Abisso!
The game looks much better now, and take all the time you need to make a perfect 'Forge'.

cool!

Now gimme dat translation file :)

Hey, since all this project is a free labour of love, any news is good news!
Thanks for sharing your situation, and keep holding the dream.
The game as it is is really beautiful, and I personally can't wait to see how the story will unfold, even if it takes five more years... how long has it been since Loom, after all?
So take care of yourself, and enjoy the wonderful crystal fruit of your work!

Hugs

Thanks Iurius, thanks Cloudbow.

And you selmiak, will need to wait my instructions! It's not like you take a "translation file" and just translate it. There are exceptions, recommendations, tricky parts etc. Nothing is as easy as it looks with Forge! ;)

Dude, this is good news. Sorry about the financial struggles, but I'm glad to see that project is still alive. I can't wait to replay Chapter 1!!!!

you're not telling me, you implemented your own translation system on top of the working AGS translation system, are you? :o

Sad to hear about the struggle. But glad to hear that Forge will go on. I am also Looking fortward for Testing the 1.1 Release. I will test the German Language packet. Cheers Mate!

Tried to replay the new version of the first chapter - but the tombstone puzzle is still impossible to solve for me  :( No hints and not a single idea as for what to do at all (at least on 'Standard' level)... It seems that I will have to play on the easiest level after all.

But here are some good news - abisso, are you aware that your 'Forge' is featured in the article 'The secret history of LucasArts' (http://www.pcgamer.com/the-secret-history-of-lucasarts/#page-2)? They use the screenshots from the first chapter to illustrate the original 'Forge' that has never been released. Isn't it the biggest compliment for a fan remake - to be mistaken for an unreleased original game?  :)

@Iurius: dunno what to say about the tombstones' puzzle... maybe you just were not in the mood for that kind of riddle. It's much easier now both in terms of interface and in terms of hints. All red herrings have been removed too.

Thanks for pointing me to that article. A couple of comments already shown the relation with Forge, but I added mine just in case. I admit it's nice to see our art can be mistaken for the original art, but I also think the journalist should have done a little bit more research before using it in conjunction with Dave Grossman's words.

Gonna play it when I get home. I think it's going to be the second game (even being a patch) that I'll enjoy a lot playing this year. The only one by now is Tormentum Dark Sorrow. Waiting for this, Broken Age pt II, Obduction, Technobabylon and any other good adventure game.

So happy to see this still going. You had us for a while sweet

Hi Zeeg, hi Guvna. Glad you're happy to see me. For a moment I thought you had a gun in your pockets. ;)

As a small update, a particularly time-tolling commitment that began shortly after last update prevented me from starting the translation phase yet. Both guidelines and the main file are almost ready, but I arrive at the end of the working day so drained that I can't even consider applying the last touches and doing a double check.

You're used to being patient with me, so I'm sure it's no big surprise.

I want to start by saying thank you for Forge.. i cant wait for the rest, and maybe fold as well :))... maybe it was addressed earlier, or maybe it cant be done for legal issues, but have you thought about a kickstarter campaign to bring this to a wider audience? kickstarter has seen a surge in the past year and we are starting to see a lot of adventure games.. in your case, with chapter 1 already completed and patched, you would have no problem in showing what can be done and what will be done.. and then you will have all the financing required and all expenses taken care of.. if could still be made as a fan made contribution thing maybe with no minimum payment from anyone, but a minimum total amount to be reached to fund the game, and the amount should be equal to the expenses and salaries etc i.e. no profit to be made to remain fan-made not for profit to avoid legalities.. I am not sure, but just a thought. I for one, would back a kickstarter campaign and i am sure a lot of people will..

Hi Michel, and welcome on the boards.

I'm grateful for your interest and I really appreciate the fact you took some time to encourage us and try to help. However, as you correctly guessed, yours is a Frequently Asked Question (http://forgegame.com/?p=faq).
Follow the link and check the last 3 questions.

In any case, if I was to pay the salaries for myself and for the other team-mates, the amount of money required would be much higher than you think. If you start to pay someone it's only reasonable that you pay everyone and even if you keep the salary very low... well, do some maths considering a minimum of 4 people and 12 months of development (40 hours a week).
Consider that with Crowdfunding you usually get an average of 50% of what people pledged (because of taxes, perks / rewards, etc.) and you'll have the crowdfunding myth debunked.

Hey Abisso, half Time of 2015 .. how is it going ?
Did you manage to work further on the Forge Project ? How was ist going on ?
Well I am really looking forward , how the project is going on ... and even that it is going on !

I Hope everything is OK with you and I hope we will hear from you soon !
Cheer man !
Greetings from Germany !

Hi Abisso,
how are things going ? Will there be a new update ?
Did you manage some progress on forge ?
Would be nice to hear from you again !!!

I second this. It's fans want to carry on the story

Anything new? It's "One year later" since "One year later" now...  :'(

Okay Abisso, you was last Active here was 21th of March (dont call me Stalker *g)... so maybe it is possible to hear from you and how you are ! How is life goning on ? Is Forge still active or on pause ? ... Well I hope you are all right and hope to get a little update from you ;) .. Your Fans deserve it ! Take Care
CrusherHQ

So here's the deal... Everyone and their mothers would happily Donate to a "Forge T-Shirts" Kick Starter. The only thing you need is exposure, and an income stream. Double your goal if you're worried about net earnings. And please... let's just get this thing done so the fans of the series can get their hands on it! A progress bar last updated in December 2013 isn't doing you guys any favors. And if you're worried about drawing attention or a cease and desist, just direct your links on the Kick Starter to this thread or the FAQ's. Not only that, but exposure might actually get you the attention of people with the copyright's that could allow you to proceed legally with their permission. I think this project has been dragging its feet for long enough. Lets get this thing done. And for the record, you already have the attention of Brian Moriarty (Author of Loom) and he doesn't seem to mind -->  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1aVDael-KM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1aVDael-KM)

Hello from 2017 - Did you consider using patreon? You probably did ...
Well:
We would like to help you see your project through, you know. :-)

2017 confirms she would happily support a Patreon. I loved the Forge that I've played already.

If you can't set up a Patreon, could you make the game so far open source?

it's 2017 and no more news .. it seems that this project is dead ? I feel very sad about this ... I really liked Forge so far ! So please please please search for a way to carry on !!! Maybe a dream would come true and one day this projekt will be finished !

2018 says hello. Just checking up. Was hoping for a quick note of the developer ... not yet.
Hope dies last.

I am with you ... regulary looking for progress .. not yet .. dammit ! We Need Forge !!! Make my Dream come true !

some pixelartists with lots of free time should just write to abisso please :D

So sad this project fizzled out....

 :'(

I'm still so sad this project never completed, but if nothing else I am so glad I can use rofl0r/agsutils to look at all of the beautiful Sprites and read the wonderful script again.

> I can see a lot of swans swimming in the waters of a shiny pond.
> It looks so calm and peaceful...
> ... but it\'s not my destination.

(I wish I could draw like this!)

Wow, I just remembered this project while working on an indie game of my own, and came back here to see what has happened since. There was a time when I was checking this forum every day to see if there were updates, and there was even a time when I (a little too excited) asked to help out with the game - but didn't at the time really have the required skill level. As much as I wish we could have seen it completed, I understand that it was very ambitious and has now fizzled out, as these big fan projects often do, but wanted to say thanks for the good times.

Since I made that last post, I have again gotten into the habit of checking this forum a few times a week, hoping that there'll be some new activity, hah... Does anyone else check this place out from time to time, or is it just me at this point?

Not the only one. I still come around from time to time, and I keep promoting the first chapter in the adventure games circles when I see the chance. Doubt it will bring the project back from the dead, but since we just got a sequel to Monkey Island, maybe a Forge game made by Brian Moriarty is not so far ahead? Wishful thinking :P

I thought that, too, when talking to Cobb in RtMI, hah. I'm not expecting to ever see another official Loom thing made, but I'm never going to stop dreaming of Forge, Fold, and Loom Remastered.

from time to time I check in here as well :)
Happy new year guys and gals!

And to you as well!

Can't believe my prediction of no more official Loom things already got disproven, with a LRG release of Loom currently available for preorder. Wild.

what is lrg?

Limited Run Games. They do limited physical runs of niche/indie/retro games on PC and consoles. Their Loom re-release was a while ago now, of course.