Author Topic: LIFE Epsilon - RELEASE!  (Read 8145 times)

Jubal

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LIFE Epsilon - RELEASE!
« on: April 08, 2018, 04:02:07 PM »

A Whovian Adventure game by James Baillie



Your planet has been destroyed by the Dalek Empire, and your memory of the events half-obliterated; having been saved in unclear circumstances, you find yourself on a resistance base from which you can begin to fight back against the daleks who destroyed your world. Starting out with almost nothing, you must find your way through the world and get to know its bizarre and wonderful array of peoples, creatures, and sandwich fillings, as you carve out your own path towards your eventual destiny.

The resistance have a dalek of their own, that said: the Good Dalek, as they call it. Its single great pronouncement is their motto, a motto that has helped fuse a once-disparate collection of species into a desperate alliance to take the fight back to the Daleks and save the galaxy...


LIFE RETURNS
LIFE PREVAILS
RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!



LIFE is a Whovian adventure game, fan-made, freely released and set in the Doctor Who universe. You are some sort of sapient species, recently evacuated to an asteroid base where rebels aligned with the mysterious Good Dalek plot to overthrow the might of the evil Dalek Empire. Your aim is to strike back against the Daleks using whatever skills, spaceships, and sandwiches life puts at your disposal!

On your way, you'll be able to explore an open-world, lovingly crafted setting with multiple planets to visit, asteroids to dodge, card games to play, robots to pilot, mazes to explore, a snarky text parser, and everything else you'd expect from an adventure game. You'll meet a range of DW aliens as well - draconians, sontarans, foamasi, adipose, silurians, even these weird ape-descendants called "humans" got in there somehow...

I hope you enjoy the game! Please report bugs here.


FEATURES:
  • Text-parser adventure focussed on puzzle solving and item use
  • Open world gameplay with around fifty scenes to visit across two planets and four other spaceships and space stations
  • Fully illustrated with classic-style pixel art and with a range of backing music and sounds to build up the theme of different locations
  • Six playable species that emphasise different aspects of the game and different solutions to puzzles
  • Multiple routes to victory and some puzzles that change with each game, giving significant replayability value
  • Minigames that give different playstyles, allow for more advanced puzzles and tactical thinking, or change up the pace from regular text-parser play
  • Wide range of other options for things to do - discover more about the world through dialogue, complete missions for the resistance, keep pets, upgrade your spaceship, and more
  • Richly detailed world with extensive added backstories and many nods to Doctor Who lore
  • Achievements system allowing you to unlock some extra content




MEDIA

Trailer:

Screenshots:




« Last Edit: April 08, 2018, 09:03:54 PM by Jubal »
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Tusky

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Re: LIFE Epsilon - RELEASE!
« Reply #1 on: April 08, 2018, 04:21:57 PM »
Congrats on the release!


Just downloaded & giving it a go right now.
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comrade_general

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Re: LIFE Epsilon - RELEASE!
« Reply #2 on: April 08, 2018, 04:49:39 PM »
Noice!

Jubal

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Re: LIFE Epsilon - RELEASE!
« Reply #3 on: April 08, 2018, 05:22:42 PM »
Thanks for trying it - do let me know your thoughts :)

I'll try and add more screenshots and a second download link (which will be IndieDB) soon.
« Last Edit: April 08, 2018, 05:29:47 PM by Jubal »
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Tusky

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Re: LIFE Epsilon - RELEASE!
« Reply #4 on: April 08, 2018, 06:42:58 PM »

Ok, it turns out I am dreadful at text based RPG's like this (I think the last one I got anywhere in was a spoof LOTR one on the BBC Micro! ). I have yet to solve the first puzzle, but I have explored as many of the first station's rooms as I am able, and have completed the tutorial.


Some inital thoughts:


  • I like the genral theme / setting of this, it's nice to explore and interact with the Doctor Who universe. I also much prefer more of a straight forward scifi setting like this as opposed to Moffat's recent over the top and silly plotlines, for example
  • The pixel art style works well
  • The music is really nice and sets the tone however...
  • None of the options allow for toggling sounds / music on or off
  • Feature request from someone used to using CL commands - I keep trying to press the up arrow to get the last command back. Not sure if that's a normal thing in games like this, though
  • Writing is clear and sometimes pretty funny. The text you get when you try to take the dorm pillow made me laugh






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Jubal

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Re: LIFE Epsilon - RELEASE!
« Reply #5 on: April 08, 2018, 07:14:10 PM »
Oops - the MUTE and UNMUTE commands exist and should allow you to turn sound on and off. That should be noted in the options list...

Up arrow for previous command I'll add to the requested features list. :)
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bigosaur

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Re: LIFE Epsilon - RELEASE!
« Reply #6 on: April 17, 2018, 01:17:38 PM »
I love the TARDIS sound effect in the trailer.

Does the final version differ a lot compared to the demo I played in Cambridge? I don't recall being really good at the game myself, but I might give it another go if there are some new things.

Jubal

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Re: LIFE Epsilon - RELEASE!
« Reply #7 on: April 17, 2018, 09:52:19 PM »
In style, not that much, though the command system is significantly improved so it should be a lot less difficult to work out the right commands for what you want to do. In terms of content, it's massively expanded since then; more minigames, missions, etc etc.
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comrade_general

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Re: LIFE Epsilon - RELEASE!
« Reply #8 on: April 21, 2018, 04:29:32 PM »
I managed to get into the good dalek thing and to a few planets, was feeling pretty successful with it, died a few times but remembered to save. :P

Sorry Jub, I copied the text but foolishly closed out the game only to find that the text didn't copy. :(

Jubal

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Re: LIFE Epsilon - RELEASE!
« Reply #9 on: April 21, 2018, 10:18:30 PM »
Aie - no worries.

Any bits you particularly liked/disliked? :)
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comrade_general

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Re: LIFE Epsilon - RELEASE!
« Reply #10 on: April 21, 2018, 10:59:10 PM »
Adipose driving a forklift. xD

Nah really I can see you've put a crapton of effort into this, and the extra challenges and games, like asteroids and cards, is a nice touch. I didn't get to mining yet, and I still have no idea how to actually play that eskimo card game, but I'm pretty sure I've won every game I played. ;D
« Last Edit: April 21, 2018, 11:08:09 PM by comrade_general »

Jubal

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Re: LIFE Epsilon - RELEASE!
« Reply #11 on: April 22, 2018, 06:10:49 PM »
I think the minigames seem to work well - people seem to like different ones, I've known some players get really addicted to hlastak whereas other people hate the randomness of it but like the more planning-based challenge of the mining game :) And yes, I was pleased with the adipose.

How many achievements have you got so far, out of interest?
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Jubal

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Re: LIFE Epsilon - RELEASE!
« Reply #12 on: July 12, 2020, 10:45:29 PM »
I did some bugfixes today and uploaded them, mostly just parser bugs.
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