PI Cole sequel

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Andrew
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Re: PI Cole sequel

Post by Andrew »

Cristian wrote:OK, I'm officially stuck.
One of the many questions (probably the main one) is: why can't I call the police, using my telephone and the correct number, after finding a dead person? Is this a possible bug?
The short answer is: you don't need to :)
The long answer is: the police number remained on the blackboard from the first PI Cole game and now it is just a red herring. I should have probably deleted it, but I left it there to confound :)
If you're stuck and need a hint just send me a PM and explain your current situation (there are more than one dead persons in the game, so I don't know which one you found)


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Cristian
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Re: PI Cole sequel

Post by Cristian »

For the moment I'll insist on trying....


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Andrew
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Re: PI Cole sequel

Post by Andrew »

This is the latest version of PICole2 - The Invisible Case
I have fixed a couple of bugs (Thank you Marcel !) , updated the manual and created a walkthrough.
Also I have created an archive with the source code and all programs used for building the images, text data, index data. There also is a small program to view all the game images, for those too lazy to play the game.

Files:
PICole2.zip - the game, zipped on QPC
PICole2_win.zip - the game - 1Mb win container image - also includes a manual in Quill format
PICole2_img.zip - the game, DD disk image - also includes a manual in Quill format
PICole2Manual_and_Walkthrough - Manual in pdf format and Walkthrough in pdf format
PICole2Source - Source file, image files, text files etc. Unzip with directory structure. In Code and PICole2 directories you will find QL zip archives that need to be also unzipped

This really is the last version of the game, so Dillwyn, if you want to, please load it on your site also.

Thank you!

P.S. I am waiting for a game review from you !!
Attachments
PiCole2_win.zip
(241.83 KiB) Downloaded 112 times
PICole2_img.zip
(234.88 KiB) Downloaded 121 times
PIcole2Source.zip
(1.8 MiB) Downloaded 134 times
PICole2Manual_and_Walkthrough.zip
(1.25 MiB) Downloaded 122 times
PICole2.zip
(288.1 KiB) Downloaded 113 times
Last edited by Andrew on Sun Feb 21, 2021 12:54 am, edited 2 times in total.


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mk79
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Re: PI Cole sequel

Post by mk79 »

Andrew wrote:This is the latest version of PICole2 - The Invisible Case
I have fixed a couple of bugs (Thank you Marcel !) , updated the manual and created a walkthrough.
I'm sorry to say this, but this is what I get on the clean PiCole2.win on startup ("end of file")
picole2_eof.png
It does start up fine when clicking "continue" two or three times, though.

I'm looking forward to the walkthough, I'm still stuck at the Chinese, grrrr. <edit... good lord, I've tried for ages doing something with the pile at the Chinese only to now realize there is a single one laying around, too... totally overlooked that, damn :)>

Cheers, Marcel


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Andrew
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Re: PI Cole sequel

Post by Andrew »

mk79 wrote:I'm sorry to say this, but this is what I get on the clean PiCole2.win on startup ("end of file") picole2_eof.pngIt does start up fine when clicking "continue" two or three times, though.

I'm looking forward to the walkthough, I'm still stuck at the Chinese, grrrr. <edit... good lord, I've tried for ages doing something with the pile at the Chinese only to now realize there is a single one laying around, too... totally overlooked that, damn :)>

Cheers, Marcel
I shouldn't work at 2AM :(
I updated the archives in the above post - both win version and floppy version.
The zipped version and the source were correct.


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dilwyn
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Re: PI Cole sequel

Post by dilwyn »

Andrew wrote:This really is the last version of the game, so Dillwyn, if you want to, please load it on your site also.
Done, thank you Andrei.


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RalfR
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Re: PI Cole sequel

Post by RalfR »

Works ok, thank you.


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qbits
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Re: PI Cole sequel

Post by qbits »

Hi Andrew,
For the QPC2 v5 emulator I transferred your win image file to my Win C:\ProgramData\QPC folder then linked it in as Win4_ device, loaded the boot file and made the path changes then LRUN win4_Boot. I had to play around with some choices of resolution and select QL colour mode4/8 or the art work became scrambled. It all appears to be working OK now and I’m in awe of your art work, the graphic detail is amazing. Now I just need to get to grip with the Game Plan and Solve the crime!!!

Your accompanying pdf identified keys used for your top menu but a little further explanation on the other options menus with the USE Command wouldn’t go amiss. It might be me but from my tentative trials all four cursor keys are used for Navigation of options. Space and Enter action a choice and returns to previous options (but not always) Esc it appears can be used to return to the main menu. At times through choices made I was sometimes locked into returning to main menu to reselect my map location when all I might require is a back step to the previous option menu (Esc key maybe).

Anyway, at the end of the day a great result. Continuing this topic the methodology and algorithms you might have developed for your game choices would make very interesting reading, I’m sure.

QBITS
Attachments
PIColeScrrens.jpg


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Andrew
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Re: PI Cole sequel

Post by Andrew »

qbits wrote:Your accompanying pdf identified keys used for your top menu but a little further explanation on the other options menus with the USE Command wouldn’t go amiss. It might be me but from my tentative trials all four cursor keys are used for Navigation of options. Space and Enter action a choice and returns to previous options (but not always) Esc it appears can be used to return to the main menu. At times through choices made I was sometimes locked into returning to main menu to reselect my map location when all I might require is a back step to the previous option menu (Esc key maybe).
Selection of a menu item uses 4 keys UP and Down to navigate the menu and select the command and Enter or Space to execute it. (Space was added to make the game controllable with a joystick)
Escape is not used by the menu loop

Selection of an object or map locations uses:
UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT - to select the object or location (the object list and location list have multiple columns)
Enter or Space to execute the selection
Escape to cancel the action and return to menu

When showing text, if the text is longer than 1 page (5 rows) a down arrow is shown in the bottom right corner. Enter or Space is used to show the next page.

On QPC there is an "issue" - speed. It is simply very very fast! So what happens is like this: When you use a command like Take or Use or Map and select the object/objects/location with Space or Enter, if you keep pressing the Space or Enter just a little bit longer, because of QPC's speed the command is executed and the relevant text is shown, but then the SPACE/Enter is processed again by the menu loop, returning you to the same command you just executed, which erases the previous shown text. (I'm not sure if I explained it clearly)
Of course, this is dependent on your computer speed and on keyboard repeat delay and rate settings of your operating system. Setting a longer repeat delay will make the game work smoother.
I used some delay when showing the multiple-page text, to prevent jumping to a new page by a longer keypress. Probaby I should have done the same when parsing commands. Or even better I shoud have cleared the keyboard buffer before every loop cycle.


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Cristian
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Re: PI Cole sequel

Post by Cristian »

So eventually I completed the game. I found it quite difficult sometimes, so I had to utilize the walkthrough a couple of times.
I didn't expect it was so noir. But probably it's more realistic. Anyway, graphics are splendid, the descriptions are accurate and the atmosphere is fascinating.
Thank you so much Andrew for making me have fun with a great new QL game!

Cristian


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