Black Forest Castle V2.1 (micro update!)

[theDARKW0LF]

Final part finally up after over 6 hours trying to get it uploaded.

Great custom story, man! I said it before and I'll say it again: You are one of the best custom story designers out there. Keep it up and be sure to tell us about the progress for your next one when you are able!

Thanks for playing through my story! I've greatly enjoyed your videos and got some great laughs from your reactions! Thanks for the boost in confidence! I'll let all you guys know when I have a suitable demo for my next custom story.

[TEJR]

Version 2 is now available! There's been many months between my uploading of the first version (October) and the one I've now uploaded (March - though I did have a few months break from modding), so be sure to expect a good deal more content! I feel that it's easily miles ahead of the current one and hopefully you'll get a good few scares!


-->Screenshot Library<--

DOWNLOAD Version 2 from MediaFire


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Fixes Log (PST):

3/17/2011 4:00pm - fixed monster pathnode issues
3/17/2011 4:30pm - fixed forest grunt glitch
3/17/2011 7:15pm - spaced text on note in starter room
3/25/2011 12:30pm - REALLY fixed monster pathnode (spinning) issues

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Hi guys, Version 2 of Black Forest Castle is now available for download! I've spent a good amount of time working on this expansion of my original custom story and I think you'll find a lot more content present! I've spent many, many hours making new scripts and refining others. However, I think the biggest thing you'll take away from this custom story is the level design, which hopefully will please you, as my perfectionism motivates me to make the areas in the castle realistically cluttered and as lifelike as possible (I probably spent the most hours at this stage - refining the layout of the maps, adding areas that fit and changing those of current areas).

My scripting knowledge has increased quite a bit since the start of my mapping for Amnesia, and I'm carrying with me years of mapping/level design experience, so hopefully this work in progress will do that some justice... Constructive criticism is welcome, of course!

Thanks for taking time to check it out (and play it, of course)!

Thanks for that that is much better than V1 but that version was still awasome ... i hope you will made another great custom story )

[Bulbatron]

What parts of the level I'm actually able to see are very good.

However, I keep getting stuck. After

Spoiler below!

getting killed by the creature on the staircase who I can't get away from, I then start back in the bedroom at the beginning with nothing but the dusty key and the crowbar. Neither of these items seem to be able to open any doors though, so I appear to be trapped.

What have I done wrong, or what have I missed?

[Matthias Steel]

you did a good job on this one mate, i definitely enjoy your work darkwolf.

[theDARKW0LF]

What parts of the level I'm actually able to see are very good.

However, I keep getting stuck. After

Spoiler below!

getting killed by the creature on the staircase who I can't get away from, I then start back in the bedroom at the beginning with nothing but the dusty key and the crowbar. Neither of these items seem to be able to open any doors though, so I appear to be trapped.

What have I done wrong, or what have I missed?

You mean the

Spoiler below!

grunt in the storage room that comes out of the you-know-what? If so, you merely need let him continue down the staircase and go through the doorway, where he bashes it open in the process

Also, make sure you have the latest version of my custom story, the latest version fixes some pathnode issues the enemies had previously,

Spoiler below!

particularly the one in the storage room with the staircase

The dusty key is for the book room (which you can access from the main hall if you die and spawn back in the bed), the crowbar

Spoiler below!

is meant for a door you need to open as you back-track through the wine cellar up to the halls again

Though if you die, you won't need it.

[iNs]

Hey there theDARKW0LF.

I want to say 'thank you' for that amazing and awesome work of a genius!

Iam very happy that your User Story was the first User Story i have played,
because it was a really great story with scary moments, good logic with all
rooms, very nice sounds and very nice level design. I love it!

I really like the scary moments in your User Story. You did a great job with
the scaring of the player. The level design is so awesome. I know how much
time it takes to create a single room with this level of details. Great job!

---
I have read all of the 8 sites of posts here, but i want to give you a complete
list of things i noticed. Please dont mind if i repeat something you already
know. I just want to tell you all things i noticed!

(be carefull: story spoiler! dont read if you didnt play it yet)

Spoiler below!

Save File:
- it looks like the game is not correctly creating the save file
- sometimes it works and sometimes not
- i think it could depend on the place you try to save the game
- i tried to save the game 5 times at different progress
- only 2 out of 5 savegames worked for me

Death / Checkpoints / Respawn:
- like other players already noticed, there are some checkpoints missing
- i died one time when i was outside with the monster
- normally you have to open the stuck door with the crowbar
- but the checkpoint was at the first room again... please fix it!

Monsters:
- i really enjoy the number of the monsters
- dont decrease this please!
- when i walked outside and the monster came out of the cupboard:
=> i ran down the stairs and end up at that "stuck door"
=> thats why i ran under the stairs
=> the monster crashed the door and leaved the room
=> but after that the monster did not leave and was still outside
=> when i was tryin to get outside, the monster came to me
=> if you go upstairs, the monster rotates in one spot next to the stairs
=> the only way to escape is to run as fast as you can ^^
=> that part scared me out so much ... dude :-)

Scary Moments
- you have a great feeling for good moments to scare the player
- i got scared so much, when i went to that little box and the door pushed open
- but in the room with the tunnel you have human body parts in the desk
=> when you open the door of the desk, you need scary sound!
=> player does not get scared much without this sound!

Keys / locked up doors:
- you already know: there are to many keys
- but i also noticed that you use the monsters to open some doors
- thats really great. good idea man!
- i also like the placement of the keys
- in the normal 'Amnesia' Storyline you have to walk out of the window
- maybe you could use that feature to get into a hidden room
- or to get to the next room... its your choice ^^
- just add some new things to get doors opened
- like switches with a countdown / timer function
- (like the books in the library in normal 'Amnesia')

Ideas:
- i love your logic in the storyline... good work with that
- but try to add some new things... think about the normal 'Amnesia'
- there are so many things you could add:
=> machines to fix/repair
=> the explosion liquid
=> doors to open up with a countdown / timer / wheel to lift the door
=> try to use the boxes to reach some point (one box over the other)
=> water
=> maybe other persons to interact / help
=> two or more items to collect and comapare to a tool you can use

So thats a long list, and i hope it helps you.
---

I really enjoy your User Story and i hope you will continue working on it.
I know it is much work and much time, but your work is so awesome that
i really want to play more of this. :-)

I will stay tuned for updates. Thank you very much for your great work!


Best Regards
iNs

Edit:
I have created a german language file for your map. :-)
- all item names and descriptions translated
- all events (doors) translated
- the first letter in the 'wake up room' translated
- the names of the rooms translated
- i did NOT translate the second letter
=> because i dont even know where i can find it on your map :p
=> but i can translate that part too, if you tell me where this letter is ^^


If you want to have it, i can give it to you and you can add it to the download.
It is only one file and it is automatically detected by the game.

[theDARKW0LF]

Thanks for all the feedback guys, I really appreciate all your comments!

I'm currently working on a new custom story where you take the role of a detective as he takes on many different cases, each with their own stories, around 1800s England. It will be a single custom story with many mini-stories within. It will focus more on discovery and investigation (puzzles and such) than the pure thrills with minimal puzzle-solving that Black Forest Castle has done.

That being said, I will shortly be moving overseas and am nearing the final weeks of my college semester, so there will likely not be a full-fledged demo for a few months (let alone the finished product). Though I may upload a preview... it would be a short teaser of what's to come. I already have one case (group of levels with its own story/mystery to be solved) almost finished and may upload it for you all to try within the next month and a half or so.

[Jormungandr]

Darkwolf... damn scary story... I screamed I don't know how many times.

But now I am stuck on the part where you leave the wine cellar into the forest and go to the room with 2 dead people and stairway... Where the monster pops out of the closet (DAMN SCARIEST PART EVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRR) The monster went down and I went to investigate why he didn't leave.

Apparently he just sits in one spot and spins around in a circle and never leaves I practically looked straight at him. I then went to proceed on leaving but the monster must of fixed his coding and left right after me. (oh do those bushes hide you? I got spotted in them) So he chased me all the fucking way up the stairs and I went into the closet. Now I can't progress.

[theDARKW0LF]

Darkwolf... damn scary story... I screamed I don't know how many times.

But now I am stuck on the part where you leave the wine cellar into the forest and go to the room with 2 dead people and stairway... Where the monster pops out of the closet (DAMN SCARIEST PART EVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRR) The monster went down and I went to investigate why he didn't leave.

Apparently he just sits in one spot and spins around in a circle and never leaves I practically looked straight at him. I then went to proceed on leaving but the monster must of fixed his coding and left right after me. (oh do those bushes hide you? I got spotted in them) So he chased me all the fucking way up the stairs and I went into the closet. Now I can't progress.

Hi Jormungandr, sorry you're experiencing issues with the grunt still. I've figured out that the grunt is trying to access a pathnode (little spots that he uses like a path to get around the map) above or below him, depending on where he is in that room with the stairs. Problem with it, and why I've realized Frictional never made an area like that, is because the grunt will try and access whichever node is closest to him. So, if the node above/below him is closer than the one on the same level, he'll try to access that node instead, resulting in spinning since he can't get to it properly.

Anyways, to my answer: as long as the grunt has

Spoiler below!

bashed the door down that locked, you are free to continue forward, you merely need to use a box or the wooden lift to get back up the broken stairs in the forest.

Hope that helps at all!

EDIT: Oops, almost forgot... No, unfortunately the bushes don't hide you. And if I could, I would change their properties so that they would, but they're "static objects", not "entities", so I can't edit them in the Model Editor. You can, however, hide behind the fences or big boxes... or you could just run too.

[Jormungandr]

Um unwilling to play this game again since I don't want brown spots in my pants.