The Silver Lining, Un seguito amatoriale alla saga di king quest Opzioni

[Ravenloft]

Finalmente è disponibile la demo.

Sono circa 77Mb di download, di cui 75 per la demo e 2 per la immancabile ma consigliatissima patch.

Ricordo che seppure si tratta di una demo, non è definitiva. Viene infatti denominata RC1 (Release Candidate 1 suppongo).

[Ragfox]

Finalmente è disponibile la demo.

Sono circa 77Mb di download, di cui 75 per la demo e 2 per la immancabile ma consigliatissima patch.

Ricordo che seppure si tratta di una demo, non è definitiva. Viene infatti denominata RC1 (Release Candidate 1 suppongo).

E' una demo brevissima, buona solo per farsi un'idea del motore grafico. Niente enigmi.
Ha il problema che chi non ha giocato ai capitoli precedenti potrebbe trovarsi un po' disorientato (si citano nomi e fatti del passato).

[Tsam]

Copio e incollo le due ultime mail:

TSL NEWSLETTER #9

We would like to thank all the fans, press and team members that were able to attend the TSL Major Event on July 30, 2006.

Here is a recap of the gifts we released on that day:


"The Day You Were Gone" CD Single - http://www.tsl-game.com/media/music/cd/
Thich single features 3 versions of the song: pop, techno and instrumental

Present Contest Winner - http://www.tsl-game.com/home.php
One of our fans actually made a physical DVD cover for our that looks like something you'd see right off the shelves of a retail store! There were also some very excellent runner-ups, which will be posting on the Contest soon

Eight New Desktop Wallpapers - http://www.tsl-game.com/media/wallpapers/
These feature Graham, Alexander, Rosella, Valanice (both young and old) and Shadrack. Two wallpapers are Evolution wallpapers, showing the entire art process a piece of work goes through from start to finish

TSL Public Demo RC1 - http://www.tsl-game.com/trilogy/
This is the first public demo to be released of our game. It was originally created and delivered 9 months ago to Vivendi Games as part of our proposal package. It is now public, so be sure to check it out!


And now for the latest news & updates:

The chatlog of the TSL Major Event is now available at: http://www.tsl-game.com/chatlogs/majorEvent2006.php

The TSL Public Demo RC1 - Patch v.1.0 is now available at: http://www.tsl-game.com/trilogy/
This is a critical patch and has many fixes, updates and enhancements from the original RC1 Public Demo. It is highly recommended for you to install this patch for optimum playing experience

TSL RC1 Patch v.2.0 and Fan Hintbook v.0.1

RC1 Patch v.2.0 is now released, along with the TSL Fan Hintbook v.0.1. This is a highly recommended patch, as it contains many fixes and enhancements. This patch must be applied after installing: The Silver Lining - Public RC1.


This patch is cumulative, meaning it includes all previous patches as well as the following fixes, updates, and enhancements:

- updated About box
- added dynamic loading for Graham's Bedroom, resulting in smoother and less choppy gameplay in Main Hall
- fixed mispelling of Hassan's voice actor (sorry Russ! :P)
- fixed pouch from not disappearing from inventory
- fixed grammar in one of the Narrator error messages
- removed Direct3D from display options
- fixed dialogue for Bookshop regarding non-existant note on door
- fixed Hassan's scurvy conversation logic! =P
- added Yes/No messagebox when Hassan asks "Ready to sail?"
- removed zoom and rotate from Ferry
- fixed Map to use pointer cursor instead of walk
- fixed fadeout to stay black for longer during scene transitions
- added missing Hassan dialogue
- fixed grammar in Hassan conversation
- fixed vague cloak Narrator error dialogue

The TSL Fan Hintbook is a Sierra-style hintbook, created by our fans using Macromedia Flash. It contains no spoilers, and we highly recommend you check it out!

Both Patch v.2.0 and the TSL Fan Hintbook v.0.1 can be found on our Trilogy section.

Non fanno altro che precisare quanto detto da Raven e Rag .. ciao
tsam

[Tsam]

Ultime nuove..sembra che uscirà in ritardo..

TSL NEWSLETTER

The Silver Lining Development Team would like to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Due to very hectic schedules and changes for many members in the team, we were unable to release Shadows in 2006 as originally planned. However, there has been significant progress made on the game since we released our public demo in June of this year.

This being the festive season, we have released two in-game screenshots. Both images are brand new and are taken from scenes that the team has been working on these past few weeks. You may view and comment on them at: http://www.tsl-game.com/forum/index.php?topic=5645.0

Once again, happy holidays from all of us at The Silver Lining!

ciao
tsam

[Tsam]

Doppia nuova mail:

TSL NEWSLETTER #9

We would like to thank all the fans, press and team members that were able to attend the TSL Major Event on July 30, 2006.

Here is a recap of the gifts we released on that day:


"The Day You Were Gone" CD Single - http://www.tsl-game.com/media/music/cd/
Thich single features 3 versions of the song: pop, techno and instrumental

Present Contest Winner - http://www.tsl-game.com/home.php
One of our fans actually made a physical DVD cover for our that looks like something you'd see right off the shelves of a retail store! There were also some very excellent runner-ups, which will be posting on the Contest soon

Eight New Desktop Wallpapers - http://www.tsl-game.com/media/wallpapers/
These feature Graham, Alexander, Rosella, Valanice (both young and old) and Shadrack. Two wallpapers are Evolution wallpapers, showing the entire art process a piece of work goes through from start to finish

TSL Public Demo RC1 - http://www.tsl-game.com/trilogy/
This is the first public demo to be released of our game. It was originally created and delivered 9 months ago to Vivendi Games as part of our proposal package. It is now public, so be sure to check it out!


And now for the latest news & updates:

The chatlog of the TSL Major Event is now available at: http://www.tsl-game.com/chatlogs/majorEvent2006.php

The TSL Public Demo RC1 - Patch v.1.0 is now available at: http://www.tsl-game.com/trilogy/
This is a critical patch and has many fixes, updates and enhancements from the original RC1 Public Demo. It is highly recommended for you to install this patch for optimum playing experience

New Screenshot
We held a contest recently where you had to create a title for Rosella's autobiography. There were so many excellent and amusing entries that we decided to have three winners. Each winner received a sneak peek of the Isle of the Mists Druid Village. This screenshot is now publicly available and can be seen at: http://www.tsl-game.com/forum/index.php?topic=5645.0


Picture/Caption Contest
We are currently holding a contest where you must take a screenshot from the TSL Public Demo and modify it in some creative way. You may add characters, captions or whatever you like! As long as your entry is not obscene or offensive, it's allowed. Remember, the more effort you put into your entries, the better the prizes! To participate, please post your entry as an attachment here: http://www.tsl-game.com/forum/index.php?topic=6031.0


--

TSL Newsletter
The Silver Lining
http://www.tsl-game.com

ciao
tsam

[Tsam]

Nuova mail con annessi auguri! ciao
tsam

The Silver Lining Development Team would like to wish everyone a very Happy and Prosperous New Year!

Journal Special: So you want to be a Game Developer?
http://www.tsl-game.com/journal/
To kick off 2008, we're having a Journal Special called "So you want to be a Game Developer?". Each month we'll talk in depth about the processes behind creating The Silver Lining. Our first entry, "The Plot Thickens..." emphasizes on the development of TSL's storyline.

TSL Fannatic Beta Testing Contest
http://www.tsl-game.com/forum/index.php?topic=6255.0
Recently we held a questionnaire-based contest for our TSL Fannatics, where the prize was to become an official TSL Beta Tester. Three winners were selected: koko_99_2001, copycat and awesomeasapossum! Koko was chosen internally, while copycat & awesomeasapossum were selected by the community. There will be another Beta Testing contest held later this year open to everyone.


For the latest updates on The Silver Lining, please check our Home page regularly, located at: http://www.tsl-game.com/home.php

[Tsam]

Nuova newsletter, questa volta con un esplicito rivolgersi ai game designer:

Journal Special: So you want to be a Game Developer?
http://www.tsl-game.com/journal/
The next entry in the our Journal Special "So you want to be a Game Developer?" is now available. This month entry, entitled "The Big Picture" discusses the visual design process for two scenes in TSL: Isle of the Crown's Docks and Isle of the Beast's Main Hall. Don't miss out on all the stunning eye-candy!

ciao
tsam

[Tsam]

Aggiornato il link che sembra fosse sbagliato :

I was recently informed that the link in the previous Newsletter message was invalid. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Please click the link below to view the newest Journal Special entry:

Journal Special: So you want to be a Game Developer?
http://www.tsl-game.com/journal/special/
The next entry in the our Journal Special "So you want to be a Game Developer?" is now available. This month entry, entitled "The Big Picture" discusses the visual design process for two scenes in TSL: Isle of the Crown's Docks and Isle of the Beast's Main Hall. Don't miss out on all the stunning eye-candy!

ciao
tsam

[Tsam]

Dopo tanto penare, sembra finalmente che ci siamo! il prodotto che potrebbe segnare un nuovo standard per i giochi amatoriali è quasi terminato:

TSL Beta Testing Contest

After seven years of hard work, determination and dedication, The Silver Lining has now officially entered the Beta Testing phase! As mentioned earlier this year, we are now having a contest open to everyone, where the winners will become official TSL Beta Testers.

This contest will give you a taste of beta testing, by allowing you to physically play several scenes from a recent build of TSL. While playing, you should notice a TON of bugs. Your goal is simple: report as many bugs as possible to us, using the contest entry form.

This contest will run from March 9th to April 6th, 2008. Please visit http://www.tsl-game.com/contest/beta/ for further contest details and the download link to the game.

Good luck and most importantly, have fun!

Sarebbe bello se qualcuno di ogi riuscisse a infilarsi nel beta test .. ciao
tsam

[Tsam]

Nuovam ail dal gruppo di TSL.. piccole avventure freeware crescono..:-).. ciao
tsam

Journal Special: So you want to be a Game Developer?
http://www.tsl-game.com/journal/special/
The next entry in our Journal Special "So you want to be a Game Developer?" is now available. This month's entry "The Hills Are Alive..." discusses the music design process and features several of TSL's songs.


TSL Beta Testing Contest
http://www.tsl-game.com/contest/beta/
There is one week left to participate in our Beta Testing Contest. If you haven't yet submitted your entry and think you've got what it takes to be an official TSL Beta Tester, be sure to send in your entry asap. Contest closes April 6th, 2008.

[Tsam]

Sono stati nominati i vincitori del contest:

TSL Beta Testing Contest
http://www.tsl-game.com/contest/beta/
Out of 106 applicants, the top 10 finalists have been chosen to join our team as official TSL Beta Testers! We would like to thank everyone that participated in this contest, as well as everyone that tried out the Beta Build to get a glimpse of some of the new features added to TSL since the Public Demo. To see who made it and who didn't, please visit the link above. To provide comments & feedback on your experience with the contest, please visit: http://www.tsl-game.com/forum/index.php?topic=6387.0

Congratulations once again to the winners!

ciao
tsam

[Tsam]

Nuovo aggiornamento:

Journal Special: So you want to be a Game Developer?
http://www.tsl-game.com/journal/special/
The next entry in our Journal Special "So you want to be a Game Developer?" is now available. This month's entry entitled "Start Your Engines!" discusses the software design and creation of TSL's dialogue system. It also features screenshots of prototypes and final versions of the Conversation Editor and Conversation Tool. Don't miss out!

ciao
tsam

[Tsam]

Nuovo aggiornamento del "manuale" per diventare game developer :

Journal Special: So you want to be a Game Developer?
http://www.tsl-game.com/journal/special/
The next entry in our Journal Special "So you want to be a Game Developer?" is now available. This month's entry "ution is Everything" explores some of the code that goes into scripting scenes and sequences in The Silver Lining. Enjoy!

ciao
tsam

[Tsam]

Stavolta si parla del sonoro e come avviene il processo di implementazione:

Journal Special: So you want to be a Game Developer?
http://www.tsl-game.com/journal/special/
The next entry in our Journal Special "So you want to be a Game Developer?" is now available. This month's entry "Listen Up!" discusses the creation of sound effects and ambience in The Silver Lining. Check it out!

ciao
tsam

[Tsam]

E' la volta della fase di testing:

Journal Special: So you want to be a Game Developer?
http://www.tsl-game.com/journal/special/
The next entry in our Journal Special "So you want to be a Game Developer?" is now available. This month's entry "Testing 1, 2, 3..." discusses the process and tools we use while beta testing TSL. Enjoy!

ciao
tsam

[Micartu]

Ma a sto punto è....uscirà mai?
Ci metteranno 7 anni per ogni capitolo che comporrà il gioco?
Purtroppo le uniche ag freeware che attendo sono quelle che si fanno desiderare di più....Until i'm gone, The silver lining, Indiana Jones and The fountain of youth e Staw Wars Shadows of the Empire.
Sono stato accontentato solo con Qfg2vga :-D

[Tsam]

Effettivamente al momento c'è solo un demo..interessante certo, ma solo un demo, Per Shadows ho in cantiere un articolo che spera possa interessarti..poi bs 2.5 è uscito..insomma..non va malissimo dai! :-).. ciao
tsam

[Tsam]

Questa volta vengono discussi i tools utilizzati per lo sviluppo del gioco..ciao
tsam

Journal Special: So you want to be a Game Developer?
http://www.tsl-game.com/journal/special/
The next entry in our Journal Special "So you want to be a Game Developer?" is now available. This month's entry "Stick it to The Man" talks about the many different strategies and tools used in managing TSL over the past 7 years. Check it out!

[Tsam]

Ennesima news sul gioco; questa volta si parla del gioco in generale e mi sembra interessante riportare due pezzi interessanti. Il primo parla della controversia con Sierra:

Since the TSL Trailer spread like wildfire across the Internet through adventure gaming communities and blog sites, eventually Sierra themselves caught wind of it. Vivendi Universal, now the owner of Sierra, sent the team a Cease and Desist letter requesting that we halt all development on King's Quest IX, as the King's Quest IP was their property exclusively. We complied with their request, but also requested that they reconsider their decision by evaluating the game for themselves. In addition, we posted a letter to our fans on our site, explaining the shutdown situation. We were not legally permitted to reveal any details about the negotiation, and as a result, the news of the shutdown travelled further and further with people getting more and more upset at Vivendi’s decision.
Campaigns to save the game were formed by fans of our game, with people writing everything from personal e-mails, petitions, and even hand-written letters to Vivendi expressing their disgust with the whole shutdown situation. Simultaneously, our team was working hard to overcome their own emotional turmoil and turn a couple scenes into a fully playable demo version of the game with a deadline of just 3-4 weeks. Since Chapter 1 of the game is very small, we tried to put as much as many scenes as possible from it into this demo for Vivendi. Additionally, we sent them a video detailing the Making of TSL, as well as other media which we hoped would help convey the effort and work poured into this game over the years.

Thankfully, a month later, Vivendi rescinded their decision to have us halt development, and granted our team a non-commercial license to use Sierra-based IP in our game. This was incredible news at the time, because all the hard work from the team and fans finally paid off! It was not a surefire bet that the game would be saved, so the news of this oddity resulted in a massive amount of web traffic and press interest. TSL was interviewed in many online and print publications, because it was a true underdog story.

The only caveat was that we were asked to remove “King’s Quest IX” from our game’s title and website, because it would create confusion if an official ninth sequel were to be developed in the future. The license also stipulated that Vivendi must approve the game (for quality assurance purposes) before it can be publicly released. While we’re not sure how extensive this final pass will be, nonetheless it remains the final roadblock the game must go through before it can be played publicly.

E uno sulla tanto attesa data di uscita:

[...]So, knowing the current status of the game percentage-wise, the number of issues remaining to be fixed, we can approximate when the game will be completed. On average, we complete around 3% each month, meaning the remaining 22% will take roughly seven months at the current rate of productivity. However, the directors have very recently agreed on a plan which will effectively ramp up our speed, and get the game done in five months. The effect of this plan can already be seen by comparing November's overall progress with December's.

In other words, our goal is to have TSL completed by May 2009. Once completed, it will then be sent for Vivendi approval, and once approved, the release date will be determined and publicly announced. As it stands today, TSL’s projected release date is: Summer 2009.

ciao
tsam

[Tsam]

Corposo aggiornamento:

Progress Update

Last weekend, I met up with several of the TSL Directors in Montreal to work on the game. We've actually met up two or three times last year as well, but this was the first time in 2009. Looking back, when I first met up with everyone in 2007, we were a complete mess in terms of organization. We hadn't begun using Redmine yet, and were completing the very first scene in Chapter 2. In this last meeting, Rich was working on completing the last few scenes in the game. We currently have 499 issues left out of the 2779 logged since 2007.

Simple math will tell you that we're now overall 82% complete! In December, we thought we would be at 78% by the year's end, but due to Christmas holidays it actually ended up being 77%. This means in just 7 weeks, we've brought the game 5% closer to our goal. For those of you wondering what 5% actually translates to, from January 1, 2009 to today, 192 new issues were created and 296 were closed. Those extra 104 closed issues represent the 5% increase.

If we maintain this current rate of productivity, the game will be around 92% done by the end of May. Hopefully, those remaining 8% of issues are minor enough to not delay sending the game to Vivendi for approval. While the game is being approved, we will continue to fix these remaining issues. Once the game is approved, we'll review whatever issues are still not fixed and decide which need to be done before public release, and which can be fixed later in a post-release patch.


The other major topic of discussion we had was about TSL's future. We Skyped with Cesar and Petter (who weren't able to make it in-person this time) and looked through all the work done on Chapter 3 together. Needless to say, there was some really hilarious, cute, creepy and jaw-droppingly amazing stuff! Unfortunately, the reality of the amount of time and work needed to complete this chapter for free quickly set in. We finally decided that the best thing for us to do right now is to continue as planned: finish and release Chapters 1 & 2, and then see how things go from there.

We also began to come up with a few ideas & concepts for original games. We haven't decided on anything concrete just yet, but the prospect of finally being compensated for our hard work was enough to get our adrenaline pumping and creative juices flowing! There was a thread someone posted in our forum recently about being disappointed over TSL being cut short. I originally thought that reviewing old TSL files would bring back this melancholic feeling, but instead it did the complete opposite. After seeing so many different facets of our team's imagination, and the huge potential for creating amazing new experiences, I'm very excited about the things to come in the not-so-distant future. The release of Chapters 1 & 2 won't mark the end of an era; it'll only be the beginning.

Neil Rodrigues
Web Director
The Silver Lining

Sembra che finalmente, per la fine di quest'anno avremo l'occasione di metterci su le mani! :-).

Ciao
tsam

[Tsam]

Nuovo aggiornamento

Many of you have been anxiously waiting for this journal entry to be posted. I originally wanted to post something in August, but thought it would be better to wait until September. The main reason for this is that as I write this, almost all the TSL Directors are physically in the same place -- New York! As we wind down, this trip actually turned out to be less about non-stop work and more about the recuperation before the last big push.

I say recuperate, because we've actually made some substantial progress in TSL over the past couple of months. We've really polished off the intro and outro videos in the game, scripted & implemented most of that special addition to the game which I briefly mentioned last entry, and fixed/polished off various scenes and sequences in many places of the game. However, most importantly, we started talking about the release the game.

There's a lot more to it than just creating zips and uploading them; we're thinking of TSL's future. The release will involve a redesign and restructuring of our website, and also a restructuring of the game itself, into smaller yet fully playable games. The only realistic way the remaining 7 chapters can be released is if they have much smaller development cycles.

We've recently taken notice of Telltale Games' episodic distribution model, paying particular attention to their most recent game: Tales of Monkey Island. It differs from their other episodic games in the sense that its storyline continues and builds with each successive episode. The episodes themselves are also released on a predictable and consistent basis. With a few minor changes, we will be taking a somewhat similar episodic approach with the release of Chapters 1 & 2.

There are several benefits to releasing TSL in this manner. People can download and play the game quicker, because the files become a fraction of the overall size. The release date also turns into a series of release dates over larger time frame, allowing us to build more excitement and interest than if it were just for one day. However, the most important thing is that it will act as a model for the release of successive chapters. Companies can see first-hand the results of releasing TSL on a short episode-by-episode basis, as opposed to a lengthy chapter-by-chapter one. There is a lot less financial risk involved, and cheaper development costs.

The future of TSL mainly relies on the game content itself, which is why we�re doing our best to ensure the game is as complete as possible before submitting it to Vivendi. Overall, we're currently at 92% completion and have around 65 issues left to be fixed before sending for approval. These last few weeks are going to be pretty hectic and stressful, but hopefully it'll all be worth it!

Neil Rodrigues
Web Director
The Silver Lining

ciao
tsam

[Tsam]

Penso che da quando seguo la scena amatoriale, questo sia una dei momenti più bassi e tristi a cui mi è mai capitato di assistere:

February 28th, 2010




To Our Fans:

In 2005, Phoenix Online Studios received a Cease & Desist letter from Vivendi Universal, the owners of the King's Quest IP, in regards to our work on The Silver Lining. We complied with the request, and over the months that followed, we were able to work out a non-commercial fan license with Vivendi that allowed us to continue our work on the game.

We have spent a lot of time recently reworking the material of The Silver Lining into episodic releases, with the first out of a planned five episodes completed, and submitted for review, and had hoped we would be able to bring our game to you, the fans, in the Spring of 2010.

Recently, however, ownership of the Sierra IP changed hands and became the property of Activision. After talks and negotiations in the last few months between ourselves and Activision, they have reached the decision that they are not interested in granting a non-commercial license to The Silver Lining, and have asked that we cease production and take down all related materials on our website.

As before, we must and will comply with this decision, as much as we may wish we could do otherwise.

We cannot say enough how much we appreciate the support we have had over these years from our fans. Without you, we would never have gotten this far. There would be no game to develop, and no one to develop it for. You have been amazing and steadfast, and we will always remember that and appreciate it more than we can say.

Sadly, after eight years of dedicated work and even more dedicated fans, The Silver Lining project is closing down.

What the future holds for us, as individuals or a team, we cannot say. We have an amazing development team, however, filled with talented and hard-working individuals, and we hope the teamwork and rapport we’ve developed won’t go to waste. We hope that when we do know what the future holds for us, our fans will be there to enjoy what we can give them still.

Again, thank you all so much for everything. This has been a long and crazy road, full of more twists than we could’ve anticipated, but more triumphs and wonderful memories than we could’ve ever hoped for. And for that, to all of you and to everyone on our team, we will always be grateful.



Thank You,

The Silver Lining Development Team



In compliance with Activision's request, most of our forums are coming down. However, we are keeping a few new, empty forums open so fans can stay in touch with one another and with us. Please visit: http://www.tsl-game.com/forum/index.php?topic=8394.0

Potete seguire la faccenda qui: http://www.tsl-game.com/forum/index.php?topic=8394.0

Immagino come si sentano.. ciao
tsam

[albesp77]

Guarda essendo che io sono un tipo vendicativo manderei una bella e-mail all'Activision (magari fossero in tanti a farlo) scrivendogli (in inglese ovviamente):

Cara Activision,
a seguito della chiusura del progetto amatoriale "The Silver Lining" da parte vostra vi comunico che cesserò immediatamente l'acquisto dei vostri prodotti ed inviterò tutte le persone che conosco a farlo, inoltre provvederò subito a disfarmi di tutti i vostri titoli in mio possesso.

Distinti Saluti

Sono troppo cattivo ? ;)

[Tsam]

No, solo che purtroppo non funzionerà. E non lo dico con ironia..:(

Capisco la difesa delle proprie proprietà intellettuali, ma qui si era già tagliato di molto :(.. ciao
tsam

[Ragfox]

EDIT: prima sono stato un po' troppo duro nei confronti degli autori. Mi limiterò a dire che non capisco come si possano spendere 8 anni di "lavoro" per qualcosa che si sa benissimo che basta che un dirigente si alzi con la luna storta per far chiudere tutto. Ma pensarci dopo il primo avvertimento di Vivendi a cambiare il setting, no? Se l'avventura è valida, che mi frega se il regno si chiama Puzzonia e non Daventry (figuriamoci se quelli di Activision hanno idea di cosa sia KQ, a parte i nomi registrati)? Tanto un fan-sequel non sarà mai come gli originali. Boh, boh e ancora boh.

(alla faccia del messaggio "meno duro")

Messaggio modificato da Ragfox il 1 Mar 2010, 04:20