This is a fantastic piece of work. If anyone is reading this comment, please know that it's well worth the optional price. The art is high quality, consistent and distinctive, the fluidity of the animations is masterful, the soundscape has wonderful atmosphere, and your writing is always very eloquent. It did feel more like an "interactive, linear story", but your writing is solid, so that's not a bad thing. I'm stunned you put this together so quickly! Literally my only critique is that there were a couple of typos here and there, but it didn't ruin my immersion and is completely understandable with how quickly you got the game out (which is now redundant, they've been stamped out!) Looking forward to trying out the third ending tomorrow. Thank you for making this!
Not offhand, but if I remember in the near future I'll send you a message! There were only two or three, it was really minor. One of them was just use of 'an' instead of 'a' or something, I think.
Wow, thank you for the nice feedback! I've listened to almost all of your stream now, love the voice acting. Especially Xavian with all of his personalities and accents :).
This was great, I enjoyed it a lot! I played the demo and I was delighted to see the full version is already out.
Really appreciated the lighter tone of the dialogues :)
Worldbuilding, art and music are stunning <3
Are you planning on publishing the soundtrack? I’d love to have it :)
I am not a big fan of these pixel art graphics. But I may point out that there is now a Linux version of Shards of God that works for me with MX-15 Debian Jessie 32 bit. This means that the game now also works on all Linux versions that use glibc6 2.19. Starting the Windows version with Wine still doesn't work for me. If there was a German translation, it would increase my interest in the game. Does the developer want the game to start in full screen mode? On my computer, the configuration file acsetup.cfg has the following content...
Sorry, I'm not sure what exactly you are asking/pointing out? Yes, there is now an official Linux version, so it should no longer be necessary to run the Windows version on Wine. I believe the game should start in full-screen mode by default - that's the preferred setting for me, but it's also possible to run in windowed mode if that's your preference. You already asked about a German translation once - it is a possibility in the future, but it's currently not a high priority.
Can anyone help me? I obtained the item so I can recreate the thing. But before I can do that, I need to modify the item. And I have no idea how to do that. I used with every PoI I could find at every location and tried to use everything I carry on it, and I can't figure it out. Can anyone point me in the right direction?
I'm not sure I got exactly where you are, but if I understand correctly... could it be helpful that at one point, Plint says "Just stay away from the green ones. Or we'd have to burn your tongue to get you unstuck."?
This is a wonderful game. I love your worldbuilding, your writing and your art is also kind of ok... ;-) (Drop-dead-beautiful!!!!)
There were so many occasiones were the writing made my smile, so many little animations made my jaw drop (I love the moving of the cloth when the characters turn) and you managed to create a fascinating detective story. I wished I had a little more to do in solution/explanation phase of the case but for me you made that up by providing different endings.^^
Thank you very much, Esmeralda! Yeah, I was a bit worried about the explanation scene, maybe there was a way to break it down at least with some dialogue choices... but I've always wanted to do the "genius detective reveals everything" trope, and in the end I felt that the most elegant way to get through it was to let Tiabata speak, *uninterrupted* :). Oh and speaking of multiple endings... did you find the third, secret one :)?
It's Sunday, 16th of July, so is the game finished? If it's not, than oh well, delays happen, but I'd be happy to know.
By the way, Nitter works again, so I can check updates. To be honest, I miss "The Wich's Lullaby" updates, so I'll also be happy when you return to posting them. :)
No gamepad unfortunately, as far as I know the engine I'm using doesn't support it. I'm considering an eventual release on Steam, but initially the full game will only be released on Itch (this coming weekend already, by the way!).
Are there any news about the full game release? As a passive-only social media user I am left without access to any Twitter profiles in more than a week. And to make matters worse, now even Nitter is unable to display tweets. So suddently I have no idea anymore about what's going on in the gamedev world...
Little note for anyone else who might not be getting Shards of God to download at first: I just clicked the "download now" button and it didn't do anything at first. This, when other itch.io games have been downloading without much issue.
I for one was able to get it to work by clicking the button itch.io provides of "Downloads not starting?", and then ticking the box for "alternate download mode".
The box prescribes this for if itch.io is blocked by region, yes, but it also worked for me even as other games have downloaded well enough. Anyone new to itch.io like I am, give it a try.
Mr/Ms/Mrs. Vávra, no hard feelings I hope about a newcomer blabbing troubleshooting input here on the storepage.
Mr. Vávra is happy if this helps people download, so thank you :)! I just wonder what the issue could be, the download is a simple zip file that I uploaded to itch the same way I always do.
The UI was a little rough in places but game so far is superb! I really miss the Adventure game and I'd like to make some and to buy some again. I can only hope that any game I would write would be a tenth as classy as this is so far. It's really teaching me that you can reach for a higher standard in an adventure game and it is very suited to the medium.
Excellent graphics, but the UI needs some work. Long compulsory delays on some text (why? Sitting there spamming the mouse/spacebar desperately waiting for your game to stop blocking input ... isn't fun), and something broken with the mouse sensitivity (I have to move the mouse 10x across the table to move across the screen, only with this game. Something broken in your mouse handler in Windows?). Eventually too annoying having to constantly move the mouse, wait for delays, etc.
I'm not aware of the issue you mention, the mouse sensitivity is normal for me and I haven't had anyone else report it being lower. The "compulsory delays" are also most likely a technical glitch that shouldn't occur for most players. Do other AGS games work normally for you?
Edit: on second thought, there are three short paragraphs at the very beginning of the game which are part of the intro and are unskippable (each of them appears for roughly 4 - 5 seconds). Maybe you meant those? They will be skippable in the full version.
We needeth not these comments here, it is already well publicised, in order of sorting, not overwhelming the creator and readers - only constructive comments.
It's a pity that you aren't posting any updates on Twitter since you finished the demo and wrote that you want to finish the full game. I'm sure that other people too are interested about how is it going...
Judging by how wonderful this demo is, I'm sure the FULL VERSION will be wonderful to play. The art, the music, and writing, I really enjoyed every bit of it - even though it's just a demo. I really hope you finish the FULL version SOON. For now, I shall just enjoy the view ;D
Unfortunately there is no translation into German planned for the demo. Eventually there might be one for the full game, but not during its initial release.
I haven't encountered the issue you are reporting, will try to ask the engine developer. It looks like the game can't create a directory - could it be related to restricted access to the specified folder? Maybe try running as administrator? Just blindly guessing.
You can already play this demo on Linux. All AGS games are playable on Linux. You just have to compile and install the AGS Linux engine, from https://github.com/adventuregamestudio/ags/
Oh, very sorry then. The exact same command works for me. Maybe it's released with a newer version or something? I compiled the engine a few weeks ago, version is 3.6.1.2.
Even though it's a shortish demo, the worldbuilding is really intriguing. I immediately feel wrapped up in the mystery. The graphics are just gourgeous, the music is great and the writing is first class. Can't wait for the full game :)
Oh, and the looming deadline hanging over the heads of the secret passage makers is somehow relateable ...
Loved the story, setting and characters, not to mention the art. It definitely made me want to play the full game when it comes out. Shame not to have any real puzzles in this demo, though (unless I missed something optional).
Wow, this was incredible! I know it's only partially finished, but there's a ton here as is. Great art, story, world building - I hope this gets a full release.
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Great, thank you for playing! EDIT: oh, this a playthrough of the demo! That's nice too, but you can play the full version now :)
what.... ok im on it lol
This is a fantastic piece of work. If anyone is reading this comment, please know that it's well worth the optional price. The art is high quality, consistent and distinctive, the fluidity of the animations is masterful, the soundscape has wonderful atmosphere, and your writing is always very eloquent. It did feel more like an "interactive, linear story", but your writing is solid, so that's not a bad thing. I'm stunned you put this together so quickly! Literally my only critique is that there were a couple of typos here and there, but it didn't ruin my immersion and is completely understandable with how quickly you got the game out (which is now redundant, they've been stamped out!) Looking forward to trying out the third ending tomorrow. Thank you for making this!
Thank you Emm! Do you remember the typos? They escaped our vigilant eye...
Not offhand, but if I remember in the near future I'll send you a message! There were only two or three, it was really minor. One of them was just use of 'an' instead of 'a' or something, I think.
I think it was “What is it with you *an* puzzles”, right… ? Instead of *and*.
Wow, thank you for the nice feedback! I've listened to almost all of your stream now, love the voice acting. Especially Xavian with all of his personalities and accents :).
He's a complex character. 😅
This was great, I enjoyed it a lot! I played the demo and I was delighted to see the full version is already out. Really appreciated the lighter tone of the dialogues :) Worldbuilding, art and music are stunning <3 Are you planning on publishing the soundtrack? I’d love to have it :)
P.S.: the third ending 👌
Well, since you are asking, I guess I will publish it. Thank you liking it
That’s awesome news, thank you!
Missing a full stop.
Thank you very much, glad you liked it! I was going to suggest publishing the soundtrack to Paco myself, but you beat me to it :).
There you go, smoke-o: https://soundcloud.com/pacodiago/sets/shards-of-god
This could be a movie :) A lot of effort has been put into the text, detailed graphics, music, etc. I'm glad it's finally been released.
Oooo, gracias Ana! Sabia que podia contar contigo para tener un playthrough como dios manda!
Gracias Paco!
In my head, it kinda is a movie :). Thank you for playing, and congrats on finding the third ending!
I am not a big fan of these pixel art graphics. But I may point out that there is now a Linux version of Shards of God that works for me with MX-15 Debian Jessie 32 bit. This means that the game now also works on all Linux versions that use glibc6 2.19. Starting the Windows version with Wine still doesn't work for me. If there was a German translation, it would increase my interest in the game. Does the developer want the game to start in full screen mode? On my computer, the configuration file acsetup.cfg has the following content...
[misc]
;game_width=320
;game_height=200
game_width=960
game_height=600
gamecolordepth=32
antialias=1
cachemax=131072
user_data_dir=
shared_data_dir=
titletext=Shards of God Setup
[graphics]
driver=D3D9
;windowed=0
windowed=1
;fullscreen=desktop
;window=desktop
window=960x600
game_scale_fs=proportional
game_scale_win=round
filter=stdscale
vsync=0
render_at_screenres=0
rotation=0
[sound]
enabled=1
driver=
usespeech=1
[language]
;translation=ger ;)
[mouse]
auto_lock=0
speed=1
[touch]
emulate_mouse=1
Sorry, I'm not sure what exactly you are asking/pointing out? Yes, there is now an official Linux version, so it should no longer be necessary to run the Windows version on Wine. I believe the game should start in full-screen mode by default - that's the preferred setting for me, but it's also possible to run in windowed mode if that's your preference. You already asked about a German translation once - it is a possibility in the future, but it's currently not a high priority.
>Sorry, I'm not sure what exactly you are pointing out?
That I prefer to play the game in window mode. That looks much better for me.
And that a German translation is needed ;)
love love lovev love lvoevleovleolvoevloevloevleovloevl
One of such comments is good to have
Can anyone help me? I obtained the item so I can recreate the thing. But before I can do that, I need to modify the item. And I have no idea how to do that. I used with every PoI I could find at every location and tried to use everything I carry on it, and I can't figure it out. Can anyone point me in the right direction?
I'm not sure I got exactly where you are, but if I understand correctly... could it be helpful that at one point, Plint says "Just stay away from the green ones. Or we'd have to burn your tongue to get you unstuck."?
No, further than that. "Before I can start fiddling [...] I need to shape it [...]."
Aha! There's a device in the Forge that should be helpful. Do you have access to it or it still wants to scan your eye?
You have something that grants you access to things, it works on the scanner too.
This is a wonderful game.
I love your worldbuilding, your writing and your art is also kind of ok... ;-) (Drop-dead-beautiful!!!!)
There were so many occasiones were the writing made my smile, so many little animations made my jaw drop (I love the moving of the cloth when the characters turn) and you managed to create a fascinating detective story.
I wished I had a little more to do in solution/explanation phase of the case but for me you made that up by providing different endings.^^
Great job!
Thank you very much, Esmeralda! Yeah, I was a bit worried about the explanation scene, maybe there was a way to break it down at least with some dialogue choices... but I've always wanted to do the "genius detective reveals everything" trope, and in the end I felt that the most elegant way to get through it was to let Tiabata speak, *uninterrupted* :). Oh and speaking of multiple endings... did you find the third, secret one :)?
Awesome! :D
Ic haebbe gotten that too.
I genuinely think this game is *excellent*! I've had a lot of fun playing it and solving the mystery ^_^
Thank you, happy you enjoyed it!
Hey! This looks pretty great! Is there any chance of a MacOS port happening in the future?
Thanks! Unfortunately there isn't, AGS (the game's engine) doesn't run on Mac :(.
Thank you! :)
No problem :)
It's Sunday, 16th of July, so is the game finished? If it's not, than oh well, delays happen, but I'd be happy to know.
By the way, Nitter works again, so I can check updates. To be honest, I miss "The Wich's Lullaby" updates, so I'll also be happy when you return to posting them. :)
Yes, the game is finished :). Enjoy!
Gamepad support? Will you release demo & full game on steam?
No gamepad unfortunately, as far as I know the engine I'm using doesn't support it. I'm considering an eventual release on Steam, but initially the full game will only be released on Itch (this coming weekend already, by the way!).
WONDERFUL GAME
THANK YOU :)
At least give it an exclamation mark.
!
Okay.
Are there any news about the full game release? As a passive-only social media user I am left without access to any Twitter profiles in more than a week. And to make matters worse, now even Nitter is unable to display tweets. So suddently I have no idea anymore about what's going on in the gamedev world...
Elon Musk is a dingbat.
Right now the most likely release date is next weekend, that is by Sunday July 16th.
Little note for anyone else who might not be getting Shards of God to download at first: I just clicked the "download now" button and it didn't do anything at first. This, when other itch.io games have been downloading without much issue.
I for one was able to get it to work by clicking the button itch.io provides of "Downloads not starting?", and then ticking the box for "alternate download mode".
The box prescribes this for if itch.io is blocked by region, yes, but it also worked for me even as other games have downloaded well enough. Anyone new to itch.io like I am, give it a try.
Mr/Ms/Mrs. Vávra, no hard feelings I hope about a newcomer blabbing troubleshooting input here on the storepage.
Mr. Vávra is happy if this helps people download, so thank you :)! I just wonder what the issue could be, the download is a simple zip file that I uploaded to itch the same way I always do.
Gamepad support?
I'm afraid the engine I'm using (Adventure Game Studio) doesn't include that :(. Sorry!
The UI was a little rough in places but game so far is superb! I really miss the Adventure game and I'd like to make some and to buy some again. I can only hope that any game I would write would be a tenth as classy as this is so far. It's really teaching me that you can reach for a higher standard in an adventure game and it is very suited to the medium.
Excellent graphics, but the UI needs some work. Long compulsory delays on some text (why? Sitting there spamming the mouse/spacebar desperately waiting for your game to stop blocking input ... isn't fun), and something broken with the mouse sensitivity (I have to move the mouse 10x across the table to move across the screen, only with this game. Something broken in your mouse handler in Windows?). Eventually too annoying having to constantly move the mouse, wait for delays, etc.
I'm not aware of the issue you mention, the mouse sensitivity is normal for me and I haven't had anyone else report it being lower. The "compulsory delays" are also most likely a technical glitch that shouldn't occur for most players. Do other AGS games work normally for you?
Edit: on second thought, there are three short paragraphs at the very beginning of the game which are part of the intro and are unskippable (each of them appears for roughly 4 - 5 seconds). Maybe you meant those? They will be skippable in the full version.
We needeth not these comments here, it is already well publicised, in order of sorting, not overwhelming the creator and readers - only constructive comments.
This is incredibly good! I enjoyed the graphics, the writing, and especially the world building! ⭐ I will definitely buy this once it comes out! 💜
Keep up the great work! ✨
(I also just posted about it on Mastodon, to spread the word!)
A beautiful comment, a beautiful person!
Really loved the humor and the world building. Im looking forward to the final version! Well done!
I hated the humour.
It's a pity that you aren't posting any updates on Twitter since you finished the demo and wrote that you want to finish the full game. I'm sure that other people too are interested about how is it going...
Just posted! :)
Judging by how wonderful this demo is, I'm sure the FULL VERSION will be wonderful to play. The art, the music, and writing, I really enjoyed every bit of it - even though it's just a demo. I really hope you finish the FULL version SOON. For now, I shall just enjoy the view ;D
It was nice to play your game. The graphics and animations are fantastic and I can imagine the plot as it started will be a great story!
I wish more depth and personality for Ava (the main character), but for a demo game it's fun to play! Well done, Honza!
I do share the point. Yet, it is not about personality when she is average human, I needeth her as a genius so people to relate.
Cannot wait for the full version. This is incredible! The music is on point too.
This is amazing. I'd buy this once its finished production. Well done! 👍👍👍
There is also no translation for this game into German...
...but I wonder why this game does not start on my computer with Wine 1.6.2-20.
The warnings.log writes:
"Game : (room:-10) SetSaveGameDirectory: failed to create all subdirectories: C:/users/user2/My Documents/My Saved Games/Shards of God"
If this is the problem, surely the game developer or the game engine developer could fix it quickly. *?
Unfortunately there is no translation into German planned for the demo. Eventually there might be one for the full game, but not during its initial release.
I haven't encountered the issue you are reporting, will try to ask the engine developer. It looks like the game can't create a directory - could it be related to restricted access to the specified folder? Maybe try running as administrator? Just blindly guessing.
This is AMAZING! I really love the 4th wall breaking you did with this being a demo. This is really good, and I can't wait to see the full release
Thank you for playing! There's one more piece of story you can squeeze out of the demo if you put the ceramic shards from the scales on the table :).
Thine text is missing a full stop. The breaking Ic noticed ne.
Would it be possible to compile for Linux - e.g. as AppImage? Thanks
Probably not the demo, but there will be a Linux version for the full game (which should be finished within a few weeks at most).
You can already play this demo on Linux. All AGS games are playable on Linux. You just have to compile and install the AGS Linux engine, from https://github.com/adventuregamestudio/ags/
Thanks for that info. Maybe in theory, I tried download the ZIP file, extracting AGS file and getting this:
$ ags Shards\ of\ God.ags
Located game data file: Shards of God.ags
ERROR: The game data is of unsupported format or file is corrupt.
But running it via `wine` seems to be working.
Oh, very sorry then. The exact same command works for me. Maybe it's released with a newer version or something? I compiled the engine a few weeks ago, version is 3.6.1.2.
No problem, I played it with wine / Bottles.
Mister Daniel, thine text is missing a full stop. Or is it by intentions?
Thank you for this demo. Can't wait to play the full game and to discover this interesting world.
very good
This looks SO good!
Even though it's a shortish demo, the worldbuilding is really intriguing. I immediately feel wrapped up in the mystery. The graphics are just gourgeous, the music is great and the writing is first class. Can't wait for the full game :)
Oh, and the looming deadline hanging over the heads of the secret passage makers is somehow relateable ...
What was the last part you talked about?
That was a gag in the jam version of the game. A nod to the fact that the game was not yet finished at that time. :)
Good.
Loved the story, setting and characters, not to mention the art. It definitely made me want to play the full game when it comes out. Shame not to have any real puzzles in this demo, though (unless I missed something optional).
Oh, interesting ! I'm looking forward to discover the full game!
Very nice, I'm intrigued and have to know the what's going on now. :)
Ohh I was really into the setting and characters. Looking forward to a full version.
Great work & lookign forward to the full version!
I do share the point there, I feel the same. I am feeling good sharing this.
very good
Wow, this was incredible! I know it's only partially finished, but there's a ton here as is. Great art, story, world building - I hope this gets a full release.
I do share the point.