Sleuth Home - Message Boards - Sleuth : Shades of Mystery

Jan-26-2008 16:43
(sticky post)

We've officially lifted the non-disclosure agreement for testers who have been taking part in the closed Sleuth : Shades of Mystery beta tests. I'm hoping a few of them will post here with some of the impressions so you can all get a picture of where the game is and where it is headed.

I'm sorry it was necessary to ask them to keep their mouths zipped up until now, but I didn't want anybody to get wrong impressions about what the finished game will be like by basing their opinions on an early version.

Also, we will be switching to an open beta test very soon, so everyone who is interested won't have to wait much longer before trying things out.

Jan-28-2008 11:44

I'll be staying with Noir too. I agree about the camera angles but its the almost mindless point and clicks that drove me batty. You have to do some thinking in SOM but not as much as in Noir. I crave deductive reasoning puzzles, SOM doesn't fill that need for me.

I'll just continue to play a little Nancy Drew or the equivilant on the side to remind me what decade I'm living in ;)

Jan-28-2008 12:19

I agree Sophie4 :-)
If I want to have something "newer" rather than the text-based Sleuth Noir, then I will play Nancy Drew or something similar, where the point-and-click thing are more integrated into specially crafted puzzles. This SoM thing, where the pointing-and-clicking are just a routine task of getting the evidence from a "home", and you have little variation in what you find.... - it's an interesting way of trying something new, but in my mind it was a failed experiment.

Then, I am happy to read that there are quite some who simply love SoM. It's good to see that the effort Ben has put into the new game seems to pay off, even though I am not entusiastic.

Jan-28-2008 18:01

wow, I didn't even know this post was here until today. Been a bit busy here on Noir so haven't really given it a fair shake quite yet. Like others have said, I like the deductive reason that Noir offers, therefore I think I prefer Noir. However that will not deter me from giving SoM a fair shake. There is still more aspects of the game I don't know about and will check them out during the next set of testing. At this point the jury is out for me, but I'm still looking at it with an open mind

Jan-28-2008 22:17

I have the same question Venulia initially had. When will the open testing start. I signed up for beta testing, but I may not have submitted something properly. Waiting for the game to be ready was enough anticipation.
And, now, after reading the pros and cons reviews, it's even worse.

Jan-28-2008 22:55

Well, I've been testing about the same time Jojo has... I can honestly say... we're testers so advancing was not our main issue in the beginning... and sure, it was difficult at first, but with lots of feedback and "begging", we were able to progress quicker. When it goes live, it should be really neat and fun to play.

However... SoM is not for everyone. That should be the "disclaimer"... lol. On a serious note, it's true, SoM isn't for everyone. Some may not like the motions... some may not like the set up... and others just may not want to try anything new. For whatever reason, I suggest that it gets a fair chance. Many of the posts prior to mine have all different aspects. I may look at some things differently than the person next to me, but all in all, I think this is pretty objective as far as views go. It's a great way to get all types of audiences.

Feb-11-2008 14:52

I tried playing SoM as a beta and quite honestly became frustrated by it.
I will be staying on Noir and hope for updates and upgrades in this game.

Feb-11-2008 15:51

A lot of us are waiting for SoM to finish as a lot of good dieas for Noir seem to being overlooked. Ben and Admin is there any word on when Noir will get focused on again? I do recal Ben saying the Ocean Liner idea was a good one that he'd implement and it's gone really quite since then.

Feb-12-2008 12:17

Let's give Ben a break!

Yes he's working on a new game that you may not like (who knows as it's not fully developed?), but that doesn't mean that Noir will be left sad and neglected. It's just that creating a game like SOM takes time and he's but one man (who has a family and works a whole other job besides developing Sleuth). We have never given any indication that we will discontinue updates to Noir.

I venture to say that Ben is one of the most, if not the most, responsive game admins around. Since Noir came into being, there has been a constant stream of improvement suggestions and ideas thrown out on the boards on a daily basis. There is hardly enough time in the day to acknowledge all of them, but they are all appreciated. When changes and updates are made to the game they are done so with thought and purpose. Ben puts a lot of intent in updates to make the game more challenging and fun, these changes are often influenced by player ideas, but please don't assume that they can be dictated by players.

This is a critical time for Ben as SOM is very close (a matter of a couple weeks) to being rolled out shiny and new. Please try to sit tight until then.

Feb-12-2008 22:06

Thanks for that message, Sunny. You are so right! In my experience, Ben has always been incredibly responsive and helpful. I don't see that in admins of other games like I do here in Sleuth.

This is an incredible game at a ridiculously low price that has given me and others many hours of entertainment and more often than not a fun and positive community. I hope Ben & Sunny know that for all the unhappy posts on the boards lately there are so many other players that do understand and are waiting patiently for SoM and whatever new things that are in the works for Noir. :)

Feb-12-2008 23:36

I don't think anyone was criticising Sunny, Ben has had plenty of messages from me letting him know exactly what I think of him as Admin and of Sleuth as a whole and lets just say it's been positive.

I think it's more a case for those who want SoM out wanting it out quick to play it and those few of us who don't want to play it wanting it out quick so good thing happen again to Noir.

And don't talk to us Sleuth's about patience, 6 hours in a cold doorway yesterday on a stakeout doing a favour for the Fishmonger and all I got was a pearl handled dirk grrr.... (Stooby wanders off grumbling under his breath, words like "vegetarian anyway... stink of haddock... hate Shanghai" can be caught as he vanishes into the fog).