[I][CE] Hope Springs Hotel ○ [With New Dynah Sprites!]

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[I][CE] Hope Springs Hotel ○ [With New Dynah Sprites!]

Post by Tap »

-- >> Developed for the "Breakin' Da Rules" competition by Tap and Wampyr >> --

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Please re-load the trial instead of loading from a Save file if you were playing before the "Desk" Bug was fixed! Loading from your Save file can cause complications later on with the Hallway not showing. Starting Part 4 again (and only having to go through the first 200 frames again, which can be done in under a minute with Quick Text/Instant Text Display) is highly advised!

WARNING: SAVE REGULARLY DUE TO SUDDEN GAME-OVERS FROM WRONG PATHS/CHOICES.
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Premise:
April, 2017. Phoenix Wright, a rising defense attorney, arrives at a remote inn called Hope Springs Hotel after receiving a mysterious letter. Once there, Wright finds himself embroiled in a mystery of lies, betrayal and murder. And over the course of the night, he will discover something very sinister about the hotel itself, and the occupants which currently inhabit it...

Everyone has secrets. Everyone has parts of their past they would rather leave buried. But for Wright, this isn't about digging for dirt. It is all about being in the pursuit of truth. And as he investigates, Wright uncovers a story that links his fellow occupants, a priceless piece of jewellery and the suspicious death of a police officer in the line of fire ten years ago...
Links:
Hope Springs Hotel is divided into two Arcs, the Question and Answers arc. Each consists of three parts which play out as chapter by chapter, as if one were reading a novel.

Do note that there are some ugly placeholder backgrounds in the following two parts. The artist I commissioned for a series of backgrounds has only finished two out of seven so far, so I had to use placeholders in the mean time. The game will ask you to look for a "map", but you don't need to find it... Adding the map to these placeholders didn't look very pretty, so the requirement has been disabled... for the time being, that is.

And use Firefox to play, since we use .apng fades. Chrome works, too... but the .apng images not working can be jarring.
Credits:
Spoiler : :
  • Evolina deLuna - Sprites
  • gotMLK7 - Sprites
  • Aer - Sprites
  • Android 21 3/7 - Sprites
  • Eldariub - Sprites
  • JosephSeraph - Backgrounds (Commissions)
  • Bad Player - Music extension
  • Moltor - For one of his interactive puzzles which we "borrowed" in full :XD:
  • DWaM - For giving permission to use some of his characters' names.
  • AABattery / Aeridis- Character Sprites and Artwork
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
Q: Can I get an "avancement" link to <insert x part>, please? Pretty please? =)
A: Sorry, as this trial is incredibly investigation heavy, using avancement is pretty much impossible. Every investigation block is likely to have at least a minimum of three actions, with some of the more intensive blocks having treble that number.

Q: Heeeeelp! I can't figure out the answer to any of the puzzles!
A: We won't be giving any answers away, or providing a walkthrough. The emphasis in Hope Springs is to provide an enjoyable novel to read, and a mystery to solve. Interactive parts like puzzles are rare enough as they are. But don't worry. Post in this thread, and we'll provide as many hints as we can. And perhaps a good soul will post the answer, although we heavily frown on it...
Spoiler : FAQ which contain trial spoilers (Arcade puzzle) :
Q: How am I supposed to solve the Arcade puzzle? I keep running out of my five chances and getting a Game Over!
A: We expected it to be a difficult puzzle. It was "borrowed" from Moltor, and even he only managed to get a high score of "12", which is conveniently enough, the score you need to beat! But if you are stuck, we did provide a way for you to chear. Simply type "13" or "14" to get the "Normal" ending, and "15" through to "20" for the "True" ending!
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Re: [T] [CE] Hope Springs Hotel: Whisper of Winter ○

Post by ApolloGrimoire »

That sounds like an exciting premise. I'll make sure to play it today.
Like the creator of Final Fantasy, I'm better at telling a story.
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Re: [T] [CE] Hope Springs Hotel: Whisper of Winter ○

Post by Tap »

ApolloGrimoire wrote:That sounds like an exciting premise. I'll make sure to play it today.
I hope you do! If you like Hotel Dusk, then this is the kind of game for you! As soon as I saw that we could create trials with a completely different style of gameplay, this old idea of an Ace Attorney meets Hotel Dusk trial came right back to me. ^^

There's lots of puzzles, although only a couple in the first two parts... We might've "borrowed" one or two from VLR and Moltor, so they've been credited, 'course. :)
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Re: [T] [CE] Hope Springs Hotel: Whisper of Winter ○

Post by Kroki »

Amazing presentation! Simple but effective.
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Re: [T] [CE] Hope Springs Hotel: Whisper of Winter ○

Post by kwando1313 »

Hope Springs Hotel... TOTALLY NOT JUDGE BRIBERY.
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Re: [T] [CE] Hope Springs Hotel: Whisper of Winter ○

Post by Blackrune »

Spoiler : enjoying it so far, but then :
I liked failing at presenting the key at the door and getting funny stuff for it.

However, now I failed to pay attention to the hint for the phone call because I thought I'd be able to take another look. Instead I got stuck in trying to enter the right number without even a repetition of the hint.
Granted, it's on the picture it seems. But it's rather small. Just saying.
Spoiler : edit :
And then there's case sensitive letters screwing me over in the next riddle. Curse my luck. xD Darn you, Blackrune difficulty
Spoiler : edit2 :
Heh, you're pretty damn good at setting up this intriguing hotel scenario, all with suspicious actions and characters that all seem to have a deeper purpose lurking around. It's truly inspiring.
The dialogues had that magic that never made them boring. Recap questions also make everything more intriguing, and it's refreshing not to be allowed to stick your nose into everything for once.
There's quite the amount of amusing references, too. Though not to the point of them getting annoying, which is probably a good thing.

Only complaint are some with the gameplay. For example, clicking the red arrow on the second floor and then attempting to examine lacked a redirect at some point and the first riddle could have been made a little clearer. I guess I should be glad a certain other VN schooled me the art of clicking a certain point on the screen really fast, that arcade thing was pretty hard. But storywise it's certainly one hell of a good start.
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Re: [T] [CE] Hope Springs Hotel: Whisper of Winter ○

Post by ApolloGrimoire »

Just started chapter 1.

First floor hallway. Powers says Nothing to see here? Who's Powers? :random:

I think you may need to fix that crying sprite I personally animated.

I'm kinda miss looking at the profiles and new evidence jingle.

I'm stuck where Phoenix is locked in. Help would be great, in the spoiler box of course. :pearlhappy:
Like the creator of Final Fantasy, I'm better at telling a story.
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Re: [T] [CE] Hope Springs Hotel: Whisper of Winter ○

Post by Tap »

Kroki wrote:Amazing presentation! Simple but effective.
Thank you! Although I was in charge of the technical aspects, BB was solely responsible for the magical dialogue, which really is the best part of our case. Have you finished both Parts 1 and 2 yet, Kroki? :)
kwando1313 wrote:Hope Springs Hotel... TOTALLY NOT JUDGE BRIBERY.
Gumpei has declared he didn't really like Hotel Dusk, and he hasn't played Last Window or Again, to the best of my knowledge. .__.
So it isn't technically judge bribery. I've had the idea of an "AA meets Hotel Dusk" case for quite some time, and after the failure of the previous competition, I rehashed a lot my old ideas into this one. BB was invaluable when I was writing the detailed overview, and when we came up with a general "plot" on Skype and through PM. For example...
Spoiler : Spoilers for Part 1 :
Brushel and Powers were completely his ideas. I was going to use Larry at first, as he felt closest to Louis' character, but BB vehemently objected. He suggested we use Gumshoe, but it didn't really make any sense... and then he suggested Powers, which was what we went with. He works perfectly in this case. Both of them do, actually -- Brushel and Powers. If you haven't guessed already, Brushel is the "Summers". ^^
Blackrune wrote:
Spoiler : enjoying it so far, but then :
I liked failing at presenting the key at the door and getting funny stuff for it.

However, now I failed to pay attention to the hint for the phone call because I thought I'd be able to take another look. Instead I got stuck in trying to enter the right number without even a repetition of the hint.
Granted, it's on the picture it seems. But it's rather small. Just saying.

You have a point. I'll do what I did with the next "riddle" and have the option for you to examine the "clues" or answer the puzzle. It won't be a problem, though I can't edit this part in until the trial ends. And thank BB for all of those lovely failure conversations! =)
Spoiler : edit :
And then there's case sensitive letters screwing me over in the next riddle. Curse my luck. xD Darn you, Blackrune difficulty
Don't know if you noticed or not, but some of the failure key conversations allude to the "Black Rune Inn", which mentions every room in the hotel is a locked room mystery. There's a bit of expansion on this joke in Part 3, if I remember right.

And hurray, you figured this riddle out! How did you find it? I tried to base it off the one from Miracle Mask with a twist to match up with the Arcade game in Part 2 (the idea of "Courtroom" paraphernalia).
Spoiler : edit2 :
Heh, you're pretty damn good at setting up this intriguing hotel scenario, all with suspicious actions and characters that all seem to have a deeper purpose lurking around. It's truly inspiring.
Thank you very much! Being able to work without the constraints of AA conventions really worked its wonders for the mystery... You're always learning something new, and the best parts haven't even happened yet. Chapters 1 and 2 can be considered background expositional information of sorts, as it is Chapter 3 where things start to get a bit more interesting... :wink:

The dialogues had that magic that never made them boring. Recap questions also make everything more intriguing, and it's refreshing not to be allowed to stick your nose into everything for once. There's quite the amount of amusing references, too. Though not to the point of them getting annoying, which is probably a good thing.
I wish I could take credit for the dialogue and references, but it was BB who worked his magic here. All of the dialogue was his prerogative, and he simply took what I wrote in the detailed overview and transformed it into a piece of art. I'm sure if he's read your comments, he'll be pretty darn proud with himself right about now.

I'm guessing by "not being allowed to stick your nose into everything for once", you may have tripped into a Game Over for two? Do tell... :P


Only complaint are some with the gameplay. For example, clicking the red arrow on the second floor and then attempting to examine lacked a redirect at some point and the first riddle could have been made a little clearer. I guess I should be glad a certain other VN schooled me the art of clicking a certain point on the screen really fast, that arcade thing was pretty hard. But storywise it's certainly one hell of a good start.
Right, the hallway was my mistake. I think I forgot to code in the examination co-ordinates since there about ten of those darn investigation blocks in both Chapter 1 and 2. The commissioned backgrounds haven't arrived yet, but when they do, the hallway will look soooo much better. :)

W-Wow! Y-You managed to beat the Arcade puzzle!? What was your high score, Rune? :D
BB and I had our worries because it is an extremely difficult puzzle!

In any case, thanks for your comments! Any theories as to where everything is going? And what did you think of the inclusion of Gaines, Hall and Brushel? No comments on Gaines' lovely new sprites? =)
ApolloGrimoire wrote:Just started chapter 1.
Awesome!

First floor hallway. Powers says Nothing to see here? Who's Powers? :random:
Whoops. Phoenix's nametag is "Wright" in this trial... I'm used to clicking "Phoenix" instead.

I think you may need to fix that crying sprite I personally animated.
Did you notice a problem with it? Please tell.

I'm kinda miss looking at the profiles and new evidence jingle.
I wanted the "HD jingle", but I couldn't rip one without the text box SFX from Youtube LPs, unfortunately...

I'm stuck where Phoenix is locked in. Help would be great, in the spoiler box of course. :pearlhappy:
Spoiler : :
You need to examine the phone, which will begin a puzzle. You're told that to dial any room, the first number must be '0'. You're then told only the Front Desk is the only room on 1F which the phones from 2F are able to call. We also gave you a phone/letters keypad sheet of clues. Now you need to figure out which number to call. :wink:
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Re: [T] [CE] Hope Springs Hotel: Whisper of Winter ○

Post by Kroki »

I meant for the topic. u_u
I have no time to play it right now, so I guess I will wait for the whole thing to be available, but the presentation really interested me.
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Re: [T] [CE] Hope Springs Hotel: Whisper of Winter ○

Post by kwando1313 »

Some reason, I thought you called it Watery Fowls hotel. :p

Anywho, I'll try starting later today, perhaps?
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Re: [T] [CE] Hope Springs Hotel: Whisper of Winter ○

Post by Tap »

Kroki wrote:I meant for the topic. u_u
I have no time to play it right now, so I guess I will wait for the whole thing to be available, but the presentation really interested me.
Oh. Merci, then! :XD:
kwando1313 wrote:Some reason, I thought you called it Watery Fowls hotel. :p

Anywho, I'll try starting later today, perhaps?
Start now!
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Re: [T] [CE] Hope Springs Hotel: Whisper of Winter ○

Post by kwando1313 »

I can't! I'm off to watch some tennis this weekend! (Hence why later today.)
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Re: [T] [CE] Hope Springs Hotel: Whisper of Winter ○

Post by ApolloGrimoire »

Spoiler : :
Hey blackrune, you know the phone number don't you? I don't want to go all Melvin on Tap here.
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Re: [T] [CE] Hope Springs Hotel: Whisper of Winter ○

Post by Tap »

kwando1313 wrote:I can't! I'm off to watch some tennis this weekend! (Hence why later today.)
But the Australian Open is finished isn't it???
(I think it is? Wasn't the final on a couple of days ago? As you can tell, I don't follow tennis. XD)
ApolloGrimoire wrote:
Spoiler : :
Hey blackrune, you know the phone number don't you? I don't want to go all Melvin on Tap here.
Spoiler : :
Break down the puzzle:
1) The first number will be "0"
2) Only the Front Desk, which is on 1F can be called from 2F phones.
3) And don't forget the phone keypad, which we gave you!
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Re: [T] [CE] Hope Springs Hotel: Whisper of Winter ○

Post by DWaM »

Alright, I've completed Chapter 2. I'll hold off from posting the general thoughts on the mystery and such until I see the end of question arc (simply because I have feeling there's a lot of cover, and think it's much easier for me if I know what my actual "goal" is. ^^")

Still, some comments:
Spoiler : :
  • I found the dialogue to be extremely enjoyable, I must say. All the characters managed to entertain me, and it honestly never felt dragged or rushed (the former, I don't mind, the lack of the latter, I am extremely happy).
  • The, uh... backgrounds look really bizarre after the front desk, but I bared with it, since you said they'll be eventually replaced.
  • While tedious, I find it interesting that you always made us use the key to open the door. Hm... I think there's more to it than simply being "the obvious action with funny responses if you get it wrong". This is something you'll try and use to decieve us later on, isn't it?
  • This is sorta a minor thing, but it kinda annoyed me - when I reach a bad ending, why can't I just go back to the wrong decision, or something? After all, I know what I did wrong, and playing through the entire thing all over again just to reach that point again is... pretty tedious, especially if I didn't happen to save up to that point.
  • ...That being said, I liked the bad ends. XD
  • A bug in Part 2 - I somehow still pocketed Hall's 40$ even after I supposedly gave them back to her. ...Not that I'm particulary complaining.
  • When transitioning from Masterson in the F1 hallway to Eileen's for the first time, his sprite doesn't actually disappear. It stays during the fade-out and stays all the way until Powers shows up.
  • Also - Bea, er... I mean, "Clarity". HA. Bet you thought I wouldn't comment on it? Well, I am. ...Though I don't really have much to comment about her. Oh, except for the fact that when I first played it, her b/w sprite didn't show up. Instead all I got was ImgBoot's logo.
  • The intrigue is set up pretty well, too. Instead of going right into the "people died, go save 'em, scenario", you chose to build tension and let the story flow until the player reaches that point where he knows something's up and is slowly starting to legitly question everyone's motivations. Kudos.
  • Also, I cheated on the arcade game "puzzle". :3
And, er... That's it. Well, that's what you'd call peliminary, at least. Not much stuff is happened, but I can see proper set-up when I see it. Looking forward to how it all starts to play out and (come on, you have Beato pics, man) eventually come crashing down on our dear hero (the "detective dying" that I remember from the prologue is something I'm especially interested in...)

I'd also speculate on the second letter getting the room, but, even if I won't be getting much more information, either the planter was still in Nick's room when he entered it for the first time or whatever the culprit did resulted in the door being jammed. ...Or, hell, maybe that was the part of the original trick. In any case, while I can see you trying to see Hall suspicious because of the portable tool kit... Eh, I'm not buying it. XP

Neverthless, great work so far.
As I said, I'll give my full review/speculation when Part 3's out.
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