Just to let you know that the game worked fine for me.
Xp Sp3,7300 GT DX SDK March 2008.
I'm pretty sure that if DX_4X.dll is missing you only need to update the DX RUNTIME,you don't need to download or install the SDK at all.

From the looks of it,the game looks decently polished.
I'll let you know what I think when I have some time to actually do the campaign.

Quote:Original post by Lesan
I downloaded and installed the SDK from August 2009 and that solved it for me. I was able to run the game and play it. It looks nice. I experienced that same "Firestein goes without stopping to the left at end of level" bug but what's more important: Is there a way to cheat and skip a level? Because in level 4, I cornered Waterberg on a single water tile but that single water tile gives him 300 power so I don't win.

That's a nice suggestion, I think i'll be able to add it within a day or two and upload the game again.

The non-stopping thing is looking really ugly to me too, now that I have more time to play it myself. i'll correct it too.

Level 4 is different from other levels where you don't play to eliminate the enemy but to traverse the maze and reach the exit position (the bottom-right corner tile) within given time. And the AI of that level doesn't move at all, so it's actually impossible to walk past Waterberg and kill the water elemental below it. Just ignore Waterberg and find the way to the bottom-right corner and you'll win. The reason i have to put Waterberg there is because the engine isn't designed to be flexible enough to allow a game without an enemy.

Quote:Original post by ne0_kamen
Just to let you know that the game worked fine for me.
Xp Sp3,7300 GT DX SDK March 2008.
I'm pretty sure that if DX_4X.dll is missing you only need to update the DX RUNTIME,you don't need to download or install the SDK at all.

From the looks of it,the game looks decently polished.
I'll let you know what I think when I have some time to actually do the campaign.

Thanks. I tried it on a computer with the newest runtime but without the SDK and it worked. However as Lesan said, just copying the DX_42.dll that's missing doesn't solve the problem.

So i think in such cases the right thing for the game installer to do is to tell the user to install the new DirectX runtime, right?

Quote:So i think in such cases the right thing for the game installer to do is to tell the user to install the new DirectX runtime, right?

Pretty much.
I'm guessing that just copying this particular dll,doesn't do anything more than resolving the dependencies needed to run your application.
I also guess that the game fails in Direct3DCreate9,so if you want to handle this situation,start there.

Thanks.

Anyway I just downloaded the Aug 07 version of DX SDK and compile the game again. If your DX runtime is not latest and you don't want to update it, you can download the game here:
http://www.freemanproduct.com/LOTE/LOTE_Setup_DX_Aug07.exe

Just uploaded a new version of the game, v1.1

Changes:
- Firestein will stop moving when a game ends
- Firestein will stop moving when starting to cast a spell that requires selecting a position (namely Teleport and Flamewave), and the camera will automatically follow the cursor instead of Firestein
- Added a cheat code "iamufecjudge" standing for "I am UFEC judge". No space between words, case insensitive. Type this string in the campaign scene selection menu will unlock all scenes. Type this string when playing the game will let you win instantly.

Also changed the game download page so you can find the links to all the versions there, and can view the game manual without having to install it:

http://www.freemanproduct.com/LOTE/

I've played the game a bit more,and reached Scene 7 or 8 (the one where everything is in water,and there are just a few grass "oases".
Anyway,I closed the game,and when I started it again it grayed all the scenes that I passed,and I had to start again from 1.
I don't suppose you've implemented any save/load system?

I think the one word that comes to mind when playing the game is 'complete'.
I couldn't think of any features that it should have included,but are not currently present while playing.
However there are a few small things you may wish to consider :
Audio
You don't have to include a full featured gameplay music or something.
Just a few special sounds when the elementals are moving,when activating abilities,and when clicking the gui would add more touch to the game.

Rotating camera
I'm not sure how this could be improved,but rotating the camera was useless for me.If I rotate,my elemental becames disoriented and the keyboard arrows don't match the physical direction in your game world.In my opinion,just zooming in/out is sufficient.

Moving from gameplay mode to Scene selection mode/Main menu.
I didn't find a way to do this.If one wants to start a Custom game while he is playing the campaign,he would either have to die,or have to close and start the game again and wait for the (somewhat long) load times to complete.

Good luck,the game was enjoyable to me.

Nice game!
I finished the campaign, and it was pretty enjoyable. I probably didn't have the best strategies, and had to replay a couple of the levels. I also tried the custom mode, but only vs the computer. Seems like it will be more fun in multiplayer, where you have to counter what the other player does and he also uses spells.