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General discussion (archive)Pre-order: Ether One(13 posts)(13 posts)
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Posted March 17, 2014
Human mind: the greatest puzzle of them all.

Ether One, a stylish and myst-ifying first-person perspective puzzle adventure in which you explore the mysterious realm existing in the depths of a human mind, is available 15% off for pre-orders on GOG.com. That's only $16.99 until Tuesday, March 25 when the game is scheduled for launch. Pre-order now, and you'll receive the upgrade to the Deluxe Edition (worth $14.99) for FREE.

[url=http://www.gog.com/game/ether_one][/url]Ether One is a first person adventure that deals with the fragility of the human mind. There are two paths in the world you can choose from. At it’s core is a story exploration path free from puzzles where you can unfold the story at your own pace. There is also a deeper, more adventurous path in which you can complete complex puzzles to restore life changing events of the patients history in order to help the validation of their life. As the developers put it: The aim of the parallel paths was to make Ether One accessible to a range of skilled players. The hope was that people would be able to enjoy playing the game and solving puzzles with parents or friends, as well as immersed in the game on your own with the lights off. From a young age we enjoyed the first person puzzle games that required you to write cryptic notes on spare pieces of paper to unravel mysteries. Ether One aims to bring back pen and paper puzzle solving, whilst still being accessible and optional for people not wanting to get stuck and frustrated on the harder puzzles."

Pre-order Ether One for only $16.99 for the best value for your money! You'll get instant access to all of the game's bonus content--including all of the Deluxes Edition goodness like the full high-quality soundtrack (MP3 and FLAC) or the comics. This fantastic offer lasts until Tuesday, March 25, at 10:59AM GMT, so don't miss out!
Posted March 17, 2014
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Starmaker: So will the upgrade be sold separately as is the case with Dragon Commander's Imperial Edition?
Yes there will be an upgrade kind of like the Imperial Edition upgrade :)
Posted March 17, 2014
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Fever_Discordia: Is this the first time GOG have withheld some bonus content, keeping it only for 'Deluxe edition' purchasers?
Not judging, just wondering if this is unprecedented...
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Matthew94: I think they have did it before but it wasn't often. Funny how it's happening straight after the regional pricing debacle.

I'm glad I didn't start re-buying games straight away after that fiasco. I'll be staying away for a while longer.
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JudasIscariot: Yes there will be an upgrade kind of like the Imperial Edition upgrade :)
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Matthew94: So is this the end of soundtracks in games?

I noticed that they were awfully thin on the ground on GOG as it was but if devs can charge for them on the site, i guess we'll barely see any more come with the base game.
No, it's not the end of soundtracks in games :) We're always trying to get as many soundtracks as possible without extra charge but in the case of newer games you run into a situation where the an artist makes the soundtrack and then has the full rights to sell it or the developer works out a deal where they can offer the soundtrack with the game but the price goes higher as a result. Basically, it's a complicated situation and we are well aware of everyone's trepidation regarding soundtracks and the various editions.

We could always just not offer the OST and other things but then we'd have people asking how come they can't buy it here.
Posted March 17, 2014
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JudasIscariot: Yes there will be an upgrade kind of like the Imperial Edition upgrade :)
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Starmaker: Excellent!

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Matthew94: So is this the end of soundtracks in games?

I noticed that they were awfully thin on the ground on GOG as it was but if devs can charge for them on the site, i guess we'll barely see any more come with the base game.
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Starmaker: [bIndie devs might not be able to afford the full distribution rights for the soundtrack,
That's the heart of the matter :)


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mondo84: I hadn't heard of this game before today - seems interesting.
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vicklemos: it reminds me of Consortium.
Right?
Consortium is more of a shooter, if I am not mistaken. Ether One is more like a first person adventure game...
Post edited March 17, 2014 by JudasIscariot
Posted March 17, 2014
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JudasIscariot: Yes there will be an upgrade kind of like the Imperial Edition upgrade :)
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HypersomniacLive: Will the content merge into the game's extras or will it sit as a separate entry on the game shelf/ list?

And is it possible to also get a reply to my question here, please?
It should merge into the game's extras and the file names will have the word "deluxe" in them to differentiate between versions :)
Post edited March 17, 2014 by JudasIscariot
Posted March 17, 2014
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MoP: Don't mean to be that guy, but anybody wanting a gog copy should probably pre-order, since the "regular" price of the Deluxe pack directly from the dev via Humble widget seems to be $30 (and it's $35 here? the pre-order price is the same). Which also comes with a key to that terrible service everybody hates on top of the DRM-free download, and the possible future Linux version, so... you know... *runs*
(5$ seems like a bigger difference than normal though, doesn't it? Or maybe it's just because the price is high in the first place)
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zeffyr: It's 17$ instead of 20$ here. Where did you get 35$ from?
$16.99 in the pre-order period gets you the Deluxe version. After the game is released said version can be obtained for $29.99 as a single package, or for $19.99 for regular version + $14.99 to upgrade it to deluxe. The latter totals up to $34.99.

Hope that helps.
Posted March 17, 2014
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mefet: Do you know the number of pages of the comic and the artist(s) involved in it's creation?
I'm a great comic fan and I could buy the game just for the comic.
Here you go: story and art by M D Penman, colours by Andrew Tunney. There are 15 pages (12 pages of the actual content, plus the cover and the credits).
Post edited March 17, 2014 by Flemeth
Posted March 17, 2014
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Starmaker: So I preordered the game and it turns out it's highly revelant to my interests and highly unlikely to be "storygame" vomit and/or vaporware. For the first time in years I'm actually excited about an upcoming release I don't have anything to do with.
And you're not being arbitrarily denied any content :)


(referring to an earlier discussion about stretch goals and such :D )
Post edited March 17, 2014 by JudasIscariot
Posted March 17, 2014
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JudasIscariot: And you're not being arbitrarily denied any content :)

(referring to an earlier discussion about stretch goals and such :D )
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Starmaker: That, too - that's why I bought it (well, that and the sci-fi tag). Incidentally, who the hell writes gamecard descriptions these days? I mean, I know you can't just put "Dreamhold without cockblocks" there, but seriously now. I remember times when throwaway gem promo descriptions were better than even official promotional material. From the gamecard, it's entirely unclear if the game is like Myst or one of those German movie things or another episode of gay divorce court.

(Okay, at least it says my future work PC will be able to run it. Hooray for unpaid overtime.)
For the new releases, it's usually the developers themselves that write the material that goes on the game cards :)

The more you know! :D
Posted March 17, 2014
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JudasIscariot: For the new releases, it's usually the developers themselves that write the material that goes on the game cards :)

The more you know! :D
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Starmaker: The hell, the recent crop of devs can't write blurbs at all. They should take PR tips from Sam Stoddard
(or, more seriously, Ville Mönkkönen - the blurb for the beta of Driftmoon was pure awesome, too bad they genericized it before release).
I would be more than happy to write the blurb(s) but since there's only so many hours in the day and with pre-orders we don't get the game to play around with, it's rather difficult to do so. I wouldn't want to be personally responsible for bullshoting anyone writing about a game I didn't even play :)
Post edited March 17, 2014 by JudasIscariot
Posted March 17, 2014
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JudasIscariot: I would be more than happy to write the blurb(s) but since there's only so many hours in the day and with pre-orders we don't get the game to play around with, it's rather difficult to do so. I wouldn't want to be personally responsible for bullshoting anyone writing about a game I didn't even play :)
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Maighstir: How about you write a new blurb once you've played it, and then let us compare the differences between your and the dev's opinion on the game? (have a a switch for "show GOG's blurb" and "show dev's blurb")
Well, we don't have a switch like that built in and I doubt our web dev team would build such a functionality in just this once :P

I can always write one and post it somewhere :)
Posted March 17, 2014
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JudasIscariot: Well, we don't have a switch like that built in and I doubt our web dev team would build such a functionality in just this once :P
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Maighstir: I quite realise that, I'm just being my usual silly self.
Of course, no worries there :D
Posted March 18, 2014
Hey guys,

We put up a second trailer for Ether One that should show some more of the game :)

Sorry about any mix ups or confusion on our side and we hope the new trailer will be more to everyone's liking :)
Posted March 23, 2014
high rated
Hi guys,


I asked the developer for a build of the game to play over the weekend because I was genuinely curious for my own sake just what exactly Ether One is all about and I figured I'd share my impressions of the game. Please feel free to ask me any spoilerish questions in PM as I am not planning on giving too much away here in this post because this game truly DESERVES an unsullied playthrough as far as spoilers and other things of that nature go.

For those of you who played Myst and the like, I think you will find a lot to like here. If I were to describe Ether One in a single sentence it would be "Ether One is a small town version of Myst". Now, for some of us who are somewhat intimidated by Myst's more obtuse puzzles (I am including myself in this category :P ) have no fear as a majority of the puzzles are very logical and sometimes the answer is hidden in plain sight. There are one or two puzzles that I am having trouble with but I am going to take a whack at them one way or the other. Also, this part "still being accessible and optional for people not wanting to get stuck and frustrated on the harder puzzles." does NOT mean that the game will offer to autosolve the puzzle for you or show you with a bright neon arrow "HERE IS THE SECRET TO THIS PUZZLE!". From my own playthrough of the game, it means that you don't HAVE to solve every puzzle in order to get the gist of the game's story but, oh my God, you'll miss SO MUCH if you don't. This game begs to be explored.

(Here's Pete Bottomley's words on the accessibility portion of the game, shared by me with his express permission)

" The whole design is based around my mum for example being able to play the game. There shouldn't be any complex controlling, if people take the time to explore, they will get all the rules of the game, and there shouldn't be any barriers in terms of "oh I can't jump up there"..."

(end dev quote)

Another thing, the game's description states "Ether One aims to bring back pen and paper puzzle solving". Please, please take this part seriously. I went through most of the game not writing a single thing down (it is possible to go through the game and succeed this way) and I really wish I kept a notebook on hand as there are hidden story treasures throughout Pinwheel. If you like exploring and putting together a story via journals or logs or anything similar, then this is the game for you. Of course, logs, journals, and the like are not the only vehicles that drive the story as you will get to hear some excellent, in my most humble opinion, voice acting, some of it directed towards you, some of it a wisp of memory some of it...well, I don't want to reveal much. Suffice to say, there is a lot more than meets the eye in this game.

Another note regarding puzzles, again, from Pete:

"I've tried my best not to put red herrings in the game as I don't believe in them as a gameplay choice - there's always the chance that someone may interpret things different that someone else though which turns it into a red herring."

(end dev quote)

The above quote basically describes what I was doing the entire game as I was taking everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, not nailed down and going off to store in what's known in the game as The Case, a room where you can store various items from Pinwheel and notes, amongst other things. No, I don't want to say what those other things are but please trust me once you see it, it's AWESOME! So there you have it, folks, no red herrings in the game :D

Technically speaking, the game ran as smooth as butter for me. Loading times were not very long. I think I had 1 or 2 second loading times but this may vary from system to system. I also did not have a single crash, hiccup, scripting error or God knows what else. Every puzzle that I attempted and solved worked perfecty out of the box.

The game is as it stands fully playable and I finished it but I am not finished with it, if you get my drift.

If there's anything I missed or if you'd like to know more, please, please ask and I'll do what I can to best answer your questions without giving too many details about the game away :D
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General discussion (archive)Pre-order: Ether One(13 posts)(13 posts)
(13 posts)