Hey all!

Lamplight City releases today on Steam and GOG!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/761460/Lamplight_City/

https://www.gog.com/game/lamplight_city

Today, Thursday September 13th, Francisco is doing a livestream with developer commentary here: https://gaming.youtube.com/watch?v=FV52w4kcXBE at 1pm Pacific 4pm Eastern 8pm GMT (in about 30 minutes from the time this posts).

Here's a quick blurb on the game: A steampunk-ish detective adventure from the creator of A Golden Wake and Shardlight! Can private investigator Miles Fordham find justice for his clients and track down his partner's killer before his entire world comes apart?

Feel free to come and meet Francisco and ask him any questions about the game.

Thanks, Jessa! I am really looking forward to playing the game.

Looks like Francisco has really outdone himself this time! Looks absolutely jaw-droppingly amazing.

Hurrah !! So it's off to GOG for me. And thank you very much for that news, Jessa !!

Thanks, Jessa. I've really enjoyed what I've seen of the game so far. Looking forward to playing the full game.

Looking good, Jess,
All I need is the usual text WT before I make my purchase from GOG. GOOD LUCK!
Sandy

Me too Sandy. Game looks excellent, just need the written walkthrough.

I'm trying really hard to wait a few days and see if there are any technical problems.

We've had the preview build for awhile and it's fine!

Aretha,
That makes two of us for now. Maybe someone will view this post and come up with a text WT, at least I hope so. I would really like to play this one, based on the video walkthroughs that I've looked at so far.
Sandy

I have played the first one. For Windows 8.1, I had to tinker with settings; mercifully the Steam discussions have simple directions. Like a few other people, I'm still getting some stuttering in the music.

The initial case after the introduction is based quite recognizably on Madame LaLaurie in New Orleans, 1834, moved to 1844. Dave Gilbert's Francisco Gonzalez's story line and AGS graphics tone down the horror; otherwise, I would not have been able to play. In fact, if I had known LaLaurie was in the mix, I would never have started Lamplight City at all. Good thing for me I didn't know until I was already hooked, had remembered the history, and was having misgivings that could not overcome my involvement with the game.

You can see that the setting is an alternate New Orleans by taking a close look at the transport map which is a relabeled map of the city from, I think, the late 1840s. Given that the name of the seamiest part of town is Cholmondeley, I gather that the British won the War of 1812. I'm not certain of the alternate history. Maybe someone else knows.

In the first story, I made one unforced mistake that I noticed and probably a lot more that I didn't. I still finished without a walkthrough and without mangling the outcome completely. This means the structure is more than fair to players because I am far from the canniest of detectives. Getting accustomed to no inventory to access, click on, and use was surprisingly easy; instead, Gilbert Gonzalez gives us a casebook found at the top of the screen. That this works so well shows the level of Dave Gilbert's Francisco Gonzalez's planning skills. I doff my top hat and bow from the waist.

ETA: My apologies to Francisco Gonzalez.

8dognight, this game was written and created by Francisco Gonzalez, not Dave Gilbert. Dave Gilbert wrote Unavowed, which was just recently released as well.

A usual fix is to open acsetup.cfg in the install folder and under [Sound] at the end of it add

threaded=1

this applies to all AGS games when the music stutters. Many developers do not add this additional line into the cfg file.

Edit. Actually that mostly applies to room changes. For stuttering during scenes, you probably want to change the Digital Sound setting (under Advanced) in winsetup.exe, because DirectSound (the standard setting) isn't always the best one for some PC's. There's usually a WaveOut option and something else to try.

Question on Voting: Out in the real world, not only do I think this matters but also I write congress critters and senators, contribute to causes, and things like that. I really think it matters.



Sounds silly, I know but I have had enough difficult news in reality. I want a spoiler here if I can get one.

ETA: Do we have any lawyers playing?

Sorry, I'm not playing or I'd help! One of my best friends is a lawyer though and we are going out tonight. If I remember, I'll ask him the second half!

Personally, I don't expect games to always be totally "correct" in such aspects. 8dognight.
For a start, they might not have sufficient finance available to be able to fund the required research

I should have been clearer and explained that I don't expect games to be correct either, and besides that wonderful "Lamplight City" is alternate history. The legal system could have developed differently. For example, the Napoleonic Code may have been ditched entirely.

I'm not even 100% sure slavery had been abolished in Lamplight City's timeline because in the nineteenth century the word "servant" was often used euphemistically. I tend to think actual chattel slavery had been eliminated, and Gonzalez is taking the narrative position that early abolition wouldn't have changed things much.

In asking about class actions, I was expressing curiosity because I enjoyed "Lamplight City" and think Gonzalez put a well-informed spin on history. I may play again quite soon and vote for Atwood.

A sequel is very much in order and I hope one is in development. If there is a Kickstarter campaign, I will contribute. I am looking forward to discovering whether Bill Leger returns to his old haunts.

It sounds like you really liked the game. It's on my wish list.

Right !! Thanks for the clarification

I haven't yet started the game but am certainly looking forward to playing it

8dognight, I did ask my friend who is an attorney and his response was it would require some digging to get an accurate answer. He couldn't give one on the spot.

Ana