When the bark is worse then its bite

[Alty]

Last I checked this game out the fox barked like a dog which killed it for me buying this game. Did they fix it to make the fox go hehehe? or is it still a dog bark?

[Cpt. Squirrel]

Still a dog bark. The wagging tail is also very cartoonish sounding.
It's putting me off too. Many games sadly don't quite get the importance of sound design.
Let's not forget the obnoxious panting of a dog after you sprint for a little bit.

[Alty]

Ouch.... You think having a game all about playing a fox that they would watch a single video on what sounds foxes make. Would take all of 10 seconds but guess that is too much time to put into it.

[Concour]

The reason for it is that the developers didn't have access to fox sound effects and didn't have the budget to record convincing ones. They say that they want to have real fox noises for the next SotN game they're working on though. You can ask them questions in the discord: https://discord.gg/ePS4racQKy

[Alty]

They could update the game with it J/S. My gf freaked out about this game and was ready to get it up till the fox sounded like a dog... I Imagine a lot of lost sales occurred because of that.

[GDSpectra]

Originally posted by Concour:

The reason for it is that the developers didn't have access to fox sound effects and didn't have the budget to record convincing ones. They say that they want to have real fox noises for the next SotN game they're working on though. You can ask them questions in the discord: https://discord.gg/ePS4racQKy

There is a sequel in the works??

[Concour]

Originally posted by GDSpectra Θώθ:

Originally posted by Concour:

The reason for it is that the developers didn't have access to fox sound effects and didn't have the budget to record convincing ones. They say that they want to have real fox noises for the next SotN game they're working on though. You can ask them questions in the discord: https://discord.gg/ePS4racQKy

There is a sequel in the works??

That's what they say at least! This was their first game and it did very well, and they want to continue the story.

[Concour]

Originally posted by Alty:

They could update the game with it J/S. My gf freaked out about this game and was ready to get it up till the fox sounded like a dog... I Imagine a lot of lost sales occurred because of that.

I mean, I can't imagine not playing the game because the fox sounds like a dog/wolf. The ost and graphics are incredible, and the gameplay and story are extremely well done (Infused Studio is only two people btw). If you can get past the sound the fox makes when you press Q then it's well worth the $20. Plus it supports the developers and their next project.

[Cpt. Squirrel]

Originally posted by Concour:

Originally posted by Alty:

They could update the game with it J/S. My gf freaked out about this game and was ready to get it up till the fox sounded like a dog... I Imagine a lot of lost sales occurred because of that.

I mean, I can't imagine not playing the game because the fox sounds like a dog/wolf. The ost and graphics are incredible, and the gameplay and story are extremely well done (Infused Studio is only two people btw). If you can get past the sound the fox makes when you press Q then it's well worth the $20. Plus it supports the developers and their next project.

I refunded the game not because of the off-putting sound design though it was a contributing factor for sure. The real reason why I refunded the game was because in the (if memory serves correct) third chapter, part two, I encountered a game breaking bug and shortly after a world glitch where you saw through the world. I was going to report the bugs but found no where to do so (I've never used Steam Community much) and so with the dog sounds I was just kinda done. To me the game looked cute and spiritual with a fox as the character but under that blanket of 'beuty' lied just a merely avarage mobile puzzle game you'd find on an app store.

As for the bugs I encountered, here's the short version if the devs are active on bug squashing: When activating the shrine to raise the water level you can get stuck under the water after the cutscene, as if the fox does not swim up with it during the cutscene itself and so when you get control back you've ended up under the water line. Shortly after that I got stuck in the pit where the water first was but to make matters worse is when I got out of said pit I found out that the water line has a collision on it so it acts as an invisible barrier. Had to restart that chapter but luckily there was a checkpoint mere seconds before that water encounter.
The other bug was in the section after it where you lower the water line first and then shortly after raise the water again. There is a section on the edge of the map closest to where you enter that region where you can look down (moving the camera up) and you can see the white void below the map behind some rocks you can swim past.

It was a cool concept but just not enticing game play, not even in puzzle terms.

[Concour]

Originally posted by Cpt. Squirrel:

Originally posted by Concour:

I mean, I can't imagine not playing the game because the fox sounds like a dog/wolf. The ost and graphics are incredible, and the gameplay and story are extremely well done (Infused Studio is only two people btw). If you can get past the sound the fox makes when you press Q then it's well worth the $20. Plus it supports the developers and their next project.

I refunded the game not because of the off-putting sound design though it was a contributing factor for sure. The real reason why I refunded the game was because in the (if memory serves correct) third chapter, part two, I encountered a game breaking bug and shortly after a world glitch where you saw through the world. I was going to report the bugs but found no where to do so (I've never used Steam Community much) and so with the dog sounds I was just kinda done. To me the game looked cute and spiritual with a fox as the character but under that blanket of 'beuty' lied just a merely avarage mobile puzzle game you'd find on an app store.

As for the bugs I encountered, here's the short version if the devs are active on bug squashing: When activating the shrine to raise the water level you can get stuck under the water after the cutscene, as if the fox does not swim up with it during the cutscene itself and so when you get control back you've ended up under the water line. Shortly after that I got stuck in the pit where the water first was but to make matters worse is when I got out of said pit I found out that the water line has a collision on it so it acts as an invisible barrier. Had to restart that chapter but luckily there was a checkpoint mere seconds before that water encounter.
The other bug was in the section after it where you lower the water line first and then shortly after raise the water again. There is a section on the edge of the map closest to where you enter that region where you can look down (moving the camera up) and you can see the white void below the map behind some rocks you can swim past.

It was a cool concept but just not enticing game play, not even in puzzle terms.

I really don't know where you got the impression that it has the same level of depth as a iOS mobile game, but if you don't like the game that's totally fine. The water glitch is a known bug, it only happens if you leave the fox underneath an overhang of some sort and it gets pushed below when the water rises (I didn't encounter it until 90 hours into the game). As for seeing the void, you have to really look to find those spots and I think it's v understandable that they exist seeing as the same type of glitch exists in many triple A games. Again, not being weird and criticizing you for refunding, because at the end of the day it's your money. Just giving my response

[Cpt. Squirrel]

The void bug was kinda the nail in the coffin for me. It was what made me go "Naw, I think I'm good now.". ngl most AAA games are large enough to the point where those bugs are not found often and you often go in with the mindset of finding them. For an indie game which scope is much smaller, especially for the linear story games, those bugs become much more apparent even if the amount or frequency between the indie game and tripple A remains the same.
I just hope that the water bug has not been a mainstay for a long time in the game, in other words, I hope they fix that because that is very off putting for players like me who find it the first time water is messed with.

[GDSpectra]

Originally posted by Concour:

Originally posted by GDSpectra Θώθ:

There is a sequel in the works??

That's what they say at least! This was their first game and it did very well, and they want to continue the story.

Oh giddy Lord, best of luck to them! As for bugs, hopefully these aren˙t too much of a hassle to fix, even if the only one I found was the faulty invisible wall in Chapter 7 that basically lets you get past the game boundary, but doesn˙t allow you to return back (where I found it was at the pile of rocks at the right side of the great river where the first 3 Shaman Spirits are met that technically serve as the impassable wall: there are 2 sectors you can climb up and glitch your fox through because it˙s literally having the physics of a Skyrim Horse. ).
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2389552812
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2389553221

That one doesn˙t require much work when it comes to physics (since I actually like the silly angles like that, adds more fun to what you can do with your fox), since all it needs is to make these rock areas steeper, so your fox cannot climb it no matter what. ;) Screenshots show the steepest angle that your fox is still able to climb on stuff.

[ajfusch]

Oookay.... thanks a lot for this thread!

I love foxes and wanted to buy the game when I've finally gotten round to buying a new PC, but this? I totally agree that a game focusing on a fox should have the right sounds and looks.

So I'll pass and add to the above mentioned lost sales.

[Ruse]

Originally posted by ajfusch:

Oookay.... thanks a lot for this thread!

I love foxes and wanted to buy the game when I've finally gotten round to buying a new PC, but this? I totally agree that a game focusing on a fox should have the right sounds and looks.

So I'll pass and add to the above mentioned lost sales.

How utterly petty.

[Cpt. Squirrel]

Originally posted by Dogbait:

Originally posted by ajfusch:

Oookay.... thanks a lot for this thread!

I love foxes and wanted to buy the game when I've finally gotten round to buying a new PC, but this? I totally agree that a game focusing on a fox should have the right sounds and looks.

So I'll pass and add to the above mentioned lost sales.

How utterly petty.

How utterly disregarding.

[GDSpectra]

Originally posted by Cpt. Squirrel:

Originally posted by Dogbait:

How utterly petty.

How utterly disregarding.

One needs to start somewhere.