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Offline motorollinTopic starter

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BOH: A short review
« on: April 23, 2009, 10:12:19 AM »
I thought I would post a short review of BOH, since it's really nice to have a new, boxed game for the Amiga. Since I don't have OS4, this review is based on the Windows version, but I don't think there is any difference between the Windows and OS4 versions.

For those who don't yet know, BOH is a top-down puzzle/shoot-em-up which involves exploring dungeon-like mazes, solving puzzles, killing enemies and ultimately destroying a "Master" at the end of each level. Alien Breed and The Chaos Engine are cited as influences on the gameplay.

The controls in the game are pretty similar to most basic FPSs: walking forwards and backwards, turning left and right, and strafing from side to side. BOH differs from games like Alien Breed and The Chaos Engine in that when turning, the player remains static and the map rotates around the player. This is quite a nice visual effect, and forces you to re-orientate when turning - something that is very easy if the map stays where it is.

In my opinion, what really sets BOH apart from games like The Chaos Engine is the extent to which you can see the map. If you are looking down a corridor, anything beyond the end of the corridor is black. If your character can't see round corners, why should you? ;-) If you walk to the end of the corridor and turn around, what lies beyond it will be revealed to you. This creates some really nice atmosphere, as you don't know what's coming up (compared to TCE and AB, where you can see around corners and through walls).

The sometimes disorienting movement of the map and the realistic view of the level combine to create a thoroughly atmospheric game. The levels feel claustrophobic because you can't see what's coming up. If you collect a short- or long-range detector, you will be given an audible warning when enemies are approaching. This takes the form of beeps which get closer together the closer the enemies are. This can create some heart-pounding moments when you are in a tiny room, you can't really see what's in there with you or how to get out, and the sensor is beeping faster and faster as something is approaching.

Some of the levels in BOH are huge, and it's easy to get lost. In this respect, as well as the atmosphere, BOH reminds me of Doom. You'll be wandering down a corridor and get to several doors. You take one, and find yourself in a room with three more... There is lots of scope to get lost if you don't know your way around. This leads to one of the few annoyances I have with BOH: the automap, which charts the level as you walk through, is far too small to be very useful. Perhaps it's just me, but I found I had to squint really hard to make out where I needed to go to find my way out of where I am.

Puzzles in BOH seem to focus around doors. You may start a level and see the locked exit right next to you, and are forced to explore the dungeon in order to unlock it. But you usually have to open several other passages first to get to the switch to open the exit. Again, this is quite reminiscent of FPSs like Doom. There are other doorways which are open by default, then close permanently when you have walked through. This has the potential to create some nice puzzles, and also creates tension when you find yourself sealed inside a dark room. However, it is possible to get stuck with no way out, and no option but to abort the mission and start again from the start. This is quite annoying, especially seeing how I have on a couple of occasions "brushed past" one of these doors causing it to close before I have gone through, meaning that the level is impossible to complete. Other doors are controlled by switches, remote control, keys, or timers.

As you walk around, you will find crates littered around levels. Some of these contain a shield recharge, but you have to search for them. This basically involves walking in to the crate to "search" it. You keep walking until the search is complete, at which point you are either given a recharge, or told that there is nothing there. This creates some nice tense situations where you have to decide between staying still long enough to search for a shield, or getting out of there before some enemies arrive. This is especially fun when you have the sensor, as you can hear the enemies coming and have to decide when to do a runner!

Sound is used really well in BOH. Your footsteps change depending on which material you are walking on, and as discussed the sensor adds to the atmosphere. The sound effects are echoey, and the echo seems to change depending on the size of the room you are in.

The graphics in BOH are intentionally old-skool. I think if you could see the whole level then this would not work as well as it does with the restricted view you get. The atmosphere created by the blind corners and spooky sound effects mean that the graphics become less important in creating a tense atmosphere.

To summarise, BOH is really successful in making the player feel anxious about creeping around its dark mazes. The only things I would change are the size of the automap and the behaviour of the automatic passages. Also, the levels are listed in alphabetical order and labelled with a difficulty rating from "Very Easy" to "Very Hard". It would be nice if there was an option to sort by difficulty. By the way, the levels can apparently be edited by creating or modifying text files. I have had a look at the mission files and can't work out how to do this, but apparently a guide is going to be published at some point giving details. So, if you're looking for a spooky, atmospheric shoot-em-up and you have access to Windows or OS4, I highly recommend BOH. It also apparently works under Linux using Wine, but I don't have a Linux installation to test this out.

UPDATE:
I have to say the production quality of this game is fantastic. The box comes wrapped in cellophane, and the case inlay is professionally printed. The CD is properly pressed and printed (not a CD-R with a paper label), and the full-colour paper manual is really nice. This really adds a lot to the quality of this product as a whole, and I can understand why Saimo wanted to produce the game in this way.

--
moto
Code: [Select]
10  IT\'S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN
20  FOR C = 1 TO 2
30     DA-NA-NAAAA-NAAAA DA-NA-NA-NA-NAAAA
40     DA-NA-NAAAA-NAAAA DA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NAAAAA
50  NEXT C
60  NA-NA-NAAAA
70  NA-NA NA-NA-NA-NA-NAAAA NAAA-NAAAAAAAAAAA
80  GOTO 10
 

Offline saimo

Re: BOH: A short review
« Reply #1 on: April 23, 2009, 10:33:28 AM »
Thank you for the well-thought review! :-)

If you do not mind, I would like to clarify a few things.

Quote
I don't think there is any difference between the Windows and OS4 versions.

Yes, they are identical.

Quote
This leads to one of the few annoyances I have with BOH: the automap, which charts the level as you walk through, is far too small to be very useful. Perhaps it's just me, but I found I had to squint really hard to make out where I needed to go to find my way out of where I am.

It is true that sometimes the map requires some squinting, especially if one is not playing in full screen and/or with a good zoom level. That is because each pixel of the map represents a square of the actual playfield - in other words, the map scale is 1:16. Had it been 1:8 (or more), not only the rendering would have been more demanding for the CPU, but then the map would have covered too a big area of the screen, getting in the way of the player; more precisely, these are the width and height of the maps drawn by the automappers:
 * small automapper: 1/4 of the screen
 * big automapper: 1/3 of the screen
doubling those figures would not be recommendable.

Quote
This is quite annoying, especially seeing how I have on a couple of occasions "brushed past" one of these doors causing it to close before I have gone through, meaning that the level is impossible to complete.

The automatic-closing doors work this way:
 * they are open by default;
 * when you pass their threshold with more than half of your body, the closing mechanism activates (but nothing happens yet);
 * as soon as you leave their area and no other enemy is in between, they close.

Quote
As you walk around, you will find crates littered around levels. Some of these contain a shield recharge, but you have to search for them. This basically involves walking in to the crate to "search" it. You keep walking until the search is complete, at which point you are either given a recharge, or told that there is nothing there. This creates some nice tense situations where you have to decide between staying still long enough to search for a shield, or getting out of there before some enemies arrive. This is especially fun when you have the sensor, as you can hear the enemies coming and have to decide when to do a runner!

Nice description :)
I would like to add that crates, barrels, etc. can be destroyed by shooting at them: their explosions hurt close enemies - and yourself, if you are too close -, so they can be used as weapons as well.
Ah, and also, the update will make recharges a bit more frequent ;-)

Quote
The sound effects are echoey, and the echo seems to change depending on the size of the room you are in.

Well spotted!
Indeed, the ambient sound volume depends on the size of the room the character is in. Moreover, the volume of any other sound effect depends on how far the source is from the character.

Quote
Also, the levels are listed in alphabetical order and labelled with a difficulty rating from "Very Easy" to "Very Hard". It would be nice if there was an option to sort by difficulty.

This was something I was already considering, indeed, and the fact you stressed it makes me think it was not a bad idea: here's one thing that will make it to the upcoming update ;-)

Quote
By the way, the levels can apparently be edited by creating or modifying text files. I have had a look at the mission files and can't work out how to do this,

Levels are encrypted because that's where records are stored.

Quote
but apparently a guide is going to be published at some point giving details.

If BOH generates enough interest - and it hasn't until now :-( - I plan to release the full developer's documentation that will illustrate how to create levels, themes and also additional translations ;-)


saimo
RETREAM - retro dreams for Amiga, Commodore 64 and PC
 

Offline motorollinTopic starter

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Re: BOH: A short review
« Reply #2 on: April 23, 2009, 11:25:09 AM »
Thanks for the clarifications. Regarding the map, yes I see your point that it would not be desirable to cover the game field with the map. Perhaps a future version could include the option to switch to a full-screen map? Also, regarding the automatic closing doors - I suppose it's just one more thing to be aware of when you're creeping around :-)

--
moto
Code: [Select]
10  IT\'S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN
20  FOR C = 1 TO 2
30     DA-NA-NAAAA-NAAAA DA-NA-NA-NA-NAAAA
40     DA-NA-NAAAA-NAAAA DA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NAAAAA
50  NEXT C
60  NA-NA-NAAAA
70  NA-NA NA-NA-NA-NA-NAAAA NAAA-NAAAAAAAAAAA
80  GOTO 10
 

Offline saimo

Re: BOH: A short review
« Reply #3 on: April 23, 2009, 11:29:14 AM »
Quote

motorollin wrote:
Thanks for the clarifications.

You're welcome!

Quote
Regarding the map, yes I see your point that it would not be desirable to cover the game field with the map. Perhaps a future version could include the option to switch to a full-screen map?

I had considered this as well, but I do not it would be fair to freeze the game to comfortably look at the map - or are you suggesting that it should expand at the player's request while the game goes on as normal? In that case, I'm a bit worried as regards performance...

Quote
Also, regarding the automatic closing doors - I suppose it's just one more thing to be aware of when you're creeping around :-)


Thanks for understanding :-)
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Offline motorollinTopic starter

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Re: BOH: A short review
« Reply #4 on: April 23, 2009, 11:42:14 AM »
Quote
saimo wrote:
Quote
motorollin wrote:
Quote
Regarding the map, yes I see your point that it would not be desirable to cover the game field with the map. Perhaps a future version could include the option to switch to a full-screen map?

I had considered this as well, but I do not it would be fair to freeze the game to comfortably look at the map - or are you suggesting that it should expand at the player's request while the game goes on as normal?

Yes, that's what I meant. The game would carry on while the player is looking at a full-screen map.

Quote
saimo wrote:
In that game, I'm a bit worried as regards performance...

Well, presumably the map would be displayed instead of the game screen. So the rendering of the actual game graphics could be disabled while the map is on the screen.

As I said to you in email, these are just small niggles and don't spoil the game at all. People should not be discouraged from buying it because of the map ;-)
Code: [Select]
10  IT\'S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN
20  FOR C = 1 TO 2
30     DA-NA-NAAAA-NAAAA DA-NA-NA-NA-NAAAA
40     DA-NA-NAAAA-NAAAA DA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NAAAAA
50  NEXT C
60  NA-NA-NAAAA
70  NA-NA NA-NA-NA-NA-NAAAA NAAA-NAAAAAAAAAAA
80  GOTO 10
 

Offline saimo

Re: BOH: A short review
« Reply #5 on: April 23, 2009, 11:49:40 AM »
Quote

motorollin wrote:
Well, presumably the map would be displayed instead of the game screen. So the rendering of the actual game graphics could be disabled while the map is on the screen.

I don't like the idea of the game view disappearing while the game goes on. I'd rather implement toggable 1x/2x zooming... I hope I will find some time to work on it today or tomorrow.

Quote
As I said to you in email, these are just small niggles and don't spoil the game at all. People should not be discouraged from buying it because of the map ;-)

:-)

saimo
RETREAM - retro dreams for Amiga, Commodore 64 and PC
 

Offline motorollinTopic starter

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Re: BOH: A short review
« Reply #6 on: April 23, 2009, 11:51:32 AM »
Please see my update to the review above regarding the game's packaging :-)

--
moto
Code: [Select]
10  IT\'S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN
20  FOR C = 1 TO 2
30     DA-NA-NAAAA-NAAAA DA-NA-NA-NA-NAAAA
40     DA-NA-NAAAA-NAAAA DA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NAAAAA
50  NEXT C
60  NA-NA-NAAAA
70  NA-NA NA-NA-NA-NA-NAAAA NAAA-NAAAAAAAAAAA
80  GOTO 10
 

Offline Tenacious

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Re: BOH: A short review
« Reply #7 on: April 23, 2009, 03:11:05 PM »
@ saimo

That's a striking avatar!  Wish I had thought of it.
 

Offline Ruud

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Re: BOH: A short review
« Reply #8 on: April 23, 2009, 03:47:08 PM »
Quote

If BOH generates enough interest - and it hasn't until now :-( - I plan to release the full developer's documentation that will illustrate how to create levels, themes and also additional translations ;-)
saimo


I'm sorry to hear BOH hasn't generated the amount of interest you hoped.  It really is such a nicely presented package. You've obviously gone to a huge effort on both the game and on the presentation.  
Maybe a playable demo included with an issue of Amiga Future would help?
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Offline Ruud

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Re: BOH: A short review
« Reply #9 on: April 23, 2009, 03:49:06 PM »
@motorollin

Nice review, pretty well sums up everything I would say about the game.
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Offline saimo

Re: BOH: A short review
« Reply #10 on: April 23, 2009, 04:00:48 PM »
Quote

Ruud wrote:
I'm sorry to hear BOH hasn't generated the amount of interest you hoped.  It really is such a nicely presented package. You've obviously gone to a huge effort on both the game and on the presentation.

Thanks for the empathy and the nice remarks :-)

Quote
Maybe a playable demo included with an issue of Amiga Future would help?

At the moment, a demo is not possible for the reasons explained in the FAQ of the website. However, not all hope is lost, even if things did not start exactly how I was hoping. The key words now are "patience" and "hard work" ;-)

saimo
RETREAM - retro dreams for Amiga, Commodore 64 and PC
 

Offline Ruud

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Re: BOH: A short review
« Reply #11 on: April 23, 2009, 04:28:05 PM »
Quote

saimo wrote:
At the moment, a demo is not possible for the reasons explained in the FAQ of the website.


Oh yes I see.  I must admit I only skimmed through the site before ordering.
Ok so a playable demo with Amiga Future is a no go but will they be reviewing it?
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Offline saimo

Re: BOH: A short review
« Reply #12 on: April 23, 2009, 04:30:45 PM »
Quote

Ruud wrote:
Ok so a playable demo with Amiga Future is a no go but will they be reviewing it?

It's up to them ;-)

saimo
RETREAM - retro dreams for Amiga, Commodore 64 and PC
 

Offline saimo

Re: BOH: A short review
« Reply #13 on: April 23, 2009, 06:39:23 PM »
@motorollin

Quote

saimo wrote:
I don't like the idea of the game view disappearing while the game goes on. I'd rather implement toggable 1x/2x zooming... I hope I will find some time to work on it today or tomorrow.


The promise has been kept ;-)
Now the player can press [z] (or any other button of his choice) anytime to double/restore the size of the map.
The only problem is, as I had anticipated, that when maps are big, they do get in the way of the player, as shown by this picture here: the red line marks the area covered by the big automapper (the small one would cover exactly 1/4 of the screen, from the character center to the lower-right corner) - so, it is not recommendable to play with 2x map always on.

As regards the sorting of the missions, there was a reason why I had not implemented that already (but I had forgotten it :-P): the reason is that every time the GUI starts not only the missions directory must be scanned, but also each and every mission should be loaded and decrypted to read the difficulty level. Right now it is not a big issue, but what if BOH has success so that hundreds on missions become available? I would not want the startup to be slown down (even if it was a matter of few seconds). Since, as you have already noticed, completed missions are automatically moved to another lister, and since finding a mission of the desired difficulty is not such a big issue, I guess that we can all live with just alphabetical sorting...

saimo
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Offline motorollinTopic starter

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Re: BOH: A short review
« Reply #14 on: April 23, 2009, 07:46:15 PM »
Quote
saimo wrote:
The promise has been kept ;-)
Now the player can press [z] (or any other button of his choice) anytime to double/restore the size of the map.

Excellent! Thank you! :-D

Quote
saimo wrote:
The only problem is, as I had anticipated, that when maps are big, they do get in the way of the player, as shown by this picture here: the red line marks the area covered by the big automapper (the small one would cover exactly 1/4 of the screen, from the character center to the lower-right corner) - so, it is not recommendable to play with 2x map always on.

Yes I see. But not a big problem since you can just toggle it back to normal size :-) Any idea when an update version will be available so we can try out the new map?

Quote
saimo wrote:
As regards the sorting of the missions, there was a reason why I had not implemented that already: the reason is that every time the GUI starts not only the missions directory must be scanned, but also each and every mission should be loaded and uncrypted to read the difficulty level. Right now it is not a big issue, but what if BOH has success so that hundreds on missions become available? I would not want the startup to be slown down (even if it was a matter of few seconds). Since, as you have already noticed, completed missions are automatically moved to another lister, and since finding a mission of the desired difficulty is not such a big issue, I guess that we can all live with just alphabetical sorting...

Yes, it's a minor niggle ;-)

BTW, does BOH use OpenGL? If so, this would explain why it doesn't work under Wine on a Mac. Apparently OpenGL is broken in the Mac builds of Wine.

--
moto
Code: [Select]
10  IT\'S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN
20  FOR C = 1 TO 2
30     DA-NA-NAAAA-NAAAA DA-NA-NA-NA-NAAAA
40     DA-NA-NAAAA-NAAAA DA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NAAAAA
50  NEXT C
60  NA-NA-NAAAA
70  NA-NA NA-NA-NA-NA-NAAAA NAAA-NAAAAAAAAAAA
80  GOTO 10