I also downloaded the exe instead of swf file, and it worked for me. It seems that the swf is corrupt in some way.

Tlaero

I downloaded both versions the winproj 'exe' runs fine !
The swf version runs in a endless start-up loop, as Tlaero mentioned the swf version is corrupt !

Seeing its a big file for those that are downloading choose
the winproj 'exe' version.

HTM file runs with me in Firefox. The SWF file does not run in GomPlayer (keeps on searching).

I first took the wrong direction with the second date as there is no hand appearing when you want to go to the lake. But clicking the lake will get you there (although it is confusing for beginners I would say).

Will try again later.

Small error, when you buy the dress the player text and the girl text are mixed up (she says his text and the player says her text).

tlaero wrote : I wonder if flash is unhappy with such a large file. If so, maybe you could split the dates into separate swf files.

The problem here could be memory usage. When I run the game in firefox flashplayer consumes around 300M memory, on top of 100M of firefox itself. While on most modern systems this should be no problem, for someone with an older or very badly installed system a lot of that memory could end up swapped onto the harddisk, which is terribly slow and can wreak havoc on loading times.

Considering it wasn't released as a whole in the first place, I'd say splitting it up would've been much more friendly (both for download size and the memory footprint).

Anyway, as for the 3rd date:
- Very linear (I got confused when I initially didn't find anything on the desk, which was enabled after doing the first task)
- Very little interaction (What happened to rub/kiss/etc. kind of interaction from the first date?)
- Slow (For example, no way to skip animation during the feeding game)
- But on a positive note: The animations are truly spectacular for this genre.

Hello cheese101,

In reference to your point; "I think there is a little bug when she is on the couch the second time, because when i finally finished(took ages to find the right combinations),it completely skipped me asking her out on a second date,it just went from kiss to leaving..."
The dialog about date # 2 happens after the first couch sequence when Brenda says "Holy crap! I have to check if that cat has come back! Maybe you'll think of a date plan for tomorrow while I'm gone. I'm really sorry." and then you do another house search to find the needed inspiration to propose the date when she comes back from cat duty and you blurt it out to her and receive a wish. I think the tenuous continuity is intact.

I sure don't know what is up with pictures not loading. I cannot recreate this problem. Each file is loaded into a bitmap object during the game startup so they should not take any time to display since they have been read off of disk alredy. Maybe others will have a clue about this problem.

Thanks for the feedback,

Cugel

Found the dialog mixup in the Dress Shop scene - and learned a cool word that was unfamiliar to me, "Millinery". The fix will be in the next patch release.

There are a couple of clues about the order of the food, but I made sure that trial and error would work as well.

LRM wrote : @Graen
The top one did nothing on my XP.
The second played without a hitch.

@Cugel
I saw one case where the text and Speaker's boxes are out of phase. Millinery clerk and Player I think; my concentration was else where. If there are other flaws I missed them.
You did a very good job of concealing necessary items. The order of dinner items slowed me down a bit; kudos we do not have to restart. The graphics and story line are quite good. Thank you far sharing her with us.
I read this is your last foray into this game...Pity...Thank You for creating and sharing her with us. The dance is a fine finishing touch.
L

Released new version of Getting to Know Brenda (V3_1)

Notes:
1. Stopped publishing the Flash (.swf) version due to size, lack of stability and inconsistent behavior in different browsers. The Windows Projector file (.exe) is big (87 MB) but it has the correct version of the Flash player embedded in it and runs well if full screen is used.
2. You must have the folder named media in the same folder as the game file and it should contain around 120 .png files.
3. This is the final version of the game. It's been challenging and fun.

Feel free to post comments or report bugs to this forum or email cugel53@gmail.com
=================================================================
Windows Projector Version (ReadeMe.txt, FantasyDatesBrendaV3_1.exe, media)

http://rapidshare.com/files/410299057/F ... j.rar.html

Nice job Cugel,

Your style came through again, and I really liked it. The player's reaction when the seamstress offers to model the clothes is great. And the interaction with Brenda was top notch, as always.

Your animations were even better in this one than the previous. You seriously rock in that regard. So much attention to detail in them. I can tell you spent a long time on them.

The rest is feedback for future games. Please don't take it as overly negative. I think Brenda is a high point in the "Virtual Date" genre. These are just things you could do to make it better.

First, I think it was needlessly linear. It doesn't make sense that you HAVE to do the preparation items in the order they're in. You should enable the hit targets for all of them up front and let the user do them in whatever order s/he wants. (Spoiler) I spent SO long in that bathroom looking for a hit target, only to find out it wasn't enabled until later.

You could also do things to help the player along. For instance, when you first go into the clothing store, rather than having nothing to do, you could talk to the lady and she could say, "Well, do you know what she likes?" To which you could respond, "Hymm, maybe I'd better go back and figure that out." Then, if you go back after figuring that out, she could ask, "What size do you need?" These kinds of hints do make the game easier, but they also make it less frustrating. The really good player can figure out how to do them without the hints, but the less skilled one gets a nudge in the right direction.

And that brings us to the food. If there was a way to figure out the order without randomly guessing, I totally missed it. I think there should have been some way to figure out the order, either by carefully reading what the player and she said, or by having read something earlier in the game, etc. If you had those hints and I missed them, I retract my complaint. (-:

I found one bug:
(Spoiler) In the Pharmacy, if you buy the cough drops and not the condoms, the green arrow is available, but doesn't do anything. I though the game had hung and restarted it. I think the green arrow shouldn't show up until you've bought both.

I hope you make more games, Cugel. Keep up the great work.

Tlaero

tlaero wrote : And that brings us to the food. If there was a way to figure out the order without randomly guessing, I totally missed it. I think there should have been some way to figure out the order, either by carefully reading what the player and she said, or by having read something earlier in the game, etc. If you had those hints and I missed them, I retract my complaint. (-:

There is indeed a hint, it has something to do with Roy G. Biv.

Oh, wow. I totally missed that. Nice.

Maybe a subtle hint or two on failure? It should be pretty clear that the user is trying all the combinations. If he gets it wrong after getting the first 3 right, he doesn't understand the pattern. Maybe something like, "No, that doesn't work. I thought you were going to take me over the rainbow" or somesuch.

Tlaero

Hello !

Could you help me please.
I'm in the date 3...
Ok for clothes and restaurant, but when i go in the pharmacy, i can only click on condoms, and after, nothing happened, and i can go out.
What's the problem ?

Thanks for your help.

great game, thanks cugel!

Hi Cugel...
i have uploaded two versions of 'Brenda'-game
very good adventure.... my congrates..
i will see the next date with Brenda.. as Flash or ....
a nice idea and good job to relalised this storie..

Brenda said she would do something special for my birthday. It's coming up in 3 months. Is she going to keep her word?