Well, it's been a while.

Some of you may remember - quite a while ago I started developing a game based on MacGyver. It's been tough, with the constant updates and life struggles but I think the project is going quite well.

It's in Alpha stages of development which basically means there is still a fair why to go yet. Things to add and things to refine, it can be daunting.

Here is the link to the game, with a free demo and more information in the development logs: (May want to see devlog #5 for the crafting recipes, if you get stuck.)

https://tobop.itch.io/covert-game-ov

Among the many things I need to do, I need to re-do the trailer. It looks like it was recorded on a toaster, and it's not far from the truth.

Let me know what you think! Feedback is much appreciated.
I do plan / hope I can release a version for Linux, Mac and consoles such as Xbox but at the moment it's PC only.

Cool.

I'm assuming your going through the required copyright processes to get permission to use CBS and Zlotoffs properties?

I'm on a Mac so

But agree with above, you can't legally sell things that use copyrighted material without permission...

Yes, I've done all I can. I had a chat with Lee a while ago, etc. But if they want it taken down for whatever reason, I will do.

Yes, I've done all I can. I had a chat with Lee a while ago, etc. But if they want it taken down for whatever reason, I will do.

Looks like you put a lot of work in for sure! Too bad I can't play it on a Mac!

ditto

Too bad you can't play Mac on a Mac

Are there any emulators for Mac > PC? Even if there were I'd have to change the right-click function to a different key.
I'll get onto a Mac version when I can.

Macs right click too!

I guess I haven't seen a Mac for alooong time, lol. 1997 to be exact? I do vaguely recall the right click being implemented. Thanks for jotting my memory.

Is your new profile pic from the game?

Yep. It's one of the screenshots on the itch page (link at top) - but reversed.

Mac demo version available now! I haven't tested it yet on a Mac, please let me know how it goes.

https://tobop.itch.io/macyver-game (currently down for maintenance)

Short version: if you don't want to do a Mac version, don't do a Mac version.

The long version involves an hour of my sitting around getting fed up with this demo crashing my computer, crashing in high-graphics mode, crashing in low-graphics mode, failing to boot up the menu without freezing, lots of blocky pixels interspersed with a completely broken camera, crashing my force quit, and being literally unplayable generally. And for the love of god, don't do a custom cursor that's so big you can't figure out which bit clicks on things.

Not going to even look at this again unless I hear from somebody else that you've actually put in the hard work of making a demo that will at least function.

Hey - so... the Mac version doesn't work - after the game loads you hear "definitely run into some party animals" and you get a prompt to find the phone (and pick up the pocket knife E) but the loading screen stays. you can access button mapping and the main menu but you don't get any game screens. You can hear the audio of the game happening but nothing on the screen.

Thank you for the information, I need this kind of data to at least try and fix the issues.

I want to export this game on every platform possible. And right now all I have is a pretty decent laptop. I have no team of testers, unless you guys want to give it more chances, voluntarily. Because the truth is there may be like, a million more issues. Everyone's device is different, so I should aim to make it accessible to as many as possible, low end to high end. The game is relatively low in poly count, and shouldn't be freezing up.

And I need to identify which main problem it is such as; is it a Unity engine glitch? Is it a lighting render glitch? Is it my laptop not exporting properly? Do I need to update Java, Flash, Windows or my hardware drivers? For me the PC version works as it should. Please don't kill me, as I am a hobbyist and it's Alpha version. I don't see myself as being AAA anytime soon.

I've updated the Mac demo version with these changes:

- Removed the post-processing (could've be the main cause of the freezing, and also takes away the motion blur).
- Changed the sun light setting.
- Removed the pixel dust effect - needs to be circular or delete.
- Changed cursor size - the bit is at the top right, for me it was small and looked fine but now it's locked to 32x32 in size.
- Changed the mouse sensitivity from 4 to 2.5. The option to change that should be in the options menu, and will be added later on, as with the huge range of other options that are to be implemented.
- Removed some scenery from the map, mainly ferns (could have also contributed to the lag/freezing).
- Changed the load order of scenes, to skip the main menu completely. When in game, exiting to menu is untested - not sure if the loading screen will behave as it should.


https://tobop.itch.io/macyver-game (currently down for maintenance)


With the loading screens, I agree that they act funny. It seems to be loading in large chunks, so it appears to be frozen. I wish I knew more about how that function works. Not sure why it would still be visible on a new 'scene'.

Crashing is the worst thing, and I apologize if that has to do with the game. It should in no way be doing that. Does the game work but then after a while, it starts to freeze up, or was it instant?
I've also seen a very strange glitch in another game, about the graphics options. When you 1st run the game, do you have the 'splash screen'? For some reason only 1920 x 1080 and 'Fantastic' graphics quality worked properly. I'm not sure if this is the case though with the Mac demo.

It has been a lot of hard work getting this far, but maybe I overlooked somethings along the way, and honestly thought there would be no issues with Unity3D to Mac from a PC.

The above changes may or may not have fixed those issues, but not the button mapping screen being blank. Press escape to exit that menu, and back to the game. To change a key, go into that menu and use the arrow keys to select things. I realize there needs to quite a lot of updates, but it's still very early days. I should probably hire some testers in a Discord chat / group. PM me if you want to discuss further on Discord.

And there's also some reading to do with the issues of issues of PC to Mac in Unity3D.

Either way, thanks for the news! The information is invaluable to me.

The update fixed the Mac issue, it appears to work now, but it is quite hard to play! Perhaps there should be some screen prompts to figure out how to throw the grenade, or a punch, (like the beginning of PS4 games lol) or at least not have the guy shoot Mac down in the first room so quickly so you can get the hang of walking around. I am on a laptop, so it's a bit tricky getting used to moving the camera with one finger on the trackpad while using the direction arrows to walk - it would be nice if the camera followed his direction, it also allows you do get stuck in objects so you can't see.

Anyway, hope that helps.

Excellent that it works!

Yes I am thinking about implementing a Phoenix Foundation Training Course level.

I suggest pressing C and going into the crouch position, as the enemies detection range is significantly reduced. While crouched you can roll by pressing R, in conjunction with the AWSD keys for the direction. Rolling is actually a bit faster then running lol, and capturing guards can become a lot easier.
The game does take a while to get used to, I agree. Mouse pads? Yeh that's going to be tough I reckon. I avoid those & use a USB mouse.

*edit* - in the ESC menu, you'll see 'Enemy Vision Field', the 1st time you click it, it will do nothing. Click on it twice to enable the cheat. Sorry about that. Another small technical issue.


There's 2 functions I completely forgot & now added to the game page, along with some other hints.

Q = Hold down to surrender. MacGyver is will tied up and put in a different location.
U = Hold down to unbind, and escape.

This is an optional thing at the moment. The main issue with surrendering is that it can be done at anytime, even if there's no enemy contact.

Your information is very helpful again, thank you.

Sorry I meant trackpad, not mouse pad lol ...

The surrender trick got me a little farther - still not sure how to go up against the guns. Definitely a huge project you took on!

Edit: In thinking about it - for a MacGyver game it might be nicer if you lose by the clock running out, ie you didn't figure something out in time. It's a little harsh to have Mac get shot dead over and over - I'm not saying that could never happen, but in the first minute of the game is rough.

Is it still down for maintenance? I was going to try it...

Just wanted to pop in and say that your game looks awesome! I downloaded the demo a couple days ago before your site went down, and I can't wait to try it. I'll definitely be one of the first in line when it comes to Steam!

Norton keeps flagging it & won't let me install. I'm sure that your files are safe, it's just that the antivirus is a little more hard-nosed. I figured that might be something you should know in case it affects, y'know, anything. (I know nothing about software development, as you can probably tell. )

Yes, unfortunately still down at the moment. There were a few things I had to change (until a later date).

Anti virus has become pretty intrusive. You think it's frustrating trying to install? Imagine, waiting for a good hour for the game to export & then you want to test it, but then the AR freaks out and quarantines or removes the .exe. I've tried a few things to stop it, but doesn't work. I'll keep trying though, as it is frustrating as heck. My solution has been to 1st zip the game up, before trying it and unzip the removed file if it disappears.

*edit* Hmm, doesn't seem to be any solution for Norton, etc. Info 1, info 2. Unless I remove icons, and or contact the AR companies myself and ask them to declare them safe.

As someone who works in IT support. I would suggest you remove the worlds biggest virus known as Norton and let the built in windows antivirus do it's job.

The windows anti-virus is perfectly adequate. In fact it's probably more up to date than some of the specialist products such as Norton and can in fact work better because it's part of the operating system so has no restrictions on it.

Thank you for the info!! I seriously never knew that. Well, in that case, I'm turning that sucker off and installing my game.

I finally found this thread again.

Ok guys the bad news is that - it's not what it was before. I may have bitten off more than I could chew. I planned all sorts of features, but for now it's pretty basic.

https://tobop.itch.io/covert-game-ov


Some other changes and improvements, the mouse sensitivity isn't so high and there's a training / information stage at the start. Also - in Unity there was this option "Disable Hardware Statistics", so antivirus programs shouldn't be freaking out anymore. If it does please let me know.

As new features get implemented and improved, I'll resubmit.

Current versions available:
Mac & PC demo (free), and early access versions (paid).

So the game isn't actually MacGyver any more?

For the moment - nope.

I don't want to go too much into it, but I do feel bad enough.

It still looks like a really cool game, though.