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I actually saw your posts for hints yesterday and decided to wait it out. Maybe a bit cruel. But you usually end up getting through the game without my help anyway.

The Crimson April case refers to a string of murders that was being investigated on April, so it doesn't mean that it's exclusively refer to the first murder investigation that begun on January.

And I think I've mentioned this before, but although the Fedora Spade games have ended, I still plan to make games with the tomato engine. The main character might not be Fedora, but it's set in the same universe. You'll get to see 4471 again eventually.

I actually did explain why Tex killed the D.A in the earlier version of Side B, but decided to scrap it. I thought it wasn't all that important in the game (I'm guessing a lot of people would beg to differ.) Mitsuru Adachi pulled this stunt on a bunch of his stuff, and I guess, being a fan of his work... you could say that I was greatly "inspired" by the way he chose to end his mangas :p.




 

Oops, you get NOTE_5 from Baldie at Jefferson Hall during Day 2. I was going through an older GM6 file. I think you probably just missed a clue in the champ's apartment room. There's a phone number you're supposed to call there (ie. the one "listed" in the business card.)

You get NOTE_2 by talking to the man standing outside Groeber Fraud's office.
PHOTO is obtainable via day 2.
How can you not have NOTE_5? You get it at the very beginning of the game at Jefferson Hall.
DLPH_LNG is obtainable via the database room.

Hi, sorry for the late reply. I haven't got much time online ever since the local government authorized the scheduled powerouts. Unfortunately my memory's a bit hazy right now, I have trouble remembering the details on the game. I'll have to check the game file and get back to you. But I do remember this... you don't need to worry about the NWSPAPER item, you'll get it during the final interrogation.

There's no need to look for it. Dolphin will give the paper to you during the final phase of the interrogation.

Try looking into the file cabinet in Fedora's office. There should be a big book there. Try reading it.

There's really nothing you can do about Gianni and Versace. The pair is just a red herring. 

Okay, first things first, you clearly have not gotten/done everything that's required on that list. And of all things, it's actually the first one on the list ("+Have talked to Eddie about the Crimnson April case.") To get to Shadytown, all you need to do is call Eddie. In case you missed it, you can find his phone number somewhere in Fedora's office. Hope this clears everything up.

I just checked the GM file again, the only thing I forgot to put in that list is the piece of paper you found on the hotel room. If you've followed everything mentioned in that list I pasted, and still can't use the warrant on the Chief, then I'm not really sure how I could help you. All the flags/tags needed to trigger the confrontation with the Chief are there (minus the PAPER item that I neglected to mention.) I'm sure you probably missed one detail (or maybe more)  from the list.

Okay, as before, you need to figure out Raquel's full name first (and I think it's from the newspaper of celebnews magazine, I can't remember which.) Once you've done that, just look up Raquel's name in the database room. Information regarding Desire should become available (via the database room) after that.

I'm pretty sure everything you need to finish the game is in the FAQ (it's spoiler-free, btw.)

-Here's what you need to confront the chief:
 +Have talked to Eddie about the Crimnson April case.
 +Obtained APPLCNTS.
 +Obtained PISTOL and have it examined by Theo.
 +Recovered NEWS_1, RACHEL, and COFFEY from Daphne's car.
 +Obtained VICTIM, WITNES_1, and EVD_LIST from Spade's office.
 +Obtained NOTE_2, and W_FATALE from John Doe.
 +Recovered PLASTIC from the crime scene.
 +Obtained Raquel's PHOTO from Hunter's office.

*Who do I need to interrogate in Side B?
-John Doe and Seamus Seaman.

Hope this helps.

Orchard,

Hey wow, I thought this game has a become a fossil by now. Apparently it hasn't. Yet. Anyway, thanks for the comments. It's been a while since I last heard anyone said anything about the game.

"3. Briefing delayed until the game proper. No history lessons before you get to play. That's very good and refreshing."
>Actually, I'm a bit ashamed to say that my latter games deviate from this design. They tend to have long story driven sequences for the intros.

"4. The door opening during the second night scene. Now that I've seen this device, there's just no excuse if a later horror game doesn't rip it off in some way."
>This is probably the first time anyone has ever mentioned this scene. Usually it's either the jump scare scene in the first floor hallway, or the eye peering through the keyhole scene.

"5. The road to the village and the text saying something to the effect of "I don't need to go there right now". Like mirrored walls in establishments, this has the effect of virtually expanding a game's play area and allows for the fact of being trapped inside the house to have an appropriate emotional impact."
>I can't really claim credit to this. I think this device has been used in other adventure games. I do know that it's used a lot in text adventure games.

"8. The phone line cut, I expected this would happen after I went pixel-hunting in the room, but I was too excited the first time I played to check. Sure enough, it's cut."
>It's a cardinal rule to have the phone line cut in the finale of a horror game/movies/fiction. :p

Yikes, I completely forgot about the British system thing. I didn't even notice the error until you mentioned it just now. It's not just rinku who missed it. All of my other proofreaders did.

Orchard,

Going by memory, I'm pretty sure you get NEWS_1 from the daily news section. Try inputting the time stamp from the pin-up photograph.

Orchard,

I use a painting program called neopaint. Sometimes I use MSpaint when I'm on a different computer. The painting programs won't matter much, you just have to stick with the one you're most comfortable with. Some of the guys I know insist on using MSpaint and did wonderful works with it, others like deluxepaint 2, and some prefer Gimp. I use a mouse to draw my background images and sprites. There's nothing unusual about it, really. Most pixel artists use a mouse instead of a tablet for pixel art (as far as I know anyway.) 

And as for Famicom Tantei Club 2, here, this link'll solve your problem:

http://zerosoft.zophar.net/ipswin.php

Orchard,

Hello, sorry it takes so long, but I just noticed this message today. I don't exactly frequently, because, well... you know... it's kinda dead. First, thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed (at least enjoyed parts of the game.) And thanks for the compliments, though... I personally think you gave me too much credit for my pixel work. I relied heavily on photo references for much of the background images.

Anyhow, regarding your queries, let's go over them one by one.

"I guess that was all to keep the player thinking that there's more than there really was because it sure did that to me. I honestly thought that the game felt more like a "thriller" than a horror game at the time."
I've always thought that mystery and thriller to be part of the main ingredients of a horror piece, but yes, I suppose I can see how it's more thriller than horror. I personally don't like horror that leans too heavily towards the supernatural, because it eventually gets rather cheesy at the end.  I never really liked the concept of vanquishing a supernatural entity via prayer, holy water, holy ritual, or some form of reconciliation with the entity. There are... of course, exceptions.

"Of course that was until I found the dead body and laid eyes in the basement.
I struggle to understand why people use disturbing gory images when it comes to horror. I mean... was it really necessary to show all that gore? Was it really necessary to describe little David's death in such a cruel way? What was the point of it all? That's what pretty much ruined the game for me... I'm not the type of person who wants to look at dead bodies for entertainment. It just makes me think... Is the gruesome death of other humans what other people love about horror? I will admit that I love that feeling of "creepiness" it makes you feel adventurous. And that's probably why I liked the the first portion of the game rather than the last. I think it sounds cruel when people go around saying "HEY ORCHARD! THE ENDING WAS AMAZING!" They could be referring to the story but I don't know..."

Oh, I have no idea that the scenes are that disturbing. They seem pretty generic for the most part. Plus, I thought they looked rather silly in 320x200 resolution. It's perfectly understandable that you dislike the ending. It isn't a very cheerful one. I thought about the ending for sometime when I wrote the game, and I just didn't think a happy ending would make any sense.

"And speaking of story... The game is A+. The pacing was great and everything.
Except for the end. If your going to do a story that involves deaths and slaughtering (I will admit that I make a lot of stories that has to do with death minus the slaughtering) You should at least make it meaningful. I mean Nothing really happened in the end besides Melvin killing Gregory. In my opinion that makes Melvin just as evil or even more than Gregory. I mean Killing someone out of hate and revenge is what I would like to call "sinful" *cough*.
"It just seemed a bit lacking... The protagonist dieing and him taking the life of someone else... It would have been a bit more shocking if Melvin actually forgave Gregory in his last breath. That's something meaningful, That would be really hard to do. And Melvin would have actually accomplished something before he died."

Um, I'm not really sure how to respond to this. Sorry, but I just can't stomach of idea Melvin forgiving Gregory at all. To me, the idea seems more ridiculous than having David suddenly being miraculously revived at the end. I'll be honest with you, I'm not a very religious man (if any at all), and I certainly don't believe the idea of pacifism.

"Regarding the ending of Missing, I would have to say it's somewhat a rip from snatcher. I mean walking into the basement to discover dead bodies and the bad guy comes in from behind you and you find out that Gloria is actually dead and that her ghost is somewhere out there just seems a bit like Snatcher. But I guess that It worked out really well in terms of story."

I'm not really sure I understand this comparison. Discovering a horde of dead bodies with the villain closing in is a common fare in horror fiction. We've seen it in Halloween, we've seen it in Friday the 13th, we've seen it in the Alien franchise, and we've seen it in other horror fiction (H.P Lovecraft's 'Rats in the Walls' immideately springs to mind.). And that Gloria thing is an idea that's taken from "The Sixth Sense." I won't lie to you, I've played Snatcher countless times and I'll admit to being a rabid fanboy, but... I just can't see how the story resembles Snatcher at all.

"I hope to see more "thrillerish horror" games from you in the future (if there not gory that is) But don't feel like you would have to do what I said for my sake... There are more people than me who have played the game and have loved it."

I probably won't be able to make a game that's completely free of gore, but tell you what, let me make some recommendations. Try "Scratches" by Nucleosys, it's a great horror game that inspired me to make Missing. It's relatively low on violence (actually, I don't seem to remember any violence at all.) It is not free though. There's also "Famicom Detective Club 2" which is I found to be very engaging. It's a murder mystery with some horror thrown into the mix. You do see dead bodies, but there's nothing gory, if you know what I mean.

Cheers
Orchard,

Hello there, pogo.

First things first, thanks for the compliment. It's always nice to hear that there's someone out there who enjoys playing your games.

Anyway, the three main inspiration for the Fedora Spade games are Snatcher, Phoenix Wright, and the Tex Murphy series. The basic menu-oriented interface, the investigation part, and the phone system are pretty much taken straight out of Snatcher. I borrowed the cross-examination system from Phoenix Wright and adapted it for the Fedora Spade games. It's a pretty rough and basic adaptation, but it works well enough within the limitations of the tomato engine. Then there's also the bombastic characterization that's obviously inspired by PW. But as far as the tone and setting are concerned, the game primarily draws its influence from Tex Murphy games, which is a humorous adventure game in a pulp-noir setting about a down-on-his-luck fedora-wearing detective (see the pattern here?).

And now for the Tomato Engine related questions:

Yes, the engine is made with the Game Maker engine, and it's not a game-making software coded with GM. The engine exists as a GM6 file written by Rinku for programming-illiterate people such as myself. It's just the bare GM6 file with no graphics, sounds, or any art assets whatsoever.

As for the release of the engine...  It's something that I've been talking to rinku about. Rinku has no problems releasing it to the public, but someone's going to have to write the tutorials, example games, and do art assets for the public release. That's going to take a lot of time, and I don't think the both of us have time for that right now. We do plan on releasing the engine to the public, but... it's probably not going to be any time soon.

Also, FYI, Rinku is working on a Tomato Engine game called "New Detail", so perhaps that's something to look forward to

Orchard,