This game is awesome

Hollthulhu · 03-14-2011, 02:00 AM

I just wanted to post this here, because Ghost Master needs a lot more love and the word needs to be spread about how fantastic this game really is.

Some Vista/Win7 users have reported issues playing this game.. and I am unsure why. It's worked fine on each OS I've put it on from XP and up.. so I believe these are user errors instead of game errors.

This is an OLD GAME. That means, that it doesn't come with a lot of bells and whistles more current games do, like more resolutions and extra options for making your game look super nice on your wide screen monitor. There is a sticky here and other ways to fix your resolution issues, please check them out!

The game has been abandoned and has no "official" support. That's because of this game's age and other factors. Regardless, tons of people can offer help, and chances are any problems you are having have already been addressed on this website or another.

This game has poor graphics and not the smartest AI in the world. It also has a few good bugs. I see some graphical problems now and then, mostly tearing, but that probably is due to my odd resolution, or it could just be something in the game itself. It's highly infrequent that it happens and is really nothing to worry about.

This game would be best compared to the AI of The Sims in the original Sims game, I believe. The NPCs walk around doing random things that sometimes make no sense, and when you introduce a ghost into their element, anything the AI was doing gets interrupted. This results in NPCs walking back and forth for no reason, executing the same actions over and over, and sometimes getting stuck in special conditions (usually narrow corridors and stairways). As you become a well-trained Ghost Master, you will learn these spots in the game well, and learn how to avoid them.

One of the most common levels that NPCs can get stuck on is the Calamityville Horror level (the same level is used more than once with different names). Most players want to stock-pile ghosts in the main corridor on the first floor, and even most game guides suggest this as ideal for gaining Plasm - but I highly suggest you NOT do this, unless you want to risk having to restart your level. Easy work around is to still put your thoroughfare ghost in the main corridor, paired with a lesser ghost (like the spiders), and then place Boo or another type of ghost with luring abilities in one of the rooms on either side of said hallway. This keeps the NPCs moving between rooms, utilizing your ghosts, and lowers their chances of getting stuck.

Even with all of its quirks and problems, this game's entertainment level far exceeds any minor frustrations that it might also come with. It's very easy for anyone to pick up and learn how to play this game, and all the puzzles one can give their self finding new ways to complete levels, free spirits, and beat their time records results in many hours of game play to be had.

This post is not a gripe, I just want something positive for people to see when they come here so they are not totally put off by the few posts about bugs in the game. They are really not that bad!

Also, for all my other Ghost Masters out there, I'd like to point out I found a very nice community site for GM, and also it might be helpful for anyone having issues as it seems their forums have been, and still are decently active.

http://www.ghostmaster.net/

Winterkid · 03-15-2011, 03:53 AM

Amen brother! Testify!

acridrose · 03-16-2011, 06:52 AM

Amen- this game has too small a fanbase, we need to grow and let our voices be heard!

Bentusi · 03-25-2011, 05:38 PM

I have bought Ghostmaster three times now, after losing two while moving. I have always wondered why this game fizzled a little, since it`s a great title. I once emailed the producer of the game(blush....) wondering if they were going to expand it or make a sequel and he told me they were shut down over money issues and the programming house disbanded, so I guess not

As far as I can see the only real weakness it has is slightly too few levels, as it would have been even better with a few more locations and maybe some open stages with tons of people to scare and not quite as many puzzles as towards the end. Other than that, buy buy! Maybe someone else can pick it up and make a sequel if it gets popular enough

OdaNash08062011 · 06-09-2011, 05:59 AM

I too enjoy this game very much and would very much love to see a sequel to it although it is not very much hope for that.

so far I have fun not that ilks me about this game I enjoy the humor and my ghost friends very much

I do tried right now to spread the word around the web to let others know how good the games is to see if the fan-base can become even bigger

Ball-z · 10-27-2011, 04:17 PM

If you don't own this game and pass it up for 1.25, then you are a certified fool. Probably second in play time for me (right behind evil genious)why is it these old school games provide so much more fun than the state of the art new games?

extremejon · 10-27-2011, 05:54 PM

I'd say a big part of why this game doesn't have a fanbase is because the Steam version doesn't work.

10-28-2011, 01:58 PM

I still have the original discs from when i bought this game brand new on it's release date. I am going to buy it here again in hopes that the developers get a cut of the profits. Seeing as they are disbanded, I doubt it, but all in all this was/is an amazing game!

Ricardo_73 · 10-28-2011, 07:20 PM

Indeed. It is a great game, original, with excellent music and a good sense of humor, but have two problems: first, very bad optimized, even with a good PC you will experiment drops on framerate. Secondly, many players (me included) have problems with the Steam version and ATI cards, resulting in a crash on boot up: http://forums.steampowered.com/forum....php?t=1283368

Halo572 · 10-29-2011, 05:30 AM

Steam version does work, I have it from Christmas and it worked complete play through.

Agree, for 75p this is a no brainer, you can't get a bottle of Coke for that.

Love all of the ghost characters, trying to work out how to release some of them and how to complete the levels.

Everyone should have a copy of this and at the sale price there is no reason not to.

Harle · 10-31-2011, 06:04 PM

Yes! This game is rad, I wish I'd known about it back when it came out. It's a terrible shame it didn't do well, because it really is quite brilliant. Even playing it for the first time just a day ago, it's tremendously entertaining, and back in 2003 it really would have been a sight to behold.

There's a surprising level of depth despite the first-glance simplicity of it. A huge number of powers that can combine in interest combinations to solve puzzles(or just scare people), and the way the AI behaves, although primitive, occasionally surprises.

It's really too bad the Steam version seems a bit borked for some people (myself included). I needed to download the UK All Ghosts patch to get it to even start up. They aren't user errors, there's compatibility problems with some hardware/OS configurations, which isn't unexpected considering the game came out in 2003 and hasn't had official support in a long time.

Anyway, they got a few purchases out of me and friends. I wish the developers luck in whatever they're pursuing now. I doubt we'll ever see Ghost Master 2, which is too bad, I'd love to see a modern take on it

RedBullRacer · 10-31-2011, 06:37 PM

I remember seeing this game years ago when it came out and it looked cool, but I was a console gamer so never played it. So glad this game is on Steam, and 75p is best bargain ever in my eyes!

ElfShotTheFood · 11-01-2011, 12:54 AM

This game is sweeter than any Halloween candy you may have picked up yesterday.

11-17-2011, 08:15 AM

It's such a timeless game. I've played it for all of these years and I always find something new! Not to mention hearing those little screams and seeing the mortals hide in fear is the best satisfaction >

03-14-2011, 02:00 AM	#1
Hollthulhu Join Date: Feb 2010 Reputation: 0 Posts: 57	This game is awesome I just wanted to post this here, because Ghost Master needs a lot more love and the word needs to be spread about how fantastic this game really is. Some Vista/Win7 users have reported issues playing this game.. and I am unsure why. It's worked fine on each OS I've put it on from XP and up.. so I believe these are user errors instead of game errors. This is an OLD GAME. That means, that it doesn't come with a lot of bells and whistles more current games do, like more resolutions and extra options for making your game look super nice on your wide screen monitor. There is a sticky here and other ways to fix your resolution issues, please check them out! The game has been abandoned and has no "official" support. That's because of this game's age and other factors. Regardless, tons of people can offer help, and chances are any problems you are having have already been addressed on this website or another. This game has poor graphics and not the smartest AI in the world. It also has a few good bugs. I see some graphical problems now and then, mostly tearing, but that probably is due to my odd resolution, or it could just be something in the game itself. It's highly infrequent that it happens and is really nothing to worry about. This game would be best compared to the AI of The Sims in the original Sims game, I believe. The NPCs walk around doing random things that sometimes make no sense, and when you introduce a ghost into their element, anything the AI was doing gets interrupted. This results in NPCs walking back and forth for no reason, executing the same actions over and over, and sometimes getting stuck in special conditions (usually narrow corridors and stairways). As you become a well-trained Ghost Master, you will learn these spots in the game well, and learn how to avoid them. One of the most common levels that NPCs can get stuck on is the Calamityville Horror level (the same level is used more than once with different names). Most players want to stock-pile ghosts in the main corridor on the first floor, and even most game guides suggest this as ideal for gaining Plasm - but I highly suggest you NOT do this, unless you want to risk having to restart your level. Easy work around is to still put your thoroughfare ghost in the main corridor, paired with a lesser ghost (like the spiders), and then place Boo or another type of ghost with luring abilities in one of the rooms on either side of said hallway. This keeps the NPCs moving between rooms, utilizing your ghosts, and lowers their chances of getting stuck. Even with all of its quirks and problems, this game's entertainment level far exceeds any minor frustrations that it might also come with. It's very easy for anyone to pick up and learn how to play this game, and all the puzzles one can give their self finding new ways to complete levels, free spirits, and beat their time records results in many hours of game play to be had. This post is not a gripe, I just want something positive for people to see when they come here so they are not totally put off by the few posts about bugs in the game. They are really not that bad! Also, for all my other Ghost Masters out there, I'd like to point out I found a very nice community site for GM, and also it might be helpful for anyone having issues as it seems their forums have been, and still are decently active. http://www.ghostmaster.net/

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03-15-2011, 03:53 AM	#2
Winterkid Join Date: Feb 2008 Reputation: 681 Posts: 4,816	Amen brother! Testify!

03-16-2011, 06:52 AM	#3
acridrose Join Date: Aug 2008 Reputation: 43 Posts: 38	Amen- this game has too small a fanbase, we need to grow and let our voices be heard!

03-25-2011, 05:38 PM	#4
Bentusi Join Date: Mar 2011 Reputation: 11 Posts: 69	I have bought Ghostmaster three times now, after losing two while moving. I have always wondered why this game fizzled a little, since it`s a great title. I once emailed the producer of the game(blush....) wondering if they were going to expand it or make a sequel and he told me they were shut down over money issues and the programming house disbanded, so I guess not As far as I can see the only real weakness it has is slightly too few levels, as it would have been even better with a few more locations and maybe some open stages with tons of people to scare and not quite as many puzzles as towards the end. Other than that, buy buy! Maybe someone else can pick it up and make a sequel if it gets popular enough

06-09-2011, 05:59 AM	#5
OdaNash08062011 Join Date: Jun 2011 Reputation: 0 Posts: 19	I too enjoy this game very much and would very much love to see a sequel to it although it is not very much hope for that. so far I have fun not that ilks me about this game I enjoy the humor and my ghost friends very much I do tried right now to spread the word around the web to let others know how good the games is to see if the fan-base can become even bigger

10-27-2011, 04:17 PM	#6
Ball-z Join Date: Jun 2009 Reputation: 0 Posts: 35	If you don't own this game and pass it up for 1.25, then you are a certified fool. Probably second in play time for me (right behind evil genious)why is it these old school games provide so much more fun than the state of the art new games?

10-27-2011, 05:54 PM	#7
extremejon Join Date: Oct 2006 Reputation: 0 Posts: 13	I'd say a big part of why this game doesn't have a fanbase is because the Steam version doesn't work.

10-28-2011, 01:58 PM	#8
Digitaldreamer7 Guest Posts: n/a	I still have the original discs from when i bought this game brand new on it's release date. I am going to buy it here again in hopes that the developers get a cut of the profits. Seeing as they are disbanded, I doubt it, but all in all this was/is an amazing game!

10-28-2011, 07:20 PM	#9
Ricardo_73 Join Date: Aug 2008 Reputation: 17 Posts: 116	Indeed. It is a great game, original, with excellent music and a good sense of humor, but have two problems: first, very bad optimized, even with a good PC you will experiment drops on framerate. Secondly, many players (me included) have problems with the Steam version and ATI cards, resulting in a crash on boot up: http://forums.steampowered.com/forum....php?t=1283368

10-29-2011, 05:30 AM	#10
Halo572 Join Date: Aug 2009 Reputation: 9 Posts: 111	Steam version does work, I have it from Christmas and it worked complete play through. Agree, for 75p this is a no brainer, you can't get a bottle of Coke for that. Love all of the ghost characters, trying to work out how to release some of them and how to complete the levels. Everyone should have a copy of this and at the sale price there is no reason not to.

10-31-2011, 06:04 PM	#11
Harle Join Date: Apr 2008 Reputation: 37 Posts: 198	Yes! This game is rad, I wish I'd known about it back when it came out. It's a terrible shame it didn't do well, because it really is quite brilliant. Even playing it for the first time just a day ago, it's tremendously entertaining, and back in 2003 it really would have been a sight to behold. There's a surprising level of depth despite the first-glance simplicity of it. A huge number of powers that can combine in interest combinations to solve puzzles(or just scare people), and the way the AI behaves, although primitive, occasionally surprises. It's really too bad the Steam version seems a bit borked for some people (myself included). I needed to download the UK All Ghosts patch to get it to even start up. They aren't user errors, there's compatibility problems with some hardware/OS configurations, which isn't unexpected considering the game came out in 2003 and hasn't had official support in a long time. Anyway, they got a few purchases out of me and friends. I wish the developers luck in whatever they're pursuing now. I doubt we'll ever see Ghost Master 2, which is too bad, I'd love to see a modern take on it

10-31-2011, 06:37 PM	#12
RedBullRacer Join Date: Jan 2010 Reputation: 0 Posts: 115	I remember seeing this game years ago when it came out and it looked cool, but I was a console gamer so never played it. So glad this game is on Steam, and 75p is best bargain ever in my eyes!

11-01-2011, 12:54 AM	#13
ElfShotTheFood Join Date: Nov 2009 Reputation: 314 Posts: 1,925	This game is sweeter than any Halloween candy you may have picked up yesterday.

11-17-2011, 08:15 AM	#14
unkownkillalol Guest Posts: n/a	It's such a timeless game. I've played it for all of these years and I always find something new! Not to mention hearing those little screams and seeing the mortals hide in fear is the best satisfaction >