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Finding Solace in Confusion [Puzzler]

Archive: 20 posts

I've finally been able to finish a level. Phew. I've been really busy with school and other life stuff, so I haven't had too much time to play games, let alone create levels.

Anyway... about the level. It's a puzzler, if you so choose to call it that, and as far as I can tell it's difficult (I am not the best judge of my own puzzles' difficulty, obviously, since I made them, but I can still tell to some degree whether they're difficult or not...) And based off of my observations, I've come to conclude that these are moderately challenging to sometimes downright cryptic. So I actually implemented a hint system in-game (omg), though the hints are a tad on the vague side. They become available after spending four or five minutes in an area, but please by all means don't use them. It's so much more satisfying to solve things on your own!

Notes:
-The music is by Velvet--Audio. Huge thanks to him for that!
-I've noticed that sometimes parts of the level turn invisible. It doesn't happen too often so it shouldn't be that big of an issue.
-I'll do five F4Fs.

Edit - There is a known bug at the end of the level creating an invisible wall above the sackbot. I'm not quite sure what's causing it as I've never witnessed it myself, though I have a hunch that it's related to some pesky destroyers. If you run into this bug, please let me know.

And now, here are some succulent pictures to whet your appetite.
http://img809.imageshack.us/img809/5129/c65b4c24146309f82db0feb.jpg
http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/6941/aa1aa1279a91d081650e037.jpg
http://img814.imageshack.us/img814/441/a9fef9d753e9a85e709498b.jpg

Enjoy!
http://lbp.me/v/8fw181		2011-12-16 16:46:00

Author:
zynax555
Posts: 170

Looks really fun, but lbp.me is down at the moment so I can't queue it. Still, if I remember I'll be happy to play it later and give some feedback

As for the 'invisible parts' issue you're having, believe me I feel your pain.		2011-12-16 17:12:00

Author:
DaSpoony
Posts: 191

sounds good and will have it queued.

I was playing this last night and got stuck on one of the puzzles. It's actually at the part in your first pic. I have no clue what to do here. It looks fantastic BTW. I love the style of the level and the back n forth gameplay with solving these puzzles.		2011-12-16 21:12:00

Author:
biorogue
Posts: 8424

Great level. I really liked the puzzles, finding a way to progress through the nicely styled scenery.
Puzzle-difficulty was just right for me: challenging, but fair. Original and entertaining stuff.

I spent a lot of time on the obstacle with the grappling hook (spending minutes trying out all sorts of stuff, before finally noticing -duh- I could just jump over the red cross), but never saw sign of a hint cube in this area.

I also ran into the dreaded invisible wall twice, prompting restarts. When I popped in an area at the right end of the level (once from the pit with the sackbot, can't remember the place of the second time), I was thrown back to the unlimited checkpoint. The invisible wall then appeared right around the area with the stone gate with the 2 green lights, making it impossible to finish the level.

All in all: a very entertaining level, jayed & hearted. I'll be certain to check out your other stuff soon.

It would be great if you could F4F my level Hollow Earth, see link below.		2011-12-17 19:09:00

Author:
pickled-punk
Posts: 598

Hey there Zynax, level looks like just my cup of tea. I love a good puzzler! I have queued so will review it soon!

I've just published my level which is a tricky puzzler involving using sensors to activate moving walls, rasing platforms etc to progress and collect secret points. Its called CRYSTaL MeTHoDoLoGY, fancy an F4F exchange? It'd be great to get some feedback from a fellow puzzler - It's pretty hard too!

Anywho, looks great, cant wait. bye!		2011-12-17 19:50:00

Author:
THe EGG
Posts: 75

I'm glad you liked it, and I'll check out your level soon!

As for the bugs... I've fixed the invisible wall problem that occurs if you pop yourself near the end of the level by adding a checkpoint in the final area. This problem was an error on my part and not a bug--I blocked off that part of the level once you get to a certain point in order to keep the player in the correct area, but I didn't think about the event of the player dying and being forced back behind the block off section (b/c there's nothing to kill you and I overlooked the fact that you can pop yourself...). The hint in that area wasn't connected in my logic for whatever reason so I fixed that too.

There's another invisible wall issue that's actually a bug and it's at the very, very end of the level. It has something to do with the destroyers I think. Once every blue moon, an invisible wall will appear above the sackbot rendering it impossible to get to him. I deleted that whole area and remade it though and hopefully that'll fix the elusive bug.		2011-12-17 20:02:00

Author:
zynax555
Posts: 170

brilliant! some real fiendish bits but i loved them - intuitive interaction with the world keeps you trying out different things and there's great satisfaction when you get it!

The first large puzzle was an awesome landscape based puzzle - needed a hint to get through the final door though! very tricky

We went against advice and played as a pair and couldn't control the sackbot!! Still finished though We also managed to crush the round floral barrel trying to wedge the gap open - made sense at the time!

Use of the stone material was great and the level had a nice coherent feel (cool tune).

It's all about the puzzles for me and this level is a great example of what i love about LBP. Cheers!		2011-12-17 23:13:00

Author:
THe EGG
Posts: 75

I can't seem to figure out the area in that first pic either, and there doesnt seem to be a hint cube. I did find a cool cheat, though. At the beginning, instead of going back to the climbable tree, I jumped on top of the hint cube, got it swinging, and jumped from that onto the nearby tree. I'll definitely keep trying, though.

If I'm not too late (and you have the Move) please ceck out the F4F in my sig.		2011-12-18 02:02:00

Author:
Brannayen
Posts: 438

Fixed the hint cube in that area. Though it's hints really aren't that helpful at least it drops now! As for how to solve it I may as well just tell you.

You need to run back and get the power gloves. Go to the botton level and run all the way to the right and get the key, then run all the way to the left (still on the bottom level) and go into the back layer to find the hidden room. Down there you can unlock a circle and use your power gloves to throw it at the ramp in the front layer -- quickly run out of the room as the doors will shut the second the rolling sphere hits the switch. By doing this the path on the upper level is now open and you can get the grappling hook. Once you have the grappling hook, push the cart on the top level to the far left and jump over the x so you don't lose it. Then grapple the lower half of the cart and pull yourself all the way to the right and hop over the wall.

And there you have it, the solution to the third puzzle area.

Also @Brannayen, sorry I don't have move.		2011-12-18 03:23:00

Author:
zynax555
Posts: 170

I played this level yesterday and it is a puzzle pleasure.

VISUALS:
The materials are very good in this level, and they are greatly polished with shapes and corner edits.

SOUND:
Velvet--Audio's music is beyond epic! I don't know how he does those kinds of music, but this is by far his best music yet.

GAMEPLAY:
The puzzles in this level are indeed tricky. Players need a thinking cap to solve these puzzles, or at least grab a hint cube. My favorite puzzle is the switch that should be activated with a rolling object instead of my hands.

OVERALL:
This is your best level yet. A yay, heart and positive feedback.

F4F Cybernetic Adventures Sigma		2011-12-19 19:03:00

Author:
JustinArt
Posts: 1314

Can't wait to try this out tonight, it looks great, and I love your other puzzle level that came out near the end of LBP1. I hope to not use any hints!

EDIT: Played it, loved it, used no hints, got high score! I did have to restart, though. I don't want to give anything away, but I was in a certain small room, and a certain piece of round material was crushed, making the rest of the level impossible to finish. Maybe have a new one emit if this happens, I could see others do what I was trying to do.		2011-12-19 21:03:00

Author:
JakePutz
Posts: 92

Fixed the circle crushing problem with an emitter, thanks for pointing that one out.2011-12-20 22:01:00

Author:
zynax555
Posts: 170

Fixed the circle crushing problem with an emitter, thanks for pointing that one out.

Also had this problem when I played your level the first time. Nice to see you've changed it but there's a new problem now. As soon as you move the circle out of the emit zone it disappears right away so you can't use it. I guess your emitter is set to on/off, should be one time only. Also do you have a tag on the circle and inverted tag sensor activating the emitter? Cause that's how it should be like.

Hope you'll fix it, want to finish this level. 		2011-12-22 14:30:00

Author:
Firehuntah
Posts: 75

Hey I've got this level queded and about to play it, I'll edit this post once I play it to give you a review

If you're still playing levels I got a link to mine in my signature ^_^ , I can't wait to play I love puzzles.		2011-12-22 15:48:00

Author:
RakasaPlus
Posts: 136

Ooops, that's what I get for not testing when implementing a bug fix... more like a bug enhancer! Ugh, that was bad. Okay, I put a tag on the emitted circle as well as a tag sensor and a NOT gate to the emitter so it'll emit the circle when destroyed. That should be fixed now, and I actually tested it this time! Sorry for the inconvenience, and I hope you'll be able to complete the level now, I appreciate your perseverance.2011-12-22 16:50:00

Author:
zynax555
Posts: 170

Alright I just finished it. I love the design I have nothing to say exept (if you really wanted) you could add more detail to the environment but I have a feeling you captured the style you were aiming for, simple and beautiful. The puzzles were great and creative, I had a lot of fun and it wasn't too long or too short.

Great job.		2011-12-22 17:21:00

Author:
RakasaPlus
Posts: 136

Just finished it, didn't find any more problems. Just that you can see the controllinator at the end with the sackbot but that could be intended I guess.

Anyway, I really like the level. Puzzle levels are always great and this one also looked great. Just takes a while to figure everything out, especially at that 3rd one. 		2011-12-22 20:05:00

Author:
Firehuntah
Posts: 75

I fell out of the level while exploring. I am disappoint!
While looking for a 3rd green light that may or may not exist, I went back and started swinging on the first hint cube, got up on it, jumped onto the left tree then kept jumping left until I fell down to the floor.

Anyways, I am up to the 3rd pic in this thread. I have the power gloves and I managed to throw that block (that was on a button) all the way right. But to the right of the power glove station, there is an invisible wall that blocks me from throwing the block any further right.
My logic was to throw the block onto the tree (to the right) jump off it onto and past the solid wall (with the alternating light).

Replayed it and it seems it is more of a feature than a bug. What's the dealio?
I would advise you add a visible/physical block so the player knows it's intentional.
Invisible walls are just cheating/excuse for poor level design imo.

What is the intended way of passing that part?

EDIT:
Oh yeah, I was meant to try that but forgot.
I would put that invisible wall way sooner in that case.
I shall replay. 		2011-12-23 01:17:00

Author:
midnight_heist
Posts: 2513

The reason I put an invisible wall there is so the player doesn't waste their time with the cube where they don't need it - I saw it as more of a favor than a hinderance. I would suggest reading the hints in that area. I'm pretty sure it says something like 'the cube likes to get in the way of things' and 'blah blah blah get all of the lights on.' Try throwing it in front of something and then hitting a switch.2011-12-23 01:54:00

Author:
zynax555
Posts: 170

Great level!

Here's the video =)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yk8PvPtAkaU		2012-08-21 14:16:00

Author:
Galaxtrix
Posts: 46


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