Feel Bad Friday(s)!

An upcoming game about Electricity, Magnetism, and Cephalopods
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testtubegames
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Re: Feel Bad Friday(s)!

Post by testtubegames »

A very special Black Friday FBF! What's special about it? Well... it's Black Friday. Isn't that special enough?

For this FBF I took on Through the Path by A Random Player.
...
That may not have been the best decision I've made.(!) Note to self -- reread the spoilers about the level being diabolical *before* playing it :shock:

But, hey, I did it!
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By that I mean: I played it.
Click here to watch on YouTube.

Or grab the code here or here:

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[The Electric Shocktopus-"Through the Path"-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]
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Random! Whoa! I mean, looking back at your spoilers, it's pretty clear this is another Binary, basically. Possible. But not quite. But then again, I'm curious about whether I was missing anything. There was so much complexity there, I'm not sure I was able to notice and appreciate it all.

But, of course, I had a blast hitting my head against the level for a while. And if FBF isn't for *that*, then what is?
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testtubegames
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Re: Feel Bad Friday(s)!

Post by testtubegames »

The latest Feel Bad Friday -- Perilous Sky by A Random Player. Brand new this week: picture-in-picture. Whaaa?!

Watch the video here!

Or see the original post, or grab the code yourself:

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[The Electric Shocktopus-"Perilous Sky"-eNrtlUESgyAMAP/iOYfGNFre0vHaD7Q3pn8vWGBAAzoqXtrAgIYlIUFEgxNeLPEjYA+tchNnElSG8gpHp5RXRtyiLbrMIWoFj1lTliG0Vea88msLFbSXDOj8bgMLa1zkpBWKmRFBLqamFElIdAyuzaG0PjFk0aB3nljE9ekus5NMYn5zUjKTdOT4YxQFZYquEjaSmClEYTLNMKNCrZtXA/fBVN08mrF7mq5nhE4NfsSq0ATW3VKV6qFj8w51hLiOXc4d7+mfpZL/YJxLXpJB3hPr3lxtR/mg3Ton1s3Gk0vQNvXOxF9+S/gU4gCxV0q4W2wzvD8lyNPi]
Thanks for sharing the level, Random!
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Re: Feel Bad Friday(s)!

Post by testtubegames »

Whew! This week, I took on The Two Sides, by A Random Player.

Watch the Video

Grab the Code:

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[The Electric Shocktopus-"The Two Sides"-eNrtlU0KgCAQhe/i2o2akWcJt52gnXT3NCHNn0YrhKLnW7j4GOeNiArfEuMAQISxERVQMTK0IJ7RIY0LGXfjN2S55CCS5AsUNsq6AsqGbXVVl2JhTmvMKkxU5RvTi+q1i/fGEJehAi5L+ZyFcpwjT6FUkki2Ashtp8DVbjNB8LNqhZxhCjh/jA1yfoFRaEZ4lNoKTXqHf/165q/v5LICF56dmA==]
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Kept me entertained - that's for sure -- and just on the *cusp* of beating it. As I said in the video, I imagine this was a level affected by physics changes over time. Still... it's apparent from the video that it's still *technically* beatable... so...

I think I'll pop back with a previous build of the game and give it a run-through there, too.
A Random Player
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Re: Feel Bad Friday(s)!

Post by A Random Player »

testtubegames wrote:
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Kept me entertained - that's for sure -- and just on the *cusp* of beating it. As I said in the video, I imagine this was a level affected by physics changes over time. Still... it's apparent from the video that it's still *technically* beatable... so...

I think I'll pop back with a previous build of the game and give it a run-through there, too.
Warning: Full explanation of solution inside. (Like, literally with arrows showing where to go and when to charge, so if you, the reader, plan on checking the level out in an older version, DO NOT READ!)
(Actually, I just realized that if someone bought the game recently, they wouldn't have had access to any earlier versions...)
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You are indeed correct on the physics changes. This was actually supposed to be a relatively easy level:
(Yellow is orange, but changed for visibility. Perhaps I should have made all charge-paths orange?)
(Yellow is orange, but changed for visibility. Perhaps I should have made all charge-paths orange?)
TTS intended (2).jpg (280.09 KiB) Viewed 53686 times
This screenshot was taken in version 0.5, where I went and checked that the level is beatable with this solution. It appears that this level works in 0.4 too.
General notes:
The level originally was to be won by going roughly back and forth. Additionally, the arrows/lines were intended to be partially (but obviously) misleading; a small trick/red herring. Coincidentally the "new" 0.9 strategy followed them almost perfectly.
The background tiles I intended to be just that - background. Because they are now conductors, the electric fields were affected significantly.

This level also was based on interactions between electric/magnetic fields. For example, the small charge while going left in the red magnetic field has subtle but useful effects. Additionally, one can go from the right side of the center positive conductor to the opposite negative conductor by holding charge+right, forming an interesting curve.

Edit 2: Hah, I have 3 versions of TES open for this (0.9, 0.8, 0.5). Made even more difficult since 0.5 still had the 3 level editor page bug :P
Edit: Oh, and reread the video description...

Edit 3: Perhaps you should make a list of all versions where the physics changed, to more easily distinguish "hard level" from "easy level made impossible by a change".

Edit 4: ...Andy. The level is not hard in 0.9. (Spoilers for 0.9 only)
Just a large-ish screenshot:
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5 deaths according to the counter, but I reset many times when it was obvious something went wrong
5 deaths according to the counter, but I reset many times when it was obvious something went wrong
The Two Sides 0.9.jpg (226.94 KiB) Viewed 53679 times
Strategy spoiler:
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The vertical block of 3 positive conductor tiles.
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testtubegames
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Re: Feel Bad Friday(s)!

Post by testtubegames »

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Oh wow, I was TRICKED by the arrow! Curses -- I should have known better! Looking forward to testing out the level in 0.9, and older versions. Maybe make it part of a 'woo-completing-the-levels-i-failed' series. :)

Also, video description fixed
Alright - on to this week's FBF...

F1B3 by NealCruco! Yay for new levels! I did a slightly different video this week -- and didn't edit it down. You get to watch the whole shebang. Thumbs up? Thumbs down?

The video

The level
Here's the code:

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[The Electric Shocktopus-"F1B3"-eNrtV0sSwiAMvUvXWUhjZDyL49YL6K7j3eWTUAoIrY4zOhKC5ZOXDwntOAEqIG5KURhbIhiPMBOOXkrDgpy0haZdVFrycwhj6aIijMVIjhOIcbhkLe64E89bfrgfIyu7RXUVLcYZ67LskI/FT/kg1x3E8+4OvKaLYl1JYqoYXqRFa+MkZt417jGrdfjZLsM3gedAGR9YTjYoKBuPXc+wIpany628iH0d2I42quVSfW/Gpdn9qEHaFGSObMHUjrkAXpHQ7C6lZDUrZHYz3C/FF3dZ16+6Tl+NyS6i5fj1ijTBH9CYtJpcW1OX+FGJabgNcDobnobL4B5X81CHPRzILH9DqSbf4E6dtlfQOdS2Ru1r+1vKu+en0zv1w3WN5j/Xurq21+H+AMN7oa0=]
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Whew. Some ups and downs... moments of triumph... moments of despair.

I'm curious what you'd use the left side for. Red herring? Or something cool that I just didn't figure out how to get into?

Quite liked this level. Hit the sweet spot of just-challenging-enough... at least for me :)
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Re: Feel Bad Friday(s)!

Post by NealCruco »

testtubegames wrote:
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Oh wow, I was TRICKED by the arrow! Curses -- I should have known better! Looking forward to testing out the level in 0.9, and older versions. Maybe make it part of a 'woo-completing-the-levels-i-failed' series. :)
You know what I'm waiting on, right? :)
testtubegames wrote:
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I'm curious what you'd use the left side for. Red herring? Or something cool that I just didn't figure out how to get into?

Quite liked this level. Hit the sweet spot of just-challenging-enough... at least for me :)
You have got to stop breaking my levels. You're making me feel bad. It's not like professional game developers don't miss shortcuts sometimes, but TES levels are pretty simple. (Seriously, though, thanks for finding the exploits. I just wish I caught them before sharing the levels.) Please go to the megathread and update the code you provided for F1B3.

Below was the intended path through the level, starting at the gun room.
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You were supposed to jump up out of the gun room, run left, descend to the floor, flip the switch, go back up the magnetic field, grab the star in the spike alcove, go back down, jump up the shaft, get top star (if you didn't get it already), and go to the exit. You found a way to get to the spike star through the intended exit. I've fixed that, so there will be no more sequence breaking in F1B3, thank you very much.
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Re: Feel Bad Friday(s)!

Post by testtubegames »

NealCruco wrote:You know what I'm waiting on, right? :)
Haha, indeed!
NealCruco wrote:Seriously, though, thanks for finding the exploits.
Phew - you started to make me feel bad for a moment ;) That's one of the funny things about designing a level - especially in such a physics-based game. Sometimes there are little exploits that you don't even notice. (And sometimes the player skips them without realizing. After all those red herrings in Random's levels, I tend to guess that extraneous content in levels is just there to trow me off :) )
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Re: Feel Bad Friday(s)!

Post by Stargate38 »

I hope there will be an FBF this week. It's been 3 weeks since the last one.

EDIT: Why hasn't there been an FBF in the past 3 weeks?
I LOVE your Gravity Simulator! :)
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Re: Feel Bad Friday(s)!

Post by NealCruco »

When can we expect the next FBF? I know you said you've been busy, so there's no rush.
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Re: Feel Bad Friday(s)!

Post by testtubegames »

Stargate38 wrote:Why hasn't there been an FBF in the past 3 weeks?
I've been over-busy, I'm afraid -- to copy-paste the list from the v0.9 thread: between travel (yeah Paris!), getting sick several times (ugh), and trying to get Bond Breaker 2.0 out the door, it's been a busy month.
NealCruco wrote:When can we expect the next FBF?
One's a-coming... planning to record it tonight! (Being a little flexible with the 'Friday' monicker :) )
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