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Caravel Forum : DROD Boards : Holds : Tar Ballroom (Brain paths and snake bodies)
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8.1/10 (19 votes)
σ 2.65
Author Name:Daniel
Submitted By:Rabscuttle
Hold Name:Tar Ballroom
Theme:Brain paths and snake bodies
Author's Difficulty:
Number of Levels:3
Number of Rooms:14
Number of Monsters:357
Version:DROD: Journey to Rooted Hold
High Scores:View High Scores
Hold Karma:4 (+4 / -0)
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File: Tar Ballroom v2.hold (13.3 KB)
Downloaded 1751 times.
License: Other
From: Unspecified
 icon Tar Ballroom  
I'm a tar baby and I dance dance dance and I dance dance dance.

The hold is called "Tar Ballroom" but really it is about the interaction of brains and serpents.

When a brain is working out the quickest way to Beethro, it assumes that serpent bodies are obstacles and will direct monsters around them. (However, they're not so smart when it comes to serpent heads and will try to send other monsters through them.)

So, it is possible to set up a snake in a loop so that it blocks off different paths as it moves. This causes brained monsters to dance back and forth as they are sent first down one path, then another.

Tar Ballroom is a collection of puzzles using this quirk.


The other thing you might want to know is that in this hold the snakes will always move before the tar babies. But you shouldn't need to use this to complete the hold.


Thanks to everyone who pointed out bugs and commented on the hold while I was building it.

I hope you enjoy playing it.

-Daniel
09-18-2006 at 03:06 AM
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Rabscuttle
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Huzzah!
09-18-2006 at 03:09 AM
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coppro
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I ranked it for CNet - but that's about it. I'm sure my first will be beaten quickly.
09-18-2006 at 03:18 AM
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Rabscuttle
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Heh, I've already found an unintended solution but I'm leaving it in. :cool

edit: actually there's two.

edit2: ehh, the second one isn't so bad either.
[Last edited by Rabscuttle at 09-18-2006 04:24 PM]
09-18-2006 at 12:36 PM
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Syntax
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Rarely have I played a single room and been in awe at the concept. This is genius at work... again ;)

This is going to be *hard* but looking forward to it :D
09-20-2006 at 09:14 PM
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silver
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I love this hold. And not just because it's the longest I've ever gone sitting on rooms that no one else has conquered (on cnet, anyway)... the concepts are just neato.


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09-22-2006 at 02:50 AM
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eytanz
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I'm awed at how, even though the hold has been available for five days now, I'm still one of only two people with more than one highscore.

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09-22-2006 at 03:57 AM
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larrymurk
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I can attest to this being a very good hold from the testing I did pre-release.

This is high on my to-do list but I've been busy with Beethro's Mission: Spiders and other projects. I imagine many prople are playing BMS as well, but I'm sure all will enjoy dancing with the tar babies in Tar Ballroom once they get a chance.
09-22-2006 at 02:22 PM
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Rabscuttle
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Thanks for the comments! Although I'm wondering if maybe I shouldn't have made it Spider Ballroom instead...

Woo, someone's mastered it!
09-25-2006 at 01:31 AM
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michthro
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Rabscuttle wrote:
Woo, someone's mastered it!
That'd be me. :D One day I'm going to post-master it..

Great hold. Very difficult, but equally rewarding.

Comments:
Click here to view the secret text
09-25-2006 at 01:52 PM
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Rabscuttle
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Click here to view the secret text
09-26-2006 at 10:34 AM
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michthro
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Rabscuttle wrote:
Actually, the intended solution is a little simpler. :)
yarrgh.. The BT syndrome again. I'm forever doing this. Well, intended schmended. My way's faster.
09-26-2006 at 12:08 PM
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Rabscuttle
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michthro wrote:

Rabscuttle wrote:
Actually, the intended solution is a little simpler. :)
yarrgh.. The BT syndrome again. I'm forever doing this. Well, intended schmended. My way's faster.
*resists urge to get high scores in own hold* O:-
[Last edited by Rabscuttle at 09-27-2006 04:31 AM]
09-27-2006 at 03:31 AM
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michthro
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Rabscuttle wrote:
*resists urge to get high scores in own hold* O:-
Go for it. I've actually been wondering when you were planning to. Since it's your hold, I'll go easy on you. ;)

There go another 9 #1s..
09-27-2006 at 10:31 AM
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Rabscuttle
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Ok, I have submitted and submitted one score. :P

Also! I have found an unintended solution in The Three Steps. I most likely will be making an update to try and fix it either tonight or tomorrow, so I apologise in advance if michthro or BoyBlue are partaways through it.

The other mistakes I have found (on Dance Floor) will remain as they are relatively minor and I don't want to mess up people's scores. (But I will probably make some posts on Challenges sometime)
[Last edited by Rabscuttle at 09-29-2006 03:43 AM]
09-29-2006 at 03:42 AM
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Rabscuttle
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I have now updated the hold. The only changes should be in The Three Steps. Feel free to thwack me over the head if otherwise.
[Last edited by Rabscuttle at 10-02-2006 03:04 PM]
10-02-2006 at 02:55 PM
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JonhSoft2006
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Nice hold. :)

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10-02-2006 at 08:43 PM
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UrAvgAzn
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JonhSoft2006 wrote:
Nice hold. :)

Jonh is unbanned? Cool! Maybe he can make a few more good holds!

Keep posting,

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10-03-2006 at 08:07 PM
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larrymurk
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 icon Re: Tar Ballroom (+1)  
Now that I've officially completed this hold (though mastery might be a ways off) I'll copy these comments that I made in the architecture thread.


General comments-
I like the look of the rooms because they have-
1. Nice layouts
2. Nice floor coloring
3. The tar dances, dances, dances.
4. Thank heavens for the generous checkpoints.

I gotta say this hold is fun!

Fine hold Rabs!!
10-24-2006 at 09:26 PM
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michthro
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Finally postmastered it. I think I broke The Three Steps. Oops. Nothing trivial about my solution, but what strikes me as unintended is:
Click here to view the secret text

Saves a move too. :P
01-03-2007 at 12:50 PM
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Rabscuttle
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michthro wrote:
Finally postmastered it. I think I broke The Three Steps. Oops. Nothing trivial about my solution, but what strikes me as unintended is:
Click here to view the secret text

Click here to view the secret text
01-03-2007 at 03:29 PM
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michthro
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01-03-2007 at 04:17 PM
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Rabscuttle
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[Last edited by Rabscuttle at 01-04-2007 12:19 AM]
01-04-2007 at 12:13 AM
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michthro
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01-04-2007 at 12:20 PM
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Jatopian
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Having unintended solutions of a room isn't really "broken" if the room isn't trivialized. It's not really fair to those who completed it the unintended way to "fix" it and take away their scores/progress, when they had no way of knowing better.

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01-04-2007 at 11:08 PM
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Syntax
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Jatopian wrote:
Having unintended solutions of a room isn't really "broken" if the room isn't trivialized. It's not really fair to those who completed it the unintended way to "fix" it and take away their scores/progress, when they had no way of knowing better.
I think you'll find michthro agreeing with you heartily on this one. I haven't played this room, but is the proposed change something which would break your/most demos?

If so, maybe leave as is... especially if the "alternative" solution isn't any easier. Whether the final solution was intended or not, it is always the unintended hard solutions which are more difficult to copy and therefore (in my book) ones which should be left alone.
01-04-2007 at 11:27 PM
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Rabscuttle
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Jatopian wrote:
Having unintended solutions of a room isn't really "broken" if the room isn't trivialized. It's not really fair to those who completed it the unintended way to "fix" it and take away their scores/progress, when they had no way of knowing better.

michthro is the only one (besides me) who has a score for this room. Since he beat me, I am fully justified in being petty.
:)
But seriously, the unintended solution bypasses at least two of the puzzles in the room and is not that difficult to pull off. It does not leave the room trivial, but that is because the room is pretty complex to begin with.
It's a post master-wall room, only one person has solved it, only three people have reached it, so lost scores/progress is not really an issue.
If I was going to be a jerk about enforcing intended solutions, I would fix 1S on the main level.
01-05-2007 at 12:31 AM
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Syntax
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If that's the case I'd say fix it :)
01-05-2007 at 01:04 AM
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michthro
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Yes, I don't mind my demo being broken. I'm generally against breaking demos, but I like this room so much that I'd rather have it fixed. Since I'm the only one who'll lose a score I guess I can make an exception. I already know how to get my #1 back anyway. ;)
01-05-2007 at 09:08 AM
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bandit1200
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Every time I see the name of this hold, it reminds me of Reginald Dixon. I wonder if anyone can make the connection without googling old Reggie's name? You probably need to be from the UK and born in the middle of the last century to get it without looking it up. ;)
01-12-2007 at 08:23 AM
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