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File: JYS - First Contact.hold (2.6 MB)
Downloaded 1643 times.
License: Other
From: Unspecified

1.)What is JYS?
The Junkyard's Selections are compilation holds consisting of abandoned holds. So most of the rooms in this hold are taken out of abandoned holds. The rooms were put together by me and united under a new story.

2.)What is this hold about?
The hold is about Beethro beginning his job on KDD half a year later. The result is a adventure totally different to the official one. This hold begins this alternative adventure.

3.)How difficult/long is it?
It's slightly easier than KDD and much shorter. I needed about 150 minutes to get through it.

4.)Is there any relation between the SmS and the JyS?
No. The JyS are about the opposite to the SmS.

5.)What does this hold offer?
Voice acting, custom floors, nice puzzles (from different architects!)... a wide variety.

Chaco
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 3685
Registered: 10-06-2005
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I haven't gotten very far yet, but I'd like to state that in some levels, MeckMeck uses what I think is an obnoxious amount of darkness. Worse yet, in Squenton V's Dusty Chambers: Twice North (where the darkness is especially bad) the usual remedy of "turn off Alpha Blending" is even worse - you can see the room, but now you can't see your invisibility range, which you kind of need!

However, this is only one flaw, and there are many other things that he's done right here, so for what it is (a compilation of old holds) this is pretty good. And the story does, in fact, tie in all levels.

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[Last edited by Chaco at 09-08-2007 04:56 PM]

MeckMeck GRE
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 594
Registered: 01-03-2005
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Chaco wrote:
I haven't gotten very far yet, but I'd like to state that in some levels, MeckMeck uses what I think is an obnoxious amount of darkness. Worse yet, in Squenton V's Dusty Chambers: Twice North (where the darkness is especially bad) the usual remedy of "turn off Alpha Blending" is even worse - you can see the room, but now you can't see your invisibility range, which you kind of need!

You could try increasing the gamma correction. I playtested it with about 1,1 gamma and I saw everything clearly. Personally, I am able to play the mentioned room with a gamma between 0,8 and 1,x.

Dex Stewart
Level: Smiter
Rank Points: 355
Registered: 01-19-2007
IP: Logged

Any time!

Rheb
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 1211
Registered: 08-04-2006
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Annnnnnnnnnd Mastered!

Nice hold, I think the 150 minutes were correct

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Hikari
Level: Smiter

Rank Points: 438
Registered: 01-28-2006
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Wow, I totally didn't expect this to be released yet! I know, I did all the editing for the script and all, but...

Yeah.

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Tahnan
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 2460
Registered: 11-14-2005
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Wow. Thanks for assembling these, MeckMeck: I never would have seen them otherwise, and there's some nice stuff in here. Also some terribly frustrating stuff.

I thought the first "Outpost Eduard" room was fairly interesting with its use of builders (though really, it was ultimately just another timing mechanism), but the other builder rooms were the kind of unpredictable, hope-for-the-best things that I hate about builders.

The rooms on the High Path were clever--not hard, I didn't think, but neat little examples of the concept. Dusty Chambers did some very nice things with claustrophobic spaces; 1S1W was perhaps a highlight, but they all worked well, I thought.

The KDD-devastation puzzles were fun, both in and of themselves and also as "remixes" of the original KDD. And, er, what didn't I mention...well, I liked those, too. :-)

A 7, overall: the levels felt very much like, well, what they were, i.e. the work of very different architects. MeckMeck's done an admirable job of tying them together plotwise, though.

larrymurk
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 1917
Registered: 12-09-2004
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Thanks MeckMeck for scavenging all these works and combining them with story into a playable hold.

All in all, a fun hold. Thanks also to all the architects who contributed!

Jatopian
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 1842
Registered: 07-31-2005
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I'm not done with this yet, but what is the point of Arctic Chasms : Once West ?

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Chaco
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 3685
Registered: 10-06-2005
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As far as I can tell, no point whatsoever. No monsters in it, so you just have to pass through and be sure there aren't any.

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Syntax
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 1218
Registered: 05-12-2005
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I can confirm it's empty of monsters.

Danteslives
Level: Delver

Rank Points: 48
Registered: 11-16-2006
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I liked this hold. It was thought provoking in places but simple enough for a beginner like me. I liked the high path, and the dusty chambers, but I thought the compound 31c was annoying at times, in particular the entrance. Thank you very much for rescuing some of these holds that would have never seen the light any other way. Ill give it an 8 fun with 5.5 brains.

Ed Crash
Level: Goblin
Rank Points: 20
Registered: 05-28-2007
IP: Logged

It's messy. Who is Eduards?

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Eda
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Ed Crash
Level: Goblin
Rank Points: 20
Registered: 05-28-2007
IP: Logged

Oh I get it, it's meee!


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Monkey
Level: Master Delver

Rank Points: 190
Registered: 03-21-2006
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In "KDD - Devastated First Level" 1S, that voice was... unsettling.

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UrAvgAzn
Level: Smiter

Rank Points: 468
Registered: 04-15-2006
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Brilliant. 8/10 for fun, and a 5.5 in brains.

I especially like what you've done with my Decoy Cave (now High Path), you made it look nicer than the original cave setting. If I knew that people would like it, I think I would've made a few more of them. Great job on KDD: DFL, I like your addition of the adders, nice fun room. Arctic Chasms was great, some pretty nice puzzles in there. MMoM was..interesting, beautiful use of lighting. SVDC was alright, I like the ability to choose the order to solve the chambers.

I'll be back with more comments later. All in all, keep doing this MeckMeck, and I'll be sure to include some more of my abandoned holds in there, and a double thumbs-up from me.

Keep posting,

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Neathro
Level: Delver

Rank Points: 41
Registered: 04-24-2007
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The high path 3N has an easy soloution, not using 2 of the decoys.

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Briareos
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 3516
Registered: 08-07-2005
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Neathro wrote:
The high path 3N has an easy soloution, not using 2 of the decoys.

How? It's got only 5 potions, and you need 3 potions alone for the two crumbly walls and the brain - but without the remaining 2 potions you can't get rid of the previous decoy to make room...

np: µ-Ziq - Strawberry Fields Hotel (Duntisbourne Abbots Soulmate Devastation Technique)

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[Last edited by Briareos at 09-16-2007 03:48 PM]

martz
Level: Smiter
Rank Points: 416
Registered: 08-19-2005
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I don't rate this quite as highly as some of the previous reviews, possibly due to age and other more recent holds I've played.

I like the idea of the hold in terms of including some of the abandoned work on the architecture board, but I would have thought (bearing in mind I've never created or attempted to create a hold in my life) that any really good work would not necessarily have been left incomplete? It also looks like a follow-up to this never got off the ground either.

In terms of specific level comments, the KDD remakes were okay (although not an original idea), Arctic Chasms was probably my favourite level, Grotto Caves: not a big fan of roach-packing puzzles, High Path was probably the right size (I actually closed the game when I saw the third puzzle room initially but coming back to it it wasn't so bad), the rest was okay.

It's clearly not the worst hold in the world, but I wouldn't say there's anything here that really makes it stand out.

Difficulty: 6
Fun: 6

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