Fang
Level: Master Delver

Rank Points: 175
Registered: 07-25-2008
IP: Logged

File: Dangerous Journey.hold (32.9 KB)
Downloaded 102 times.
License: Public Domain

New version!
North tower is completed except for the Master Wall area, because I'll only do that one after the hold has been completed as a whole.

Areas completed: North Tower Prison, Lofange Keep (North tower, middle area from the North tower to the East tower.)

Areas in construction: Lofange Keep (East tower), The Grand Archive, Under the Archive, Frozen Wastes

If you had tested the previous one, you will find the starting room greatly improved, and some puzzles slightly changed. This time, there are no arrows to guide you around, from the fact that what is there to test is all linear, so there's no way you should run somewhere there's nothing, except the East tower. Once you reach the first (empty) room of the East tower, you tested all (but one goblin puzzle) there was to test. If you want to enjoy a battle of Stalwarts and Aumtlichs, you can enter the center area of the East tower from the southwest corner.

Enjoy your testing!

Previous post kept in a quote for obscure reasons involving FBI agents.

It's gonna have a neat storyline, already a cutscene all scripted at the very beginning. I'm posting it here for those who'd be interested to test what has been done so far:

-Some puzzles
-Scripting (secret areas if you can find them, signposts, a cutscene, some other little goodies)

If you really want to uncover the whole map just to see what it will look like, you can go ahead, but I put arrows on the floor to guide you from one puzzle to the next to test them. I've tested them myself and I'm more looking for feedback rather than possible bugs (of course you can post bugs too if you happen to stumble across one). Also look for signposts, going near them will tell you locations, be sure to test them if you have the spare second.

Before I forget, this is an Anyone edit version, but I'd like that nobody checks it due to the fact that secret areas are secret and I'd like them to stay this way until you discover them by yourself. (Some areas aren't reachable yet due to the restrictions that I put on it)

I decided to make this an Anyone version due to problems I ran into earlier with my old-old-old hold in making that I will finish (someday).

The "arrow path" is the one to follow to test the rooms, but it won't be the path that later rooms will take.

The east tower can't be reached except for the south part. Follow the arrows, there -is- something at the far south-east corner to see. >.>

Enjoy!

Click here to view the secret text

×There are currently [4] reachable secret rooms, two are adjacent.

PS: I almost forgot, you can see in the first level that there's an unfinished puzzle in the north-east. >.> I'm working on it!

____________________________
"Imagination is more important than knowledge." -Albert Einstein

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[Last edited by Fang at 08-02-2008 02:24 PM]

mxvladi
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 2505
Registered: 02-11-2008
IP: Logged

Playing now.

I have one question: was custom Slayer avatar your own artwork or was it taken from some game etc.?

Fang
Level: Master Delver

Rank Points: 175
Registered: 07-25-2008
IP: Logged

Oh, it's a picture I found on the internet. A Slayer makes a good in-game graphic for a king but I wanted a special avatar. I'm probably gonna rework on it though, and give the Royal guards a special avatar too.

Also, currently I finished the 2N puzzle of the Prison and revamped the brained goblin puzzle that's in the main keep. How fast can you kill a goblin without a sword?

Next thing I'm gonna do is finish working on the ground floor of the north tower, then I'll do the "middle" puzzles.

____________________________
"Imagination is more important than knowledge." -Albert Einstein

Fang
Level: Master Delver

Rank Points: 175
Registered: 07-25-2008
IP: Logged

Hold has been updated for all your testing needs.

____________________________
"Imagination is more important than knowledge." -Albert Einstein

Chaco
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 3628
Registered: 10-06-2005
IP: Logged

Alright, I've played through the newest version.

Now the escape sequence is a bit better done, as Beethro has to dodge a guard unarmed.

Now North Tower Prison 2N is a better puzzle, and is solvable.

Now the spiders can be seen in 1N with the help of the vision token.

I went through Lofange Keep's challenges, all the way until I reached 5S2E's goblin room, conquered it, and saw the Stalwart vs. Aumtlich battle in 6S4E.

5S1E can no longer be solved from the outside of the King's Tower, and it's a required room, so the blue door in this level can't be dropped. Luckily, the staircase in 4S can be visited without dropping the blue door by accessing it through the long narrow path starting in 4S1W.

Make sure all rooms behind blue doors (like 10S) are unrequired, as even empty required rooms are required to be visited before the blue door will drop.

I have no complaints or concerns with any of the new puzzles so far, so beyond reminding you to fix the disarm token problem in 5S1W I'll just wait patiently for you to finish up the next level.

____________________________
Quick links to my stuff (in case you forgot where it was):

Fang
Level: Master Delver

Rank Points: 175
Registered: 07-25-2008
IP: Logged

Alright, thanks for the feedback. ^^ I've solved most of these problems as soon as I saw them.

The blue door at the entrance of the Keep is in a required room, and it's explainable by the fact that you visit this room long before conquering the last room (which should be the one in the king's tower you mentioned that isn't accessible from outside anymore).

The Stalwart VS Aumtlich is only temporary, I wanted to get out of boredom so I just took a random empty area and put lots of both in it to watch a battle. It's already removed in the next version that will be posted when The Grand Archive is complete, thus the next update will have puzzles up to the West tower.

After said next update, there won't be any new updates until the Keep is done. After that update, there won't be any until the hold is done, since by then I probably will have one or two testers and won't need to look for more.

I'm giving myself maximum one month to finish it because my subscription of CaravelNet is gonna expire near the end of August (in about three weeks and a half, unsure about the exact time) and it really simplifies things most of the time.

One last note, if you have CaravelNet and you want to submit me direct feedback, I'm usually either building this hold or finishing TCB, I can always interrupt either one to hear what YOU would like in the hold, and if it's possible, I might even add it!

____________________________
"Imagination is more important than knowledge." -Albert Einstein

The Architest
Level: Master Delver

Rank Points: 254
Registered: 05-25-2008
IP: Logged

These rooms are BIG!

I liked that

Keep playing holds & you will become....Smithermaster!

bdwing
Level: Master Delver
Rank Points: 288
Registered: 02-16-2003
IP: Logged

This may not be worth fixing....

In the room where the hold starts Beethro has no sword. Later Beethro gets a sword in another room.

I went back to the first room to kill the guards and was swordless again. AND stayed swordless throughout the rest of the level. I had to restore back to the start of the room where Beethro got his sword in order to complete the level.

I really like the design of your hold. It looks like a place instead of just a puzzle to be solved.

____________________________
In the words of Cyndi Lauper:

"Until it ends, there is no end."

Fang
Level: Master Delver

Rank Points: 175
Registered: 07-25-2008
IP: Logged

How did you come back? I put a door to prevent going back in that room, with a one-time switch... Briar can activate it but then again, the prison isn't a required room.

Edit: Fixed, closer door with already-placed briar to stop the player from going back but still let them pass the door to escape.

____________________________
"Imagination is more important than knowledge." -Albert Einstein

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[Last edited by Fang at 07-30-2008 04:57 PM]

mxvladi
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 2505
Registered: 02-11-2008
IP: Logged

I've just started playing this seriously, and already solved North tower prison. Here're comments:

Etrance: Well, start.

1W: bdwing's right: you can return to etrance. Wait until briar opens door from inside, then quickly coming in. Pls fix it. Thanks. EDIT: Ah, while I was writing this post, you've already fixed it.

1N 1W: Simple guard killing.

2N: Nice, but pretty easy, roach queen manipulation puzzle. I really enjoyed it.

1N: Puzzle is pretty(but easy), and I have another thing: when you press the vision token, Beethro says: Now I can see these little bugs. If you conquer room and presses vision token only after that, Beethro still says that he can see little bugs, although bugs are dead. If you want, you should fix it.

Now playing Lofange keep - wait for comments about it soon...

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[Last edited by mxvladi at 08-04-2008 12:00 PM]

Fang
Level: Master Delver

Rank Points: 175
Registered: 07-25-2008
IP: Logged

The vision token "bug" wasn't reported yet, it's fixed now. Thanks!

Currently working on the second level of The Grand Archive. After that, scripting remains and three rooms of the Tower, then an updated version will follow.

Also, if someone can enlighten me as to how an aumtlich moves / attacks and whatnot, that would be certainly helpful as I haven't reached that point in TCB yet and probably won't for some other days since I'll be working on making puzzles in Dangerous Journey. Since those puzzles involve aumtliches... yeah...

____________________________
"Imagination is more important than knowledge." -Albert Einstein

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[Last edited by Fang at 08-02-2008 02:26 PM]

mxvladi
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 2505
Registered: 02-11-2008
IP: Logged

I'm playing Lofange kepp 1E now, and... can you put more checkpoints there, please? Under tarstuff...

Fang
Level: Master Delver

Rank Points: 175
Registered: 07-25-2008
IP: Logged

I'll check about it.

____________________________
"Imagination is more important than knowledge." -Albert Einstein

mxvladi
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 2505
Registered: 02-11-2008
IP: Logged

Fang wrote:
Also, if someone can enlighten me as to how an aumtlich moves / attacks and whatnot, that would be certainly helpful as I haven't reached that point in TCB yet and probably won't for some other days since I'll be working on making puzzles in Dangerous Journey. Since those puzzles involve aumtliches... yeah...

Aumtlcih uses Flexible beelining while moving. It means that it can avoid one-square-long/width obstacles while moving to player. To kill player, it needs to turn himself to player(and step on player, certainly), like guard turns his sword. Instead of sword, aumtlich has beam. Beam can petrify player, so player can't move, but player can still turn while petrified. Sword is good for blocking beams.

Also, if aumtlich's beam stuck in mirror, aumtlich will pretrify itself. It can last until player move or destroys mirror. Or until player puts hit sword between mirror and aumtlich.

Also, player can use his sword like mirror, so aumtlich petrifies itself again. To do it, player need to put sword on path of the beam with 90 degress direction difference. If you don't understand, see img:



So, you see how aumtlichs stuck because of swords.

Hope this is useful for you and will help.

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[Last edited by mxvladi at 08-03-2008 02:23 PM]

Fang
Level: Master Delver

Rank Points: 175
Registered: 07-25-2008
IP: Logged

Alright, will be much useful in the puzzles that will come. ^^

Thanks!

____________________________
"Imagination is more important than knowledge." -Albert Einstein

Fang
Level: Master Delver

Rank Points: 175
Registered: 07-25-2008
IP: Logged

A little preview of a room I'm working on at the moment.



____________________________
"Imagination is more important than knowledge." -Albert Einstein

mxvladi
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 2505
Registered: 02-11-2008
IP: Logged

It looks awesome(in a good way).

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[Last edited by mxvladi at 08-05-2008 04:32 PM]

Fang
Level: Master Delver

Rank Points: 175
Registered: 07-25-2008
IP: Logged

Don't know when I'll be able to update the thread, but I'll try to work on the hold as much as I can. Almost have the East tower done, only like 6 more rooms. For those who gave feedback, thank you for your advices, I will take them in consideration, and I'll eventually post the finished version when I can come back.

____________________________
"Imagination is more important than knowledge." -Albert Einstein