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Level: Legendary Smitemaster
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File: Way Forward.hold (37.1 KB)
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License: Other
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A medium-high difficulty hold built as a collaborative project.

jbluestein
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 1670
Registered: 12-23-2005
IP: Logged

Short form: Play this hold

Long form:
When this pops up on the screen, it looks like another hold from Calamarain, which should be cause for rejoicing in any case, but the truth of the matter is that it's even better:

This hold is a collaborative effort between seven excellent architects: Calamarain, Jacob, Chaco, Dischorran, BoyBlue, Jutt and agaricus5. It's organized in rough levels of difficulty, so you are faced with Jacob's and Chaco's work first, which is easier (but by no means trivial), and then you move on to Calamarain and Dischorran...and finally onto BoyBlue and Jutt. agaricus5 does have some contributions here, but you'll have to work a little harder to find those.

So now you know what it is...*how* is it? The truth is that it is excellent.

The early stuff is challenging and fun, the middle levels are more challenging and just as fun, and the final levels are tear-your-hair-out, rend-your-clothing difficult in places (particularly Jutt's offering), and a perfect capper for a wonderful hold.

I rate this hold an aggregate of about 7.5 brains -- the earlier stuff is easier than that, probably six brains, and some of the later rooms are closer to 8 brains, but 7.5 seems about right.

More importantly, I'm giving the hold a 10 for fun, something I don't do terribly often.

Josh

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"Rings and knots of joy and grief, all interlaced and locking." --William Buck

Jacob
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 3749
Registered: 10-01-2004
IP: Logged

The remit here was to make interesting and challenging puzzles using as few elements as possible. (This is the "Way Forward"!)

I think this has been achieved pretty well, and there are some excellent and original puzzles here, although the later levels get too challenging for me.

Please install the InFlames tileset from Gigantic Jewel Lost as it is used in this hold.

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New to DROD? You may want to read this.
My Holds and Levels:

12th Archivist
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 789
Registered: 12-07-2008
IP: Logged

Excellent excellent excellent! Excellent! ...Did I mention excellent?

I'm only about halfway through the first level, but I like what I see here. So far, only Chacos' puzzles have been given my significant attention, but these puzzles are worthy of me giving more attention. Much more. His puzzles are challenging but fun enough to make me keep trying. Well done guys! Hope to see more of your holds soon!

7 brains
9 fun
33 percent H&S require

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It was going well until it exploded.
~Scott Manley

Check out the DROD Wikia project here!

Chaco
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 3642
Registered: 10-06-2005
IP: Logged

In short, this hold is well worth playing.

For more specific comments, I'll second most of what everyone else said; there's some creative work by everyone involved here. This project was an effort for the seven architects to make simple, digestible rooms (that are by no means easy). I think we succeeded in this and successfully made a nice collaborative hold.

This gets my recommendation, and not just because I haven't published any architectural work in a while.

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

calamarain
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 933
Registered: 03-25-2007
IP: Logged

I have to agree with what was posted above. Although I'm listed as the "official" author of the hold, all I did was build one level and build the basic structure. Dischorran filled in the linking-up gaps.

Go play it - it's nice and varied. Lots of different architects lead to a variation of work.

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My Holds

Penwielder
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 628
Registered: 09-12-2009
IP: Logged

Conquered in 8:20:40... no telling how long mastery could take, though. Very good hold. The difficulty level was perfect for me. The storyline was mildly amusing as well.

I think this was my first level by Jacob, calamarain, or Jutt, excluding levels in Advanced Concepts. Chaco's level seemed easier than some of his other ones elsewhere (not less enjoyable, mind you), but that might just be a result of my changing experience level. Dischorran's level was the best level I've seen from him. As for Boyblue, his level was exactly as you would expect from him; simple, yet provably impossible (it may seem). 2E was my favorite, and I learned a little something from 1S. Jutt's level showed practical uses of tarstuff-based tricks I'd noticed but never used in the past.

I'm not sure what I'll rate it yet, since I haven't played enough of the holds out there to be able to judge the relative difficulty/quality of any single one, but rest assured that when I do the overall will be at least an 8.5.

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Penwielder's Palace, Detention Complex, Archipelago, Cube of Memories

Blondbeard
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 1486
Registered: 03-31-2005
IP: Logged

Some rooms I genuinly liked, like Workflow 3S, some rooms that felt rather meh, like Water Containment 1S, and some rooms that really wasn't my style, like floating Centerpiece 1N. Mixed feelings all in all

Ivcha Pivcha
Level: Delver

Rank Points: 80
Registered: 08-02-2010
IP: Logged

Put your skills to the test and try this hold if you consider yourself all-around DROD player.
For me this is the best hold that I ever played.


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Never read books you aren't sure about . . . even supposing that these bad books are very well written from a literary point of view. Let me ask you this: Would you drink something you knew was poisoned just because it was offered to you in a golden cup? ~ St. John Bosco