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mxvladi
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File: Zealots Trials.hold (30.3 KB)
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icon Zealots' Trials (+4)  
Update: the hold is now promoted, go try the final version.

Greetings.

It has come to my attention that it has been a while since I have made a hold. While I did make quite a few rooms in various collaborative projects since TSS release, my last solo project was wayyyy back in 2013.

And now it's time to change that.

Here's a relatively small hold (13 puzzle rooms thus far, not going to be much more than that), with 3 puzzle levels: 2 have a common theme going, the third one is just various stuff.

The difficulty is probably what you would expect from me.

It's 100% completable right now and I have demos for every room.

A certain thingy in the hold has custom sprite. My drawing skills are mediocre at best so it's not particularly pretty, but hopefully distinct enough and not too terrible to look at.

Changelog history:
Click here to view the secret text



Things to maybe consider changing:

Click here to view the secret text


[Last edited by mxvladi at 05-02-2020 12:39 PM]
02-23-2020 at 12:26 AM
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mxvladi
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icon Re: Zealots' Temple (0)  
Sorry for double post, but in case anyone is playing this - just want to say that I've uploaded v03 right now after looking at it again and making a few more changes. It doesn't contain any new rooms, only changes to existing stuff. Changelog is in first post. This version fixes any secret-reaching backtracking issues that I am aware of.

Technically the hold is pretty much ready for release as it is right now. I'll leave it here for a week or two in case anyone wants to test it but haven't had the chance yet, if noone bothers with it at all - then I guess I'll just submit.
If anyone wants to test this thing, but is stuck or won't have much time in nearest 1-2 weeks - pls tell, then I'll wait before submitting it.
03-01-2020 at 12:11 AM
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BoyBlue
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icon Re: Zealots' Temple (+1)  
Stronghold of Hordes 1S1E can easily be done without help from the guards.
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03-01-2020 at 09:17 PM
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mxvladi
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icon Re: Zealots' Temple (0)  
BoyBlue wrote:
Stronghold of Hordes 1S1E can easily be done without help from the guards.

That's a pretty significant oversight, thanks.
Updated hold with a quick fix to that.

Click here to view the secret text


[Last edited by mxvladi at 03-01-2020 10:44 PM]
03-01-2020 at 10:43 PM
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KituU
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icon Re: Zealots' Temple (+2)  
Hi, been playing your 10 brain hold !
could solve some rooms, then i'm stuck, some comments:

Click here to view the secret text


edit: demos removed per request

[Last edited by KituU at 03-11-2020 02:44 AM]
03-02-2020 at 08:36 PM
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mxvladi
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icon Re: Zealots' Temple (0)  
KituU wrote:
Hi, been playing your 10 brain hold !
could solve some rooms, then i'm stuck, some comments:

Click here to view the secret text

Thanks for feedback.

Looked at your demos, out of what you've solved so far the only solution that concerns me is to Hordes 1N 1E, everything else is intended.

Comments to your comments (hints included where they're needed):

Click here to view the secret text



[Last edited by mxvladi at 05-01-2020 03:41 PM]
03-03-2020 at 03:25 AM
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KituU
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icon Re: Zealots' Temple (0)  
Yes, Variety 1E : speed potion would be very nice.
Maybe adding another orb, near SW, so that babies in north sector do not move to the east when needing to use orb.

Hordes 2E : I’m off by 4 or 5 constructs, maybe add more arrows to stuck more constructs? , that would make things a bit easier, still is hard work to place constructs on arrows and outside so that all 30 can be killed. Imo the best part of the puzzle is figuring out how to place them on firetraps.

Shapeshifting 1N:
Click here to view the secret text


Edit : got it !! what a fantastic puzzle, so so good, congrats

[Last edited by KituU at 03-03-2020 04:39 AM]
03-03-2020 at 04:09 AM
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mxvladi
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icon Re: Zealots' Temple (0)  
KituU wrote:
Yes, Variety 1E : speed potion would be very nice.
Maybe adding another orb, near SW, so that babies in north sector do not move to the east when needing to use orb.

I'll note that there's orb to NW currently (which I use quite a lot in my solution). I guess going there can also interfere with shuffling babies in northern box though.

But yeah I'll probably just add speed potion here in next update.

Shapeshifting 1N:
Click here to view the secret text

So you have solved about 99% of the room.

**there were hints here, if you're stuck after hold is published H&S is your friend :P **


As for Hordes 2E - we'll see. I might end up including more arrows, but I'll need to redesign some other things in the room in that case.

[Last edited by mxvladi at 05-01-2020 03:41 PM]
03-03-2020 at 04:21 AM
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KituU
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icon Re: Zealots' Temple (0)  
Oh, didn't see reply and edited above post. I finally solved Shapeshifting 1N , it is certainly an amazing puzzle, so creative, awesome !!!!
03-03-2020 at 04:43 AM
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KituU
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icon Re: Zealots' Temple (0)  
Hordes 2E : maybe add 2 hot tiles, under broken orbs?, 2 constructs may be placed there
03-03-2020 at 03:33 PM
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mxvladi
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icon Re: Zealots' Temple (0)  
V04 attached to the first post. Changes are:

Click here to view the secret text

03-03-2020 at 10:58 PM
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KituU
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icon Re: Zealots' Temple (0)  
It would be nice if there were some sign or scroll in Nexus stairs, telling where you are going. Maybe i left a puzzle to do later, and can't remember which stair to take
03-04-2020 at 04:36 AM
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KituU
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icon Re: Zealots' Temple (0)  
Hi, can't solve Shapeshifting 2N
Click here to view the secret text

03-05-2020 at 06:20 PM
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mxvladi
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[Last edited by mxvladi at 05-01-2020 03:42 PM]
03-05-2020 at 06:30 PM
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KituU
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03-05-2020 at 06:42 PM
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mxvladi
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03-05-2020 at 06:49 PM
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KituU
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[Last edited by KituU at 03-05-2020 08:09 PM]
03-05-2020 at 08:08 PM
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mxvladi
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[Last edited by mxvladi at 03-07-2020 09:49 PM]
03-05-2020 at 08:16 PM
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BoyBlue
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icon Re: Zealots' Temple (+1)  
I've solved approximately one of the hard rooms... Can't say I've tested the current version very well.

The hold intro text has inconsistent grammar - "in the middle of oddly".

Shrine of Variety 1E - If the scroll is going to remain in some form, Naerik should be spelled Nareik.

03-06-2020 at 08:47 PM
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mxvladi
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icon Re: Zealots' Trials (0)  
Attached v05 to the first post.

Only visual/text changes, puzzles unchanged compared to the previous version.

Hold name changed a tiny bit.
Hold intro text, ending text, NPC dialogues rewritten because I felt that the little silly plot I have here took itself too seriously before.
Nexus Entrance: now has a signpost that tells which level is where when you step next to it.
Variety 1E: fixed that scroll. Yes, it is most likely going to remain in final version. Someday I'll learn to spell that hold's name right from the first attempt O:-
Most of other "commentary" scrolls in the hold removed. A lot of them were out of date anyway.


Right now the plan is to wait for KituU and blorx to finish the hold (if anyone else plans to fully play through this thing during testing, they're welcome to do so as well), if there aren't any unintended solutions or any other issues remaining - I'll probably submit it.

[Last edited by mxvladi at 03-08-2020 05:56 PM]
03-07-2020 at 09:11 PM
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blorx1
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icon Re: Zealots' Trials (0)  
I started a while back, but then got busy because I started a new job. I can probably test it fully before the end of next weekend.

____________________________
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03-08-2020 at 05:16 PM
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KituU
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Hi,
Shapeshifting 2N : great puzzle . Shapeshifting level puzzles are so creative and ingenious! (role playing involves new drod mechanics to learn, found it quite difficult to realize how to solve it)

Shapeshifting 3N: Fascinating. At first felt quite exasperating, and difficult, managing the Golems and Aumlitch's gaze in hot tiles, and so much is needed to do, but after finding a way to start eliminating Aumlitchs it was a lot of fun. (attach demo for v4, don't know if updating to v5 will save progress)

edit: demo removed per request

Shapeshifting 2S : sooo very stuck
Suppositions so far
Click here to view the secret text


[Last edited by KituU at 03-11-2020 02:45 AM]
03-10-2020 at 10:48 PM
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mxvladi
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icon Re: Zealots' Trials (0)  
Glad you like Shapeshifting, it is the primary reason this hold is made.

KituU wrote:
Shapeshifting 3N: Fascinating. At first felt quite exasperating, and difficult, managing the Golems and Aumlitch's gaze in hot tiles, and so much is needed to do, but after finding a way to start eliminating Aumlitchs it was a lot of fun. (attach demo for v4, don't know if updating to v5 will save progress)

3N - looked at how you did it. Actually a bit different from my approach. But still perfectly ok solution. And yes it works in latest version.
I'll also note that there is a secret room above 3N, getting there is a separate puzzle (kind of, still involves solving this room in one way or another). Seeding beacon is your friend as you'll probably need to replay it O:-

Alao, a small request - while providing demos is appreciated, mind removing demo(s) after I acknowledge that I've downloaded and seen them? Not a big fan of demos lying around for everyone to download in the future.

Shapeshifting 2S : sooo very stuck
Suppositions so far
Click here to view the secret text

Click here to view the secret text


blorx1 wrote:
I started a while back, but then got busy because I started a new job. I can probably test it fully before the end of next weekend.

Since I've made this post anyway, I'll note that you're welcome to do so (but that should already be obvious ;)). I don't expect to be done with this earlier than this weekend anyway.


Ninja edit: so I've been thinking, and I wonder if I should rename the level "shrine of variety". Looking at puzzles there, all of them are more or less based on manipulating something somewhere to solve the room (which, frankly, is the case with majority of my puzzles, but whatever).
Something like "Shrine of Manipulation" sounds better, maybe?

[Last edited by mxvladi at 05-01-2020 03:43 PM]
03-11-2020 at 01:52 AM
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KituU
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icon Re: Zealots' Trials (+2)  
Hi,
Click here to view the secret text

03-13-2020 at 07:49 PM
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mxvladi
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Attached v06 with several changes.
Changes are: Shrine of Variety is now Shrine of Manipulation because why not, a few dialogue changes in Nexus, and some changes to Shapeshifting.

Re: KituU's comments:

Click here to view the secret text


[Last edited by mxvladi at 05-01-2020 03:43 PM]
03-13-2020 at 08:25 PM
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KituU
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Hi
Nexus signpost that tells which level is where : imo, it is easy to overlook, it's a bit disguised
Shapeshifting 5N - agree, wubba switchers fits the shapeshifting theme.
Shapeshifting 2S : stuck
Click here to view the secret text


03-16-2020 at 08:32 PM
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mxvladi
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icon Re: Zealots' Trials (0)  
For 2S:
Click here to view the secret text
03-17-2020 at 04:14 AM
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KituU
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mxvladi wrote:
For NE chamber, I have a different setup in mind...
Click here to view the secret text

Very interesting, and probably very challenging.
2 things i noticed:
1- monsters behave unbrained towards temporal
2- pushing a temporal with stick in the direction it is next programmed to move, then , it counts as if the temporal did that moved, it uses that recording move.

Click here to view the secret text

03-17-2020 at 09:27 PM
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mxvladi
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Ninja edit: also, I have uploaded what should be final version of the hold, unless some new issues arise. Or unless anyone thinks that adding alternative-version of Shapeshifting 2S with KituU's solution enfroced should happen. I have such version saved in "spare rooms" storage but for now decided against adding it in the hold separately.

The changes compared to previous version are:
1) Shapeshifting 3N now has a triple-role-solution challenge, I've verified that it is possible to get. It may be a bit painful though. But since challenges are optional I'm not too worried;
2) Nexus entrance scroll now credits people who have (so far) provided feedback for the hold.

I'd really like to submit this hold in the end of this week.
However, before submitting I'd still really like KituU to finish Shapeshifting level completely (and preferably at least take a look at unsolved rooms in other levels). I can give spoilers for 2S if its too tricky O:-
And I recall blorx saying he was playing through this, so his feedback would be great as well.

[Last edited by mxvladi at 05-01-2020 03:44 PM]
03-17-2020 at 09:41 PM
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KituU
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icon Re: Zealots' Trials (0)  
Hi, demo for 2S : this room is so clever!!!! amazing
The most challenging is realizing how it may be solved, brain melting!!! , the execution if planned is not difficult at all, though it seems very impossible initially.

(edit: demo removed)

[Last edited by KituU at 03-18-2020 10:02 PM]
03-18-2020 at 09:36 PM
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