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File: Riddle of the Bar.hold (2.4 MB)
Downloaded 773 times.
License: Other
From: Unspecified

This is the compilation hold for the official June
2011 Caravel Forums contest.

Architects BoyBlue, da rogu3, Penwielder
(featuring voice acting by west.logan), techant,
and Trickster each designed a hold of 14 puzzling
rooms in order to retell the story of "The Riddle
of the Bar": Tahnan's winning entry to the May
2011 Caravel Forums contest.

This hold includes both Tahnan's original story
and all five entries, with minimal changes for
formatting (no change was made to intended
solutions or story).

Trickster

west.logan
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 608
Registered: 03-09-2011
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Ha, looks like da rogu3 already spent time going for firsts

Been really looking forward to this and it looks nice Trickster.

____________________________
-Logan

da rogu3
Level: Smiter

Rank Points: 491
Registered: 04-06-2011
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Edit: @posts below, almost all my 1st places have been lost, so no, there isn't any unfair advantage whatsoever.

Speaking of the hold, this is a nicely put together compilation, and if you weren't following the contests, this is probably worth checking out.

---

[Last edited by da rogu3 at 09-20-2011 09:09 PM]

west.logan
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 608
Registered: 03-09-2011
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I don't see a problem. 4 of the 5 holds are not his

Perhaps I'd better hold of on trying for firsts, just in case the voice-acting parts give me an unfair advantage...

____________________________
-Logan

Banjooie
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 1645
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It's actually a disadvantage: DROD voice actors can't move rafts by themselves.

Jatopian
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 1842
Registered: 07-31-2005
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They need a big strong man to help them.

____________________________
DROD has some really great music.
Make your pressure plates 3.0 style!
DROD architecture idea generator

Jatopian
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 1842
Registered: 07-31-2005
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It's a reference to a secret room in the last Smitemaster's Selection.

____________________________
DROD has some really great music.
Make your pressure plates 3.0 style!
DROD architecture idea generator

Pekka
Level: Smiter
Rank Points: 302
Registered: 09-19-2007
IP: Logged

I just conquered the hold. I'll probably go back for the secrets and unrequired rooms later.

I rated this 8 for difficulty, because it was quite hard for me at times. Nevertheless, there are a lot of easier rooms to play before meeting the really challenging ones, so I feel I cannot go higher than that considering the whole. Part of the difficulty for me came from having forgotten some features of Halph's behavior.

For overall rating I gave this 9. I really enjoyed most of the puzzles very much. The extra features (cut-scenes, voice acting) are a nice addition to any hold, though I must confess I didn't pay that much attention to them yet. Perhaps on a replay...

My biggest complaint is that a few of the rooms, like Trickster 1 North & 2 East, are needlessly big and repetitive. That one in particular would work just as well being half the size, and feel less like a chore too. The general high quality of puzzles more than makes up for the rare sloggy parts, though.

To wrap up: Thanks for a great hold. It was exactly the hold I wanted to play right now. And I usually like to replay a hold I like once again ( or even a few times) after a while, so I probably will replay this one too!

Pekka
Level: Smiter
Rank Points: 302
Registered: 09-19-2007
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I liked 2E because you have to deal with wubbas in different ways towards the end of the room. Dropping the platforms wasn't bad either, it just took a bit of planning to do effectively. As far as I am concerned, that's a fine room.

I haven't seen the secret yet, thought I've got a good idea where it is. I should probably take a look at it soon, because you made it sound so... promising

Pekka
Level: Smiter
Rank Points: 302
Registered: 09-19-2007
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Yes, I have found both the secrets now. I have the one with tarstuff left before mastering the hold and peeking behind the master wall. I don't feel up to it right now, but some day soon I will go back there

Pekka
Level: Smiter
Rank Points: 302
Registered: 09-19-2007
IP: Logged

Mxvladi's result is pretty impressive all right. It took me 4007 moves, but I wasn't really focused on being effective. Also, heck if I know how to remove the gel effectively. It took me ages and ages until I figured out how to make it retreat even a couple of squares.

Now, just looking at the post-mastery room, I'm quite content with merely mastering the hold.

I really should get back to working on my own hold instead. On the plus side, I got some ideas out of this hold that I might end up using; and if they are obvious homages to some rooms here, I will credit the original architects. (I usually try to adapt and combine ideas instead of copying. Seeing how many architects there are doing fine work, there are no doubt accidental discoveries of similar ideas, too. But, ehm, this isn't the place to talk about that.)

Pekka
Level: Smiter
Rank Points: 302
Registered: 09-19-2007
IP: Logged

OK, OK, I've now conquered that room too. Stuff like that can cause smiting fatigue.

Rat Man
Level: Master Delver
Rank Points: 121
Registered: 07-10-2010
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Aah! I forgot about the bar game. I've gotta work it out before they change it again.

____________________________
I'M IN SPACE!

west.logan
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 608
Registered: 03-09-2011
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Wrong Bar Game, Rat Man. This is the thread for the compilation hold that was part of the recent contest.

____________________________
-Logan

Rat Man
Level: Master Delver
Rank Points: 121
Registered: 07-10-2010
IP: Logged

Oops! Sorry. I just looked at the Caravel email and didn't go to the first post of the topic. This is the second time I've made that mistake; I won't do it again.

____________________________
I'M IN SPACE!