Chaco
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 3624
Registered: 10-06-2005
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File: checkerboard.zip (4.8 MB)
Downloaded 37 times.
License: Public Domain

Some minor spoilers if you have not yet played Treacle Stew : Level Two : 1 South, 1 West. Nothing about the puzzle is discussed here, just the shape of the room.

In one of Alex Diener's YouTube videos about Treacle Stew: Episode 8, Alex said that "[his] eyes don't like this room", and one of his commenters agreed that he was starting to feel physically nauseated too. While I don't have that visceral of a reaction to it, I can certainly see where they're coming from, and think that there's an opportunity to improve accessibility here.

I originally built the room with walls to mirror how King Dugan's Dungeon also built checkerboards with plain walls and floor (e.g. King Dugan\'s Dungeon : Fourteenth Level : 1 North, 3 East, and King Dugan\'s Dungeon : Eighteenth Level : 2 North, 2 East). However, at least in cases where there aren't pushing weapons, Seep, evil eyes, etc. there's some possible alternative ways to make a diagonal checkerboard pattern of floor and impassible tiles here.

https://imgur.com/a/rzNHKHn
EDIT 2023-04-24: I've attached a zip file with the imgur pictures since imgur may be deleting these in the future.

I've posted some pictures of different diagonal patterns in this album; let me know which of these you prefer, or feel free to post your own editor screenshots and suggestions of how you'd like rooms with this diagonal pattern of free squares and obstacles to look.

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

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[Last edited by Chaco at 04-24-2023 09:51 PM]

ThemsAllTook
Level: Master Delver

Rank Points: 207
Registered: 06-23-2014
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Interesting comparison! I'm still finding the checkerboard water ones a bit hard to look at, with a slightly different feeling to it than the walls. The gravestones at the end are nice and comfortable, though. The one with the lighting dimmed is a little bit gentler, but even the one with full lighting and shadows feels pretty nice.

Tuttle
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 1545
Registered: 02-22-2003
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In this particular case, pits? There's no shadow cast across the other floors, and because they're all single squares you don't get the depth effect within the pits either.

averagemoe
Level: Smiter

Rank Points: 487
Registered: 03-22-2012
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Just for the sake of thoroughness, let's see the "bread, eggs, breaded eggs" approach of using water with tombstones sticking out of it.

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There are two types of sheep in the world. Those who jump off a bridge when told to, and those who jump off a bridge when told not to. Don't be either.

Ezlo
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 1214
Registered: 01-08-2006
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I like all the dimmer ones over their bright counterparts, so for me I think its the shadows that are causing the discomfort.

Someone Else
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 1300
Registered: 06-14-2005
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The gravestones are easily the worst for me. I don't have any visual discomfort looking at any of them, but to me the gravestones don't scan as a checkerboard pattern nicely.

Rabscuttle
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 2460
Registered: 09-10-2004
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Platforms in water, rafts in pits?

Character gel babies as walls

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[Last edited by Rabscuttle at 01-02-2023 10:27 AM]

Alexhauler
Level: Roachling
Rank Points: 10
Registered: 01-25-2024
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Tuttle wrote:
In this particular case, pits? There's no shadow cast across the other floors, and because they're all single squares you don't get the depth effect within the pits either.