TrapperDave wrote:Edit: oooooopps I reset the Age, I always do to start & when done before I read these posts
I saw that this evening. I don't mind as I'm still trying to understand the Sudoku puzzle. On one hand I have a sudoku grille and on the other I have the picture above... it doesn't make any sense! There's no way a given number {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9} can be associated with a colour marble. Maybe my assumption is false then. It might be the result of an addition...
Given the result of 9 x 8 x 7 x 6 x 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1, which doesn't have to be calculated to understand it's huge... we cannot just try cracking that solution by brute force!
TrapperDave wrote:But I keep falling off the 2nd one, I tried R/J to start, W/J & walk, & just plain walking or running it.
We all know that Dave... except JJJ himself!!!
I don't know how to call this... maybe "misplaced pride"
EDIT: I have a "way" that works!
You cross carefully the first bridge by walking, non continuous walking, go very slowly. Once on the middle rock, when the 2nd bridge is stopped completely, do a simple walk-jump (make sure to aim the centre). If you are still alive after that, walk slowly until the other end.
You'll see that I've reach a new level. It's passed the pyramid. You have a huge hole and at the bottom you enter an area with... let me show you this in an image
SPOILER
- Show Spoiler
In that area you must find your way jumping from one rock to the other. For now, I'll take a break because it's too hard to do it when you cannot go more than 4 or 5 rocks before making a false move which will inadvertably send you to your Relto. I'll wait for the offline version to speed up the process of finding the right path.
Overall Observations
With what I've seen so far, I'll say the title of the thread is well-chosen: "Lonirvan: The Challenge".
It's a real challenge. It put you in every steps of the way in a different challenge that test different abilities. The great thing with that kind of age is that you always want to return to push further more but the downfall of it is that inevitably, you'll find a challenge that won't be of your taste at all. The area I'm in right now is perfect... for someone like me who like to jump everywhere. It won't be the cup of tea of everyone and yet, we must go through that area. I'm already fearing the "musical challenge" that must be right after or maybe a little bit further as I'm tone-deaf. It will be such a pain.
If you prefer exploration over puzzles, there are ages out there that are more fit than Lonirvan. As I can see with JJJ's ages so far, they are more centred on puzzle solving. To go from one area to the other, there is no secret: you must solve a puzzle. The whole area is dedicated for that. It takes a diversity of ages to meet everyone's taste. I'm wondering if Lonirvan in its whole concept is not too difficult to be appreciated fully. Because... when you fall off in a pit, you are sent back to your Relto immediately. When you come back... well you have to go through each area one by one. It's really annoying. After 2 falls in the area 4, I decided that: "That's it for tonight!" The fun is out real quick that way. If we take in comparison, the huge Elsewhere. If you do a misstep or you go back to your Relto or you take a break, you got saving points to move quicker around the age. The same with Elodea. JJJ talks about "reset modules" along the way. Yes that could be great but I urge you to avoid touching any of them! Why? Because, you will inevitably fall off & be sent to your Relto meaning that you will have to reopen what you have closed back by touching those "reset modules".
JJJ wants points, here are the points I give so far (Area 4 or 5) not sure where I am actually out of a theoretical 9 levels.
Playability (Movement Controls): 1 (I rarely saw an age so annoying to move around, there was Maw by Whilyam that was a real pain back before he changed some parameters) (The camera keeps going from back to front view and it's not helping us at all. Especially when you should have your focus on "staying alive" like when you cross the 'S' bridge)
Puzzle difficulty: 2 (because of next point, this is why I dislike games like Myst, an array of puzzles that include some that inevitably someone will fall at solving it. Riven which is a perfect game in comparison, is more well-balanced in term of puzzle-solving, Exile & URU too. This is part why I like URU (1st), Riven (2nd), & Exile (3rd). The rest of Cyan games are inattractive to me. Visually they are obviously but not in terms of general gameplay)
Puzzle diversity: 5 (which might not always be a sign of perfection)
Overall Challenge: 3 (mitigate by the fact that the "real challenge" is not what JJJ intended it to be...)
Exploration: 1 (It's mainly aimed at puzzle solving)
For now, I'll wait until the game is out for offline playing which will give me greater power on "when I go back to my Relto". I'm under the impression that age writers have this fear of "cheating" as if it was written in explorer's DNA or something?!? It's great to put panic link zones but why put them as near as a 1 D'ni foot of the normal area? Why are you so protective? Is there such a secret inside your age that we ought to be sent to our Relto if we do a misstep (often, like in the case of Lonirvan, it's not even our fault!)
Because cheating for cheating, anyone with enough knowledge of the codes can do it! Because anything that can be compiled... well... can be decompiled! So it's always good to put some protection in-game but pushing the protections too far is a turn-off.
Conclusion:
I like the age despite all the points I mentioned above. I won't be on my top favourite list but it's quite a challenge. Great job JJJ!