The Castle Doctrine Forums

That's true to a certain extent, but some players simply will keep burning $2000 worth of tools and killing themselves elsewhere to find a weak spot. Plus, I think you can see through the walls well enough to distinguish between thicknesses of 3 and 4.

Surprise! I think doors are a fun element for that reason (not that it was fun for you at the time...). I didn't even plan such a bait-and-switch, but the ability to even superficially hide information like that just adds another level to a house's atmosphere.

That's the way I've always used houses like that, as a temporary stop gap until I can adequately defend both my wife AND safe from the $2000 start-up crew. Leaving a house like that is for sure boring, but I think it's a reasonable starting strategy seeing as your money is replaceable while your wife is not (and you must decide on one or the other at the beginning or risk ruination...).

Not a fan of the drug-lure-shoot-crowbar technique, are we?

I'm a new player myself (just got the game this weekend), and I just died during a self-test after sinking over $13k into my design (the most I've been able to get up to yet). There was certainly a sinking feeling the moment I realized I hadn't performed all my steps properly, but I find that aspect of the game an attraction personally. The intensity that permanent death lends to the game gives it a very different feel from most games I've played. When I accidentally take one step closer to that pit bull than I meant to, there's a wonderful heart-in-your-throat moment that simply can't be replicated without the sense that something of value is a keyboard press away from being lost forever.

I do confess I found the building mode very frustrating apart from the self test, though. When wiring something I could never remember what connection I needed to make, and of course the necessary information was off-screen, so I had to tear down and re-build countless walls just trying to remind myself what my plan was (I do appreciate not actually being charged for such ephemeral changes). I have even warmed some to this aspect, though, as it reminds me of building projects in real life, where I inevitably screw something up 5 steps back and have to dismantle a large portion of my work to fix things. More complicated designs are not just more expensive, and don't just take more imagination, they are actually harder to build, and that can be a good thing. Not to mention that it only intensifies the sense of ownership you have over your home, and the sense of loss when your life is snuffed out far too early...

Anyway, that's enough out of me. I wanted some opportunity to express my reaction to the game, and this felt like the appropriate place for it

I experienced the same behavior when I logged on this morning. I was excited that my tapes said two players had died while attempting my house overnight, only to be disappointed as I watched people repeatedly enter, look at the first trap without attempting anything, and leave.