Facepalm inducing deaths

timsamoff · 2013-04-12 08:46:37

This is what I'm really annoyed at. When I create an impossible puzzle (by accident) and test it, I can't go back to fix it... I have to commit suicide. It's very frustrating -- makes me not want to play. Of course, I'll keep playing -- I want to get better at constructing puzzles -- but dying without being able to alter mistakes is quite ridiculous.

zed · 2013-04-12 10:54:54

Forcing you to risk your life testing your houses has an important function: it promotes houses which aren't too hard to escape from even once you're deep in their bowels.

But I propose a compromise: keep permadeath for self-test, but allow the player to take along their backpack. They have to get to the vault without using any tools for it to count as a successful self-test, but they can use tools to escape if they accidentally trap themselves. Any tool-induced damage stays.

timsamoff · 2013-04-12 13:05:54

I'm not sure if I agree... If you make a house that's overly complex, that's one thing. If you make a house in which you just can't get to the safe because of a dumb mistake, it's another. Just because I accidentally place the wrong switch before testing doesn't mean that I should die for it... I should be able to go back and replace the switch and test again.

bgorven · 2013-04-12 14:39:40

You might not know that if you go back to the front door you can return to construction mode without locking-in and paying for any changes you've made so far.

In my last house I had one place that would lock you in about half way through, but after dying twice to that design I added a way to disable that trap, except that unlocking the exit also meant releasing a pit-bull that would chase me to the door. It was quite exciting, and made testing a lot easier, because I didn't need to create an exit path for myself each time.

timsamoff · 2013-04-12 19:56:15

Oh, my... Now I feel like a complete idiot. Thank you for this revelation (which, of course, probably isn't one).

Matrix · 2013-04-13 05:47:55

timsamoff wrote:

Oh, my... Now I feel like a complete idiot. Thank you for this revelation (which, of course, probably isn't one).

Yeah that's the essential part!

But there's more... the cost of new/changed parts of your house is only deducted from your money if you reach the vault. That means that you can test your house by using safe elements and then replace them once you know that the system works as intended without losing money. You can do this in many situations and for most traps, sometimes you just need to use a bit of imagination.

Here's a few tricks that I personally use:
1. Make extra emergency exits in walls so that you don't get stuck when testing.
2. Temporarily replace walls with windows to see if your system is acting like you want it to.
3. Temporarily replace part of the Electric Floor/Pits with normal wire and test movement/trap triggers on that instead of the Electric Floor/Pits itself.
4. Temporarily replace Pit Bulls with Chihuahuas, they both have the exact same mechanics, but Chihuahuas won't kill you.
5. Once you double check that everything works as intended (don't walk into the vault but leave the house instead), replace everything with the right tiles and perform the dangerous proof run (reach the vault).

Last time I died due to a mistake in my own house was a month ago when I was still learning the game. So it works.

Last edited by Matrix (2013-04-13 05:51:07)

timsamoff · 2013-04-15 17:58:11

Ok, so how about this?

I just tested a very complex level with a chihuahua about twenty times to make sure that I could do it... Worked flwlessly every time. Then, I replaced the chihuahua with the pit bull and tested and the pit bull got me!

Arg... Shouldn't that have worked?

Thanks...

vraeden · 2013-04-15 20:13:39

I just spent 3 days making a maze that the anti combo, timer, and dance crew would love to play in. In trying to get the last bit of money to add the last trap, I stepped on a sleeping pitbull (that was on top of a dead wife).

JUST AINT WORTH IT. Combo locking and dancing is far far simpler.

Matrix · 2013-04-16 00:52:27

timsamoff wrote:

Ok, so how about this?
I just tested a very complex level with a chihuahua about twenty times to make sure that I could do it... Worked flwlessly every time. Then, I replaced the chihuahua with the pit bull and tested and the pit bull got me!
Arg... Shouldn't that have worked?
Thanks...

Assuming that the chihuahua never got to you in the testing phases
and assuming you didn't change anything else or in case you did, assuming that the changes didn't affect the system logic
and assuming that you performed the exact same steps
it should have worked.

But as you can see there's a lot of assumptions.

You can always replay your last recorded game by copying the file from the recordedGames folder into the playbackGame folder. Watching replays is the best way to analyse mistakes.

timsamoff · 2013-04-16 11:47:34

Matrix wrote:

But as you can see there's a lot of assumptions.

But, all of your assumptions are correct. I purposely made the exact same steps, etc., while testing. I'll see what I can find out with the playbacks.

Matrix · 2013-04-16 11:53:35

timsamoff wrote:

Matrix wrote:
But as you can see there's a lot of assumptions.
But, all of your assumptions are correct. I purposely made the exact same steps, etc., while testing. I'll see what I can find out with the playbacks.

Playbacks are awesome. Especially for this kind of things

vraeden · 2013-04-16 14:58:09

Is there a way to fastforward playbacks?

The Castle Doctrine Forums

#301 2013-04-12 08:46:37

Re: Facepalm inducing deaths

#302 2013-04-12 10:54:54

Re: Facepalm inducing deaths

#303 2013-04-12 13:05:54

Re: Facepalm inducing deaths

#304 2013-04-12 14:39:40

Re: Facepalm inducing deaths

#305 2013-04-12 19:56:15

Re: Facepalm inducing deaths

#306 2013-04-13 05:47:55

Re: Facepalm inducing deaths

#307 2013-04-15 17:58:11

Re: Facepalm inducing deaths

#308 2013-04-15 20:13:39

Re: Facepalm inducing deaths

#309 2013-04-16 00:52:27

Re: Facepalm inducing deaths

#310 2013-04-16 11:47:34

Re: Facepalm inducing deaths

#311 2013-04-16 11:53:35

Re: Facepalm inducing deaths

#312 2013-04-16 14:58:09

Re: Facepalm inducing deaths

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