Floor Switch Problem (bug ??)

[aquaMat]

Hi y'all !

I have the following

design problem

with floor switches (and I remember having had a similar situation at least once before).

The following text refers to picture below:

I have included 2 grey doors, let's call them Door L(eft) and Door R(ight), as indicated below.
Also I have included 3 floor switches, 1, 2 and 3.
(Switch 1 has been included as the LAST switch, you'll later see why).

WHAT I WANTED TO ACHIEVE:

Jack enters from top left, after he has opened DOOR L with the help of another switch at the bottom left earlier. He proceeds to the right, and once he has stepped on Switch 2 (top center) the right Door R has opened. What I tried to achieve w/ Switch 3 was: accidentially Jack will then step on Switch 3 and Door R will close (again) in his face, as a suprise gimmick.

Problem 1: As there is no command

Close sprite ID # XXX

for switches, I had to use

Close ALL grey doors

....which unfortunately results in DOOR L being also closed again.

Therefore I had to include Switch 1, as a means to re-open Door L.

Problem 2: No matter how and what I mark in the Switch 1's edit field, this switch can only be used ONCE....even if

Switch can only be used once

is UNCHECKED ! Which results in.....

Problem 3: If Jack accidentially steps in Switch 1 BEFORE stepping on switches 2 and 3 (=Door L is still open anyway), this counts as

used once

and will later, when Door L is really closed result in a JS !!

No matter how I mark the resp. properties of all switches, I can simply NOT manage to make the room work as I want it to, which is:

Jack comes in, steps on Switch 2, Door R opens, then steps on Switch 3 and Door R closes again, so he has to return to the room before and try again.!
Mostly because of the two above mentioned reasons
- Command

Close sprite OD # _____" is missing and
- Switch can always be only used once, no matter what I check or uncheck.

So..... this must surely be some sort of programming loophole, if not a bug.

Anybody have an idea ???
(Sorry for being so long-winded.... 8-) )

[Toybox]

aquaMat wrote:
Problem 2: No matter how and what I mark in the Switch 1's edit field, this switch can only be used ONCE....even if

Switch can only be used once

is UNCHECKED !

That is most peculiar... Has it always happened to you, or only today in this specific room?

Maybe you can replace it with a lever to open the door L (although it wouldn't look so nice)?

[aquaMat]

Thank you, Toybox....

You're the only one who bothered to answer !!

I was very busy in the last couple of days (as I'm in a flow....creating yet another new mansion, from which the above picture stems), that's why I didn't reply earlier !

It has happened once before (in another mansion of mine, with a similar situation) and back then Vern explained it had something to do with the logic with which those commands were

treated

by the computer. I can't remember the details, unfortunately....!

In this situation, I have of course thought about using a lever to work around the problem, too.... but not only doesn't it look as good (as you said) but there are other disadvantages as well....mainly the

surprise element

doesn't work with a lever.

I have meanwhile tried everything and it only gets worse.... there was even a situation where another JS occurred (in front of Door L) where the switch on the loewr left couldn't be used a second time.

So I fear I can only solve this problem by forgetting the whole

surprise gimmick

thing and erasing both switches 2 and 3....a shame, really, but I don't seem to have any options left.

Maybe anybode else here happens to have an idea ???

The whole thing would be solved, if Vern had chosen to include the command

Close sprite ID # ____

for the floor switches.... but it doesn't exist, even though I don't understand why.

The second problem seems to be a bug, really..... the fact that some switches can't be used twice, even if the appropriate command has been unchecked.

[Toybox]

After an answer as brilliant and thorough as mine was, I understand that nobody had anything left to add

(By the way, the Four Tubes look fantastic 8-) )

You've tried everything? So I guess that easy suggestions like deleting the switches and re-creating them in a different order, or using a different model (not the Soil ones) are not helpful?

Could you use the 'toggle gray doors' option for the switches 2 and 3? (I can't remember if it exists in floor switches - I don't use them that much :-?) This way,
- walking on 2 opens R but closes L,
- walking on 3 re-closes R but opens L.

Of course you would end up with L being closed upon exiting the room, but I believe you are resourceful enough to cope with that.