Released

[Toybox]

Actually, most jumps are sort of allright, only a few are really hard and stressful (when they involve moving stuff and you don't have time to tiptoe to the edge and calculate the jump).

On the nice side, the mansion also provided some hitchcock moments, when Jack has no life left and has to be extra careful while looking for some saving point. It happened to me when I had to climb down some tubes just before the last save. (It's those moments when you get sad to face one of the jumps described above.)

It is nice to replay your own old mansions, it is a feeling not unlike discovering them for the first time indeed! And you end up cursing and shouting at yourself for hiding the secrets too well, too

By the way, I experienced some 'slowing down' problems as you say in the info bit, but, amusingly enough, not with lava but with the flying heads. It felt like a slow motion in the movies

[aquaMat]

Yeah, I left that in deliberately as kind of a surprise effect.

Interestingly, it doesn't happen on my big Mac (G5, Dual 2.0 GHz), but on my smaller G5 (1.8 GHz processor) it does.
But this smaller computer had also a few problems with the all-lava room at the beginning, which was not so nice....therefore I mentioned that in the info.

[aquaMat]

@ everybody:

BTW, the new update (Version 1.2) has been sent to the admins a few days ago.

Once it is released I strongly recommend all players to upgrade and trash the older version(s).

[Semi-Native]

Hi aquaMat,

I'm thoroughly enjoying (!) Jump, but it is oh so challenging. Your designs are really awesome, how do you come up with this stuff. I'm working on the next section of Catacombs, and it's very hard for me to come up with something interesting. Can you give me some tips on your design process?

Thanks!

[aquaMat]

Hi Semi-Native,

you probably won't believe it, but THE FOUR TUBES is the only one of my mansions that I have actually pre-planned (to a certain extent) by sketching the overall layout on a sheet of paper.

All others, including JUMP!, were done more on impulse or in a

stream-of-consciousness-kind of way

than careful planning.

I don't know why, but this method seems to work for me. Only very rarely, when the creative juices are not flowing at all, can this method result in something akin to

writer's block

..... (

builder's block

, probably   ).

That probably doesn't help you much with the problem at hand, I'm afraid.

One other possible method is to think of an overall

theme

first  (e.g. brell's Pirate Ship, or my

Discotheque

) and then start building according to that theme.
However, this method won't be working with Catacombs, necessarily, as it is a

shared mansion

and doesn't really feature a theme.

Bizarrely, my Catacomvs section was the fastest thing I ever built, took me only 2 days or so....but don't ask me why.
I probably was on a roll that day.

If you need any specific designer tips, don't hesitate to email me.

[SandyBean]

Hi AquaMat,

I just finished your fantasmagic mansion

Jump

and it was great !!! Loved the upside down levers, and all the tough spots, it took up most of my spare time for the last few days, and was always something to look forward to. Really enjoyed the last section btwn save #7 and exit, where it was a true expedition! Keep up the great mansion building, and thanks again!

SandyBean [smiley=2vrolijk_08.gif]

[aquaMat]

Thanks a lot, Sandy,

for your nice remarks about JUMP!
I'm glad that you enjoyed it..... and congratulations on your pretty good
result....with 82 % secrets.

You mentioned the upside down levers....yeah, I'm pretty proud of them, too..... I always like to have one or two small innovations in a mansion.

[nancygevans]

I loved your mansion too, and almost finished it. Can't figure out how to get the last yellow key on the far right side of 18896. Hint please? Thanks for your great work, it's really fun!

Nancy

[aquaMat]

Hi Nanxy,

there's a little trick involved in getting the yellow key you're talking about.

I'm sure if you think about it for a while, you will find out....  while you're thinking let Jackl do a few workouts.

   8-)

[nancygevans]

Very clever!