Beta 2: Citadel of Dr Cassiopus

[VernJensen]

Post here for comments for Citadel of Dr Cassiopus (all difficulties). Please start each paragraph in your message with the room number you are writing about. (Push Command-D to see room numbers in the game.)

[Toybox]

Here is a list of modifications which were made to the previous versions. I hope I didn't forget any; and if some things are unclear I can reformulate them.

There we go:

• 16706 Normal - bat platform stops one brick away from the ceiling (instead of against it).
  
• 15911 Easy & Hard - you cannot fall on top of the bird cage from the room above.
  
• 16713 Easy - Reorganised the platforms a little, so you can get back easily from 16513 if you want to.
  
• 15512 Easy - the lever doesn't get reset anymore when you leave the room. (Other levers have been changed throughout Easy, Normal and Hard, didn't keep track of where.)
  
• 15113 Easy Normal & Hard - extended the pole so you can slide back directly to the ground floor.
  
• 15314 Easy - can go back to lower ledge now.
  
• 15114 Easy, Normal, Hard - fixed the way back from the secret ledge where you could unfairly jump back on.
  
• 15313 Easy - the huge gap was reduced so you can jump across
  
• 16710 Hard - blocked the way to the room on the left.
  
• 15907 Hard - a false brick which could cause a Cheap Death was replaced by a solid one.
  
• 16110 Hard - added zappers in some holes so Jack couldn't fall to his being stuck in the room below
  
• 16113 Hard - T switch isn't permanent anymore, allowing for a shortcut to the lower floor once the Tower section has been solved.
  
• 16115 Easy - moved the starting point of the troll, so as to prevent killing him by mistake
  
• 15717 Easy - saddle bag replaced by money. It can be found somewhere else early in the mansion (I forgot where).
  
• 15113 Easy, Normal and Hard - under some circumstances(*) you could jump onto the roof. Now there is a hidden emergency way back.
  

And that should be sort of it [smiley=beer.gif]

(*) possibly fixed by Vern now (from the extra momentum given by platforms moving upwards).

[Semi-Native]

HARD Here are my comments after the first run-through (I felt some rooms were too hard, even for a Hard mansion):

15712 Is it even possible to avoid both ladybugs on vine?

16914 Too hard - too many skeleton fish

15913 Too hard (just slightly) - timing of blocks is inconsistent and makes it a bit too difficult, in my opinion

16518 Too many trolls, makes it really hard (I hate those little guys, by the way) > :-X

16319 BBB should state the minimum number of red keys needed to finish, since there's no way back.

16316 Jack can get in a position that requires suicide (see pic)

[Toybox]

Will deal with these when I'm back home, but first --

0A3C34307417382D302F3C590 wrote:
16319 BBB should state the minimum number of red keys needed to finish, since there's no way back.

But, but... None at all are needed! Not intentionally, at least. It would be stated otherwise (or there would be a way back).

However, if the BBB message is only confusing, I can remove it altogether.

0A3C34307417382D302F3C590 wrote:
16316 Jack can get in a position that requires suicide (see pic)

I'll just add some water and make it instant death. Which, from a practical point of view, is completely equivalent [smiley=evil.gif]

[Toybox]

There we go. And thanks for your comments!

192F272367042B3E233C2F4A0 wrote:
15712  Is it even possible to avoid both ladybugs on vine?

I don't think so, no. You're supposed to use some roundabout way. I added a ladybug so as to make it more obvious that this cannot be the right way. I had a lot at home, left from last summer:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,638831,00.html

Which was a bit like a surrealistic version of Hitchcock's movie

192F272367042B3E233C2F4A0 wrote:
16914  Too hard - too many skeleton fish

Fixed. I am a very poor judge of fish difficulty: I tend to run into all of them anyway, no matter how scarce and nice, so all fish puzzles look the same to me.

192F272367042B3E233C2F4A0 wrote:
15913  Too hard (just slightly) - timing of blocks is inconsistent and makes it a bit too difficult, in my opinion

Indeed -- too hard, but just slightly. So, fixed: since irregularity was sort of the point here, that feature stays [smiley=evil.gif] But I added some overlap time between appearance of a block and vanishing of the previous one.

192F272367042B3E233C2F4A0 wrote:
16518  Too many trolls, makes it really hard (I hate those little guys, by the way)  > :-X

Oh no, it's one of my favourite rooms!
It's quite easy if you know the trick. I will wait for others to comment on this room; if the general agreement is that it is too hard I will slow down the little badgers.

192F272367042B3E233C2F4A0 wrote:
16319  BBB should state the minimum number of red keys needed to finish, since there's no way back.

Hey, wait a minute! Red keys are not even mentioned up there, so the player is not even misled!

192F272367042B3E233C2F4A0 wrote:
16316  Jack can get in a position that requires suicide (see pic)

Hehe. Fixed: now he'll drown no matter where he falls. Actually it also prevents him from going to the room downstairs.

[Semi-Native]

Oops, sorry about 16319. I didn't realize when I was going to the end that no keys were needed. Just an oversight, with all those red doors - so many choices. :-[

That's funny about the ladybugs. Liked your link. ;D

[Toybox]

The ladybugs invasion was really... weird...? Like, if it was any other insect, I would freak out, but ladybugs are so... cute? Like an invasion of kittens, you cannot take them seriously?

It was good though you mentioned the BBBs -- they should not be misleading either. Or only in custom mansions

[divadnala]

Easy

A thoroughly enjoyable mansion and almost all the problems from the first version have been dealt with. A couple of comments:

I know this is an Easy mansion but there seem to be too many shields. Perhaps the backpack could be in one of the early rooms. For example I had to go back and find a monster to use a shield on before I could get the key in room 15511 and when I got to room 15114 I got a sixth key and therefore had no room for any shields. If the backpack was available earlier in the mansion that would give room for six keys and two shields.


In rooms 15113 and 15114 we still have the situation that if Jack loses a life he re-appears with no bat platform to ride around on. You suggested that he should return to the floor below by using the falling platforms. As it happens this works fine in this mansion but to quote an instruction in the tutorial mansion:

Unlike moving platforms, Jack can't ride falling platforms between rooms. Ride down one of these, and Jack will die!

Would it be a good idea to put in a board with a message to let people know that Jack will be safe to go down this way? You suggested this before but I think I forgot to respond – sorry :-[.


In room 16316 Jack can get himself into a strange place by jumping off the moving yellow platform (see picture). He isn't stuck because he can get down again but I don't think you intended him to get up there.

[Toybox]

616C7364616B646964050 wrote:
I know this is an Easy mansion but there seem to be too many shields. Perhaps the backpack could be in one of the early rooms. For example I had to go back and find a monster to use a shield on before I could get the key in room 15511 and when I got to room 15114 I got a sixth key and therefore had no room for any shields. If the backpack was available earlier in the mansion that would give room for six keys and two shields.

OK, I moved the satchel even closer to the beginning of the second part (room 15909, just before the entrance). And I removed one shield in the process. Would this be better?

616C7364616B646964050 wrote:
In rooms 15113 and 15114 we still have the situation that if Jack loses a life he re-appears with no bat platform to ride around on. You suggested that he should return to the floor below by using the falling platforms. As it happens this works fine in this mansion but to quote an instruction in the tutorial mansion:

Unlike moving platforms, Jack can't ride falling platforms between rooms. Ride down one of these, and Jack will die!

Would it be a good idea to put in a board with a message to let people know that Jack will be safe to go down this way? You suggested this before but I think I forgot to respond – sorry :-[.

Ah yes, good observation. I put a BBB in all three versions to tell it is safe to use the falling platforms to get back.

616C7364616B646964050 wrote:
In room 16316 Jack can get himself into a strange place by jumping off the moving yellow platform (see picture). He isn't stuck because he can get down again but I don't think you intended him to get up there.

;D
I filled the little hole, so Jack can still get through it (and only when coming from the right), but not stand in it anymore.

[divadnala]

7843554E43542C0 wrote:
OK, I moved the satchel even closer to the beginning of the second part (room 15909, just before the entrance). And I removed one shield in the process. Would this be better?

That sounds a lot better. Thanks Toybox.