Beta 4: Dr. Demented's Den

[RobSeegel]

Here's the latest batch of changes, which should include area 4. I may be adding another BBB or two, still. These changes were somewhat lighter than in area 3, except for the entrance to two yellow doors which was moved, because I deleted three rooms that guarded them.  I saw no reasonable way to make these rooms easier in a short time, with more in the mansion that needed to be addressed.

If you are cautious about playing any x-hard sections, then I would stop once you've gotten to room 16309 where there is a save point. That's the next section I'll be double-checking.

[jamesbolton@cox.ne]

Hi Rob,
In room 16896 the moving platforms start off on the fixed paths and then randomly change orbits. I didn't ever get this before. Is it deliberate?
Regards
Jim

[RobSeegel]

08030F0711000D0E160D0C22010D1A4C0C07620 wrote: Hi Rob,
In room 16896 the moving platforms start off on the fixed paths and then randomly change orbits.  I didn't ever get this before.  Is it deliberate?
Regards
Jim

heh.. not a chance! I thought I fixed this. Do you know if one of the platforms came in contact with a falling platform? I just discovered while playing another mansion that it can happen, and when it does it completely disrupts everything. Unfortunately, I have falling platforms here... Still, I'll check it out. Do you have a movie you can send me?

[RobSeegel]

I had a wave of nostalgia wash over me when I played this level that caught me by complete surprise. Totally didn't see it coming.

EASY

16094, 16296 - I've never warmed to the idea that keys can be invisible in *any* room... even if there's the music and light show. It's just the single thing I think shouldn't be invisible. Oh well... just me, I guess. I guess I'd always rather be able to see the key, and either have a trap door, so perhaps a lever appear to start a moving platform, so some other mechanism to bring it to Jack.
C'est la vie.

If I had to say, that's the single thing in the sequel that I like least. Ghosts are a close second.

16096 Minor L6 Issues: (ceiling)
* Bottom of the ladder, a few steps to the left of the skull
* The first piece of junk, on the way towards the yellow door

16495 I was messing around checking the walls in this room, and I fell and accidentally triggered the escape platform, which must have been permanent. It was still there later when I arrived on the other platform. I know you talked about it Vern, but did you put a patch in place that would have prevented the trigger from
firing from Jack's accidental fall? If nothing else, I think the appearance of the platform probably shouldn't be permanent.

15904

...my most fiendish traps...

Muwahahah... er, I mean, Meuahaha. Little does Jack know...

15707 These friendly goblin puzzles have been one of my favorite new additions to MM. Love em.

16706 The first spider came on awfully fast and close for easy. Perhaps it should be heading left instead of right.

Several complete game crashes as I was heading down from room 16507, The first time I got to 16707 and got off the ladder when it crashed. The second time was in the editor, I didn't even get completely out of 16507 when the editor crashed. i brought it up again, and tried it, this time when I got off the ladder in 16507, the bottom portion of the yellow door vanished. Weird stuff...

Edit I think this has something to do with a new feature Vern added in, which displays a question mark above Jack's head whenever he is in front of a sign (visible or invisible, light or dark), to let the user know there is something to read. This will be in his final candidate. I was testing it in DDD Hard... where there are a lot of signs visible and invisible.

I sent this to Vern.. but figured I'd post it here as well. I was only helping..er messing up the Hard version.

[RobSeegel]

1F222F1E28282A28214D0 wrote:

...Do you know if one of the platforms came in contact with a falling platform? I just discovered while playing another mansion that it can happen, and when it does it completely disrupts everything...

AAAAAAAAAHHhhhhhhh! Yes. well... I'm not sure about your scenario Jimbo, but I was able to mess things up with a falling platform. It looks like it only happens while Jack is standing on it. That's going to be a fun one to fix...

The thing about this is, it could happen in any mansion where Jack falls past a moving platform while standing on a falling platform. I think I have an idea for a workaround but it's not gonna be pretty. Sigh...

Thanks for the head's up, Jimbo. If you find out your problem wasn't from a falling platform, please let me know.

[jamesbolton@cox.ne]

506D6051676765676E020 wrote: [quote author=1F222F1E28282A28214D0 link=1277451142/192#192 date=1282485304]

...Do you know if one of the platforms came in contact with a falling platform? I just discovered while playing another mansion that it can happen, and when it does it completely disrupts everything...

AAAAAAAAAHHhhhhhhh! Yes. well... I'm not sure about your scenario Jimbo, but I was able to mess things up with a falling platform. It looks like it only happens while Jack is standing on it. That's going to be a fun one to fix...

The thing about this is, it could happen in any mansion where Jack falls past a moving platform while standing on a falling platform. I think I have an idea for a workaround but it's not gonna be pretty. Sigh...

Thanks for the head's up, Jimbo. If you find out your problem wasn't from a falling platform, please let me know.
I did try to record a movie but must have done something wrong. I think it happened after 1 or 2 jumps. I will try again

Jim

[jamesbolton@cox.ne]

Here's a movie for you. please ignore the game play I just recorded from a later save point, not my best playing but there you go. It does seem like the falling platform came close. this time it was the green block that started it but last time it was the others, no favouritism there

Regards

jim

[Semi-Native]

Could you just replace the falling platforms with something else?

[RobSeegel]

2229252D3B2A27243C2726082B273066262D480 wrote: Here's a movie for you.  please ignore the game play I just recorded from a later save point, not my best playing but there you go.  It does seem like the falling platform came close.  this time it was the green block that started it but last time it was the others, no favouritism there

Regards

jim

Yep... that matches what I saw when I was experimenting. It could have been either of the two moving platforms, or falling platforms. It doesn't happen when Jack is not on the platform, only when he rides it down.

Well, what I've done is replace the two falling platforms in the middle with stationary moving platforms. I wonder why I didn't do this all along... it ends up being slightly easier.

For some reason I was thinking there was a trigger that started all the platforms, and I thought it would be complex to start the external platforms without starting the internal ones. Well... I didn't think it through -- no triggers needed to be involved. Just a check mark in the config. for each platform.

I left the outside falling platforms alone since they don't cross paths with any moving platform...

Thanks, Jimbo, the fix will be in the next update most likely sometime later today. Essentially, the middle section is going to be much, much easier. I hope this finally closes off this room.

[jamesbolton@cox.ne]

oh goodness I've done it again in 15303 I accidentally killed myself (jack) by falling down the leftmost shaft. This shuts off the zappers allowing me to go where or when I shouldn't as in up to 15103, where I hadn't previously ventured to shut off the appropriate zappers. On trying to return from said error Jack gets trapped in a no win situation. ........Sorry....movie attached

Jim (do you hate me yet )