|
Post by SynthpopAddict on Oct 9, 2021 21:20:42 GMT
A tip I was told to try for the arrows puzzle and other mazes is to try and work it backwards from the goal back to the start. It might help if you take a screenshot and print the puzzle out and then use a low-tech method like numbering push pins and then plotting out the steps with the pins to crack it. My friend did the arrows puzzle by pasting a screenshot of it into his game design software so he could trace the steps out.
|
|
|
Post by lurkercat on Oct 9, 2021 21:47:52 GMT
..... Subsequent edit: Oops, SynthpopAddict, you were entering your friend's solution at the same time I was entering mine. Definitely the way to go!
SynthpopAddict , moni , By the "arrows puzzle", do you mean the one in the Master Bedroom that wants you to move from the upper left to the lower right X, using alternately colored tiles? I must admit I figured out what turned out to be an easy approach to solving it - {Spoiler The Arrow Puzzle}Just work backwards! By starting at the X and seeing what squares will get you there and then looking at what opposite-colored squares will get you to them, it is easy to discover that most of the potential candidates are unusable since you can't back up more than 1 or 2 moves in finding arrows that point to them. Really quickly, you can determine that only 1 of the candidates is usable and then patiently walk backwards seeing which opposite colored tiles will get to them, till you arrive at the beginning. You only wind up with 1 or 2 squares along the way that have multiple ways of getting to them, but happily those extraneous extra paths peter out after another move or 2. Once you find the backwards path, you just have to unwind it forward to solve the puzzle. Honestly, I dont know how one would ever figure it out going in the "proper" way! I'm down to my last 2 rooms to enter (The East & West towers) and have not skipped any puzzles yet, though the scarab one is definitely trying my patience. For this one and a couple of earlier ones, I'd really wish in the next game Joseph would give us a recursive option to "Undo previous move" in addition to just a Reset.
|
|
|
Post by cyril50 on Oct 9, 2021 23:35:18 GMT
Re the scarab puzzle
I am not putting this in a spoiler as it's just general advice and not telling you all the moves.
Take your time and be very methodical, think before every move. In the end I cleared the left hand side first, don't tackle the right hand side till you clear the left. Avoid the edges of the board. If you put anything on the edges of the board just start again as you will never get the ball off the edge or an internal angle. One wrong move and you need to start again
|
|
|
Post by SynthpopAddict on Oct 10, 2021 0:01:11 GMT
SynthpopAddict , moni , By the "arrows puzzle", do you mean the one in the Master Bedroom that wants you to move from the upper left to the lower right X, using alternately colored tiles? I'm down to my last 2 rooms to enter (The East & West towers) and have not skipped any puzzles yet, though the scarab one is definitely trying my patience. For this one and a couple of earlier ones, I'd really wish in the next game Joseph would give us a recursive option to "Undo previous move" in addition to just a Reset. Yes, that's the one. Definitely a pain and for some reason I have trouble focusing on it while looking at it on a monitor. Don't know why. The Mayan Maze (the big circular maze in the upstairs game room) and the scarab puzzle really did need an "undo" button which I also mentioned in my game review when it first released at BF and based upon feedback from other players who felt the same I would hope this feature does get incorporated into future puzzles in the next game. Without spoiling the scarab puzzle (thanks cyril50 for the tips), I found that the single marble underneath the 1 square block in the right center side to be the hardest one to figure out. Here are a couple of tips, but not the solution: {Scarab puzzle tips} 1) On the right side, there are 2 marbles in the top right to push out of the way so you can get underneath the single tricky marble underneath the one space square wall in the right center.
2) On the left side, enter through the lower center section and work from there.
3) No matter how quickly you solve this puzzle, Dr. Arcana will still rag you with "What took you so long?" when you complete it, heh!
|
|
|
Post by SynthpopAddict on Oct 10, 2021 0:36:40 GMT
Did anyone else have trouble solving the Screaming Skulls puzzle which gives you the code to unlock the gate? The way it's structured freaked me out the first time I saw it, but after doing Joseph's other puzzles elsewhere it's a feature he uses pretty regularly. Here's some advice, but not the solution: {Screaming Skulls tips}The spacing of the words has been changed which is why the letters look like gibberish. Also the skulls are not in order. The completed phrase runs over from one row to the next, so when you reach the right of the top row, the word there is split up and the 2nd half of that word starts the middle row. Same thing for the end of the middle row.
|
|
smitty189
Squirrel
[TI18] "No great mind ever existed without a touch of madness" Aristotle
Posts: 1,004
|
Post by smitty189 on Oct 10, 2021 18:51:38 GMT
believe I am close to the end but one puzzle has me hanging (haven't skipped any yet) the puzzle on the door that deals with directions I know I am thick skulled but just don't get it
|
|
|
Post by lurkercat on Oct 10, 2021 19:23:25 GMT
smitty189, I found the directions to this puzzle impossible to cipher too, till I found a starting point by accident, at which point it all became clear. {Spoiler - really just a good description of goal}All the puzzle wants you to do is find a starting point on the bottom line. Then, from that point, go in whatever direction the symbol on your starting point points. Then continue - on each new square, just go in the direction that square's symbol tells you....till you reach the top row. If your selected bottom row symbol does not eventually allow you to climb, just means you chose the wrong starting point. Choose a different point and begin again. It is easy once you figure out the rule! :-)
|
|
|
Post by SynthpopAddict on Oct 10, 2021 19:52:08 GMT
That door puzzle to get to one of the manor towers is a bit sneaky, but the one I thought was a joke was the other tower door puzzle with its associated clue. I was thinking, "There's no way it can be THAT easy!" but then was like, "what the heck, can't hurt to try it even if that can't be right" (but it was). It must've been one of Dr. Arcana's attempts to mess with us in another way.
|
|
moni
Squirrel
[TI0] [TI0]
Posts: 1,061
|
Post by moni on Oct 10, 2021 23:08:31 GMT
Ok. I finished it... Apparently, I barely passed with a D...lol... I remain a "lowly rank"... Just wait Dr. Arcana! I will take your test again... someday.
Check out my "diploma"... Cheesing
|
|
|
Post by lurkercat on Oct 10, 2021 23:28:36 GMT
I finally finished just now too. Got the "Elite Order of Arcana" - only got dinged for 1 use of the (useless) Hint function. Otherwise no skips and all secrets, journal entries, and artwork discovered. Whew! WHAT A TERRIFIC GAME!! - I'm soooooo glad we played this excellent game lying demoed but otherwise untouched in my inventory. Super long and super challenging to boot, yet always giving us a fair shot at success. Can't wait till Joseph gives us a sequel.
|
|
|
Post by SynthpopAddict on Oct 11, 2021 14:41:50 GMT
moni , don't be afraid to keep trying. Congrats on persevering and finishing the game! It took me a few attempts before I cracked everything. lurkercat , I'm envious of your puzzle solving skills, but wow, that's awesome!
I forgot to congratulate cyril50 on finishing back on page 2 earlier, so sorry for the late response, but congrats to you also for surviving the night in Arcana's domain!
Had thought there was a "hall of fame" thing for those who completed this game up on the internet somewhere, but it's no longer being updated like the rest of the puzzles Joseph's done...
|
|
moni
Squirrel
[TI0] [TI0]
Posts: 1,061
|
Post by moni on Oct 11, 2021 18:04:46 GMT
In my defense, I've skipped only 1 real puzzle (the arrows), all the other skips are the door jigsaws... they gave me a headache, but the names on the door I puzzled out diligently on my own... :) so it is kinda not fair to take the whole door as a skip... As for the hints - I was repeatedly clicking on it to figure out what does it hint on... So there, I don't think, I did that bad...lol... Anyways. I will replay this game, when i forgot what's what, so it will be somewhat of a challenge, again. Thanks!
|
|
smitty189
Squirrel
[TI18] "No great mind ever existed without a touch of madness" Aristotle
Posts: 1,004
|
Post by smitty189 on Oct 12, 2021 20:05:28 GMT
What a great puzzle I hope there is a sequel I thoroughly enjoyed it even with my decongestant befuddled brain (well MORE befuddled) I will certainly play again to redo 1 skipped puzzle only 1 hint thanks to fellow woodsies some missed secrets etc. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL WHO GOT THROUGH IT WAS NOT AN EASY GAME!!!
|
|
|
Post by cyril50 on Oct 17, 2021 7:56:19 GMT
Just finished the second attempt and got Elite Code Of Arcana, I missed 2 secrets but got everything else. No idea where these secrets are ? Certainly not going to do it again just for 2 secrets. Looking at their website the next episode should be along soon. Something to look forward to. doctorarcana.com/shadowspire.html
|
|
|
Post by SynthpopAddict on Oct 17, 2021 15:42:15 GMT
cyril50, check this spoiler if you're curious about the secrets: {Secrets Spoiler}1) The 2 hardest secrets I think are noticing the "Merlin" sigil by the library door and the "Arcana" spelled on the door in the game help section (NOT the walkthrough). When you get to the Aurora and Medusa doors early on in the game, I'm pretty sure 2 of the secrets are to enter "Merlin" and "Arcana" into the doors before entering the correct name for said doors. This isn't mentioned anywhere in the in-game WT so is a major OCD thing which I stumbled upon.
2) You've got to find every single journal entry for a good part of the secrets. The one I miss a lot is the scroll immediately underneath the painting in one of the bedrooms because the painting is so close to the scroll that it's easy to think you already "did" everything there in that part of the scene.
3) Two of the secrets are discovering the bonus crypt gate codes and entering them into the gate when you reach it before entering the solution to unlock it. When you get the one with the bonus teleporting map, I'm convinced you actually have to teleport back to some other room to be fully credited. The secret which reveals the solutions to some of the cabinet puzzles I think you also have to scroll through all of the images.
|
|
|
Post by lurkercat on Oct 17, 2021 22:23:27 GMT
Two of the secrets are discovering the bonus crypt gate codes and entering them into the gate when you reach it before entering the solution to unlock it. When you get the one with the bonus teleporting map, I'm convinced you actually have to teleport back to some other room to be fully credited. The secret which reveals the solutions to some of the cabinet puzzles I think you also have to scroll through all of the images. Guess I "lucked out" by accidentally teleporting to other rooms from the crypt gate codes. Though I certainly did NOT think it lucky when I did it - I teleported by surprise and then could not remember how I had gotten to the crypt in the first place, so walked through all the places I'd been before...saving the library for last...and oh was SO happy to finally find the return to progress. I'd about given up hope I'd ever find it again!
|
|