Bay 12 Games Forum

I've noticed that the camera sits slightly forward of the point it rotates around (or does that depend on FOV?), so could it be related to that, and could a mod make it an adjustable option? Also, at higher FOVs, the view towards the screen edges is distorted a fair bit, so could a shader subtly adjusting the curve of the FOV help?

Theory: If life is an energy that can be manipulated, putting unstructured life paint directly on a creature is disruptive more than beneficial. Maybe it's pulling from the creature, maybe it's overwhelming the creature from outside. Maybe direct paint can be used with the right patterns to reduce or avoid harm, maybe it'll only be viable if the glyph is on a worn item to keep it separate from the body. Maybe the size or complexity of a creature plays a significant role in whether it survives long enough to benefit.

Is there a way to test that theory while minimizing costs (time (guild deadlines), resources, GM effort)?

Then again, it would be a little silly (but perhaps the fun of this game) to rediscover all of magic theory from scratch, when it's clear that there are readily-available books in a non-guild bookstore. If that much information is available in general, there's probably more within the guild (though how eager they are to open their knowledge to a troublemaker like us is uncertain, and they'll almost certainly place limits on topics that must not be explored. At the very least because transforming random citizens into a giant blob horror won't be good for the guild image, but I expect they'd be following the Obstructive Bureaucrat trope significantly more than that).

No immediate suggestions, but if resources are more plentiful later it would be very interesting to try varied shapes on creatures of various sizes. The goal would be to produce observable differences in the outcome, not immediately grow a second head on a living rat.

Finally, as an experiment on glyphs, I'd be interested in seeing if there's a difference in behaviour from a N-pointed star outline shape where either the outer or inner points are erased. Would one have an inward movement and the other outward? Which one? Can the polarity be revered entirely through intent when drawing them? But before any of that, which paint would most likely give observable differences with minimal environmental damage if things go wrong? And even before that, time and materials seem too constrained, so I'd wait a while for other matters to be dealt with first.

The latest journal just came with a new element, two related new glyphs, and a Sigmar's garden variant. Everything's available in the puzzle editor, so it'll be interesting to see what develops.

One kind of block the game is missing, that I might try my hand at in modding, is a block that will stay in place when placed next to other blocks but fall otherwise. That would make 3x3 floor traps much easier to implement.

If you don't mind it taking a fair bit of manual effort to reset, you can make an arbitrarily-large trap with carpets on signs. The trigger can even be completely silent and hidden (except for particles afterward) by putting redstone ore under carpet with observer blocks.

Has anyone ever broken windows just to give guards a faster way to throw you out? I haven't yet, but the thought of opening up an extra entrance/exit has occasionally crossed my mind, and maybe learning when to do so pre-emptively will be another tiny bump in average survivability.

The more interesting games periodically introduce new mechanics or completely rebalance old ones, rather than just repeating the old mechanics with ever more powerful buildings and upgrades. Very recently, Succubox, though it's relatively short, plus the older Mine Defense, Kittens Game, and Sandcastle Builder (Classic Layout, less confusing at first, but lacking the customizability that starts to become convenient a few weeks in).

The thing is, most of these games are best enjoyed as a separate browser window off to the side, especially on a second monitor, while you do something else. Also, many of the better ones quickly move past clicking for resources as a meaningful mechanic, and instead into some form of managing resource flows and optimizing purchase sequences for ROI. Also, discovering new mechanics as you progress is one of the key reasons driving playtime. At least for the more popular free browser-based ones, where they are competing with the entire rest of the internet for player attention, rather than filling dead time as a phone app on the daily commute.

It can lead to some silly first solutions, such as this Universal Solvent (spoiler note: last puzzle of the campaign)

I probably made multiple poor choices in when and where to assemble subcomponents, but I could always find some combinations of movements that brought the awkwardly-placed molecules out into an open space again without compromising on input rate. It was actually a bit fun at times, routing molecules without having to massively backtrack on existing parts of the design, though I expect there's room to save tens of cycles with a more efficient form-scratch design.

I also have a one-armed Very Dark Thread: