Infinifactory (and how I want it to have my babies)

[Zhil]

I'm only at world 3, and I'm quickly turning it down more and more, so yeah, I assume it's only viable for early game to have it always on max. Sure, I'll try to push it up after the design is finished, which usually works to make it a bit quicker, but the difference between MAX and the one below is very large.

[FlowerChild]

I'm only at world 3, and I'm quickly turning it down more and more, so yeah, I assume it's only viable for early game to have it always on max. Sure, I'll try to push it up after the design is finished, which usually works to make it a bit quicker, but the difference between MAX and the one below is very large.

Yeah, I figure for later game it would require an entirely different solution to do things on max input rate, which is one of the reasons I decided to leave it alone. Gives me a good reason for a second play through :)

Not entirely certain about making it adjustable as a design decision, especially given that the performance graphs are being evaluated for machines operating on a completely different set of parameters. It tends to suggest to players that if they aren't operating on max speed they are somehow doing things wrong.

Might have been better to only unlock that option once you've completed the level and/or whole game and had two different sets of performance statistics you're evaluated against, one for default settings, and one for with adjustable input speed.

[Zhil]

I like games where your playthrough is tiered. New Game+ style. So yeah, I'd enjoy that. Finish the game to unlock a higher input frequency sounds perfect.

Stop thinking about what could be though, we don't need Better Than Input Frequency XD

[FlowerChild]

Stop thinking about what could be though, we don't need Better Than Input Frequency XD

Hehe...no, the scope of the game is too narrow (not a criticism, it's suited to its style) for me to get into that, and I always make a point of analyzing the design decisions in the game I play as part of my "job" :)

This one is particularly interesting to me as well, as at one point I was considering making a limited scope factory game right along these lines as a lead up to RTH, as that would have helped me establish a technology base while hopefully establishing some kind of revenue stream, so it's interesting analyzing it from the standpoint of what I would have done differently.

[Niyu]

Finished the main campaign. I've really enjoyed the theme of the last world. Now I guess it's time to revisit the first levels and see if I can do some optimising to the earlier designs. It has been a really fun game, and something I was looking for since I finished SpaceChem.

[FlowerChild]

Finished the main campaign. I've really enjoyed the theme of the last world. Now I guess it's time to revisit the first levels and see if I can do some optimising to the earlier designs. It has been a really fun game, and something I was looking for since I finished SpaceChem.

Nice. I've unfortunately taken a break on it (think I'm around world 5 or something) due to the earlier spoilered conversation putting a serious dent in my fun. Will hopefully recover and get back to it soon :)

[FlowerChild]

Arg, ok, I just finished the game too. I say "arg", because while the level select screen gives you the impression there are 8 worlds to the game, there are actually only 6, and the game just kinda ends unexpectedly, with the remaining 2 world slots being occupied by the level editor and steam workshop, which you unlock when the game is over.

That's a really weird way to do things which is why I'm posting it here as a warning to people in case they get their hopes up like I did that there were more puzzles to comes, only to have the rug pulled out from under them.

The game was great, totally awesome, and I was having a blast, but that left a rather sour taste in my mouth in the final moments of it.

[devak]

Apparently they updated how the rotator works now for single blocks. Thank god. I had built a 20-rotator factory to solve that first puzzle, until i later discovered how it's supposed to be done.

and no more sensor noise!

[jorgebonafe]

The game was great, totally awesome, and I was having a blast, but that left a rather sour taste in my mouth in the final moments of it.

Well, the game is in early access... Doesn't that mean they could add more puzzles before its released?

[FlowerChild]

Well, the game is in early access... Doesn't that mean they could add more puzzles before its released?

It's not the number of puzzles as much as it's the menu layout. You'll know it when you see it ;)

[Niyu]

spoiler about story ending

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Yeah, maybe it could be nice if they added another screen in the barracks for the editor and workshop.

[jorgebonafe]

There's been an update today. I don't know if they just changed some puzzles or if they added more too.

I was doing the

Spoiler

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Chair

puzzle and all of a sudden I'm like "where the hell is the rotator? Is it locked in this level or what?"

Then I saw that the whole level where you get the rotator was reset. The first puzzle is different. I don't know about the rest.

[FlowerChild]

I'm honestly not certain about the change to make rotating single blocks easier. There were several times I ran into that limitation during the campaign, and there was always a way around it. I thought it was a rather cool design constraint.

[jorgebonafe]

I'm honestly not certain about the change to make rotating single blocks easier. There were several times I ran into that limitation during the campaign, and there was always a way around it. I thought it was a rather cool design constraint.

Yeah, when I realized I couldn't rotate single blocks on the excavator level, I had to redesign almost the whole thing :P

I just played the new rotator level (without rotating single blocks, mind you, that was an interesting puzzle) and I see now that level was the only one changed.

[jorgebonafe]

Wtf, Notch?

Spoiler

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[Zhil]

Oh crap, that video spoiled something major I didn't know :/. Also, I now understand what I spoiled for FlowerChild, as I didn't realize you could do that thing when I said that thing.

My own fault for being curious

[FlowerChild]

Oh crap, that video spoiled something major I didn't know :/. Also, I now understand what I spoiled for FlowerChild, as I didn't realize you could do that thing when I said that thing.

Eh, don't worry about it. If I had realized I was so close to the end of the game when I thought I was only just over half way through it, I probably wouldn't have minded as much :)

Now that I'm done with it, I've started watching player videos and such, and am actually quite impressed with all the stuff you can do with this system that I hadn't realized before. There's lots of potential here.

[jorgebonafe]

I just finished the first level of what I believe is the last area,

Spoiler

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The one with the mole creatures

, and I just wanted to say, I got a big BTW feeling about it :)
Seems to be your kind of humor, FC.

[FlowerChild]

I just finished the first level of what I believe is the last area,

Spoiler

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The one with the mole creatures

, and I just wanted to say, I got a big BTW feeling about it :)
Seems to be your kind of humor, FC.

Oh yeah dude. I've avoided talking about it for spoiler reasons, but there are at least a couple of levels in the last area that had be lol'ing :)

Honestly though, I think the difficulty curve peaks towards the end of world 5, ironically, precisely at the puzzle that has been much discussed with regards to spoilers. After that, I don't think I had to put serious though into any of the remaining puzzles, and while I enjoyed each of them, I didn't feel particularly challenged by them and just kind of breezed through the rest of the game.

Hence why I said "no biggy" about the spoiler thing yesterday, as the game was essentially over when it happened, I just had no idea that was the case. Thus having additional problem solving techniques at my disposal than I felt I should have really didn't make a difference, as I didn't feel the need to use them ever again either.

[Zhil]

I definitely love the game. Just a pity that there's not a lot of it. From what I've read, the game is feature complete btw, the "early access" thing here means that they'll add more content down the line.

We should really retire the words "early access" now. They mean wildly different things for whatever game you're talking about. Just call your game "evolving" or whatever if you have the kind of product that changes after release date, compared to a non-evolving game that just stays what it is after release, except for expansions and DLC maybe.

But seriously, if you release your game to the public, it's in a released state. The moment you make it open to everyone (as opposed to open or closed beta rounds where you restrict the user base), it's not "alpha", it's not "beta", its not "early access", it's a fucking released game, period.

[FlowerChild]

I definitely love the game. Just a pity that there's not a lot of it. From what I've read, the game is feature complete btw, the "early access" thing here means that they'll add more content down the line.

You sure about that man? From the Steam store page:

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?
“During Early Access, we're planning to expand the game with numerous mini-campaigns introducing new mechanics, factory blocks, environments, and products, in addition to making that new content available in the sandbox and level editor.

We also plan to make lots of general improvements to the game based on player feedback and requests, especially in the sandbox and level editor. There's no point in even pretending that we know what kind of insane contraptions you're going to build there!”

I knew I had read that before purchasing, and just went back to verify, so if that's not actually the case, I'd feel rather deceived here.

What is also said is that the main campaign is in a finished form, but that's not at all the same thing as the game being feature complete.

[FlowerChild]

Ok, I find this extremely disturbing:

http://steamcommunity.com/app/300570/di ... 3875061102

If anyone sees any additional info on this, let me know, as I suspect if this is what's going on, I'm going to be turning right off of Zachtronics games no matter how good they are.

Keep in mind, it's entirely possible this is a hoax, or a perfectly innocent thematic element, but it's also the kind of issue that I personally care enough about that it's a really big deal to me whether this is happening.

I think what makes me nervous about this is I didn't see a single camera during my playthrough, and if it were a thematic element, I would also suspect it would be prevalent enough to get noticed.

[devak]

Ok, I find this extremely disturbing:

http://steamcommunity.com/app/300570/di ... 3875061102

If anyone sees any additional info on this, let me know, as I suspect if this is what's going on, I'm going to be turning right off of Zachtronics games no matter how good they are.

Keep in mind, it's entirely possible this is a hoax, or a perfectly innocent thematic element, but it's also the kind of issue that I personally care enough about that it's a really big deal to me whether this is happening.

I think what makes me nervous about this is I didn't see a single camera during my playthrough, and if it were a thematic element, I would also suspect it would be prevalent enough to get noticed.

I've seen it too. i thought it's part of the whole "aliens are watching" thing.


EDIT: it happened to me in the Sattelite level. I was stumped on how to solve it and stood still for a while when i noticed the camera suddenly. So it may be a thematic thing.

[FlowerChild]

I've seen it too. i thought it's part of the whole "aliens are watching" thing

Thanks for the confirmation that it's actually in the game. How did it move? Did it seem to be specifically tracking your movements, or examining your puzzle?

One thing that struck me about that thread was that the camera seemed to be taking an inordinate amount of interest in the player, rather than the puzzle, including in the screenshot that was posted where it was staring directly into the player's POV.

If the devs were looking at the game, I'd expect them to be far more interested in what the players are building than in the players themselves. If it was a thematic element, I'd expect the camera to look at the player to spook them out, and it would be far simpler behavior to code.

[jorgebonafe]

If the devs were looking at the game, I'd expect them to be far more interested in what the players are building than in the players themselves. If it was a thematic element, I'd expect the camera to look at the player to spook them out, and it would be far simpler behavior to code.

Plus why would they show the camera in the first place? If they actually did that, they would have to expect people would not be happy about it, so unless they are really stupid, and that doesn't seems to be the case, they wouldn't show any signs they were watching in the first place...

Other possibility if they are watching players and wilingly showing the camera is that they just didn't think anyone would make a big deal out of it... Which seems unlikely to me too.

Anyway, unless the devs speak about this is only a matter of time until someone decompiles the game to check where that behaviour comes from.