Did some puzzles only get figured out by datamining?

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zeech
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Did some puzzles only get figured out by datamining?

Post by zeech »

Hi, just curious, do we know whether some puzzles only got figured out after people started looking at the data files? (or spoiled in a developer-assisted strategy guide, if there was such a thing.)

For example, the "Vexing vexirk" puzzle, where you have to fear the vexirk back to the shrine at the start of the section. I can't imagine anyone figuring that out either deliberately or accidentally!
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Paul Stevens
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Re: Did some puzzles only get figured out by datamining?

Post by Paul Stevens »

Cornering that little fellow might be a good tactic. I think perhaps
that there is only the one place he can be so cornered. So, it is
conceivable that someone discovered the answer to this puzzle.
Certainly not I. Once this one has been discovered, I suppose it
is more likely that the next, similar puzzle involving the Vexirk
might be discovered.

There are a lot of these puzzles in Chaos Strikes back. Some more
difficult than the one you describe. Many are designed to happen by
accident, making the dungeon appear to be a bit random (chaotic?).

Which ones do people remember as being especially puzzling? I can
think of one below the DDD that is quite difficult.
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Antman
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Re: Did some puzzles only get figured out by datamining?

Post by Antman »

I never knew there was a hint to that "Vexing vexirk" in the hint oracle, interesting! I had certainly never solved until I saw Paul do it on one of his speed runs and I had no idea what had happened. I also never solved "Death Row" after trying for a long, long time, only saw the solution on the Encyclopaedia. Winning the game at the Ful Ya Pit took ages to figure out, although in hindsight it should have been more obvious.

The other one that comes to mind, but isn't really the puzzle, is the fake pit in the corbum area that lets you skip a quarter of the game. I remember putting down a chest on it by accident (I think I wanted to try weighting down the pressure pad next to it) and seeing it float to my amazement, then slowly building up the courage to step on it. I don't think I'd seen that one mentioned anywhere online before I mentioned it in the speed running thread.

The secret mummy/dragon area beneath the "corridor of fire" was another, the leather boots for "surrender your possessions" too, the two routes through Dain to the Ruby key (I'm still not 100% sure you have to use the Winged key to get the Ruby, but I believe you have to, can anyone see otherwise?). There's probably a lot more I can't think of off the top of my head. What a great game :)
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Antman
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Re: Did some puzzles only get figured out by datamining?

Post by Antman »

Ah that was it, you can get the Ruby key without using the Winged key, but you still have to at least pick it up. But having another look, it seems there are four 6ths of a second before the pit at (05)07,19 closes when the button at (05)28,18 is pressed, and you need to cover 4 steps to cross the pit, so maybe with the boots of speed you could get across without the needing the key at all. But then you'd still need the boots so you couldn't shave a move off the CSB minimal moves competition.
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