[Custom dungeon] The Trail [RTC] [Saumun]

[Saumun]

The crash on the ending screen is an RTC thing. It’s quite common. Sometimes happens. Sometimes not.

[Prince of Elves]

So, Part 2... As I mentioned in the PM, got stuck in the same spot as Leslie did and peeked at the corresponding spoilers. After that, I had a lot of exploring to do but it seems I'm once more at an impasse on all fronts. So here's what I achieved so far:

Spoiler

As recommended, got myself a bank account. Found out, I'm having no luck at gambling (as is almost always the case with me ) so I dented quite a few tin cans to scratch that blue gem together for the black market key. Solved the guards riddle and got the map and the port key. Teleported the remaining barrel upstairs but it looks I can't do much up the right now. Weighing the pressure pads with boulders and that barrel didn't seem to have any effect.
Found the mines and got some silver. Finally was able to wipe out all those worms and apparently there's a sewer with gargoyles somewhere to be found. Found the backdoor to the house with the guy in the mirror that told me I have to get my brother back and something about the deeper areas I need to access to be able to battle those for now invincible guards.
Oh, and of course the area with the three pressure plates. Activated two, and thanks to the map, I know where the third one is but have no idea how to get there as I bumped all the walls around the cave to no avail. (Funny thing while we're at bumping: on my first way out of prison I found the Fury but missed the axe )
And bought the spell book, of course, as well as the rope and the compass, always like having those. Didn't see anything important at the stores for now, as the grapple obviously needs to be found elsewhere and I saw no use investing in the Vorpal just yet.

So I guess it's all about that third pressure plate right now as it seems to be the only obvious spot to move further down (well, there is a hole in that guard-infested area, but I guess I need to get up further in the tower to open the corresponding door. That whole area feels like it's due a lot later.)

[Saumun]

In the port tower...

Spoiler

only a barrel will work on the plates. A barrel on a plate opens the corresponding corner wall. Each has a ladder, but two are raised. You must find a way to lower them.

In the caves...

Spoiler

the pit in front of all the monsters can be closed if you can find a way to apply pressure.

The guy surrounded by worms...

Spoiler

is an info guy. He gives eight different (mostly cryptic) clues, but they come completely randomly. It could be worth noting them down though, as they mainly pertain to things to come later.

I'd personally suggest doing the cave part first, as you'll get a few useful things.

[Saumun]

Forgot to mention.
As far as gambling goes... the dice is of course completely random, but the odds on the giggler racing are genuine.
The gigglers don't actually move. It is based on a percentage chance of a teleporter activating and moving the gigglers forward... so the favourite really does have the best chance of winning, and so on down through the odds.
Of course the favourite won't always win, and you win less money... but it genuinely has a better chance.

[Prince of Elves]

Yeah well, I figured that, but: I seem to have a knack of always choosing the wrong one. Tried it in bursts of five runs of betting always on the same one (and yes I know: statistically, five is about nothing) and won once with the two favourite ones, respectively and nothing with the one having the best odds (though that one "of course" was first seemingly quite often when I bet on the others ) But no worries, that's just the way it's with me and gambling, so I stick to the guy that gives honest money for honest work (the fighter, not the smelter).

[Saumun]

It's probably the best option. The gambling (high risk/high reward) and silver mine (low risk/low reward) were in pretty much from the start, but I wanted something in between, so added the arena later.
I originally had something in place for a loan system, where debt collectors came after you if you didn't pay on time, but it was one of the things I had to discard to save object space.

[Prince of Elves]

That loan system sounds cool. Sometimes it seems you could almost build another game out of all the parts you decided/had to discard.

As for that cave: I had another peek and it seems that after your hint, I was on the right track but

Spoiler

got thrown off because it felt like killing those guys with magic takes way too long. Even before your hint, I tried throwing the dagger and shuriken over the pit hoping they'd throw it back like those guys in ROS. That would have been all the hint I needed. Saved before trying that so I still have those weapons.

It seems you took some inspirations from the Tower of Champions, and you ramped up the difficulty compared to Part 1 even more. Let's see how far I get with this one. I discontinued all of Adamski's games at some point because they were too hard and/or tedious for me, even though I greatly admire his creations.

[Prince of Elves]

Whoo, those tower levels almost got me to quit as I hate performing under pressure and with no idea what I have to do at that...

Spoiler

But I got the YA key and the OH key though the latter won't fit where I expected it to.

After some tries at the ghost level and no idea what I had to do (even managed to kill two of them off once only to find out that they respawn after a while) I Skipped that level as soon as I found the stairs up. Battled through those elementals and got the OH key. The one blob before the stairs was quite resistant, so I tried it downstairs once more and this time I realized what I had to do (was still some feature to complete though). YA key is where it belongs, so I guess I'll have to find a way past that water elemental. Well, I still have that black flask, so I'll try that after I fetched it. Atherwise, I got no ideas left for now.

[Saumun]

Spoiler

Put the Oh key in your action hand. It does something. Only when you have killed the elemental near the stairs, will it fit the lock below.

Spoiler

The other elementals come through the holes in the wall. They can’t respawn if you block the holes.

Spoiler

The Heresiarchs on the ya level respawn in twos (north and south) only every five minutes after you kill a pair. They’ll stop respawning altogether when you pick up the ya key.

[Prince of Elves]

Ah well, can't believe I missed that.

Spoiler

I thought I tried to hold it in hand but obviously it was something else, probably the OH flask. So on it goes.

[Prince of Elves]

Finally at the tower top.

Spoiler

But it seems now I am trapped behind that black door (the one with the pressure pad and the YA OH FUL ZO scroll in front of it. Is there a way to open it from the inside or will I have to restart? Wouldn't be too bad, as I have a save from not too far earlier.

[Saumun]

The pressure pad opens the door, but only after the four keys have been inserted.

[Prince of Elves]

Yes, I know that. But the pressure pad also closes the door and I somehow made it through before realizing that...

[Saumun]

Ah, I didn’t realise what you meant.
You’ll have to reload. I’ll need to add a trigger in a future update in case of this.

[Prince of Elves]

OK, no problem.

[Prince of Elves]

I may have stumbled across something bad once more. You can push two table tops onto the same square but they don't come apart again after you did that... I was on one of my "scout runs" so no worries about that. First I have to find out how to reach that spot again. I was treating those teleporters pretty ramdomly until I got somewhere new.

Edit: Wow, that was fast, I'm back already

[Saumun]

Ah, that’s something I hadn’t reckoned on. You need both, so that’s a problem.
I’ll add that as ‘to do’ in an update. I should be able to find a way around it, but it might be messy.

[Prince of Elves]

I'm afraid so too, just judging from the way they behave if they encounter stuff lying around. I think even full tables to that: push them across one item lying on the floor, it ends up on top of the table, and there it stays.

[Saumun]

Its because it's a flooritem and not an object that can be carried, and you can only have one on a square.
It's not a problem for most flooritems because they're mainly things you bump into. I could get around it by swapping, but it would block the fireballs.
I'll get around it somehow, but it probably won't be very elegant.

[Prince of Elves]

It's been a while, so I decided to post just to tell you I'm still playing. Got tired of mapping, but that wasn't a good idea as I had to catch up with it because I missed the fourth Pyro. (Still don't know which one it was because I started from an earlier save as mapping is easier that way and when I'm at it, I can note down where the items are.) So, finished that section, had a really deep fall and found a switch, though I have no idea what it did. (And possibly never find out as I flipped it and I guess it opens a way somewhere on that floor which I will have to reach from the other side. On the other hand, there's still the scroll next to it, so perhaps I will come across that section once more.)

Was at a loss then until I found out that I had the key for the gardens but never tried it. So I'm going on from there and it seems there's still lots to do, at least a whole new area to map out.

[Saumun]

Nice going!

The wall after your long fall requires two levers to open. You will indeed come across the other one eventually.

[Prince of Elves]

It seems I don't get something about the room with the 25 pressure plates.

Spoiler

I found the scroll with "X marks the spot", which I guess refers to this room. But whatever I tried so far (making a blue X, making everything blue except for the middles of each side (fat X), just blue center plate, even tried a white X on a blue background) it always leaves me trapped when I pick up the key. I considered the possibility that I have to make the X after picking up the key, but that would be quite a feat as I always have to run across the board to avoid being cornered - and the ogers can't be hurt or scared so running is the only option.

3 onyx keys are already in my possession. Then there's still that middle door between the levers ("can't see me") but I haven't given that on much thought so far because often those spots with no obvious solution tend to be something for later anyway.

[Saumun]

After you make the 'X'...

Spoiler

go to the alcove.

[Prince of Elves]

OK, don't know what went wrong the first time, probably forgot some blue tile where it didn't belong - though I thought I checked and re-tried. Well, this time it worked and I can go on.

[Saumun]

To be honest, I'd misremembered and was thinking of something else.

Spoiler

As you now know, if you pick up the key without the X, you get trapped inside with the ogres.
With the X the door remains open when you get the key, and the ogres only leave their places when you exit the room (and can be killed).

[Prince of Elves]

That was fast: once again I have no idea how to move on. The room with the pits...

Spoiler

So here's what I tried: Looks like I could use a grapple here but haven't found one so far. I threw a dagger over the long line of pits through the opening behind it (and through every grate door on the floor below). Stepped on every floor tile looking for hidden pessure plates (at least upstairs, I don't think I tried it in the basement yet). Checked all the walls (up and down) for switches. Littered all the unreachable empty tiles with an item each. Even tried ZO-ing the pits/the walls behind them as I vaguely remember there's a riddle like that in DM; the doors downstairs too, of course.

So the only other spot left is that "Can't see me" door. Well, there is one more door behind those hidden walls, but the key to that one is lying in plain sight behind one of the pits.

[Saumun]

Spoiler

1) Behind the “Can’t see me” door is something useful but non-essential. Think about how you might be able to see through something.

Spoiler

2) You won’t be able to cross the pits yet, but you can get a couple of the objects now... one of them essential to your progress. Look for fake walls in a couple of places.

Spoiler

3) Once you’re through the winged key door on the floor below, completing the southwest quadrant will reveal how to cross the pits.
Also, one of the clues from the worm guy in the town might be helpful once you know what to do.

[Prince of Elves]

OK, found the key (and the rune). And once again it's one of those situations again where I have to say "Don't know how I missed that"...

Spoiler

And concerning the other spot: I did think about the "look through walls" spell but I haven't found the OH rune yet.

[Saumun]

Ah, you'll need to backtrack to...

Spoiler

the port tower. Think water!
As I said, behind the "Can't see me" door is not essential, but you'll need the oh rune.

Spoiler

To be fair, those walls are easy to miss. The ones leading to the northeast of the pit room only become fake after picking up the onyx key in the pressure plate room, and the ones leading to the southeast of the pit room after pulling the 'degenerator' lever.

[jahmiann]

Hi All

I finally finished the second part, that was a good story the last boss was not very hard once find the right technique.

The most difficult area is the laval zone, i made a lot of savegame...

Thx for this adventure Saumun.