qwerty741's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Aurora]

having some starting instructions makes this so much better already.
i could never have imagined that you can only move one side at a time, but somehow when moving to the output it colors the entire thing.

though if i have to say, the best change that was made was adding a description of the current active command/number/modifier by hovering over an instruction.

i can't remember if that was there already, because if it was all my criticism on the instruction manual being hard to read goes completely out of the window and i'm actually the dumbest person alive.
it's such a good idea since you also don't need to constantly go back to the manual just to check if you've mispelled a command or not. definitely can't blame the mechanics for not being clear at this point.

edit: a couple of other things that are still confusing:
- levels aren't unlocked in order;
i figured you'd have to clear them in order, because they would get increasingly more difficult. meanwhile i had to clear most of the other ones just to get to level 3, and i'm not sure why.

- what does adding a breakpoint do? i guess it probably stops the code's execution and sends you back to the first instruction, but i don't remember seeing it mentioned anywhere in the manual, so i never used it.
i just made up for it by adding a "jump to instruction 0" command when i needed something like that, which would do the same thing and thus doesn't explain why it would be a thing (assuming it works like that)

- the descriptions for level 9 and 10 are confusing. i think the problem with level 9 is simply that i didn't read it properly so i might have to give it another couple reads, but for 10 i honestly have no idea what it wants me to do when it says i have to "shift the hue of the input".

bug reports:
- the prompt, variable names and level set-up for level 3 give discordant information (although it works as intended):
prompt says to move greens to 7 and blues to 8, expected values are greens to 7 and blues in 8, but the output variables' names are reversed (blue.7 , green.8).
for inputs, prompt mentions input.6, variable name is input.6, but the actual input on the board is hexagon 5.

- something weird with the "jump if color" commands:
let's say you execute instruction 5, and you "jump if color, by skipping 3 instructions". you would expect it to skip 6,7 and 8, and then execute instruction 9.
what it actually does is jump to instruction 8 and execute it.
basically it's adding 3 to the current instruction number (the one you're using to jump ahead) so if you want it to actually "skip N instructions" as advertised, you need to add 1 more to the amount of instructions skipped.
honestly it's easier this way since you can exactly tell which line you're going to execute after a jump by simply adding the number of "lines skipped" to the one with the jump instruction, but if the idea was for it to "skip a specific number of instructions", then it's not working as intended

-------
decided to add a much needed walkthrough for the medal levels.
the solutions are in no way optimized, just the first working solutions i managed to put together
(had to pick up pen and paper to plan ahead for level 9. pain):

level 1: https://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/114f3e396ea80014061c40198dad5373
level 2: https://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/abfe2d6684860e49d57ef933b171cd9c
level 3: https://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/5a088fec7a76fe592f1eb9b385ad0d1c
level 4: https://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/af22a4d2c190f88ae222606559991bd8
level 5: https://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/fd41718c3ecf293bf5c744c4a3f89a7f
level 6: https://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/f98592b4613b4f3e1afe10a892b79006
level 7: https://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/d47b0d364127ae2d85709a143e1654c6
level 8: https://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/c09c1523a99e9363934ebff161cc4c38
level 9: https://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/98a7ba1f0a19c550ec10f53cdbf3cdd3
level 10: https://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/a087f77a29510ecedd3416bb24ad6b49

crow-seeds responds:

Just updated the game to fix all of your problems! Glad you came back and gave it another go!

Jump if color works as you would think now. It was originally <current instruction> + <amount> because that's what I wrote in the drawn manual, and I couldn't find a better word than "skip" for the tooltip and translation. Seems a bit silly to have them different haha, should now be <current instruction> + <amount> + 1. There's not really a point of going <current instruction> + 0 instructions (infinite loop), so might as well add the plus 1.

Levels unlocked downward, so if you beat a level all the hexagons below it on the level select screen would be unlocked. Levels futher down are "harder" and generally dependent on mechanics introduced in the levels above it in the level select. The reason for the randomish numbering of them was because they were numbered in the order I made the levels and I reordered them based on difficulty on the level select. Realize it's a bit silly, so I renumberd all the levels by difficulty, so they should "unlocked in order".

Breakpoint is a computer science term, I shouldn't have assumed everyone knew the term haha. It doesn't really do anything for the program, it just pauses the program on that instruction for debugging purposes (If you know one part of the program works but another doesn't, you would put a breakpoint right before the part that doesn't work and step through it).

On confusing descriptions of level 9 and 10, I've added a button to see a longer more detailed description. Variable names for level 3 are changed, that was a typo!

Also working on a post-game that includes user-made levels, you got any ideas for future levels?

Edit: Oh man, I didn't read your comment about how jump if color was easier before, might revert the change back.

[Plimpton's Video Falconry]

had to scour the internet for it since i thought the secret medal combination was locked behind the now privated fake ad, but i finally got a hit!

in the 22nd episode of the Judge John Hodgman podcast, at the 4:30 minute mark, it's mentioned that there exists a cheat combination that unlocks the secret golden eagle level;

while in the main menu, you have to input:
up
up
down
down
claw (7)
flap (5)
flap (5)
flap (5)
beak grab (4)
claw grab (3)
flap (5)
flap (5)
pitch (2)
yaw (1)
beak grab (4)
double flap (6)

you get a medal for finding the level, and another one for clearing all 3 stages

[Fruits Match]

game's fine but whoever designed 124 hates fun

[Escape From Monster Tower]

this is actually very good for what it is, and not overly long either.

just wanted to leave a review to explain that monsters' patterns aren't random; each one of them moves in a fixed direction when you move in a specific direction.
so some of them move the same as you, some of them go down when you move right etc..
it's only a matter of figuring out where they move when you move in which direction.

blit-blat responds:

Thank you! And yeah, maybe I should have explained the mechanics in the description a bit more, but I though it would be obvious after a few turns playing! It's hard to see the wood for the trees sometimes when you're developing stuff!

[Pumpkin WIng]

i could really use an health indicator so i know how much hp i can actually work with.
also for some reason the parry doesn't work half the time.

anyway, how come the first two bosses are unironically the hardest ones?
especially the last phases of the two:
for the first one, i can never figure out the actual trajectory of the axes so i end up bashing into them way more often than i would like to.
for the second one, the lasers are unforgiving. on top of having to dodge everything else, you have to figure out which direction they're gonna turn towards cause it's random, and multiple badly placed lasers in a row can trap you against the sides of the screen.

EDIT: for the parry, i should have been more specific.
basically, since the parry hitbox is only the red slash in front of you, sometimes you fail to parry projectiles that are too close because outside of the parry range, especially from the sides.
it's obviously working as intended because the hitbox is the slash and it's clearly shown, so i'm just venting because i've lost a few of my nightmare attempts due to not parrying projectiles coming from the right side specifically. my bad lol

also i'm glad the parry has an actual damaging hitbox. i hate the 3rd phase of the last boss (the one with the spinning stars) so spamming parry to deal extra damage has proved very useful in that instance

Frosty responds:

1. hp indicator is the orbs around your character, i probably should have displayed them on the ui too

2. not sure about the parry but it only works on certain purple projectiles

3. probably because i got very burnt out when designing the last 2 haha

Edit: ahh ic, regardless ty for the review!

[Cosmic Quadruple-Dutch]

death is hard, but spronk is harder.
teleporting all over the place on its own makes it way more difficult because it's hard to actually hit it, and having to do that while also dodging all the crap he throws at you on its last phase is very challenging, to say the least.
who thought that was only medium difficulty lol

[Psycho Spoon]

dunno if it's a bug, but i can't find any sponges on level 3-6. the one with the large spike pit in the middle. stuck on 57/60.
tried resetting data and encountered the same situation a couple more times so it's likely not a glitch on my part i guess?

ShackoCheese responds:

Yeah, we were thinking about what could have happened, since with our build there is no such issue. We do think of one thing that may cause this. Maybe we'll find the solution, but if not, then we will implement something else that works around the bug. Like a button that resets all sponges and the counter or something like that.
Thanks for the bug report!

[Garden Of The Crow]

1.WELL - forced encounter. talk to cat, get apple.
2.BACKYARD - get shovel.
3.GRAVEYARD - shovel into grave, get skull.
4.LADDER TOP - give skull to crow, get cell key.
5.FOREST CELL - use cell key on cell door. get cookie.
6.FOREST CELL - forced encounter. talk to mouse, get wine.
7.SPIDERWEB - give wine to left crow. get graveyard key.
8.GRAVEYARD - open chest. get fishing rod.
9.POND - try to fish; answer riddles (onion, mirror, darkness), get fish.
10.BEAR - give food to bear, get fishbone.
11.BACKYARD - give fishbone to crow, get flower coin.
12.SPIDERWEB - open flower portal, clear memory puzzle.
13.FLOWER PORTAL - forced encounter. talk to mouse, get key.
14.POND - open chest. get axe.
(once upon a nightmare) GRAVEYARD - talk to owl.
15.BACKYARD - use axe on shed.
16.GARDEN - forced encounter. talk to wolf, get pocket watch.
(what am i?) POND - answer frog riddles (lightning, leaves, sun)
17.BACKYARD - give pocket watch to owl, get candle.
18.SPIDERWEB - burn the web, get key.
(what big teeth you have) BEAR - talk to wolf
19.FLOWER PORTAL - open cell.

had to make up names for each location. hopefully they're straightforward enough

[Otherwise]

there's a glitch, probably due to an update:

map fragment 9 is currently impossible to get:
- you can't access the mine path in backstage mode;
- in discover mode, you need all three characters to access the mine path;
- after accessing the mine path, only one character can die in the hole before the sequence that gives access to fragment 9;
- if penny is alive, you're forced to follow penny who fell off the bridge, missing the path with the fragment.
- if penny dies in the hole, steve prevents you from taking the path with the fragment.
you can't have steve die in the hole because you'll then be forced to follow the penny route, skipping the path to the fragment entirely

also it seems like there's some weird problem with the medals for "character X survived" registering. i cleared the game multiple times but only managed to get them to unlock them in specific instances. could be an issue on my side

btw thank you for changing the arcade game, the original one was painful with the one pixel perfect impossible switch taunting you

edit: i guess i need to figure out how to get steve caught in segment 3. so far every option i picked got him shot in the head where he stands.

edit 2: nvm i just needed not to stab him so he could actually catch up to me

Tanooki81 responds:

Actually the fragment 9 can be only get in Backstage Mode. To access the mines way in BM, Steve needs to be caught in the segment III. Then keep them alive until seg IV. Done! Now you can take the mine route. To get the fragment 9, Steve need to die in the hole so he won't stop Rafe to go down the stairs later (and, as you are in Backstage Mode, the game will never force you to follow Penny's POV). Try it again and if you still can't, please report it to me then I'll check it

[Witchcraft Tower Defence]

beating the game isn't particularly difficult once you realize that flowers play a major role;
while higher level towers have better skills and far greater damage output, lvl1 flowers seem to be the only way to increase the range of towers, which greatly increases your overall firepower, allowing the stronger towers to be active on a wider area.

the randomized nature of the game keeps it interesting, although it gets really tedious when trying to complete specific achievements which require some serious rng luck.
one basic strategy is to fill the board with towers, then upgrade the ones in the middle to the max, then merge everything else while leaving flowers alone.

the only mild complaint i have is that the available tower positions are kind of weird?
aside from the obvious ones, there's some extra spots all the way to the bottom of the middle column, while you can only place a few near the spawn point, where it feels like there could be more.
having the towers description popup show up in the bottom also gets in the way of seeing some of the placed towers;
basically a map redesign could be considered.

any tips for the 30 quest medal?
i managed to clear 29 quests but only got 4 of the 5 towers for the last set.
you can't exactly make 5 of the same lvl 5 towers without selling everything else due to the randomized nature of the game and limited coins you have to work with.
maybe increase the rewards for the higher tiered quests? it seems you get 250 coins for each quest completed, regardless of the tier of the towers, which feels kinda underwhelming especially after getting 5 lvl5 of the same type all at once

edit: tried making some kind of guide to help with the quests
https://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/4c437e72380c37575ffa68085f6959d8

also for the "master of the coin" medal, the coin total on the final result screen is irrelevant.
the actual requirement is holding 25000 unspent coins at once, so you basically need to roll really good upgrades (mainly lots of early shop upgrades) and at the end of wave 29, right before the final boss wave, sell everything and hope you make back more than 25k coins