Hey everyone! I'm currently working on a puzzle idea and for my first draft I found that I've made it way to complicated. I started doing all sorts of unnecessary math for it and it was driving me nuts. So, I redesigned it and now I feel like I've gone and made it too simple. Go figure. Looking for any comments or suggestions about what I currently have, or could do to improve it. Much appreciated!
Here's the premise:
The objective is for the PC's to take a cauldron of molten material from A to B via a railroad track to a mold for pouring. At the start point is a control panel that activates the gates that block the path and burners that are placed along the track to keep the material hot. The control panel was rigged in a way that made it operate out of conventional order. So instead of the first lever controlling the first gate, the second for the second gate, etc. It actually works in this sequence. Levers = 3-1-4-2, Burners = 4-2-1-3. The railway goes through a zig-zag shaped corridor, so the one at the controls would have no visual on the cart as it moves. (So communication and planning would have to be key.)
That's where I'm at now. Just let them figure out the sequence and then pour the mold. Ta-done. Would this be considered too simple of a puzzle?
Just for reference, the other factors I was trying to play with before the rewrite involved the following:
I wanted the material to continuously cool down, so they had to try and be fast about getting it to the end objective. Although, they could potentially move too fast and spill the contents when the cauldron came to a sudden stop (for a puzzle reset). They would have had to use 3/4 burners to ensure that it was hot enough when it arrived, if not they would have to start over. I wanted the burners to be motion activated along the path instead of manually activated, so they could have had the potential of hurting the PC's.
If it's just a matter of levers being out of order, then the puzzle is trivial.
Player A pulls levers, while player B looks to see which does what.
Player B reports back, and they simply run the sequence in the correct order.
The typical "Lever/Door" puzzle usually has a combination of Open/Toggle/Close for adjacent doors, so that the consequences of pulling the levers in a given order require tracking multiple interactions simultaneously. Other version of the puzzle also introduces a timed delay or reset feature, so that the correct sequence also relies on waiting for the correct conditions. Example: Elderscrolls: Harmugstahl
Fortunately, there are so many good examples of puzzles in video games and online that we can occasionally let our brains get some rest, while we enjoy the mental labors of others!
Think I may have figured out something closer to what I was originally looking to do. I was gonna share an image of the map but am too lazy to sign up for an image hosting site right now lol. Maybe I'll share after signing up for one. Either way just wanted to say thanks again for the assistance.
Hey everyone! I'm currently working on a puzzle idea and for my first draft I found that I've made it way to complicated. I started doing all sorts of unnecessary math for it and it was driving me nuts. So, I redesigned it and now I feel like I've gone and made it too simple. Go figure. Looking for any comments or suggestions about what I currently have, or could do to improve it. Much appreciated!
Here's the premise:
The objective is for the PC's to take a cauldron of molten material from A to B via a railroad track to a mold for pouring. At the start point is a control panel that activates the gates that block the path and burners that are placed along the track to keep the material hot. The control panel was rigged in a way that made it operate out of conventional order. So instead of the first lever controlling the first gate, the second for the second gate, etc. It actually works in this sequence. Levers = 3-1-4-2, Burners = 4-2-1-3. The railway goes through a zig-zag shaped corridor, so the one at the controls would have no visual on the cart as it moves. (So communication and planning would have to be key.)
That's where I'm at now. Just let them figure out the sequence and then pour the mold. Ta-done. Would this be considered too simple of a puzzle?
Just for reference, the other factors I was trying to play with before the rewrite involved the following:
I wanted the material to continuously cool down, so they had to try and be fast about getting it to the end objective. Although, they could potentially move too fast and spill the contents when the cauldron came to a sudden stop (for a puzzle reset). They would have had to use 3/4 burners to ensure that it was hot enough when it arrived, if not they would have to start over. I wanted the burners to be motion activated along the path instead of manually activated, so they could have had the potential of hurting the PC's.
If it's just a matter of levers being out of order, then the puzzle is trivial.
Player A pulls levers, while player B looks to see which does what.
Player B reports back, and they simply run the sequence in the correct order.
The typical "Lever/Door" puzzle usually has a combination of Open/Toggle/Close for adjacent doors, so that the consequences of pulling the levers in a given order require tracking multiple interactions simultaneously. Other version of the puzzle also introduces a timed delay or reset feature, so that the correct sequence also relies on waiting for the correct conditions. Example: Elderscrolls: Harmugstahl
Completely agree. Think my brain is just fried from working on the adventure for a long time.
It happens.
Fortunately, there are so many good examples of puzzles in video games and online that we can occasionally let our brains get some rest, while we enjoy the mental labors of others!
Think I may have figured out something closer to what I was originally looking to do. I was gonna share an image of the map but am too lazy to sign up for an image hosting site right now lol. Maybe I'll share after signing up for one. Either way just wanted to say thanks again for the assistance.
I always use imgbb.com for quick image hosting. No sign-up required. :)