Someone else mentioned that game upthread. I am resisting the temptation to download it. For now.
Well, maybe just one round…
Anybody remember that PC game from the mid-90’s called “Lemmings”. You have this line of lemmings all following the first lemming in line, just marching toward their doom. You have to give them instructions to build various contraptions to change their direction or build bridges over gaps and so on. The fact that lemmings don’t really march mindlessly off cliffs is not important. What is important is that you could turn the little fellas into time bombs in a pinch. They would cover their ears and then…boom! Sometimes you had to crack a few eggs. I played that game for hours in college. Is it still out there somewhere?
Lemmings was definitely a great game. What I like so much about Fantastic Contraption, though, is how open-ended it is. I love solving a problem, then looking at other solutions and seeing several completely different approaches to it. Several of the solutions i’ve seen (especially that two-piece balance solution to the wall) have had me laughing in astonished delight.
Nice. Bonus points for bouncing off the ball on the destination side.
Interestingly, I found out last night when I was working on this solution that you can actually break chains made of water rods. I originally had the cart tethered to the ramp and the ball tethered to the front of the cart. The plan was that the cart would go up the ramp, be pulled to a screeching halt, and the ball would fly off of it, swinging around into the destination area. What I actually found was that the cart’s chain would pull taut and snap, with water rods flying everywhere. Oh, well. My final solution was cleaner anyway.
Bah. Windows-only. Their Web site says they’re working on some other platforms. I’ll try it then.
Yes, I’ve been slightly humbled by some of the ingenuity on display. Me, I tend to go for the unsubtle approach where possible - build a massive tank with lots of wheels. If it doesn’t work, add more wheels. For the staircase one I ended up with a giant 9-wheeled behemoth that simply ground its way up the slope.
I agree, I think being able to save and share so easily makes the game a lot more awesome. Armadillo run is, IMHO, a better game from a physics/design perspective, but this is awesome because we can all play “together” in the thread.
Heh, that rocket repeatedly launches itself if you watch it long enough (well, I gave up after the second launch, but it just keeps on going)
[ETA] Oops, no, it eventually slides off the platform
I’ve been brute-forcing my way past most levels. I’m of the opinion you can accomplish anything with enough wheels. I’m very proud of this one for its elegance, though.
It doesn’t always – my over the top solution to Awash uses 'em, too, but just for added traction (I’m actually not sure if they’re strictly necessary in the finished version, though).
That rocket is absolutely brilliant, though. It’s even reusable – after it crash-lands, it gets twisted up badly, but after some time, it rights itself up again! How did you even think to try that, Ale? (Actually, I wonder that with quite a lot of the solutions I’ve seen.)
I’m very proud of