Post by Playcebo in Discussion and Feedback [Spoilers Allowed]

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Hmm, what do you think about having "WAS" added to the 12th blank? https://imgur.com/a/AYQQM4A Or I could just do "W" perhaps. (You interpreted "Go Back" correctly, I was just telling players to go back and solve 1 - 11 properly upon reaching 12. I think I'll move that message to the top of the page.)

Another thing I might do is change the Ink Ring and/or the end of the message -- I purposely hid the U to set up NOW __OY as a red herring (since it seems like potential words), which I'm now realizing was just pointlessly mean.

I'm flattered puzzle 11 was reminiscent of the treehouse -- that area is one of my favorites.

solidjim355 days ago(+1)

Perhaps not WAS as this can be searched for and found in the grid & could become its own red herring. Having just the W would probably have worked for me, but I'm not sure if it could also be similarly misinterpreted.

It's currently the only puzzle where one of the leftover letters is hidden, so amending that might help (by that point I had come to assume this was one of the rules.)

I'm conscious that I'm just one person & a lot of players presumably got this without the nudge. On the other side of the coin, I figured out the letters and numbers in v1.12 without any need for the new hint. Is there a case for formalising the two-tier difficulty system introduced by having 1.12 & 1.13 both available?

(Re: the treehouses, I won't go into specifics as this isn't the venue for The Witness spoilers, but I mean the early puzzles allowing for an internally consistent yet incorrect understanding of the rules.)

solidjim355 days ago

Additional response as I hadn't actually noticed the second image in your link:

I think the ring has value and wouldn't like to bring about its removal - in addition to lending the final puzzle a striking aesthetic and making it look more daunting than it (perhaps) is, it acts as an initial distraction from the significance of the lower squiggle.

If you were going that route, is it feasible to instead re-jig the positioning on a couple of the words so the leftovers are visible? For example, supposing the first two rows were:

LANKOWREUYD
 CCUINGWNR

Perhaps not ideal due to the path taken by the first answer, but the first suggestion that came to mind...

Playcebo355 days ago (1 edit)

My bad, I added the second image later on, after you saw it I think.

I'm glad the ring was doing its intended purposes. I put it back, made it a bit thinner, and nudged it downward to show the "U" without changing too much else .

itch.io

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