When I saw so much text in a comment, I started reading it in the hopes that someone had done a custom level for this game.
Ditocoaf
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I finally figured out what to do by focusing on the question, (rot13) "Jung tbny pna V rira trg gur gbc obk gb?"
V fcrag n juvyr gelvat gb ebgngr gur gbc guerr obkrf pybpxjvfr nzbat rnpubgure'f tbnyf, pbzcyrgryl vtabevat gur obk ba gur ybjre jnyy. Gung dhrfgvba tbg zr gb svanyyl abgvpr gur gevpx gb trg gung obk bss gur jnyy.
This puzzle was right at the sweet spot of difficulty for this advent calendar, imo. A crunchy but still snack-sized puzzle I could actually see myself doing as part of a daily routine for a month.
I'm really enjoying this game! A really nice arrangement of puzzly systems. I got to the scary square enemy once, couldn't get past it, and now have been wrestling with how greedily I can get away with playing in order to prepare. The answer: not quite so greedily as I've been trying!
Mechanics question: is the RNG tweaked to discourage "dumping" pieces? Or am I just seeing patterns where there aren't any? I swear that when I place a piece that I don't walk onto, I get the same piece again way more frequently than 1/7 of the time. After losing a third game in a row to a situation where I dump a piece, get the same one, dump it elsewhere, then get it a third time, I'm feeling like maybe I should just take overlap damage more often instead of fishing for a better option. But of course, I'm way more likely to remember these situations, so my perception is likely skewed.
It's interesting, I often do enjoy solving via heuristics and getting a "feel" for the rules, but I guess I try to fall back to deduction when I'm stuck or tired.
Regardless, I really appreciate how the different branches ask for different kinds of thinking. I like the game better for having a section I struggled with, than I would if it were sanded off.
Thanks for making this!
I'm completely stuck on what I think is the first puzzle. What I've tried so far under the spoiler:
I'm clicking the arrow to cover the bottom two panels, but I can't figure out when that's supposed to help!
I've tried covering the flood, but I'm still locked from continuing. I've tried covering the bottom two panels of the shower page, but then when I click to page 4 the footer automatically retracts and page 4 still has a flood. I've also tried skipping pages, but they seem to be the same as when I read them in order. I've read the clues and feel like I get what the gimmick is meant to be, but nothing's changing so I must be misinterpreting it somehow!
I can't get all the way to page 4 without water showing up at any point, because the footer retracts whenever I change pages. Covering water up after the fact doesn't seem to do anything. And I've clicked "restart" tons of times!
Solved 4 of the branches, but I get to... [spoiler break]
... I get to Totem 40 and see eight pieces with three different rules and none of them locked in place and I just feel... tired, since I know I'm somehow only halfway down this branch and it already looks almost as open-ended and knotty as the endgame of Spire.
Some of these puzzles get so open-ended that it feels like there's nowhere to start. And the puzzlescript movement is just clunky enough that I have to continually pay attention to move exactly where I intend to, so messing around isn't free.
I absolutely love most of the ideas at play here, though. The process of discovering these rules has been fantastic, and they're all very clever. I think this branch just isn't for me.
I'm probably going to have fun with the secrets for Glyph Shard and Pylon, and then call it a day. I can watch Joe solve Totem and Spire-X.
Great work, will be paying attention to what you do next as a developer.