I only get the daily digest of messages, but I see I caused quite a
stir!
"Suyono H. Yaphar" wrote: "I think the level authors are fully aware
of those 'undocumented features' so those features became the rules
in laser tank." Yeah, that's exactly what I meant when I wrote, "I
am sure that some of [the levels I can't solve] rely on more of these
evidently 'legitimate' bugs I still haven't discovered."
Then he went on to say, "It is a bug, not 'undocumented feature'
because of the inconsistency." Yep.
Gerry W wrote: "LaserTank doesn't copy 'real' life, it has a logic of
it's own." True. But to be logical, there still have to be
predictable, consistently applied rules even in a surreal
environment. Otherwise, it's just a guessing game. Which many
levels are.
Stephen Ryan had me laughing in tears with his backhanded description
of this "logic": "I think most of the quirks that you mentioned can
be explained. First, your tank ... is a prototype developed in the
late twentieth century that employs alien technology to operate in a
5-dimensional space-time. In order to stabilize its hyperfield
matrix, it was built from advanced polymer alloys that have been
cooled with liquid hydrogen and form a superconducting outer shell to
impede electromagnetic propagation, with captured dark-matter forming
another inner thermal and electromagnetic barrier." It went on and
got better: I don't know why it wasn't printed in the digest, but if
you haven't read it, do visit
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Lasertank/message/4480>, it's a stitch!
Tobias Langhoff: "Most of these bugs (or 'undocumented features')
were created
unintentionally, but are left in the program by Jim (the programmer),
because a huge amount of levels rely on them in order to be solved";
and before that he said, "We should really make a list of ALL known
bugs and issues with Laser Tank and put it up on the Utility Page."
Oh yes, great idea!
Back to Stephen Ryan: "I too think that it might be fun to have
a 'tips and tricks' file that would identify and name the quirky
techniques of lasertank. These might be considered hints, but people
could still have the choice of reading them or not. I'd like like to
come up with names for all these moves." This is similar to my own
thinking, a "Tutorials" levels file, similar to the beginner levels
but with the levels specifically created or chosen to highlight
these. These levels would have extensive, almost giveaway hints,
with those hints being the point of the levels file moreso than the
puzzles themselves. Stephen's names could be included in the title
and/or the hint. I have started thinking about such a levels file, I
might even be qualified to initially create it (given the time), but
I certainly am not qualified to complete it.
A question for Donald would be, if I (or anyone else for that matter)
started such a set of tutorial levels, would it be possible for
others with additional insight to go back and edit the titles, hints,
and insert new levels in the middle as appropriate to maintain the
flow of the tutorial?
Oh yeah, one for Stephen: what's the difference between "2) 'General
Subversion', using a tank mover to make an enemy shoot its laser for
your own purposes," and "5) 'Upstream Subversion', fooling an enemy
into shooting by trying to go the wrong way on a tank mover"?
Thanks, everyone! This is a great group!!!
-Ted
stir!
"Suyono H. Yaphar" wrote: "I think the level authors are fully aware
of those 'undocumented features' so those features became the rules
in laser tank." Yeah, that's exactly what I meant when I wrote, "I
am sure that some of [the levels I can't solve] rely on more of these
evidently 'legitimate' bugs I still haven't discovered."
Then he went on to say, "It is a bug, not 'undocumented feature'
because of the inconsistency." Yep.
Gerry W wrote: "LaserTank doesn't copy 'real' life, it has a logic of
it's own." True. But to be logical, there still have to be
predictable, consistently applied rules even in a surreal
environment. Otherwise, it's just a guessing game. Which many
levels are.
Stephen Ryan had me laughing in tears with his backhanded description
of this "logic": "I think most of the quirks that you mentioned can
be explained. First, your tank ... is a prototype developed in the
late twentieth century that employs alien technology to operate in a
5-dimensional space-time. In order to stabilize its hyperfield
matrix, it was built from advanced polymer alloys that have been
cooled with liquid hydrogen and form a superconducting outer shell to
impede electromagnetic propagation, with captured dark-matter forming
another inner thermal and electromagnetic barrier." It went on and
got better: I don't know why it wasn't printed in the digest, but if
you haven't read it, do visit
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Lasertank/message/4480>, it's a stitch!
Tobias Langhoff: "Most of these bugs (or 'undocumented features')
were created
unintentionally, but are left in the program by Jim (the programmer),
because a huge amount of levels rely on them in order to be solved";
and before that he said, "We should really make a list of ALL known
bugs and issues with Laser Tank and put it up on the Utility Page."
Oh yes, great idea!
Back to Stephen Ryan: "I too think that it might be fun to have
a 'tips and tricks' file that would identify and name the quirky
techniques of lasertank. These might be considered hints, but people
could still have the choice of reading them or not. I'd like like to
come up with names for all these moves." This is similar to my own
thinking, a "Tutorials" levels file, similar to the beginner levels
but with the levels specifically created or chosen to highlight
these. These levels would have extensive, almost giveaway hints,
with those hints being the point of the levels file moreso than the
puzzles themselves. Stephen's names could be included in the title
and/or the hint. I have started thinking about such a levels file, I
might even be qualified to initially create it (given the time), but
I certainly am not qualified to complete it.
A question for Donald would be, if I (or anyone else for that matter)
started such a set of tutorial levels, would it be possible for
others with additional insight to go back and edit the titles, hints,
and insert new levels in the middle as appropriate to maintain the
flow of the tutorial?
Oh yeah, one for Stephen: what's the difference between "2) 'General
Subversion', using a tank mover to make an enemy shoot its laser for
your own purposes," and "5) 'Upstream Subversion', fooling an enemy
into shooting by trying to go the wrong way on a tank mover"?
Thanks, everyone! This is a great group!!!
-Ted