This is why I rarely get involved in discussions like this.
I know this person has unsubscribed now, but I would like to correct
some of what he said. I don't consider myself a puzzle-solving
genius, which is evidently the group he puts me in (I'm flattered in
a way, I suppose). I referred to my years of puzzle-solving purely
for credibilty purposes. Believe me, anyone who does puzzles at all
soon realizes there are others whose skills eclipse his own.
My viewpoint on Laser Tank has been eloquently expressed by Suyono
and Steve, not to mention Donald, and I agree with what they have
said. One of the things that makes LaserTank such a great game is
that there is something for everyone in it. I haven't solved all
the levels either, but even if I only stuck with the ones I've
solved, it would still leave me with plenty of hours of trying to
improve my scores on them. Sometimes I have just gone back and gone
through the Kids levels (I didn't solve all of them the first time
through, either) for fun and less stress; some of the "automatic"
ones are even fun just to watch.
So, enough of that from me...
I'm presently going through the Sokoban-I level set, and trying to
figure out a couple things in general strategy with them. I can
usually solve them up to Deadly; there's only 1 or 2 Deadly levels
I've ever solved. My problem seems to be number of moves; my moves
total is always much higher than the Global High Scores on Sokoban-
style levels, and I can't figure out how the high scorers are doing
it. Any general advice on efficiency in this area?
Also, I was curious about something: do you (the group) have any
favorite levels, or favorite level creators?
Finally...Donald, I want to thank you for both hosting this group,
and for Laser Tank itself. It is one of only 3 games that I ALWAYS
have on my computer (for anyone interested, the others are Kyodai
and Pretty Good Solitaire).
Wulfbear
I know this person has unsubscribed now, but I would like to correct
some of what he said. I don't consider myself a puzzle-solving
genius, which is evidently the group he puts me in (I'm flattered in
a way, I suppose). I referred to my years of puzzle-solving purely
for credibilty purposes. Believe me, anyone who does puzzles at all
soon realizes there are others whose skills eclipse his own.
My viewpoint on Laser Tank has been eloquently expressed by Suyono
and Steve, not to mention Donald, and I agree with what they have
said. One of the things that makes LaserTank such a great game is
that there is something for everyone in it. I haven't solved all
the levels either, but even if I only stuck with the ones I've
solved, it would still leave me with plenty of hours of trying to
improve my scores on them. Sometimes I have just gone back and gone
through the Kids levels (I didn't solve all of them the first time
through, either) for fun and less stress; some of the "automatic"
ones are even fun just to watch.
So, enough of that from me...
I'm presently going through the Sokoban-I level set, and trying to
figure out a couple things in general strategy with them. I can
usually solve them up to Deadly; there's only 1 or 2 Deadly levels
I've ever solved. My problem seems to be number of moves; my moves
total is always much higher than the Global High Scores on Sokoban-
style levels, and I can't figure out how the high scorers are doing
it. Any general advice on efficiency in this area?
Also, I was curious about something: do you (the group) have any
favorite levels, or favorite level creators?
Finally...Donald, I want to thank you for both hosting this group,
and for Laser Tank itself. It is one of only 3 games that I ALWAYS
have on my computer (for anyone interested, the others are Kyodai
and Pretty Good Solitaire).
Wulfbear
--- In [email protected], "Ted Shutes" <theo@i...> wrote:
> The daily Laser Tank digest (from which I haven't gotten around to
unsubscribing myself) has included a lot of "lecturing" lately,
aimed at
people who are having trouble with Laser Tank, from people who are
either
(1) super puzzle-solving geniuses or (2) have access to all the
playback
files and have no mercy on those who don't. My advice is, if you find
yourself frustrated by Laser Tank, do what I did and go back to (or
take up)
programming. It's no less difficult and the results -- a working
program,
utility, or game -- are far more useful and satisfying than a solved
Laser
Tank puzzle. For some "light" programming fun, I recommend the now-
freeware
Dink Smallwood game (e.g. http://rpgplanet.com/dink/) that is also a
freeware game-development system. AND, unlike Laser Tank, many Dink
Smallwood aficionados are super-helpful and will be glad to assist
you with
your frustrations.
My IQ has been repeatedly measured in the 140-150 range, with a
particular
aptitude for spacial conceptualization. So I think I am qualified to
say,
Laser Tank is TOO DIFFICULT to be worth the brain power required.
Most
levels (except the "deadly" ones) are underrated. Even some of
the "easier
than easy" (a.k.a. "beginner") puzzles I could not solve the first
time I
tackled them. Before I gave up playing Laser Tank, I found
some "medium",
many "hard", and most "deadly" levels impossible. I wasted far more
time on
many of them than I should have, coming back to several of them many
times,
often after "feeling my oats" from solving other difficult levels,
and still
no luck. That frustration, combined with carefully guarded proof to
the
contrary, leaves me with a nagging suspicion that many levels are
indeed
impossible and that is the real "game" being played by Laser Tank's
insiders.
In short, the Laser Tank user's group is a club for puzzle-solving
wizards.
Either you are or you aren't such a person, there is little you can
do about
it (well, if you are, you could start smoking drugs so you won't
be...).
Trust me, you can't choose to become one after some chiding. My
advice to
all the frustrated Laser Tank players out there is to go "cold
turkey",
delete Laser Tank off your hard drive, leave the egotists alone, and
get on
with your life. The sooner you do, the happier you'll be