Pixel Hunting

Quintaros · Sat 01/11/2003 20:24:47

Pixel Hunting appears to be the most loathed element of some gameplay but I'm not precisely sure what it is and if I am properly avoiding it. Is it simply when there is no cursor change to indicate a hotspot or is there more to it?

DGMacphee · Sat 01/11/2003 20:51:14

It's when you have to find a hotspot that's close to 1 pixel by 1 pixel.

Quintaros · Sat 01/11/2003 20:55:12

So if my hotspots are large but don't have any cursor change identifying them it won't be the dreaded pixel hunt?

Ben · Sat 01/11/2003 20:57:23

As long as it's easy to distinguish from the background, you're fine.

Hollister Man · Tue 04/11/2003 18:29:06

The perfect example, IMO, is on Star Trek 25th Anniversary. You have to use an item on the wall to shut off the shields to an area. The program does not give you any way to determine where to ckick, and the hotspot is tiny. It took me almost an hour of click-clicking to figure out where it was. There are better ways to script a puzzle.

Ytterbium · Tue 04/11/2003 18:33:58

The ways to avoid pixel hunting are to:
1. Make your hotspots large
2. Have the cursor change when it's on a hotspot
3. Use a text parser (but only do this if you really can't do much else. I'm using a text parser because I like nostalgia, not because I want to avoid pixel hunting)

m0ds · Tue 04/11/2003 18:49:45

There's a bit in Indy: TLC where to avoid the blades in the temple you have to click exactly on a pixel. Luckily though, they made it bright red or something. LOL.

m0ds

remixor · Wed 05/11/2003 01:17:32

Runaway is easily one of the worst consistent offenders of pixel hunting I've played. The fact that it's the only 1024x768 adventure ever (commercial anyway, maybe someone made an indie one) does not help at all.

Basically, you know you don't have pixel hunting when, for any number of reasons, the hotspots are fairly easy to identify. The challenge should be what to do when you've GOT the items, not HOW to get them.

Ciro DurÃ¡n · Wed 05/11/2003 01:37:34

Quote from: m0ds on Tue 04/11/2003 18:49:45
There's a bit in Indy: TLC where to avoid the blades in the temple you have to click exactly on a pixel. Luckily though, they made it bright red or something. LOL.

m0ds

But m0ds, that's in the 256 colors version. I played a long time ago the 16 colors version, and it didn't have that spot!, you had to really guess the spot

GarageGothic · Wed 05/11/2003 12:03:54

Sounds like somebody doesn't have (or haven't read) their official Grail Diary(tm)

. If you look in the very cool diary that came with the game, X actually marks the spot. And it wasn't really as pixel perfect as you make it sound. There was a margin of error.

Scummbuddy · Wed 05/11/2003 15:06:25

Thats the only part of Full Throttle I don't look forward to playing. Even though ive played it a dozen or so times, when you have to kick the wall to open the door to get into Corley factory, it always takes forever for me to find it. I think I end up just walking a pixel at a time up and down the wall and select kick on each crack.

Harvester · Wed 05/11/2003 22:41:01

There is some pixel hunt in Pleurghburg. It's the scene where there is a pile of garbage and you have to find a wallet in there.
On the other hand, this might not be the best example, since in this case pixel hunt is perfectly justified by the context.

remixor · Thu 06/11/2003 01:58:16

Quote from: Harvester on Wed 05/11/2003 22:41:01
There is some pixel hunt in Pleurghburg. It's the scene where there is a pile of garbage and you have to find a wallet in there.
On the other hand, this might not be the best example, since in this case pixel hunt is perfectly justified by the context.

Yeah, this was actually one of the few parts I had to look for help. No matter how many times I play through pixel hunt puzzles, they ALWAYS get me. Just about every time! My brain just doesn't want to deal with them or something.