Topic: MAGS May “Rats” (RESULTS)

[Slasher]

We've had some great games this month..

And some very very close to determine a winner, though everyone is a winner..

[CaptainD]

We've had some great games this month..

And some very very close to determine a winner, though everyone is a winner..

Everyone's a winner baby
That's no lie
MAGS games never fail to satisfy

[Mandle]

game breaker if you stop on first left bend.

Please explain what happened and why/how it broke the game. Could you not move anywhere or something like that?

[Slasher]

Hi Mandle,

I stopped just as I turned the first left bend and the Rat would not move...kind of got stuck there..

[Mandle]

Hi Mandle,

I stopped just as I turned the first left bend and the Rat would not move...kind of got stuck there..

Testing now!

EDIT: I couldn't actually get the rat stuck in the corner but I did notice a slowdown in performance if I used the movement controls a lot while in the bend so it's possible that the game wasn't 100% stuck but appeared to be. Or maybe I just couldn't find the one place it freezes up completely.

[Slasher]

Mandle

Turned face down just up the first bend...rat would not move... quit game and got Idirect3DSurfice9::Presentfailed error..

Still a fun game though

Slasher

[Mandle]

Thanks for the bug reports, Slasher.

I have no idea what that error message means but I'll probably just leave the game as is. It doesn't seem to be something that happens often and I'm scared of breaking the rest of the game by messing with it too much.

I have finally updated all my feedback on page 11 to include final impressions of Lab Rat Maze and my final vote.

It was a very hard choice so I just had to go with my gut in the end.

[Cassiebsg]

To clear about the last puzzle with the red blocks.

Spoiler: ShowHide

Originally they were just there to block your way to the wheels, and you had to push/pull them so you could get past them. Only I found out that if I made them blocking, Gurok's maze code didn't show them, and if you couldn't see them then you could not click on them to interact. So I made a quick change and made them to be "plug them into the wall socket to release each one the wheels". The only thing that have no logic here, is to figure out how and which is the first block to plug... the others just then slide into place (sorta). Here there is no logic, I just decided that was the 1st one, then the 2nd the 3rd and the 4th. Kind of the same way for which wheel works first, second, etc...
There is one change that I thought about making, but decided not to (because the puzzle was already so buggy, that I was afraid of breaking it again if I changed it). And that was to make the 1st block lock all other 3 blocks into place at the same time. So that you had to align all the other 3 blocks first and then push the 1st one into place. But the possibilities of this breaking the game was too much, that I chickened out and decided to leave it as is.
An no, all blocks move in a per-determined way, none moves randomly.

So, yes, I admit it, this puzzle needed a little bit more of polishing to make the logic a bit more solid.

[Slasher]

This must be one of the longest MAG competitions ever

[Mandle]

This must be one of the longest MAG competitions ever

Kinda makes sense with 8 games for people to play, but I also kinda get the feeling that they aren't getting played all that much.

Maybe can MAGS get a banner announcement when voting is underway?

A lot of people might have lost interest after some months of tepid turnout, but a blockbuster month of 8 games could turn this trend around? Maybe?

[Blondbraid]

I'm trying to get around to playing all entries before I vote, I'll update the list as I complete the games:

Rainbow Skunk Prism and the Vermin-Truder by DBoyWheeler

Spoiler: ShowHide

It's a short game, and I can't say I'm impressed with the gameplay or graphics and it was a bit annoying that the characters moved so slowly.
But I don't want to come off as too harsh, I liked the music and the titular heroine was cute and funny.

The Rat Pack Do Cheesy Castle by Slasher

Spoiler: ShowHide

This game had decent art and some solid gameplay and puzzles. It's entertaining, though I think the potty humor towards the end would be more fun for a younger audience than me.

The Rat Pack by CaptainD

Spoiler: ShowHide

It's an interesting turn-based strategy game that was fun, though the font was hard to read. I also think that there is some room for improvement, like having some illustrations for the different events and more visuals to go with the text, but for a Mags game it was decent and the strategy was entertaining even if I never came close to 1000 rats.

Commando Raid by fernewelten

Spoiler: ShowHide

The game started promising enough but unfortunately I was unable yo finish it due to a bug where the inventory icon disappeared after the protagonist read a letter.

Rat Playing Game by Mandle

Spoiler: ShowHide

This game had some really fun RPG mechanics and the rat was really nicely animated, my only complaint was that making the menu text transparent with a black outline made it needlessly hard to read and making the text a solid color would improve the readability. Otherwise it was a fun game.

[Stupot]

This must be one of the longest MAG competitions ever

Yeah, I secretly added one more week of voting than usual. It is dragging a bit. But it's close at the top, so some more votes would be useful.

[Slasher]

Spoiler: ShowHide

It's entertaining, though I think the potty humor towards the end would be more fun for a younger audience than me.

You'r showing your age...I'm much older than you and it had me in fits

[Mandle]

Spoiler: ShowHide

It's entertaining, though I think the potty humor towards the end would be more fun for a younger audience than me.

You'r showing your age...I'm much older than you and it had me in fits

Even Shakespeare never forgot to include some low-brow humour in every play to remind the audience to have a laugh at itself while along for the ride.

It can be overdone, but that's really just a matter of preference.

[Blondbraid]

Spoiler: ShowHide

It's entertaining, though I think the potty humor towards the end would be more fun for a younger audience than me.

You'r showing your age...I'm much older than you and it had me in fits

Even Shakespeare never forgot to include some low-brow humour in every play to remind the audience to have a laugh at itself while along for the ride.

It can be overdone, but that's really just a matter of preference.

I never said that the humour wasn't fun, but I was a bit miffed at the thought of

Spoiler: ShowHide

The rat pack eating cheese that the rat king and his soldiers had farted all over...

[Mandle]

Spoiler: ShowHide

even if I never came close to 1000 rats.

Shadow1000 said the same kind of thing about the 1000 rats goal and I meant to mention something then but forgot:

The goal of 1000 might seem too tedious to try for when you are only gaining like 10 rats per breeding and then losing 3 or so to traps etc. but the gains increase exponentially so, roughly, it takes about as long to get from 100 to 500 as it took to get to 100 and then only about half that to get to 1000. So, by the time you get 500 you'll be gaining well over 100 rats per breeding. I think I jumped from 800 odd to over 1000 in my last breeding and won the game.

My own game is a bit similar in that it's easy to die early on but then, as you get stronger, you'll find youself one-hitting most enemies and the XP flowing in at a huge rate. Of course, in my game this is countered a bit by the exponential growth of skill costs but once you get to the point where a skill becomes impossibly expensive to afford the next level you probably don't need it any higher.

Just a few points for people giving up early on.

[Cassiebsg]

For those late to the party, just a reminder that voting is still in progress but reaching closing time very soon! Enter your votes now! (And if you haven't played the games, you still have plenty of time! Most games can be played and finished in less than 15 minutes...)

[Mandle]

A tie, eh? Congratulations to the two champignons!!! Well deserved!

(And I tied with The Burgomaster! That's quite an honour!)

[fernewelten]

I'm honoured! Let's call it a tie and let Hobo et al. decide on the theme of next month.

[Mandle]

I feel bad for Lab Maze Rat though.

For me, Commando Raid and Cheesey Castle were my two favorites, basically tied for 1st place but I couldn't vote for both, and Lab Maze Rat was my next favorite. Perhaps people gave up on it too fast because of the slightly clunky push mechanic and having to push some things quite a distance? Well, I hear that issue is now fixed so it might get some more appreciation in its next incarnation?

So if it were possible I would have voted:

1st: Commando Raid & Cheesey Castle
2nd: Lab Maze Rat
3rd: The Burgomaster