Be Excellent To Each Other

WTB · **Joined:** 27th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 14497

Aha! But does it make you start from scratch or does what you've previously collected remain?

Dimrill · **Posted:** Sat Apr 14, 2012 21:06

Remain collected.

WTB · **Joined:** 27th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 14497

Sweet. I'll plough on later, then.

Dimrill · **Posted:** Sun Apr 15, 2012 16:17

I think... I think I utterly adore this game. I haven't been this smitten for ages.

WTB · **Joined:** 27th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 14497

It's bloody good isn't it? That bell tower puzzle - I spent 10 minutes just ringing the bell for fun because it sounded so awesome.

Dimrill · **Posted:** Sun Apr 15, 2012 17:21

One cube left. Just have to wait four hours for the clock hand to advance.

Dimrill · **Posted:** Sun Apr 15, 2012 18:50

Now I have a sad that I'll never be able to play that for the first time again

Zardoz · **Posted:** Sun Apr 15, 2012 23:52

It's the best thing I've played (arcade wise) for a long time.

Utterly lovely.

TsuMuch · **Posted:** Sun Apr 22, 2012 10:14

Zardoz wrote:

It's the best thing I've played (arcade wise) for a long time.

Utterly lovely.

The game is like a beautiful onion, but instead of crying as you peel it, you smile.

Curiosity · **Posted:** Sun Apr 22, 2012 10:17

Getting tempted now.

Given my reduced amount of available gaming time at present, I'm becoming a fan of the XBLA more and more for pick and play joy.

Doctor Glyndwr · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 32619

Played a chunk of this so far. It's lovely -- charming and witty and clever. I've found about 10 cubes and two anticubes so far, and three treasure maps I can't make head nor tail of.

I'm thoroughly lost though -- I'm just wandering from screen to screen without much in the way of plan. I assume that's normal? I'm trying not to read anything about the game.

Dimrill · **Posted:** Sat Apr 28, 2012 17:44

Yep. Just enjoy the romp. If you want to go and track down everything else, that's what New Game+ is for. Don't let it stop you from ending your first run through early, it just gets more magical that way.

myp · **Posted:** Sat Apr 28, 2012 18:12

Sounds like Dark Souls.

Zardoz · **Posted:** Sat Apr 28, 2012 20:35

Not really, it's only one syllable for a start.

Mr Dave · **Posted:** Sun May 20, 2012 12:38

Am I the only one who is getting shocking performance out of this?

It was ok to start with, but it's getting progressively jerkier.

TheVision · **Posted:** Sun May 20, 2012 12:44

Nope. The very same happened to me.

Zardoz · **Posted:** Sun May 20, 2012 14:33

It would stutter from time to time, usually when going through doors to another part of the level.

Bamba · **Joined:** 25th Jul, 2010 **Posts:** 11128

Started playing this yesterday and put a good few hours into it (I've got about 17 cubes or so and a few anti-cubes). The core game is fun and charming; but I'm starting to feel completely overwhelmed by it to the point that it's sapping my interest a bit. Every door you go into opens up umpteen other doors which open up umpteen other ones etc, so I'm now feeling like I'm just completely losing track of what's going on as the map multiplies out in front of me. The fact that everything just feels like it's obtuse for the sake of it (the arrangement of the warp gates don't make any fucking sense at all, the map is odd, the secret levels with the movable blocks are completely inexplicable, the treasure maps don't mean anything and there are other random shit around the place that seem to almost revel in their utter lack of context) isn't helping matter much. I'm aware from reviews that it's supposed to be pretty meaningless at first and come together as you play, which is fine, but the sheer amount of randomness and the scope of it's getting on top of me a bit. It's probably not helping that I finished my session yesterday in the depths of the sewer type levels all of which are drably horrible to look at and centred round that really annoying game mechanic of raising/lowering water all over the place. So, yeah, can I expect it to start making some more sense soon? Or am I basically just too dim to enjoy it properly?

On the upside, I'm very amused by the QR codes puzzles; that's certainly a unique game mechanic.

Bamba · **Joined:** 25th Jul, 2010 **Posts:** 11128

Got up to about 23 cubes and a couple of anti-cubes and now my fucking save game has corrupted so the Xbox just crashes when I try to load it up. I assume there's nothing I can do about that and I'm just screwed? I couldn't really face going back through the whole thing again so that'll be it done in a really disappointing way.

Dimrill · **Posted:** Mon Dec 31, 2012 15:53

Sounds like you've encountered the bug that they were unable to fix because Microscrofula demanded tens of thousands of dorrah to re-certify. Pity you didn't enjoy it. It was my joint game of the year with AssCreeThree.

Bamba · **Joined:** 25th Jul, 2010 **Posts:** 11128

Dimrill wrote:

Sounds like you've encountered the bug that they were unable to fix because Microscrofula demanded tens of thousands of dorrah to re-certify. Pity you didn't enjoy it. It was my joint game of the year with AssCreeThree.

Aye, I remember reading about the patching debacle at the time; while it was a shit thing to pahhen it was good to have awareness raised about the sausage factory behind XBLA and how dubious some of it is. If the whole thing arms other indie devs with more information about what to expect then then at least maybe some good'll have come from it. Anyway, yeah, it looks like I'm part of the 1%! Yay for me! :'(

And I did enjoy it to a point, but the structure (or lack thereof) frustrated me enough to make it a feel like a bit of a grind so it seems it just wasn't for me. Having to backtrack through a game can be A Good Thing (the sublime Shadow Complex was a masterclass in how to do that properly) but the aimlessness of Fez and the fact so much of the map is open right away just destroyed any sense of progression for me. If the game was easier to navigate and the map opened up in chunks as you progressed that'd made it a million times more compelling I think. For instance, I didn't go back to the hub part and open any of the cube doors until I'd collected enough cubes to open all three of them. I assumed, wrongly obviously, that behind each door was another set of levels and I was already drowning under the ones I had access to so I needlessly stayed away; whereas opening them as I went would've broken the action up a bit and made for a pleasant change had I known. Just stuff like that. I still appreciate it for what it is and can understand why other people loved and it was certainly worth what I paid so I don't for a second regret picking it up.

Alberto · **Joined:** 28th Jan, 2011 **Posts:** 1198

I surely am a gherkin for not having played this yet. Shame on me. Remedy is forthwith to hand though.

TheVision · **Posted:** Mon Dec 31, 2012 19:59

That was pretty much what I thought of it Bamba. I got lost quite early on and didn't really know which route to take.

Dimrill · **Posted:** Mon Dec 31, 2012 20:05

Odd. I found getting lost to be part of the charm. Rather than fretting about where I should be going I just flowed with it.

zaphod79 · **Joined:** 16th Apr, 2008 **Posts:** 14489

Drops tomorrow for all things Playstation - I've seen places say its cross buy (so buy on one platforum unlock all 3) but not sure yet :

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/indie- ... 0-6418067/

Quote:

Indie hit Fez comes to PS4 March 25, runs in 1080p/60fps
Polytron's platformer launching on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita this month.

Indie hit Fez will launch for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita on March 25, developer Polytron announced today on the PlayStation Blog. The PlayStation version was handled by port studio Blit Works (Spelunky, Sonic CD) with the support of Polytron itself and Sony's internal development team.

The PS4 version of Fez runs in 1080p at 60 frames-per-second, while the PS3 iteration runs in 720p at 60fps. Polytron producer Marie-Christine Bourdua said the PS Vita version "runs smoothly at native resolution," but did not provide any specifics.

"You wouldn't think that upping the resolution would make a big difference in a game like ours, where the pixels are the size of Gomez's fist, but it really does look even crisper and blockier-- in a good way," Bourdua said about the PS4 version of Fez.

Pricing was not announced, but the Xbox 360 and PC versions of Fez currently sell for $10. It's also unclear if Fez is a Cross-Buy title on PlayStation.

The PlayStation versions of Fez are identical to the current iterations of the game available on PC and Xbox 360 with one notable exception. The PS4 version uses the DualShock 4's lightbar to help players with the game's unlockable 3D mode.

"DualShock 4's lightbar has been put to the task of bringing a little bit of Fez's world into your own home, and you may not need to search for that dusty pair of red/cyan glasses to experience a very late-game easter egg," Bourdua said.

"Funny story: to test the new 3DTV support, we spent a weekend running around computer shops to find a monitor that sports an integrated emitter," she added. "When we found one and started up Fez, our minds were forever expanded. I think we can see the fourth dimension now?"

Fez has sold over 1 million copies to date. The game's development was chronicled in 2012 film Indie Game: The Movie. Don't expect a sequel anytime soon, as controversial creator Fish announced last summer that Fez II was canceled. Alongside the cancellation, Fish announced that he would quit the industry altogether. His status at Polytron currently is unknown.

myp · **Posted:** Mon Mar 24, 2014 12:57

I completed this to over 200% on the 360 - amazing game.

zaphod79 · **Joined:** 16th Apr, 2008 **Posts:** 14489

British Nervoso wrote:

I completed this to over 200% on the 360 - amazing game.

I played a little on the Xbox and a little on the PC but wonder if its one of those titles that will just click for the Vita

myp · **Posted:** Mon Mar 24, 2014 13:00

zaphod79 wrote:

British Nervoso wrote:

I completed this to over 200% on the 360 - amazing game.

I played a little on the Xbox and a little on the PC but wonder if its one of those titles that will just click for the Vita

I imagine it'll be perfect on there.

Bamba · **Joined:** 25th Jul, 2010 **Posts:** 11128

I hit a save game bug on the 360 version and couldn't be arsed to restart. The map was just too useless to make me want to carry on.

TheVision · **Posted:** Mon Mar 24, 2014 13:10

I hate to say it, but I didn't like it.

myp · **Posted:** Mon Mar 24, 2014 13:15

Bamba wrote:

I hit a save game bug on the 360 version and couldn't be arsed to restart. The map was just too useless to make me want to carry on.

The map took me a while to understand, but once it clicked I found it really easy to get to where I wanted to go.

myp · **Posted:** Mon Mar 24, 2014 13:15

TheVision wrote:

I hate to say it, but I didn't like it.

It's because you can't put it on a shelf gathering dust, isn't it?

Pod · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 2568

I thought it was shit and didn't play more than an hour or so, because I thought it was simply a hipster platformer with a one-trick-pony mechanic of spinning the world when you obviously run out of jumping platforms, made by an insufferable prima donna with mutton-chops.

Turns out it's got all sorts of puzzles that require you to decode things and construct cubes out of paper. Who knew!?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iefXGaa ... e=youtu.be

It actually sounds like fun. But for some reason the game, the creator and most of the people who play it want to hide the fact that it has any depth because simply _finding out_ that it has depth it "one of the puzzles" and they "don't want to spoil it for you". i.e.: people like belonging to cabals and secret elite clubs

Bamba · **Joined:** 25th Jul, 2010 **Posts:** 11128

Pod wrote:

Turns out it's got all sorts of puzzles that require you to decode things and construct cubes out of paper. Who knew!?

Pretty much everybody; you'd have to have wilfully ignored most of the information floating around about the game to come to the conclusion that people were hiding features of the game just to belong to a 'secret club' or whatever. It sounds more like you decided you wanted to hate it due to things not related to the game itself then set out to make that happen. Hell, even if you play it for an hour it becomes obvious there's secrets and unexplained stuff going on.

Pod · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 2568

Bamba wrote:

Pod wrote:

Turns out it's got all sorts of puzzles that require you to decode things and construct cubes out of paper. Who knew!?

Pretty much everybody; you'd have to have wilfully ignored most of the information floating around about the game to come to the conclusion that people were hiding features of the game just to belong to a 'secret club' or whatever. It sounds more like you decided you wanted to hate it due to things not related to the game itself then set out to make that happen. Hell, even if you play it for an hour it becomes obvious there's secrets and unexplained stuff going on.

I didn't intend to buy it; It came with some tree-fiddy humble bundle. I've never read a review about it -- should I have done before playing it?

ps: You didn't complete the game, therefore you didn't do NG+, therefore you also aren't in the super secret club?
edit: Note: Dimrill talks about some of the super secret puzzles and needing NG+ to do them in this thread. I assume he got paddled by the super secret cabal for breaking NDA.

Bamba · **Joined:** 25th Jul, 2010 **Posts:** 11128

Pod wrote:

I've never read a review about it -- should I have done before playing it?

That's really up to you of course, but if you don't read anything about the game at all then saying everything about it is some massive secret is going to be a difficult stance to adopt surely? The information that there was more to the game than gimmicky platforming was totally out there, and I think it's fair to say most other people were aware of it, so the fact that you avoided the information doesn't mean you can claim it's a secret. Also, as I said before, the game makes it pretty obvious there are puzzles going on even if you come to it blind and play it for an hour so how you managed to do so and come away thinking 'gimmicky platform game' is pretty hard to understand. That, and all your stuff about hipsters and beards, was the basis of my assumption you were just looking for reasons not to like it.

Pod wrote:

ps: You didn't complete the game, therefore you didn't do NG+, therefore you also aren't in the super secret club?

In as much as I can't be in something that doesn't exist, you're entirely correct. During my time with the game directly I didn't solve all the secrets because, well, I didn't finish the game. Surely that's true of anything you don't play all the way through? Knowing I wouldn't go back to it I just read up on it all so now I know it. The same as if I'd read up on anything else I didn't directly experience. If that makes me a member of a super-secret cabal then also so are all people who know how to make pancakes because they've read a recipe and I haven't bothered.

In all seriousness, it's true that people didn't want to spoil the specifics of the puzzles because part of the fun for those that enjoyed the game was in the discovery and solution of said puzzles. However, you're not just claiming that; you're saying that the very fact that there was more to it than platforming was super-secret--that the entire idea of the game having more depth than that was closely guarded--and that's simply not true. The Eurogamer review, for one example, not only mentions the existence of the puzzles but even spells out that NG+ holds extra secrets and is required to truly finish it.

Bamba · **Joined:** 25th Jul, 2010 **Posts:** 11128

ITT: someone, probably myp, mocks me for not knowing how to make pancakes. I know it's trivial and it was a bad example but I couldn't be arsed thinking of something else.

Mr Dave · **Posted:** Mon Mar 24, 2014 21:48

Man, I can't believe you don't know how to make pancakes. They're so trivially easy.

Satsuma · **Joined:** 20th Apr, 2008 **Posts:** 14358

I didn't get on with the Fez demo much. It seemed nice and all, in a cheery "Hello, I'm a twee game with lots of nice touches and stuff", but I wasn't much in the mood and had no desire to see if I was missing anything.

Also, you can't make pancakes!? I've never tried but I bet I could. Hope that helps. 'k thanks bye.

myp · **Posted:** Mon Mar 24, 2014 22:08

Bamba wrote:

ITT: someone, probably myp, mocks me for not knowing how to make pancakes. I know it's trivial and it was a bad example but I couldn't be arsed thinking of something else.

This is a good starting point: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/basic ... suga_66226

Doctor Glyndwr · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 32619

Mr Dave wrote:

Man, I can't believe you don't know how to make pancakes. They're so trivially easy.

Sure, to make OK pancakes. But like a lot of simple foods -- poached eggs, scrambled eggs, bread -- it's tricky to make great ones.

MrChris · **Joined:** 1st Apr, 2008 **Posts:** 30498

Doctor Glyndwr wrote:

Mr Dave wrote:

Man, I can't believe you don't know how to make pancakes. They're so trivially easy.

Sure, to make OK pancakes. But like a lot of simple foods -- poached eggs, scrambled eggs, bread -- it's tricky to make great ones.

That's more of a myth put around by foodies than an actual fact. "Unless you know the super secret trick handed down by Shaolin chefs of making the scrambled eggs at first light on midsummer's eve on top of primrose hill using an organic pan made from woven yoghurt you'll never get them tasting like I had at that charming bistro in Hempstead, dahhhhling."

Bamba · **Joined:** 25th Jul, 2010 **Posts:** 11128

Saturnalian wrote:

I didn't get on with the Fez demo much. It seemed nice and all, in a cheery "Hello, I'm a twee game with lots of nice touches and stuff", but I wasn't much in the mood and had no desire to see if I was missing anything.

I reckon you'd probably like it due to the fact it doesn't hold your hand through the puzzles and leaves you to explore the world. Annoyingly it was part of a Humble Bundle which also featured the excellent Trine 2 and Mark of the Ninja and you could've got the lot for your new typewriter for very little money but that's expired now. :'(

Mr Dave · **Posted:** Tue Mar 25, 2014 0:03

Doctor Glyndwr wrote:

Mr Dave wrote:

Man, I can't believe you don't know how to make pancakes. They're so trivially easy.

Sure, to make OK pancakes. But like a lot of simple foods -- poached eggs, scrambled eggs, bread -- it's tricky to make great ones.

It's like you're deliberately ignoring my joke, Good Sir.

Satsuma · **Joined:** 20th Apr, 2008 **Posts:** 14358

Couple of things to try before I go to bed: use the fragrant branch on the stone woman or the giant in the valley of the giants.

And then have a look at the boat at the beginning.

Bamba · **Joined:** 25th Jul, 2010 **Posts:** 11128

Saturnalian wrote:

Couple of things to try before I go to bed: use the fragrant branch on the stone woman or the giant in the valley of the giants.

And then have a look at the boat at the beginning.

Wow, I really did miss a lot in Fez.

Satsuma · **Joined:** 20th Apr, 2008 **Posts:** 14358

Bamba wrote:

Saturnalian wrote:

Couple of things to try before I go to bed: use the fragrant branch on the stone woman or the giant in the valley of the giants.

And then have a look at the boat at the beginning.

Wow, I really did miss a lot in Fez.

Praise the sun!

myp · **Posted:** Tue Mar 25, 2014 9:00

Mr Dave wrote:

Doctor Glyndwr wrote:

Mr Dave wrote:

Man, I can't believe you don't know how to make pancakes. They're so trivially easy.

Sure, to make OK pancakes. But like a lot of simple foods -- poached eggs, scrambled eggs, bread -- it's tricky to make great ones.

It's like you're deliberately ignoring my joke, Good Sir.

It's like you've never done that yourself.

Mr Dave · **Posted:** Tue Mar 25, 2014 9:17

British Nervoso wrote:

Mr Dave wrote:

Doctor Glyndwr wrote:

Mr Dave wrote:

Man, I can't believe you don't know how to make pancakes. They're so trivially easy.

Sure, to make OK pancakes. But like a lot of simple foods -- poached eggs, scrambled eggs, bread -- it's tricky to make great ones.

It's like you're deliberately ignoring my joke, Good Sir.

It's like you've never done that yourself.

Touch me.

Pod · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 2568

I notice myp, with his 200% completion, is staying quiet about his inclusion in the super secret cabal. THAT'S BECAUSE HE'S NOT ALLOWED TO SPEAK ABOUT IT.

Proof if ever there was that a super secret cabal exists.

Be Excellent To Each Other

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