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[*Splinter]

Help, I need conformation if I locked myself out of the ending before I load a save from looooooong ago..

Ending area spoiler:

Spoiler

I got into the mountain and finished all the second level puzzles (the floor with the colorful epilepsy puzzles). By activating both sides you open a door to an elevator. While trying to figure out how to reach the new door I noticed that I could activate the panel from a distance. I thought that might activate a drawbridge or something so I did activate it which sent the elevator down and from what I can tell there's no panel to bring it back up even if I solve now getting across.

So, am I fucked?

Nah you're fine

 

[SolidusDave]

Nah you're fine

Thanks! Will continue then

 

[falz3333]

Help, I need conformation if I locked myself out of the ending before I load a save from looooooong ago..

Ending area spoiler:

Spoiler

I got into the mountain and finished all the second level puzzles (the floor with the colorful epilepsy puzzles). By activating both sides you open a door to an elevator. While trying to figure out how to reach the new door I noticed that I could activate the panel from a distance. I thought that might activate a drawbridge or something so I did activate it which sent the elevator down and from what I can tell there's no panel to bring it back up even if I solve now getting across.

So, am I fucked?

lol.... uh, not sure. The game seemed to be pretty good at avoiding those kinds of situations or giving the player outs at least...

Spoiler

I'd say look around for an alternate switch to bring it back?

 

[RepairmanJack]

I've now finished:

Spoiler

Keep
Desert Ruin
Shady Trees
Quarry
Treehouse
Marsh
Monastery
Bunker

I got really annoyed

Spoiler

testing various vantage points in the room where you can adjust the water level beneath the desert temple

, so I just looked up solutions for a couple of the panels. Solved everything else myself so far - trying to take my dear sweet time so I can observe stuff that I might need to pay attention to later.

I think that was the first place I went where I actually needed graph paper. I can definitely see how it'd get annoying.

 

[Visualante2]

lol I think you might be SolidusDave. They should have put the switch facing the opposite way.

 

[mario_O]

Just completed 210 and 4 lasers up. I had to look for the answer online for 1 puzzle, and now I feel guilty as fuck. :/ This fucker here. (No spoilers). Not a hard one

Spoiler

but I hate the shadow puzzles, and this one is the worst. The shadow-clue doesn't give you enough information; just for a small part of the panel.

 

[baconcow]

It is funny that you only quote him instead of others whom clearly state that this game is running at 1080p/60fps on the PS4.

Stop spreading misinformation.

I am hoping it is 1080p so I can go from PC to PS4, since it is running horrible on my PC, right now, and I don't want to wait for a patch. However, even Jonathan Blow doesn't remember if it is 900p. I'll wait and see if he lets us know. I remember it being stating that 1080p/60 fps was the target, back in May 2014, so I hope things haven't changed.

 

[falz3333]

I think that was the first place I went where I actually needed graph paper. I can definitely see how it'd get annoying.

For the final puzzle in that room

Spoiler

(the horizontal rectangular one) I only was able to find a vantage point which let me see the middle of the puzzle. I ended up brute forcing the rest of it. Where are you supposed to stand to see the rest of it?

 

[Cheat Code]

Desert Ruins

Spoiler

Really not getting that hang of these reflective scratch puzzles. I'm in the water raising/lowering room and the third puzzle is just refusing to illuminate. There doesn't seem to be any real way of working out the light perspective, it's just trial and error. Really don't like that sort of puzzle design. All what I've done so far is very logic based, which I like.

 

[mclem]

I wish I didn't use a guide, but I absolutely would not have finished the game without one. The biggest problem I had was the Tetris puzzles, which I think were explained horrendously.

I'm curious, what misconceptions do you feel you were led into?

 

[Outtrigger888]

On the contrary, I find it to be incredibly satisfying. The most satisfying I've played in a long time. It's going to be a bit before I can go back to playing anything else, I think, because even the closest modern analogs like Talos Principle and Portal just don't quite capture the same feeling. Portal is clever and humorous, but it is relatively straightforward. Talos has the philosphy aspect and some abstraction, but the environments are typically in service of the puzzles rather than working in tandem with them.

And as much as I want more, I doubt even a "Witness 2" would capture the same appeal. I don't think Blow is interested in doing a sequel, but even if he did, he'd have to come up with tons of new rules/possibilities for the core mechanic, surely composed of those that were likely left on the cutting room floor for not being interesting/fun enough. And then you'd just have a shittier game.

I'd like to see a Zelda type game made by blow. The dungeon aspects mixed with his crazy ass puzzle ideas would be amazing.

 

[RepairmanJack]

For the final puzzle in that room

Spoiler

(the horizontal rectangular one) I only was able to find a vantage point which let me see the middle of the puzzle. I ended up brute forcing the rest of it. Where are you supposed to stand to see the rest of it?

I don't remember the specifics but they were both kind of in the corners of the room. But one of them you had to get while

Spoiler

the water was midway up or down.

 

[jett]

Help, I need conformation if I locked myself out of the ending before I load a save from looooooong ago..

Ending area spoiler:

Spoiler

I got into the mountain and finished all the second level puzzles (the floor with the colorful epilepsy puzzles). By activating both sides you open a door to an elevator. While trying to figure out how to reach the new door I noticed that I could activate the panel from a distance. I thought that might activate a drawbridge or something so I did activate it which sent the elevator down and from what I can tell there's no panel to bring it back up even if I solve now getting across.

So, am I fucked?

Damn man. I remember seeing that and thought for a second about doing it too, but then I figured the game doesn't really want me doing that. I really have no idea if there's a fix for you.

 

[Afrodium]

I finally got to the orange panels in the mountain and I'd like the record to formally state that Blow is a mad genius. I burst out laughing when they kicked into full-gear.

 

[Mistle]

I've seen people ponder what the dead tree in the desert area is for, and I noticed this while playing. If you line up the cloud, you can make leaves! Just a small visual easter egg I guess. May be a stretch but I can't seem to find any other apparent use for the tree. Other than it somewhat resembles the other weird tree in the bamboo area.

lol I think you might be SolidusDave. They should have put the switch facing the opposite way.

Damn man. I remember seeing that and thought for a second about doing it too, but then I figured the game doesn't really want me doing that. I really have no idea if there's a fix for you.

Nah, that elevator came back up automatically for me. Maybe you just have to leave the area and come back for it to trigger or something?

 

[hydrophilic attack]

I'm convinced that some of the environmental puzzles are impossible to do without a mouse. For example, it is impossible to line up the

Spoiler

yellow vase with the door frame while standing on the roof of the art studio in the symmetry area

 

[Wok]

Thank you for the hints, I have done the town!

 

[RepairmanJack]

I've seen people ponder what the dead tree in the desert area is for, and I noticed this while playing. If you line up the cloud, you can make leaves! Just a small visual easter egg I guess. May be a stretch but I can't seem to find any other apparent use for the tree. Other than it somewhat resembles the other weird tree in the bamboo area.

I've seen a few of these and can't figure much out besides it being an Easter egg. There's another one off the starting area

Spoiler

where you find the first video if you look our the window above it.

 

[Remembrance]

I'm convinced that some of the environmental puzzles are impossible to do without a mouse. For example, it is impossible to line up the

Spoiler

yellow vase with the door frame while standing on the roof of the art studio in the symmetry area

I did that with a controller. What's special about it?

Just completed 210 and 4 lasers up. I had to look for the answer online for 1 puzzle, and now I feel guilty as fuck. :/ This fucker here. (No spoilers). Not a hard one

Spoiler

but I hate the shadow puzzles, and this one is the worst. The shadow-clue doesn't give you enough information; just for a small part of the panel.

Spoiler

Look at the back of the panel. It's tilted to the right. Part of the shadow is on the metal to the left of it.

 

[border]

I wish I didn't use a guide, but I absolutely would not have finished the game without one. The biggest problem I had was the Tetris puzzles, which I think were explained horrendously.

I still only have a vague sense of what you are allowed to do with Tetris pieces....it seems like sometimes you are allowed to rotate them, but most of the time you are not..

 

[SolidusDave]

Nah you're fine

lol.... uh, not sure. The game seemed to be pretty good at avoiding those kinds of situations or giving the player outs at least...

Spoiler

I'd say look around for an alternate switch to bring it back?

lol I think you might be SolidusDave.

Anyone knows it for sure? I don't see any panel so I would guess I'm stuck.

They should have put the switch facing the opposite way.

No kidding, if true that is literally quite game-breaking

Can't let me reach that point and don't expect me to fiddle around with everything lol

 

[chrominance]

On the contrary, I find it to be incredibly satisfying. The most satisfying I've played in a long time. It's going to be a bit before I can go back to playing anything else, I think, because even the closest modern analogs like Talos Principle and Portal just don't quite capture the same feeling. Portal is clever and humorous, but it is relatively straightforward. Talos has the philosphy aspect and some abstraction, but the environments are typically in service of the puzzles rather than working in tandem with them.

And as much as I want more, I doubt even a "Witness 2" would capture the same appeal. I don't think Blow is interested in doing a sequel, but even if he did, he'd have to come up with tons of new rules/possibilities for the core mechanic, surely composed of those that were likely left on the cutting room floor for not being interesting/fun enough. And then you'd just have a shittier game.

I assume whatever he does next will be very different. In the New Yorker profile, he said he considers something complete when he's managed to explore all the interesting permutations of the concept. I don't think another game of line puzzles is forthcoming.

Anyone knows it for sure? I don't see any panel so I would guess I'm stuck.



No kidding, if true that is literally quite game-breaking

Can't let me reach that point and don't expect me to fiddle around with everything lol

I did exactly what you did.

Spoiler

The elevator comes back up automatically. You're fine. Actually, how did you not even notice this? Did you quit the game immediately upon discovering your mistake? It happens very quickly after it reaches bottom.

 

[RepairmanJack]

I'm convinced that some of the environmental puzzles are impossible to do without a mouse. For example, it is impossible to line up the

Spoiler

yellow vase with the door frame while standing on the roof of the art studio in the symmetry area

I was obsessed with that damn roon forever and I was left dissapointed that that's all the vases were used for. Also did with controller.

 

[Liamc723]

I'm curious, what misconceptions do you feel you were led into?

Where the pieces could actually be drawn on the board, and the symbols that meant you could rotate the pieces on the board. I could not understand what they were asking of me. Some of that is my own fault, but I definitely think the game could have done a better job of explaining things.

I still only have a vague sense of what you are allowed to do with Tetris pieces....it seems like sometimes you are allowed to rotate them, but most of the time you are not..

Finished the game and I couldn't tell you everything about those damn pieces dude, worst part of the game in my opinion.

 

[Belfast]

For those who have finished it, is there a point?

Did you watch the

Spoiler

video about Hierarchies under the windmill?

Spoiler

The game's philosophy goes in a lot of different directions. There's no plot, per se, but there's a lot to say about the search for meaning. I thought the Hierarchies video brought it together the best -- the idea that life and the universe work under very specific rules at its most basic level, but we, as humans, have words for things and concepts that are the result of an unfathomable number of simple reactions working together. Things become so complex at a point, that they are basically intangible. And we attribute these things to a creator, because we cannot fully sort out how they work. In a way, The Witness is very much about following basic rules and the putting those rules together in more complex ways, but even when you understand the process of solving a puzzle, you start to question where you are or why you are doing this or what does this all mean and you start wandering into the realm of the intangibles on the other side of the hierarchies. I believe that Blow is shedding light on the ways in which we try to understand our universe by weaving scientific methods (puzzle solving) with philosophical/religious ruminations. At the end of the Hierarchies video, he says he doesn't have all the answers, but he is not afraid of not knowing, and that it is the investigative process of examining the world that gives him pleasure. This is to say that The Witness also gives no answers, but is rather a celebration of human self-discovery.

You could probably write several dissertations on what The Witness may or may not be trying to tell you, but that's the core of what I got out of it.

 

[Mistle]

Anyone knows it for sure? I don't see any panel so I would guess I'm stuck.



No kidding, if true that is literally quite game-breaking

Can't let me reach that point and don't expect me to fiddle around with everything lol

I know for fact that I have entered that room with the elevator down, and it automatically came back up for me. Maybe exit the mountain and come back and see if it triggers.

 

[Qblivion]

http://imgur.com/1bPnUwv

Ugh. I understand the rules, but fuck this. Where do I even start?

 

[RepairmanJack]

I still only have a vague sense of what you are allowed to do with Tetris pieces....it seems like sometimes you are allowed to rotate them, but most of the time you are not..

There's a slight visual difference in those pieces.

 

[roytheone]

I still only have a vague sense of what you are allowed to do with Tetris pieces....it seems like sometimes you are allowed to rotate them, but most of the time you are not..

Spoiler

If the icons are a bit slanting, you can rotate them.

 

[*Splinter]

I'm convinced that some of the environmental puzzles are impossible to do without a mouse. For example, it is impossible to line up the

Spoiler

yellow vase with the door frame while standing on the roof of the art studio in the symmetry area

Why would a mouse help?

And yes that is possible, though I was more annoyed than satisfied when I worked out how

 

[GhaleonEB]

That puzzle is on the top difficulty tier. I got lucky my own impromptu ruleset eventually matched the solution. Doubly lucky that I did that after thinking about another puzzle I solved with a ruleset I created before actually learning how to do the puzzle.

Spoiler

If you don't immediately recognize the significance of the different dot sizes, you're not ready.

Thanks, I'll walk away and come back later.

 

[Deleted member 30609]

http://imgur.com/1bPnUwv

Ugh. I understand the rules, but fuck this. Where do I even start?

That's one of the more challenging puzzles in the whole game. Start by working what you definitely *can not* do. Then it will just become a matter of executing the only feasible solution.
Edit: sorry, I realise that advice could be given for any panel, but it's even more useful here because there are properties about that board that make the wrong paths very obvious.

 

[Remembrance]

http://imgur.com/1bPnUwv

Ugh. I understand the rules, but fuck this. Where do I even start?

Spoiler

Which way must the 1x3 piece be drawn?

 

[SolidusDave]

I did exactly what you did.

Spoiler

The elevator comes back up automatically. You're fine. Actually, how did you not even notice this? Did you quit the game immediately upon discovering your mistake? It happens very quickly after it reaches bottom.

I know for fact that I have entered that room with the elevator down, and it automatically came back up for me. Maybe exit the mountain and come back and see if it triggers.

I didn't load yet as my last save is far away from that point.
So no, for me the

Spoiler

elevator didn't come back up, it's sits all the way down there. Also left and entered the mountain.

Red-doing some of the earlier puzzles didn't help either.
But thanks, so it seems they have a fail-safe that means I just need to find out how to trigger it

edit: I didn't solve going to that room yet so that's probably when it will come back up / once I can walk closer.

 

[*Splinter]

I didn't load yet as my last save is far away from that point.
So no, for me the

Spoiler

elevator didn't come back up, it's sits all the way down there. Also left and entered the mountain.

Red-doing some of the earlier puzzles didn't help either.
But thanks, so it seems they have a fail-safe that means I just need to find out how to trigger it

As you get close it should come up

 

[Azlan]

I'm convinced that some of the environmental puzzles are impossible to do without a mouse. For example, it is impossible to line up the

Spoiler

yellow vase with the door frame while standing on the roof of the art studio in the symmetry area

You are likely missing a part of the puzzle here. I was frustrated with that at first before I figured it out.

If you want a big hint.

Spoiler

there is a way to raise the yellow vase up higher.

 

[hydrophilic attack]

You are likely missing a part of the puzzle here. I was frustrated with that at first before I figured it out.

If you want a big hint.

Spoiler

there is a way to raise the yellow vase up higher.

Oh, if the content in the spoiler is correct, then I see how it is doable. How do you do that though? (I don't mind cheating for the environmental puzzles. I have neither the time nor patience to do them legitimately.)

Never mind, got it. Thanks for the hint!

 

[Mistle]

edit: I didn't solve going to that room yet so that's probably when it will come back up / once I can walk closer.

yeah this is it. you have to be standing next to it.

 

[Reverend Funk]

I absolutely cannot figure out the near end game puzzle

Spoiler

inside the mountain across from the color puzzles, where you have to have one solution that solves all the panels. I just can't find one the works for the last panel.

anyone have any hints?

 

[epmode]

I absolutely cannot figure out the near end game puzzle

Spoiler

inside the mountain across from the color puzzles, where you have to have one solution that solves all the panels. I just can't find one the works for the last panel.

anyone have any hints?

I'm stuck on the second to last puzzle there. It's making me want to die.

 

[Remembrance]

I absolutely cannot figure out the near end game puzzle

Spoiler

inside the mountain across from the color puzzles, where you have to have one solution that solves all the panels. I just can't find one the works for the last panel.

anyone have any hints?

Spoiler

You may need to reverse the direction of your line.

 

[mclem]

http://imgur.com/1bPnUwv

Ugh. I understand the rules, but fuck this. Where do I even start?

Spoiler

I think you can safely deduce that there's two possible orientations of the 3-piece. That strikes me as a good starting point.

And I'm fairly sure that if you think for a bit you'll see that there's not many ways to use the blue bits. Once you've established the general theme of what to do with the blue bits, then it's just a case of, well, doing it.

(I should add, this is from studying the panel, not experimenting with it - I don't think that's actually one I've done. So I reserve the right to be horribly wrong!)

 

[mullet2000]

My second and final time asking for help, I think:

Spoiler

I'm right near what I assume is the end of the game and I don't understand why the following solution isn't working:

Link to Screenshot

Using my cut-outs on paper, they fit together perfectly:

Link to Picture

I'm really stumped here.

 

[PuppetMaster]

I still only have a vague sense of what you are allowed to do with Tetris pieces....it seems like sometimes you are allowed to rotate them, but most of the time you are not..

Tetris rules are extremely clear to me.

Using a guide robbed you of learning the mechanics.

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

I got the ramp up in the logging facility and looked at the first puzzle.

I'm so mad right now.

 

[Mistle]

I absolutely cannot figure out the near end game puzzle

Spoiler

inside the mountain across from the color puzzles, where you have to have one solution that solves all the panels. I just can't find one the works for the last panel.

anyone have any hints?

i was stuck on the last panel here for ages. one of the hardest in the game for me. and then when i solved it, the solution was annoyingly simple. i guess that's my hint. others can get more specific if they want. but i totally over-thought it and blanked out on a certain configuration of shapes.

 

[TimeEffect]

Hint for chirp puzzle where the stupid cellphone sound and some turkey are going off at the same time plz? Swear Ive tried every combination

Anyone?

 

[PuppetMaster]

My second and final time asking for help, I think:

Spoiler

I'm right near what I assume is the end of the game and I don't understand why the following solution isn't working:

Link to Screenshot

Using my cut-outs on paper, they fit together perfectly:

Link to Picture

I'm really stumped here.

You are hilariously close to the solution

 

[Reverend Funk]

Spoiler

You may need to reverse the direction of your line.

I didn't really understand that hint but it put me on a train of thought that just got me to solve it so thanks!

 

[ultron87]

(After the end of the game)

Spoiler

I am so weirded out by the video at the end of the "credits room".