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The Witness |OT|

M

Mistouze

user-friendly man-cashews
GF gifted me the game for Valentine's day (lucky me), only played one hour but damn this is good. Had me feeling smart AND dumb 15 minutes apart. So spoilers ahead are from the very start of the game.

Turned on what seemed the first obvious laser
the one that involved the blue panels with the blue line you control and an orange line mirroring your movements with the blue line
. Loved how with a set of two simple rules, the game mixes it up resulting in smart and engaging puzzles.

Already put aside a notebook for the game, feels like I'm going to need it!

Also, right after the starting zone I opened
a bunker of sorts with a box containing a diagram with hexagonal blocks and a window high up that shows a dead tree... The diagram I'm pretty sure, I'll have to remember but those branches looked weird am I right to be suspicious? Btw the puzzle to open that door involved the black and white squares you have to separate with your line PLUS the little black hexagons along the way you have to pick up
 
S

Sh0k

Member
Questions after finishing he game
I have finished the game with 520 panels completed and +39 environmental puzzles completed. I finished the challenge and went through the secret credits. I've seen people when posting their completion with an extra set of plus numbers, how do I activate the extra set, I guess is more difficult puzzles?
Another question is the honeycomb diagram for the fourth video under the windmill, watching the video when the sun is full before the eclipse, if you see the video from the back of the room, you can start an environmental puzzle but there is no ending to it, I got stuck in the ceiling of the back room and can't continue. Is there a way to finish this puzzle?
 
V

Vexidus

Member
Sh0k said:
Questions after finishing he game
I have finished the game with 520 panels completed and +39 environmental puzzles completed. I finished the challenge and went through the secret credits. I've seen people when posting their completion with an extra set of plus numbers, how do I activate the extra set, I guess is more difficult puzzles?
Another question is the honeycomb diagram for the fourth video under the windmill, watching the video when the sun is full before the eclipse, if you see the video from the back of the room, you can start an environmental puzzle but there is no ending to it, I got stuck in the ceiling of the back room and can't continue. Is there a way to finish this puzzle?
Click to expand...

The other + numbers refer to completed black obelisks
 
H

hydrophilic attack

Member
Mistouze said:
Also, right after the starting zone I opened
a bunker of sorts with a box containing a diagram with hexagonal blocks and a window high up that shows a dead tree... The diagram I'm pretty sure, I'll have to remember but those branches looked weird am I right to be suspicious? Btw the puzzle to open that door involved the black and white squares you have to separate with your line PLUS the little black hexagons along the way you have to pick up
Click to expand...

There is a neat little bonus
related to those branches
but nothing major.
If you line them up properly with a cloud you can see through the window they make up the outline of a tree together. It's just a neat little easter egg which plays with perspective for those who are observant enough to notice them. There are several small secrets like that in the game.

Sh0k said:
Questions after finishing he game
I have finished the game with 520 panels completed and +39 environmental puzzles completed. I finished the challenge and went through the secret credits. I've seen people when posting their completion with an extra set of plus numbers, how do I activate the extra set, I guess is more difficult puzzles?
Another question is the honeycomb diagram for the fourth video under the windmill, watching the video when the sun is full before the eclipse, if you see the video from the back of the room, you can start an environmental puzzle but there is no ending to it, I got stuck in the ceiling of the back room and can't continue. Is there a way to finish this puzzle?
Click to expand...

The second plus is
for solving all the plus puzzles in an obelisk.

Regarding your question about the video:
There is a way to finish the puzzle, but it requires patience.
 
F

FerranMG

Member
hydrophilic attack said:
Like all the other puzzles like this one
you need to look at it from the right angle.

More specifically:
Depending on how far you have gotten in other parts of the Town, my previous advice may still apply.
Click to expand...

Vexidus said:
Bigger hint than the one above:
look at the angle of the panel. You should have learned from the desert where you need to stand to see glare off it. You need to be high off the ground.
Click to expand...

Got it with the very first hint. I actually really needed to come back at it later. :p
Cheers!
 
R

Remembrance

Member
Alec2DaBreen said:
Well son of a bitch.

Really, though? Every video I've seen of someone completing these last two puzzles show that they are Symmetry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Jn7t4oqi3g -- 9:09 in the video.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it actually looks like you can get
several setups. Either non-mirrored or mirrored, and either same side or inverted. Here's an example of non-mirrored same side lines. https://youtube.com/watch?v=7UxXFs93k1o

Your left pillar could only be non-mirrored and inverted, because it's not solvable if it's mirrored.

Never really thought about that, but it's good information to have.
 
M

mattp

Member
anyone have any good tips for
the maze
in the challenge?
are you all just memorizing the maze solution? i was snapping pictures of it with my phone, and using that as a guide to get through/find the triangle puzzle panels. but mostly because i'm not good enough yet to get close to the end. i know at sopme point i'm gonna have to stop doing this because the seconds it takes to snap the picture and pull it up when i need it are precious seconds i'll need at the end
 
C

Creamium

shut uuuuuuuuuuuuuuup
mattp said:
anyone have any good tips for
the maze
in the challenge?
are you all just memorizing the maze solution? i was snapping pictures of it with my phone, and using that as a guide to get through/find the triangle puzzle panels. but mostly because i'm not good enough yet to get close to the end. i know at sopme point i'm gonna have to stop doing this because the seconds it takes to snap the picture and pull it up when i need it are precious seconds i'll need at the end
Click to expand...

Having that picture is worth it, because you'll save more time knowing the exact location of the panels. I needed a pic, because after all the other puzzles often I forgot where the panels were. Another tip though, is to just pause and restart when you get a bitch of a maze (panels far apart, a lot of walls in between, or on your path to the exit). That's forcing your luck a bit. Added bonus is when your panels are close to the start. You can take advantage of this because you get your layout very quickly, so 're-rolling' your maze doesn't eat up that much time.
 
L

LegendofLex

Member
mattp said:
anyone have any good tips for
the maze
in the challenge?
are you all just memorizing the maze solution? i was snapping pictures of it with my phone, and using that as a guide to get through/find the triangle puzzle panels. but mostly because i'm not good enough yet to get close to the end. i know at sopme point i'm gonna have to stop doing this because the seconds it takes to snap the picture and pull it up when i need it are precious seconds i'll need at the end
Click to expand...

I typically tried to memorize the path to the first triangle puzzle, then the general area of the second relative to the first, rather than trying to memorize the entire maze.

If you're looking for a more efficient way to snap pictures when playing on PS4, try using the Share button to post a screenshot to Facebook that's only visible to you. The game will be paused while you do this, allowing you to pull up the screenshot on your phone without losing time.
 
H

hydrophilic attack

Member
Remembrance said:
Yeah, it actually looks like you can get
several setups. Either non-mirrored or mirrored, and either same side or inverted. Here's an example of non-mirrored same side lines. https://youtube.com/watch?v=7UxXFs93k1o

Your left pillar could only be non-mirrored and inverted, because it's not solvable if it's mirrored.

Never really thought about that, but it's good information to have.
Click to expand...

On the run where I beat it, I got one
without any symmetry at all. Super lucky. Or maybe the game decided to have pity on me.

mattp said:
anyone have any good tips for
the maze
in the challenge?
are you all just memorizing the maze solution? i was snapping pictures of it with my phone, and using that as a guide to get through/find the triangle puzzle panels. but mostly because i'm not good enough yet to get close to the end. i know at sopme point i'm gonna have to stop doing this because the seconds it takes to snap the picture and pull it up when i need it are precious seconds i'll need at the end
Click to expand...

I used your method with
phone camera. It didn't really cost me much time, especially when I turned screen lock off. I usually got photos both before and after solving the panel to mininize as much as possible the time spent stumbling through the maze. Usually paid off in my experience.


LegendofLex said:
I typically tried to memorize the path to the first triangle puzzle, then the general area of the second relative to the first, rather than trying to memorize the entire maze.

If you're looking for a more efficient way to snap pictures when playing on PS4, try using the Share button to post a screenshot to Facebook that's only visible to you. The game will be paused while you do this, allowing you to pull up the screenshot on your phone without losing time.
Click to expand...

Does this work? If you try pausing the game with the option button the challenge resets. But maybe this is not the case for a pause through use of the share button?
 
illusionary

illusionary

Member
Endgame question - does anyone have any tips for recognising the
incorrect panels
in the second set of three during
The Challenge
? I'm getting stuck/wasting far too much time on this section in particular..
 
B

Bowlie

Banned
illusionary said:
Endgame question - does anyone have any tips for recognising the
incorrect panels
in the second set of three during
The Challenge
? I'm getting stuck/wasting far too much time on this section in particular..
Click to expand...

For me, I began to see at first glance which were easier to solve and which were impossible, and went for the easy ones; most times I was right on choosing them.

If you see a complicated mesh of black/white/colored squares then you'll either not be able to solve that puzzle or spend a lot of time trying to figure it out, so go for the next one directly.
 
L

LegendofLex

Member
hydrophilic attack said:
Does this work? If you try pausing the game with the option button the challenge resets. But maybe this is not the case for a pause through use of the share button?
Click to expand...

Oh, I haven't tried it for the challenge. You're right, it might not work.

illusionary said:
Endgame question - does anyone have any tips for recognising the
incorrect panels
in the second set of three during
The Challenge
? I'm getting stuck/wasting far too much time on this section in particular..
Click to expand...

Go for the one that appears to throw up the fewest obstacles first, then eliminate from there. In the end I just got lucky with particularly easy puzzles.
 
illusionary

illusionary

Member
Bowlie said:
For me, I began to see at first glance which were easier to solve and which were impossible, and went for the easy ones; most times I was right on choosing them.

If you see a complicated mesh of black/white/colored squares then you'll either not be able to solve that puzzle or spend a lot of time trying to figure it out, so go for the next one directly.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I know that a puzzle with
a 2x2 'checkerboard' pattern of alternating colours is impossible, so that's what I'm using as a starting point

LegendofLex said:
Go for the one that appears to throw up the fewest obstacles first, then eliminate from there. In the end I just got lucky with particularly easy puzzles.
Click to expand...
Okay, cheers - that seems a reasonable rule of thumb. Any other advice/suggestions from others would of course be very welcome, as this is starting to get frustrating!
 
illusionary

illusionary

Member
GOT IT!!

I think I may have a new proudest platinum now! Those
last two pillars
were incredibly tense... but I've not let out a more exultant "yes!" from a game in good long while.


It's a shame that the game doesn't have more of the triangle puzzles, actually - they're some of my favourite now that I know the mechanic behind them
 
E

Easy_G

Member
I have a few late game/post game questions:

Is the shipwreck vault a song puzzle? I'm hearing notes like this: medium, low, high, medium, low, high, medium. But I can't seem to solve it for that. Do the colors matter?

I found the triangle column right in the entryway which opened a floor puzzle, but I can't figure out the significance of that puzzle. I assume each possible solution has an effect somewhere else on the map. Is that close to correct?

I'm also stuck inside the mountain now where I've solved numerous puzzles of each type. All that seems to remain is a triangle column that I just can't get. It's double triangles on the bottom, single triangles on the middle, and double triangles on top. Any hints?
 
I

Incandenza

Banned
Really just looking for a yes or no answer here (immediately after finishing the game):

Should I be doing more than just searching for environmental puzzles now? Finding all these things seems like kind of a pain in the ass.
 
T

therealminime

Member
Incandenza said:
Really just looking for a yes or no answer here (immediately after finishing the game):

Should I be doing more than just searching for environmental puzzles now? Finding all these things seems like kind of a pain in the ass.
Click to expand...

Depends on the number of lasers you have activated... If you only have 7 activated, then the answer is yes.
 
T

therealminime

Member
Incandenza said:
Innnnnteresting. That's exactly what I was hoping to hear.
Click to expand...

To just point you slightly in the right direction (as it's easy to miss),
start at the very top of the mountain and have a closer look to see what you can see.

Easy_G said:
I have a few late game/post game questions:

Is the shipwreck vault a song puzzle? I'm hearing notes like this: medium, low, high, medium, low, high, medium. But I can't seem to solve it for that. Do the colors matter?

I found the triangle column right in the entryway which opened a floor puzzle, but I can't figure out the significance of that puzzle. I assume each possible solution has an effect somewhere else on the map. Is that close to correct?

I'm also stuck inside the mountain now where I've solved numerous puzzles of each type. All that seems to remain is a triangle column that I just can't get. It's double triangles on the bottom, single triangles on the middle, and double triangles on top. Any hints?
Click to expand...

To the first,
it is a music puzzle and yes colors matter.

To the second,
I don't know that it's actually that important (could be wrong though).

To the third,
think about the triangle puzzle panels you found lying around the world. They are there for a reason.
 
E

Easy_G

Member
therealminime said:
To just point you slightly in the right direction (as it's easy to miss),
start at the very top of the mountain and have a closer look to see what you can see.



To the first,
it is a music puzzle and yes colors matter.

To the second,
I don't know that it's actually that important (could be wrong though).

To the third,
think about the triangle puzzle panels you found lying around the world. They are there for a reason.
Click to expand...

For your third clue
do you mean to study those panels more than for the rules? I understand, I believe, the rules of the triangles. You need to touch as many sides of a square as triangles it contains.
 
S

sn00zer

Member
Almost done with the game with no walkthrough ... I think...got around 5 beams.

Finishing up the swamp now. Hoooooly fucking shit, these are literally the hardest puzzles I have played in any game ever. I STRONGLY recommend not going to the samp til way late in the game.
 
T

therealminime

Member
Easy_G said:
For your third clue
do you mean to study those panels more than for the rules? I understand, I believe, the rules of the triangles. You need to touch as many sides of a square as triangles it contains.
Click to expand...

Ok so yeah, you've figured that out. Then it's just a matter of execution with that pillar puzzle, not much I can say to help (also because I can't look at the puzzle right now) but for the pillar puzzles walking around them a bunch and really thinking through the puzzle and seeing it from all angles helps me. It might also be a good idea to draw it out in 2D to better see it. It's an especially tricky puzzle, I remember having issues with it for a while. The circular nature is what gets me most, not seeing it all at once is hard for my brain.
 
E

Easy_G

Member
therealminime said:
Ok so yeah, you've figured that out. Then it's just a matter of execution with that pillar puzzle, not much I can say to help (also because I can't look at the puzzle right now) but for the pillar puzzles walking around them a bunch and really thinking through the puzzle and seeing it from all angles helps me. It might also be a good idea to draw it out in 2D to better see it. It's an especially tricky puzzle, I remember having issues with it for a while. The circular nature is what gets me most, not seeing it all at once is hard for my brain.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I finally got it. Just like every other puzzle I needed to try something slightly different than I expected.
 
R

Remembrance

Member
Easy_G said:
I have a few late game/post game questions:

I found the triangle column right in the entryway which opened a floor puzzle, but I can't figure out the significance of that puzzle. I assume each possible solution has an effect somewhere else on the map. Is that close to correct?
Click to expand...

To answer your second question:
the floor puzzle only does one thing (as far as anyone knows).

I loved the solution to that one.
 
H

hesido

Member
Woot! Nailed the Jungle, apparently I missed the first puzzle in the sequence while goofing around, which meant I wasn't subjected to that specific type of puzzle series at all!

And after that I finally nailed where the lasers meet, I was really hopeless about it. Feels good(TM).
 
N

NightOnyx

Member
Finally finished the game tonight. I honestly can't say enough about how much I loved it. I still have plenty left to do though, and I didn't mind spoiling things I missed now after finishing the game, so I saw the credits and now I'm working toward that last trophy. I did have a friend watching me play a lot of it, and he definitely helped, but I'm pretty proud that we got through all 11 sections and the end without any internet help. It's funny to go back and compare how my playthrough went compared to other people. Some things that I had no problems with were so hard for other people, and vice versa. Such an amazing game though, and I'm really thankful I bought it so I could support Johnathan Blow and his awesome team, they deserve all the success and praise this game is getting.
 
M

mclem

Member
Creamium said:
Having that picture is worth it, because you'll save more time knowing the exact location of the panels. I needed a pic, because after all the other puzzles often I forgot where the panels were. Another tip though, is to just pause and restart when you get a bitch of a maze (panels far apart, a lot of walls in between, or on your path to the exit). That's forcing your luck a bit. Added bonus is when your panels are close to the start. You can take advantage of this because you get your layout very quickly, so 're-rolling' your maze doesn't eat up that much time.
Click to expand...

As a little aside:

I completed the challenge without actually knowing the maze map trick. However, if I had known, I'd have been whooping for joy on the one time when I got to the map and realised that the answer to it was literally just "Go down the right hand side"
 
B

bosseye

Member
Man, this is tough.

I'm just not quite clever enough for this game, that is becoming increasingly apparent. I've been doing my best to not refer to guides and I'm pleased I've got the vast majority of the puzzles completed (around 200 odd) so far myself, but I had to refer to a guide a couple of times in the marsh and once in the shady trees area.

The shady trees one was odd, it was halfway through the set, just couldn't get it. Had no issues on the puzzles before or after it, just this single one. Even when I knew the solution I couldn't work out why it was correct.

The marsh though, blimey. Real tough stuff.

Awesome game though, still a ton of places left to figure out. I need to revisit some areas and revise the rules for some puzzles I think, I'm stumped everywhere I go now.
 
M

mclem

Member
illusionary said:
GOT IT!!

I think I may have a new proudest platinum now! Those
last two pillars
were incredibly tense... but I've not let out a more exultant "yes!" from a game in good long while.


It's a shame that the game doesn't have more of the triangle puzzles, actually - they're some of my favourite now that I know the mechanic behind them
Click to expand...

It's not quite the same ruleset, but that's very similar to a logic puzzle known most commonly as 'Slitherlink'. You'll be able to find versions of it all over the place, although my personal favoured iteration is from Simon Tatham's Portable Puzzle Collection as 'Loopy'.

There's one key difference; with Slitherlink, you're not going from start to finish, but instead you're trying to make a single closed loop. Loopy has the nice feature that you can also use non-square grids, which makes things a bit more varied.
 
M

mclem

Member
Afro said:
Has there ever been a thread that looked like this, in the history of GAF? Just curious.
Click to expand...

I think the key thing here is that the people who like the game regard the sense of discovery it can give you as utterly sacrosanct, so there's a very clear shared ethos when it comes to spoilering which leads to probably erring on the side of caution - perhaps a little too much!
 
S

SmiteOfHand

Member
mclem said:
I think the key thing here is that the people who like the game regard the sense of discovery it can give you as utterly sacrosanct, so there's a very clear shared ethos when it comes to spoilering which leads to probably erring on the side of caution - perhaps a little too much!
Click to expand...

Also since it is an open world format the order of that discovery is different for each person making it really hard not to block out whole paragraphs just in case.
 
S

Sh0k

Member
Another end of game question:
anybody knows the exact number of panels in the island? I've finished the game and I have solved 520 panels. Just want to know if I'm missing some.
 
Chaostar

Chaostar

Member
Finished everything a few days ago (what a game!) but I'm still left wondering if there's more.

I noticed a few weird things that never added up to anything as far as I know. Like the weird purple box in the marsh that disappears with a specific solution to the laser puzzle in that area.

Also
when riding the lift after getting all known panels, collectibles etc. The flyby of the island showed all but four or so lasers turning off until the very end even after flying past some of those very lasers. Flying over the lake also showed a close up of the slowly rising statue holding what looks like a smaller laser lantern, which is flickering on and off.

Has the game just made me a little obsessed with finding things that maybe aren't there or is there something else to discover? I'm tempted to scour the island for more clues but I don't want to waste my time if there's nothing there. Kind of like waiting for an extra bit at the end of the movie credits, unless it's Marvel you never know.
 
K

Kyuur

Member
Alright, beat the game and I have a couple of questions:

1) How the hell do you solve the blue light upstairs room puzzles in the Town? I solved the middle one basically by guessing colours, but the other two are significantly more complex and I can't see how you would guess it with a ton of trial and error.

2) Regarding
environmental
line puzzles, found and solved a few throughout the game. I realize they are related to those black structures throughout the island. I found a few like
a broken yellow structure
near the beginning,
the rail tracks
in the Quarry, and
some clouds including a dark one in the sky
that I could not seem to solve, just not able to properly draw the line. Unsure why, I realize it can sometimes be more complex like with the yellow paint
while riding the boat
.

3) Are the honeycomb solutions necessary for anything more than
watching videos
? Found a couple, tried all except one that I found (was nearing the end and didn't feel like sitting through it). I seem to have missed a couple.

4) What is up with the shipwreck area? I was able to make my way onto it and found
one environmental puzzle
but that's it.

Edit: Also any hints about finding 'The Challenge' that is present in the achievements and I've seen some folks talking about?
 
C

Chris R

Member
For #2, you need to have beaten
the desert area
and then think back on what you did after you beat that area to further your total progress...

or if you just want the answer
point the laser at the cloud using the panel in the town
 
L

LegendofLex

Member
Kyuur said:
Alright, beat the game and I have a couple of questions:
Click to expand...

1)
Blue isn't the only light color you can use to illuminate that room.

2)
There are over a hundred of these scattered across the game world. Enjoy!
edit: misstated part of this

3)
Think about how the game uses images that aren't presented on panels.

4)
There's a very specific secret there, along with several environmental puzzles.

5)
Retrace your steps from the endgame and see if you can find something that you didn't notice before.
 
K

Kyuur

Member
Chris R said:
For #2, you need to have beaten
the desert area
and then think back on what you did after you beat that area to further your total progress...

or if you just want the answer
point the laser at the cloud using the panel in the town
Click to expand...

LegendofLex said:
1)
Blue isn't the only light color you can use to illuminate that room.

2)
There are hundreds of these scattered across the game world. Enjoy!

3)
Think about how the game uses images that aren't presented on panels.

4)
There's a very specific secret there, along with several environmental puzzles.

5)
Retrace your steps from the endgame and see if you can find something that you didn't notice before.
Click to expand...

Thanks folks! Guess its time for me to dig back in. Not done with you yet game!
 
M

mclem

Member
Kyuur said:
Alright, beat the game and I have a couple of questions:

1) How the hell do you solve the blue light upstairs room puzzles in the Town? I solved the middle one basically by guessing colours, but the other two are significantly more complex and I can't see how you would guess it with a ton of trial and error.
Click to expand...

The middle one is interesting and important. If you experiment with it more, you might find something interesting out.

2) Regarding
environmental
line puzzles, found and solved a few throughout the game. I realize they are related to those black structures throughout the island. I found a few like
a broken yellow structure
near the beginning,
the rail tracks
in the Quarry, and
some clouds including a dark one in the sky
that I could not seem to solve, just not able to properly draw the line. Unsure why, I realize it can sometimes be more complex like with the yellow paint
while riding the boat
.
Click to expand...

The key rule is
environmental puzzles must have an unbroken streak of colour. You'll find, for instance, that the rails have gaps in them that break that streak. You need to figure out how to rectify that issue.

3) Are the honeycomb solutions necessary for anything more than
watching videos
? Found a couple, tried all except one that I found (was nearing the end and didn't feel like sitting through it). I seem to have missed a couple.
Click to expand...

There is, but to tell you might be a further spoiler.

4) What is up with the shipwreck area? I was able to make my way onto it and found
one environmental puzzle
but that's it.
Click to expand...

There's a panel in there somewhere. And a few other environmental puzzles

Edit: Also any hints about finding 'The Challenge' that is present in the achievements and I've seen some folks talking about?
Click to expand...

Stepwise hints:
1:
First, get all the lasers. Don't bother until then.

2:
Do you remember an interesting tableau in one of the very last rooms? It has something to do with that.

3:
Why might I have suggested you should get all the lasers to do this? Best have another look, right from where you used them the first time

EXPLICIT:
After getting all the lasers, if you look at the box on the mountaintop you might notice a little something extra that you wouldn't have seen when you were on the same level as it. That'll get you started.

There's more beyond that, but that'll put you in the right direction.
 
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