what? I don't get it. The spoilered pic I mean. Is there something hidden in that particular pic that I didn't see in the game? I know where it is, but I'm missing the "oh damn" part I guess
So, what was the trick? Was it really as simple as
trying to pick out the bird chirps from the mix of all the other sounds they layered on? I tried moving around, timing movements in the puzzle, etc, but didn't seem to make a difference.
I just couldn't take it any longer and ended it. The first totally bad section of the game, IMO.
And then there are a few twists like following a different sound, or picking the correct bird call out of two bird calls.
There's no question that some people can't deal with this section. At the same time, it's not clear how there could be a compromise with Blow's requirement that this concept be in the game.
Certainly there is one puzzle that would be impossible to include otherwise. It is one of my favorite moments in the game, and at the same time I have no idea how it could be made accessible to everyone.
I just did something I said I would not do with this game, and use a guide to get through one section of the game: the jungle.
I did the first four audio puzzles okay. Then I stood there listening to the cacophony of noise trying to make out the chirps on the next one, and couldn't. 10 minutes later I have a huge headache. Used a guide for the next couple, then solved the first few dot puzzles fine, then they layered on the sounds again....my god.
I've had games get me motion sick before. And I've had games give me problems with my colorblindness before (including this one). But I've never ended a play session with a headache this big before. Ever. My head hurts from that racket.
So, what was the trick? Was it really as simple as
trying to pick out the bird chirps from the mix of all the other sounds they layered on? I tried moving around, timing movements in the puzzle, etc, but didn't seem to make a difference.
I just couldn't take it any longer and ended it. The first totally bad section of the game, IMO.
1. Bird chirp
2. Bird chirp obscured by environmental noises
3. Bird chirp that doesn't necessarily line up with the beginning of the puzzle so you had to shift the pattern
4. Listening to the other not as obvious bird chirps
So, what was the trick? Was it really as simple as
trying to pick out the bird chirps from the mix of all the other sounds they layered on? I tried moving around, timing movements in the puzzle, etc, but didn't seem to make a difference.
I just couldn't take it any longer and ended it. The first totally bad section of the game, IMO.
There was that and the fact that the same bird chirps aren't what's giving you the solution to the last two. E.g., the solution to the third puzzle in that second set is given by the sustained sound of what I believe is a rooster crowing rather than the chirps, which is just the solution to the first puzzle in the sequence played over again.
part. I know what I need to do, but trying to get everything done is pissing me off. Seems so out of place, but that might just be the frustration talking. I'll get it sooner or later... sooner, hopefully!
There is a trick to the maze part that makes it easier. I actually completed the challenge without knowing this. If you'd like to know read the spoilers below.
Hint 1
the maze is not as random as you think it is, there are clues for moving through it
Hint 2/straight spoiler
the board game-like puzzle at the start of the challenge is actually the layout of the maze. Memorize it before getting to the maze.
1. Bird chirp
2. Bird chirp obscured by environmental noises
3. Bird chirp that doesn't necessarily line up with the beginning of the puzzle so you had to shift the pattern
4. Listening to the other not as obvious bird chirps
3. Multiple sounds, and only one fits the puzzle
4. Multiple sounds, and multiple ones fit the puzzle but only one lets you draw a valid line (this is only for the dots)
I just did something I said I would not do with this game, and use a guide to get through one section of the game: the jungle.
I did the first four audio puzzles okay. Then I stood there listening to the cacophony of noise trying to make out the chirps on the next one, and couldn't. 10 minutes later I have a huge headache. Used a guide for the next couple, then solved the first few dot puzzles fine, then they layered on the sounds again....my god.
I've had games get me motion sick before. And I've had games give me problems with my colorblindness before (including this one). But I've never ended a play session with a headache this big before. Ever. My head hurts from that racket.
So, what was the trick? Was it really as simple as
trying to pick out the bird chirps from the mix of all the other sounds they layered on? I tried moving around, timing movements in the puzzle, etc, but didn't seem to make a difference.
I just couldn't take it any longer and ended it. The first totally bad section of the game, IMO.
You're just about done with all of the annoying puzzles at this point though, so that's good news! I was shocked I made it through the jungle on my own as I'm typically terrible with that type of skill. I think there is basically only one other puzzle like those in the game, and it's not mandatory. It's also one that I straight up cheated on.
the challenge sure was something. after trying hard, failing and becoming frustrated at first i took a different approach: 2 attempts max per session, if it didn´t happen, so be it. well, after about 3 weeks it finally happened.
I'm in love with this game. i've been playing every other night due to lack of time but i'm purposely handicapping myself not to take notes, drawings or pictures to assist me in any puzzle.
So far i've unlocked
what? I don't get it. The spoilered pic I mean. Is there something hidden in that particular pic that I didn't see in the game? I know where it is, but I'm missing the "oh damn" part I guess
1. Bird chirp
2. Bird chirp obscured by environmental noises
3. Bird chirp that doesn't necessarily line up with the beginning of the puzzle so you had to shift the pattern
4. Listening to the other not as obvious bird chirps
Just realized the game doesn't have analogue locomotion input; the analogue sticks act the same way as WASD or the directional buttons. I think it's an oversight, for a game that requires you to line things up in your view, and the slightly awkward feeling of movement may be attributed to this.
It took a lot of time for me to realize this though.
I'll also note that Garden Hedge mazes suck (the top right and bottom right one when looking down from the tower). I brute forced them earlier, and just checked out a guide about what the hell they were:
I missed the sound cues on the 3rd because I play at a low volume, and the difference in sound intensity that's supposed to act as the solution is way too little at normal sound levels, especially when compared to how high the volume goes up when walking up on metal. At least for that maze part the sound could have been exaggerated.
was enough to form a clear path. Otherwise, yes, cleverly thought puzzle (and I would have solved it if the
sound design
matched the wits when preparing the puzzle.
edit:
Thinking about it, I have night time sound mode on, which typically results in a flatter intensity sound so the sounds jump up / down less in intensity.
End game stuff: Am I missing something or is the hardest part of
The Challenge
finding which
screen in the maze area is on
?
I spend the last minute or so running around in the maze while spinning the camera. If I'm lucky, I find one puzzle that's on, but after solving that I have no idea where to go.
End game stuff: Am I missing something or is the hardest part of
The Challenge
finding which
screen in the maze area is on
?
I spend the last minute or so running around in the maze while spinning the camera. If I'm lucky, I find one puzzle that's on, but after solving that I have no idea where to go.
I just did something I said I would not do with this game, and use a guide to get through one section of the game: the jungle.
I did the first four audio puzzles okay. Then I stood there listening to the cacophony of noise trying to make out the chirps on the next one, and couldn't. 10 minutes later I have a huge headache. Used a guide for the next couple, then solved the first few dot puzzles fine, then they layered on the sounds again....my god.
I've had games get me motion sick before. And I've had games give me problems with my colorblindness before (including this one). But I've never ended a play session with a headache this big before. Ever. My head hurts from that racket.
So, what was the trick? Was it really as simple as
trying to pick out the bird chirps from the mix of all the other sounds they layered on? I tried moving around, timing movements in the puzzle, etc, but didn't seem to make a difference.
I just couldn't take it any longer and ended it. The first totally bad section of the game, IMO.
Interesting, I really thought there was more to those puzzles than I thought, and just couldn't figure it out. Thanks for all the replies. No regrets!
But despite being dead stuck on three puzzles in the remaining three areas - one each - no more guides for me. I'll progress or I won't. I'm currently finding far more + puzzles than I am solving main puzzles, and continue to be amazed at the ingenuity of their design. I particularly enjoy the ones that
you cannot do just by standing in one place, but have to plan out how to solve them. While moving on the boat, while moving platforms, etc. They're a LOT of fun to find.
But despite being dead stuck on three puzzles in the remaining three areas - one each - no more guides for me. I'll progress or I won't. I'm currently finding far more + puzzles than I am solving main puzzles, and continue to be amazed at the ingenuity of their design. I particularly enjoy the ones that
you cannot do just by standing in one place, but have to plan out how to solve them. While moving on the boat, while moving platforms, etc. They're a LOT of fun to find.
I just got them all today, and I have to say I love how they ultimately deliver a deeper layer of understanding of the game.
Understanding that so many seemingly meaningless things have a purpose. Understanding that you have even greater control over the world than the panels showed you. Understanding of how everything fits together so elegantly.
I know people say not to, but there's no shame in getting help on the ones that just aren't coming to you. Hell, even having a hint is often not enough to solve something easily.
There is a trick to the maze part that makes it easier. I actually completed the challenge without knowing this. If you'd like to know read the spoilers below.
Hint 1
the maze is not as random as you think it is, there are clues for moving through it
Hint 2/straight spoiler
the board game-like puzzle at the start of the challenge is actually the layout of the maze. Memorize it before getting to the maze.
I just realized that all three puzzles I'm stuck at are variations of
perspective based ones. Two involve reflections, another is in the dojo with a branch in front of it, but I can't figure out the angles.
One is underground in the desert where you raise and lower water (the rectangle), one on a column inside the dojo around the tree (the 4th), and one in town (the one with three cords coming out, but only one that goes through the juncture - I have two lit, but not the correct one). I've spent a combined 4 hours trying to solve these three puzzles, to no avail. And most of that time has been spent looking around from various angles for reflections, similar structures, through branches, etc to make the solution "appear".
Two of them even use the same tactic: a partial reflection, or a partial solution in tree branches, but not the whole thing. So I'm actually looking for a fraction of a solution for each. :lol
Been stuck for two weeks, three weeks, and one day, respectively. I wish I had a functioning brain, some days.
Definitely a "hard stop" for all non + puzzles as these are the last areas I have left. (I also can't open the one atop the mountain, but I've only spent a half hour on that one. But it's also a perspective puzzle!) Not asking for hints, just venting a bit. When the puzzle comes down to this, rather than trying to understand or apply rules, they're not fun.
Have I mentioned I don't like the perspective based panels? I should make sure to mention that some time.
That one we griped about a little earlier in the thread, and is in my opinion the only puzzle in the game that's a bit bullshit, and definitely inconsistent with previous puzzles in a similar vein. You have the right idea for all of them, but that one could've been done better. You'll almost certainly kick yourself when you get that third one, I think
That one we griped about a little earlier in the thread, and is in my opinion the only puzzle in the game that's a bit bullshit, and definitely inconsistent with previous puzzles in a similar vein. You have the right idea for all of them, but that one could've been done better.
In the orchard, a lot of people probably walk away assuming that the last puzzle was "spot the difference" and not "look for the apple." And they fail to make the connection later that the apple was picked by breaking off the branch (you see the broken-off branch next to the sliced apple, but only after you open the gate).
And right there in the monastery, the second puzzle on the eastern wall can be solved by noticing the broken branches, but without noticing that both of the broken-off branches are lying right there on the floor.
I wonder if things would be better or worse if there were
a fallen branches puzzle among the shadow puzzles too.
This game makes my head hurt. I like it. I finally found the
"tutorial puzzles" for those weird tetris block things
. This opens up so many places for me.
It's awesome to have a game that leaves you thinking and then in middle of the next day (when haven't played it since yesterday) you get a moment where you figure out what the puzzle was (possibly) about.
I just realized that all three puzzles I'm stuck at are variations of
perspective based ones. Two involve reflections, another is in the dojo with a branch in front of it, but I can't figure out the angles.
One is underground in the desert where you raise and lower water (the rectangle), one on a column inside the dojo around the tree (the 4th), and one in town (the one with three cords coming out, but only one that goes through the juncture - I have two lit, but not the correct one). I've spent a combined 4 hours trying to solve these three puzzles, to no avail. And most of that time has been spent looking around from various angles for reflections, similar structures, through branches, etc to make the solution "appear".
Two of them even use the same tactic: a partial reflection, or a partial solution in tree branches, but not the whole thing. So I'm actually looking for a fraction of a solution for each. :lol
Been stuck for two weeks, three weeks, and one day, respectively. I wish I had a functioning brain, some days.
Definitely a "hard stop" for all non + puzzles as these are the last areas I have left. (I also can't open the one atop the mountain, but I've only spent a half hour on that one. But it's also a perspective puzzle!) Not asking for hints, just venting a bit. When the puzzle comes down to this, rather than trying to understand or apply rules, they're not fun.
Have I mentioned I don't like the perspective based panels? I should make sure to mention that some time.
. That 4th puzzle in the dojo is a real pain, I found the solution completely by accident. There's been a Kotaku article about this specific puzzle and I've heard people complain about it on a podcast.
If you want a hint for that puzzle,
try looking around the dojo for what is missing from your solution.
reflection puzzle, with the wide rectangle-shaped panel
was a fricken PITA for me. I couldn't figure it out after 30+ minutes of trying and eventually just solved the 2nd half of it with mostly trial and error.
That 4th puzzle in the dojo is a real pain, I found the solution completely by accident. There's been a Kotaku article about this specific puzzle and I've heard people complain about it on a podcast.
If you want a hint for that puzzle,
try looking around the dojo for what is missing from your solution.
Over the last few days I've gained a new appreciation for how hard this puzzle is for many people. My experience: it took longer than the others in that sequence, but I realized by myself
where to look for the solution.
My thought process:
The two on the other side use different sets of branches. Therefore this side should work by the same logic.
One set of branches fits perfectly and the other does not. This game never makes you choose an imperfectly-fitting solution over a perfectly-fitting solution. Even in the worst-case scenario you choose between several perfectly-fitting solutions.
There are too many possible paths for trial and error. That's when I knew I had to search for the missing piece.
It came down to whether you trust the game to give you an unambiguous solution that is within your abilities to understand. In the end, trust is what led me to the solutions I couldn't initially figure out.
. That 4th puzzle in the dojo is a real pain, I found the solution completely by accident. There's been a Kotaku article about this specific puzzle and I've heard people complain about it on a podcast.
If you want a hint for that puzzle,
try looking around the dojo for what is missing from your solution.
Thanks for the hint (and for others who replied), hinting but not giving it away. Just solved it. Naturally it was the final one in the area. I suppose if I'm going to get stuck, that's the one to do so at.
I like the idea behind that puzzle, but definitely not the execution. I'd looked literally everywhere but
straight down at my feet.
Edit: looked up the Kotaku article. It was basically my exact experience. :lol
I thought the catwalk outside would come into it, since there was no purpose for it otherwise, but I couldn't find the correct angle previously. I finally stepped into the right spot to make things align.
Got immediately stuck on the next one, but hey. Progress!
Questions about one in town, the color stars.
Where are we taught how to solve the one with two groups of three stars? The rule from the treetops was to group them in pairs, and I don't know how to address that one. I've looked everywhere I can think of.
This game never makes you choose an imperfectly-fitting solution over a perfectly-fitting solution. Even in the worst-case scenario you choose between several perfectly-fitting solutions.
[...]
It came down to whether you trust the game to give you an unambiguous solution that is within your abilities to understand. In the end, trust is what led me to the solutions I couldn't initially figure out.
This is why, in the end, no puzzle in the entire game rubs me the wrong way: exactly because it builds that trust that there will always be an absolutely singular solution - so long as you can figure out where and how to look for it.
The only near exceptions are a couple of the
shadow puzzles, where branches don't necessarily follow a perfectly set path on the grid
- but even then, there are no other possible solutions anywhere nearby, so it's hard to get off the right track. Provided you understand the rules, of course.
Where are we taught how to solve the one with two groups of three stars? The rule from the treetops was to group them in pairs, and I don't know how to address that one. I've looked everywhere I can think of.
Where are we taught how to solve the one with two groups of three stars? The rule from the treetops was to group them in pairs, and I don't know how to address that one. I've looked everywhere I can think of.
Hah, thanks. I'd forgotten the trophy name. I take to calling areas certain things, and inevitably the trophy name is different. I thought of the tetris block area as the swamp, but the trophy is marsh; the building near town as the dojo, when it's the monastery, etc. I actually thought that one was called greenhouse, even though I've cleared it.
I got the platinum today.
Surprisingly, completing the
Challenge
took me less than I expected. Like between
30 and 40 runs
.
I have to say I looked up where the pattern for the
maze came from. Right after this, I had a couple of good and lucky runs, and got to the two final pilar panels with quite some time left. And I nailed the execution on the second run.
Honestly I thought it would be more difficult, but I enjoyed it quite some.
Thoughts after having finished the game:
I loved that the game is very honest and robust. As someone said earlier here, the game earns your trust in that all the puzzles are pretty fair. I found no bugs at all, and the game is amazingly polished in the sense that everything seems to be in it's right and deliberate place. I don't recall having played a game like this, except maybe for Braid, which says a lot about Jonathan Blow.
I didn't care much about the theme. I found it interesting that it revolves about the process of learning and discovering, but the movies are insanely long (movies 4 and 5 are probably more than 45 minutes long), and the audiologs were a bit too pretentious for my taste.
I looked up the solution or hints for 5 or 6 puzzles, and I'm happy I did it in some cases, and sad that I didn't try a bit more in some others. I try to keep it very light on spoilers in case anyone wants to check, but do it at your own risk:
-
The shipwreck puzzle. I had the general idea, but getting to the final solution was too much of a hassle. I started exporting the audio to analyze it, but grew tired of it and gave up. Happy I looked up the solution.
-
The triangle puzzles. I couldn't figure out how they worked, and I was looking for a hint on IGN and got the solution spoiled. Probably the worst mistake I've made in the game.
-
After activating the 11 lasers and finishing the game, I couldn't figure out how to get to The Caves amd The Challenge. I had to look up that the box at the top of the mountain had another solution. Overall, happy I looked it up. Not obvious at all.
-
One of the tetris puzzles in the Town that is in the rooftop of a building and is used to move a platform and get access to the rooftop of a building nearby. I should have slept on this one, but it was confusing the hell out of me that I was getting s correct solution, but nothing was happening.
-
In the Challenge, I read that the maze was not random. After quite some runs, I decided to look it up. I felt sad I didn't come up with it because it's intelligent, but alas I don't think I would had. Happy I looked it up.
A really good videogame and experience, in which every piece falls exactly in its own place.
I loved that the game is very honest and robust. As someone said earlier here, the game earns your trust in that all the puzzles are pretty fair. I found no bugs at all, and the game is amazingly polished in the sense that everything seems to be in it's right and deliberate place. I don't recall having played a game like this, except maybe for Braid, which says a lot about Jonathan Blow.
I didn't care much about the theme. I found it interesting that it revolves about the process of learning and discovering, but the movies are insanely long (movies 4 and 5 are probably more than 45 minutes long), and the audiologs were a bit too pretentious for my taste.
Yeah, what I hope is that other developers will learn from The Witness how to make a game that establishes player trust skillfully. As soon as you break player trust, all that's left is second-guessing and paranoia.
And did you happen to find the audio log where
they talk about the risk of coming off as too pretentious
Two questions I have, both are very spoilerish. Read at your own risk!
1) Has anyone figured out the deal with the floor puzzles in the cave yet? I read through the entire other story spoiler thread and a few people mentioned them, but no one seems to know what's up. I know they can be solved in different ways, but the fact that they put out sound effects which sound like the previous Mountain puzzles where you were drawing the floor.
After activating the 11 lasers and finishing the game, I couldn't figure out how to get to The Caves amd The Challenge. I had to look up that the box at the top of the mountain had another solution. Overall, happy I looked it up. Not obvious at all.
) I think the way that the entry panel was obscured could have been made a tiny bit more obvious, in the way that first part of the puzzle locks for the
game ending
might have been
visually connected to the second part with a bevel edge of sorts, so one could see the connection somewhat easier.
upstairs. Does this open anything, or is this a dead-end?
I solved it taking notes and the solution is thought out, but I don't understand the theory behind it.
How could I decipher the REAL colors of each symbol?
I'm at
513
panels solved, and I don't know where to search for the ones I have left. Did you huys follow a guide, or can you suggest easy to miss panels?
