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Messages - brett

#1
Next Version Ideas / Pre-tensioning Cables
October 23, 2001, 11:04:09 PM
You guys are missing the point entirely.  There's a reason cables are cheap--because they flop around and are somewhat difficult to use.

Just take a look at your bridge for Map Pack 1 Level 16, and think about what made it difficult.  It took me over an hour, even though I already had plenty of practice with arches.  It's difficult because the bridge is so large that it sways and must be very carefully cabled and reinforced.  I had one verson of MPACK116 that actually stood up with no broken links after four passes 80% of the time (it depended on when you started the train), but it would start swaying and tear itself apart if you just let it stand there for ten minutes without even running the train.

If you could make the tension on cables tighter, it would make things ridiculously easy.  After I completed all 48 levels that come with Pontifex, I started going back and making them cheaper.  When you're cutting costs, even smaller bridges can use a lot of cable, and the challenge is to make stable designs that don't oscillate and tear themselves apart--a challenge imposed mostly by cable slack.

If you could increase the cable tension, this aspect of the game would be totally removed, and almost every level would be much less challenging.  Without slack, the bridge doesn't oscillate, and it quickly stabilizes itself after the train passes, so there would really be no point in levels requiring four train passes--you would know immediately as soon as the train made it across once that every other run would be successful because the bridge wouldn't be swaying.

OTOH, a good addition might be high-tension cable at a higher price.  It would have to be at least three times as much as regular cable, though.

#2
Next Version Ideas / disable screen saver
October 23, 2001, 11:18:13 PM
Why don't I turn off the screen saver myself?  I do, now.  That doesn't change the fact that it would be a good "next version idea" to have Pontifex do this automatically.  All other software I use either properly allows the screen saver to function or else disables it.  This is a legitimate flaw in Pontifex.

I guess one smart-ass answer deserves another, so...

Yes, I can disable the screen saver myself and turn off my monitor, but I can't help but think it would be nice if Pontifex didn't crash and lose all my work if I didn't.

#3
Next Version Ideas / disable screen saver
October 23, 2001, 09:22:03 PM
It would be nice if Pontifex would disable the windows screensaver...  Every time I leave the room or pick up the phone while playing, I have to make sure to exit out of Pontifex, because bad things happen when the screen saver tries to kick in.  Win2K is not able to turn on the screen saver, it just turns the screen black, then when I move the mouse Pontifex freezes, forcing me to Ctrl-Alt-Del and end it from the task manager, obviously losing any changes I had made to the bridge I was looking at.

It shouldn't be too hard...  I've seen some simple C++ examples to do it.

#4
Records and Hints / Complex mode scores
October 25, 2001, 04:23:30 AM
You've still got four to go... http://www.pontifex2.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'>
#5
Records and Hints / Complex mode scores
October 24, 2001, 04:03:03 PM
Wow, that gives Gray 8 of the records and 1 shared...  I hope none of those have big disclaimers about times you can't start them http://www.pontifex2.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'>

Here's a quick reference for the top of page 3:

c01 - 7806 - falkon2
c02 - 21538 - Gray
c03 - 29902 - brett
c04 - 9718 - The Tick
c05 - 32040 - Gray
c06 - 48574 - Gray
c07 - 30854 - Gray
c08 - 65197 - Gray
c09 - 54356 - Gray
c10 - 70026 - Gray
c11 - 17676 - The Tick
c12 - 56114 - Gray
c13 - 92018 - Gray
c14 - 90184 - Gray
c15 - 19174 - Gray
c16 - 51241 - Gray+alcor

(Edited by brett at 9:22 pm on Oct. 24, 2001)

#6
Records and Hints / Complex mode scores
October 24, 2001, 06:10:32 AM
Yes yes yes ... All on hard, no breaks, TT'able so to speak...  I've got a version of Complex LV9 that costs 59,234 with no breaks until it magically collapses about a minute after the train goes over http://www.pontifex2.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':D'>

I also just got Complex LV3 at อ,902

#7
Records and Hints / Complex mode scores
October 24, 2001, 04:20:29 AM
There are only three scores that I beat, but they're all by a pretty good margin...

Complex LV09 = 59,734
Complex LV10 = 73,124
Complex LV12 = 66,004

#8
General Discussion / Contest Bridge?
October 24, 2001, 09:58:07 PM
Well, CL will probably censor DaSucker's post pretty soon, but that figure is making me feel pretty good about the bridge I submitted...  I made three different designs, and I gotta say the first one that was just a straight deck suspended form a generic heavy steel arch was 40k cheaper.  http://www.pontifex2.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'>

I'm glad CL is censoring prices, because I would probably be really frustrated right now trying to win.  As it is, I'm done with it, and even though I'm sure someone like Gray or Chillum will beat me, I'm #### proud that I came up with a weird design that turns dark blue and bright red from one end to the other but doesn't break http://www.pontifex2.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'>

I'd like to see everybody take a screenshot of their bridge (in the edit screen) and let everybody look at all the different designs when the contest is over... especially the winner.

And on a side note, aren't the little blue smiley faces eerily calm looking?

http://www.pontifex2.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'> http://www.pontifex2.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'> http://www.pontifex2.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'> http://www.pontifex2.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'> http://www.pontifex2.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'> http://www.pontifex2.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'> http://www.pontifex2.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'> http://www.pontifex2.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'> http://www.pontifex2.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'> http://www.pontifex2.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'>


#9
General Discussion / Contest 1 Screenshots!
October 24, 2001, 11:36:58 PM
You'd have to have a seriously small browser cache for a few 50k files to be a problem... but whatever people prefer.

(Edited by brett at 4:43 pm on Oct. 24, 2001)

#10
General Discussion / Contest 1 Screenshots!
October 24, 2001, 11:04:52 PM

Heh...  Just kidding.

But seriously, as people are finishing their bridges, it would be great if they could get a screenshot ready and then post it to this thread as soon as the contest ends Friday at:

11:59pm GMT
03:59pm PST
06:59pm EST

I know I'd really like to see all the different ideas people came up with for the contest.  Even if your bridge cost 趚,000, it'd be nice to see it.

The above picture is cropped to 844x286 and was saved as a 41k 64-color GIF... I would suggest everybody do at little bit of cropping so we don't have ten 1024x768 screenshots on each page of the thread.  It would be nice to try and keep the picture well under 100k.

Thanks everybody, and hope to see lots of pictures Friday!


#11
I just got the game last night and I love it...  just finished the 16 normal levels.  But now I'm at complex level 3, and it just seems a little ridiculous.

Yes, I understand how to use the mid-air anchor points.  That's not the problem.  The problem is simply my psychological state.  WHY are they there?

I mean, come on.  You sit down and play through some of the game, and just when you're starting to feel a sense of accomplishment, as though there was some legitimate real-life skill involved, you get floating things to attach your bridges to.  What gives?  I thought this game was trying to be an architecture simulation, and just assumed that in such a capacity the laws of nature would be included.  Is this just to make things more interesting?  What am I going to run into at higher levels--perhaps certain areas of the landscape will have inverted gravity fields?

OK, I'm not that terribly upset about it, and sure, I'm being a bit sarcastic, but isn't anybody else a little disappointed by this?

I suppose I can pretend that I'm constructing a bridge in a fjord that happens to have some well-marked areas of extremely sturdy rock along the walls of the canyon I'm working in...