Map Info:
Scroll down to the bottom of the description if you get stuck.
This is a small adventure/puzzle map based on the "test subject" theme made popular by games such as Portal, although with less focus on speed and agility. There are relatively few (although still some) jumping puzzles, instead there are logic puzzles and a story delivered in the form of books.
The rules are explained in-depth in a book found at the start of the game (at the train station by the village), but to quickly sum it up:
- Do not place or destroy blocks unless instructed to do so
- Don't mess with redstone circuits unless instructed to do so (or hinted to do so)
- Don't ignore any books or signs
- Use beds as save points
Most things will be taken care of by the map. Since this is a new release, and my first map, feedback and bug reports are very, very welcome, just post them in the comments.
Play in Survival mode, put the difficulty to easy, medium or hard. Turn off monsters (the map will automatically do that for you once you leave the desert village and start the actual journey, assuming you take the intended modes of transportation). You should be spawning in a spawn area near a village in a desert. If for any reason you aren't, cheat yourself a compass and go to the spawn area by following it.
Do not use any cheats. It's very easy to "break" the map and completely ruin some puzzles or even the storyline if you cheat. Make sure the brightness is on moody (you should NOT be able to see in an unlit cavern!), and make sure sound effects are on. Don't use any mods. Texture packs should be fine, I guess, although this is only tested with vanilla Minecraft without any alterations.
Any versions prior to the Halloween Update 2012 are untested and may not work.
Players: 1-4
Length: ~30 minutes, unless you find some of the puzzles particularly hard. One of my test groups took 2 hours, but they weren't very experienced. I have made some parts easier (less unfair) since, so it should be shorter now.
Puzzle difficulty: Easy, although some can be hard without enough minecraft experience
Jumping difficulty: Mostly easy
Combat: If you get into combat you might be doing something wrong
Storyline: Not too much to read, but the story does play a role and immersing yourself with your character(s) greatly improves the gameplay experience
Difficulty levels from Easy to Hard may be used to adjust gameplay at your discretion. There are very little damage sources in this map, and those that exist are often fatal and avoidable.
Have fun and please share your experiences with my first project! There's no diamonds to collect or achievements to get, I'm afraid, that's not my type of thing tbh.
Updated to 1.1:
- Bugfixes (should be impossible to leave the map now)
- Visual modifications (everything looks prettier - all books signed now!)
For people who get stuck, the solutions to most puzzles are in this thread:
http://www.minecraftforum.net/topic/1560270-puzadv-off-guard-an-experiment-11-145-over-4000-downloads-total/
