4 small cubes and 4 magnets (Sector 6)

[Abaris365]

Either I'm stupid or this is a puzzle that requires quite some time, patience and trial and error to complete. Quite enjoyed the game so far, but this magnet based aligning of cubes is more of a patience-test than a puzzle. The chamber before (2 large and 2 small cubes) already annoyed me and imho is a game mechanic that doesn't help making the game enjoyable. Don't get me wrong; I like a challenge, but fiddling around with buttons and alignments for ages drives me to the edge of sanity. Judging by a youtube walkthrough, which more looks like a reason to not even bother with it, I'm not the only one.

Maybe that's just me however. What do you guys think? Is this an enjoyable chamber/game mechanic or a nuisance and for those who completed it: How long and how many attempts did it take you to make it?

Kind regards

[mjvwolfe]

This is actually where I stopped playing last night after getting the game because I just couldn't figure it out, still can't right now.

I manage to get like 3 cubes to sit under the lights, but then that fourth one is JUST out of reach, and moving the 4 blocks at all makes a different one out of the light.

I'm trying to resist looking up help or a walkthrough but I'm almost to the point of doing so.

None the less I do enjoy a challenge and I think the puzzle is a good one.

[Fragmental]

I tried it for a solid HOUR, then I went to youtube and even following the walkthru took about 10 attempts >.>

No more of this in future DLC, thank you.

[netnerd85]

I tried it for a solid HOUR, then I went to youtube and even following the walkthru took about 10 attempts >.>

No more of this in future DLC, thank you.

I gave up too and went to youtube *hangs head in shame*
Even then I gave up... :rolleyes:

This is definitely way too annoying of a puzzle. It's one thing to make a puzzle difficult to figure out but when you make it difficult to even achieve then it's no longer fun.

I want more of the earlier puzzles with the basic blocks, red, yellow and blue ones... they were fun :)

[Zerethon]

http://youtu.be/hM_OwMZ8OMI

You're welcome.

That puzzle is blindingly easy if you look at it the right way.

[gorpie]

http://youtu.be/hM_OwMZ8OMI

You're welcome.

That puzzle is blindingly easy if you look at it the right way.

I didn't understand why people had problems with it the first time I did this puzzle. The second time was more annoying, but then I had an epiphany (which I then forgot, so thanks for the vid! :)).

Something I learned from a friend was to hold down the LMB with magnets rather than click twice - it can save a little aggravation.

[iamthestupid]

the smaller cube exerts a torque on the larger one

[happypumkin]

i raged quit this one. then i beat it. then i saw the next puzzle and walked away from my computer.

[Dinosaur Rex]

Yeah, I somehow got it the first time, but I screwed and pressed the magnet button, it took me like another 30 minutes to get it right, I hated this part. This is the only part that took me more, not because of its difficulty, but those cubes don't work right.

[DrZombo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=tW18QRUy5kc#t=1871s

There.

[MadDogTen]

I'm not sure why, But I was actually able to solve the 4 Small Cube One with only 3 Cubes on the Pillers.

[Tavajigen]

I loved that puzzle game! I've done it in about 10 minutes. :)

[Tythus]

http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2471827

[tonyp2121]

I did it about twice, I still have no idea how i beat it...

[xX_Renegade_Xx]

Horrible puzzle and very buggy, cubes disappear.

The first one was fine with the 2 larger white cubes but this second one was just irritating and bored me to death, I tried it for about 30 minutes and then gave up, thankfully someone here posted just that puzzle in a video and I used it too. The rest of the game was fine afterwards and before that puzzle but anymore of those in any DLC and it will stay in the shop.

[Clord]

I figured that out by myself.

I have finished the entire game and felt it was hardly a challenge. Would have liked for some harder levels as optional to complete (Non-steam version owners forum would be nice in the official site, also). :)

[kuroonehalf]

Wow, people actually youtubed the solution for this one? Why would you even play a puzzle game if you can't handle a simple challenge. Admittedly, the puzzle isn't simple, but it's really not that hard either.

[xX_Renegade_Xx]

Wow, people actually youtubed the solution for this one? Why would you even play a puzzle game if you can't handle a simple challenge. Admittedly, the puzzle isn't simple, but it's really not that hard either.


I'm a bit confused by your post, you say it's a simple challenge then say this puzzle isn't simple :confused:

A Youtube solution was posted here and yes I used it :p

I didn't see this as a simple challenge, the game up to this point was interesting and fairly fast-paced but once I got to this puzzle it became very tedious, catching one of the cubes wrong would throw it off line so I'd have to restart, this is assuming one of those cubes didn't disappear into the wall which would mean again I'd have to restart, no thank you, that's just irritating.

[kuroonehalf]

I didn't see this as a simple challenge, the game up to this point was interesting and fairly fast-paced but once I got to this puzzle it became very tedious, catching one of the cubes wrong would throw it off line so I'd have to restart, this is assuming one of those cubes didn't disappear into the wall which would mean again I'd have to restart, no thank you, that's just irritating.
While I do agree that the bugs and slow mechanics of this puzzle make it a bit more bothersome than others, along with the higher difficulty, I still think it's fairly doable without resorting to youtube. I'm usually really slow at puzzle games and this took me little more than an hour. A faster person should be able to figure it out much quicker.

[xX_Renegade_Xx]

While I do agree that the bugs and slow mechanics of this puzzle make it a bit more bothersome than others, along with the higher difficulty, I still think it's fairly doable without resorting to youtube. I'm usually really slow at puzzle games and this took me little more than an hour. A faster person should be able to figure it out much quicker.

There's the problem, I rarely play puzzle games and I have very little patience, I could see the solution straight away yet I had to mess around trying to get it right, the puzzle itself was not hard.

A player here said that it would have been better if the cubes moved a full square when clicking the magnets rather than trying to stop it in the right area, I agree.

The strange thing is, the rest of the game was great and I had no issues with it.

[nrnoble]

IMHO, the magnet mechanics are poorly designed and the magnet puzzles should have removed from the game. If it were a "grid" puzzle where the cubes move from one square to another, it would have be far less frustrating to play\solve.

My overall impression of the entire game is that the puzzle designs are uneven as if the QUBE is still going through pre-release testing to determine what puzzles should be kept\removed. The game would have been better if the magnet puzzles were removed and added later as DLC once the developers made a version of those puzzles that worked significantly better.

I speak from 20 years of gaming experience and have worked professionally in game development.

[Pufje]

IMHO, the magnet mechanics are poorly designed and the magnet puzzles should have removed from the game. If it were a "grid" puzzle where the cubes move from one square to another, it would have be far less frustrating to play\solve.

My overall impression of the entire game is that the puzzle designs are uneven as if the QUBE is still going through pre-release testing to determine what puzzles should be kept\removed. The game would have been better if the magnet puzzles were removed and added later as DLC once the developers made a version of those puzzles that worked significantly better.

I speak from 20 years of gaming experience and have worked professionally in game development.

It's true, why release this awesome game that involves grid based puzzles using grid based elements and then throw in something non-grid based? Destroys the whole grid feeling. I think it would have been a better idea if the movable cubes also snapped to the grid. These advanced physics are breaking the game. Almost every cube puzzle is possible if they moved over a grid. The only exceptions i can think of are the gravity cube puzzles like the one with the two big and two small cubes AND the last puzzle where you have to wedge the cube over the floor to position it under the cracked glass.

[Abaris365]

Looks like the majority of people dislike the magnet-puzzles. Let's hope they won't return in a DLC.

Thanks for the feedback guys! :)

[nrnoble]

As a near perfect example (for those who like Portal), take a look at the minding bending puzzles in Portal Pro (http://www.moddb.com/mods/portal-pro).

In Portal Pro, 100% of the puzzles are simple to do, but the solutions are not simple to find. It might take a player 30 minutes to solve a chamber puzzle, but once the solution is found, it only takes 1-2 minutes to complete the chamber. There are no ninja stunt required nor have to reset the chamber because the player is totally confused\lost\frustrated. Basically: If you get stumped, its because you're not thinking outside the box. All the solutions become obvious once you see them. :)

My impression of QUBE is that the team is really good concept design and game programming; no question about those skills, but they needed to add a member that was a master at puzzle design. The puzzles should have been at the same level as the puzzles found in Portal Pro.

[funkychicken121]

Which one are you talking about? The one with 2 large and 2 small? Because if so,that one is easy ONCE you figure out what to do. The red blocks align the blocks with the lights. The smaller ones also move faster, so you need those in front of the larger ones (relative to the lights). They will move into place if you get them like this.

For the next one, with 4 smalls and the 6(?) blocks, remember: you need all of them in a position where one move will get them all on a red block. There's really no advice I can give you without showing you the general way to in a youtube video or something.

[nrnoble]

^^ the issue really is not understanding how to solve the puzzle, its the time required to inch the cubes around. A person might mentally be able to solve the puzzle rather quickly, but then spent 30 minutes trying to get the cubes in right positions, easily frustrated because its way too easy to over shoot when moving the cubes, thus have to try to inch them slowly back into place or just reset the entire puzzle....

The magnet puzzled reminds me of the poorly designed Portal mod "Portal Prelude", where most of the chambers were solved using ninja stunts, is not what Portal is about.

[Orko...]

I don't know, maybe it the way you look at and go about solving puzzles. I just completed the last two puzzles in sector 6 and I would guess it took me about 60 to 90 minutes to do both.

I'm now working on the puzzle a red, yellow, blue, and purple with a rotating secition with three changable locations and the green openning off center to the right. At the moment it has me stumped but I'm not yet ready to give up and look for an answer, though a tip or a small nudge in the right direction would be nice because right now I haven't a clue.

[xX_Renegade_Xx]

Which one are you talking about? The one with 2 large and 2 small? Because if so,that one is easy ONCE you figure out what to do. The red blocks align the blocks with the lights. The smaller ones also move faster, so you need those in front of the larger ones (relative to the lights). They will move into place if you get them like this.

For the next one, with 4 smalls and the 6(?) blocks, remember: you need all of them in a position where one move will get them all on a red block. There's really no advice I can give you without showing you the general way to in a youtube video or something.

I think you missed the point, the puzzle itself was not hard and I'm sure a lot of people could see the solution straight away, it was the puzzles mechanics that caused the problems, cubes bouncing around with a slight nudge on a red block, not aligning correctly, disappearing into the walls, these problems were just frustrating and didn't add to the fairly fast-paced and enjoyable gameplay up to this point.

[inspiral66]

I'm in the camp that's saying the solution wasn't difficult, but the execution of it was. Slowly shuffling blocks around the floor just feels a sluggish, un-dynamic way of passing time. I got bored.

[xX_Renegade_Xx]

No, I got the point, the point in my message that you missed is that I didn't find block positioning to be a major problem, once I saw the solution it was just a matter of shuffling the blocks around.

I only had a block disappear into a wall once in the room with two large and two small blocks. That I attributed to a bug, not an intended gameplay mechanic.

Total time spent was probably no more than 45 to 60 minutes, I probably could have done it a lot quicker, but as I always do when allowed, I take my sweet time playing through a game. It makes them last longer that way.

Oh, and I did finaly solve that room I was stuck in and soon after finished the game.

I think you missed the point completely, why did you quote me? My reply was not to you.

[Orko...]

I think you missed the point completely, why did you quote me? My reply was not to you.
Oops! :( Sorry!
(my mistake, message deleted)

[ZethonIV]

i liked that level because with the same size/speed of movement i could use logic, i couldn't stand the one before it, they are easily the hardest two levels in the game, theres only two of them. i'd like more like this except less buggy as long as their all the same size cubes. it just required a lot of thiking.

[Aelexe]

The puzzle took me about 5 minutes.

[nrnoble]

The puzzle took me about 5 minutes.

IMHO, that is a complete overstatement at the very least. Even knowing the solution, I don't believe you could make a video that is "about 5 minutes". Feel free to prove me wrong.

[Orko...]

I didn't like or hate either of the last two magnet puzzles. The solution was fairly easy to see, but actually doing it tridkier because pulled on everything. On the first time through it took me about an hour to solve both of the last two magnet puzzles.

And I agree, while you can easily solve the puzzle in 5 minutes, I don't believe that you can execute the solution in 5 minutes.

[Kitu14]

IMHO, that is a complete overstatement at the very least. Even knowing the solution, I don't believe you could make a video that is "about 5 minutes". Feel free to prove me wrong.

Actually, you can do it in about 5 minutes by exploiting an obvious bug ; I did it that way after more than 30 minutes of failing. A puzzle game should be fun to play, not infuriating, imo.

[nrnoble]

Actually, you can do it in about 5 minutes by exploiting an obvious bug ; I did it that way after more than 30 minutes of failing. A puzzle game should be fun to play, not infuriating, imo.

Using glitch does not make poorly designed puzzle a better puzzle.

[SubstanceD]

I found the 2nd one a lot easier than the 1st, mainly because the way I was thinking was straight lines, you coudln't solve the 1st without spinning the cubes and that messed me up when all previous puzzles have been so linear. The 2nd one is way more linear and meshed with the way I was thinking more.

[Orko...]

I didn't have to spin any cubes to solve the 1st puzzle, I just took advangate of the fact that the small cubes moved faster than the large ones.

[inspiral66]

My main issue with the four cubes magnet puzzle is that, having created a world where we move through it with the ability to move and manipulate objects in a large space, the devs have seen fit to give us a task where we have look down at a hole in the floor shuffling little squares around. It's a 2D puzzle. The kind of thing you'd expect to find in a flash game. The same goes for the roving ball puzzles where you have to guide them through a maze like some slow motion pinball game.

The above style of puzzles can be forgiven if they are slickly presented, but often they were just meh.

[funkychicken121]

I made a video for these:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRecPbQUk2U&context=C319a88fADOEgsToPDskKHZ9cGjobhOmJuUXUHKe8M

I think my vid shows a really easy way to beat the first magnet puzzle in sector 6. Then again, the second one could use some touch-ups...whatever.

[Genoard]

It took me ~30 minutes to solve and I am totally ok with this.

[in.meinem.turm.]

It took me ~30 minutes to solve and I am totally ok with this.

Amen. One of the best puzzles in the game.

[gantryman]

This puzzle was definitely frustrating when it should have been challenging. It took me only 20 minutes to figure out how to do it, and another 10 to actually get it to work, but it was definitely one of my least favourite puzzles of the game.

[banjo2E]

This puzzle was definitely frustrating when it should have been challenging. It took me only 20 minutes to figure out how to do it, and another 10 to actually get it to work, but it was definitely one of my least favourite puzzles of the game.

More or less this. Even once you get what you're supposed to do, fiddling with the blocks becomes an exercise in frustration.

BUT, since it's the hardest puzzle in the game, and has an achievement proclaiming such, I personally am willing to let it slide.

Please don't use magnets again, though, devteam, they don't play well with the physics engine. (http://i.imgur.com/HPMXN.jpg)