Well, I just wrapped up the Black Swan quest with a great group of adventurers. I really enjoyed it, even if we did hit a few brick walls. It was tough. Real tough. But I loved every minute of it. It was like Zork, but in real-time with a party of live adventurers, all combining their brainpower.

I got hung up on one area where I couldn't find the right way to approach an object, and that was a little frustrating. Somebody else did eventually get it, but too late...we ran out of time. It's one of those cases where I had the right idea, and was trying the right things, but doing it the wrong way. Soooooo close, I'm kicking myself for not hanging in there just a little longer. But when there's no feedback, and there's lots of unfinished puzzles, you don't know if maybe you've failed to do something else needed to make it work.

I'm being vague for obvious reasons, but those who've been there will understand. :)

But I'm proud of the progress we did make. We had a good-natured group that worked well together. Communication is key. Even when we separated, we kept in touch and informed one another of what was happening. Sometimes you can make more progress separating and exploring, and other times it's best to work together. I think we did a good job of both.

I felt we were realllly close to solving some of the puzzles, but just couldn't quite get there. This is a very challenging quest! It was more Zork than "dungeon crawl" although there was an element of both.

We did snag a couple bugs. One was a false-start. It seems the castle hadn't reset properly after the last group. But Vanah popped in and got it sorted out for us fairly promptly. Once the castle was reset, we started again fresh. It worked out fine, and Vanah was very gracious about it. I really appreciated that!

The other "bug" was a portal (I use the term generically, it wasn't actually a "portal") that didn't like my movement style. I've been trudging everywhere for a while now, but a particular portal wouldn't let me through. Had me stumped for a wee bit, but Vanah caught it. Not sure if that will be fixed, but just in case, I recommend everyone clear their movement styles before trudging, striding, or sashaying ahead!

Minor setbacks aside, this was an awful lot of fun, and I'm sincerely looking forward to giving it another go. I love this kind of puzzle-heavy adventure, even as frustrating as it can be. I understand some of the moaning and groaning about the difficulty, verb traps, etc. But honestly, that's just the nature of the beast. Fans of the old Infocom adventures, like me, will probably love it. It's insanely challenging, but that's not a bad thing--at all. I think it's a great thing, and I can't wait to try again. :)

Thank you for a great adventure!

~ Auntia and friends

PS: Even though we only made tier 2, the prizes are fantastic! Thanks!! :)

I just wanted to add, the prize I picked (trick gloves) couldn't have been more perfect for me, plus it had an awesome loresong! What a nice touch, thank you!

I actually dreamed about the quest last night. Apparently, it made quite an impact on me. I'm chomping at the bit to give it another try. This style of adventure may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I absolutely love it. Please don't stop doing what you're doing. :)

~ Auntia and friends

>It seems the castle hadn't reset properly after the last group.

I am sorry about that, again. The quest is fully automated, and resets for the next run 30 minutes before it begins. I got the message that it reset, but...it...lied, apparently. I was in the Consultation Lounge with another player during the first 30 minutes of your run, and once I got back it took me a while to figure out that y'all weren't somehow bypassing puzzles, but that they were still already completed from Tuesday's run. I am glad that everyone could stay an hour later to restart the run, and thanks again for having such positive attitudes about the whole mess! This is also why we haven't released private runs just yet.


>The other "bug" was a portal (I use the term generically, it wasn't actually a "portal") that didn't like my movement style.

I think I know what was causing that. I won't have time to adjust it before the runs on Friday or Saturday, though, so clearing movement styles is good advice.


>I just wanted to add, the prize I picked (trick gloves) couldn't have been more perfect for me, plus it had an awesome loresong! What a nice touch, thank you!

Those gloves were coded by GM Isten. I love them! I didn't read the loresong before now, though--how funny!


>I actually dreamed about the quest last night. Apparently, it made quite an impact on me.

When I was a waitress, I'd have dreams where I had to bring water to my tables. But there were always more tables and more people who needed water. I would rush around and struggle, but I could never water all my tables. I have similar dreams with coding and Black Swan. I had one last night, too! So stressful. Not only does the quest take up all my free waking hours, but it takes up my sleep time, too!

I am glad you guys had fun, even with all the frustrations.


~Vanah

Agreed Auntia...was a fun night and definately mentally challenging (at least for me). Good group who worked well together (I thought). *I'm glad I had a couple crystal amulets on me that night and they got me through the 3 hours..I usually sell them all at the pawnshop. Definately eases the abilit to effectively communication amongest the group.

Looking forward to doing it again. I selected the troll hide bag. Has "a lot of charges" of health regen (2) and not sure if it is re-chargeable yet. Looking foward to doing it again and hoping to get to T3 or 4, but more importantly solving some of the stuff we had gotten stuck on.

~Aeornis