180 replies to this topic

[Big Player]

Thanks supercat. That's what I thought.

I had to take a break from playing the game. I played it so much my hands hurt.

[phaxda]

ditto. finally got a chance to play this, been going for a while now and my fingers are sore. crapped out at the monster trucks--i am not sure how much better i can get at this. it requires the kind of logic that i am pretty bad at. lots of planning, decision-making, route selection, etc. memorization. aaagh. why must it be so addictive?

seriously awesome job on this game. hats off to all involved.

[joeybastard]

My hands were hurting when I used a CX-40. I switched to the RSI stick I modded and that solved the problem.

[4ever2600]

Awww man! I just got this game as well, and it IS AN AWESOME GAME! I have to say, fresh idea (Christmas themed), fresh music, fresh everything! Kudos to bringing out, not just another great Christmas game, but a great 2600 game ALTOGETHER! Thanks to all those involved in the project! GREAT GAME! - D

[diggs130]

I put in mycopy just to see if it worked!


Will not play any further until Christmas time 2007~






Thanx's to all involved for a excellent game!

[SpiceWare]

Got mine in last night. Made it to the 21st. Good job to all!

[godzillajoe]

phaxda, on Mon Feb 12, 2007 12:48 AM, said:

ditto. finally got a chance to play this, been going for a while now and my fingers are sore. crapped out at the monster trucks--i am not sure how much better i can get at this. it requires the kind of logic that i am pretty bad at. lots of planning, decision-making, route selection, etc. memorization. aaagh. why must it be so addictive?

seriously awesome job on this game. hats off to all involved.

What helped me was to write down the toys and what color you need to paint them on a sheet of paper.

Then if you're getting flustered you can glance over and get your bearings

I tend to freak at the higher levels and forget what I'm supposed to be painting and it all goes to hell quickly after that

[SpiceWare]

godzillajoe, on Tue Feb 13, 2007 8:58 AM, said:

I tend to freak at the higher levels and forget what I'm supposed to be painting and it all goes to hell quickly after that

That happens to me too - though I figure playing more than 1 evening will resolve that

[Chris-in-NJ]

Have made it to December 16, and I start getting nervous at how many things there are to paint. I'm using an FB2 stick to play it and I'm sure this causes hand pain as much as a CX-40 does...

[SpiceWare]

44,276 January 10th

[Robert M]

59,441

January 14th.


Excellent game design and execution! Good work guys!

So does the gray paint do anything special?

[Dauber]

A coupla little strategies I've come up with (made it to 1/13 myself):

- Whenever you have a level in which the joystick is the "featured" present, go straight to the black paint immediately -- you'll get a TON of joysticks to paint. Probably second "busiest" levels are the ones with Nigeb; third -- the airplane levels.

- First level: go straight for the red paint; but then again, you probably figured that out by now! This is mainly for maximizing your score.

- Candy cane level -- usually the white paint is the best one to get first.

- When you get to the after-Christmas levels and you have a two-paint "featured" present that requires a specific order in which to paint said present, just start painting stuff immediately or you won't be able to clear the level.

[supercat]

Robert M, on Tue Feb 13, 2007 10:52 PM, said:

So does the gray paint do anything special?

Not really. An earlier version of the game had two different shades of blue, but that seemed a little confusing and it felt awkward having a color that was only used on one particular toy. I think I also had an orange at one point, but it never seemed like a good color for toys.

Since the kernel was designed for eight colors and only seven colors really seemed useful for the game, I figured I'd let the players return toys to their initial gray coloring if they felt so inclined.

If I remember correctly, the following list gives, for each color, the number of single-toys requiring the color, the number of either-order toys requiring it, the number of toys requiring it to be applied first, and the number of toys requiring it second.

1/2/0/3 White
1/2/1/1 Red
1/1/1/0 Green
0/1/2/0 Blue

1/0/0/3 Black
0/2/0/0 Brown
1/0/2/1 Yellow
0/0/0/0 Gray

There is something of an imbalance between the number of toys requiring left-side colors and the number requiring right-side colors, and having a useless color on the right increases the imbalance, but I don't find it objectionable. Perhaps because I'm right-handed, and find it easier to "grab" colors from the left.

[supercat]

Robert M, on Tue Feb 13, 2007 10:52 PM, said:

January 14th.

I wonder if anyone will ever clear January 18 (all toys, none featured)? Levels after that are a bit goofy.

January 19th is pretty much a gimme.
January 20 is harder than 18 (again all toys).
January 21 is a gimme.
January 22 features ducks.
January 23 features cars (no Nigebs, planes, or ducks)
January 24 features trucks (no tractors, cars, Nigebs, planes, or ducks)
January 25 is a surprise. Wonder if anyone will ever reach it (without cheating). I'll be truly amazed, though, if anyone clears it.

[supercat]

SpiceWare, on Tue Feb 13, 2007 9:16 AM, said:

That happens to me too - though I figure playing more than 1 evening will resolve that

When you touch a toy, the status area at the top of the screen will show how it should be painted (or, for a fixed-order toy, how it should 'next' be painted).

[Nathan Strum]

Robert M, on Tue Feb 13, 2007 8:52 PM, said:

So does the gray paint do anything special?

An idea was kicked around for awhile to have that one be "magic" paint, which would paint any toy the correct color(s). You'd have a limited amount of it per game. It never made it past the discussion stage, however.

Another idea was to have to use the gray paint to re-paint any mis-painted toys (like primer), before applying the correct color(s). But that would have made the game really difficult, especially in later levels.

[Robert M]

supercat, on Wed Feb 14, 2007 12:41 AM, said:

Robert M, on Tue Feb 13, 2007 10:52 PM, said:

January 14th.

I wonder if anyone will ever clear January 18 (all toys, none featured)? Levels after that are a bit goofy.

January 19th is pretty much a gimme.
January 20 is harder than 18 (again all toys).
January 21 is a gimme.
January 22 features ducks.
January 23 features cars (no Nigebs, planes, or ducks)
January 24 features trucks (no tractors, cars, Nigebs, planes, or ducks)
January 25 is a surprise. Wonder if anyone will ever reach it (without cheating). I'll be truly amazed, though, if anyone clears it.

I got to January 16th once last week. It was too much for me to handle. I think part of someone getting through to the end of the game will depend on getting just the right random combinations of toys. Sometimes on the later levels you have 3 toys on each conveyor, and the same color toys seem to be spread out as far as possible. Other times they are all lined up nicely. I think I would need a big dose of the latter to ever get past Jan 16th.

Cheers!

[supercat]

Nathan Strum, on Wed Feb 14, 2007 12:11 AM, said:

An idea was kicked around for awhile to have that one be "magic" paint, which would paint any toy the correct color(s). You'd have a limited amount of it per game. It never made it past the discussion stage, however.

Actually, in some early development versions, the lower-right paint bucket did indeed hold magic paint but using it would not credit you with painting a toy correctly and would in fact render a level unwinnable. The magic effect of that paint bucket wasn't deliberate design; it was a result of the "correct" color for every toy being color zero (the toy-touch logic checks to see if painting a toy will make it the correct color, and if so it sets the color to zero; otherwise it sets the color to whatever color you're carrying).

[Lord Helmet]

diggs130, on Tue Feb 13, 2007 1:22 AM, said:

I put in mycopy just to see if it worked!


Will not play any further until Christmas time 2007~






Thanx's to all involved for a excellent game!

I played mine for a week or so when I got it. I won't play it again until the day after Thanksgiving 2007. I will look forward to it all year long!

[SpiceWare]

supercat, on Tue Feb 13, 2007 11:43 PM, said:

SpiceWare, on Tue Feb 13, 2007 9:16 AM, said:

That happens to me too - though I figure playing more than 1 evening will resolve that

When you touch a toy, the status area at the top of the screen will show how it should be painted (or, for a fixed-order toy, how it should 'next' be painted).

I know - everything's just a bit overwhelming at first. Last night I made it to January 10th

[Dauber]

Last night after I got ready for bed I tried to put off Toyshop Trouble just till TOMORROW -- and I couldn't!!!

Seriously, for the past few weeks, my 7800 has only had Pac-Man Collection! and Toyshop Trouble in rotation....constantly....

[joeybastard]

supercat, on Wed Feb 14, 2007 12:41 AM, said:

January 25 is a surprise. Wonder if anyone will ever reach it (without cheating). I'll be truly amazed, though, if anyone clears it.

How can you cheat?

[DaveD]

Just received my batch of goodies in the mail this weekend. And I must concur, Toyshop Trouble is brilliant! I also agree that this game is an absolute hand killer. For me I think it's the constant pressure on the button to get that guy to run. The gameplay is solid, does a great job of ramping up the difficulty, and I love the cutscenes inbetween the game screens. It's those little extras that really add a level of polish to the game. The only other game that I know of that goes the extra mile on the little details like that is LadyBug.

And I really like the idea of saving this game and only playing during the holidays, except I don't think I have that kind of willpower. It's addicting.

[supercat]

DaveD, on Mon Feb 19, 2007 6:08 PM, said:

Just received my batch of goodies in the mail this weekend. And I must concur, Toyshop Trouble is brilliant! I also agree that this game is an absolute hand killer.

It's funny--I'll agree with you that it can be a handkiller using a CX-40, but there are other games where the firebutton is held down constantly that don't hurt my hand nearly so much. I think for some reason this game causes the thumb to clench more tightly than usual. Glad you like it in any case.

[Nognir]

after all these posts I'm really curious about this game.

I hope I have it in the mail soon. Should arrive in the next few days.