Mouse Adventure Date Announced - April 29, 2007

[Ghoulish Delight]

For the record I too was weirded out by the "sorry the photo pass folks couldn't give you their pitch moment." But seeing others talk about it after the fact, it really seems like Disney did right by them in that regard and that it seems both sides were happy to help each other. It's actually kinda nice to hear that there are still some parts of the operation that understand the concept that good service reaps rewards.

Back to puzzles for a moment, I won't disagree that past games have gone too far towards the work-it-out-on-paper side of the balance. I just thought this was a bit of an over correction.

I was a bit surprised to see people on MP openly talking about CMs backdooring them onto Small World. It was supposedly offered by the CM, not asked for by players, but that's pretty shady. Of course, all they were getting was 15 minutes of sitting in a boat, so it's not like it was the most advantageous cheating every, but still...

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

I was a bit surprised to see people on MP openly talking about CMs backdooring them onto Small World. It was supposedly offered by the CM, not asked for by players, but that's pretty shady. Of course, all they were getting was 15 minutes of sitting in a boat, so it's not like it was the most advantageous cheating every, but still...

You misunderstood. The poster that mentioned it said that they talked to CM friends afterwards, who said they had backdoored people in. No poster has admitted to actually getting backdoored (heehee).

A couple of other people mentioned CMs letting them into the Soarin queue so they could watch the pre-show video, then leave. I thought that was pushing it myself. One said the CM offered it.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by Cadaverous Pallor

You misunderstood. The poster that mentioned it said that they talked to CM friends afterwards, who said they had backdoored people in. No poster has admitted to actually getting backdoored (heehee).

Yeah, but they said they felt sorry for the people who avoided IASW because of the line. Maybe I'm still misunderstanding and they mean, "I feel sorry for them because other people cheated," but it reads to me more like, "I feel sorry for them because they could have totally skipped the line."

[Ghoulish Delight]

I would have added something along the lines of, "You will only be assessed the penalty if you return to Mouse Adventure Central with an answer to this quest, if you open the clues and give up, you will not be penalized." Because in past events with similar penalty-for-clue scenarios, you were penalized simply for opening the envelope whether you went on to actually attempt the quest or not.

[BarTopDancer]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

I would have added something along the lines of, "You will only be assessed the penalty if you return to Mouse Adventure Central with an answer to this quest, if you open the clues and give up, you will not be penalized." Because in past events with similar penalty-for-clue scenarios, you were penalized simply for opening the envelope whether you went on to actually attempt the quest or not.

What he said.

We were sitting there trying to calculate out how many points we were willing to risk losing if we opened additional envelopes and could not finish the quest.

While the rules are "read all instructions" and the infamous "assume nothing" I think on some level past MAs should be taken into consideration (as shown in this example) - where in the past simply opening the envelope was a penalty; regardless of if you finished the quest or not.

[MovieBoy]

Yeah, that would work.

Sometimes we are just too close to the quests to see the problems, which is why we beta test these so many times. The DCA part of that quest had beta testers speaking whale trying to figure out the names they were looking for, which was never what was intended by us.

None of the beta testers had an issue with the instructions, that is why they were not more clear.

As far as more puzzle quests, what kinds of past quests did you like or have in mind?

[katiesue]

Swanie and I were having a little discussion about what would be considered cheating in the Soarin' quest. We didn't even attempt to ride the ride but guessed so this is all hypothetical.

I think if you were to have waited in line, watched the pre-show clip and noticed the order. Thought it was correct and left the building without riding the ride that's ok. You waited like everyone else and you're taking the chance that the pre-show order was right.

Our grey area discussion is asking a CM if you can just go watch the pre-show, not waiting in line. I'd put this in the cheating category since technically you are asking a CM for help, right?

Anyway just one of those things that got us thinking. And I also agree that the people who used the CM assistance on Small World is cheating. Even if you didn't ask for it.

[Kevy Baby]

Is it really cheating if you don't get caught?

Being free of a conscience is very liberating.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Yeah, I agree katiesue. Unless the instructions say not to bail out of an attraction early, I don't have a problem with staying in long long enough to see what you need to see and then getting out. But asking (or accepting and offer) to be allowed to cut or otherwise do something out of the ordinary seems like it crosses a line, imo.

As for puzzle types, I'm a fan of cryptogram/letter replacement type puzzles. Logic problems that can actually be solved logically rather than by trial and error. Pictogram puzzles. All the better if the keys needed to solve the puzzles are to be found around the park(s).

I think what stuck out to me the most was that most of the quests were pretty one-dimensional. Fun, but I found myself several times getting an answer and going through the process, "Okay, what do I do with this now that I have it? Oh, it's the final answer, nothing else?" I guess I learned that I like multi-step puzzles. "Find the answer to this part, use it to figure out this puzzle which will ask you the final quesiton." But maybe that's just me.

[BarTopDancer]

In case anyone cares - MA will not be Nov 4th.