• Currently 3/5 Stars.

Great except for final puzzle

MurgenROoF on Oct 19th, 2022, Version 1.0

This one level scenario provides a really cool looking Inca-themed tileset. It includes new sounds and new terminal art. It really deserves 4 stars. But I had to subtract a star due to the final puzzle.

Level design is aesthetically pleasing. I felt like I was exploring a ruined temple. There are Pfhor to fight but the overall combat difficulty was low.

There are puzzles but I felt the difficulty level was acceptable. There are also deathtraps but they have hints as to their location so they aren't too unfair.

However, the map's final puzzle/deathtrap was simply ridiculous. Yes, there's a spoiler ahead, but you might as well read it because you'll never figure this out on your own.

In the final area you hit a switch which opens up a new area to explore. If you go explore it, you will be soft locked and unable to complete the level. Even worse, it will not be immediately obvious that you're soft locked. That's because the new area will have a switch protected by a deathtrap. But you can trigger the switch without triggering the deathtrap, leading to the idea that the switch opened up another area somewhere in the level. I wasted an hour combing through the already completed level trying to find what that switch opens.

Let me just save you some time, it opens nothing. The correct course of action is to find a hidden switch in a dark, obscure corner of the final part of the map. If you ever leave that area of the map you won't be able to get back to it, which means 99% of players are going to get soft locked at that point. Hope you have a recent save handy!

There is a clue about what the hidden switch looks like in the initial terminal message, but it's a moot point since most players will never even see the switch unless they know exactly where to look.

Basically, after you encounter the map's one blue hunter, you need to be keeping multiple saves so when you reach the final puzzle you won't get soft locked.

"What a hoot! If you enjoyed revisiting Earth in Tempus Irae, you're going to really like your "Vacation In Vilcabamba". The mapmaking is excellent and more than sufficiently puzzly, the new textures are gorgeous, the terminals are completely proof-read, the AI is moderately twisted, and the monster placement is quite good, with a new baddie for you to wrestle with. My only disappointment was that it was only one level; I finished it cheering for more." Description by Rigger

Created by Daniel Thomas

I have applied the old Mac patches and converted to files that modern Aleph One will read. Enjoy! -Shappie

1,874 downloads, 2 reviews, 3 screenshots, 4.0 rating