Smooth sailing until...

[OHClip]

I recently purchased the game on steam and breezed through most of the levels, that is until I got to epicycles 3 (F3C-3). It was so unforgivingly difficult that it left me disappointed that I couldn't complete the game. It seems that I lose too much mass breaking orbit to attempt to absorb the only thing smaller than me. I try repeatedly randomizing the level to get the smallest mass as close as possible but I still can't seem to get much farther.

Looking at the global gameplay stats (http://steamcommunity.com/stats/Osmos/achievements/) on steam; it looks like I'm not the only one unable to complete all force zones with 0.1% of all players having gained the "complete all force zones" achievement and seemingly that same 0.1% with the "complete the game" achievement. To compare 2.9% of players completed the ambient zones and 14.7% have completed the sentient zones.

Otherwise it's a brilliantly executed game with a lot of potential, I'd just wish the playing field was a bit more evened out

[craftycurate]

Yep same for me ... was mesmerised by the demo and the beautiful graphics and dreamy ambient soundtrack. Like the previous poster I loved the early levels, but now I've got frustrated by the seeming impossibility of some of the later levels - the farax for example, is just too fast to keep up with. I don't stand a chance.

If the gameplay can be adjusted, I think this will be a killer game, but I'm afraid I will have to put it down now because my frustration is beginning to exceed my enjoyment, which is a real shame because it promised so much.

Thanks
Richard

[Meal Worms]

Thanks for your feedback guys. I understand what you're saying about this content being a challenge, but don't forget that levels such as F3C-3 are appearing at the very end of the game. They're like end-of-game boss battles. They're meant to be challenging, and not really beatable until a player has worked up a few skills and learned the ins and outs of the gameplay.

There's no real rush to complete the game. Go back to levels that you've enjoyed and play a few random variants, chilling out and enjoying the zen. Osmos is a game that rewards chilling, getting into the groove, and really just contemplating

@ craftycurate: I encourage you to try using the time slowdown when you're having trouble. It's there as a sort of 'difficulty knob' where a player can dial in the desired level of challenge. Don't be afraid to slow things down a bit against the Ferax and take him at a more reasonable pace. He's an end-of-game character too -- he's the big bad sentient boss! With a game like Osmos, we want to have a variety of levels that will satisfy players with a variety of skill levels, because some players were reporting they found the Ferax way too easy! (They're crazy, I know -- he's hard!)

And if you're really not digging some of the harder faster levels, craftycurate, then I invite you to soak up the chill, laid-back ambience of the 'Ambient' zones. Make Osmos an experience that you can enjoy on your own terms!

Happy Osmoting!
Dave

[HoosTrax]

Agreed that I found the last Force levels too frustrating. I've already went into my thoughts on that in-depth in another thread, so I won't rehash it here.

As far as slowing things down, I don't see how that would help in F3B-3. That level (unless there's some strategy I'm not aware of) seems to hinge on reseeding the randomizer over and over again until you get a ecosystem that allows you to eat up the 8 or so attractors quickly, otherwise they very quickly get too big to be manageable. I posted about this in the Steam forums, and the only two people who replied that they had beat it said that they had to try over and over again (even with time slowdown). There is no real thought-out strategy involved it would seem, just luck.

It's too bad that unlocking "Ambient Forever" and "Sentient Forever" hinges on beating the Force levels. I could care less if I ever unlock "Force Forever". I don't think I ever want to see another Force level after this ...

[craftycurate]

Thanks for reply ... thing is that I like to complete games I buy too, and then go back and enjoy the levels!

The other thing that's quite frustrating, especially in A3B where it takes ages to complete, is that if you complete 2 of 3 levels, and then have to exit the game for some reason, when you come back in you start again at the beginning of the group, not where you left off.

[Meal Worms]

Thanks for the great feedback guys/gals. I understand the satisfaction that comes from completing the game entirely. We'll have a look at tweaking the difficulty curves for some of the later force levels and releasing the tweaks in an update.

@ craftycurate: Not so! You don't have to restart each zone from the beginning. If you rollover a zone button, you'll see 2-4 little buttons appear below your cursor -- these are buttons that let you access each level individually. So, you can pick right up at A3B-3 without having to replay the first two levels.

@ HoosTrax : I'm curious -- how do you compare the last 'Warped Chaos' (F3B-3) to fighting the Ferax at the end of the Sentient path? In my experience the Ferax is more difficult than the Warped Chaos levels... do you disagree?

Thanks again!
Dave

[craftycurate]

Ok thanks - I didn't realise that!

Cheers
Richard

[Tsukasa]

Hello Meal Worms,

the Ferax is pretty easy actually, I managed it after two trys. EDIT: Sorry, my Problem is Epicycles, not Warped Chaos[/EDIT END] is also my problem, as I stated in another thread. The Force Levels are very easy if you slow down time, but it does not help you beating F3C-3. It is pure luck to beat that last level and I made several attempts over a lot of hours trying to beat it, so you can't say I'm not trying.

I hope it gets adjusted

[HoosTrax]

@ HoosTrax : I'm curious -- how do you compare the last 'Warped Chaos' (F3B-3) to fighting the Ferax at the end of the Sentient path? In my experience the Ferax is more difficult than the Warped Chaos levels... do you disagree?

To be honest, I'm not entirely sure how I beat Ferax .

The first time around, I found Ferax difficult, so I randomized once. The next time, about 5-10 secs into the chapter, I got the message that I had won, despite Ferax being off screen at this point and not visible . The only explanation I can think of (assuming Ferax isn't programmed to suicide himself) is that I pushed a smaller mote into a larger mote which happened to be next to Ferax. The larger mote sucked up the smaller one and grew big enough to suck up Ferax as well. Just a theory though, because I couldn't see Ferax at that point. It was very odd.

Anyways, out of the three modes, I have to say that I like Ambient the best. Especially the last chapters, where you have to take stock of the situation and methodically figure out how to strike the right balance between using the antimatter motes and knocking smaller motes into larger ones.

[d4rk1982]

I haven't beaten F3A-3 (zen attractors) and F3C-3 (epicycles) yet, but i don't think it's too hard. I agree with Dave that it should be challenging, and I think if i put a little more time in this thing, it should be beatable too - although in comparison to the rest of the game the last force levels are VERY hard if you ask me. But I think it's better this way than beating the game without any challenge at all.

I won against the Ferax on two ways: you could either go around like crazy, trying to absorb as much other motes as fast as possible, then you got a chance against him. He is very fast, but it's possible. The other way i discovered is if you get close to another big mote (smaller than you) and a big Ferax is hunting you, absorb the other mote so you are now bigger than the Ferax. It really confuses the little bugger and brings him to "panically" throwing matter at you to get away. The timing has to be right and you have to be lucky to find yourself in such a situation, but it's fun if you get it right