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Hmm...
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Apr 28, 2017 21:44
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MercurialOne posted:Hmm... drat it  . Now I can't unsee it
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Apr 28, 2017 23:23
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I like that even in this game about revisiting previous games you get to loop through the whole game at the end.
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Apr 29, 2017 01:32
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Glazius posted:I like that even in this game about revisiting previous games you get to loop through the whole game at the end. Yeah, this is a pretty cool final journey, although it definitely could have done without a random teleporter maze (Which, essentially, is what that horrid Loop section is. My condolences, Carbon, for going through that sort of hell!)
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Apr 29, 2017 02:36
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Part 35 Submachine 10: The Exit Welcome to this very special episode. I hope you're ready!  Last time we collected all Secrets. Let's go get our prize.   The Secret area is hidden in the Edge this time.   We need to go back into that corridor where we activated the S.H.I.V.A. override.  Putting the Triple A Battery into the -S-3-C- slot in the Captain's Ship opens the corresponding door here. S3C of course stands for 'Secret'. ♫ Thumpmonks - Submachine 4 - Bonus Area   We use a Secret to open the laser barrier.   In the next room, one Secret lowers the pillar and activates the screen.  quote:Are we alone in the Submachine? Well, yes, but you can always feel somebody right beside you, doing the same things you do in the Submachine. Just one sub-layer away. That's comforting, isn't it? --- The Secret notes in this game truly feel like a sort of send-off, they answer some final questions and even start breaking the fourth wall a bit. I really like them. And I think the best way to treat them is by revealing the other four one by one, as we near the end of this final Submachine game.   So, where were we? Ah yes, escaping the Submachine. Last time we collected a bunch of Tiles and a pair of Plasma Coils, which we'll need shortly. We need to go back through the Angel Ruins to the Captain's Ship (again).   Where we climb down, back to the Northern Garden Docks.     Far to the right inside the building on the Docks, there was this stairway that led to a dead end.   But with the Karma Stabiliser, that is quickly remedied.   This portal door lights up as soon as we insert all four Tiles. My Backpack is now empty, by the way. We're quickly using up items at this point in the game. --- Before we step through the door, let's see another secret note.   Another laser barrier and another pillar, that's two more Secrets used. (The Secret you see to the right is just me holding one with the mouse cursor.)  quote:What happened to sunshine_bunnygirl_17? Don't worry, I took care of her. I transported her to the first layer, she's taking care of Einstein when I'm not around. Turns out she's fine! And so is Einstein the cat!  ---   The door takes us to a new area called the Metal Section. To the right, there's only an empty Sub-Bot pod. So let's go left.   RTL Some stuff on the wall...   quote:- I think you're ready to enter the Submachine. You know more than enough and will probably find out more on your journey. Remember, this can destroy or transform you. But you will not return the same man. May the wisdom of Thoth guide you.  In the room we just passed, we can use the two Plasma Coils to enable the console.   The console's interface looks similar to those in the Edge, but it's yellow instead of green... to me that makes it look older, somehow.   Anyway, we made the ladder appear to the left, and we can climb it to some narrow crawl space.   Which leads us to a new Karma Portal. --- Another good moment to throw in a Secret.   Open laser barrier, lower pillar.  quote:Will I ever come back to the Submachine? Well, of course. There are more people still trapped there, my mission is to navigate the sub-layer infinity to find them and bring them home. ---   The Karma Portal takes us to another crawl space. Where exactly are we? ♫ Thumpmonks - Submachine 10 - Submachine 2 redux  Welcome back to the Lighthouse Tower. First things first, a Note.  quote:- Wait, Submachine was already sentient that early?   To the top we go!   Ah, the Lighthouse lamp. It's been a long time since I...  DAMMIT. Yup. Touching the active Lighthouse lamp transports you to the Loop, just like it did at the end of Submachine 2. And just like then, it's one-way. At least we appear right at the Karma Portal, so we don't have to traverse the random maze.   I think it's actually a funny detail, and I'm glad it's in the game. But it's a bit buggy. Because the last Binary Portal we took was to OOO (that's the way back to the Captain's Ship), the game seems to still think you're there, and you can't directly portal back. You have to portal to some other location first, and then everything works again. Except... remember the ladder in the Docks? One of the first puzzles was getting it to line up with the Ship. What you could theoretically do is move the ladder away from the Ship, then take the one-way Lighthouse lamp portal back to the Loop... which means you can't climb down from the Captain's Ship anymore, you can't reach the Lighthouse Tower, and you just got yourself permanently stuck in the Submachine. Only solution is resetting the entire game.   In any case, we quickly run back to where we were.   To the left of the lamp, we retrieve the ID Card we put in long ago.   And to the right, we take the Fuse back.  The good news is that taking either of these items permanently disables the lamp. So no accidental teleporting anymore. --- We need to take these items elsewhere, so first, let's get to the fourth secret.   You know the deal by now. After activating this screen, there's only 2 Secret items left in our inventory.  quote:Is Submachine real? Or just a dream? Well, if Submachine is only a dream, I still haven't woken up from it. I mean, as far as I know, it's real, all of it. ---   Back to the Captain's Ship.   There was this one console that's been asking for the Captain's ID Card since the beginning of the game. Well, it accepts the one from the Lighthouse (meaning Murtaugh was the captain of this ship?), and the ceiling hatch opens.   In the new 'bulb' we enter at the top, we find another note tucked behind a pipe.  quote:- How will you know that they're coming?   We can climb to the top of the Ship here, where we find the Portable Light Crown. Hey, remember that hint we found earlier? quote:Light crown converter needed to connect light crown to the fuse outlet.   The final item we need is back at the Edge.   Once we put in the fuse, it allows us to take the Portable Light Crown Converter.  Back at the Lighthouse Tower, let's do some assembly.  We put the Portable Light Crown Converter in the Fuse outlet.  We stick the Portable Light Crown in.  And finally we put in the Light Sphere. --- This is it, folks. But first, one final secret.   We repeat the steps once more to reach the last room in the S3C corridor.  quote:Thank you from the bottom of my heart for playing Submachine, for finding all secrets and sticking around for as long as you did. For me this journey lasted 10 years, I know that for some of you too. Thank you and see you in the next game! --- And every journey comes to an end.   Ending cinematic - make sure to watch it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJc9m-xg5No  Awww, it's Einstein .And Mur and Liz, of course. I just like to end on the note that those of us who played the games as they came out were left wondering what Mur and Liz look like, and if we'd ever get to meet them, for the better part of a decade. That makes this a very proper ending to the series. 
Carbon dioxide fucked around with this message at 10:11 on May 6, 2017 |
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May 6, 2017 10:05
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Part 36 Final thoughts There's a lot to say about the Submachine series, including a bunch of things that I couldn't really tackle in any of the specific games. So, this is a final update to put some of my thoughts in order. The Submachine Series I have to say, overall I like this series. The games have an unique atmosphere, and the unanswered questions make you want to play more. I do think the games are quite hard. I'm not afraid to admit I needed to look up a guide to get through some parts of the games. This LP allowed me to take a deeper look at the evolution of the game series, and it's easy to see that Mateusz got better at it over the years. I remember wondering after the first few games came out if the story ever go anywhere. But it did, and I am glad to see the results. Other Submachine projects Submachine Universe  I think I mentioned this 'game' a few times. Submachine Universe started as "Submachine Network Exploration Experience" back in 2010. As the original name suggests, it's a free exploration experience - Mateusz does not consider it a 'game' because there's no story and no ending. In the game, you can visit nearly all places we've been to in the main games, and it looks like it's some time after we actually went there in the main series. You can see how the places changed, and how places interconnect. The main way to find all locations is by the three-digit Portal devices. All Portal addresses we've seen in the main games work. There's also hints scattered around. By combining several hints and doing some arithmetic on cyphers of numbers, you can discover new addresses. There's also a few addresses that correspond to numbers in popular culture, such as 404 and 666. Submachine Universe has been updated several times, mainly to add parts corresponding to games that were released after 2010. The current version is 4.5 and is available only in the HD engine, but it is completely free. Download. A very important part of Universe is all the Notes with theories on them. These are actually theories from fans, collected by Mateusz on his forums. A lot of them contradict each other, which proves to me that there are still mysteries about the Submachine that don't have, and may never get, a definite answer. If you decide to explore Submachine Universe, just know that there might be fan theories in there from before Submachine 7 was released. Also know that Universe is still being updated - Mateusz regularly adds new locations. I decided to not show this game off because honestly, I think it's not suited for an LP format. If you want to check it out yourself, feel free. Submachine: The Engine  The Engine is a potential future Submachine game, first mentioned by Mateusz in 2012. It's currently a Patreon goal, he'll create the game if his Patreon hits $2000. It's been sitting just above $1000 for a while now, so it may be a while before it's released. The only thing we really know about it is this description from Mateusz: quote:First of Submachines to be created after singularity (meaning: finishing of the main series). Other Submachine games Reading the wiki, it seems that Mateusz sometimes mentions future games he wants to make, but doesn't give any more information. It seems he recently mentioned Submachine: The Explorers, which would be about the adventures of one of the Exploration Teams. We'll have to wait and see if he's going to actually make this game. The Patreon also mentions a project called "The Big Game", and this is what Mateusz says about it: quote:This is my current, yet unnamed project that incorporates all best parts of my previous game series: Daymare Town and Submachine, sprinkled with my comic book style of possibly watercolor, or not. I just started creating it in January of 2017. Thank you It's strange to realize how much time I spent on this project. SSLPs are a lot of work, folks. But I am glad I was able to show off these games. So I think a few thank yous are in order. First of all, thanks to Mateusz Skutnik and everyone else who had something to do with creating these games. Secondly, a great thank you to you, the readers. Especially those who posted their thoughts in the thread. Without all of you, I would've abandoned this project long ago. Carbon dioxide fucked around with this message at 18:38 on May 26, 2017 |
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May 6, 2017 10:06
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You finished it! Thanks for all your effort. I'm terrible at puzzle games and definitely would have given up at the teleporter maze and never finished it if I played it myself.
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May 6, 2017 10:49
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The relationship between the player, Murtaugh and Elizabeth is a really strange one. From Sub 1 to Sub 5, Mur seems helpful, guiding you to safety and then seemingly assigning you a mission in Sub5. But after that he seems to become the antagonist and it appears he's chasing Elizabeth, trying to kill her and her notes to the player seem to support that. The invasion in her lab in Sub7 show that at least *something* happened between her and someone else, presumably Mur. But by Sub9/10, the notes being left show conversations between the two of them and their main topic is you and whether or not you would escape with them. And then obviously, they're standing there together and cordially greet you when you leave the submachine. I've always been impressed at how well this series has been able to evoke feelings of fear, dread and wonder through nothing but notes, ambient music and architecture. You never meet Mur or Liz before the end but you feel like you know them and their motivations. Two questions I just want to ask the thread because honestly I doubt Mateusz would answer them and they're probably better never answered definitively. 1. Where are we now? There were two celestial bodies up in the sky. 2. How did we even get into the Basement, and by extension the Submachine, in the first place? I don't really have answers for either of those questions but maybe someone else has some ideas. Thank you so much for LPing this series CO2. I love this series and that brief replay I did of Sub1 to get that screenshot of the INfernal Basement has made me want to replay them once more, even though you just finished the LP. It took a while to get here and it took a while for us to know enough to seriously discuss the game, but it was totally worth it in the end. This series rules.
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May 6, 2017 18:26
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Congratulations for finishing this LP! I only ever played the first game, so I had no idea of where the series would go, so this has been mostly new to me. It has been a fun ride, though.
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May 6, 2017 19:03
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I posted this big ramble before, but i'll try and pare it down to work better as a question. Question for Mateusz Why was Mur buried in the lighthouse? This note "It's no wonder they wanted to bury this whole lighthouse with him still inside. The collapse death toll was growing exponentionally. L" makes it seem like it was done to stop him from destroying more of the Submachine with his karma portals, but that doesn't make sense to me as he was buried in it before he ever entered the Submachine (as far as I can tell). Is Liz just saying that she understands why people would want to bury him in the lighthouse even if that wasn't the direct reason, or does the Submachine's time distortion affect even the outside? Zakrelo fucked around with this message at 00:08 on May 7, 2017 |
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May 7, 2017 00:03
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That was a really nice ending. I'm glad sunshine_bunnygirl_17 is okay. Thank you, CO2, for doing this LP and making me remember these games I used to play when I was younger.
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May 7, 2017 20:36
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So all we had to to was walk through a wall? Ultimately a little disappointing, but I like that the final tour ends up at the "weak point" that let us in in the first place.
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May 7, 2017 21:50
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Glazius posted:So all we had to to was walk through a wall? Ultimately a little disappointing, but I like that the final tour ends up at the "weak point" that let us in in the first place. Does "teleporting using a sphere of compressed light" really count as walking? The LP was great and the LPer was also great.
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May 8, 2017 13:00
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GeneX posted:The LP was great and the LPer was also great. Here's an updated list of questions for Mateusz. Is there anything you want to know that isn't in the list yet? Let me know within the next 2 and a half days! Glazius What's the most interesting urbex-related thing you've found that you couldn't fit into Submachine? GeneX Why use hindu and buddhist theming? Karma portals, Shiva...is it just for flavor? If you could redo any section of any game in the series, which would it be and why? Shoeless What is the exact chain of events and circumstances behind the Submachine(s), how did everything happen, why did they happen, what are the Submachine(s), and what was actually going on throughout the games? If you could go back and change one thing about each Submachine game, what would it be (if there are any)? Did your vision on what was going on and what you planned to have happen change over the course of creating the games? EagerSleeper Is there a conventional Earth like the one that we know, or has humanity in the Submachine series been living adrift in these strange, floating worlds of the submachines forever? Did you ever sketch official character art for some of the characters like Mur and Elizabeth? Did the submachines exist before humans? If so, then were the submachines ever meant for a different non-human civilization? What are some things that most people don't know about your game series or haven't noticed yet? Any plot details or design decisions would be cool to know. Why is Murtaugh so mean? Leaving people to die doesn't seem like a very nice thing to do. Who are the people who worshipped Murtaugh and placed him in a sarcophagus? Is Liz pissed about being buried next to him? What is up with Einstein the cat? Also what do you think the scariest detail you have put in your game is? For me, it is the part about how submachine can loop itself 'vertically'. ArchWizard Now that old puzzles from previous Submachine games are being re-purposed, I'm ready to ask: For how long was it planned to have the final Submachine game reprise the series's iconic locations? How many of these puzzles were designed for Sub10 and how many were extra ideas that couldn't be fit into the previous games? Antivehicular I realize this is a stupid question, but I'm still trying to figure out how you bury a lighthouse while leaving it structurally intact. The Kent Lighthouse was a regular lighthouse, wasn't it? Or is that an assumption too far? Who were the Fourth Dynasty, and what happened to them? Their Winter Palace in the core of the Submachine had the same architect as the Kent Lighthouse, apparently outside of the Submachine -- what was that guy doing, anyway? How were people apparently naturally living in the Submachine? FPZero How far in advance did you plan the games? I imagine at some point there must have been some serious planning done considering items from Sub1 become useful in Sub10. Zakrelo Why was Mur buried in the lighthouse? This note "It's no wonder they wanted to bury this whole lighthouse with him still inside. The collapse death toll was growing exponentionally. L" makes it seem like it was done to stop him from destroying more of the Submachine with his karma portals, but that doesn't make sense to me as he was buried in it before he ever entered the Submachine (as far as I can tell). Is Liz just saying that she understands why people would want to bury him in the lighthouse even if that wasn't the direct reason, or does the Submachine's time distortion affect even the outside? Carbon dioxide Do you have a favorite fan theory about the submachine? For instance a way to look at it you never even considered yourself? Is the Submachine real? Carbon dioxide fucked around with this message at 11:37 on May 13, 2017 |
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May 10, 2017 22:00
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Who were the Fourth Dynasty, and what happened to them? Their Winter Palace in the core of the Submachine had the same architect as the Kent Lighthouse, apparently outside of the Submachine -- what was that guy doing, anyway? How were people apparently naturally living in the Submachine? Also, not a question, but I really have to praise the Submachine series for its balance of satisfying narrative development and open-endedness. A lot of games with this many unanswered questions end up never giving the player a satisfying ending or a feeling that they've really gotten much out of the narrative, but I feel like the Submachine series offers that satisfaction without spelling everything out, while still leaving the player with a lot to think about. It's pretty impressive, especially for a long series being built over as much time as this one was.
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May 10, 2017 23:40
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Antivehicular posted:Who were the Fourth Dynasty, and what happened to them? Their Winter Palace in the core of the Submachine had the same architect as the Kent Lighthouse, apparently outside of the Submachine -- what was that guy doing, anyway? How were people apparently naturally living in the Submachine? I'll add your question to the list - but the impression I personally got was that most parts of the Submachine that look like they were built before humans mastered electricity, were built as normal regular buildings, not part of the Submachine. As the Submachine expanded in space, as well in time, it somehow made those non-submachine buildings part of its structure. The lighthouse is still connected to the outside world, but the Winter Palace has been part of the Submachine for so long now that it entirely exists within the void. Any 'Submachine physics' happened to the buildings after they became part of it. This hypothesis might be contradicted by the fact that the Winter Palace's garden plants are specifically catered to grow in a place without sunlight. But with some messing around with a potential timeline, it might be possible to resolve that one. One reason for this idea is that it was said that the Root, which has a 1950s look to it, was the "first thing built in the Submachine by humans". So either the ancient temples and all that were built later - or they are from an earlier time period and became part of the Submachine later. The parts of the submachine that were not absorbed, nor built by humans are the parts built by SHIVA itself. The shiny corridors on top of the Edge, with the defense system controls, and the wide metal tubes and bulbs that house SHIVA's cables. And the Loop, as well. --- Completely unrelatedly, y'know in the last update, when there was the one console with amber text among all the green consoles, I told myself a few times that most LP subforum folks probably wouldn't get a YOSPOS joke, and left it out. Carbon dioxide fucked around with this message at 06:32 on May 11, 2017 |
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May 11, 2017 06:21
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I just sent in the question to Mateusz! I'll let you folks know when I get a response.
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May 13, 2017 11:39
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Bonus: Interview with Mateusz The thread asked questions to Mateusz Skutnik, the creator of the series. Here's the complete interview. Glazius posted:What's the most interesting urbex-related thing you've found that you couldn't fit into Submachine? GeneX posted:Why use hindu and buddhist theming? Karma portals, Shiva...is it just for flavor? GeneX posted:If you could redo any section of any game in the series, which would it be and why? Shoeless posted:What is the exact chain of events and circumstances behind the Submachine(s), how did everything happen, why did they happen, what are the Submachine(s), and what was actually going on throughout the games? Shoeless posted:If you could go back and change one thing about each Submachine game, what would it be (if there are any)? Shoeless posted:Did your vision on what was going on and what you planned to have happen change over the course of creating the games? EagerSleeper posted:Is there a conventional Earth like the one that we know, or has humanity in the Submachine series been living adrift in these strange, floating worlds of the submachines forever? EagerSleeper posted:Did you ever sketch official character art for some of the characters like Mur and Elizabeth? EagerSleeper posted:Did the submachines exist before humans? If so, then were the submachines ever meant for a different non-human civilization? EagerSleeper posted:What are some things that most people don't know about your game series or haven't noticed yet? Any plot details or design decisions would be cool to know. EagerSleeper posted:Why is Murtaugh so mean? Leaving people to die doesn't seem like a very nice thing to do. EagerSleeper posted:Who are the people who worshipped Murtaugh and placed him in a sarcophagus? Is Liz pissed about being buried next to him? How can you be pissed once you're dead? EagerSleeper posted:What is up with Einstein the cat? EagerSleeper posted:Also what do you think the scariest detail you have put in your game is? For me, it is the part about how submachine can loop itself 'vertically'. ArchWizard posted:Now that old puzzles from previous Submachine games are being re-purposed, I'm ready to ask: For how long was it planned to have the final Submachine game reprise the series's iconic locations? How many of these puzzles were designed for Sub10 and how many were extra ideas that couldn't be fit into the previous games? Antivehicular posted:I realize this is a stupid question, but I'm still trying to figure out how you bury a lighthouse while leaving it structurally intact. The Kent Lighthouse was a regular lighthouse, wasn't it? Or is that an assumption too far? Antivehicular posted:Who were the Fourth Dynasty, and what happened to them? Their Winter Palace in the core of the Submachine had the same architect as the Kent Lighthouse, apparently outside of the Submachine -- what was that guy doing, anyway? How were people apparently naturally living in the Submachine? FPZero posted:How far in advance did you plan the games? I imagine at some point there must have been some serious planning done considering items from Sub1 become useful in Sub10. Zakrelo posted:Why was Mur buried in the lighthouse? This note "It's no wonder they wanted to bury this whole lighthouse with him still inside. The collapse death toll was growing exponentionally. L" makes it seem like it was done to stop him from destroying more of the Submachine with his karma portals, but that doesn't make sense to me as he was buried in it before he ever entered the Submachine (as far as I can tell). Is Liz just saying that she understands why people would want to bury him in the lighthouse even if that wasn't the direct reason, or does the Submachine's time distortion affect even the outside? Carbon dioxide posted:Do you have a favorite fan theory about the submachine? For instance a way to look at it you never even considered yourself? Carbon dioxide posted:Is the Submachine real? Carbon dioxide fucked around with this message at 18:40 on May 26, 2017 |
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May 25, 2017 11:48
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Glad to see my question answered. Looks like I was making the assumption that one of the events we know happened to Mur (Being buried in the lighthouse, portaling out of the lighthouse to escape, etc.) must've been when he entered the submachine, but it seems he just entered it "off screen" sometime right before or after he got his karma arm. In a way, that makes more sense considering we don't know how anyone else entered the submachine either. Also, thanks for doing the thread. Its been a fun ride.
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May 25, 2017 16:57
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It's been a great thread for a great series. Thanks for showing it off!
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May 25, 2017 18:58
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Interesting to see that the games might be ported to Steam. I might have bought them all in HD already but I'll definitely have to keep an eye out. Thanks for all the hard work on the LP! It was very well done and I enjoyed the trip down memory lane.
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May 25, 2017 19:47
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The LP has been archived! https://lparchive.org/The-Submachine-Series/ Thanks everyone and I'll see you elsewhere on these forums.
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Jul 20, 2017 18:03
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