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Release 4
Release 4 zip with invisiclues, logic document, etc.
Requires a Z-Code interpreter. Visit IFWiki for download links. (Compressed with ZIP. Free Unzip tools are available for most systems at www.info-zip.org.)
Original Comp File
submitted 9/​30/​2013
Requires a Z-Code interpreter. Visit IFWiki for download links.
GitHub site
Source control for the game project
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Release 4 - direct non-zip link
For automated downloads, sometimes non-zip files are better.
Requires a Z-Code interpreter. Visit IFWiki for download links.
Walkthrough and maps
by David Welbourn

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Threediopolis

by Andrew Schultz profile

Science Fiction
2013

(based on 28 ratings)
6 reviews

About the Story

A wordplay/quasi-maze game.


Game Details


Awards

7th Place - 19th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition (2013)

Nominee, Best Puzzles; Nominee, Best Individual Puzzle - 2013 XYZZY Awards


News

This should be the final release of my IFComp 2013 game. I've plugged a lot of holes with standard and helper verbs and even added a few jokes. But I'm up against the z-machine limit for debug mode, so I can't fit much else in.

The main feature is allowing for the header to track advanced mode puzzles. I got rid of a few of the sketchier locations. The game should be sped up slightly, though you may not notice the difference in Z-Machine.

https://github.com/andrewschultz/threediopolis/releases/tag/v4 holds the link. https://raw.githubusercontent.com/andrewschultz/threediopolis/v4/threediopolis_release_4_notes.txt has the changes.

Thanks to Zarf for the regtest.py regression script which helped me pinpoint changes to make and stop worrying if I'd tested this or that verb/feature. http://eblong.com/zarf/plotex/regtest.html -- give it a look if you're an Inform programmer.

Oh, and looking forward to other IFCompers' post-release efforts, big or small.
Reported by Andrew Schultz | History | Edit | Delete
Threediopolis is now in release 3, with many bug fixes, text tweaks, and new aids for the player. The walkthrough/logic was tuned up.

While the game is being uploaded to IFArchive, the dropbox link on the game page should work.

Empty commands now nudge you to an easy puzzle left, and some "close" sectors even give hints.

But wait! There's even more! You now have a new game of sorts. There are 80 pieces of scenery to find in Threediopolis. They're not intended to be easy, and you don't have to solve them all.

Thanks to Sean M. Shore for some really great testing work to make sure my new features were up to scratch and even pointing out a really good feature that sadly had to wait for release 4. I fixed a lot with his help, aesthetically and technically.

Source code is available if you want spoilers.

Also, to view the scenery sub-game directly, type (Spoiler - click to show)SEE NEW SEENS.

Looking forward to other recent IFCompers' revised versions, too.
Reported by Andrew Schultz (updated on August 17, 2014) | History | Edit | Delete
I've officially released version 2 of Threediopolis, after some post-competition testing and a very helpful ClubFloyd session. While some of the polish may've been part of a mid-comp release, I'd like to spell it out here.

You can now try different things with the header, including seeing friends (ff) or one line (oo) or even the reshuffled list once you find a place.

Hints are also given for failed trips and can be toggled with HH. They cover the hardest puzzles as well as the introductory ones.

I'm pretty sure I fixed the potential buffer overflow if you use the big header (t) from the mid-comp fix. I didn't realize I could--or needed to--change the maximum size of an indexed text buffer.

The game now has the rough semblance of a story, or at least musings every two points. The ending now contains a really, really awful joke based on the game mechanice that I couldn't resist.

The game also allows you an availableometer and an adrift-a-tron, and they can be used to find the odd scenery, which is clued better--and there are now 56, though they are not obvious. And there are more of them.

There are also two more things to find, but I think they make the game easier rather than harder. Your new friend definitely does.

The logic document is updated and clarified as well.

I think I also fixed the stack overflow that happened.

I've included dropbox links as I haven't yet sent a copy to ifarchive.org. However, I expect to update the source, the logic and the binary file.

A small patch post-release (1/5/2014) now fixes the scenery the game suggests in the AMUSING section, and I also added some scenery.

Enjoy!
Reported by Andrew Schultz (updated on January 5, 2014) | History | Edit | Delete
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Member Reviews

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Number of Reviews: 6
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Most Helpful Member Reviews


4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Creative and fun, December 31, 2022
by Lance Cirone (Backwater, Vermont)

You're sent into the wide land of Threediopolis. Your new employer, Ed Dunn, has a list of places he wants you to visit so you can complete tasks for him. But, in this realm, it's not about where you're going as much as how you get there.

Threediopolis is a game that seems overwhelming at first. You have 40 tasks and 10 friends to find. Every place is signified by a 3 digit number and a cryptic description. At first, I was wandering around without a clue. (Spoiler - click to show)I decided to figure out how my movements effected the numbers, then honed in on one place that wasn't far from the start. I had to go down, north, and east. Easy. I tried every combination of these... but when I went north, east, and then down and met a guy named Ned, I suddenly realized what this game was. It's a word game!

(Spoiler - click to show)You have 6 directions, using letters, and you have to spell words with them. Like SEEDS takes you to a gardening supply store, DUNES takes you to a desert, and WEENERS is a hot dog restaurant. There's also a bunch of bonuses if you type things like SENSUS (you fill out a census forum), SUDDEN (a loud noise startles you), and SEUSS (you meet a Dr. Seuss creature). If you can't work something out from the text description, you can try to figure it out with the numbers.

I was able to finish all the tasks and find all the friends, but you don't have to. You can return to Ed at any point to turn in your list and get a final score. The postgame gives you a list of 80 bonus tasks, some of which you may complete over the course of the regular game.

Overall, I found Threediopolis to be a fun time. The writing is witty and funny, even wrong expeditions will reward you with something amusing, and it's not that long or difficult once you get the hang of it.

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
A pure word puzzle game with interesting mechanics, February 3, 2016

This game is by Andrew Schultz, a noted author of puzzle and wordplay games. You go around a three dimensional city with a list of tasks and addresses to complete them at.

Part of the game is just figuring out what is going on, which I didn't experience, as I already knew the premise.

The puzzles in this game are challenging but fun. Andrew has made it easier by not requiring you to solve every puzzle to beat the game.

A must-play for fans of wordplay.

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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Wow, I just got this., October 30, 2013
by streever (America)

I originally reviewed this shortly after playing it during the IF Competition, which was a mistake. The stress/strain of having limited time to play brought out a (bizarre) inability to even figure out the basic mechanism at play.

I've since re-played it: it is very, very clever, but far from impossible.

Don't spoil this one: most of the joy is in figuring out the mechanic and exploring it.

On top of the excellent puzzle mechanic, the writing is good, fun, and crisp.

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Recommended Lists

Threediopolis appears in the following Recommended Lists:

Word-play and word puzzles by streever
This is my list of fun games for word-play/puzzles. Some of them have substantial stories, and some do not.

Recommended Linguistic Games by E.K.
Good games that use language puzzles, or language itself as the puzzle.

Favorite wordplay/puzzle/code games by MathBrush
Games whose main 'genre' is wordplay. This list does not include games like the Edifice or Suveh Nux which have significant wordplay elements, but which are not the focus of the story.

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Polls

The following polls include votes for Threediopolis:

Games with root beer in them by Andrew Schultz
I played two entries in the Single Choice jam that made very visible references to root beer. Then I realized not many other games did that I could think of. I had one of my own. But given I like root beer much better than Coke or Pepsi,...

Games with 'enhanced interfaces' by verityvirtue
Looking for (parser?) games which use side panels, or similar, to streamline delivery of information AND are on a platform which does not usually have such a feature (therefore, Undum, Quest, Storynexus etc. games are out.) Something...

For Your Consideration - XYZZY-eligible puzzles of 2013 by Sam Kabo Ashwell
This poll is a place to suggest individual puzzles from games released in 2013, which you think might be worth considering for Best Individual Puzzle in the XYZZY Awards. Leave a brief, unspoilery-as-possible title for the puzzle in the...

See all polls with votes for this game




This is version 14 of this page, edited by David Welbourn on 28 June 2022 at 7:28pm. - View Update History - Edit This Page - Add a News Item - Delete This Page