An Engineer's Delight

July 18, 2008 7:47 AM

Friday Flash Fun

Some stuff I wish I'd known when I started:

• It seems like a sparse toy at first, compared to something like Incredible Machine. But it's more free-form and the sparseness is a good challenge.


• You can move the pink object around inside the blue box.


• The water rod hasn't been of any use to me so far.


• You can move the view around by using the Move tool.

posted by DU (60 comments total)

Anal Engineer. Nice. Could an editor remove the first l from the title?
posted by DU at 7:48 AM on July 18

And I lied twice. I just used the water rod and you can move the background around without the Move tool.

Boy, I really rocked this post.
posted by DU at 7:52 AM on July 18

Great game. Thanks!

You can move the background around with anything selected, as long as you click outside the build area.
posted by bjrn at 7:59 AM on July 18

I've never driven a train, anally or otherwise; still, I found this game a delight.
posted by not_on_display at 8:18 AM on July 18

I'm stuck on the level where you're meant to guide the pink thing into the other pink thing.
posted by uncleozzy at 8:54 AM on July 18

"Awash" has stumped me. Great game though!
posted by Maastrictian at 9:19 AM on July 18

I was stuck on Awash for quite a while too. A jayisgames-posted solution confirmed an idea I'd had but was too lazy to try, though, and it turned out to work.
posted by DU at 9:28 AM on July 18

I can't even get past "Wall." I am not an engineer.
posted by Shepherd at 9:51 AM on July 18

Why is my first instinct always to make something like a crazy death locomotive; with big rams and ramps and stuff?

I mean in real life, not the game.

Though, in the game too, I suppose.

[neat!]
posted by quin at 10:48 AM on July 18

quin, my first tactic is to make wheels with swirling grabby tentacle-arms. They're actually useful for clearling away rubble-bits and reaching around things.
posted by luftmensch at 11:03 AM on July 18

This is pretty neat.

I got stuck on "Full-up".

But now that I came back here and found the helpful tip that you can move the pink box inside the blue box to start, I'm optimisitc.
posted by Perplexity at 11:09 AM on July 18

Oh, I never thought about moving the pink box in "Full up". Instead, I created a whole lot of non-propulsive rollers and pushed them all into the pit, then rolled right over them.
posted by bicyclefish at 11:54 AM on July 18

"Down Under" is insane. And, I can't believe I got here without knowing that you can move the pink stuff in the blue area.
posted by felix at 12:26 PM on July 18

This was fun. You can check out others' solutions at the main menu. Topsy turvy for around the bend was so elegant.
posted by pointilist at 12:30 PM on July 18

Cool. Anyone get past 'awash'?

plz tell me how...
posted by no_moniker at 12:36 PM on July 18

The way I did it, I concentrated on the fact that you have to both move forward while also clearing the detritus. Wheels on bottom for traction, wheels on top to move the trash from right to left. Streamline, iterate.
posted by felix at 12:41 PM on July 18

Thx felix, that did it. Attaching some water rods to the top wheels seemed to help clear the debris also.
posted by no_moniker at 12:52 PM on July 18

any hint on the Full-up level ? should I use the big circle as a way to bridge the gap ?
posted by Baud at 1:47 PM on July 18

Try making a long rigid train with many wheels. It should be able to bridge the gap. The forward wheels may have to be elevated slightly.

This game is fun, thx DU.
posted by no_moniker at 1:57 PM on July 18

Here are some Awash solutions (neither are mine)

Awash1

Awash2
posted by Bonzai at 1:57 PM on July 18

I breezed through all the early ones, but Big Ball has me stumped.

*mutters "stupid giant, heavy object"*
posted by quin at 2:20 PM on July 18

Try making a train with lots of blue balls for weight on top of it for ballast. They increase the traction of the wheels on the bottom. Then put the rectangle near the ground out in front. If all goes well the rectangle will jam in under the ball and make it in.

Down under is tough.
posted by no_moniker at 2:42 PM on July 18

Here is my Big Ball solution.

And, yes, this one is mine.
posted by Bonzai at 2:51 PM on July 18

this is loads of fun, but i'm about to give up on "Four Balls"...
posted by bilgepump at 2:57 PM on July 18

Here's how I finally got Big Ball, the trick to making this design work is that you have to link everything to the center of the pink object so that it can spin, otherwise it doesn't quite make it in side the goal.
posted by quin at 3:15 PM on July 18

woohoo!! here's what i came up with for "Four Balls"

there went an hour out of my friday...
posted by bilgepump at 3:44 PM on July 18

Here is my Awash solution.
posted by NickO at 4:18 PM on July 18 [1 favorite]

Oh man, I did this level so many times before I realized I didn't need wheels.
posted by Citizen Premier at 4:31 PM on July 18 [2 favorites]

For Big Ball, I made a flinger that shot a little one-wheeled car out underhand and slipped into the goal before the ball got there.
posted by DU at 4:32 PM on July 18

This is probably the simplest Awash solution.
posted by Citizen Premier at 4:45 PM on July 18

Oops. Ok, This is probably the simplest Awash solution.
posted by Citizen Premier at 4:50 PM on July 18

Oh man, I was working hard on a conveyor belt for "four balls" when firefox crashed.
Probably a blessing in disguise, as I really need to take a shower...
posted by Citizen Premier at 5:18 PM on July 18

Now that is a damn fine Flash game. Thanks!
posted by zardoz at 5:33 PM on July 18

Awesome. I thought I wouldn't get through the Junkyard. A thrilling physics game.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 5:54 PM on July 18

My proudest moment today.
posted by DanielDManiel at 6:45 PM on July 18 [2 favorites]

Nice one. I just got to Down Under myself and thought it was easy....until I remembered the blue boundary.
posted by DU at 6:54 PM on July 18

Of course, this is a little simpler.
posted by DU at 7:03 PM on July 18

I finished the second to last with a real monstrosity. I was pretty proud of myself until I saw this one
posted by I Foody at 7:17 PM on July 18 [1 favorite]

Neat link. Thanks. Solutions to all levels here (15th post):

http://www.freegamesnews.com/en/?p=4545
posted by wastelands at 7:20 PM on July 18

buffs fingernails
posted by DU at 7:24 PM on July 18

Ok! Had problems with the stairs and Awash and now stuck on the Big Ball and too tired to continue.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 7:28 PM on July 18

Ha! "Throw it too" is a brilliant solution for Awash.

I am seriously addicted.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 7:37 PM on July 18

Wow. wowowowow. Viewing other players' solutions is half the fun. This is going to kill my spare time.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 7:45 PM on July 18

Thanks DU, supercool stuff.
posted by peeedro at 8:01 PM on July 18

i made a suspension bridge!

this game is way too much fun.
posted by bilgepump at 9:34 PM on July 18 [2 favorites]

bilgepump, that was amazing. I came up with a two layered conveyer belt eventually which got 3 of 4 in there, and I couldn't bother to finish it.

But I didn't even think to use the sticks like that! Bad ass. I knew there was more to this game then I realized.
posted by Alex404 at 10:04 PM on July 18

here's my down under solution
posted by TheJoven at 10:50 PM on July 18

What a fun game. Not easy, at least for my brain, but still fun.
posted by oxford blue at 12:47 AM on July 19

The suspension bridge is awesome. I just made a superlong car that wouldn't tip into the hole.

TheJoven, I like that yours stays in the goal.
posted by DU at 7:41 AM on July 19

It isn't unpossible but I've not yet solved tube. You can stop the fall with the lip, but I've had trouble unfolding up the tube after.
posted by jeffburdges at 12:50 PM on July 19

I've not yet solved tube
I think I lucked out and built something crooked enough to get jammed in.
posted by DanielDManiel at 1:33 PM on July 19

Yeah, I just discovered the lip. And unfolding, I didn't think of that. I was thinking of flinging, but that didn't work. I was hoping to scale the wall somehow.
posted by DU at 4:32 PM on July 19

Too late for anyone to care I'm sure, but I loved this game so thanks for posting!!
I can attest that every level is possible. I did kind of luck out on the tube thingy ... I was testing ideas when one of my ideas fell on an earlier contraption that held the ball and up up and away they went. Here's a hint => |o^o| . (Bigger spoiler: Just make sure you have enough weight to compress the driving wheels against the walls)
posted by forforf at 11:49 AM on July 20

I've been playing with this for two days straight. Thanks, DU. I've started having FC dreams like I used to have Tetris dreams.
posted by gleuschk at 1:44 PM on July 20

I feel stupid. I spent the whole time playing without ever moving the starting location of the block... :doh:
posted by MaHaGoN at 2:28 PM on July 20

I didn't figure that out until several levels in either.

Agreed on the tube, forforf. I tried the o^o idea for a full day until a chance remark by my 9 year old put me onto the right way to attach the weights.

Also: I just finished Unpossible, the last level. NOW WHAT?!? I'm very tempted to pay the $10 to make my own levels and play other people's.
posted by DU at 5:25 PM on July 20

OMG, these are genius.
posted by DU at 7:01 PM on July 20

wow, the same person (definitely not me) made both of these: Woody the Bear, and cow looking thing. mind-blowing.

(and i just realised that my previous suspension bridge was not actually a suspension bridge. so i made a new one.)
posted by bilgepump at 11:38 PM on July 20

The walkers require bendiness, but I'm not clear when the bendiness works. It seems the water sticks are more bendy? Or is it a geometry thing?
posted by DU at 2:59 PM on July 21

DU, thank/curse you for introducing me to this wonderful toy/horrible timesuck.
posted by lekvar at 2:05 PM on July 25