Turns out that the rates from my spreadsheet is 3% slower than the rates provided by the accountants. Can't find out where my calculations gone wrong...
Believe me or not, my grinding process is not that excessive... the key is to stay focused, and only upgrade the spikes and the magnet. The hard badge can be acquired in 10 hours of game time this way.
bug report: in level 24, if the button for the moving platform are pressed again before the platforms reaches the designated position after a first pressing, the platforms will not reach the intended position, but moves by a fixed distance instead, which leads to the platforms being out of position.
I would say the essence for beating later levels is to keep moving and DO NOT STOP except for the first second. Also dying for making the invisible walls visible is good game design.
While the concept of the game is original, and the feel of the game is pleasant before the very end, I do not like some of the underlying message that the game tries to convey, particularly the gravestone that taunts "curious" people. The edge of religiosity of the game makes me feel uneasy. Perhaps I am being over-sensitive, but still...
the game would be more enjoyable if there is a feature to group points together and make them move simultaneously--sometimes it is frustrating to move 5 or 6 points together to some other position yet scrambling their internal pattern, forcing me to work on them again...
one more tip for those who want to get the hard badge: upgrade your left/right rocket (but not both) as soon as possible, and keep your speed to the left(right) at maximum, disregarding any coin/platform distribution. This greatly increases your income, as you will cut across the largest area. I got more than $4k on day 2 using this method
one small tip for rouges...if you are exploring a dungeon, bring BOTH the shield and the shiv. At each encounter, start with the shield, and shift to shiv after being reduced to your normal HP level (the level without shield boost). Then you can enjoy the benefits of both offhand items (+HP,+agility). This can make a huge difference with fully upgraded cheap shot, when holding off enemy attack for 10 seconds is crucial for victory