Avoiding the no-map bug: use flash 11.1 and reload/refresh the window after every save point. Do NOT exit to menu, ever. This *should* prevent the no-map-load bug. I say should, because I'm not trying it more than twice. Yes, annoying, but if you are paranoid, you can do it until Arkeus fixes the bug. Alternatively, just do what I do and play straight through for an hour and a half. When bug is fixed, please delete this comment. (provided it ever gets high enough to be read, that is)
Needs a hard badge: Finished with 100% completion in under an hour. I think it is doable, but it'd take actual skill at dodging things and jumping; skill that I don't have. Thus far, I've managed 1:22.
Hints&Tips: 1] Map: click 'help' in lower right hand corner of game 2] Follow numbers on map 3] Get gust immediately after Chill 4]Use *charged* Gust(4) and Spire(6) to kill stuff, or use water (2) as a shotgun 5] use the save points as HEAL points - any time you save, you also heal, so, prioritize touching them over killing things. 6] double jump only works before you start to fall (usually) 7] Pick up powerups whenever you can 8] if you follow the numbers exactly you won't need to backtrack for shards. (if you get Gust early, the last shard is to the left of the Gust lake.) 9] See hvtp's posts below for tips on collecting hearts when health if full. 10] You will lose parts of the map at some point. dunno why, but you do. best to backup your .sol after getting each key, and just before the wizard... where things get wonky
To kill the bosses: Block: go to the right, near the green key, kill the wallflowers, shoot block when it comes nearby (it will never hit you) wizard 1: use spire or gust, charge it, shoot him repeatedly. Ignore everything else, dodge shots, but don't bother killing anything. wizard 2: Kill the spinners(multi-way death thingies), then focus on the wizard. Shock and spire and gust work wonders.Always CHARGE before shooting.
Ok folks, to those who are having major problems figuring out where to go next, click on the 'help' button. Then, just follow the numbers (although, I prefer to get Gust immediately after Chill, because Gust kills things good when charged.) Whenever you see a powerup (speed, jump, heart) get it if you can! This will make sure you have enough to get through the next area (there might be one place you need to backtrack for powerups, but I can't remember.) Try that, hopefully it'll make things easier.
Hey, Arkeus, why don't you tell us what browser/flash/OS version you are running, and I'll see if I can re-create the loading-happening rather than you recreate the loading-failing. Maybe it is a flash bug, maybe it is a saving bug. Let's find out. PM/email me or just reply to this comment if you're game.
The combinations I've tried it on: 64 bit Windows 7 and 32 bit Windows 7, dev channel of Chrome and normal channel of Chrome, Firefox 10, and using both flash player 10.1 (outside of the browser) and 11 (in browser). My main testing set up is Windows 7 x64 + Dev Chrome + Flash Player 11 though.
Got all power ups, boss defeated, golden slime is a smear on my boots, one shard left to pick up and me n' kitty are outta here. Game crashes. Game was updated, apparently. Alright, irritating, but ok. Reload, hit continue, black screen... Ok... wait for it... firefox freezes. Flash crashes. Screams of madness are heard from somewhere nearby and something terrible creeps up beside me. Chrome is loaded, game is loaded, continue is hit... darkness blankets our world and the horror beside me lunges; my game is lost. The evil wizard's manical laughter is heard as I am compelled to hit 'new game.' Two hours of my life are then sucked from me, and devoured by another Flixel game.
For people having trouble with the difficulty in killing enemies: Use either Gust (4) or Spire (6), they shoot fast and hit hard. If you can't aim, use water (2) or shock (5) as shotgun blasts when charged. Finally, don't worry about dying. Except for the top right corner, there are save points everywhere. And with 6+ hearts you can pretty much run from one save to the next without worrying about killing anything. Just suck it up and hunt for more power ups, the entrances are in pretty obvious places throughout.
"Council members, the invaders are acting odd. They avoid grass and trees as if they burned like fire and no matter how many we kill, they never fight back. Ever." 'That makes this easy. Fortify the roads and slay them all. But if you ever let more than 10 or 15 escape, we'll raise them from the dead and make you kill them all again.' "Sirs, this is wrong." 'Look, to unite Tempor you can either fight the invaders or you can fight the thousands of blademasters, wardens, phoenix, magicians, guadians, merchants, and mercenaries.' "...you know, if you put a bounty on the invader's heads, we could get rid of them faster." 'Good thinking! Now go! Unite Tempor, our champion!'
On trading posts: Trading posts require 7 waves to turn a profit (add 1 if upgraded), 6 if you have maxed "Mind for War" or built on a gem mine, and 5 if you have both. Upgrades take 5 turns to make a profit (always). So, upgrade them until the final 5 waves for maximum end gold. Subsequent outposts require (with upgrades; plain/skill /gem+skill): 19/16/14 and ~44/39/35 (estimated because I didn't check how many levels they gain after wave 18; I believe one at 30.) Anything past 3 outposts won't give profit for the length of any map. Barracks INCREASE the time required to profit by ~5, 3, and -4 to -7 waves for 1, 2, and 3 outposts respectively. So barracks only help if you build it before your first trading post, and you have at least 30-40 waves of 'earning time' for the third outpost. Of course, by the time you get trading posts and barracks, they are already a waste of gold to build since, by that point, your champion is pretty much able to clear maps alone.
I like this game. It rocks. However, there are a few things that would be much appreciated: 1) Reduction in visual clutter. The shiny effect of his shield, the way cards & area titles obliterate your view, and seizure-inducing menu items that disappear and appear without warning detract from an otherwise awesome game. Similarly, the leveling is screwey. There is no difficulty increase (that I noticed) between areas. Birds (the annoying things) are incredibly frequent from day 1. Also, I find I need to quests repeatedly since I outstrip the game's pace and the rewards are pitiful in comparison to just flying around. It might be better just to have them be achievements with no reward associated. Other than those few things, awesome game and kickin' music.
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The combinations I've tried it on: 64 bit Windows 7 and 32 bit Windows 7, dev channel of Chrome and normal channel of Chrome, Firefox 10, and using both flash player 10.1 (outside of the browser) and 11 (in browser). My main testing set up is Windows 7 x64 + Dev Chrome + Flash Player 11 though.