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Parallux v1.1

This bundle is marked as high quality. It exceeds standards and is highly desirable.
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Description
When too many souls are caught between the veil and left in disarray, a shepherd is sent forth to weave through the darkness and guide these radiant spirits to their rightful place.

Gameplay
Parallux is a single player puzzle map. It contains approximately 40 minutes of continuous puzzles to solve in which only arrow keys are used to move around. The environment gradually shifts along with the difficulty of its puzzles throughout the game's 16 levels.

There are no quests, no dialog, no combat, and no spells to cast. You simply use logic and persistence to tackle each puzzle as they grow and become more intricate. Each level requires colored souls to complete. There are also bonus white souls with hidden paths to them with a use at the end of the game.



Changelog

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1.1 (Latest)

1.0


Version 1.1

  • Added Speeder Pads - Movement was obviously too slow in 1.0, so I tried coming up with another way to increase movement and spice it up more in general. Speeder pads have no cooldown and double movement speed for 4 seconds when walked on. They can be found on every level after level 1 and are typically used to pave over the longer stretches of walking the player would have had to do in 1.0.

  • Increased Default Move Speed by 33% - Since movement is game length in this map, the increase in speed has dropped the total puzzle time required from just over an hour down to about 40 minutes. I'm hoping the removal of the extra "fluff" will make getting to the end more tolerable.

  • Increased Platform Visibility

  • Added Level Completion Markers - I'm not too sure if I'm happy with the braziers as they are, so I may replace them with something else in a future update. At least it's more clear where the end of the levels are for now.

  • Removed Timer Pad Cooldown - Timers were another thing that could hinder progress if the player would have to wait for them to finish in order to use them again. Now time can be reset to maximum by walking over the pad again regardless of the amount of time left.


Version 1.0 was submitted to Mini-Mapping Contest #13: Ghastly Realm, and it was the first public version.


Credits

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Models

Sounds

Music


Elenai:
Hero Archmaiden

Talavaj:
S&S Modular Shire (Pack)

Fingolfin:
Felucian Flora (Pack)

Born²Modificate:
Gravestones

eubz:
Grass on Stone

WindexIsBack:
TV

Carrington2k:
Firefly

Geries:
Stone Fence

Kuhneghetz:
Light Feather



Robinhood76:
Water Drops

jorickhoofd:
Tiny Pebble

Unaxete:
Mystery Chime

Glaneur de sons:
Electric Woosh

heyim89yearsold:
Glass

BMacZero:
Rattle

annabloom:
Jarjarbooz

Runnerpack:
Flipper

FoolBoyMedia:
Tick-Tock

Daphne_in_Wonderland:
Ding

unfa:
Projectile Hit

ejfortin:
Energy Gloves
Energy Short Sword
Dual Energy Daggers


urupin:
Mysterious Disappearance

JeremySykes:
Electricity

barrygusey:
Wind Storm



Stellardrone:
Penumbra
Maia Nebula
Stardome
Rendezvous With Rama
Eternity

Endeavour


Miscellaneous

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Future Updates

Current Known Issues


I'm more than happy to hear ideas about making the environment more dynamic (as suggested by IcemanBo). I was thinking about including more events in other levels like the tornadoes in levels 13-15, and they would actually affect the player instead of just being scenery.


Level 9 causes the player to veer off the path slightly the longer the player is in the area. I'm not too sure why it happens, but I may have made it worse when I implemented speeder pads. I know why speeder pads can cause it gradually over time, but I'm stumped about what's caused the movement offset in level 9 even before the pads were added.

Contents

Parallux v1.1 (Map)

Reviews
Rufus
Approved. A really cool design! I love those puzzly maps. If you want more reviews, try joining the Grand Review Exchange.
Level 3
Joined
Nov 23, 2016
Messages
48
I finished the map, I don't know how long I took though, there wasn't a scoreboard when I finished all 15 + 1 credits levels. I'm the type that likes puzzles(Difficult ones), so I like this map a lot ^^. Probably 5/5 for me.

Edit:Only managed to get 2 bonus white souls, I had no idea they were accessible until stage 11 by pure accident, I thought it was a bug...
 
Last edited:
Level 25
Joined
Aug 13, 2011
Messages
739
There are six, one for each platform at the end. And thank you.

The next version will have platforms branching out from white souls which fades off about halfway through and hints at the direction of where the path might start.
 
Level 12
Joined
Mar 21, 2008
Messages
358
There are six, one for each platform at the end. And thank you.

The next version will have platforms branching out from white souls which fades off about halfway through and hints at the direction of where the path might start.

I actually already found all six white souls by the time I made that comment tbh, I just thought I was missing something because dropping off the 6 white souls seemingly does nothing??

I also noticed on stage 16 there are those weird inaccessible areas that I had no idea how to get to, am I missing something here or what :vw_wtf:
 
Level 25
Joined
Aug 13, 2011
Messages
739
Ah, so I guess the white souls aren't too hard to find if someone knows to keep an eye out for them. Nice job getting them all :prazz:

The inaccessible areas in the final level are meant to be like mirrored versions of the area you can walk. It's supposed to convey that there are others doing the same thing you did, and the feathers are what start new journeys.
 
Level 3
Joined
Nov 23, 2016
Messages
48
Ah, so I guess the white souls aren't too hard to find if someone knows to keep an eye out for them. Nice job getting them all :prazz:

The inaccessible areas in the final level are meant to be like mirrored versions of the area you can walk. It's supposed to convey that there are others doing the same thing you did, and the feathers are what start new journeys.
So thats what the feather is at the start of the game :)
 

deepstrasz

Map Reviewer
Level 68
Joined
Jun 4, 2009
Messages
18,680
Proof that violence should not be the fun factor of a game.
Absolutely atmospheric.
Sometimes the control become annoying especially when on speed.
I was expecting the last level 16/credits to be the hardest.
Loading does not work... it crashes the game.

4/5.
 

deepstrasz

Map Reviewer
Level 68
Joined
Jun 4, 2009
Messages
18,680
I haven't come across this issue yet. Do you remember which level you were on when you saved, and are you using the most recent version of Warcraft 3?
Yes, I'm using the latest patch.
I was on the last level and saved/overwritten my save file after or before unlocking the gate (square with a key on in front of a monitor).
Saving from the beginning and loading works.
I hope it's not a memory issue.

--------------------------------------------------------

EDIT: 5/5. Not everybody encountered the bug, so it might be something on my end.
 
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Level 32
Joined
Apr 2, 2013
Messages
3,953
Parallex, as deepstrasz described, is proof that you don't need violence or constant action to create a great map. The visuals are amazing yet easy on the eye causing for a great sci-fi dream-like atmosphere. The mechanics of the game mostly works smoothly; with any wc3 arrow-key game there's bound to be delay, but this game works a lot smoother than others of its type. The gameplay takes the cake for both being relaxing yet at times intense, especially on timed objectives. All of these aspects of Parallex makes it so it feels very rewarding when completing each level. Great job on that.

I didn't test any of the save game mechanics but even if it had some minor issues, it wouldn't bring down my rating much.

5/5
 
Level 10
Joined
Dec 11, 2009
Messages
234
It was definitely more that 40 minutes.
Got 5 white souls, ugh!

Controls don't really suit the isometric camera, you kinda have to tilt your head to the right.
And the character speed is too slow, it could be x2 faster.

Red objects are confusing, I think there should be another color for inactive objects (or just switch this new color with red).

Levels are too close to each other, which adds to confusion.

Later levels are way too dark, which combined with transparent tiles confuses even more and hurts my eyes.

In Level 13 you can definitely get trapped by accident (which happened to me, good thing that I saved on that level). After that you can't get back to "rotating" section.
I'm pretty sure the same could happen in Level 14.

And also, cursor disappears from WC3 after exiting the map.
 
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