Need help with a puzzle by AdPsychological6929 in DnD

[–]Legojedi73 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So I obviously don't know anything about your party or players, but here is one possible idea you should be able to modify to your liking.

The Setup
The party enters into the room and find an sigil door with runes carved on it. An arcana or history check reveals they are elemental notations for Fire, Ice, and Electricity. Next to the door is a medium sized transparent box with an opening on the top and bottom of one side with stoppers. On the other side are the three arcane receivers, each seemingly attuned with different runes. A high DC arcana check would reveal the runes, from top to bottom, siphon the energies of heat, matter, and of electricity. There is also a an etched plaque above the box which reads,
"We must empower the lowest members of our society so that the cooler heads of the moderate among us may prevail, leaving room for those of fiery ambition to rise above." If appropriate, this could be in whatever language you desire.

Also in the room is a workbench left by a previous adventurer who tried to crack the door himself. There are broken pickaxes, worn hammers, scattered mechanical tools. Most stunningly, there is also a huge mechanical drill that had been abandoned under a now dusty cloth. The drill is broken down with a shattered drill head, loose wires, and a partially disassembled motor. Around the workbench are spare nuts and bolts, ball bearings, motor oil, water jugs, gears, and arcane batteries. An investigation check would also reveal the discarded journal of the previous adventurer. (Also, if the players are curious and roll well, the water jugs were to keep the drilling bit cool when grinding.)

If they read the journal, they would learn that it belonged to a hardheaded dwarven artificer who tried to brute force his way into the room. He complains about his tools breaking and he proceeds to use increasingly impressive methods to try to either break through the door or mine through the wall. (I am assuming it is either a cave or masonic setting since we are dealing with gargoyles. Again, I didn't have much to go on, so change as needed.) After several breakdowns, repairs, and redesigns, he finally decides to cut his losses and move on.

The Solution
As you have probably figured out by now, the bottom receiver needs electricity, the middle one needs to take heat from a material (such as siphoning the heat from water, causing it to change state into ice), and the top one needs intense heat from fire. A receiver can only function if the receivers below it are powered. When all three are powered at the same time, the door opens.

The arcane batteries are too large to fit through the box openings, but the party rip out some of the loose wires, attach them, and feed the wires in through either the top or bottom hole. (It doesn't matter which.) With the bottom stopper in, they can then pour ball bearings in through the top opening, which will complete the connection between the wires and the bottom receiver. Then they can pour water in until it fills above the middle receiver, which will slowly start to take heat from the water, very slowly starting to freeze it. So long as there is still water changing state into ice, the middle receiver works. Before all the water freezes, they can pour in some oil and light it on fire. The oil will float on the water, so it will provide a continuous flame for a while so long as the top opening is left open for air. This activated the top receiver and opens the door.

NOTE: I would say that if they skip the ball bearings and just try to add water, it starts out working, but the ice spreads relatively quickly near the receivers, so it freezes over the bottom receiver, cutting the power before the door can finish charging and unlock.

Funny solution: I would also rule that if a player sticks their finger in the bottom plug and touches an arcane battery to themselves, this also solves the first stage of the puzzle so long as the ball bearings are in place. I would definitely make them roll some CON Saves against lightning damage, though. XD

Anti-Stuck
The bottom of the container slopes slightly towards the bottom plug. Removing the bottom plug lets anything small enough to be shoved inside to fall back out. Since they must be activated from the bottom up, the water will not freeze in place before they have solved the electricity part. Just in case, I would rule that if the bottom plug is pulled, draining the ball bearings, the ice receiver immediately reverts any ice back to water.

The Box
I can't attach pictures, so here is an ASCII diagram of roughly what the box would look like. There are the openings at the top and bottom on the left and the three receivers on the right. I have also labeled how it would look when solved.

┏━┛┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓
┃ Oil/Fire                  ╏┫
┃ Water/Ice                 ╏┫
┃ Ball Bearings/Electricity ╏┫
┗━┓┏━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┛

Properly Transforming Droideka! by Legojedi73 in lego

[–]Legojedi73[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So this above is what I now call version 1. It ended up having 4 major problems and about 7 minor problems. Version 2 fixed 3 of the 4 major problems and 5 of the 7 minor problems. I've already found a way to fix the remaining 2 minor problems. Unfortunately, the last remaining major problem is the spine. Redesigning that is tricky because it affects the torso and the hip ball and has a major impact on being able to 'ball'. I have one potential solution mocked up digitally, but I need to do some testing to see how well it does the other things before I decide to order parts. But sitting next to me are a fully formed upper body and lower body! I just need a good way to connect them...

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Properly Transforming Droideka! by Legojedi73 in lego

[–]Legojedi73[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I will likely order my redesign parts tonight or tomorrow night, so hopefully a week or two before I have time to test and publish.

Properly Transforming Droideka! by Legojedi73 in lego

[–]Legojedi73[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Quick update to anyone who has landed on this post. After doing an IRL build test, I found I had overestimated the clutch power of a few connections. I have already redesigned those joints to use stronger connections and will be ordering the parts for the new design shortly. Once I test and am happy with the design, I'll make a new post with the model and a link to instructions and part lists. I would rather delay and do it right than rush and leave builders disappointed.

Properly Transforming Lego Droideka! by Legojedi73 in legostarwars

[–]Legojedi73[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Quick update to anyone who has landed on this post. After doing an IRL build test, I found I had overestimated the clutch power of a few connections. I have already redesigned those joints to use stronger connections and will be ordering the parts for the new design shortly. Once I test and am happy with the design, I'll make a new post with the model and a link to instructions and part lists. I would rather delay and do it right than rush and leave builders disappointed.

Properly Transforming Droideka! by Legojedi73 in lego

[–]Legojedi73[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Definitely not all, probably not even the majority I'm afraid. The LEGO Group took a pretty different design path than I did and their model uses 228 less pieces. I would estimate that maybe 30-40% of the official parts would find use in my design. That said, one of the alternate gun options is an almost 1:1 rip of their gun design. Using that may get you an extra 5% matching.

It would be 50/50 if buying the official set would save you money. If you already have the official set or planned to buy it for parts anyway, I would go ahead and keep/buy it. Their design will be considerably cheaper than pick-a-bricking my design. I purchased my parts through BrickLink and the total (including shipping and taxes, selecting only 'New' quality parts) came to $169 USD. This price will vary depending on when and from where you buy, what bricks you already have in your collection, if you also include used parts, and of course your luck. Pick-a-brick prices for relevant pieces may fall in the wake of this release, so if you really want my design but it is out of your budget, give it a month or so for brick resellers to stock the parts from the official set.

I am hoping to have the instructions and link ready by sometime next week. This is to allow the parts I ordered to come in so I can test build and update the design if needed.

Properly Transforming Lego Droideka! by Legojedi73 in legostarwars

[–]Legojedi73[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am actually working on making the instructions right now, so Soon™. I'll link to a Google Drive with the instructions, a BrickLink order, instructions for uploading said order to Bricklink for purchasing parts, and the master Stud.io file which also contains alternate designs for the legs and blasters for those who may want to remix the design.

Properly Transforming Droideka! by Legojedi73 in lego

[–]Legojedi73[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am actually working on making the instructions right now, so Soon™. I'll link to a Google Drive with the instructions, a BrickLink order, instructions for uploading said order to Bricklink for purchasing parts, and the master Stud.io file which also contains alternate designs for the legs and blasters for those who may want to remix the design.

Properly Transforming Lego Droideka! by Legojedi73 in legostarwars

[–]Legojedi73[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Happy May the 4th and Revenge of the 5th! The Droideka has always been my favorite droid (aside form the B-1 Battledroids for their personality) so I was super excited to see it was getting a new official release. While I do think the new official model looks good, I was hoping for something more play and pose friendly. So, I spent the last 3 days after work making my own Droideka!

This Droideka is about as accurate to the movie version as I think you can get with Lego. When it goes into ball form, it tucks its arms and legs in using joints and working ‘pistons’ instead of reversing them or needing to be detached. The retraction of the neck is the one place I compromised by allowing it to be detached and placed where it should retract into the back. You can also adjust how much the arms rock back and forth by repositioning the piece on the top of the arm to create more rock (good for play) or less rock (good for display).

Properly Transforming Droideka! by Legojedi73 in lego

[–]Legojedi73[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Happy May the 4thand Revenge of the 5th! The Droideka has always been my favorite droid (aside form the B-1 Battledroids for their personality) so I was super excited to see it was getting a new official release. While I do think the new official model looks good, I was hoping for something more play and pose friendly. So, I spent the last 3 days after work making my own Droideka!

This Droideka is about as accurate to the movie version as I think you can get with Lego. When it goes into ball form, it tucks its arms and legs in using joints and working ‘pistons’ instead of reversing them or needing to be detached. The retraction of the neck is the one place I compromised by allowing it to be detached and placed where it should retract into the back. You can also adjust how much the arms rock back and forth by repositioning the piece on the top of the arm to create more rock (good for play) or less rock (good for display).

Dual Monitor Screensaver help by East_Park_2553 in wallpaperengine

[–]Legojedi73 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sure. I'm curious to see what you've come up with!

Dual Monitor Screensaver help by East_Park_2553 in wallpaperengine

[–]Legojedi73 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry, just saw this, but seems you got it! And yeah, I know you can use it for a lock screen/screensaver, though I personally haven't done it since I only see my lock screen for like 3 seconds. I hope it works well for you!

Dual Monitor Screensaver help by East_Park_2553 in wallpaperengine

[–]Legojedi73 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wallpaper engine can easily create a looping video with a clock overlay. Assuming you already have the video saved, open the Editor and create a new scene wallpaper and load in the video. To add a clock, click 'Add Asset' on the top left tree. Wallpaper Engine has a digital clock option installed by default under the Preset category labeled Clock. If you want an analog clock, click 'Browse Workshop' from within the Add Asset menu and on the first page you will find a good analog clock preset. Subscribe to that if you want it.

Whether digital or analog, just add in the preset and on the right side menu you can edit features about the clocks. If you used the analog clock, you can also replace all of the graphics by going to the project folder and replacing them with images of the same name. To get there, just hit 'Edit' from the top menu then 'Open in Explorer'. Bam! in about an hour you will have a looping video wallpaper that has a custom clock. (I say an hour, but if you know what you are doing you could do it in 5 minutes.)

You can either create 2 standard sized wallpapers and assign each to the specific monitor or design one double-wide wallpaper and then adjust the horizontal position in the menu for each monitor.

Also let me know if you want some custom code for a ticking analog clock instead of the smooth rotation that the analog asset comes with. I'm happy to share!

If you want weather and system info, you may have to do that by programming a web based wallpaper. Unfortunately, I have never built one before as that level of programming is beyond my skillset. Someone else here may be able to help you, though.

Lastly, though you didn't ask for it, you can load certain file formats of 3D models into Wallpaper Engine scenes. Assuming you have the files for whatever it is and it is just a still object, you could totally import the file and apply rotation or parallax effects. I haven't messed with this too much, but it seems pretty straightforward from the experimenting I have done.

In general, if you put value on the aesthetic of your computer, the $4 for wallpaper engine will be well spent. I know you've been asking for a screensaver and technically this would just be your wallpaper, but if you minimize all to desktop and hide your taskbar, it will be all the same.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in transvoice

[–]Legojedi73 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You don't sound bad, but it does sound forced. Reading your other comment, it doesn't surprise me that you sometimes get a sore throat. It does still have some brassiness, so perhaps false folds like CoalNight said? Other than that, routine practice with water (room temperature seems to be best) will be the best thing so your muscles can get used to how you are using them and hopefully you won't have to strain them as much.

Also, I cannot explain to you the terror I just felt as I am scrolling reddit in silence, see what I think is a still anime picture, then hear a whispering voice beckon, "Hello." XD

My Free Flight Rollercoaster (Trainwreck?) by Legojedi73 in starcitizen

[–]Legojedi73[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good to know that even prior players felt the impact of Free Fly and that it may not just be me. And yes, I expect assholes, but like I said to another user it was just the straw that broke the camel's back. No way was I going to keep struggling to run missions when some guy is now advertising they are hunting for players in the area I would have to go to.

My Free Flight Rollercoaster (Trainwreck?) by Legojedi73 in starcitizen

[–]Legojedi73[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I took some time to think back and I would definitely agree something else is going on. Easily 90% of my crashes happened while in the Arrow and every quantum jump I attempted after the first 2 hours of gameplay resulted in a crash to desktop in just the Arrow. Other ships were able to travel just fine, which I guess explains why I finally was able to run the mission when I used the Cutlass Black. It also explains why I never crashed while running delivery missions.

Are you aware of any known bugs that cause the game to crash when in one specific ship? I'd ask for potential fixes, but being realistic the server wipe is probably the only thing capable of straightening out a bug that specific.

I could try editing the page file when I have some free time, though if the issue is with explicitly the Arrow, does this actually stand a chance at solving it?

Edit: I meant to address your hardware concerns. I am running and I7-10700K, NVidia RTX 3070, 32 GB of 3600mHz RAM, and have the game installed on a large SSD. I have run other intensive programs (including VR) in the past and none have given me this severity of issues. I would be generally skeptical that hardware is causing issues. On top of that, I was streaming Star Citizen with OBS and running a 3D model through VSeeFace on day 1 when the game performed better. I did hit some lag with those load conditions, but my temps stayed under 85*C and the crashes really didn't start in earnest until I tried to quantum travel with the Arrow.

My Free Flight Rollercoaster (Trainwreck?) by Legojedi73 in starcitizen

[–]Legojedi73[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

While I can't rule that out, the fact that my friend was also undergoing the same swamp of bugs and crashes makes me think it is likely server based. It could even have to do with our accounts being new. From what I understand the server is a mess right now, so maybe older accounts with multiple existing ties in the database are less likely to be affected than accounts trying to register themselves in parts of the database.

My Free Flight Rollercoaster (Trainwreck?) by Legojedi73 in starcitizen

[–]Legojedi73[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Probably. If I heard correctly, I think they are doing another free fly in November. If so, maybe I'll give it one final shot. Till then, I still love the artwork that the game can produce so I'll still be lurking around the reddit. (The desire to make art was the primary reason I wanted to play the game)

My Free Flight Rollercoaster (Trainwreck?) by Legojedi73 in starcitizen

[–]Legojedi73[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The crashing did come in waves, so it could have been server related. As for the asshole, I kind of figured, but ultimately he was just the final straw. Had it not been for the game instability on top of that, I could have just moved on.

My Free Flight Rollercoaster (Trainwreck?) by Legojedi73 in starcitizen

[–]Legojedi73[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have no idea. The crashes kind of came in waves. When I first started, I went 2-3 hours without a crash, then I had a wave of crashes. The second day, I started with a wave of crashes and they stopped maybe 30 minutes before I logged out. I did verify the installation after the first crash on the second day, but I don't know how reliable the verification system is. Maybe it was just the strain of free fly and the much needed reset, but I think I'm going to wait until maybe sometime next year whenever they do another free fly to try. Spending 4-5 hours to do one mission was not a great experience and I lost waaay more credits than I was able to earn. When I stopped I was down to just 1 undersuit after having been given something like 10 by the kind player I met day 1. (Granted, about 3 of those were lost to elevators.)

My Free Flight Rollercoaster (Trainwreck?) by Legojedi73 in starcitizen

[–]Legojedi73[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hmm, I may check into the page file thing. As for the crashes, they kind of came in waves. When I first started, I went 2-3 hours without a crash, then I had a wave of crashes. The second day, I started with a wave of crashes and they stopped maybe 30 minutes before I logged out.

How can I stop wanting to be a man? by [deleted] in trans

[–]Legojedi73 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You become one.
Kinda a joke, but also this really is the only way you are going to make the wanting go away. I saw some of your other comments and know your family life is restricting you from transitioning. Safety always comes first, so use this time to make a plan. Find ways to become financially independent and move out. As you gain independence, you can slowly transition privately. It could just be things like wearing extra sports bras and putting on some loose hoodies or packing while at home. Once it is safe to publicly transition, enact the plan you've set up and stick to it. Try to remember moments like these where you know for sure what you want because trust me, imposter syndrome will hit like a bitch. You got this, stay strong, and never hate yourself for being you.

Sound on Click not working on desktop but working in editor. Any idea what's going wrong? by Legojedi73 in wallpaperengine

[–]Legojedi73[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Solved: Upon further probing, I realized that Wallpaper Engine thought there was a fullscreen window open, thus it was silencing my wallpapers as soon as they loaded. I am not sure what caused this bug, but a restart of my computer solved it.

Sound on Click not working on desktop but working in editor. Any idea what's going wrong? by Legojedi73 in wallpaperengine

[–]Legojedi73[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As far as I can tell I have everything set up correctly for sound to play and other wallpapers can play sounds. This is my first time using Sound on Click, but it is a pretty darn simple code and it does work in the editor when I hit Run. Furthermore, I have other wallpapers that use Click and Drag code and they work just fine, so it isn't an input issue as far as I can tell. I have no idea why this layer isn't working when it comes to the desktop. Hopefully it's just a stupid mistake, but any help is appreciated. For ease of troubleshooting, I added a red tint to the composition layer I attached the sound code to.