Feedback and pictures from the testers

[prodigy]

I have got information that RU-TEST-3 is the Discord user "Crazy" and he has solved it now. I have not heard if there are any problems or not with the puzzle or if it worked as intended. Please add information here if you have any.

[prodigy]

I have received more information now so here is some feedback from Crazy:

I really like ruby, and I highly recommend it. I solved the puzzle in about 90 minutes. I do not know my exact time, since I wasn’t timing it.

In terms of difficulty, if Revo HQ thinks that this puzzle is a 95/100, then I strongly disagree. They are claiming that this puzzle is more difficult than Silver, and in the ranks of Lime and Handmade. I don’t think that is the case. Now, the main thing is that difficulty is relative. I am going into ruby with knowledge on every other Revomaze in existence, and am familiar with every trick Chris has ever designed and produced. So while new challenges are just that, new, I still have the ability to draw from previous experiences to quickly work out what and what is not possible. If I were to assign a numerical rating to this puzzle, I would probably give it a 70 or 75 on the Revo scale.

In terms of overall design, the puzzle is focused around its main feature. I don’t think it is possible to “accidentally” solve this one, and that to get to the end, you’d have to have a pretty good theory on how to get there.

For my solve experience, when I first encountered the main feature of this puzzle, I had such a big grin on my face thinking about how to best tackle a certain challenge. However, my initial thought wasn’t quite right. As the solve went on, I was very quick to pick up on exactly what was going on, and I was able to form a theory and it was exactly spot on, allowing me to solve the puzzle relatively quickly.

[zakatak]

RU-TEST-2 is open as well

[prodigy]

Congrats (I have added you to the open area)! Sounds great. I hope to read some feedback here soon!

Did you find any problems with the maze? Do you think Chris should do any changes?

[zakatak]

No problems at all. I do think there are some things that should change.

[prodigy]

Some feedback from zakatak:

Took me about 5.5 hours. Definitely not Lemon.

Just finished mapping Ruby and looked at the core. Wow. Chris Pitt is doing some really complex machining. I'm impressed. This is a good thing for when he gets around to making Lemon. Future mazes may potentially have some really complex stuff going on in there.

So far no issues to report. Everything is working as expected except for one curiosity… I can tell Chris Pitt put a lot of care into this one.

[bluedot99]

RU-TEST-2 is open as well

Great job! I like the nice spoiler-free review of yours that prodigy posted too, thanks for sharing it here for us!

It’s encouraging to know that maybe new ideas and options will be possible going forward, since it seems new engendering/machining is happening that Chris didn’t have before

[zakatak]

I think Ruby is an ok Revo if you go into it thinking it is a mid tier intermediate Revo. You will be disappointed if you think it is advanced. I think it fits in between Green and Mint/Titanium. Has a lot of potential to be hard. Can't really go into why without spoilers.

[prodigy]

Some good news from the tester "Crazy":

As a Ruby tester, I wanted to provide some updates from HQ. Both zakatak and I gave rather critical feedback regarding Ruby. Our feedback stemmed from two sources of concern. The first is that the puzzle is not nearly as difficult as advertised (95/100). The second is that there is a lot of wasted potential with this maze, which I referred to as “wasted space”.

I am pleased to say that HQ appears to have been receptive to our feedback and have made changes to the actual design of the puzzle. To quote Sophia,
“After receiving feedback from you and other testers Josh and Chris have made some changes to Ruby. Since we know the mechanism works as it should we will only be testing this version in-house.”

I can confidently say that both zakatak and I were impressed with and loved the original main feature of this puzzle. However, we both want this puzzle to live up to more than it currently is; we want to provide this community with the best puzzling experience possible. The bulk of my feedback suggested reworking major parts of the maze’s design in order to capitalize on what this maze has accomplished thus far, and amend the areas it falls short.

Despite not being able to test a playable prototype, Revo HQ has elected to share their updated changes to the maze design with the testers. They are allowing us the choice to either examine the new design, or remain unspoiled for the final version.

Although I would like to experience the new design changes blind, my ultimate goal is to be the voice of the community and push for the best puzzle experience possible. I can happily say that I really like the changes I am seeing. I do think that HQ took my feedback to heart and made significant changes. I will be reviewing and discussing these changes with HQ to ensure that these changes lead to a great (and more difficult) puzzle experience for everyone.

My goal was to review the changes that HQ proposed, and add further refinements and changes in order to create a design with elevated difficulty that would truly live up to a 95/100 rating. I am very happy with the final design I have come up with, so I dearly hope that Revo HQ will adopt my changes, and I hope that the community can trust that I am making these edits with the best intention to create a unique and truly difficulty puzzle experience.

[prodigy]

Ruby Version 2 has been sent out to the testers today.