Shivers Part #8 - Ixupi Must Be in the Monstrous Manual 8

Part 8: Ixupi Must Be in the Monstrous Manual 8

Everyone gone and replaced their monitors? Excellent. Let's continue.

So the problem with the pinball game is that each position launches the ball by a different amount and (in some cases) a different direction. There is no way of determining this short of actually flipping the ball.

Plus, for many of the paths, the path is often one-way. Launching a ball into a space does not guarantee that you can get it back easily.

This all makes trial and error really annoying.

But I've seen a lot of puzzles over the years, and I enjoy math and logic puzzles quite a bit, so I endeavored to try and map it out.

I wanted to see if I could 'see' the math behind the pathing, and determine a nice logical answer without just flipping balls around randomly.

Because, man, would that be elegant. And I'd enjoy explaining the math behind it!

I was so pleased with myself.

I tried it for awhile, drawing out all the paths, and then looking at it.

I put my mind in the game, tried to 'see' the logic.

A serious mathematician could maybe do this.

I am not a serious mathematician.

I'm in engineering.

Engineering does appreciate elegant solves.

Engineering also values efficiency.

Efficiency is not flipping balls around for 2 hours.

Efficiency is figuring out who else flipped around balls for 2 hours, and then learning from his effort.

Because while I do have somewhat of a puzzle ego at this point...

...I really don't need to flip balls around for 2 hours to validate it.

Seriously.

FUCK this puzzle.

...

(I'm...I'm gonna go get a tub of Ben & Jerry's and a Sudoku book now.)

(I'll be back.)

Solving the pinball puzzle opens up the human door.

Which leads to Escher hell.

There's a pot on the ground, though!

We found the Sand pot!

* Fire: unknown
* Water: unknown
* Wax: Statue in museum library
* Ash: unknown
* Lightning: unknown
* Cloth: unknown
* Metal: unknown
* Wood: unknown
* Crystal: Cabinet in Windlenot's workshop. READY FOR DEPLOYMENT.
* Sand: Puzzle room, inside human door.
* Tar: unknown
* Jade: GONE. Ate Merrick.
* Stone: GONE. Ate Windlenot.

...But it doesn't fit with the bull talisman, so it looks like I...have to leave it behind.

There is another exit out of here.

It's not opening yet. It looks like we'll have to come back after we visit more exhibits.

Out.

Now.

Fuck that place.

Back in the comparitively normal inventions exhibit, it turns out there's another door we haven't explored yet.

And we have found ourselves at the alien conspiracy theory disco.

There is Ixupi music playing everywhere in here, so we need to be careful.

There's a panel on the wall, covered in symbols. Thankfully, we've already seen these symbols in the library book.

The bars on the left depress as we complete the sequences correctly.

Inputting the correct combination opens the hull of the flying saucer, to reveal another pot!

* Fire: unknown
* Water: unknown
* Wax: Statue in museum library
* Ash: unknown
* Lightning: unknown
* Cloth: unknown
* Metal: unknown
* Wood: unknown
* Crystal: Cabinet in Windlenot's workshop. READY FOR DEPLOYMENT.
* Sand: Puzzle room, inside human door.
* Tar: Planetarium, inside flying saucer.
* Jade: GONE. Ate Merrick.
* Stone: GONE. Ate Windlenot.

We passed a Polaroid camera on the floor, on the way to the pot. There's a photo ready. I wonder what's on it?

Oh.

Well, what else is in this room?

'Spaceman suit', check.

Stonehenge model (currently housing an angry lightning spirit that wants to eat me), check.

Obvious planets puzzle that's been telegraphed to hell, yet I pass over because I'm too

to activate it correctly, check.

Alright, we're good! Let's get out of here.

We descend from the stars into 'Employees Only' territory.

We've found a supply closet. Pay no attention to the sentient bundle of cloth (that also wants to kill me.)

There's a toilet back here. Our character shouldn't need it. After the puzzle gauntlet, he has doubtless already relieved himself on his own leg.

There's a pegasus faintly visible through the door. Seems as good a place to go as any.

And we've discovered the LARP room.

I am not wearing anywhere near enough white makeup for this.

Hidden amongst the werewolf statues, there's a rotating skull wheel. We set it to the color indicated on the museum brochure, then move on.

...Really not doing much to contradict my LARP joke, are you, game?

In a word, no.

(On the serious side, there is an interesting article regarding where the 'single eyed' aspect of the myth may have originated from here.)