Spelunky Catch-all (Spelunky HD now on Steam!)

That's weird. My computer recognizes the game pad, sees it in calibration and testing, but no games see it. Instead they seem to be looking to my Saitek Cyborg Evo. Is there a way to change the priority of control pads?

I found this bit of software called Pinnacle, which works well when it works but is a little too complicated and confusing to be what I'd consider "plug-and-play." I'm sure it's really powerful once you're familiar with it. Also, $20 to register. I can't find a way to simply create a generic control profile for it. Instead, you need to link it to a specific game that it'll try to detect (and even launch, if you let it). In theory you could get to a point where it's completely automated, loading up profiles in the background whenever you load a game, etc., but in practice I'd rather it be like my n52 and let me take care of that on my own. One little glitch, the first time I got to a shopkeeper I found that all of my mapped buttons worked except for one, which was purchase. I ended up stabbing him with a machete and he'd splattered me all over the far wall before I knew what happened. Whoops.

Great little game, though. The gamepad makes a huge difference.

That's weird. My computer recognizes the game pad, sees it in calibration and testing, but no games see it. Instead they seem to be looking to my Saitek Cyborg Evo. Is there a way to change the priority of control pads?

I've had this problem before with multiple USB controllers connected. Unfortunately I never discovered a solution beyond unplugging all but the controller I wanted to use.

syndicatedragon wrote:
That's weird. My computer recognizes the game pad, sees it in calibration and testing, but no games see it. Instead they seem to be looking to my Saitek Cyborg Evo. Is there a way to change the priority of control pads?

I've had this problem before with multiple USB controllers connected. Unfortunately I never discovered a solution beyond unplugging all but the controller I wanted to use. :(

Not a terrible option. Beats paying $20, anyway. I almost never use the joystick anyway.

Irongut wrote:

And yes, in your controll panel under Game Controllers, I think you can highlight one and set it to preferred via the Advanced pushbutton.

Tried that, didn't see it. :/ I hope it doesn't demand I unplug my n52. I love that thing.

Come on lobster, unplug the joystiq and plug in the gamepad. This is what you've trained for all your life.

Probably your computer just has the joystic mapped as controller #1, so that's why these kinda 1 player games tend to see it.

I think that in your control panel under Game Controllers, you can highlight one of the active usb controllers and set it to 'preferred' via the Advanced pushbutton.

Hmm, that's really wierd. What a pain. I hope you figure it out.

I just picked up a 360 wired pad recently for using on my pc. I was going to use the wireless one, but its mapped to my 360 and turning on the controller (even via the plug-n-charge cable) would inevitably turn on my 360. I'm sure I could correct it but then I'd end up remapping it again later. I got a decent enough price on the wired one, that I didnt see a need to break that bond.

The 360 controller just feels so natural at this point. Spelunky will be the first program to see it in action. Old-school meet next gen.

I have been hearing great things from a friend and users on another board. I am actually downloading it right now.

Finally "bought" a shortcut to the ice level. I have beaten all of ONE of those levels. I can never find the exit and I always end up stuck on a little chunk of rock, overlooking a bottomless void. Then occasionally a UFO flies too close to me, explodes, and kills me.

Jetpack, plz?

We've got 2 wireless 360 controllers. I keep one mapped to the PC, and one mapped to the 360. That way I've got a pair of controllers if I want to play a two-player game, and I don't have to constantly swap. Win/Win.

LobsterMobster wrote:

Finally "bought" a shortcut to the ice level. I have beaten all of ONE of those levels. I can never find the exit and I always end up stuck on a little chunk of rock, overlooking a bottomless void. Then occasionally a UFO flies too close to me, explodes, and kills me.

Jetpack, plz?

The ice levels are where I discovered the importance of the compass. Also, take it slow as you work your way downwards, always looking down to see if you can see the exit before dropping down.

God yes, compass is so handy in the ice level. And jetpack, too, if you can "purchase" one. And by "purchase", I clearly mean "murder the shopkeeper and steal it."

Things I've learned so far... (strategy spoilers?)

... Shotgun and teleporter are incredibly easy items to steal.
... Don't buy spectacles if you get the Eye of Udjat.
... Jumping on enemies' heads is highly effective. Sadly, I didn't realize this was possible for a long, long time. Added bonus: jumping on an enemy's head breaks a long fall.
... If you need to trip arrow traps guarding a small hole, pick up a worthless item like a skull, walk to the hole until you teeter, and let it fall. Much easier than trying to throw, and a bit more range than setting an item down.
... Always kill the giant monsters in each level if you have the chance. The rewards are fantastic, and if you're above them -- or in the giant spider's case, it's still asleep -- it's super easy to bomb them. Haven't tried killing the giant piranha, though, since swimming in video games (except, somewhat ironically, Aquaria) terrifies me.
... Always take the damsel in distress if you can. In addition to her restorative power, she is an effective projectile against many enemies.
... The gold idol trap in the ice stage doesn't actually work. You can ride the falling platform down and stand in front of the spikes safely.

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the secret area yet. I have not gotten there, but I've seen most of the pieces needed to get there (I think) and am looking forward to putting it all together. Has anyone done it yet?

Ah ha! Okay, I think I've pieced it all together now. Might be a while before I actually achieve it, but after 420 deaths -- some hilarious, many senseless -- I've got enough familiarity that it seems to be within reach.

I also just paid off the shortcut guy for the third shortcut.

Oh, and to amend my previous statement about the jetpack: Killing the "psychic presence" has rewarded me with a jetpack or super-weapon 50% of the time. A much safer alternative to theft.

That's good to know, Cyranix. I usually skip over that guy because he reminds me of Mother Brain. I am HATING the ice levels. Somehow, getting eaten by a plant is less frustrating than a yeti throwing you off a cliff, or bouncing you against a wall till you die. I hate getting myself to the bottom at the wrong place and having to spend all my ropes to get back up. Getting a jetpack might help with that.

Something I did notice: if a UFO is harassing you and you have no rocks or skulls to throw at them, you can peg them with a bomb. Be careful though, as the explosion will be big (both the bomb and the UFO explode). You can also hit them with a rope if they're directly above you, which is usually the easiest way to kill them. Only thing is, you really need those ropes in that part of the game. :/

LobsterMobster wrote:

A yeti ... bouncing you against a wall till you die.

As frustrating as that is, I laugh every time it happens. I would love to get a GIF of that and/or two yetis playing volleyball with my corpse.

Sadly, this game failed my 30 second test, which is that if the game pisses me off in the first 30 seconds then I toss it in the trash. How this happened: in the tutorial if you don't throw your bomb correctly then it won't blow up the wall to the exit, and since there are a limited number of bombs you can become trapped on the level forever. Mine bounced off the wall like a superball, landed somewhere behind me and dug a nice big hole in the ground. I'm all for difficult games, but if it's possible to get stuck in the tutorial then the designer didn't think things through very carefully. Since you all seem to like it I'm going to give this one more chance, but it's got somewhat of a hurdle to overcome now.

If you crouch while tossing the bomb, you will instead drop it at your feet.

Hm, thought I'd tried that. I'll give it another shot. Thanks.

Cyranix wrote:
LobsterMobster wrote:

A yeti ... bouncing you against a wall till you die.

As frustrating as that is, I laugh every time it happens. I would love to get a GIF of that and/or two yetis playing volleyball with my corpse.

Ask and ye shall receive...

IMAGE(http://wickedmetalhead.mirror.waffleimages.com/files/28/280d558fcc5b85eb3fba3c6d50e7e26ee2ce99dd.gif)

IMAGE(http://geekner.mirror.waffleimages.com/files/b7/b7e1531e429a7351deeae38e1ed996f3e4e846d5.gif)

I love this game so much.

Cyranix wrote:

God yes, compass is so handy in the ice level. And jetpack, too, if you can "purchase" one. And by "purchase", I clearly mean "murder the shopkeeper and steal it."

Things I've learned so far... (strategy spoilers?)

... Shotgun and teleporter are incredibly easy items to steal.
... Don't buy spectacles if you get the Eye of Udjat.
... Jumping on enemies' heads is highly effective. Sadly, I didn't realize this was possible for a long, long time. Added bonus: jumping on an enemy's head breaks a long fall.
... If you need to trip arrow traps guarding a small hole, pick up a worthless item like a skull, walk to the hole until you teeter, and let it fall. Much easier than trying to throw, and a bit more range than setting an item down.
... Always kill the giant monsters in each level if you have the chance. The rewards are fantastic, and if you're above them -- or in the giant spider's case, it's still asleep -- it's super easy to bomb them. Haven't tried killing the giant piranha, though, since swimming in video games (except, somewhat ironically, Aquaria) terrifies me.
... Always take the damsel in distress if you can. In addition to her restorative power, she is an effective projectile against many enemies.
... The gold idol trap in the ice stage doesn't actually work. You can ride the falling platform down and stand in front of the spikes safely.

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the secret area yet. I have not gotten there, but I've seen most of the pieces needed to get there (I think) and am looking forward to putting it all together. Has anyone done it yet?

This is all good advice. I did not know the golden idol trap on the ice levels didn't actually kill you. That is good to know. Also, if you need to trip an arrow trap and you don't have an item handy, just drop your rope or bomb.

I've not been able to get to the secret level yet, but I do know you need the ankh to get there. It acts as an amulet of life saving. If you die with it in your inventory you'll be revived with 4 hearts.

EriktheRed wrote:
Cyranix wrote:
LobsterMobster wrote:

A yeti ... bouncing you against a wall till you die.

As frustrating as that is, I laugh every time it happens. I would love to get a GIF of that and/or two yetis playing volleyball with my corpse.

Ask and ye shall receive...

IMAGE(http://wickedmetalhead.mirror.waffleimages.com/files/28/280d558fcc5b85eb3fba3c6d50e7e26ee2ce99dd.gif)

IMAGE(http://geekner.mirror.waffleimages.com/files/b7/b7e1531e429a7351deeae38e1ed996f3e4e846d5.gif)

I love this game so much.

GRRRR! I get furious even looking at that! Especially since the yeti looks like he's giving a big goofy grin!

I love you.

I finally bought the shortcut to the fourth area, the temple-ish place with the lava and the whatnots. On one game I found a shop very early on and saw that he was selling a Jetpack. I wanted it very much, so I decided to see if I could steal it and get away with it. Not only did I get away alive, but the shopkeeper fell and lost his shotgun, which I quickly claimed (and murdered him). Then I went back to his shop and got the rest of the goodies, including the X-ray glasses, a compass, and climbing gloves. SCORE! I only had 2 hp left at this point but having a shotgun and being able to fly and cling to any wall makes things a little easier. I finally made it to this room with this weird golden idol head thing that kept trying to crush me so I flew up and stole all his treasure. I saw the way out was blocked so I tried throwing some bombs at him. Didn't work. Eventually I tried to fly up into the air and my jetpack ran out of fuel just a moment too soon. I fell to my death. Poor me.

LobsterMobster wrote:

I finally bought the shortcut to the fourth area, the temple-ish place with the lava and the whatnots. On one game I found a shop very early on and saw that he was selling a Jetpack. I wanted it very much, so I decided to see if I could steal it and get away with it. Not only did I get away alive, but the shopkeeper fell and lost his shotgun, which I quickly claimed (and murdered him). Then I went back to his shop and got the rest of the goodies, including the X-ray glasses, a compass, and climbing gloves. SCORE! I only had 2 hp left at this point but having a shotgun and being able to fly and cling to any wall makes things a little easier. I finally made it to this room with this weird golden idol head thing that kept trying to crush me so I flew up and stole all his treasure. I saw the way out was blocked so I tried throwing some bombs at him. Didn't work. Eventually I tried to fly up into the air and my jetpack ran out of fuel just a moment too soon. I fell to my death. Poor me. :(

Wow that sounds like an awesome game! I didn't know the jetpack ran out of fuel though

It doesn't really run out of fuel, there's just a limit to how long you can stay in the air without touching the ground.

Ha! I beat it! Screw you, big golden head!

LobsterMobster wrote:

Ha! I beat it! Screw you, big golden head! :D

I bow to your superior spelunky skills. I've only made it to the temple area 3 times so far.

EriktheRed wrote:
LobsterMobster wrote:

Ha! I beat it! Screw you, big golden head! :D

I bow to your superior spelunky skills. I've only made it to the temple area 3 times so far.

Well.. I kinda died 428 times before I beat him. But on the 429th time, I was VICTORIOUS!

I found that in the temple there are these big mummies and if you kill them them almost always drop a scepter. The scepter launches little enemy-seeking rings, just like the alien bosses, which will kill anything in one or two hits.

The scepter is rad except that it will also target dead bodies. I've died about 500 times and haven't actually seen the end for a win...

There is a new version of Spelunky out for those of you still playing. It mostly contains bug fixes, but there are a few new content additions.

+ Added to level editor:
+ Message signs.
+ Can now set each individual exit and entrance to its own value.
- Fixed bug: Testing a level in the level editor would save the level.
+ Added: [SECRET].
+ Added: new enemy.
+ Added: support for Xbox 360 trigger buttons and buttons over number 10.

= Tweaked movement and physics of player, enemies.
= Smash traps are now lit in dark levels.
= Player now can't throw ropes up in tight passageways.
= [SECRET]

- Fixed bug: Whipping and flipping over a ledge simultaneously could freeze
the player and cause an infinitely looping whip animation.
- Fixed bug: winning "money" and "time" scores could become swapped if the
time score was high enough.
- Fixed bug: level generator would only generate left-facing arrow traps.
- Fixed bug: drawing back bow, crouching, and releasing would use an arrow
but not cause an arrow to get fired.
- Fixed bug: player could hit jump at the last moment to save themselves from
a long fall.
- Fixed bug: player could throw a rope through a wall by crouching left.
crouching against a wall could cause the rope to be thrown on the other
side of the wall.
- Fixed bug: player could use shotgun recoil to "float" off of ladders.
- Fixed bug: firing a shotgun in a narrow passage would cause upward velocity
to accumulate.
- Fixed bug: "Shopkeeper Slide"
- Fixed various bugs related to the damsel.
- Fixed bug: spring traps would disappear when offscreen.
- Fixed various cosmetic bugs.
- Fixed various other bugs.

The Shopkeeper Slide is my favorite dance move.

I still pick it up now and then, mostly when I want something mindless to do while waiting for a download to complete.