500 steps to burn toast in Return of the Incredible Machine

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Let's Play! > 500 steps to burn toast in Return of the Incredible Machine

Cheez: Apr 29, 2013; Someone doesn't like a shitty gimmick I like?

TIME FOR ME TO WHINE ABOUT IT!

ManxomeBromide posted:

I picked this up from GOG ages ago but never really got into it because I couldn't work out even the basics of interaction. After seeing someone play a version of it, that got me through a few puzzles in all the versions GOG shipped with.

And holy cheese, there are a lot of versions with nearly identical names. Here's what I think I've figured out about the GOG pack. Those of you who did grow up with these, set me straight if I goof:

The Even More Incredible Machine. This is very obviously the first one, and it's 320x200 DOS. Clunky to use, but the first puzzle is different and quite a bit more complicated. The second puzzle looks very similar to the second puzzle in the video.
The Incredible Machine 3. This looks like it's built as a normal Windows application, like some Bizarro Universe Microsoft Office or something. GOG's description of it suggests that it includes all the puzzles of Incredible Machine 2. The first two puzzles are the same as the video.
Return of the Incredible Machine Contraptions. This looks like what we saw in the video.
The Return of the Incredible Machine - Even More Contraptions, which borrows logos from the original DOS Even More Incredible Machine. This looks like an expansion pack to Return of the Incredible Machine Contraptions, but there's a stage select, and progress from the original doesn't seem to be importable.

Those last two feel like they're strict improvements over the early models, from some cursory examination.

For reference, here's the whole series:

The Incredible Machine
The Even More Incredible Machine (more like an expansion+improvement of the first)
The Incredible Machine 2
The Incredible Machine 3.0 (quite similar to Even More, but for TIM 2 instead. Best version of all in my opinion)
Return of the Incredible Machine: Contraptions (Honestly seems like they just redid some sound effects and added more music to the stuff that was in 3, maybe even changed the graphics a tiny bit?)
The Return of the Incredible Machine - Even More Contraptions (Probably just as you said, adding very little to the overall package.)

I don't know anything about the last two since i have them but didn't exactly get into them, but if you were wondering about the rest, you're not missing anything if you don't have 2 or the original TIM.

# ¿ Jun 18, 2017 10:18

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# ¿ May 9, 2024 11:56

Cheez: Apr 29, 2013; Someone doesn't like a shitty gimmick I like?

TIME FOR ME TO WHINE ABOUT IT!

cant cook creole bream posted:

Anything I'm overlooking here? I'm just wondering, since May vehemently claimed that it wouldn't work this way. I'm a math nerd who likes to consider imaginary physics, which will probably never be possible.

Nobody should think about this in the first place because sci-fi concepts don't have a "way" that they work.

# ¿ Jun 25, 2017 22:42

Cheez: Apr 29, 2013; Someone doesn't like a shitty gimmick I like?

TIME FOR ME TO WHINE ABOUT IT!

My point was that trying to say "that's not how it works" or "this is how it should work" as if the game was supposed to copy real life or some other kind of source is a wasted effort, because it's a fictional concept that's already got its own explanation.

# ¿ Jun 26, 2017 06:54

Cheez: Apr 29, 2013; Someone doesn't like a shitty gimmick I like?

TIME FOR ME TO WHINE ABOUT IT!

AweStriker posted:

different names for no reason

One was bought by the other at some point, and they probably assume people wouldn't go if the name changed. Brands can be pretty strong.

# ¿ Sep 6, 2017 23:24

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Let's Play! > 500 steps to burn toast in Return of the Incredible Machine