Pyramid FAQ(NES)
version 1.0.0
by Andrew Schultz
[email protected]
Please do not reproduce this FAQ for profit without my prior consent. However,
if you write a polite e-mail to me referring to me(and this FAQ) by name,
then I will probably say OK. But if I ignore you that means no--and I am bad
about answering e-mail. Sorry.
**** AD SPACE: ****
My home page:
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Exhibit/2762
================================
OUTLINE
1. INTRODUCTION
1-1. FLUFF
1-2. ERRORS
1-2-1. MATHEMATICAL PROOF OF THE GAME'S DELIBERATE NASTINESS
1-2-2. MORE DOWN-TO-EARTH STUFF
1-3. THE FIVE SHAPES
2. CONTROLS
3. SCORING
4. STRATEGIES
4-1. SURVIVAL/PACKING IT IN SO YOU DON'T, UH, PACK IT IN
4-1-1. SUPER BASICS
4-1-2. TRICKIER PUZZLES
4-1-3. THE DREADED C PIECE
4-2. GETTING A DOUBLE
4-3. USING BOMBS
4-4. PATTERNS YOU MAY NOTE AND HOW TO DEAL WITH THEM
5. GRIPES, SUGGESTIONS AND MODIFICATIONS
6. VERSIONS
7. CREDITS
================================
1. INTRODUCTION
1-1. FLUFF
Pyramid is a flawed NES game with an interesting concept. It takes off on
Tetris's idea, but it crashes soon after. It drops tiled clumps of triangles
onto a 16x10 well below. You can rotate these lumps and shove them into
crevasses in the structures you created, just like Tetris. Only it's less
possible, unlike Tetris. You can also use a limited number of bombs to
destroy parts of your structure. You gain bombs by making it through a
level(twenty lines) or collapsing two lines at once. Due to the shapes, you
can't get any exciting triples or even the big quadruple as in Tetris, and
there's no delightful agony of getting a mirror image of what you need. The
game is too slow for people who like active stuff, and it doesn't really get
the technical stuff right.
I basically wrote this guide so the intellectually curious could see the
tricks involved without having to grind through the games themselves to find
anything. It's a hard game, even when you're good at it, and a bad string of
blocks can mean one game ends on level 4 and the next on line 4. And it all
takes so slowly to come together, too!
1-2. ERRORS
The flaws extend from basic game play to disappearing tiles to what appears
to be a deliberate alteration of the randomization to make things harder.
Many of the same piece will come down in succession, and the game doesn't
really give a good variety of pieces. Events improbable with perfect random
distribution happen all too often with Pyramid's randomization. Several of an
annoying piece in a row happen too frequently. I think I have proof.
1-2-1. MATHEMATICAL PROOF OF THE GAME'S DELIBERATE NASTINESS
I often get 4 or 5 C-shapes in a row at some time during the first level.
The legal playfield is a 10x16 well. That makes for 320 total triangles. You
clear out 20 lines in the course of a level, or 400 triangles. So the total
number of triangles dropped in a game that ends after one level is under 720.
The average number of triangles in a shape is 3.2: 2 types have 4 , 2 have
3, 1 has 4. Therefore 720/3.2=225 shapes drop before the first level is over.
P(4 in a row of C's) = 1/625 for any position.
P(4 in a row of C's at any time) < 1 - (1- 1/625)^225. The amount on the
right is about .36. But it happens more than half of the time, as I count it,
and often more than once(and I don't think I'm exaggerating,) and the
probability estimate is a high one anyway.
A more technical explanation: Let a(n) be the probability we haven't gotten
4 in a row yet after n pieces. Then
a(0) = a(1) = a(2) = a(3).
We claim:
a(4) = 4/625 * a(n-4) + 4/125 * a(n-3) + 4/25 * a(n-2) + 4/5 * a(n-1).
Proof: let Y indicate a C piece will be dropped and N that it won't. Let b(n)
be an event meaning we haven't gotten 4 in a row yet after n pieces. Then:
b(n-1) + N -> b(n). p = (1/5)
b(n-2) + YN -> b(n). p = (4/5) * (1/5)
b(n-3) + YYN -> b(n). p = (4/5) ^ 2 * (1/5)
b(n-4) + YYYN -> b(n). p = (4/5) ^ 3 * (1/5)
Note that b(n-3) + YNN may occur, for instance, but that's covered in b(n-1).
There are no other possibilities.
I wrote a computer to calculate a(225) based on what I saw, and the
probability we WOULDN'T see this is .75. That means the probability we WOULD
is .25.
1-2-2. MORE DOWN-TO-EARTH STUFF
The first thing you'll notice is that the music is bad. But once you turn
that off, you'll realize that once you use a bomb, the siren that accompanies
its fall won't shut off. This really sucks. The mute button or volume control
will be your dear friend throughout this ordeal. One way or another, the game
gets you--in the effects department as well!
If there are shapes on the top legal row of the well, and you manage to
make a full row, the top row's picture is left behind as an artifact. You can
get rid of this by putting a triangle over the squares that got infected, so
to speak. You can clear the rest of the row's artifacts by dropping another
piece so one triangle is on the top row, but that leaves the possibility of
future artifacts open. The only way to remove everything is to use a bomb.
The bombs don't work sensibly or even favorably most of the time, and
pieces that should fall down the field after the bombs do their thing stay in
the air. There are not enough pieces for significant puzzling variety either.
You can also get the top row to disappear if you're careful. I think part
of the deal is being able to place a size-4 triangle or something and get it
into a niche. If the row isn't too full, sometimes a huge chunk of pieces
disappears. Nothing I've been able to replicate, alas.
1-3. THE FIVE SHAPES
Here are the five pieces and how I draw them. I basically draw boxes as 4x4
text with a border one unit wide. I'll be putting diagrams in many places in
this walkthrough, so be prepared. I may even make them bigger, i.e. 5x5 in
some places, so it's clear what's going on. Or I may use /, +, |, -, etc. as
borders. in case I want to show how pieces fit in.
. . .
. .. .. ..
.. ... ... ...
... .... .... . .......
... .... ..... ... .....
... .... ...... ..... ...
... .... ....... ....... .
2. CONTROLS
Moving the joypad moves your pieces around(duh). But there's something a
bit more complex than that. If you try to move onto a square that's occupied,
nothing will happen unless your triangle sliver fits in with the one on the
square, i.e.
>....
. >...
.. >..
... >.
...
...
...
This can fit in, but any other combo won't. This should be pretty intuitive,
but just in case, an example.
A rotates clockwise, B rotates counterclockwise. Select does nothing, but
Start pauses the game and keeps the screen showing. It's unclear whether this
is because the programmers knew you needed the time or they never considered
blocking the screen out, or that sort of thing wasn't kosher yet, but it's a
free easy-out if your emulator doesn't have a built in pause feature.
Pushing B and then up lets a bomb rocket come down. This freezes your
falling piece, and if it's near the structure and about to freeze, it may
cause confusion. Your bomb can go through the piece you're currently dropping.
Note: no matter what order you push B/up in, your shape will still rotate,
which is annoying. It's possible to let off two bombs in a row in the earlier
levels, but in later levels your piece will drop one square between bombs.
Bombs and blocks have the same speed. But they have less lateral mobility
in later levels. Here's the breakdown of how far across you can move a piece
before it drops a square in the well.
Levels 0, 1: can go all the way across before dropping, but just barely on
level 1
Level 2: can go 2/3 of the way across
Level 3: can go 1/2 of the way across
Level 4: 3 squares
Level 5: 2 squares at first, but can make 3 if you hold it down
Level 6: 2 squares
Level 7, 8, 9: 1 square, even holding down. These appear to be no different
in actual speed, but that's small consolation, because they're all really too
fast.
You move your rocket right and left, or you can speed it up pushing down.
When it hits something--be it a triangle or square--it takes out that square
as well as what's below, right and left of it. It will also cause part of
your structure to come crashing down if it is not supported. Supported being
defined as: all pieces of the structure are connected, if only by a vertex.
If any of your structure is floating in midair, it falls down in unison until
it isn't. Note that the edge counts as part of the structure--so pieces on
the edge won't fall down. Is that crummy or what?
As for rotating pieces, that is flaky too. Let's look at the five pieces
and how they rotate, and why some of them rotate ALL WRONG.
On second thought, let's ease into things with the two that rotate
correctly. We'll go clockwise, from left to right.
First, the 'big triangle,' made up of four smaller triangles. "Size-4"
....... ....... .
. ...... ...... ..
.. ..... ..... ...
... .... .... ....
.... ... ... .....
..... .. .. ......
...... . . .......
Second, the c-shaped piece that's 3/4 of a square. "C-shape"
. . . .
... ... .. ..
..... ..... ... ...
...... ....... ....... .......
... ... ..... .....
.. .. ... ...
. . . .
Now the two-piece triangle, which you'd expect would rotate as the bigger
one did. But no! I've filled in the spaces with *'s to show how this thing
rotates around. It doesn't even rotate symmetrically. This causes confusion
in tight spots and also disallows some neat last second rotations. "Size-2"
******* .****** ******* ***.***
******* ..***** ******* **..***
******* ...**** ******* *...***
***.*** ....*** ....... ....***
**...** ...**** *.....* *...***
*.....* ..***** **...** **..***
...... .****** ***.*** ***.***
The trapezoids that appear are also tricky. They probably should rotate
about the square in the center, but the game was a bit cheap, so they don't.
It's nice they're color coded, though, as it helps you tell which is which.
Green trapezoid:
******* ***.*** ******* ....***
******* **..*** ******* ....***
******* *...*** ******* ....***
...... ....*** ....*** ....***
*...... ....*** .....** ...****
**..... ....*** ......* ..*****
***.... ....*** ....... .******
Red trapezoid.
******* .****** ******* ....***
******* ..***** ******* ....***
******* ...**** ******* ....***
***.... ....*** ....... ....***
**..... ....*** ......* *...***
*...... ....*** .....** **..***
...... ....*** ....*** ***.***
These aren't so important to memorize, but what I like to do to see how to
flip a square into a particular spot is to get it in the right formation,
flip back and forth, and see how the shape moves. For instance
+---+
../
./
/
+---+
Can't fit a red trapezoid by a last minute rotation, but you can slide it
in.
Below, a green trapezoid with the point facing down can go in, and you can
rotate with the B button at the last moment to fill the area.
... ....
... ...
... ..
... .
3. SCORING
This section of the faq is desultory. Because there really is no score. You
just need to know:
--5 bombs to start off the game
--extra bomb for destroying two rows at once
--5 bombs for each 20 rows(i.e. advancing a level) which makes everything go
faster
--You can start at level 0. After level 9, 180 lines, nothing goes faster.
--Music swaps if you use a missile or advance a level.
If you should be so lucky or otherwards technically inclined as to get 255
lines or 255 bombs(doing it honestly? As if--squared--that'd require 512
lines) then you just won't get credit for anything additional.
4. STRATEGIES
4-1. SURVIVAL/PACKING IT IN SO YOU DON'T, UH, PACK IT IN
4-1-1. SUPER BASICS
The first and most important point is: whenever possible, avoid putting an
upper triangle in a square without having a lower triangle, unless you can
slide something in to fix things. Because you can't fit anything in under
there to wipe it out.
BAD: RECOVERABLE:
+---+---+ +-------+
|...|\..| |....../
|...| \.| |...../
|...| \| |..../
+---+ + +---+
To drive the point that more isn't better home, consider the diagram below:
PERMANENT: POSSIBLY TEMPORARY:
+-----+ +-----+
|.....| |.....| <- clear this row, and
|.....| |.....| the pit below may be
|..+..| +-----+ accessible!
|./|..| |\ /|
|/ |..| |.\ /.|
+ +--+ +--+--+
There are some formations that seem obvious to me, but I might as well
mention them so you can focus on them. Basically they're easy ways to put
bars together, or to make the area nice and square. Another goal is to make
smooth 45 degree slopes. Below, assume the # squares are already filled in.
Note that mirror images or rotations may be equally as good.
Squares:
+-+---+ +---+-+
|..\..| |../..|
+---+-+ +-+---+
+-----+ +-+ +-+ +-+ +-----+ +-----+
|\.../| |.| |.| |.| |\.../| |..../|
|.\./.| +.| |.+ |.+-+ |.\./.| |.../.|
|..X..| |\| |/| |/..| |..Y..| |../..|
|./.\.| |.+ +.| +---+ |..|..| |./...|
|/...\| |.| |.| |..|..| |/....|
+-----+ +-+ +-+ +--+--+ +-----+
Slopes:
+-+ +
/..| /|\
+-+-+ +.|.+
/..|## /|.|.|\
+---+## /#+-+-+#\
Basically, whenever you have an open area and try to drop something to make
it flat, that is good. If you have a diagonal area, and you will usually want
one 2 long, you can dump a size-4e or c-shape on it.
Now there are some times when packing it in may not be so good. Consider
the following move:
+-------+
\......|
\.....|
v \....|
v \...|
v \..|
v \.|
v \|
v +
+---+ +---+
|....\ \..|
|.....\ becomes +-+.|
|......\ |...|
+-------+ +---+
..and if the area to the left is blocked off, you've trapped yourself! If
you can get the row above the trapezoid shape you dropped the size-4 on,
You'd be better of pointing the triangle up(rotate it twice) and trying to
clear out what's below. It gives you a little less space for a moment, but
the small triangle you filled in will be available later.
Probably the most friendly piece is the small triangle, and while I've
shown a few ways to put together a mindless and neat block of triangles,
sometimes you need to position them to set up other pieces.
+ +
/.\ /.\
/...\ /...\
+-----+-----+
Here you can drop in one of those evil C pieces. These can also be paired
with a square in two ways.
+
|\ drop the c down, push it in, with lower left gone
| \ |
| + |
| / | c's lower left gone, drop here
|/ <| v
+--+ +--+ +
| | | | / \
| | | |/ \
+--+ +--+-----+
Of course, placing the right-angle vertex next to the square can create
something you can't dig yourself out of, and
+ +
/.\ |\
/...\ | \
+--+--+ or +--+ +
|..| | | /
|..| | |/
+--+ +--+
Forces you to sneak a piece in somehow anyway. Keep away from a once-bombed
area with small triangles, of course.
I also found that often I'd fall prey to the illusion of ramming something
up against a wall and it wouldn't work. See below. Oops, the triangle was a
good fit until it fell. In general, the parallelogram-shaped spaces are very
ugly indeed and should be avoided.
+
/
/
/ +
/ /|
+ / |
| / |
|/ |
+----+
4-1-2. TRICKIER PUZZLES
Basically you'll always want a good place to put your pieces. In the
beginning this isn't too hard, but later on you'll really need to find places
on an uneven playing field. The first rule of thumb is: whenever possible,
try not to seal off a row. What does sealing off a row mean?
+---+---+---+
|...|\..|...|
|...| \.|...|
|...| \|...|
+---+---+---+
Here, there's no way to drop anything in from above. You'll have to wait to
get a bomb to clear out anything from here. This brings up a very interesting
crossroads in terms of strategy. What do you do in this case, with a red
trapezoid?
+---+
/....|
/.....|
/......|
+-------+
+---+
|../
|./
|/
+---+ +---+
|....\ |...|
|.....\ |...|
|......\|...|
+-------+---+
You could rotate counterclockwise and drop the shape in--let's assume it
nets a row in this case. Or you could push the shape left when it lands.
Which one is better? If your position is relatively in order, you won't want
to rotate. If you can clear off the higher of the two rows, you can come back
and put an angled piece in later. It all turns on 1) if your structure is too
high up already, in which case rotating is a temporary reprieve and 2) if you
can actually nail the upper of the two rows. If 2) is the case, then it's
worth the extra work and wait to be able to drop the right piece in later.
Here's another puzzle. Which upright shape goes in the enclave below?
----+ + +
/ /| |\
/ / | | \
/ / | | \
+ + | | +
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| +---+ +---+
|
|
|
+---+
The answer is the right one. The left one leaves a parallelogram type space
you can't fill in. A size-2 fits in nicely in the gap created by pushing the
right of the two trapezoids in. If you do have a left trapezoid in this
position, put the point to the right and slide it into the gap. If a
trapezoid of the other type comes by you're in luck.
More ideas:
---+ + +
/ /| |\
/ / | | \
+ + | | +
| | | | |
| | | | |
+ +--+ +--+
\
\
---+-----------
There's an illusion here that it's better to pack the lower parts in, but
in fact you may want to leave the lower part to slip a trapezoid in later.
Neither piece is bad...you can put it against the wall, or the left one on
the bottom...but the right piece might be better placed 90 degrees
counterclockwise rotated, at the base. Otherwise you'll have to slip in a
piece with a bit of overhang.
Surprising correct move:
+
/.\
/...\
+-----+
v (or maybe move left)
+--+ +
| |
| |
| +--+
| |
| |
+--+
The reasoning by now is that you can clear the rest out, and in any other
rotation, the size-2 will create a block you can't dig your way out of.
And one more:
+
/ \
/ \ < don't rotate this piece to place it!
+-----+ (push it left instead.)
+ +
/ |
/ |
+ +-----+
\ /
\ /
+
And one last one, featuring a triangle and an improbable tunnel:
+--+ +
| |
| |
+--+ +--+
| |
| |
| +--+
| |
| |
+-----+
Here, have the triangle have vertices UL, UR, and DL. Slide it into the
corner and rotate it counterclockwise. Then slide the next one and rotate it
clockwise. You'll still have problems as to what to do next, but you'll have
one more row of space to work with.
4-1-3. THE DREADED C PIECE
There seems to be no good way to fit a C piece in. But in fact it can go
many places you wouldn't think. It creates jagged edges, but it can also
smooth them out. If you're on flat surfaces, the C is hellish to place. My
best advice is to drop it in the middle and try to slip a piece under it. C's
work rather better on diagonal surfaces. If you've just placed a size-4 long
side up, you can place three C's in a row if necessary.
+ +
/| / \
/ |/ \
+ +--+ +
|\ /| /
| \ / |/
| + +--+
| \ /
| \ /
+-----+
You should always have an indent to place the C's into, i.e.
+
|\
| \
+--+ +
/ \ / \
/ \ / \
+-----+-----+ is good, but it's even better to have...
+ +
/ \ / \
/ \ / \
+ +--+--+ +
/ \ | | / \
/ \| |/ \
+-----+-----+-----+
A triangle by a square should work OK. If you're really desperate, or you
expect a deluge, you can pile C's on top of each other and use a bomb at the
starred square to get back where you started. Note that you can place a 3rd C
in the gap. I don't recommend rotating the top one clockwise 90 degrees ,
because as things stand you may be able to fit a trapezoid in. If you've got
enough space you can position a 3rd C so you can put a trapezoid in on either
side.
+
|\
| \
+*** +
\** /
\*/
+
/|
/ |
+ +--+
\ /
\ /
+
There are also ways to pack 4 C's into almost a square. You still have a
slope for more C's if you need it, and a size-4 triangle can go under the
right. This is a good formation if you have the space.
+
/|
/ |
+ +--+
/ \ /|
/ \ / |
+--+ + +--+
| / \ /
|/ \ /
+--+ +
| /
|/
+
One thing you need to notice is how to slip C's into cracks. They may cause
that much more of an overhand, but they can be very worth it. First note that
C's are great if you've built a straight tower. You can slip a trapezoid in
the overhand part. If the tower is two wide, then the C's on each side can
form the base for a third one. C's can also fit into stairsteps.
+
/ \
/ \
-+--+ +
| /
|/
+
|
|
+--+
Other places C's can fit that you wouldn't think:
----+
/
/ < one edge can squirm in here!
+--+
|
|
+
----+
|
|
+--+
\ <one edge can go here!
\
----+
The fit is actually better, but it won't be initially as obvious. Sadly too
many C's in a row makes it hard to fit anything together.
4-2. GETTING A DOUBLE
There are really only three ways to do so, and in general it's worth
lumping other items to the side to wait for the pieces to complete the
transaction:
+-------+
| /
| /
| /
| /
| /
| /
|/
+
vvvvvvvvv
---+ +---
| /
| /
| /
| /
| /
| /
|/
+-----------
+---+
| |
| |
| |
+ +
| /
| /
|/
+
vvvvv
---+ +---
| |
| |
| |
| +
| /
| /
|/
---+-------
+---+
| |
| |
| |
+ +
\ |
\ |
\|
+
vvvvv
---+ +---
| |
| |
| |
+ |
\ |
\ |
\|
-------+---
With the other two pieces, it's impossible. You would have to move or
rotate through a triangle to do so. It's quite possible to set something up,
but you shouldn't force it. At the beginning of the game, the triangle, the
easiest of the three to get two rows with, is your best weapon, but if you
have a small 2x2 area you can place a trapezoid horizontally and maybe on top
of that to create a natural cavern, i.e.
+
|\
| \
| \
| + +------
| | |
| | |
| | |
+---+ |
| \ |
| \ |
| \|
+-------+-------
Of course this is doable for any two trapezoids--although you can get a
single with two trapezoids, you don't want to do it unless it's absolutely
necessary. You may have to bail out, but odds are if you don't get a
trapezoid you'll get a size-2 soon enough.
4-3. USING BOMBS
There are precious few uses for a bomb, and in general I recommend using
them sooner rather than later. Once you're out of space you're at the mercy
of luck, but if things start piling up you can really shift the momentum. So,
use a bomb when:
1. you just goofed up and want to erase the shape you made
2. there's an upper triangle over an empty lower triangle, and but for that
you'd have the row cleared, or better, you could easily fill in a cleared row.
3. the shapes are starting to pile up, you've had a few crummy ones in a row,
and you don't want to lose the space(especially if you have a few C's in a
row)
4. you are near the end and need to bomb to reduce the height of everything
Anything not in the cases above likely makes your job worse. You can
probably go on a bombing spree to take out the support below a tower of
blocks, which feels cool and gives extra space, but it's best to take out
split squares(1/2 triangle on top, 1/2 open on bottom)--even more strongly
than in the packing in section above, bombing more squares is decisively NOT
better here!
For 4, surgical bombing is a good idea. Let the bomb fall and hook it to
the inside. You can approach a particularly thick tower from the left and
right.
v v
v +-----------------+ v
v | | v
v | | v
v | | v
------> <------
+-----------------+
Several bombs in a row will meet in the middle, causing the structure above
to collapse. Be sure to move them aggressively to the side.
One bomb often does more harm than good. Bombing full squares is rarely a
good idea, and a worst case is shown here:
Drop the bomb down the chute.
+ v +
| v |
| v |
| v |
| v |
| v |
+-v-+
Oops. You could've dropped a few trapezoids in, but instead you now have to
work your way out just to get back as you were. The best bet would still be
trapezoidal pieces.
+--+ +--+
| |
| |
+--+ +--+
| |
| |
+--+
4-4. PATTERNS YOU MAY NOTE AND HOW TO DEAL WITH THEM
--It's not unusual to build up stacks of blocks on either side and only have
one narrow tunnel to work with. Towers going straight up can actually hold c-
shaped pieces nicely.
--You'll note that a one-wide tunnel isn't the end of the world, as you can
rotate a piece to fit in there and if there's a wider area below, you can
expand it out again.
--when waiting to fill in a trapezoidal hole, sometimes you can fill in part
of it with a size-two triangle and that leaves more options to put the final
piece in. In a horizontal hole you need to be more careful, slipping things
in under other shapes, so use your judgement.
+ + < the other trapezoid works
| /| < so should a size-2 or POSSIBLY
|/ | a size 4 if you can squeeze things in
+ |
\ |
\|
+
--fill in sides of a high tower first. Often you'll want to wait for the
right piece. In the diagram below you might want to look where to place the
right trapezoid even if it appears before the next size-2 triangle. Because
the trapezoid can be filled later, but the triangle can't. Order can be
important.
+ +
/ |
/ |
+ |
\ |
\ |
+ +
| /
|/
+
--don't get suckered in by the reasonable assumption that you can slide a
piece in diagonally.
---+
\
\
+ \
\ \
\ \
+-----+
A trapezoid could slide into the above space in the real world, but it
can't. Similarly, you may get caught trying to shove a size-4 triangle into a
space where it can't enter.
5. GRIPES, SUGGESTIONS AND MODIFICATIONS
First--the modification that will please most people the most. How to cheat!
Bascially there is only one thing to adjust: the number of bombs. Then you
can just shell the playfield to clear it. The number of bombs is pretty easy
to find in memory with a hex editor. If you remember the number of lines it's
even easier. In your hex editor, do a search for hexidecimal numbers and then
look for
[hex value of # of bombs] [hex value of # of lines] or maybe reverse the two
bytes just to make sure. FCEU emulator has the bomb value offset at 0x488.
The screen doesn't reset the value until a piece drops. Your reward for
cheating--eventually winding up at an even more impossible and helterskelter
situation. Break out the propellor beanie hats with the clapping hands tied
above the visor and start yanking the drawstring to make them goo! Yippy-
yippy-yo-yippy-yi-yo, and stuff.
Not to snark too much, as Pyramid has a good idea at its base(grooooan.)
Aside from fixing all the bugs, Pyramid could use some modifications. But
it's really terrible, unless you continually pause and restart the game. So I
have some suggestions, especially in these days of people able to make
freeware games like this in a snap. Redone, this could be quite an adventure.
First, bombs could actually carve out a circle.
| | / \
| | / \
+--+ +--+ + +
| | | |
| | | |
+--+ +--+ ==> + +
| | \ /
| | \ /
+--+ +--+
See? It looks more realistic, and only one bomb could actually be useful!
And you still have a challenge of fitting pieces in.
Second of all, I'd get rid of the semi-randomization and throw in two more
peces--the parallelograms. The more pieces, the less of one in a row you get,
and the more general preparedness counts. I might also get a piece like so:
+
/|
/ |
+--+
/| /
/ |/
+--+
It's a bit challenging to fit in and would balance out the user-friendly
parallelograms. A straight out square would be against the game's spirit,
even when it looks like a diamond(i.e. a C with the 4th part there,) but an
isosceles trapezoid might be a useful piece AND provide for a possible triple.
It would be its own mirror image, as would the piece above.
+--+
/ \
/ \
+--------+
Another possibility might be an anti-matter single triangle which results
from good play, or maybe a rotating goody between that, bombs, and a square
to drop into play.
But one particularly tricky possibility might be to allow one diagonal move.
For instance, you couldn't fit the trapezoid in here according to the game
rules.
+--+
| |
| | +
+ | \
\ | \
\| +
+ >> |
|
+ |
\ |
\|
+
Physically/technically, though, you could slide it in. It would be a tight
fit, but so are many horizontal and vertical maneuvers to squeeze things in.
You would just need some way to pause the game so you could push diagonally,
or maybe hold down a button(select is not used, after all) to indicate you
want to move diagonally, and then do so. Or it could be a power-up, even.
Maybe you could have a way to stick a piece against a wall, too. For instance,
if a size-four didn't have to land below, you'd have a nice move:
+
/
/
/
/
+
|
|
+-----+
Oh yeah. I'd give scores. For speed, for 'almosting' a row, etc. And time
bonuses for each level. I think there's a lot of freeware possibility here,
so if anyone wants to rip from this FAQ and give me a line of credit, I'd be
flattered!
End of FAQ proper
================================
6. VERSIONS
0.5.0: 5/27/2004 sent to GameFAQs with basics done. Strategy later. I hadn't
sent in a FAQ for two whole weeks, imagine! Withdrawal syndrome and all that.
1.0.0: 5/28/2004 sent to GameFAQs with strategy relatively well detailed.
7. CREDITS
Thanks to the usual GameFAQs gang. They know who they are, and you should,
too, because they get some SERIOUS writing done. Good people too--bloomer,
daremo, falsehead, RetroFreak, Snow Dragon/Brui5ed Ego, ZoopSoul, and others
I forgot.
Thanks to honestgamer/jasonventer for finishing a guide so quickly after I
made inquiries about covering all NES games. Wow! I got listened too! It was
a thrill to see someone pick something off as a direct result of my topic and
encourage me to do the same. (BTW, visit his site
http://www.honestgamers.com.
It's neat.) DEngel turned a FAQ in too I believe, but then again he always
does that :). Thanks to Brian Sulpher for commiserating with me about a tough
game of his own(Holy Diver) and adaml for commenting so soon after my first
draft--motivation is a good thing! Thanks to nientsie for the nice surprise
with the PHP page of what still needs to be covered. I got more posts in that
topic than I get mail in several months.
Thanks to Deathspork for a fine review of Pyramid. I could point out the
triangles aren't scalene but right and isosceles, and the game actually is
possible if you're willing to suffer through it, but that's just nitpicking.
The writers of this game certainly made more serious errors.
