Not a chance to complete "Mastery in reach" levels

[harry817]

Hi there,

in my opinion there is no chance to complete the "mastery in reach" levels, i.e. the ones where you have to collect 180 resources of one type.
I know I have to use strategies and I always managed to collect up to 170 of one resource.
If the game stays like this it leaves a bad feeling.
The difficulty up to this point was great. But now, I would never consider having a look at this game again.
The most interesting option is to uninstall it which I find really annoying as it was a very nice game up this far.

I hope there will be a fix for this some time.

Regards
Harry

Playing AF 1.1.0.0 on IPod Touch 2.1

[theconfuzed1]

I don't mean to come across the wrong way here, but have you considered what the word, "mastery" really means?

Any challenge that uses that word should be very difficult to accomplish, if not nearly impossible, to all, but those who have mastered it.

Work on your strategy, practice some more, and keep trying. You'll get there.

[harry817]

I really doubt that.
I am trying to solve this since the version before 1.1.0.0 as released.
I hope there will be a change someday.
You know: Hope never dies

[stefanowitsch]

Hi Harry
I have completed all the levels and I'm currently waiting for new ones to be released. Let me give you a hint or two:

Yes, it is very hard but you ain't seen nothing yet. There will be 250 waiting after you master the "Mastery in reach" levels. Your claim that it is impossible is obviously wrong. I've done it and so have many others, I'm sure. I'm not going to tell you how to do it but keep these things in mind:

- You don't need ANY special tools to complete the levels. No stop watch no hammers, no skulls, no nothing, really. They are in fact only complicating things, confusing your view of where to move blocks to gain multipliers.

- Multipliers: Yes, you sure do need lots of them. You HAVE to make sure you can get higher than x7. Otherwise it's not going to work out. That's my experience. Your best shot is to have the screen almost full and focus on the bottom rows. Make sure you don't get into the habit of combining vertical blocks as they are not going to help you as much as the horizontal ones. You want the top blocks to fall onto the lower rows so horizontal is the way to go.

- You do not need to turn your phone around in any way. I have done all the levels holding the phone upright instead of landscape. Now it may indeed be easier in landscape mode but you do not have to use it to complete the levels.

- One more word about the multipliers: I have had a hell of a hard time getting them to happen as you need to be very quick and forward looking. The developers have made it ever so hard but it can be done. I have reached x30 and higher while mining and up to x15 doing the challenges. Let the blocks fall from above and keep pushing the screen up to have as many rows visible as you possibly can. Obviously without running out of space ;-).

- Mine hard. The higher up the ranks, the more you need to mine after you fail to complete the challenges. It's frustrating but that's how it is. The challenges vanish after each failed attempt and you have to go back and mine more to reactivate them. I found that mining at least 1000 points will keep the challenges active for longer but I never bothered investigating it properly. I just kept mining instead. :-)

One of the developers has posted a few screen shots about how to solve the challenges. I didn't see that until I completed the game but it may be useful as a guide for those who really struggle.

Now come on, keep trying. You can do it! :-)

[servandopena]

Hey Harry, don't get too frustrated, it is really hard to get the mastery in reach, I too had trouble getting past it too. What helped me get past them was theConfuzed1. Although I am not good enough to keep setting up the pattern on the lowest row like theConfuzed1 shows in his posting, I find that setting up the pattern gives me a starting point to start making combos above. Once I get it started, I try to keep making a new sets while one is popping. When you get high enough, the game does give you more time to help you get bigger combos.

Stefan is right, don't worry about the special tools, getting the multipliers is much more important. I do hold my phone landscape when starting out with the setup, but I find myself going back and forth between portrait and landscape when setting up combos, depending on how I need the blocks to fall, or to setup where I need the blocks to be. Don't forget to push the screen up, it will give you more options when looking for the combos.

One last thing, I try to space out my combos, just a little bit, just to keep it going. If I see three possible sets, I might set up two right away, and hold off on the third until the second starts popping, just so I can stretch out the burn a little longer and hunt for another combo. Once you get the ball rolling on a long chain, you'll hit your zone, and get Mastery level items like they are nothing. Hope this helps. - SEV

[theconfuzed1]

Oct 6, 2008 20:47:56 GMT -5 stefanowitsch said:

...One of the developers has posted a few screen shots about how to solve the challenges. I didn't see that until I completed the game but it may be useful as a guide for those who really struggle.

That was me. Sorry, but I'm not a developer... Just a little neurotic.

[harry817]

Thanks for you answers.
Still I don't manage to succeed in those levels.
I do get 160 of each resource.
And I can reproduce this as often as I like.
I'll quit playing Aurora for now and have a look for new updates
in the next 2 months.

But really a big thank you for your advices. This is a great community.

Regards
Harry

[stefanowitsch]

Harry, I know how you feel. Mostly because I had the same experience for a very long time. I just couldn't get past the d**n 180 points. Again, it all comes down to multipliers which I think you're well aware of now given that you do get 160. I assume you can't get multipliers higher than 5x? I found that my only chance was to focus and to get at least 7x and more. I know how hard it is and I can certainly understand that you're about to give up. But then again, it's the last 2 levels. Surely these have to be hard. Otherwise the game would be absolutely pointless.

Something to think about: The game slows down once you create a few multipliers and you do have more time coming up with new ones the higher the multiplier gets. So make sure you have no blocks blocking you from scrolling the screen up further so that you can get new rows.

As servandopena has said before: Don't rush it. Prepare combos but don't complete them in a rush. The longer you can keep them going, the higher your chances of getting 7x and higher.

[harry817]

Thanks for your help and your understanding but I already manage to do 6x multiplier.
That is why I am frustrated and quit playing.
I'll keep an eye on updates.