The Slice is Right

[Iscah]

I think perhaps the game is designed not so every individual can win, but rather a portion of the crowd. In any one game, one third will be knocked off here, but (assuming people are spread across all segments) the rest are safe.

Whether it'a enjoyable that it works that way is a separate debate, of course.

[Gula]

Whether it'a enjoyable that it works that way is a separate debate, of course.

I tried it once, got knocked off immediately and decided to never try again.

The pillars in Rabanastre were better.

[DrWho2010]

does a mini-game have to be 100% fail proof for it to be enjoyable? is an element of randomness that off-putting that it's going to adversely affect your mood?

[Iscah]

does a mini-game have to be 100% fail proof for it to be enjoyable? is an element of randomness that off-putting that it's going to adversely affect your mood?

Not "affect my mood" but I guess there's a different sort of disappointment in failing because you misjudged where to stand versus failing because of a completely random event you had no control over.

As was said earlier, I think it's frustrating to get that "pure luck" element in the middle of a "lucky skill" challenge. Not in a deep or lasting way, but it's a different feeling to losing because you know you messed up.

[Theodric]

I'm not a fan. It's far too reliant on RNG - which is exactly the same reason I dislike the Typhon GATE. Losing through no fault of my own isn't something I find to be particularly enjoyable.

With that in mind, Leap of Faith and Air Force One are my favourite of the available GATE's. They're not based around RNG and if I mess up the blame is squarely on my shoulders.

[Iscah]

I'm not a fan. It's far too reliant on RNG - which is exactly the same reason I dislike the Typhon GATE. Losing through no fault of my own isn't something I find to be particularly enjoyable.

I think it's even worse than the luck for Typhon actually - there you just park yourself in position and come back a few minutes later to see if you got lucky or not. Here you're more invested in the process of getting to that random chance that might undo your skill-based progress to that point.

Maybe if they switched the lucky stage and the coin-collecting gamble?

On the other hand, people get to play/practise longer when it's this way around.

[Myon88]

So if you didn't see it, it didn't happen. Okay, that's not troll logic.

I've never seen 1 + 1 add up to 3 either, but hey you seem like the hopeful type, so good luck with that I guess.

[Elizar_Naki]

I've never seen 1 + 1 add up to 3 either, but hey you seem like the hopeful type, so good luck with that I guess.

JR's not exactly being diplomatic here, but I can confirm that they're right. Once you reach 4 pillars, the safe zones become very small and are often only on one side of the arena. If you happen to choose the wrong side to stand on BEFORE the pillars rise and the telegraphs go out, it is possible to have too little time to find and reach the safe zone, at which point you're just done, there's nothing you can do about it, and nothing you really could've done to change the situation other than...be psychic, I guess. Happened to me a boatload of times.

[Myon88]

Once you reach 4 pillars, the safe zones become very small and are often only on one side of the arena. If you happen to choose the wrong side to stand on BEFORE the pillars rise and the telegraphs go out, it is possible to have too little time to find and reach the safe zone, at which point you're just done

You're right about that. When 4 pillars are active, two adjacent pillars being circle aoes will completely cover the side of the arena they're on, all the way to the edge leaving no safe room (this doesn't happen with 3 pillars, because they're spaced further apart).

However, this still isn't an impossible situation. The question then becomes, why do you feel the need to 'choose a side' so early in the first place? Now yeah, I can see why it would make sense in general - it gives a better field of view, the pillars kinda make you want to be far from them, and it works fine for the early phases. However, if you wanted to ensure this never happened when 4 pillars are active, there is another solution that is 100% guaranteed to work.

Instead of picking a side so early, stand in the middle of the map as the pillars spawn. If you see from the cut animation that your 'side' is going to be completely covered by two circle aoes, instead of running back there, just go to any of the other 3 sides instead. Since you're starting from the middle now, all sides are equally close and you will definitely get to the safe one in time - as long as you can identify it quickly enough.

[Canadane]

You're right about that. When 4 pillars are active, two adjacent pillars being circle aoes will completely cover the side of the arena they're on, all the way to the edge leaving no safe room (this doesn't happen with 3 pillars, because they're spaced further apart).

However, this still isn't an impossible situation. The question then becomes, why do you feel the need to 'choose a side' so early in the first place? Now yeah, I can see why it would make sense in general - it gives a better field of view, the pillars kinda make you want to be far from them, and it works fine for the early phases. However, if you wanted to ensure this never happened when 4 pillars are active, there is another solution that is 100% guaranteed to work.

Instead of picking a side so early, stand in the middle of the map as the pillars spawn. If you see from the cut animation that your 'side' is going to be completely covered by two circle aoes, instead of running back there, just go to any of the other 3 sides instead. Since you're starting from the middle now, all sides are equally close and you will definitely get to the safe one in time - as long as you can identify it quickly enough.

I don't know why I never thought of this before.
It makes so much sense, too.

I'm looking forward to my next slice now.