20120402:
Today my friend saw Trine on my Steam Wishlist and, since it was on sale, he purchased the game and gifted it to me.
While I have homework to grade, I decided to give the game a try. I love the graphics and story. It's such a beautiful world. Interacting with the level is also fun (this mainly applies to the Wizard). The Thief's swinging ability is useful, but takes some getting used to.
Switching between characters made me think of The Lost Vikings. However, the two games have no similarities beyond switching characters as the fundamental gameplay mechanic. In The Lost Vikings, the player switches between the three characters, but each is always in existence somewhere in the level. In Trine, the player is only one character at a time. In addition, switching in Trine is generally not essential and many areas of the map that can be traversed by one character can be traversed by another character.
Possible Hardware Issues:
I probably would be playing more, but for some reason, my computer restarts at a certain point in the game. The first time this happened, I started the game up again at a lower quality (Medium instead of High). At approximately the same point in the game (though not exactly), my computer restarted. The only other game that has restarted my computer is Dungeon Defenders (2011). Due to the computer restarting, I've only played Dungeon Defenders once. On the other hand, I've played League of Legends plenty of times without my computer restarting.
Overall, I'm most suspicious of the power supply. I'll probably get it replaced soon.
Current Settings:
[20150119 Edit][20181211 Edit]
20120527:
I was testing out games on my newly built computer and running Trine would be a good test. As described above, my PC in Maryland failed to run the game past a certain point. Thankfully, the new computer was able to run Trine past that point. I will definitely order a new power supply for my computer in Maryland.
The Thief's swinging remains difficult and at times appears unrealistic, especially when coming into contact with an obstacle. Bionic Commando (Game Boy) (1992) has a simpler, yet more enjoyable swinging mechanism.
Some times the physics-based gameplay can be fun, but at other times it is needlessly frustrating.
Current Settings:
[20120601][20181211 Edit]
20120611:
Chris and I played the second level. I had played most, if not all of it already, so I had a sense of what to do.
Setup: Chris (Gamepad) and me (Keyboard).
Tip: The Knight can block fireballs. The Wizard can also block fireballs by drawing boxes.
[20120612][20181211 Edit]
20120612:
Josh and I played the second level again. There were three experience points left unclaimed by Chris and I. We continued playing some other levels as well. We earned a lot of abilities and leveled up some of them. It took some trial-and-error to figure out how the inventory menu works, but we figured it out: to click on items and abilities, you have to be the main person controlling the character.
You can queue up to be a character by pressing 1-2-3 on the keyboard or the left and right triggers on the gamepad. To look at info, either use the yellow button on the game pad or right click on the mouse. For selecting an item or ability, use the left click.
Fun things to do include the following:
1) Drawing boxes to drop onto an enemy.
2) Sticking boxes into the spikes.
3) Levitating other players with platforms (easier than levitating them with boxes).
One part of the level, when figuring out a trick, was rewarding. Later, a different trick had to be used, that could have possibly helped in the first part of the level.
The majority of each level can be done differently by each character or as a result of one of the players. Therefore switching characters generally isn't necessary. This is good, because going to the inventory to switch out characters would impede the flow of the game. However, in the situation where a specific character is needed, the method of going to the inventory or switching (when playing with two players) is provided.
We only encountered one situation where (at least we think) if the Wizard had died, we would have had to go back to the last checkpoint, because there would not have been a way to proceed. Spawning back at the checkpoint is a nice feature.
[20181211 Edit]
20120625:
The other day (20120624), I wanted to see if using a split keyboard was possible but I couldn't even get the mouse to work. Today, I figured out that the tablet mouse was overriding the regular mouse. However, after unplugging the tablet mouse, the regular mouse didn't work until restarted the game (exit the game and start it back up).
Josh, Steph, and I played from Crystal Caverns (Level 5) all the way to the Iron Forge (Level 14).
Setup: Josh (Gamepad), Steph (Gamepad), me (Keyboard)
During the game, I think we only resorted to switching to the Thief once or twice.
With three players, the game is harder in some places and easier in others. It's nice that the characters can't push each other, but the Wizard's items can push the other players. The Wizard can also, with sufficient momentum, use a box to destroy enemies.
There were a couple glitches here and there. One involved the gates not closing and allowing us to run past the crazy enemy, which at the time the Knight died and the Thief hardly did any damage.
At first, Steph mainly played the Thief and Josh and I would trade off on the Knight and Wizard. Later, Steph mainly played the Knight, Josh mainly played the Thief, and I mainly played the Wizard.
My style of play involved using a lot of objects to make the path secure and allows for error. Steph had a more head-on approach, which was often safer, but Josh and I have trouble keeping up.
Of course, we would mess each other up every so often and proceed to trade friendly shouts of frustration.
The funniest moment of the day was when Josh and I died, so it was up to Steph to stay alive or else we would have to start from the last checkpoint. With this in mind, I told Steph just to go for an XP bottle, knowing that she couldn't make it. It was funny to watch her jump and fall to her death. Spawning back at the last checkpoint isn't a big deal, and the laughs were well worth it.
After Steph and Josh left, I wanted to figure out which level we started from. Even though I turned off the other controllers, the game persisted to have three characters and so I had to restart the game. In any case, I eventually figured out we started from Crystal Caverns and, at that point, I should have turned the game off. However, I was addicted and I ended up playing through the entire level and found about 3 or 4 XP bottles and 1 chest.
Overall, the game can a glitch here and there, but the environment is amazing. And not everything is a glitch, but just unintentional consequences of multiplayer co-op. For example, the knight sinks in water, which can be useful in the single-player game, but annoying in a three-player game.
[20120626][20181211 Edit]
20120826:
[20130118]
20120830:
So I suspected that the PSU (power supply unit) that came with my PC in Maryland was the reason it would shut down and restart while I was playing games. As such, I was excited when the PSU I ordered came in the mail today. I purchased the same brand and model PSU as the one I bought when I built my first computer this last summer in California. Confident in the PSU, I knew I would keep it regardless of whether or not it fixed the problem. Fortunately, it did fix the problem, and the PC did not restart while running Trine after I installed the new PSU.
I spent some time searching for undiscovered experience vials and secret chests.
I still have the following to find:
[20181211 Edit]
20130118:
I still have the following to find:
Steam Game Time: 2.9 hrs last two weeks / 22.0 hrs on record
[20181211 Edit]
20140104:
I still have the following to find:
Tip: I learned that the knight's hammer smash is a more efficient way of getting rid of bats. In fact, it's a great way to get rid of many enemies, because it has a good range.
[20181211 Edit]
As of 20181211:
Steam Game Time: 25.5 hours
Trine (2009) (PC)
Relevant Links:
Trine Website
Trine (video game) (Wikipedia.org)
Today my friend saw Trine on my Steam Wishlist and, since it was on sale, he purchased the game and gifted it to me.
 |
| The Trine environment is beautiful. |
Thanks, Mark!
While I have homework to grade, I decided to give the game a try. I love the graphics and story. It's such a beautiful world. Interacting with the level is also fun (this mainly applies to the Wizard). The Thief's swinging ability is useful, but takes some getting used to.
Switching between characters made me think of The Lost Vikings. However, the two games have no similarities beyond switching characters as the fundamental gameplay mechanic. In The Lost Vikings, the player switches between the three characters, but each is always in existence somewhere in the level. In Trine, the player is only one character at a time. In addition, switching in Trine is generally not essential and many areas of the map that can be traversed by one character can be traversed by another character.
 |
| The Wizard can conjure boxes in order to cross gaps. |
Possible Hardware Issues:
I probably would be playing more, but for some reason, my computer restarts at a certain point in the game. The first time this happened, I started the game up again at a lower quality (Medium instead of High). At approximately the same point in the game (though not exactly), my computer restarted. The only other game that has restarted my computer is Dungeon Defenders (2011). Due to the computer restarting, I've only played Dungeon Defenders once. On the other hand, I've played League of Legends plenty of times without my computer restarting.
Overall, I'm most suspicious of the power supply. I'll probably get it replaced soon.
Current Settings:
Detail Level: Medium
Screen Resolution: 1024x768
Vertical Sync: Off
Texture Detail Level: Medium
Anisotropic Filtering: 4
Antialiasing: Disabled
Fullscreen: On
Extra Gamma Effects: On
Render Glow: On
Distortion Effects: Off
High Quality Video: On
Sounds Enabled: On
Use EAX: Off
Enable multiple mice and keyboards: Off
 |
| The Thief. |
[20150119 Edit][20181211 Edit]
20120527:
I was testing out games on my newly built computer and running Trine would be a good test. As described above, my PC in Maryland failed to run the game past a certain point. Thankfully, the new computer was able to run Trine past that point. I will definitely order a new power supply for my computer in Maryland.
The Thief's swinging remains difficult and at times appears unrealistic, especially when coming into contact with an obstacle. Bionic Commando (Game Boy) (1992) has a simpler, yet more enjoyable swinging mechanism.
Some times the physics-based gameplay can be fun, but at other times it is needlessly frustrating.
Current Settings:
Detail Level: High
Screen Resolution: 1024x768
Vertical Sync: Off
Texture Detail Level: High
Anisotropic Filtering: 8
Antialiasing: Disabled
Fullscreen: On
Extra Gamma Effects: On
Render Glow: On
Distortion Effects: On
High Quality Video: On
Sounds Enabled: On
Use EAX: Off
Enable multiple mice and keyboards: Off
 |
| The Knight picks up the stone fist and prepares to launch it. |
 |
| Goodbye wall! |
[20120601][20181211 Edit]
20120611:
Chris and I played the second level. I had played most, if not all of it already, so I had a sense of what to do.
Setup: Chris (Gamepad) and me (Keyboard).
Tip: The Knight can block fireballs. The Wizard can also block fireballs by drawing boxes.
[20120612][20181211 Edit]
20120612:
Josh and I played the second level again. There were three experience points left unclaimed by Chris and I. We continued playing some other levels as well. We earned a lot of abilities and leveled up some of them. It took some trial-and-error to figure out how the inventory menu works, but we figured it out: to click on items and abilities, you have to be the main person controlling the character.
You can queue up to be a character by pressing 1-2-3 on the keyboard or the left and right triggers on the gamepad. To look at info, either use the yellow button on the game pad or right click on the mouse. For selecting an item or ability, use the left click.
Fun things to do include the following:
1) Drawing boxes to drop onto an enemy.
2) Sticking boxes into the spikes.
3) Levitating other players with platforms (easier than levitating them with boxes).
One part of the level, when figuring out a trick, was rewarding. Later, a different trick had to be used, that could have possibly helped in the first part of the level.
The majority of each level can be done differently by each character or as a result of one of the players. Therefore switching characters generally isn't necessary. This is good, because going to the inventory to switch out characters would impede the flow of the game. However, in the situation where a specific character is needed, the method of going to the inventory or switching (when playing with two players) is provided.
 |
| When in darkness... |
 |
| ... light up torches with a flaming arrow. Note: the Knight can also use his flaming sword. |
We only encountered one situation where (at least we think) if the Wizard had died, we would have had to go back to the last checkpoint, because there would not have been a way to proceed. Spawning back at the checkpoint is a nice feature.
[20181211 Edit]
20120625:
The other day (20120624), I wanted to see if using a split keyboard was possible but I couldn't even get the mouse to work. Today, I figured out that the tablet mouse was overriding the regular mouse. However, after unplugging the tablet mouse, the regular mouse didn't work until restarted the game (exit the game and start it back up).
Josh, Steph, and I played from Crystal Caverns (Level 5) all the way to the Iron Forge (Level 14).
Setup: Josh (Gamepad), Steph (Gamepad), me (Keyboard)
During the game, I think we only resorted to switching to the Thief once or twice.
With three players, the game is harder in some places and easier in others. It's nice that the characters can't push each other, but the Wizard's items can push the other players. The Wizard can also, with sufficient momentum, use a box to destroy enemies.
There were a couple glitches here and there. One involved the gates not closing and allowing us to run past the crazy enemy, which at the time the Knight died and the Thief hardly did any damage.
 |
| I like the enemy AI's behavior. Here the Knight raises his shield against an incoming arrow. |
At first, Steph mainly played the Thief and Josh and I would trade off on the Knight and Wizard. Later, Steph mainly played the Knight, Josh mainly played the Thief, and I mainly played the Wizard.
My style of play involved using a lot of objects to make the path secure and allows for error. Steph had a more head-on approach, which was often safer, but Josh and I have trouble keeping up.
Of course, we would mess each other up every so often and proceed to trade friendly shouts of frustration.
The funniest moment of the day was when Josh and I died, so it was up to Steph to stay alive or else we would have to start from the last checkpoint. With this in mind, I told Steph just to go for an XP bottle, knowing that she couldn't make it. It was funny to watch her jump and fall to her death. Spawning back at the last checkpoint isn't a big deal, and the laughs were well worth it.
After Steph and Josh left, I wanted to figure out which level we started from. Even though I turned off the other controllers, the game persisted to have three characters and so I had to restart the game. In any case, I eventually figured out we started from Crystal Caverns and, at that point, I should have turned the game off. However, I was addicted and I ended up playing through the entire level and found about 3 or 4 XP bottles and 1 chest.
Overall, the game can a glitch here and there, but the environment is amazing. And not everything is a glitch, but just unintentional consequences of multiplayer co-op. For example, the knight sinks in water, which can be useful in the single-player game, but annoying in a three-player game.
 |
| Another dazzling view of the environment. The drawbridge is in the process of lowering. |
[20120626][20181211 Edit]
20120826:
Saveslot 2
Saved: 2012/07/21-02:08
Experience (level): 359/400
Experience (enemies): 270/275
Secrets: 31/26
Level: Game Completed
[20130118]
20120830:
So I suspected that the PSU (power supply unit) that came with my PC in Maryland was the reason it would shut down and restart while I was playing games. As such, I was excited when the PSU I ordered came in the mail today. I purchased the same brand and model PSU as the one I bought when I built my first computer this last summer in California. Confident in the PSU, I knew I would keep it regardless of whether or not it fixed the problem. Fortunately, it did fix the problem, and the PC did not restart while running Trine after I installed the new PSU.
I spent some time searching for undiscovered experience vials and secret chests.
 |
| Experience (green) vials. |
I still have the following to find:
08. 24/25 20/20 1/2
10. 18/20 15/15 2/2
11. 34/35 20/20 2/2
13. 31/35 20/20 1/2 (did not play today)
14. 39/40 25/25 2/2
Saveslot 2
Saved: 2012/08/30
Experience (level): 391/400
Experience (enemies): 275/275
Secrets: 34/26
Level: Game Completed
[20181211 Edit]
20130118:
I still have the following to find:
08. 24/25 20/20 2/2
: (Comment #3) Oh my goodness... the vials accompanying the chest were already consumed, but for some reason the chest had not been opened.
10. 18/20 15/15 2/2
11. 34/35 20/20 2/2 (did not play today)
13. 34/35 20/20 2/2
: (Comment #1) Like many of the ones I found on 20120830, the 3 vials and 1 chest I found on this level were obvious.
14. 39/40 25/25 2/2
: (Comment #2) I wonder where it is.
Steam Game Time: 2.9 hrs last two weeks / 22.0 hrs on record
 |
| The Thief stands atop a building in the sun with her bow drawn. |
[20181211 Edit]
20140104:
I still have the following to find:
08. 25/25 20/20 2/2
: (Comment #1) I found the last experience vial. It was located in the wall which borders the platform that lowers under the player character's weight.
10. 18/20 15/15 2/2
11. 35/35 20/20 2/2
: (Comment #2) What the heck, the vial was in the bubbling swamp water (deals damage) that comes before the last checkpoint. Without finding the vial by accident, I suppose one could use the wizard to comb the poisonous water and listen for the clanking of a vial.
13. 34/35 20/20 2/2
14. 39/40 25/25 2/2 (did not play today)
Tip: I learned that the knight's hammer smash is a more efficient way of getting rid of bats. In fact, it's a great way to get rid of many enemies, because it has a good range.
[20181211 Edit]
As of 20181211:
Steam Game Time: 25.5 hours
Trine (2009) (PC)
Relevant Links:
Trine Website
Trine (video game) (Wikipedia.org)
Date/Time
Monday, April 2, 2012
@
17:27
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