Overview: Build bridges over valleys, canals, and rivers. Sequel to
Bridge Constructor.*
*Although the game is a sequel, several reviews say its purpose is to serve as an intro to players new to the bridge building genre.
20191116 Comment:
I see screenshots on 20160225 from 2:57 AM to 3:33 AM (36 minutes) and (three) on 20190524 from 11:31 PM (first) to 11:53 PM (second and third) (22 minutes). Meanwhile, according to Steam I've played for 35 minutes and that I last played on 20190524. To top it all off, I unlocked three achievements on 20170116 and one achievement on 20190524; I suspect the three achievements on 20170116 are a result of playing on 20160225 while offline which registered when for whatever reason I ran the game on 20170116. In summary, I estimate the total game time as 1 hour: 36 minutes on 20160225 and 35 minutes on 20190524.
Steam Game Time: 35 minutes (total game time)
Estimated Total Game Time: 1 hour
20191116:
Today I put in a couple of hours into the game and the main thing I realized was the importance of using certain structures to relieve stress. In short, press play to identify components of the bridge which are under the most stress and determine the primary forces which are causing them. Then build something which will counter the forces identified.
Gameplay Log:
Completed all the levels with Car Stickers and Truck Stickers.
Working on Material Constraints for all the levels.
Stuck on Material Constraints for Northern Reef Bridge 8
Steam Game Time: 4.6 hours (total game time) / 4.0 hours (session game time)
20191117:
Gameplay Log:
Session 1
I solved Material Constraints for Key Mahooti Bridge 4 by implementing a strategy I realized earlier today:
Add a bunch of excess joints. For example instead of a simple \/ coming from a single vertex, one can do \\|//. In coordinate form, where the vertex is (0, 0), then the one can extend wood beams out to (-2, 4), (-1, 4), (0, 4), (1, 4), and (2, 4). In one puzzle, I had those beams as well as (-2, 2), (2, 2), (3, 2), and (4, 2).
Completed all the levels with Material Constraints. [Edit: I thought I got Material Constraints for Northern Reef Bridge 8 but in actuality I spent too much money.]
I was close to giving up on Money Saver for Tutoria Bridge 5 but then came back and solved it.
Completed Material Constraints for Northern Reef Bridge 8.
Give up on Money Saver for Northern Reef Bridge 5, 7, and 8. (Being sleepy certainly doesn't help.)
Session 2
Took a break and returned to the game.
Decided to work on the Safety First.
Give up on Safety First for Tutoria Bridge 8.
Steam Game Time: 6.3 hours (total game time) / 1.7 hours (session 1 game time)
Steam Game Time: 7.4 hours (total game time) / 1.1 hours (session 2 game time)*
*Some time spent idle and some time spent occupied by apartment maintenance
Thoughts:
Pros:
+ Instruction helpful for beginners
+ Visualization of the load is neat and useful
Neutral:
~ The physics is just passive; there's no instruction on how to distribute stress and load which can potentially make the game difficult for the average player
Minor Cons:
- No confirmation to override a previously saved layout
- No fast forward button; this might be a limitation of the engine they use to model the stress as the cars/truck pass the bridge.
- Sound option can only be toggled from main menu.
- No redo button (to pair with undo).
- I understand that I can just right click to remove an element but I think an eraser tool would be more transparent to a user
Summary:
In terms of difficulty,
Bridge Constructor Playground is occasionally challenging. Explicitly, some of the levels have challenging side goals; that is, for a some of the levels, at least one of "Money Saver," "Safety First," or "Material Constraints" is requires some thought.
At the moment I don't know how the game compares to
Bridge Constructor. I've read that it introduces certain gameplay mechanics to help out newer players. However, I find it odd that a game geared towards beginners lacks some of the minute details that a beginner player would expect (as mentioned in my list of minor cons).
20240127 Snapshot:
Steam Game Time: 8.0 hours (cumulative game time) / 7h 57m (Playnite)
Last Played: 20191117
20240127:
I resumed this game today and found that I had completed all the levels. I had not, however, received all the badges for each level (missing at most the two budget constraint badges for each level). As such, I went through and tried to tackle levels with uncompleted badges.
Steam Game Time: 9.9 hours (cumulative game time) / 1.9 hours (session game time)
20240128:
Today I started identifying a pattern in solutions for low cost and safety. Generally low cost solutions require the road be wooden roads with the occasional metal roads where a road would break. The solution will almost surely use an upright metal posts with cables extending to anchor it and the roads around it. Once the low cost solution is established, the safety solution can be found by replacing the metal posts with a concrete column. The aforementioned template doesn't always work, especially because sometimes conditions prevent it from occurring. However, it is a good starting point.
By the end of today, I have all the medals from the first and third island, I have not revisited the fourth island, and I have all but one medal from the second island where the low cost medal for Bridge 8 alludes me. The budget for that medal is 23000 and the closest I've come with a working bridge is 23050.
Steam Game Time: 16.3 hours (cumulative game time) / ~6.1 hours (session game time) + ~0.3 hours hours (idle time)
2024129:
By the end of today, I have all the medals except for three: the low cost medal for Bridge 8 on the second island (I did not try it today), the low cost medal & safety medal for Bridge 7 on the fourth island.
I ended the session attempting the "Storm Warning" achievement: "A vehicle flew at least 5 grid units into the air." I eventually achieved it with some luck. Running the same layout again resulted in different results. This reminds me that one of the badges I got was achieved by similar variation in the physics. In other words, there were some runs where the bridge broke and the trucks didn't make it and there was one run where the bridge broke or was breaking and the trucks just barely made it. In any case, I did "Storm Warning" with cars.
Steam Game Time: 20.2 hours (cumulative game time) / 3.9 hours (session game time)
20240129:
Gameplay Log:
Tackled low cost medal for Bridge 8 on the second island and I was inspired by a work in progress solution for Bridge 7 on the fourth island from yesterday. I was able to solve it! Solution:
the solution involves using two metal posts leaning inwards to support under the bridge from which two metal posts come up
Return to Bridge 7 on the fourth island. Struggling.
|
Very tempted to look up a solution. Was at the top of such a guide. Decided not to. However, I think I should take a break from the game.
Steam Game Time: 21.5 hours (cumulative game time) / 1.3 hours (session game time)
Summary:
While I had gone back to complete the game, I'm not sure how I feel about the game. I found myself implementing the same strategy over and over, so despite the different levels, the game felt repetitive.
Rating: 3.6/5
Bridge Constructor Playground (PC) (2014)
Relevant Links:
Bridge Constructor (Wikipedia.org)
Bridge Constructor Playground (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
Bridge Constructor Playground (steamdb.info)
Bridge Constructor Playground (Steam Store Page)
Nov2014 9.99 9.99 1.99
