[HN Gopher] Treksit - Interstellar puzzle based on Graph Theory
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       Treksit - Interstellar puzzle based on Graph Theory
        
       Author : mrkstu
       Score  : 45 points
       Date   : 2024-02-17 10:09 UTC (1 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (treksit.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (treksit.com)
        
       | mrkstu wrote:
       | Not affiliated, just came across it randomly and it is a fun
       | distraction that stimulates parts of my brain that often aren't.
       | 
       | 20 'puzzles' to work through.
        
         | greenbit wrote:
         | Wish there was a counter, something to tell you "this is puzzle
         | #N". Also, it would be good to know that there are only 20 from
         | the start. "Puzzle #N/20"? Should be easy mods to make. Anyway,
         | apart from that, oddly satisfying to flatten those graphs!
         | 
         | Also - you can still move the vertices even after you achieve
         | the flattened state. I found that usually when flatness was
         | first reached, the graph would be kind of scrunched up. You can
         | keep adjusting to achieve maximal symmetry if so inclined.
        
           | h0l0cube wrote:
           | > Wish there was a counter, something to tell you "this is
           | puzzle #N". Also, it would be good to know that there are
           | only 20 from the start. "Puzzle #N/20"?
           | 
           | Press the up arrow at the bottom
        
         | denton-scratch wrote:
         | I also found it an entertaining distraction. For a minute;
         | solved five puzzles, won't do it again.
        
       | gavinray wrote:
       | > _" Rearrange the points on the graph so that no lines cross,
       | and no point is sitting on any of the lines."_
       | 
       | I do not understand the second part of the statement.
       | 
       | Isn't a line nothing but a series of continous points?
       | 
       | IE, given any two positions (A, B) on Line Foo, aren't there an
       | infinite number of points between them?
        
         | Zanni wrote:
         | so that no _control_ point (the circled grab handles) is
         | sitting on any _line segment_ between two control points
        
       | baq wrote:
       | Relevant theory 101: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planar_graph
        
       | alejohausner wrote:
       | Simon Tatham's "untangle" puzzle[1] does this, with randomly
       | generated planar graphs. If you ever find yourself being too
       | productive, download his puzzle collection ;-)
       | 
       | 1:https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/puzzles/js/unta...
        
         | gmfawcett wrote:
         | Yes! Tatham's collection is wonderful. The puzzle that he calls
         | Signpost is one of my absolute favorites. Impressive from a
         | programming point of view, too:
         | 
         | > All of them run natively on Unix (GTK) and on Windows. They
         | can also be played on the web, as Java or Javascript applets.
         | 
         | I use the Android version:
         | https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=name.boyle.chr...
        
       | lovegrenoble wrote:
       | Fun, but easy to crack. Try this instead, that may also make you
       | want
       | 
       | to throw your mouse on occasion (one more 'Knot' solving game):
       | https://knots.netlify.app
        
       | underlipton wrote:
       | Two suggestions I'd have for it:
       | 
       | 1) Don't automatically mark an answer as correct. Sometimes I
       | stumbled on an answer and didn't really know how I got there.
       | Making the user check once they think they've got it is more
       | engaging.
       | 
       | 2) A kazoo cover of Cruel Angel's Thesis for the BGM.
        
       | Etherlord87 wrote:
       | As someone who uses nodes a lot in Blender and likes to minimize
       | link ("noodle") crossing - I found that game to be very easy :D
       | The hardest thing about it is the very limited window - points
       | often need to be moved into a small space, and then the points
       | that otherwise wouldn't have to be moved - have to be moved apart
       | to make space. Because those aren't points, they are circles that
       | take a lot of space in a very limited space. Not just visually, I
       | noticed a point really can't touch anything other than the two
       | connected segments in order for your solution to be accepted.
       | 
       | Here's the solution to the last level - notice I make no
       | topological change in the GIF, and yet only after it the solution
       | is accepted. Moreover both before and after this movement no
       | point touches a segment, and yet somehow before the movement the
       | solution is considered wrong... The validator is way too pedantic
       | for the little space there is: https://i.imgur.com/by42EZg.gif
        
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       (page generated 2024-02-18 23:02 UTC)