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cso 222 evil hourglass
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by
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dustin
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DUSTIN                            2022-01-08 16:15
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SOLUTION FREE!  
BOTH THE CAVE AND THE SOLUTIONS MIGHT LOOK VERY COUNTER-INTUITIVE, SO HERE'S SOME EXPLANATION:  
  
WHY CAN'T ^ JUST TAKE THE DIAMOND AND EXIT?  
^ GETS INEVITABLY CRUSHED BY THE NEXT \. THIS IS A SPECIFIC OPEN BORDER EFFECT BECAUSE THE SLIME IS IN THE LAST ROW. TO UNDERSTAND IT, CONSIDER THIS SMALLER 3X5 CAVE. (T=TITANIUM WALL, .=SPACE)  
.\. ROW 4  
.S. ROW 5  
T^T ROW 1  
... ROW 2  
... ROW 3  
AS ^ IS IN ROW 1, HE IS SCANNED FIRST AND MOVES DOWN, TRYING TO ESCAPE. HOWEVER, THE SLIME IS SCANNED AFTERWARDSBECAUSE IT IS IN ROW 5, SO IT SWALLOWS THE \ IN THE SAME FRAME AND THE NEXT PICTURE LOOKS AS FOLLOWS:  
... ROW 4  
.S. ROW 5  
T\T ROW 1  
.^. ROW 2  
... ROW 3  
NEXT FRAME, THE \ IN ROW 1 IS SCANNED FIRST. IT IS IN "FALLING" STATE BECAUSE IT WAS JUST SWALLOWED BY THE SLIME AND IT SEES ^ UNDER IT, SO IT CRUSHES HIM BEFORE HE CAN ESCAPE!  
  
SO THAT'S WHY THE OBVIOUS TRY DOES NOT WORK. NOW WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE SOLUTION?  
AGAIN I'LL REDUCE THE CAVE TO SMALLER SIZE, THE PRINCIPLE IS STILL THE SAME: (W=WALL, M=MAGIC WALL)  
\\\ ROW 4  
W\W ROW 5  
.S. ROW 6  
W\W ROW 1  
.^. ROW 2  
.M. ROW 3  
AS ALREADY DISCUSSED, IF ^ RAKES THE \, HE WILL GET CRUSHED. INSTEAD, HE MOVES OUT OF THE WAY.  
\\\ ROW 4  
W\W ROW 5  
.S. ROW 6  
W\W ROW 1  
..^ ROW 2  
.M. ROW 3  
NEXT FRAME, SOMETHING REMARKABLE HAPPENS: THE \ IN ROW 1 OF COURSE FALLS, AND THE SLIME IN ROW 6 IS SCANNED AFTERWARDS AND SWALLOWS THE \ IN ROW 5. SO THE NEXT PICTURE LOOKS AS FOLLOWS:  
\\\ ROW 4  
W.W ROW 5  
.S. ROW 6  
W\W ROW 1  
.\^ ROW 2  
.M. ROW 3  
WE SEE AN UNUSUAL PICTURE OF TWO \\ IN ROW 1 AND 2! NOW ^ WAITS UNTIL HIS CHANCE COMES. THE NEXT FRAMES:  
  
\.\ ROW 4  
W\W ROW 5  
.S. ROW 6  
W\W ROW 1  
..^ ROW 2  
.M. ROW 3  
  
\.\ ROW 4  
W.W ROW 5  
.S. ROW 6  
W\W ROW 1  
.\^ ROW 2  
.M. ROW 3  
  
NOW THE CHANCE HAS COME. THE NEXT FRAME MEANS ACTION!  
THE \ IN ROW 1 IS SCANNED FIRST. IT SEES ANOTHER \ BELOW, SO IT "LANDS" ON IT AND THEREBY LOSES ITS "FALLING" STATE. THIS WILL BECOME VERY IMPORTANT!  
THE \ IN ROW 2 IS SCANNED NEXT AND FALLS INTO THE MAGIC WALL.  
NOW IT'S ^'S TURN! HE MOVES LEFT, RIGHT INTO THE SPACE WHERE THE \ HAS JUST VANISHED, BELOW THE \ IN ROW 1.  
IN ROW 4, THE LEFT \ FALLS SIDEWAYS.  
THE SLIME IN ROW 6 HAS NOTHING TO SWALLOW.  
NEXT FRAME:  
  
.\\ ROW 4  
W.W ROW 5  
.S. ROW 6  
W\W ROW 1  
.^. ROW 2  
.M. ROW 3  
THE \ IN ROW 1 IS SCANNED FIRST. NOW IT'S IMPORTANT THAT IT HAS LOST ITS "FALLING" STATE, OTHERWISE IT WOULD CRUSH ^ NOW! AS IT IS, NOTHING HAPPENS.  
NOW ^ IN ROW 2 IS SCANNED. HE SNAPS UPWARDS, COLLECTING THE \ IN ROW 1!  
THE \ IN ROW 4 FALLS, WHILE THE SLIME STILL HAS NOTHING TO SWALLOW (WHICH IS AGAIN IMPORTANT, OTHERWISE ^ WOULD BE CRUSHED NEXT FRAME!)  
  
..\ ROW 4  
W\W ROW 5  
.S. ROW 6  
W.W ROW 1  
.^. ROW 2  
.M. ROW 3  
  
FROM HERE, IT'S EASY TO SEE THAT ^ IS QUICK ENOUGH TO ESCAPE WITH HIS \!  
  
PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF SOMEONE READ THIS WITH INTEREST! I LIKE TO WRITE THESE EXPLANATIONS, BUT IT'S ALSO QUITE TIME-CONSUMING SO I WANT TO DO IT IN FUTURE ONLY IF THERE ARE INTERESTED READERS! :)