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arno 1500 the emperors palace
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by
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Arno
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ARNO                              2022-09-12 22:17
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\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\  
  
THE OLD EMPEROR HAS SAVED HIS PRECIOUS GEMS DEEP DOWN INTO THE PALACE'S CATACOMBS.  
BUT HE LEFT VARIOUS TRAPS AND A CHALLENGING PUZZLE FOR ANY HERO (OR FOOL?) WITH ASPIRATION TO CONQUER THE TREASURE.  
  
SO ROCKFORD, DON'T BE GREEDY, OR YOU'LL BE LOCKED UP FOREVER! BE SMART AND YOU'LL BE A RICH MAN!  
  
GOOD LUCK! :-D  
  
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ENRICO                            2022-09-12 22:52
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WOW!

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NESDORI                           2022-09-13 13:04
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BEAUTIFUL ART, AGAIN! MY VISION WASN'T THAT FAR OFF :D SOME COMMENTS ABOUT THE PUZZLE PART LATER.

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DUSTIN                            2022-09-13 16:21
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PAPERWORK ACCOMPLISHED! :D

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NESDORI                           2022-09-13 17:06
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dustin, I WONDER IF YOUR PAPERWORK SOLUTION IS CLOSE TO MY PAPERWORK; I USED 65 SNAPS AND ONLY 13 DIPS (^ DOWN/UP). WHAT'S YOUR RATIO?-) I GUESS THE INTENDED IS CLOSE TO 50/50 RATIO :)

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DUSTIN                            2022-09-13 19:31
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nesdori, I ALSO HAVE THE SAME RATIO AS YOU, AND MY PAPERWORK IS BASED ON A MINIMUM NUMBER OF DIPS, SO I THINK WE HAVE OPTIMIZED THE RATIO WITH OUR SOLUTIONS.  
I'M NOT SURE IF "THE" INTENDED SOLUTION EXISTS - I'M SURE THAT arno IS AWARE THAT THE SOLUTION IS NOT UNIQUE :)

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NESDORI                           2022-09-13 19:35
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dustin, YES OF COURSE BUT I THINK THAT THERE'S ONE PARTICULAR SOLUTION (KIND OF INTENDED) WHICH arno USED TO CONSTRUCT THIS PUZZLE AND THAT SOLUTION PROBABLY USES SNAPS AND DIPS EVENLY :)

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ARNO                              2022-09-13 19:47
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THANKS ALL! :-D  
  
nesdori AND dustin: INDEED I EXPECTED MANY SOLUTIONS WOULD BE POSSIBLE. IN MY DESIGNED/TESTED SOLUTION, THERE ARE 32 SNAPS, 35 DIPS, AND 11 PAIRS OF EITHER 2|| OR 2\\ WHERE SNAPPING/DIPPING MAKES NO DIFFERENCE FOR THE ORDER.  
  
GLAD YOU ENJOYED THE PAPERWORK! ;-D

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DUSTIN                            2022-09-13 20:17
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AH, SO YOU WERE RIGHT nesdori :D   
I THINK THAT THE |||/\\\ PLACEMENTS AND ALSO THE SLIME/MWALL PLACEMENTS CAN EVEN BE RANDOMIZED AND THE CAVE WOULD ALMOST ALWAYS BE SOLVABLE :D

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ARNO                              2022-09-13 22:19
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BY THE WAY, THIS CAVE IS ANOTHER VARIANT OF MULTILAYER "SNAP-OR-DIP-PUZZLES": IN MY CAVE 1288 ALL LAYERS KEEP THE SAME #ITEMS (USING OPEN BORDERS), WHILE IN MY CAVE 1247 ITEMS ARE ADDED SIDEWAYS. THIS CAVE IS A VARIANT WHERE ITEMS ARE DROPPED SIDEWAYS.  
  
AND IN CASE YOU WONDER: THE SIGN AT THE BOTTOM-RIGHT MEANS "GOOD LUCK!" ;-D

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DUSTIN                            2022-09-13 23:03
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AHH, THIS IS A SIGN! IT LOOKS TO ME LIKE TWO PEOPLE, A WOMAN AND A MAN STANDING IN FROMT OF THE PALACE :D

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DUSTIN                            2022-09-14 13:22
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THE LEFT SIGN IS THE WOMAN STANDING ON ONE LEG AND POINTING TO THE LEFT, MAKING A CURIOUS IMPRESSION. THE MAN (RIGHT SIGN) LOOKS INTO THE DIRECTION SHOWN BY HIS GIRLFRIEND. ALL IN ALL, THE COMPLETE SIGN LOOKS LIKE A HAPPY COUPLE TO ME. SO I WONDER IF IT'S SUCH A COINCIDENCE THAT IT MEANS "GOOD LUCK" :D

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ARNO                              2022-09-14 14:29
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I DON'T KNOW WHETHER THE DEPICTION HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH A HAPPY COUPLE, BUT SOME BACKGROUND OF THE CHARACTER I FOUND HERE:  
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fu_(character)" target="external">HTTPS://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/FU_(CHARACTER)</a>  
:-)

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DUSTIN                            2022-09-14 17:22
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COOL, THANKS! MY ASSOCIATION WITH A COUPLE IS SO STRAONG THAT I WAS CERTAIN THAT YOU WANTED TO SYMBOLIZE YOURSELF WITH YOUR GIRLFRIEND, ALTHOUGH I FOUND THAT YOUR "SELF-PORTRAIT" DIFFERED CLEARLY FROM REALITY (ACCORDING TO THE PICTURES ON YOUR PERSONAL HOMEPAGE). THAT WAS ALSO THE REASON WHY I DID NOT ASK WHAT THESE SYMBOLS ARE - I WAS SURE I KNEW IT :D

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NESDORI                           2022-09-14 18:18
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:D I SAW CHINESE LETTERS RIGHT AWAY. I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT IT MEANT AND ALTHOUGH THERE PROBABLY IS SOME CHINESE LETTER PATTERN RECOGNITION PAGE WHERE YOU CAN FEED AN IMAGE IT TELLS WHAT THE WRITING MEANS I WASN'T THAT CURIOUS TO FIND OUT WHAT IT MEANS. I ASSUMED THAT arno WILL TELL LATER ANYWAY :) AFTER dustin TOLD THAT HE SEES A MAN AND WOMAN I ALSO THOUGHT THAT INDEED.. THE |LEFT| SIGN LOOKS LIKE A MAN WITH A SUIT AND TILTED HAT AND THE |RIGHT| SIGN LOOKS A LIKE A WOMAN WITH A SKIRT OR TRADITIONAL CHINESE HANFU DRESS. BUT dustin ACTUALLY SEES THEM VICE VERSA :D

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ARNO                              2022-09-14 18:45
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HAHA, WELL FOUND dustin AND nesdori, FUNNY COINCIDENCE! ;-D

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DUSTIN                            2022-09-14 20:08
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FUNNY :D I STILL SEE THE WOMAN LEFT AND THE MAN RIGHT.  
  
THE WOMAN IS VERY THIN. THE TOP "LINE" FROM TOP-LEFT TO BOTTOM-RIGHT IS HER HAIR. THE VERTICAL LINE IS HER (POINT-SHAPED) HEAD AT THE TOP, THEN HER BODY AND HER LEG STANDING ON THE GROUND. THE OTHER LEG IS IN THE AIR AS IF SHE WAS MOVING LEFT (OR SHE'S SO EXCITED THAT SHE CAN'T STAND STILL). THE LINE FROM HER HEAD INTO WEST - SOUTHWEST DIRECTION IS HER RIGHT ARM, WITH WHICH SHE'S POINTING AT THE BOTTOM PART OF THE PUZZLE. HER OTHER ARM IS APPLIED TO THE BODY AND NOT FULLY VISIBLE.  
  
THE MAN AT THE RIGHT HAS HIS HAIR AT THE SAME HEIGHT AS THE WOMAN. HIS OVAL-SHAPED HEAD IS MUCH BIGGER THAN THE WOMAN'S. BELOW THE HEAD, THERE'S HIS BODY (A LOT MORE ROUNDED THAN THE WOMAN'S) AND HE WEARS SOMETHING WITH A BIG CROSS ON IT, DIVDING THE CLOTH INTO FOUR PARTS (LIKE THE ENGLAND FLAG). BELOW THE BODY, HIS FEET ARE VISIBLE, WHILE HIS LEGS ARE HIDDEN IN THE CLOTH.BOTH HIS ARMS ARE APPLIED TO HIS BODY. HE LOOKS LEFT, INTO THE DIRECTION THE WOMAN EXCITEDLY POINTS AT.  
  
THAT'S WHAT I SEE, ANYWAY :D

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DUSTIN                            2022-09-14 20:11
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WHILE THE WOMAN IS EXCITEDLY POINTING AT THE BOTTOM PART OF THE PUZZLE, THE MAN JUST STANDS THERE AND IS NOT SO IMPRESSED. (AFTER ALL, I THOUGHT IT WAS HIM WHO MADE THE PUZZLE!) :D

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DUSTIN                            2022-09-14 20:13
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OR PERHAPS HE'S JUST SMILING AND ENJOYING THE EXCITEMENT OF HIS GIRLFRIEND ON HIS PUZZLE :D

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DARKSTOORM                        2022-09-14 20:31
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I IMMEDIATELY NOTICED CHINESE CHARACTERS, BUT NOW THAT YOU GUYS MENTION THIS... I CAN'T UNSEE IT :D THE LEFT ONE IS DOING THE PIROUETTE :D

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SHREDDER                          2022-09-14 21:57
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BEAUTIFUL CAVE arno :)

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ARNO                              2022-09-15 09:08
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THX shredder! :-D

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ARNO                              2022-09-15 14:39
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MY RUN FREE! :-D

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DUSTIN                            2022-09-15 17:20
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MINE TOO!   
MY APPROACH WAS THAT I FIRST CHECKED WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF I ONLY SNAP, SO THAT EVERY | OR \ EFFECTIVELY JUST FALLS DOWNWARDSEVERY COLUMN GOT A "+" IF THERE WAS THE ELEMENT I WANTED IN THE END (MOSTLY A \, BUT ONCE ALSO A |), AND A "-" OTHERWISE. I GOT THE FOLLOWING RESULT:  
  
+--+-+---++-+--+--+---++  
  
NOW EVERY TIME ^ MOVES DOWN AND UP WHERE THERE'S ONE | AND ONE \, PLUSSES WILL BECOME MINUSSES AND VICE VERSA IN THE TWO CORRESPONDING COLUMNS. IN THE END, ALL COLUMNS MUST BECOME "+" THIS APPROACH GAVE ME A CLEAR PATH TO A SOLUTION WITH MINIMUM "UP AND DOWM"S :D

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NESDORI                           2022-09-15 17:54
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MY APPROACH WAS SIMILAR TO dustin'S: FIRST ASSUME THAT ALL ACTIONS ARE SNAPS AND THEN FIX THE EDGES. A LITTLE DIFFERENT EXECUTION THOUGH; dustin DID MORE DIPS IN EARLIER PHASE AND I DID MORE IN LATER PHASE. I DID 13 DIPS TOTAL AND dustin DID 14 :)

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NESDORI                           2022-09-15 18:14
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OR ACTUALLY, dustin ALSO DID 13 EFFECTIVE DIPS BECAUSE ONE DIP IS DOUBLE | :)

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DUSTIN                            2022-09-15 22:20
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YES, THE 14TH DIP WAS BY ACCIDENT AND I WAS TOO LAZY TO RESTART BECAUSE OF THAT :D

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DUSTIN                            2022-09-15 22:38
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HERE'S A ROUGH ESTIMATE FOR THE NUMBER OF SOLUTIONS:   
  
\ ON THE FIRST FLOOR, THERE ARE 12 SMALL ROOMS, ON THE NEXT FLOOR 11, AND SO ON. THIS MAKES 12+11+...+1 = 12*13/2 = 91 SMALL ROOMS IN TOTAL.  
  
\ EACH ROOM HAS 4 DIFFERENT POSSIBLE CONSTELLATIONS (||, |\, \| OR \\). IF ^ FACES || OR \\, IT'S IRRELEVANT IF HE DIPS OR SNAPS. SO ABOUT HALF OF THE ROOMS HAVE A RELEVANT DECISION TO MAKE.  
  
\ THIS MAKES 45.5 RELEVANT DECISIONS, OR LET'S SAY ROUGHLY 50 (AFTER ALL, THE FIRST FLOOR HAS ONLY ONE ROOM WITH || AND NONE WITH \\).  
  
\ THIS MAKES (2 TO THE POWER OF 50) POSSIBLE WAYS TO PLAY THE CAVE.  
  
\ THERE ARE 24 DIFFERENT WLWMENTS (|/\) MOVING FROM FLOOR TO FLOOR. SO IN THE END, THERE ARE (2 TO THE POWER OF 24) POSSIBLE OUTCOMES.  
  
\ SO THE NUMBER OF SOLUTIONS IS ROUGHLY (2 TO THE 50) / (2 TO THE 24) = 2 TO THE 26, WHICH MAKES AROUND 70 MILLION DIFFERENT SOLUTIONS! :D