Ancient Quest of Saqqarah
Publisher: Codeminion
Developer: Codeminion
Ancient Quest of Saqqarah
User Reviews
Post a reply << Go BackTopic: Saqpack compared to original Saqqarah
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Hi Lizzie,
I thought too that there would be some sort of extension to the story instead of being essentially the same. However, this SaqPack strikes me as being something of an "expert mode" in which you get puzzles that are tougher right off the bat, with different (and tougher) puzzle grids for the puzzles. All of the puzzles seemed tougher right off the bat to me. Bast, for example, seems to generate far more tiles much faster than I remember from the opening levels in the original game.
In addition to being something of an "expert mode", this SaqPack is much more whimsical and anachronistic. This was kind of fun after doing the straight up more serious original. In this SaqPack, your ranks are based on animals, and a lot of the puzzle grids were definitely anachronistic shapes, especially in Thot. I did the first level of Thot right away this afternoon, and there are all sorts of modern shapes in the grids. I wouldn't have liked it in the original game, but in the add-on it was fun.
However, beyond that, it's essentially a tougher version of the original. I'm not sure how fast I would have bought it if I'd realized that, but now that I have it, I'll definitely get my money's worth out of playing it.
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Hi,
I'm sorry to hear you are a bit dissapointed with SaqPacks, Lizzie.
However, please note that SaqPacks are not meant to be an entire new game - they are just expansions to the original Saqqarah. They do not change the game, just add more stuff and loads of levels to play, for half the normal price. And 504 levels is almost 50 hours of playing, still much more than with other games of that type.
We could add some new story, characters and graphics and release it a month later as Saqqarah 2. But, honestly, we would feel bad about it. For example - I really enjoyed JoJo's Fashion Show with my girlfriend. We were very excited when the sequel came. But when we've found out it's basically the same game with a few more levels, we felt dissapointed and wondered why they couldn't release it as an expansion or just make the original longer. Of course, it wouldn't be as good for their business, but we were thinking from player's perspective there ;).
With Saqqarah we didn't want to "cash in" by making short games and releasing lots of equally short sequels later. We wanted to make a very big game and release new sets of levels in forms of expansions, allowing us to charge only half the price of the full game and still give more playing time than many other games.
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I definitely think Saqqarah is worth the money. It is probably the best value for the money of any game on the market. My biggest problem with the Saqpack is that you have made the Glyphs less defined, faded and hard to see. I am an intelligent, active, older game player. And when one gets older ones eyesight can become imperfect. The grids of the main game are big and easy to see and fun to play. But I dread the Glyphs in the Saqpack. Every time they appear I feel like I have to pay an unpleasant penalty in order to advance in the game. So I play the grid puzzles for a while and have fun then the irritating Glyphs show up to spoil my fun. I squint, furrow my brow and become exasperated because they are so hard to see in the Saqpack. The Glyphs were irritating in the original game but they are unpleasant and frustrating in the Saqpack. I like to have fun when I play games so of course this new set of Glyphs is disappointing for me.
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As you know, I have made many positive comments about the original game. You have my review of Saqqarah displayed as the first user review on your website. I think it is a fantastic game. But because of the faded Glyphs I just don’t enjoy the Saqpack. I enjoy the different grids and the interesting and fun designs. I like the challenge of the game grids being more intricate. Unfortunately my overall game experience is diminished because of the Glyphs. I played the original game enthusiastically and was one of the first people to finish. I finished in both the timed and relaxed modes. But I don’t know if I will finish the Saqpack. -
Hmm, actually, we didn't make the glyphs any more faded than in the original game. It might be just that the graphics are in general harder to find and take some extra time to get accustomed to, as you are used to the old ones.
If more people will have this problem, I'll ask if we could do a sort of SaqPack update. If not, I think I could just send you a special version of the glyphs, that would be easier to find :). And if that would fail too, remember we have a satisfaction guarantee and we offer refunds if someone is disappointed by our games.I wouldn't want you too feel unhappy if the SaqPack is just not what you have expected :).
Yes, I know you like Saqqarah. Your review is just great! I remember how happy we were when we've read it for the first time. I just wanted to explain why SaqPacks aren't a full-fledged game and only an expansion.
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Thanks TeeGee for your response. It is so nice of you to offer to give me special glyphs. I will try to continue to play with these, as I don’t want to cause you any trouble.
In the original game the glyphs started out being clear and well defined then as the levels got harder the glyphs began to fade and get harder to find. I considered this a natural progression of the difficulty of the overall game. So I am concerned that in the Saqpack the glyphs started off as faded and hard to find as in the higher levels of the original game. I have only played in level 1 on the Saqpack and my concern is that they will become progressively more faded and harder to see as they did in the original game. Maybe they won’t get progressively more faded. I’ll just keep playing and see.
I do like the new game grids. They are interesting and creative and I enjoy discovering the new pictures. Thanks again for your response.
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Lizzie,
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Do you know if BF has released the 1.8 version of Saqqarah yet? Tried looking on their forum earlier but most of the posts were about the older updates. Judy and I are playing with the 1.5 ver., which works fine with the new Saqpack, except for the errors in Bast, mostly at higher levels. Wasn’t worried too much about it for now, but thought that if BF had released it would go ahead and download and update ours.
Read what you said about the game but so far we feel like we are getting as much out of the add-on as we did from the first one. I guess it is just me, but the 3rd & 5th level screens seem a little brighter. Completed 1st 2 Temples (thru 1st difficulty level and 1st 6 levels in the other 5 Temples to get them opened) so far and am enjoying the game a lot. Currently working on 3rd Temple 12 levels in before stopping to get some sleep around 2 am.
Saqqarah has become a “Keeper” for us and along with Jewel Quest 1 & 2 we will continue to play it for a long time. These are the only 2 Match-3 games we really like to play. Of the 2, Saqqarah seems to be the better, though we haven’t played JQ 3 (Judy played & liked the demo) yet. We are waiting for BF to get JQ-3 so we can afford to buy it.
TeeGee if you are reading this, both Judy and I have to say that we got just what we expected with the Saqpack and are happy with it! We had to sacrifice one of our BF credits for next month to buy it from your site, but felt that your game’s overall quality and re-playability was worth the extra 3 dollars. Just don’t expect us to pay 20 bucks for your future games because we don’t have that kind of money to spend on a regular basis. Oh, while I am thinking about it. Read your boss’s Blog and you can tell him he might want to re-think his “rant” a bit. BF may have been wrong in what they did, but they having your game at a price I could afford are one of the reasons that I bought your game. They are also the reason I am trying some of your other games.
Happy Gaming All,
OldMan44 -
To all above,What great dialog here, thank you. Threads like these are great as they give everyone a look at different prospectives so we can make good decisions about whether to buy a game or not.Lizzie, I always appreciate your thorough review and/or thoughts of a game. And your help is essential to some of us here in these forums.TeeGee, thank you for always being in here to give feedback to posts about Saqqarah. When I tested this game I was so excited by the care and detail that was put in to developing it. And when the game was released, I found it to be everything I expected and more. I am excited about the SaqPac's and appreciate both yours and Lizzie's points of view. I agree with you that it is technically more "ethical" to release an add-on as opposed to a sequel. I have fallen into the "sequel" hole a few times and have been greatly disappointed (kind of like some movies, the first is always the best). You have definitely produced a game well worth the money.So again, thanks to everyone. This is why I spend my life (seems like anyway) in the GZ community, lol.Keri
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OldMan44I reinstalled from BF last night and I got version 1.0.1.173. Have not tried today and haven't looked in their forums. I'm not sure how you can tell on BF because I've never seen where there is any notation of an update on a game (though I know they get them). I'll just keep trying until it updates. If you here different please post here. PS - A big hello and welcome to your wife, glad she decided to join us!Keri
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Keri,
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Love your new avatar, it is so YOU!!! LOL Been meaning to ask you for some time. How in the world did you manage to get your cat to stay still long enough, with that mouse in her/his mouth, to take that picture? One of ours would have had a fit!
You are definitely right about the different prospective you will get here on GZ, and I too value them all. They were what got me interested in Saqqarah in the first place. EIEIO was talking about it in one of the forums. Rooms is another one that I would not of even tried had I not read what Margie & Robin said about it and Erin’s Tips & Tricks. -
Keri, you ladies post so fast I can't keep up! Thanks for PS. You can be sure that I will let eveyone know as soon as the update hits BF, if you don't beat me to it!
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OldMan44, I didn't tell you I was a cat trainer? lolJust kidding, downloaded from the net actually, but thanks for thinking I was so amazing! Have a good day.Keri
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I am enjoying the SaqPack but I agree that all of the puzzles seem a bit harder than they did in the original. I'm even struggling a bit with the Isis temple because I just don't feel like I have as many opportunities. Maybe it's just perception? I don't know. Also agree that the Bast temple seems quite hard even in level 1.
That said, I am not experiencing issues with the glyphs and actually find then easier than in the original game, maybe because of the coloration? Not sure.
Either way, I'm looking forward to hours (and hours and hours and hours!) of gameplay here. Thanks!
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I purchased the Saqpack and really enjoy it. I like it better than the original. I like the color in the glyphs and the modern puzzle designs.
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I played through all 72 puzzles in the Bast temple and I did not encounter any Access Violations in the Saqpack in the Bast temple. I haven’t gone back to play Bast in the original game where the Access Violations were so I don’t know about those yet. But happily I didn’t find any in the Saqpack.
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Unfortunately the glyphs do get more faded and harder to see as you progress through Difficulty Levels 2 & 3, just like they did in the original game. So by the time you are in Difficulty Level 3 some of the glyphs are almost impossible to see. -
Lizzie, a question for you. I got a new computer with widescreen. I have Saqqarah on old computer and when I reinstalled it from Bigfish it is up in the right hand corner with 2/3 or the game sceen showing. I can't play it like that. Was going to order S-pks but now have to wait and see if i can play original game at all. I sent e-msio to bigfish so I guess i will wait for their reply. I also uninstalled and reinstalled again but its the same. I didn't see any place in options that would change screen.
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Scooter, it has something to do with the setup or your video drivers. I have been running it on my wide screen since I got it. Often with a new computer when you first get it the video drivers that come with it are not the "latest" drivers.
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Just checked my copy and there is also a box you can check under "options" to have it check for a "wide screen" if you want.
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Scooter, I wish I knew how to fix the problem but I don't have a widescreen monitor. I have only had one game be off center on my monitor. My monitor has an Auto Adjust button and it fixed the problem I had with the off center game.
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Lizzie,
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Have finished the 1st difficulty in the Saqpack and started on the 2nd and so far no problems to report. Had already started a new game in the original, so went back and finished thru the first difficulty level with no problems. Judy has been playing in the higher difficulty levels of the Saqpack with no problems so far. She has more than 12 million already, I just can’t keep up with her! lol
One thing that I did notice is that you seem to be able to score more points in the Saqpack than in the original. Had 5.6 million in Saqpack 1st difficulty vs. 4.9 million in 1st difficulty in (2nd time thru) original. Will continue to track that for 2nd & 3rd and let you know if that continues. Thanks again for all the help that you have been giving in this thread. Judy and I both are still really enjoying this game as it has a lot of re-playability built into the game.
Happy Gaming All,
OldMan44 -
Lizzie your photos for Thot in the original were a big help. I used them 4 or 5 times. Can we expect the same help for the Saqpack?
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Granny, I will start an album for the Saqpack Thot temple and add to it as I go along. I'll try to post a link this evening when I get home from work. I'm glad the pictures helped for the original and I'll be glad to do that again. Several other people also posted pictures of the Thot puzzles for the original game. We'll have to wait and see if they do that for the Saqpack too.
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Granny123, I have started the Saqpack Thot picture album. The link is in the Thot Temple topic. I hope the pictures help.
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Granny123, I had already completed the 24 puzzles in the first level of the Saqpack and didn't take any pictures so for right now the pictures start with the 24 puzzles in the second level. I worked those last night and loaded them in the photobucket. I will eventually go back and put in the first level. Thot is my favorite temple.
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Lizzie like I said before your a doll always helping us out. Thank you so much. I haven't need the pictures so far but I'm sure before it is over I will need to look at a few of them.
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Hi
Can someone please tell if there are more levels I can download from the internet for saqqarah and if so where will i find them.
Thank you
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Saqpack compared to original Saqqarah
Report as InappropriatePosted on 09/06/08, 08:37pm
Things that are different:
The puzzle grids are more compact and intricate, therefore slightly more difficult.
The Glyphs have changed. They are more faded and harder to see in the early rounds. In the original game the glyphs didn’t get that faded until the higher levels. This was my least favorite part of the game in the original and I like it less in the Saqpack.
Things that are the same:
Everything else.
The intro and setting are exactly the same.
Khufu’s dialogue is exactly the same.
The gods dialogue is exactly the same.
The game background and scenery is exactly the same.
There are no new characters and no variation of the story.
Since the original game had 504 puzzle grids I don’t think I would get bored playing those same grids over and over. The puzzle patterns were always different so it’s not like I would remember how to play each grid over time. So I think that I would be happy playing the original game for quite some time.
I thought the Saqpack would bring something new to the game but I don’t feel like it does. There does not appear to be an option to download a trial version of the Saqpack. The only option I saw for the Saqpack was to purchase it.
Of course all of this is only my opinion. I hope others that have the Saqpack will share their opinions also. Send a Kudo Post a reply Quote & Reply