Universal Paperclips • Hacker News Board

Re: Universal Paperclips

#151

Post by burnished » Fri, Nov 04, 2022, 12:26 PM UTC

literalAardvark wrote: post #46

Aaron2222 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It means a lot of paperclips (about 20% the mass of the observable universe by my calculations, assuming 1 gram per paperclip and using Wikipedia's definition of 1.5e53 kg for the observable universe).

Yeah it means he won the game. Sadly your post is a major spoiler for those new to this wonderful game.

It's thankfully not a huge spoiler, the title alone practically gives it away. It's all the twists on the way there that is really enjoyable to uncover, in my opinion.

Re: Universal Paperclips

#152

Post by gwnywg » Fri, Nov 04, 2022, 12:35 PM UTC

It was the first time I have seen some numbers.

I elected to destroy those bad probes and not to go to the new universe. I'm done with this game.

Re: Universal Paperclips

#153

Post by willis936 » Fri, Nov 04, 2022, 12:56 PM UTC

carl_dr wrote: post #142

willis936 wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Clickers cross over with idle/incremental games. Both genres are rife with dark patterns and player exploitation, but there are some notable exceptions. Reactor Incremental takes the concepts from IndustrialCraft 2's nuclear reactors and pushes it far. I think it's the peak of the 2D geometry geometric growth optimizer genre. https://www.kongregate.com/games/cael/reactor-incremental I've wanted to make my own for a w…

I assume you’ve played Factorio? It would be interesting to play Factorio on a very small map, with some mechanic where you get to duplicate items you’ve managed to produce - the idea being that you are continuously tearing down older parts of your factory so you can build new production lines, and always being constrained by space. I couldn’t really get into Reactor Incremental in the time I had today, it took me to…

Yep, for many hours.

Reactor games scratch a different itch. It's all about maximizing heat dissipation.

Re: Universal Paperclips

#154

Post by jdkee » Fri, Nov 04, 2022, 1:51 PM UTC

Thanks, just lost 7 hours of time.

Re: Universal Paperclips

#155

Post by mdaniel » Fri, Nov 04, 2022, 4:03 PM UTC

carl_dr wrote: post #142

willis936 wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Clickers cross over with idle/incremental games. Both genres are rife with dark patterns and player exploitation, but there are some notable exceptions. Reactor Incremental takes the concepts from IndustrialCraft 2's nuclear reactors and pushes it far. I think it's the peak of the 2D geometry geometric growth optimizer genre. https://www.kongregate.com/games/cael/reactor-incremental I've wanted to make my own for a w…

I assume you’ve played Factorio? It would be interesting to play Factorio on a very small map, with some mechanic where you get to duplicate items you’ve managed to produce - the idea being that you are continuously tearing down older parts of your factory so you can build new production lines, and always being constrained by space. I couldn’t really get into Reactor Incremental in the time I had today, it took me to…

I couldn't get that Reactor Incremental to load in order to compare it, but what you're describing sounds like https://factoryidle.com/ which I love

Re: Universal Paperclips

#156

Post by ryanmercer » Fri, Nov 04, 2022, 4:54 PM UTC

Discovered this a few months ago, have lost so many hours of my life to doing it over and over.

Re: Universal Paperclips

#157

Post by shostack » Fri, Nov 04, 2022, 5:37 PM UTC

l0b0 wrote: post #31

NKosmatos wrote: post #15

A warning to fellow HNers that are not familiar with universal paperclips. Please don’t click the link as it will create a black time hole that will start absorbing your time and reduce your productivity. Be warned that this isn’t a naive lazy clicker game, it’s an instrument of destruction from the future, created by our paperclip overlords :-)

I've played through UP twice. When it comes to time sinks, it's nowhere near the ultimate death spiral that is Kittens Game. To date it has taken me about 5 times as long as a UP playthrough (and 500+ lines of JS automation which I seem to have to tweak every day to deal with the changing economy) and I don't seem to be anywhere near the end.

I've played KG for over a year IRL. Run number 18, over 19k in game years.

I want to get back in but a lot has changed and I'm struggling to recall all the details to be able to pick it back up and what I should focus on. Any tips?

Re: Universal Paperclips

#158

Post by shostack » Fri, Nov 04, 2022, 8:14 PM UTC

carl_dr wrote: post #55

Have there been any recent, good games of this genre? It seems to have reached a peak with Cookie Clicker, Kittens Game, A Dark Room and Universal Paperclips, others I've tried have been poor in comparison.

https://marple.itch.io/orb-of-creation

Re: Universal Paperclips

#159

Post by shostack » Fri, Nov 04, 2022, 8:16 PM UTC

I'm a big fan of the genre, but is there a sub genre term to describe games that:

- Generally have minimalist art styles - Have progression in the UI as complexity unlocks and changes the perspective and scale of the game - no ads or IAP - otherwise is a blend of clicker and incremental idler game?

Re: Universal Paperclips

#160

Post by carl_dr » Fri, Nov 04, 2022, 10:13 PM UTC

willis936 wrote: post #153

carl_dr wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I assume you’ve played Factorio? It would be interesting to play Factorio on a very small map, with some mechanic where you get to duplicate items you’ve managed to produce - the idea being that you are continuously tearing down older parts of your factory so you can build new production lines, and always being constrained by space. I couldn’t really get into Reactor Incremental in the time I had today, it took me to…

Yep, for many hours. Reactor games scratch a different itch. It's all about maximizing heat dissipation.

Pardon my ignorance, but are reactor games a specific sub-genre of these games in itself? Are there other examples I can play?