Survival Guide - Dust Settles: SG Explorers

Table of Contents:

Purpose:

The SG Explorers mini-game is a Flash based, top-down view, maze game where you get to walk around as one of your camp's explorers as they search for resources. Each of the resources and survivors that you find through the mini-game will be added to your totals in the main game. This is a great place to spend some of your time waiting for turns and a great way to gain extra resources at the beginning when resources are difficult to achieve. Camps have been known in the past to gain 20 extra population from the mini-game before ending a turn.

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Location:

You can get to the mini-game by clicking on the Camp Leader's Lounge link on the left-hand side of your screen. This will open the main lounge page in the middle of your game screen.

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How to Open:

Once you are in the Lounge, click the check box beside SG Explorers and then click "Update Lounge Display." This will open the game below the button. You can have the IRC chat and the mini-game open at the same time if you want to do both. Be careful opening multiple instances of the mini-game, though. You could end up losing a lot of the resources you’ve found.

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Playing the Mini-Game:

Once you have opened the mini-game, click anywhere inside the mini-game to begin moving your character around the map. Move your explorer around and collect resources, while moving towards the blinking finish goal. If you are having trouble with a map, you can hit Q on your keyboard to swap to a new one. Move along the floor tiles avoiding holes, spikes, and flames. Run quickly across crumbling floor tiles and try not to get caught between a wall piece and a trap. Warning: There are maps that will kill you if you do not follow the correct path.

- This is your explorer. Look for him on the screen when the map opens to begin moving.

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The Object of the Game:

The point of this game is to collect as many resources as possible as quickly as possible. Each resource that you collect will give you 1 point in the mini-game and 1 of that resource type in the actual game. If you find a survivor, you get 2 points and a new member for your camp. Every time you step on an active trap or fall in a hole, you will die. This will decrease all of your resources found by 1/3. If you only have 1 of that resource, you will lose it. Your character will be sent back to the beginning of the round and the resources that you already found will be gone. You must finish the map to be fully awarded the population and resources that you find.

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Items and Traps:

Here are the items that you will want to pick up and move towards while playing.

- End Goal (This flashes)

Food:
- Hotdog
- Mushroom
- Water Bottle

Disposables:
- Toilet Paper
- Candle
- Car Battery

Building Supplies:
- Hammer
- Wood

- CEP

Survivors:
- Laying Down
- Sitting Up

Here are the basic tiles in the game.

Floor:


Wall:


Hole:


Here are the traps that you will want to avoid.

- Flames: These shoot from walls or lava. Watch their timing to make sure you miss them.
- Spikes: These come in both the moving and nonmoving variety. Check to make sure which one is which before barreling down a path.
- Crumbling Tiles: These tiles will be safe to step on for a moment, but will crumble away and disappear soon after you step on them. These tiles will reappear after a few seconds.

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Moving the Character:

Moving your character around the maps is very simple. Simply use the arrow keys on your keyboard to move your explorer in the appropriate direction. You can continuously press the key to move or hold the key.

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Sound Controls:

During the game there are both background music and other sound effects that will be heard. If you get tired of either sound, you can simply click on the appropriate symbol at the top of the screen to turn it off. The speaker symbol will turn off the sound effects, while the music note will turn off the background music. You can also move these symbols by clicking and holding the image and then dragging it wherever you want. They will pop back up to the top right corner, though, whenever you change maps.

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In-Game Help/Stats:

If at any time during the gameplay, you begin to have problems, just press and hold backspace. This will pop up a quick help menu describing what the game is about, giving you some basic things to avoid, and showing you you're overall statistics. These statistics include your total time playing, your best time on that level, the total number of survivors that you have found, and the total number of levels that you have completed.

Your overall score is displayed just above the game and the top five players and their score are displayed above that. Your time and resources found in that level are displayed at the bottom of the game screen. Below that is your current rank in the mini-game.

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