: Problems arise if you don't know which level is the branch level, or if you
: don't know what you have to do to succeed.
That's exactly the issue, Forrest. The only scenarios I'm aware of that present anything like this are Operation Tantilus and D-Day. I suspect that most of the readers of the Forum have never played these or, if they have, weren't aware they had infinite loops in them. Remember how I initially had difficulties with Dread Not in Mark IV? Well, I couldn't not have had problems due to the core being inaccessible in that mark, but the impression I got from the failure dream is that the level was timed, which it was not. I think for many players the concept of going back to repeat a level will be so alien that they won't understand what's going on. The bottom line is that you need to be very explicit in the game for people to recognize what they have to do.
Goran in his Yota Saga once had a purely instructional level. It simply had a terminal that explained why the following level was set up the way it was and how to play it. You might want to consider doing something similar just before Moontanning or, alternatively, between the first failure dream and moontanning. An example of the latter might be a terminal in the midst of space with the following text:
We interrupt this game to explain what is about to happen to you. Eternal is based on the idea that you must fail in order to eventually succeed. You have just finished the first of many failure branches in Eternal. Your failure, in this case, to destroy the circuits in G3 Moontanning before Hathor could escape resulted in the subsequent sequence of levels in which the Pfhor ultimately defeated and enslaved humanity. This was probably not a good thing. You're about to return to G3 Moontanning now to be given a second chance to set things right. In this case, it's speed that is the main factor - you need to be very fast or you will repeat the entire failure branch, which you probably don't want to do. In other chapters there will be other tricks to reaching the success branch. In any case, if you find yourself failing, don't keep going! Don't save your game! Go back and replay the branch level (G3 Moontanning in this case) all over again until you find the right path. Follow the clues given in the dream terminal that sent you back in time. They may be cryptic, but the clues are always there. We now return you to your regularly scheduled carnage.
If this absolutely goes against your grain, then the next best thing is to include a very specific readme file - perhaps entitled "Open if you're stuck in a loop". The problem with this is that people very rarely read these. A spoiler guide may be the best alternative, as people almost always will consult one if they get stuck.
