Discuss: Did U use the cheats? (Re the 'Puzzle' components)

Really enjoyed this game, but ran thru it quickly by accessing the cheat-sheets and kind of wished I hadn't.

My question, which is 3-fold, is this:

1> How did other users solve the 'puzzles'? Did they need the cheats?

By puzzles I am specifically referring to the separate interfaces that open and require precise selections/patterns/sequences etc to be solved. For the most part, they were beyond me, and required the cheat to solve.

2> Was I missing something? I.E. Were there clues somewhere in the environment that suggested the patterns or sequence? As in the butterfly/magnifying glass clue; that gave me an idea that I would need that pattern in the future.

Other puzzles, however, struck me as mere chance; the wrenches on the pipes, or the battery sequence for the bomb. How were they ever to be solved w/o opening the cheat??

I don't think they can. Given the time involved in creating such simple complexity in graphic form, I submit that accessing the cheats is a required component of the game.

3> Do you agree? Could you finish this game 'honestly' w/o accessing any cheats? If so, did you see clues to suggest solutions, figure it out with shear mental acuity or randomly stumble onto it?

That's it - please discuss! (o: