73(Morton): It's not easy to pick up the chip at the center and avoid the enemy.
89(Block Buster): Maybe the frame rate is too low.
105(Short Circuit): If you don't have a map, this level is very difficult.
131(Totally Unfair): I know, but where is the enemy?
133(Blobdance): Hypertensive patients should stay away from this level.
136(Doublemaze): Creating a two-layer maze on a one-dimensional plane is very ingenious, but the difficulty is extremely insane.
140(Icedeath): One step, one death!
141(Underground): It's harder to play than it looks.
143(Stripes?): If you miss a chip, go back and search in the dark.
147(Force Field): I completely lost control.
In a world where Walls Of levels are abundant, one set will attempt to do the impossible. One set will go back to where it all started, the original Chip's Challenge 1, and transform everything. This winter, coming to a computer near you - a set that spans three designers and three years in the making: Walls of CC1! /movie trailer voice
Okay, in all seriousness, this set is one of my favorite level design projects I've gotten to work on. Collaborating with Josh and VT over the past few years has been a blast, and the levels we came up with have tested us as designers in ways that we weren't expecting. Unlike many modern Chip's Challenge community sets where levels of different scales and sizes are abundant, CC1 stands apart with its plethora of giant layouts that extend to nearly the entire map. We weren't expecting this to take as long as it did, but I hope the results are worth the wait!
Like any CC set, the context of when this started at the end of 2021 is a reflection of where the CC community generally was at the time. I had been away from designing levels since finishing up with Walls of CCLP1 in 2019. Walls Of sets were in abundance, and CCLP5 wasn't even realized yet. Some CC veterans were hoping to see an increase in difficulty with the next community pack akin to CCLP3's. In many ways, Walls Of sets were a fun playground to make those dreams a reality - taking a layout that may have housed a simpler level and building something more complex within its constraints.
This set was no exception to that rule, especially since the original CC1 is one of the simplest official sets out there. Originally, we set out to make something even more difficult than what we ended up with. We even started a spreadsheet where we rated each other's levels to track the overall difficulty curve so we didn't go too overboard. Eventually, as CCLP5 materialized and became a difficult set in its own right, we started realizing the curve needed to be more reasonable and made easier levels or nerfed existing ones toward the end of the set's development.
I love looking back on the final makeup of the set and reminiscing about what went into these conversions, especially the really challenging ones. It's also neat to see how this set compares to the original Walls Of trailblazer - Joshua Bone's Walls of CC1 set that was built for CC2 - and how our takes on these wall templates differed. My first level for the project, Strip Mine, was meant to be a test concept for a maze with block walls and traps at the intersections. Chipmine from the original game felt like a natural fit for this with its rhyming title and already tight layout. The final level ended up feeling very different from Joshua Bone's Before My Very Eyes, which used the same layout in a more open way and was featured in CC2LP1.
Some of the conversions attempted to do more than just bring wall layouts over. Josh's first level for the set, Sanitation Station, was a perfect example of what one can do by focusing on bringing over a different element into the layout - in this case, the ice corners from Southpole. One of my favorite conversions, Neon Vessels, took the tiles of Lesson 7 and jumbled them all up to form something entirely new. The Lost Ruins of Arnak (which, if you haven't played it, is an excellent board game), took The Marsh and inverted its water and blocks. And Battle of Hedge Row eschewed walls altogether and converted the original ones into toggle doors for a frantic teeth melee challenge.
At the end of the project, our last two designed levels were deliberately meant to be collaborations. We aimed for these to be a credits level from the layout of Thanks to..., and a medley level from the layout of Memory, which led to Where Credit Is Due and Time to Make History, respectively. The latter level references 44 different levels from across this set and was a fun retrospective on everything we had built together.
At this stage, I'm ready for a shift back toward easier material in my level design journey. I've already begun work on a new Walls Of set based on CCLP5, which is intentionally going to take a step back in difficulty to stand out from its source material - the inverse of what most Walls Of sets have done so far. Josh has continued designing levels for his current CC2 set, Flareon2, which is looking fantastic. But until those are finished, I hope you enjoy this set!
What can you expect to find here?
64 levels by Josh Lee (Flareon350)
64 levels by J.B. Lewis
19 levels by VT (vortex178)
2 special collaborations between Josh and J.B.
This download contains a .zip file with two versions of the set. The "unlabeled," vanilla version, Walls_of_CC1.dat, is the intended way to play through the levels and is ordered mostly by difficulty. Walls_of_CC1_A.dat is the "wall order," in which all the levels are ordered by where their originating counterparts appeared in CC1.
Enjoy playing, and be sure to leave a comment! I'd love to hear your thoughts.
I finally finished CCLP5 in MS mode a few weeks ago and am currently almost done with it in Lynx mode and thought I'd post my thoughts on the set as a whole. First, some context: my opinion of a levelset seems to largely hinge on how much I participated in the voting. For CCLP1 and 4, I voted on every level. For CCLP3 and CC2LP1, I was not involved at all, and these happened to be my favorites. Not that I don't like the other 2, (I'm shamelessly ignoring CCLP2; I already shared my thoughts on that set for my CC2LP1 review) in fact I recognize that the overall quality of level design went up after CCLP3, but 3 and 2LP1 were my favorites. I think this set falls in between them for me, with 2LP1 still taking the top spot. But CCLP5 is impressive. The fact is that it's my favorite CC1 LP and that's saying something.
I was still pretty involved in the voting process, being able to vote on about 90% of the levels before the voting deadline. I had planned on voting and playing all the levels, but I realized even before the deadline was announced that that wasn't very likely. I played through and voted on my first 12 voting packs completely before I started just voting on the minimum 80 percent of a set before I was allowed to move on to the next one. I was able to get to all the voting packs this way, and then when time was almost up, I quickly looked at the levels I didn't get to and voted on some that I knew or that would be quick enough for me to playtest a little. All told, I voted on 1,525 out of 1,695 levels. Phew!
I was curious how many, if any, levels that I never played would be in the final product, but there were some, and I'll make note of these below. After voting was over and while the set was being compiled, I also compiled my own realm set of levels from voting that I thought should make it. This was a very loose set as I also had the stipulation that no levels could be in it that were also in my realm set for CCLP4 voting I made years back. That means that even some levels that I gave 5's to would not make it based on the fact that they "should've been in CCLP4." Despite this, 60 levels from my realm set made it, which is more than the 51 from BUR that made it in CCLP4. Also, notably there were 2 levels from BUR that made it in CCLP5. These realm sets are for meme purposes but they were so much fun to make and you can check them out if you so choose. (They are on gliderbot. BUR.dat (Bowman's Unlikely Realm) was compiled with CCLP4 in mind, BUTTS.dat, (Bowman's Unlikely Trial, The Sequel) CCLP5)
Then CCLP5 officially came out and I started playing right away on March 1. I had planned to take sort of a hiatus from the game as I had become burnt out on CC from playing the voting packs with a time crunch. So I was in no rush to complete CCLP5. But it was the perfect thing to get me back into enjoying the game immensely. My progress through the set hit many lulls and sometimes I would go weeks, maybe even months without playing, as summer is the busiest time of the year for me. But my breaks were never because I was not satisfied with the set. If anything, playing at my own pace enhanced my enjoyment of it. In December 2024, I started to spend more time on the game again, completing the set sometime in January, which I did in the Clubhouse on Discord, with a few people showing up to watch my experience, which was a lot of fun.
Now, let's get into it. I love the set. The quality of levels continues to go up from CCLP4, which is amazing. For the longest time I was still saying there is not a single level in CCLP5 I don't like, but as I got to the end of the set, I was able to refine my opinions on some levels that I would've liked to have seen and a few that I could've done without. That being said, I still don't blame the staff or the voters for the levels that made it. Even the ones I'm not the fondest of are still genius levels and I can see why they were so well liked. This is easily my favorite CC1 level pack. Even CCLP3, my next favorite, has a handful of levels I really don't like. Also, CCLP5's best levels rival my favorites ever in any official pack. The only thing keeping this out of the top spot for me is the sheer perfection of CC2LP1.
I did like the secret hints. They made for a fun extra thing to achieve since CC1 doesn't have bonuses. Now to post my thoughts on the individual levels. Please note, any levels not mentioned here I still very much enjoyed. I just have some comments on levels that were either my absolute favorites, or I just had something else to share about them.
Level 12 - Vault Line: This is one of the few levels that I did not get to in voting, but I had played it before because I have beaten Trading Places. I still didn't remember this one at first but I knew it felt familiar. In my opinion, the level its walls are from, Josh Lee's Prison Hall, is much more memorable and I would've rather seen that one in its spot. I'm curious as to others' opinions on this, but the staff has spoken and ultimately, I have no problem with its inclusion.
Level 18 - Press Any Button to Continue: Love this one, glad I wasn't alone.
Level 25 - Drops of Jupiter: I still wish there was some reason to reach the area where the hint is, but the rest of the level makes up for this nitpick.
Level 31 - Sealed Chamber: This is one I kind of missed the mark on. I think I gave it a 4 in voting, which means it didn't even qualify to make my realms set, which I regret because I do think it's deserving of its spot.
Level 41 - The Dividing Line: This level is really cool.
Level 47 - The Toggle Station: I like this one. A surprise entry since I had never played nor seen it before, but I like that it's in the set and it's cool that Eric Schmidt gets to continue his CCLP streak.
Level 50 - The Unwinding: This is a unique case where I gave a level a 5 without actually having beaten it at the time. Since it fell after level 40 in its respective voting pack, I did not play it right away, as I skipped to the next pack, but I heard a lot about this level. So, in the last days of voting I went and played it a little and while I didn't complete it back then, it did feel like a level I would love to play. It also feels like a spiritual successor to Spiral which is cool. It ended up not being as hard as I would have thought. It was level 136 in my realm set lol.
Level 55 - Dauntless Extraction: Another one I didn't get to in voting. It's fine. I like it.
Level 58 - Warehouse of Lost Hopes and Dreams: I have previously said that this level may be my favorite level in all of CC. I may have cooled on it since then but it is still super fun to replay. Yeah, if this level didn't make it, I was done with the game.
Level 64 - Condemned Facility: It's still Condemned Faculty to me lol. I know "Facility" is the name it's supposed to be, but something about the "wrong" title was appealing to me. I don't know why, it just grew on me and I kind of wish it could've stayed, like one of those words that people say wrong long enough that it becomes part of the vernacular.
Level 66 - Tornado Alley: Favorite level from Trading Places. Glad to see it here.
Level 67 - Manhattan Stoplight: A nice puzzle from Andrew M. and the next level that I had never seen before. I would've voted highly on it.
Level 74 - Dark Hollow: I love this one. This level is deceptively hard and always seems to stump me.
Level 79 - Drawn and Quartered and Quartered: The brown button puzzle always stumps me!
Level 81 - Numbskull: I am so glad this level made it.
Level 86 - Phantasmal Stalkers: Really cool concept to be in a CCLP.
Level 100 - The Most Interesting Block in the World: I do like this level. However, I've found that it's not the most fun level to replay which I often had to do. Get gud I guess. I wish Block Buster 3 in 2D would've made it over this.
Level 101 - Barefoot Bandit: Now we're talking. I absolutely LOVE this one.
Level 110 - Another Perspective: Another one that is a must-include.
Level 111 - Aquatica: The next level that I had never seen before. A nice maze.
Level 114 - A Love for Puzzles: Super well-designed puzzle. I really like this one.
Level 116 - Sho Sheng Shui: I'm a big fan of this.
Level 122 - Expanding Warehouse: I have always liked this level, but said in the past that I didn't think it was CCLP-worthy. I think I could be wrong. I definitely do not hate playing it. It's a unique take on the concept and for that I like it here.
Level 128 - Fahrenheit Frenzy: This is where I picked up the game again after a pretty lengthy hiatus.
Level 135 - Crux of the Matter: This was my favorite level in all of voting. It had to do with my first experience in solving it, kind of like the first time I solved Plug in Baby back in the day. It was just so satisfying and I didn't require any outside help. I'm hesitant to say if it is still my ultimate favorite level here but it's definitely a contender.
Level 137 - Gravelways: Perhaps the only level in the whole set I'm not really a fan of. So, for a while I had seen this level making different chipsters' realm sets, and I was thinking, "Have I played this?" And yes, I had played and beaten it in CCLP4 voting and again in the voting for this set. But it never really stuck out to me as to why so many people loved it. I gave it a 2 each time. As I was attempting it again for CCLP5 proper, I could not for the life of me solve it. It killed me, but I resorted to checking my solution from the voting packs and, sure enough, the level had been changed! Clearly, my solution was a bust and it was more than a little demoralizing to realize that I had never truly solved this level all these years. The solution I had achieved never really felt like a bust though, which is why it never occurred to me. Maybe my dislike is due to the fact that I was never able to fully wrap my head around why certain actions were necessary/impossible. It really is brilliantly constructed, but it was frustrating for me to have to stoop to ask for help. So yeah, it's not the level's fault, but this is probably my least favorite level in the set. Maybe I will come to appreciate it more the more I play it, but it's definitely not one I would replay for fun. Later, watching Markus explain it in his LP made it seem so simple. I guess it just comes down to: this is a level I just don't "get."
Level 138 - Eternal Engine: Another level I had never beaten before. For this one, I called up Jeremy, the level's designer, on Discord when playing it. Fortunately I was able to solve it without any help and that was a fun experience. It made me want to play the rest of the set like that, with company and a nice back-and-forth, hence why I played the rest of my CCLP5 run in the Clubhouse. The level itself was intimidating to me at first, but eventually it unraveled itself into a nice, reasonable puzzle. I felt like it hit a good balance and I can see why it was voted in.
Level 139 - Udassa: Much like Sho Sheng Shui before it, I like the challenge of levels like this. I even enjoyed playing to get all the chips after I initially beat it. I probably like the former a bit more overall, but a fun level nonetheless.
Level 140 - Yet Another Perspective: This is where I'm glad the set diverges from my realm set, as I included Another Perspective but not this level. I am so glad they are both here. I was kind of worried the similar themes might be seen as too similar for both levels to make it, so I wanted to vote higher on Another Perspective. But I do really like both. This one, in particular, was super hard for me this time around. I beat it in voting with help, but had a harder time this time around beating it, and actually needed help on another aspect of the level than last time. The staff made the right call here and I love the Totally Fair/Totally Unfair aspect of both the levels making it.
Level 141 - World Revolution: Not much to say here. A fun, hard level. The only part I'm not the biggest fan of is the force floor section in the NW, but that's only because I'm not too good at timing those kinds of things. Also, I kind of wish there was something to do with the block at the end.
Level 142 - Crown Jewels: I have mixed feelings on this level. On the one hand, it's brilliant and definitely CCLP-worthy. On the other hand, it's hard. Really, really, really hard. Why is that a bad thing? It's not. This is just a personal issue. I hate when I need help with a level, and I just could not figure this one out on my own. I had beaten the original four block version of this level, which makes sense because that was much easier. The fact that another block could be added and the level was still possible I think is awesome. I would be disappointed if JB didn't change the level to make it reach its highest potential. However, when I first played the new version, (I don't remember if it was in voting or sometime before that) I eventually cheated after I, in my mind, had exhausted all possible moves. I wish that wasn't the case. I just felt trapped. But once I had seen the solution, I haven't needed to consult it again. At least I was able to beat it without help again, with a lot of time elapsed since then, but that just means I vaguely remembered what the solution involved. I can't unknow the trick. So once again, not the level's fault, but I both like and dislike this level. I feel like the set is better for it though.
Level 143 - Lagoon of the Low Tide: Wow. What a level. This is exactly the kind of level I don't like to solve, upon initial viewing anyway. This level really intimidated me, as it felt like everything I did was a part of some grand puzzle that I couldn't see yet. I really don't like that. It felt like in order to explore the level fully, I had to make moves that probably cooked me in some way but I couldn't be sure. I wasn't too concerned about looking for my solution in the voting pack this time, but it was notably missing. I straight-up skipped this level in voting lol. So I was on my own. Because I felt like playing the level in a 9x9 window was unreasonable and frustrating, I resorted to playing the level in SuperCC, which I feel was warranted. There, it was reasonable to map everything out, and I was able to solve the level without help. That was a good feeling. But CC isn't a game where the whole map is viewable at once. I know, this is subjective. I'm sure some people were able to beat the level in Tile World and didn't think not being able to see the whole map was a problem. This level was the first time that a CCLP reached CCLP3 difficulty since that set. With all that being said, figuring out the solution was extremely satisfying so I did end up liking the level in the end. And if it did remind me of some of CCLP3's insanely hard levels, at least there's just one of them. CCLP3 had like 4.
Level 144 - Culmina Crater: I kind of thought this would be level 149. I don't know if it should be 144, it's definitely not the hardest level here. Maybe this one and Lagoon should've swapped places. I do like the level, though I always seem to struggle with a different part of it each time I play it. The fireboots section at the end is very deceptive.
Level 145 - Pardon Our Dust: A surprise pick for me, but I really like this one. Just a fun puzzle to unravel.
Level 146 - Broken Paradise: Josh's hardest level and one of his best. This level is intimidating but in a way that I like. I can't even pin down why it is so hard, but it is. I love how everything is laid out for you to see, so it is 100% fair. The fact that it gets its difficulty from ordering everything correctly and it can still stump you is very cool. One of my favorites for sure.
Level 147 - Lounge Act: Ah, this level. For previous CCLP's I gave it a 1. But this time I was like, you know, it's time. I gave it a 5. Similar to Crown Jewels, I used a solution for this level once and know what I'm doing now every time. But that was many years ago. It's a really cool puzzle, except I don't know how reasonable it is to solve for the first time. You can't unring that bell. But for a level to be so notorious outside of an official set, I'm happy to see it here.
Level 148 - Brute Force: I don't make many levels. In fact, this is still the most recent one I've made, but the way it came together was really cool. A level called Brute Force was originally in my first set, Bowman1.dat. That level is not very good. It's pretty bad, actually. But it had one part that I liked. So the idea was, if I could make that one idea into an entire level, it could be good. I literally copied and pasted that room from the original level and that became the starting room in this level. From there I made a second, similar room. At this point, I was like, if I just keep doing this for all the rooms, this is going to get old very fast. So I just made an ice path throughout the rest of the level, gave the player ice skates, and created the rooms individually with their own concepts. The final room does also borrow an idea from the original Brute Force, but the new one is implemented much better. I thought about just having the player teleport back to the start to exit, but I liked the idea of a victory lap back through the level better. Finally, I saw an interesting way that the blue button could be used at the end and made a slight change to the starting room. I was really happy with the final results and it cannot be overstated how thrilled I am that other people liked it as well.
Level 149 - Shadow of the Day: Ok this is a nice pick actually. Just a fun, not too hard level to cap off what was a really fun set. I kind of miss the blob/glider section from the original but it's whatever.
Thanks so much to everyone who voted and to the staff for knocking it out of the park as has become the norm. As for levels I wish could have made it, I feel like my own Ramifications went underappreciated. To me, it even felt like a spiritual sequel to Stratagem. So that would've been cool to see. Other ones I would've liked to make it were VT's Lead Salad and Makings of a Crime Boss, JB's Blink Block Blitz, Block Fort (my 2nd favorite from voting!) and the aforementioned Block Buster 3 in 2D, Josh Lee's The Internal 3D Dungeon and Disintegrated Canyon, and my own Key Party. Also, when will people learn that Plug in Baby needs to be in a CCLP?
For years I've tried to get the best play experience (which to me is, fullscreen, smooth scrolling, and with the original green chip background in MS theme version)
On PC, the background is an ugly black background and you can't make it fullscreen? In 2025 still no update to this which sucks but at least the game actually works... You can make the game X3 resolution but then the game just gets cut off? talk about lazy. I had a program called "integerscaler" and it used to make the window at X2 zoom in to TRUE fullscreen perfectly but now for some reason it just doesn't work anymore and doesn't zoom in, I tried looking at the integerscaler program for settings but there was nothing so this option does no work anymore :(.
The next way I was playing was to just play the original CHIPS.EXE and there is a hack (think it was .reg) script hack to make it work in windows 10 and above but with that way there is no fullscreen either, again the integerscaler program does not zoom it in anymore for some reason... Also something I forgot about was the fact that once you play the Steam version enough you get used to the smooth scrolling and its hard to go back to the non smooth scrolling of the original MS version... its not terrible but the smooth scrolling is definitely more easier on the eyes, so now we are torn at which version is the best now, original has the classic green chip background (the green chip behind the screen in the game window), the steam one has no background and ugly text but it has the smooth scrolling.
There is one final version that to me is ALMOST PERFECT! but misses a few things that keep it away from being perfect. This game is Tile World with the MS theme (I've been playing specifically the port master version for anbernic handhelds). It HAS SMOOTH SCROLLING AND IS FULL SCREEN! It doesn't use the original green chip background but it is possible to replace the image so with a custom graphic it is possible to emulate that style and have it replaced. A few other strange changes were some of the awful sound effects, when Chip dies it plays a horrible ear piercing screeching noise, I was able to replace that sound file with the classic "bummer" sound instead. One other thing that bugged me more than it probably should was that chip doesn't "swim" in the water, it just shows him walking on the water, in the spritesheet that its using there is the sprites of him swimming but for whatever reason it doesn't use these... Probably because in tile world (the original skins) there isn't a swim animation. If I could I would edit and tweak this verison of the game to make it the true perfect way to play Chips 1 in MS style!
Now for Chips Challenge 2 everything can be applied here except I wanted to ask you guys!
Is the steam version the one and only way to play this game? Or is there some type of port out there or a Tile World 2 thats actually chips challenge 2? (I heard that Tile World 2 is not actually chips 2 its all fan levels) Sorry for my long rant but let me know your thoughts!
Hey guys! was trying to do a somewhat simple mod I think to Tile World, I've noticed when chips in the water it doesn't change to his swimming animation? Specifically on a port master version of Tile World, you have the ability to select from a bunch of different themes and in all of them there is no swimming animation, but I noticed in the actual files on the sprite sheet it uses there is the swimming sprites in there! so my question is how can I tell tile world to switch over and use these sprites? I was trying to find some type of config file but couldn't find anything. The only things I am able to do and change are the sprites (I tried changing the colors of the boots and it works) So I figure if I can do that it might be possible to make tile world show the swimming animations! If someone could give me some advice I would appreciate it! Thank you!
A Create Competition is a level design contest where anyone can make a level or levels from a given prompt or theme, which are then judged and ranked, with feedback. Whether you're a veteran designer with hundreds of levels or have never made a level before in your life, your submission is welcome here!
This competition is once again hosted by everyone's favourite pair of dummies, Sickly & Sharpeye!
This year's "why would you make it that" theme is: No walls! Specifically, everything in the level must be able to move! So, mazes formed of blocks that can be pushed, monsters moving around, directional blocks on force floors, more tanks than Tiananmen Square, that's all good. What you can not do however is convert moving problems into stationary ones via 2 layer thick blocks, putting monsters on unopenable traps, etc. If its in the level it should be able to move, or be an element like fire, water, etc. that you will be able to move over at some point and that monsters can move over immediately (ie. if you have water and/or fire there should be gliders and/or fireballs moving over it, doors should be openable by rovers, etc.).
CC1 and CC2 (might want to stick to CC2 for the options it gives) submissions accepted, winners be judged on creativity, and sticking to the spirit of the competition!
And finally, some administrative details:
Submit your level(s) to either sharpeye468 or viviandra on Discord or by PM on the forums on or before March 9th. Extensions will be granted on a case for case basis if one is needed because there are creative ideas flowing, if y'all scream enough, or someone buys me a Donkey Kong arcade cabinet.
Whilst you are technically allowed to submit unlimited levels, please note that we will only be judging your best two, so if you submit more you must note which they are.
Levels should be solvable, if its CC1 please include a TWS or JSON, for CC2 please record a replay for the level.
We will be looking through the levels sometime after submission, most likely on a discord stream. Please don't make us get banned.
If you have any questions about the competition, if a level is legal, or anything of that sort, please don't hesitate to ask here or on Discord.
Finally, your levels only have to be solvable in as many rulesets as you choose (minimum 1 obviously), if you want to make an MS only level go right ahead. Lynx only? Right on! CC2/Steam only? It makes sense to me. But also do tell us what ruleset(s) each level targets, thanks!
UPDATE: The competition deadline has been extended by 2 weeks to March 23rd 2025. Make the most of it!
Let's get down to business: what's the best level of 2024?
It's too easy to just ask chatGPT, so instead I propose a process to figure out a worthy level that could be given this title.
Any level that was released this year can be submitted. (It may have been designed earlier.)
Any designer can submit up to three of their levels in CC1 and three levels in CC2.
We wait until the end of the year and then compile the submissions for voting.
During January people can play the levels and rank them.
There are some details here to work out, so let's hash them out on Discord. For example, is three levels per designer the right amount? I personally don't think we need a full list of all the levels from this year, and would rather keep this more in the style of a create competition. Similarly, should we allow for nominations of levels made by someone else? Or would it be enough to first discuss some favorites and encourage a level's designer to submit a level themself? What about the voting and scoring, how should that be done?
Those questions are probably enough to get the ball rolling. I'll post any decisions we arrive at below. In the meanwhile, you can go create that new level you've been meaning to put together in an editor to release it in time to be eligible here. I'm eager to see what you come up with. :-)
I'm excited. I know I often write these announcements a bit tongue-in-cheek with an overly hyped-up tone, so just saying I'm excited might not mean much. But this time, I am excited for real. I think it's to do with the anticipation of finally releasing these levels and start this competition. I worked on them about a year ago and then I just sat on them waiting for the right time to launch, when it didn't overlap poorly with CCLP5 or a busy schedule in my own life. Hopefully that time is now.
The Time Trial for this month, this year in fact, is a collection of mazes. I am releasing a set with 50 levels, but fear not, only five of those are for this competition. If that's all you need to know grab this set and get to work:
I have too much to say about the levels to write everything here, so I will be uploading a video with those thoughts instead. Briefly, I thought it was time I built a maze for a TT and then I wanted to use the same maze structure to create several different challenges. Chip's Challenge levels come in many flavors and not everyone has to like every flavor, but I gave this concept my best shot and I do hope you can find some enjoyment in the set like I already have.
As for the scoring of the competition, I must also add a few words. Firstly, the competition levels are #2 - #6 in the set, but I do recommend you take a look at a few others too if you just want some casually playable levels (I recommend #9, #27, #43). Secondly, with five full levels to optimize for the competition (and we always love casual entries as well; they are awesome for getting a feel for how the level plays), I want to use a ranking scheme that does not require you to perfect all of these. The method I have in mind is to rank each level individually and only your three best ranks count towards your placement in the competition. Thirdly, I want to use a rule that incentivizes working on the level yourself, without banning computer assistance completely. If you do not use any computer assistance that does more than handle the inputs you make yourself into the level, you will receive a bonus second for that level. The intent is that you first can take a stab at each level manually, send in your score, and then, if you wish, you can use computational assistance to make improvements.
I'll probably say a few more things on Discord as I mention this competition there. If you have any other questions or comments, about the levels or the competition, all I'm doing this weekend is waiting by my screen to reply to you. (ah, I'm getting into that hyperbolic tone again...)
