The day was May 28, 2015. I remember there was a chance I could come home from work early, so I did everything I could to make sure that happened. Of course, that was the day Chip's Challenge 2 was finally released. I actually never thought that day would come.

I remember reading about CC2 as a kid, even that there were some lucky beta-testers who had a copy of it, and I would daydream about somehow contacting one of them and they would be nice enough to give me a copy. I wondered who these beta-testers were, how did they get acquainted with Chuck to be able to be on that team? Do they realize how lucky they are? Do they still play it? There were only a few screenshots of CC2 and that video of Pigeon Holes. So many weird new features, it was a dream. It was actually #1 on my wish list of games that I wanted. But alas, that day will never come. There were so many new things about it that I didn't know. But I knew one thing: it would never be released. I knew about the rights-holder changing hands and the difficulty on aggreeing to terms and all that. I know how these things go. Who cares about a sequel to an old game that most people have never heard of? It'll just be one of those things that I will never get to experience and I accepted that. I became content with CC1 and moved on.

I couldn't explain to anyone around me my surprise when I heard the game was actually going to be released. You see, I'm the only one I know in my life who plays it. Sure, some of my friends played it when they were kids and it's a well known oddity among them that I still play it. They don't understand the appeal and so they wouldn't understand my excitement that my childhood wish was coming true. I didn't bother trying to explain. But suffice it to say, I was excited. So a countdown began in my mind for May 28. And I knew I was probably hyping it up too much and there was no way it was going to live up to my unreasonable expectations. But I was still going to enjoy it.

And then May 28 finally came. And what did I find? The game itself I enjoyed. I was finally able to play CC2! I didn't even know about boot dropping; I had to completely change the way I think in order to solve puzzles. I was overwhelmed by the potential of this game. But the levels reminded me so much of CCLP2, and for good reason, as CC2 was compiled in much the same way as CCLP2, and around the same time. Kinda neat how uniform the level design scene was, how even different designers could put out levels that had the same feel as those of CCLP2. Nothing against that set; I know it has its fans, but it's never been my favorite. In fact, I kind of dislike it... :scream:

Even the first time I played CCLP2, I was a kid and I could tell the levels were not up to par with the quality of the original set's. I don't think I had even played any custom sets yet and my general feeling was still, "They voted on these, and this is the best they could do?" I've come to appreciate CCLP2 more since but it is still far and away my least favorite of the official packs. But I couldn't help but have similar feelings about Chip's Challenge 2. All that potential, not wasted, but definitely underutilized. But I didn't want to lose perspective. I should just be happy that I could go and purchase this game myself and actually play it. I wanted to give CC2 credit where it was due. It threw a lot of stuff at the player and it did a decent job with what it had for the time. Sure it's not perfect, some of it is frustrating, the aforementioned Pigeon Holes being way less fun to execute than anticipated. I couldn't really be disappointed, but at the same time I wondered what the community of level designers now could do with this, and the thought of a future CC2 community level pack excited me again.

In the years since CCLP2, level design took some big strides, and the quality skyrocketed in my opinion. Nothing reinvigorated my love for the game like CCLP3. For years, it was my favorite official level pack. A few years ago, I posted a review for the newly released CCLP4 and made this comment: "Overall, I loved it. I can say with pretty good certainty that this set was better than CCLP3, which means it's my favorite!"

"Pretty good certainty." I was calculating my opinion of CCLP4 like it was a math problem. Since I knew the levels beforehand, voted on all of them, and many of the ones I wanted got in, I assumed that meant it was now my favorite. But it's not really about number of levels you like, it's more about gut feeling. And now when I look back, there was nothing like that feeling I got playing through CCLP3 for the first time. Although I have my issues with the end of that set, there are still so many levels that made a deep impression on me, that make the set as a whole more special to me than the CCLP's that came after. Maybe it was because I had not voted on CCLP3 (I think the only levels I was familiar with prior to its release were the levels from CheeseT1 and DanielB1 and 2, and of course my own.) Every level a new discovery. It made for the most unique playing experience, certainly more memorable for me than CCLP1 and 4, where I played every single level in voting. Despite what I had posted about CCLP4, CCLP3 was still my favorite.

That is, until now.

I knew I wasn't going to have the time anymore to play through the voting packs, so I decided to just wait and see what the community came up with for CC2LP1. Being largely unfamiliar with any of the CC2 custom scene, I expected to see some extremely creative puzzles, and the community DELIVERED. I was a little afraid that some of the levels would be too high of a difficulty for me to solve. Nothing approached the threshold of Old Frog, but there were still some very hard ones. There were a few I needed help on, a few I had to straight up watch the replay, but in my opinion, they got the difficulty just right. It wasn't just puzzles though, there were all kinds of levels, and the emphasis seemed to be on FUN, as it should be. Even the level count of 200 over 149 helped out the set, because there is just so much to love. I feel like it is the perfect number. That greatly increases its replay value for years to come.

Now I don't have trouble with deciding what my favorite official set is, I can feel it in my gut. CC2LP1 was everything I had hoped CC2 would be as a kid. It somehow exceeded those expectations. Incredibly inventive, deliciously clever at times, not too easy, not too hard, and that is what puts it above CCLP3 for me. And there is something to be said about not knowing any of the levels beforehand. Thank you to everyone who worked hard on this project. Congratulations on making what is, in my opinion, our community's crowning achievement.

Looking back at it, there really isn't a bad level in the set. I will now post some of my thoughts on certain levels that stood out my first time through:

#13 Temporary Housing: One of the only levels I was familiar with because I had just played it a few weeks prior in the CC3D2020 DLC. What a mouthful.

#86 Hydrochloric Acid Factory Disaster: Super fun level and bonus.

#97 Around the Corner: I really love yellow teleport puzzles like this. Getting the bonus was fun too.

#114 Pairing Off: This was really hard for me. I'm not used to pop-up puzzles where you have to finish where you started from and somehow that made it so much more difficult.

#118 Phantoms: The first level I needed help on, but it was a very simple thing I was missing.

#129 Small Matters: Amazing how much can be crammed into such a small space. Really neat level.

#153 Slow-Motion Hallway Fight Sequence: I really like this one. And the title too.

#163 Boot Warehouse: Maybe my favorite Josh level in the set. Just beating the level was one thing, but figuring out how to get the bonus was a lot of fun.

#165 Cold Comfort: Extremely devious little puzzle. It was so satisfying to figure out though, and I'm surprised I did it without help. Whenever I saw 'By H.' after a level title I pretty much knew it was going to trip me up.

#178 Tank of Justice: Still have no idea what is up with that 2nd bowling ball or how to get any of the bonuses.

#179 Oversaturated Contrast: Another stumper. I actually looked at JB's LP to figure out a section. Didn't realize I could just consult the replay. Yep, it was the trap room.

#180 Slither: I noticed a lot of the Tyler levels had a gimmick that was really frustrating to me the first time through, but I came to appreciate them later. This is probably my favorite.

#182 Two Minds: Oh man, this might have been the toughest level in the whole set for me. I was kinda able to just wing it on Lady in the Water earlier and found a solution that worked, but this seemed way more strict. Unfortunately I had to resort to cheating off of JB's paper again.

#187 Return Strategies: A really devious level that I'm surprised I got so fast. I really loved this one.

#188 Noen Cheoc: Really satisfying to solve. I kinda figured it out on accident, not really sure whether what I was doing was right. Joshua Bone might have the best batch of levels in my opinion.

#190 Blocko's Modern Life: Ok maybe this was my favorite Tyler level. I love that this title exists.

#191 Leaving It All Behind: Just an epic level. Super hard.

#192 Sequence: I was super stumped on this level. But I think it was Jeffrey who gave me the best hint ever: There is a hint in a previous Andrew Menzies level that I had completely forgotten about. After a thorough search, I was able to finally solve it. That was a great feeling.

#193 Connected Component: I was determined not to cheat on this one, but it had me stumped for a long time. Eventually, I'm proud to say I was able do it without help. But now, don't ask me how I did it.

#195 Teleblast: Another yellow teleport J. Bone puzzle that you have to be really careful to solve. But man is it satisfying.

#196 The Girl Who Was Left Behind: I needed help from Jeffrey again. A solid level.

#200 Swivel Castle: A pretty fitting finale level. It was nice to end on a not too hard note.

Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed.

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!

The theme for this competition is to push the dimension features of CC2's map format to their absolute (imposed by CC2) limits--make a level where one dimension is the maximum 100 tiles, and one dimension is the minimum 10 tiles.  There are levels that run close to, but not exactly, at 100×10, like Archival Footage or Eastbound, if you want some design insipiration.

Administrivia:

• Submit the levels to me, calica#0464 on Discord or through PM here, by 11:59 PM Pacific Time on February 28, 2021.  Extensions will be granted for a week if someone tells me you're working on something.
  
• You may submit up to 3 levels to the competition; if you submit more, only the most recent 3, or whichever 3 you tell me to judge, will be judged.
  
• Levels should be solvable and replays are strongly recommended.  If I can't solve the level in my stream and it doesn't have a replay, I won't be inclined to give it a good placement.
  
• You can have a map bigger than 10x100, within reason (let's say, don't go past 20 or so?), if logic/mechanisms require it, though as Ida says it'll be a bit disappointing to have the viewport shift that way (though in Lexy's Labyrinth you can set bounding boxes).  You can't extend the 100 though, because that won't be playable on CC2, though it actually will be playable in LL.
  
• If you have a 10x100 map where part of it is inaccessible to the player due to containing logic, again within reason (maybe no more than 1/3 of the map?); though if it's possible, I suggest making it possible to see such a mechanism after completion, a la Difficulty Switch or Strict Process.
  
• I'll probably stream the levels on Discord in early March and judge afterwards.
  
• If you have any additional questions, don't hesitate to ask either directly or in this thread.
  

Alright, so you may have seen something like this before. And yes, this is a "blobs only" version of CCLP3.

So basically, every single monster in each level has been replaced with a blob, along with a few other minor changes as deemed necessary.

Now you may be wondering, Tom, why are you doing this? Well, to answer that, I was just simply bored at the time and didn't really have anything else to do, so I figured I'd fill in the missing piece of the blobs edition hall of fame, whatever you want to call it, which was CCLP3.

And I guess that is about it. So here you go. Feel free to play this at your own risk and remember, this is just for fun!


  CCLP3Blobs.dat (Size: 110.78 KB / Downloads: 246)

It's at least 15 years too late, but I wanted to try out some web tech, so I wrote a CC web editor.

https://ccwebeditor.netlify.app/

Probably gonna need a fairly modern browser. I'll call it version 0.1 - it's missing some functions (undo, copy/paste), but it has a couple of fun features:

• play mode: try out playing through the level right in the editor, rewind if you make a mistake
  
• replay mode: watch public TWS solutions for the CCLP levelsets, play them forwards and backwards
  

Hey all,

There's been some talk about getting CCLP5 going some time this year. The first step would be to put together a team to run the project. If you'd be interesting in serving on the staff of this project, please indicate so here along with some details about what you would offer the team and why you are interested. 

Currently there is nothing formally in place for CCLP5, though Josh Lee has expressed interest in serving as staff leader for this project. Another idea that has been put forward is developing a second smaller set in parallel with CCLP5 that contains the hardest puzzles for chipsters looking for a tougher challenge. If you have ideas about this, feel free to discuss here as well.

For myself, I don't have significant interest in being involved with the project, though I'd like to offer using BB.club for voting with CC Zone login integration and could assist with that when the time comes.

I haven't played much but here's what I've got in CC1:

1: 1320 | 82 (LESSON 1)
2: 1850 | 85 (LESSON 2)
3: 2370 | 87 (LESSON 3)
4: 3100 | 110 (LESSON 4)
5: 3280 | 78 (LESSON 5)
6: 3860 | 86 (LESSON 6)
7: 4760 | 126 (LESSON 7)
8: 4850 | 85 (LESSON 8)
9: 6900 | 240 (NUTS AND BOLTS)
10: 5090 | 9 (BRUSHFIRE)
11: 7260 | 176 (TRINITY)
12: 8380 | 238 (HUNT)
13: 6500 | 0 (SOUTHPOLE)
14: 8400 | 140 (TELEBLOCK)
15: 8110 | 61 (ELEMENTARY)
16: 8000 | 0 (CELLBLOCKED)
17: 9220 | 72 (NICE DAY)
18: 11610 | 261 (CASTLE MOAT)
19: 10100 | 60 (DIGGER)
20: 12890 | 289 (TOSSED SALAD)
21: 11310 | 81 (ICEBERG)
22: 12630 | 163 (FORCED ENTRY)

EDIT: you figured it out but I'm on steam lol

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 requires use of everyone's favourite CC2 addition, the rover. Time to get creative with it! Admittedly an offshoot of last month's ideas, but I wanted to see what kind of creations could be used to utilize the rover creature to its fullest untapped potential. Simply put, add a rover, make it the main part of the level and go from there. The rover must be doing something and not just idly sitting in a walled off section or something of that nature.

To keep judging fair and balanced, I'm enlisting the help of my ex-son, Mrs. Milky Way Wishes (Sickly Silver Moon) to ensure a large variety of level preferences are used when considering what has been submitted.

Some administrative details:

• Submit your level(s) to either Sharpeye468#9238 or A Sickly Silver Moon#4836 on Discord or by PM on the forums before January 10th. Extensions will be granted on a case for case basis depending on who bribes me enough money, or if one is needed because there are creative ideas flowing.
  
• There is no limit to the amount of levels you can submit, but only your best 4 levels will be considered for ranking, so please specify which 4 you want considered in case you submit multiple over the time period.
  
• Please ensure that these are new levels. I don't want to play nonsense from currently existing packs, or anything that was submitted for CC2LP1. Inspiration from the levels may be used (as I don't think there are too many options for these darn things).
  
• Levels should be solvable and replays are required.
  
• I will save looking and spoiling the levels for myself until the day of the judging process in which Mx. Moon and I will be going through the levels in a collaborative method, most likely through a discord stream.
  
• If you have any additional questions, don't hesitate to ask either directly or in this thread.
  

It occurs to me I never reported scores for any individual levels, just overall scores. I'll start with CC1.

CC1 (MS):
#1 (LESSON 1): 76
#2 (LESSON 2): 88
#3 (LESSON 3): 84
#4 (LESSON 4): 108
#5 (LESSON 5): 81
#6 (LESSON 6): 89
#7 (LESSON 7): 125
#8 (LESSON 8): 90
#9 (NUTS AND BOLTS): 289
#10 (BRUSHFIRE): 46
#11 (TRINITY): 183
#12 (HUNT): 248
#13 (SOUTHPOLE): [979]
#14 (TELEBLOCK): 168
#15 (ELEMENTARY): 78
#16 (CELLBLOCKED): [970]
#17 (NICE DAY): 79
#18 (CASTLE MOAT): 550
#19 (DIGGER): 118
#20 (TOSSED SALAD): 305
#21 (ICEBERG): 84
#22 (FORCED ENTRY): 164
#23 (BLOBNET): 299
#24 (OORTO GELD): 257
#25 (BLINK): 280
#26 (CHCHCHIPS): 235
#27 (GO WITH THE FLOW): 122
#28 (PING PONG): 209
#29 (ARCTICFLOW): 242
#30 (MISHMESH): 296
#31 (KNOT): 3
#32 (SCAVENGER HUNT): 184
#33 (ON THE ROCKS): [102]
#34 (CYPHER): 290
#35 (LEMMINGS): 491
#36 (LADDER): 183
#37 (SEEING STARS): 540
#38 (SAMPLER): 362
#39 (GLUT): 12
#40 (FLOORGASBORG): 181
#41 (I.C. YOU): 144
#42 (BEWARE OF BUG): 186
#43 (LOCK BLOCK): 116
#44 (REFRACTION): 108
#45 (MONSTER LAB): 172
#46 (THREE DOORS): 195
#47 (PIER SEVEN): 201
#48 (MUGGER SQUARE): 251
#49 (PROBLEMS): 127
#50 (DIGDIRT): 288
#51 (I SLIDE): 521
#52 (THE LAST LAUGH): 344
#53 (TRAFFIC COP): 350
#54 (GRAIL): 265
#55 (POTPOURRI): 60
#56 (DEEPFREEZE): 103
#57 (STRANGE MAZE): 209
#58 (LOOP AROUND): 437
#59 (HIDDEN DANGER): 357
#60 (SCOUNDREL): 286
#61 (RINK): [205]
#62 (SLO MO): 270
#63 (BLOCK FACTORY): 418
#64 (SPOOKS): 448
#65 (AMSTERDAM): 262
#66 (VICTIM): 280
#67 (CHIPMINE): 363
#68 (EENY MINY MOE): 321
#69 (BOUNCE CITY): 195
#70 (NIGHTMARE): 129
#71 (CORRIDOR): 316
#72 (REVERSE ALLEY): [931]
#73 (MORTON): 392
#74 (PLAYTIME): 321
#75 (STEAM): 468
#76 (FOUR PLEX): 356
#77 (INVINCIBLE CHAMPION): 472
#78 (FORCE SQUARE): 312
#79 (DRAWN AND QUARTERED): 182
#80 (VANISHING ACT): 665
#81 (WRITERS BLOCK): [282]
#82 (SOCIALIST ACTION): 954
#83 (UP THE BLOCK): 167
#84 (WARS): 560
#85 (TELENET): 193
#86 (SUICIDE): 308
#87 (CITYBLOCK): [339]
#88 (SPIRALS): 304
#89 (BLOCK BUSTER): 321
#90 (PLAYHOUSE): 266
#91 (JUMPING SWARM): 340
#92 (VORTEX): 353
#93 (ROADSIGN): 392
#94 (NOW YOU SEE IT): [657]
#95 (FOUR SQUARE): 325
#96 (PARANOIA): 267
#97 (METASTABLE TO CHAOS): 266
#98 (SHRINKING): 280
#99 (CATACOMBS): 323
#100 (COLONY): [861]
#101 (APARTMENT): 195
#102 (ICEHOUSE): 171
#103 (MEMORY): 414
#104 (JAILER): 190
#105 (SHORT CIRCUIT): 249
#106 (KABLAM): [798]
#107 (BALLS O FIRE): 231
#108 (BLOCK OUT): 182
#109 (TORTURECHAMBER): 130
#110 (CHILLER): 216
#111 (TIME LAPSE): [954]
#112 (FORTUNE FAVOURS THE): [956]
#113 (OPEN QUESTION): 425
#114 (DECEPTION): 142
#115 (OVERSEA DELIVERY): [804]
#116 (BLOCK BUSTER II): 602
#117 (THE MARSH): [796]
#118 (MISS DIRECTION): 231
#119 (SLIDE STEP): 112
#120 (ALPHABET SOUP): [903]
#121 (PERFECT MATCH): [938]
#122 (TOTALLY FAIR): 240
#123 (THE PRISONER): 181
#124 (FIRETRAP): 604
#125 (MIXED NUTS): [735]
#126 (BLOCK N ROLL): 319
#127 (SKELZIE): 382
#128 (ALL FULL): 238
#129 (LOBSTER TRAP): 209
#130 (ICE CUBE): [341]
#131 (TOTALLY UNFAIR): 4
#132 (MIX UP): 450
#133 (BLOBDANCE): [783]
#134 (PAIN): [-16]
#135 (TRUST ME): 226
#136 (DOUBLEMAZE): [597]
#137 (GOLDKEY): 372
#138 (PARTIAL POST): 62
#139 (YORKHOUSE): [875]
#140 (ICEDEATH): 253
#141 (UNDERGROUND): [757]
#142 (PENTAGRAM): [963]
#143 (STRIPES?): [296]
#144 (FIREFLIES): [793]
#145 (Thanks to...): [985]
#146 (CAKE WALK): 281
#147 (FORCE FIELD): [-212]
#148 (MIND BLOCK): [422]
#149 (SPECIAL): 932

Total Score: 5,907,410

Besides CC, of course.

I recently finished Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Danganranpa, which is a murder mystery detective type game sort of, which I might recommend to you puzzle solving CC players who are also into visual novel types games (i.e. Ace Attorney).

ITT: Feel free to discuss and not just list games.

Haven't been here in 5 years and, while working on an electronics project, got a sudden burst of nostalgia, which led me back here. What's new in the CC world? Any chance at a CC3? XP

I highly doubt anyone recognizes me, but it's good to see some familiar names still visiting this place. Still wishing for Rockdet to come back and finish CCLP3 do some more LP's. :p

Good to see all your big bright smiles!