I don't know how soon CCLP5 voting starts, but let's see if we can squeeze in a competition (or two?) before it does. (Which also partly explains why I'm starting this competition in the middle of the month.)
Here are two levels for you to optimize. I've been saving these levels for a bit now, and am excited to see what you think of them and what you do with them.
Blast Me to the Heavens is a quick Teeth dodging, chip collecting level, with the twist of having to (getting to?) blow up all the Teeth before you finish.
Polyomino Gardens is the next entry in the polyomino series, which generally has you figure out an efficient route in an otherwise non-challenging level. *
This time the primary rule set to use in LYNX. We haven't had one of those in a while, though the difference to MS on these levels is not that great. (Do feel free to send in your MS solutions as well.)
Send in your TWS file or even just the solution from SuCC to me at my email: valeosote at hotmail dot com. (Not on Discord this time, as I've found it to be a bit of a hassle for me at this end because I mainly use that on my phone.) The deadline for submissions is October 9th where you live, which gives you four weekends. (I may start the next TT before that, so you might as well take a look at these now and earn your Early Bird bonus if you submit at least something before September 25th.)
If you have any questions regarding the competition, those I can answer on Discord most simply on the competitions channel for everyone's benefit.
Get to it!
-Miika
*) There is a third level in the set, which is basically the second level again. You may submit your solution to it instead of #2, but really it was just a remnant from design when I was still not sure if the MS boosting in the level would prove annoying to route.
Here's an 8x8 tileset using the PICO-8 color palette. An 8x8 tileset may be useful for looking at maps without taking up a whole screen, so I tried to make it as legible as I could. I've also attached a 64x64 version in case you actually want to play the game with this tileset.
I am making some levels using CC edit and I have also made some using the built in CC2 editor. [attachm
Nates levels.ccl (Size: 2.71 KB / Downloads: 5) ent=2079] I'll try to upload the ones from the CC2 editor later. Does anyone know how to put my levels on here so others can play them and let me know what they think about them?
I am making some levels using CC edit and I have also made some using the built in CC2 editor. [attachm
Nates levels.ccl (Size: 2.71 KB / Downloads: 161)
ent=2079] I'll try to upload the ones from the CC2 editor later.
Hello again chipsters! It's that time again for another CCLP5 announcement!
First and foremost, we apologize for the delay in progress after the TWS deadline closed. To keep it brief, some of the staff (myself included), have been held up by important real life events that needed priority. We hope you understand!
During this time though, we have gone through every submitted set and level in great detail, going through a pre-voting culling process to determine a voting pool of quality levels in hopes to be included into the upcoming, Chip's Challenge Level Pack 5.
If we felt a level was under the following criteria, it was culled and removed from consideration for the voting pool:
-Blank, unsolvable, or not compatible across MS and Lynx rulesets
-Poor/uninteresting design quality
-Were not a fun solving experience
-Relied too heavily on outdated design tropes (guesswork, tedious block pushing, etc.)
-Performed poorly in other community voting cycles
With this in mind, we determined around 1,000+ levels that fell under any of the above categories and were preemptively removed from voting. This included entire sets, which are listed here:
Amidst this, we also determined 151 levels that we, the staff, were uncertain and torn about whether they should enter voting. Some members felt they didn't deserve a chance, while others did.
While we wrap up this culling process and get final preparations made for voting to begin, you can vote and nominate any of the 151 levels, if you feel they deserve a shot in voting! You can find the attached .dat file that contains these levels. You can also find an attached ZIP folder containing all levelsets that were submitted for CCLP5, to use as a reference point.
Additionally, you can also do the same with any of the 1,000+ levels that were already removed, if you wish to do so. However, do note that these levels were essentially agreed upon that they didn't fit the quality being looked for for CCLP5.
If your levels are in either the list above or within the attached .dat file, you are welcome to speak up about them. However, do keep in mind this is for an official set that is aiming for excellent quality and a fun, satisfying solving experience.
Also please keep in mind that each staff member that partook in culling, all had different reasons to what was and wasn't culled so we cannot provide a static reason to why your level(s) were treated as such.
The deadline for nominating any of these levels is, June 14th, 2022 midnight EDT.
After the deadline, the staff will review each nominated level and the community feedback it received. We won't have a hard numerical cutoff for nominations to be considered, as we'd like to consider each case individually and carefully.
Thank you so much for your patience and please let it be known what levels you want to see in voting! We will bring you another announcement when voting is about to begin. :)
Hello! JSON here with May's level competition (a little late, sorry!)
Overview
This month I thought a fun competition would be to "fill in the scribble" (inspired by videos such as these). The goal is to create a level out of at least one of the three samples I've provided. The intention is that the "scribbles" are simple enough that you have some freedom to expand them the way you think fits best!
Rules
* The main rule is that the non-empty tiles that are already in the level must stay, otherwise do whatever you would like!
* You are allowed to put items on top of or below anything that's already there (something on water, something under a block, etc.).
* Make as many levels as you'd like! If you have multiple submissions, I will consider only the best one for scoring, but having multiple levels will increase your chances I like one :)
* Any ruleset is allowed, as well as both CC1 and CC2. Please specify which ruleset I need to play it in.
* CC2 levels should stay the same size as the sample so that you aren't given any additional room to work with than CC1 levels.
* Deadline is the end of May (per usual contest rules, ask me for an extension and you will likely get it - the "true" deadline will be whenever I judge the levels)!
* Levels will be judged on a mix of how well the scribble was included and my overall enjoyment of the level.
* You can either DM me on Discord at JasonDREWlo#7781, or DM me on the forums, or reply here with your submissions!
This is a Treasure Hunter level designed by ChosenID. Your score is not determined merely by time, but also by how many chips and keys you collect.
The deadline is May 5th (naturally). The official competition uses MS rules, but Lynx solutions (which will differ greatly) are also acceptable.
The level has a time limit of 55 seconds, and the chip counter starts at 55.
You can gather as many keys and chips as you want in the allotted time, but there is a significant bonus for ensuring that the counts are multiples of 5.
Scoring: + You must reach the exit before time expires, 1 point per second left. + 0 points for fire/water boots. + 1 point per chip, 5 points extra if number of chips is a multiple of 5. + 5 points for the green key (using it does not subtract points). + 2 points per red, blue, or yellow key. ++ color bonus: N points for N keys of a given color if N is multiple of 5. (equivalently: 3 pts/key for such a color, rather than the normal 2 pts/key)
As an example, say you reach the exit with 2 seconds left on the clock, and 37 chips, and having gotten 3 red keys, 7 blue keys and 5 yellow keys. You get 2 points for the time you still have left, and 18 points for gathering 18 chips. You do not get the 5 point bonus for collecting exactly 5,10,15,20... chips. You get 6 points for your red keys, 14 points for your blue keys, and 15 points for your yellow keys. These all add up to 2+18+6+14+15=55 points as your total.
Tiebreaker priority order: most red keys, blue keys, yellow keys, chips, time remaining.
Send your solutions to Miika on Discord, or his email valeosote at skipthisword hotmail youknowtherest.
You may send in a tws file that you have actually played, or even just a route you found, perhaps using SuperCC.
Please include a calculation of what you think your score is, if you bothered calculating it.
Chip Cup points will be awarded on the usual 15-12-10-8-7-6-5-etc basis, naturally. Additional Chip Cup points may be awarded for best Lynx (or even Steam), and mayhap for the best score executed in Tile World.
Hope you enjoy!
But that's not all we have for you!
April Mini Time Trial - Think Big Box
Last month in the Time Trial we had a relatively simple level to solve, Thinkbox, that still had some interesting features from an optimizer's perspective. ChosenID wanted to try and expand the concept and now we can have a go at the result. You'll find the level as the fourth one in the newly updated and attached minicomp.ccl.
But what is the difference between a mini TT and a traditional TT, you may ask? Some of the previous minicomp levels have been slightly simpler or more monotonous than we usually like to have in a month long TT, but this level is not quite like that. I think here the difference is that we can talk about the routes we find without needing to send them in to be judged. So please have a go at the level and post any comments and scores you have directly either in this thread or on Discord (where the most appropriate place might be the competitions channel). ChosenID has a few solutions of his own already in his pocket, but I think he'll enjoy observing how the rest of us like this level before he releases them.
As for Chip Cup points, you are awarded 5 for finding the bold route (or maybe even for getting close), 4 for scoring a relatively competitive route, 3 / 2 points for solving the level and discussing it, and 1 for showing up in some other manner. It's not so much about the points as creating some discussion and shared experiences around something, but we might as well reward participants a little bit, right? :-)
There you go! Now you should have at least a bit of stuff to do for next weekend. I wonder when the next Create Comp will launch...
In case anyone else is still interested in these for some reason, or just wants some light nostalgic reading...
General Microsoft Knowledge Base/Microsoft Support archives don't have these articles.
Here's the only one that does (along with rare pages for many other ancient Microsoft products): https://jeffpar.github.io/kbarchive/
I was browsing through some folders and came upon a file named "CCZ-TT-1803.ccl". Wait a second, no such file should exist as we didn't have a time trial in March four years ago! These were levels I had prepared but had not, for one reason or another, released. As we are waiting for CCLP5, this should be the perfect window to let these levels out the door and into a narrow ray of spotlight before they are run over by the unrelenting truck of time that vanquishes all things, save perchance the annals of Chip's Challenge lore and glory.
With that sentence out of the way, your task, should you accept it is to download this file, play the levels and send me your solutions.
The quickest solutions win the competition, but we love to see even the more casual attempts and if you have a minute or two to comment on the levels, that would be fantastic.
Let's set the deadline at the end of the day of April 3rd where you live, which is a Sunday. (I'm not keeping this running for a full month as I want to start the next TT as soon as this one ends. I have a series of at three competitions lined up, so get on the train now.) Standard rules apply, and though I'm not posting the technicalities and finer details this time (in full at least), you can ask me here or on Discord.
Speaking of which, while I do like to keep a record of the entries if you send them in by email (valeosote ata hotmail doto como), you can also send your scores and solutions to me on Discord. (Just today I finally played and somewhat optimized the levels myself.) The main competition is in MS, but I am very happy to see Lynx scores as well (or if someone wants have a go at the levels in CC2). You get extra respect for playing in Tile World, but as this isn't a competition from ancient times, you can also just send me your solution as played in Super CC.
That should cover most of the stuff you need, but I thought I'd also share a few thoughts on the designs of the levels.
Thinkbox was a Create Competition entry from the start of 2015 by Minus3K2. I wanted to pick it as a time trial level because it presents an interesting choice: do you drown the teeth and how, or do you let it chase you around? This question works for both a casual solve and an optimized approach. I also try to pair a little easier level with something that requires more work, balancing each other. Let's see what you think.
Mirkwood is a block pushing level that feels like a classical CC block pushing level and should allow for some optimization tricks, but you can't just throw it at a sokoban optimizer and let that do your work for you. I struggled to find the sweet spot between how long this level should be to keep it interesting yet not too easy nor too tedious or mind-bogglingly complex. An earlier version had like 15 chips, some of which required multiple blocks to reach, but that was just too much. I then tried a version with just 6 chips (and reaching the exit), but this one felt like there wasn't really that much to discover and the solution was too restrictive to try variations. I'd love to hear if you think I settled on a good spot with 9 chips. I always enjoy when a level has some subtle differences in MS and Lynx but isn't clearly just meant for just the other, so I hope to see solutions on both from someone. I'd love to hear from you if this is not your type of level, but I did feel it was time to have a block pushing focused time trial, and I'm curious to see if there are others that welcome it as well.
Get to it! 
![[Image: txt.png]](https://forum.bitbusters.club/images/attachtypes/txt.png)
![[Image: level.png?width=905&height=905]](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/735134162360729602/973357265702752346/level.png?width=905&height=905)
![[Image: level.png?width=905&height=905]](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/735134162360729602/973357285172736010/level.png?width=905&height=905)
![[Image: level.png?width=905&height=905]](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/735134162360729602/973357289283137627/level.png?width=905&height=905)
