Flareon1 feedback & discussion thread

[Flareon350]

Thanks for your feedback once again, H! I'm glad you enjoyed most the levels let me clarify some points you brought up though.

One thing I have to point out again, there are no replays included, which I really would prefer, since this way it can't happen that levels are unsolvable which really ruins the experience, and in some levels I'm not sure if my solutions are the intended ones, but can't really tell to the lack of any reference. And there is really no disadvantage of adding replays, so I would really like to see added in the future

I saw that the first time you mentioned it and I'm choosing not to include replays at this time simply because I want players to figure out the levels for themselves, especially since majority of them aren't too hard to figure out. Perhaps I'll include replays of 10 random levels as I update the set with more levels, since I don't want to ignore your point either.

19 ELECTRIC PHASE
A nice little teamwork level. Don't really know the purpose of the flame throwers, since you have fire boots, but who cares, I liked the level.

20 ANONYMOUS GENERATION
The visual appearance of this level is really confusing, and the time limit imo way to short. Didn't finish this one.

22 LUMINOUS CAVE
Probably my favorite of the new levels Feels like a nice blue wall maze combined with rails. Really fun to play. That you just need four red keys feels a bit busted, but I can't really tell, but a replay would have helped to see if this is intended.

24 VOLCANIC WASTELAND
Luckily I did not invest to must time in this one, since I saw today, it is unsolvable. The 16 minutes time limit was way to short for such an huge epic level, so being untimed is definitely better.

28 IRIDESCENT
Too much hidden information for me. Since it's mainly trial and error up to the point where you find more hidden information and more parts with trial and error, I didn't invest too much time in trying to find a solution.

29 SLIME AQUARIUM
I generally don't like slimes and this level with a lot them makes no exception.

30 DUST PUZZLE
It feels like it's intentionally designed in a way that you screw up over and over again by trapping yourself or get killed (especially since the time limit would be way to short if it's a puzzle level), otherwise I would say, some parts are just bad designed as the consequences of what you are doing or not doing are not always visible (sometimes exactly one tile out of sight, which as well leads me believe it's intentional), but anyhow this way (mostly trial and error) it's not that fun to play or a nice puzzle level, even if the first appearance or the title leads you to believe in that. However I really like some of the dirt interactions in this level, and the the idea of the level in this regard.

19 I didn't even notice that. I'll attend to that matter in an update. Glad you enjoyed it though!

20 I thought 300 seconds was more than enough time, since it's just a maze but I see the issue you have and I'll consider upping the time 50 seconds or so. That is the point of the level though.

22 You're suppose to have all 8 red keys in the intended solution. I see the problem with said bust and I will fix it in an update. Might lower the time limit a bit as well.

24 Well it is solvable and I removed the time limit as well as of 1.2.1. I apologize in advance if there's too much dodging.

28 I actually discovered this level is unsolvable as it is of now anyway so I'm glad you didn't waste too much time. Though like most my levels, this one is pretty straightforward. Though I see where you are getting at and there really isn't much I can do about that, I don't think. But to be honest, I might trash this level because I personally am not happy with it myself.

29 Sorry to hear that. I figured having no time limit would bring players at ease with the blobs, as well as having minimal dodging with them. (I don't think there's a lot of blobs though)

30 I'm not sure where you're getting at with your review of the level but from what I can see, it is indeed a puzzle level. First, I'm actually a little displeased with this review, considering this is the level I spent the most time working on, only to be told it's not a good level at all. Second, I didn't design it to be strict or get yourself killed unfairly of any sorts and I apologize if that's what you think I did, but I'm not that type of designer. Yes there are some trial and error parts of the level, but that's what makes it a puzzle - you just have to figure it out. It's actually pretty straightforward once you get the idea of it and I was planning on moving this level towards the end of the set once I have an idea of where to stop it at. I solved this level with 166 seconds left remaining in case you're wondering, so if you still think I should up the time limit I will. But that will be available in an update as well.

[_H_]

29 For a blob level, definitely one of the better kind, but I can't jump over my shadow, it will not get my favorite level

30 I did not say, that it's not a good level at all, I like a lot of interactions / small puzzles you came up with, however what I meant with not that nice puzzle level, is that there are some points where there is logical way to know what is coming up (you just can guess), and since there is way back from some of them, no way to solve the puzzle logically (e.g. the top left corner, there is no way to know, that the flame thrower will go on, if you are not fast enough). An idea for a pretty easy fix to the points addressed would be, move the whole level one tile down and right, and give the player with this a path around the upcoming puzzle, separated by panel walls, before he or she enters at the current starting position; this might not be the most elegant solution, but would in my opinion make the playing experience way better, as it removes the guess work.

I think the time limit in a puzzle level should not be how long it takes you to solve the level if you know the solution, it should orientate itself on how long you need to find the solution and execute it, so a higher time limit is imo definitely preferred.

With these changes it would definitely be one of my favorite levels B)

And last but not least, I don't want to force you in any ways to include replays, and of course I don't have any right to in any way. It's just my opinion among many others, which might not agree with my thoughts. So feel free to ignore my point (And of course not just in this regard, this applies to everything I wrote...)

I think however, that most people playing custom sets will have fun in solving the levels and puzzles them self, otherwise, where is the point in playing the sets in the first place - so the argument of giving solutions away is not that strong. If someone get's stuck completely and looks up a part of a solution or the whole one, it's imo nothing too bad either, at worst, they are ruining their own fun...

[Flareon350]

(there is no way to know, that the flame thrower will go on, if you are not fast enough). An idea for a pretty easy fix to the points addressed would be, move the whole level one tile down and right, and give the player with this a path around the upcoming puzzle, separated by panel walls, before he or she enters at the current starting position; this might not be the most elegant solution, but would in my opinion make the playing experience way better, as it removes the guess work.I think the time limit in a puzzle level should not be how long it takes you to solve the level if you know the solution, it should orientate itself on how long you need to find the solution and execute it, so a higher time limit is imo definitely preferred.

With these changes it would definitely be one of my favorite levels B)

You can see the flamethrower will turn on, without the worry of being killed as it stands now though. I don't really see how I can move the whole level one tile down and right because that would require a lot of fixes with the wires and such. Actually the whole level would have to be rebuilt if I did this and I don't think I wanna go through the trouble of doing so. I guess I can expand it by 1 x 1 so the borders can be walked on, portions of the level can be seen from the start if that helps but that's the best I can come up with.

I will add replays in the future don't worry I just want to encourage players to try to solve levels on their own. If one really needs help, they can ask me

[_H_]

In the editor the pink/violet tool (next to the wire tool) is the marker to select an area, and the next click or clicks will insert the whole area at the new position like a single tile (useful to reposition like here, fill bigger areas, or copy between different levels)

I did not encounter any problems with wires, even after using it a lot in my own levels...

[Flareon350]

Yeah I know what that tool does I've used it before. But I just realized that I made the level view window 9 x 9. I think fixing it to be viewed with a 10 x 10 will fix all the issues But I'll still up the time limit a bit.

[Flareon350]

Alright so version 1.3 is now available! This version includes 3 new levels, as well as the following fixes:

Level 19 - changed flame jets to swivels

Level 20 - increased time limit to 400

Level 22 - added male only sign to remove a bust and decreased time limit to 650

Level 28 - now solvable

Level 30 - added an outer area for exploration as well as hints explaining certain sections and an extra bonus flag area, increased the counter and added a way to decrease it faster (special thanks to Tyler Sontag for this tool)

Levels 31-33 are brand new! Enjoy!

Also apparently the c2h messed up again and now repeats levels 29 & 30 in the "Select Level" list for levels 31 & 32. Again this does not affect gameplay and I do not know how to fix this.

[Pulluxx]

Also apparently the c2h messed up again and now repeats levels 29 & 30 in the "Select Level" list for levels 31 & 32. Again this does not affect gameplay and I do not know how to fix this.

I always delete the save.c2h and save.c2s files before uploading. For me that usually does the trick (with the cost of removing the save games).

[Flareon350]

I always delete the save.c2h and save.c2s files before uploading. For me that usually does the trick (with the cost of removing the save games).

Cool. I'll do just that in an update.

[BigOto2]

Looks cool! I might LP this when it is finished.

[Flareon350]

I have updated the set to version 1.4 which features 5 new levels. The level selection list has been fixed as well, thanks to Pulluxx for the help!