Ida4

[Ida]

I just added my latest levelset, Ida4, to the Download database. Levels number 20-30 are new in this release.

Two of the levels are obvious CC1 "remakes" in the style of Mr McCallahan Presents - to my defense I must say that I made them a few years ago before I heard of JB's level. Actually, most of these levels have been lying around on my computer quite a while.

I'd be interested to hear of any busts, time limits being too short/long, etc...



I'm not sure whether I've made any changes to the first 19 levels, except perhaps decapitalizing level titles. (Couldn't reach the original Ida4 from Yahoo because some bug on their site prohibited me from logging in.)

[rockdet]

That's definitely a set I'm eager to play, it's high in my considerations list.

[M11k4]

How exciting! Will report back with comments after playing :-)

[M11k4]

#1 (Chip, the Great Adventurer) - This level is more complicated than anything I remember from your previous sets. It manages to set the tone for the set accurately. Each area is nice by itself and together they form a complex journey. I would still recommend moving the dirt keeping the teeth at bay one tile down, because particularly in Lynx getting this odd/even step thing right is difficult.

#2 (The Key Issue) - I like this level a lot. However, in lynx block slapping allows to avoid the red key under the block at [25,4]. Adding a wall at [24,5] would fix this while keeping the room practically the same.

#5 (Lean Thinking) - I played this level a long time ago, and it's definitely a concept that's hard to forget. Glad to see not all the usable blocks are needed. Perhaps would like this level more without a time limit, because the best possible time is impossible to reach, and even scoring a good time is very luck dependent.

#6 (Duck) - This level is quite difficult. I see the idea behind having a blob control one of the cloners, but even the lower corridor is quite complex as the cloning cycle is long enough not to make immediate sense. From a competative stand point the top corridor is a nightmare, and even casually it was quite hard. Did you complete it in lynx?

#7 (New Adventures for Chip) - Figuring out that one of the blocks hides a flipper (or chip) requires quite a lot from a player. I find a certain beauty when levels can be completed on the first try in theory. Maybe from a competative stand point, it would be good to require to press the button at [22,19], as currently with some luck the walkers will never come down to press the forbidden button. For example, instead of walkers, you could use fireballs (circling counterclockwise) in that room.

#10 (Serving Fast Food) - Another one of your great concepts. The timing is very different in ms and lynx, but don't see anything wrong with that.

#14 (Looking for Answers) - Would like this much more if there was only one blob in both blob rooms. A small ruleset inequality is having extra gliders die in fire, while in lynx they survive. Not sure if this is a real issue, but at least in CCLP3 stuff like this was modified.

#15 (Foúr Rooms) - Somehow you manage to make little puzzles like this that are very enjoyable. A small ínequality again in the second room, as in lynx you can use block slapping for some of the bombs. (This isn't faster, however.)

#19 (Chip Gets Lost) - No complaints about this one, though would appreciate one blob less in such a small room so far in the level. Some nice ideas here too.

#20 (Reverse Engineering) - And now for the new levels. This one feels great, but perhaps I'm missing something since the solution feels so intricate. In MS I can collide the tank or fireball with the glider, but in lynx neither of these work.

#21 (Generator) - I was assuming the pattern would break at the end and one of the buttons had to be pressed twice or not at all. Currently you can simply use the first cloner, which I would guess was not intended.

#25 (FFW) and #28 (REW) - I really liked these. These really capture the feel of those familiar levels, and it's nice to work through them linearly.

#30 (Chip Joins Mensa) - I didn't get this on my first try, though I got to the last room. In the first two rows the blocks move a row at a time, so I had to guess if they did so in the last row too (backwards). I bet there's some complex way to mask which buttons are the correct ones even for people looking in an editor by using some mechanism with creatures in the extra space at the bottom of the map.

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Overall an enjoyable set with some shorter levels exploring some concept and some longer, non-linear levels too. Of the ones I didn't mention above, I really liked #3 (Then She Dropped the Bomb), #16 (Think, Chip, Think), #26 (Mini Challenges (no-luck)). Somehow you manage to make all these levels feel natural and unforced. Perhaps it's the general linearness, or sense of space, or not being overly demanding from a player, but in the end your designs just work. Thanks for sharing!

Also check out the image I'm uploading to the gallery, from playing Steel Rain :-)

[Ida]

Thanks for the feedback, Miika

I'm happy for the advice and will probably make some if not all of the changes that you suggest. I think I've used too many blobs in the past.

I have actually never played in Lynx mode (haven't gotten it to work, but I'll try to make an effort with TW again some time).

#5 (Lean Thinking) What's your solution like for this level? In my solution I turn the square into a romb (more or less).

#20 (Reverse Engineering) - Well, the point of this level (spoiler alert) was that you'll play through the whole level thinking you'll make it, and when you realize you can't, you have to work your way backwards to make your solution, thus the name... However, it's been so long since I made that level, unfortunately I can't remember exactly what the solution is... :S Reading through your post again, yes, I seem to recall that is the intended soultion (the glider, not the fireball). Oh, I would never have remembered that on my own!! I guess it's not lynx compatible then (What's the fireball solution like compared to the glider one?)

#21 (Generator) - Oh that bust is so obvious when you mention it! I can't believe how blind one you can be, playing your own levels. I guess I could change the cloners to bear traps, do you think that would do the trick?

#31 (Mensa) - I'm not sure if i understand you correctly, but I guess there are several ways to think of this puzzle. So I'll just state "my" solutions of the last two rows/rooms/puzzles (thus spoiler alert). In the third puzzle, the blocks move clockwise one square a time. In the last puzzle, the topmowt block moves as in the last puzzle (clockwise) and the second moves counter clockwise. (I took the real Mensa test a few years ago, though these puzzles are just made from my memory...)

I guess I'll have to wait for your image of Steel Rain to be approved!

[tensorpudding]

Here's some thoughts. I mostly skipped levels that had large time limits because I was impatient.

1. I can honestly say after some hours of effort I'm clueless on this one.

5. I thought I had this pinned down but the naive solution that I used to squeeze the walkers left me several blocks short by the time i totally compressed them. Not sure how you're supposed to get around that.

9. It's like BEWARE OF BUG with a bit more of a time limit, straightforward and easy.

10. I really dislike how this one handles in Lynx compared to MS. That slide delay ruins my rhythm. But I really liked this level.

18. Agh! I'm torn between calling this abominable or a smart use of blobs. It's probably both. I hate this level.

25. Faster than you can say "Don't grab what you don't need"

26. I just a few days ago beat Mini-Challenges on CCLP3, which I really liked. This one isn't quite as good because it doesn't have quite as much trickery in it, but it's still fun.

[tensorpudding]

If #27 is possible at all in Lynx I'm not good enough to get it, but I got it in MS on the first try.

[tensorpudding]

After conquering Lean Thinking I realize the genius of it. I didn't have any leftover blocks in my solution though. I'd vote for it in an official set.

[Ida]

Do you guys think #18 (Steel Rain) could use more bombs? I just played through it and there were far too many sharks at the exit. That's a bit unfair, isn't it? I don't know what I was thinking when I made it.

Still haven't seen your image of that level, Miika!

[M11k4]

Forgot to comment on the time limits. Feel free to shorten them in many places, even considerably. After playing through them casually only on levels 5, 8, 10 and 24, had I used up half the time. Even the Tiny ones can be seen from the start, so you don't need even need a minute to complete them (and #27 similarly). (For reference, playing for the first time, the time limits in CCLP3 did cause me to lose every now and again.)

Let's see if I can remember to respond to everything I was going to this time.

In Lean Thinking, you have two extra blocks, though admittedly the other one needs some luck to get. The 18 gliders form rows of 2,4,6,4,2 with blocks around them. With correct block pushing, you don't need to lose any other ones. If you're feeling adventurous, you can also open up the structure for a while and move it up/down against the gravel, to free four more blocks. A couple should at least be possible in practice, and of course for Melinda, she might just push the blocks as if the walkers weren't there at all and still complete the level! So yes, please use make this untimed and we'll gladly have it in an official set :-)

The slide delay in Serving Fast Food might be mitigated a bit by having force floors infront of the block cloners.

I would leave Steel Rain as is. You will always need luck to solve it. If the blobs had more free space, like maybe only one button each, then you might be able to count the gliders or something. Currently you do need to get upstream quite fast. I'm sure someone is bound to approve the image at some point, but it does feel like it's been a while.

For Reverse Engineering, the tank can collide with the glider and it stops, but in lynx it continues afterwards. You can also have the fireball collide with the glider before it drowns, then keep pressing the trap button and the fireball will press the blue button a second time. In lynx this doesn't work because the fireball gets stuck in the trap, much like in ms if the trap button isn't pressed as the creature enters the trap and it faces a wall. The fix is to give the fireball more room, either by moving the blue button left a tile, or having a ff east between the trap and blue button, or more room left of the trap, or something like that. I do like the idea of this level and each of the islands contain nice puzzles as well. If you wish, you could also change the gravel on the bug island to dirt, forcing Chip to bring the block from the previous island in its place.

On Generator, yes, traps would work better :-) Would you also consider moving the clone button connected to the fireball cloner one tile west, so the cloned block won't kill Chip? (In lynx the required wait is very hard to play optimally.)

Come again?, works in lynx if you don't waste any time. Actually, thanks to block slapping, you could even have a tile less time and still it would work.

On Chip Joins Mensa, I only meant to justify why I didn't solve it on my first attempt; the level is fine as is. Though looking at it again, I also understand my confusion, because the first (and second) row(s) establish that patterns might move row to row and not always around the edge of the square.

Hopefully Ida5 is already in the works. How about exploring some invalid tile combinations next time? I'm sure you'd come up with something nice for CCLP4.