12-May-2012, 1:27 AM
Quote:I haven't read through all the comments here, but want to add some of my own.
#41 - Why so many extra chips? Three I understand, but seven?
#59 - I like this level but view your choice of no time limit differently (and on others with the same reasoning). I sometimes play competitively, and having a time limit increases the chances I would replay a level using a different solution to see which is faster. (And #42 really doesn't have enough randomness to be bad at all; compare it to #39 or #46.)
#67 - too easy. Why not add some obstacles in a way that it is still straight-forward for someone with a brain, but not too trivial?
#96 - in lynx, a bug can get trapped forever in the five toggle walls when the ball is operating them. Could there be an extra way to toggle the doors when this happens?
#98 - I couldn't see how many times the tank button needed to be pressed before taking the flippers, which was frightening because you loose them later. How about having a way to retain the flippers, or having an extra tank that would block the way if the button was pressed an even amount?
Please keep it at 100 levels! It's not too long and fits so nicely with the name. I also wrote a short review at the downloads page.
-Miika
Thanks for the review! I'm glad you had fun playing the levelset!
Now to answer your questions...(SPOILERS for people who haven't played the whole set yet):
#41: The, um, extra chips are actually all booby-trapped. That's why the level is called Constant Vigilance! The 3 in front of the
cloner are pretty obvious, there's 1 circled by bugs going the wrong way, and if you go for the rightmost 3 in the 
room, you'll release the teeth and trap yourself. If you were able to get any of the extras and survive (except for the bug one, which can be taken in Lynx mode only with perfect timing) then there's a problem with the level that I need to fix. Please let me know if that is the case!#59: This level was intended to be untimed from the get-go, and I do not want to change it, at least not right now. The idea is that all 4 solutions should be equally "good," and if a player wants to replay the level, they shouldn't be encouraged to stick to only one solution (the fastest one). Though now that I think about it, finding the optimal one of many solutions was the main theme of Replay (II), which I think many Chipsters really enjoyed. I'll think about putting a time limit on this one, though I won't guarantee that I will do so.
#67: You're right; this level is way too easy to even be considered a "breather" level, which was what I was going for. I'm planning to add walls, place the chips in a nicer pattern, and swap it with level 38, which is probably a bit too hard for its position.
#96: Never encountered this problem, but just in case I'll make it so you can get back to the toggle switch yourself after leading the pink ball to it.
#98: I realize now that if you try to complete the lock section before the flipper section, you won't have enough info to know what buttons the glider should press. Once you visit the upper-right, you should know all you need to know, even if you have to memorize or write down the position of the tank in front of the ball cloner and keep track of it (which is meant to be part of the puzzle). You can lock yourself in the top-right and cook the level because of the toggle wall (which you can see from the section), but not with the tank button because there is another tank button before the entrance to the lock section if you need it. (I assume you are playing with the latest version, 1.005.)
I've decided to put the keys behind chip sockets, and place a chip in the upper-right section so that you have to visit it (thereby finding out what you need to know about the position of the tank) BEFORE unlocking any doors. I can't let you take the flippers out of that upper-right section, though, as otherwise you could bust the level by taking care of the balls/bombs/
yourself. You wouldn't need the at all!Now, from your review:
Quote:#82 (Automatic (Caution) Doors) - I loved this level! It's perfect! If I hadn't died once quite early, I might have solved it on my first attempt. That felt great! It combines having to move quickly in places while having as much time as needed to stop and think as well. The concept was executed admirably and the end result is exceptional! The only minus I can think of is to maybe rethink the name since the parentheses look odd.
The name was meant to be a parody of those yellow-and-black, circular Automatic
Caution Door
signs that you see at the entrance to supermarkets, etc. I just didn't feel that just Automatic Caution Doors or plain old Automatic Doors achieved quite the same effect.
Quote:#64 (64 Cell) - Why do I like this? I don't know. I just got stuck for close to two hours playing through it until I had a decent route. Why? I don't know. A big plus is not ever being able to cook the level (well almost, I did push the block against a wall once). Was hoping to see another entry in the series at #81, but I guess that will have to wait for your next set perhaps?
Unfortunately, the grid is too small for 81 Cell, unless I use thin walls between the cells or make each one 2*2. Neither solution would quite work right. Also, at least one playtester as well as myself seemed to think that 64 cells was enough of a stretch on the concept. Trivia: 64 Cell was among the first 15 levels whose concepts I thought up, but I actually finished building it 64th.
END SPOILERS
As for the set being only 100 levels, well, my original idea was to make a 200-level set, but have it be essentially two levelsets in one--an easier levelset and an advanced levelset. At level 101, the difficulty curve was to reset, but progress at a steeper rate. Also, I planned to move some of the levels (especially the ones requiring partial posting) forward 100 slots once I had enough levels for there to be such a slot. I released the set at the current 100 levels because I wanted feedback and CCLP1 consideration, and I knew 200 levels would take a really long time to make. I still want to go forward with my original plan, if only because it's far easier to move levels around within a single set than between levelsets. I might change my mind, though.