Here are the levels for this month's time trial:
http://cczone.invisionzone.com/index.php?/files/file/225-ccz-tt-1304ccl/
Important! The levels were updated to version 2.0. Do not use the initial release for the competition!
Everyone knows what an item swapper level looks like, but these are not quite like that. I wanted to make some easier levels this time, but still keep the optimizing a challenge. The result is these three levels that I'm dubbing "item fetcher" puzzles, as you keep fetching free items after losing your earlier ones (as opposed to an item swapper, where you are rewarded with new items for using your old ones). I have seen this concept explored in at least the custom levels Full Houses
(#43 of geodave3.dat) and Combinations
(#32 of ajmiam-pit-or-100-tiles.ccl), but would be interested in hearing of more examples. I'll post more on the creation of this set once I start receiving submissions.
The scoring is a bit different this time, so you might want to read the specifics below, but basically if you have the fastest time you'll win. Enjoy!
EDIT:
The first versions of the levels were a bit too complex to be as fun as they could be, so two of them were updated. Make sure you have version 2.0, which includes more levels but only three for the competition. See details in posts below. (Red text in this post highlights changes during the update.)
Details:
1) Instead of looking at the combined time remaining on the three levels (Freshmen Fetcher
, Sophomore Fetcher
, Junior Fetcher
), this time we will focus on the relative placement of entrants for each individual level. The full method I have in mind is a bit complicated, as it takes into account all sorts of ties, but the idea is that first place on a level is worth a little over twice that of second place, which in turn is worth more than two third place finishes on a level and so on. The winner will thus be someone who has the best time on at least on of the levels, and if someone has the best time on two levels (not tied), it won't matter what time they scored on the third level. Once the winner is decided, the remaining players will be examined as if they were the only entrants and the winner out of this group will come second overall, and so on until everyone's placement is settled. If there are unforeseen problems with this method, I will settle it as fairly as I can.
2) You may enter in either Lynx or MS, with the latter being the primary rules, meaning that any Lynx solution times that exceed the best MS solution time will be considered equal to that MS time, but otherwise all the times will be compared together in one category. There may be a tie in the overall score.
3) Please send your solutions (either the tws file or avis) to CCZoneNextLevel at gmail dot com, or to my own email valeosote at hotmail dot com. Do not post your solutions or solution times or share them with others. All times will be published at the same time, and the quickest solutions will eventually be released. I will strive to respond to your message by a confirmation that your score has been recorded.
4) The levels shouldn't be too hard to solve. Don't be afraid to send in your solutions even if you sense they aren't perfect, and simple casual solutions are also appreciated. You may enter if you solve at least one of the levels, but solving more will obviously place higher. The levels have time limits of 120, 240, and 240, and you most likely can complete each one on your first try if you are careful. (The original versions had time limits of 120, 360, and 360 seconds
, which might not have been enough to guarantee that you could solve them all on your first attempts, but competitive runs should still have left over half of that time unused.)
5) This is part of the 2013 season of the Chip Cup. Winner will be awarded 15 points, second place 12, third 10 points, and so on. If you win a competition here for the first time, you receive the "You're Winner!" award. All participants who haven't participated in a time trial earlier receive the "Run, Chip, Run" award. If your name is James, I will write you a short poem in my CC blog.
6) Submission deadline is at the end of the month. During the last week of April, I will announce a precise cut-off time that will be at the start of May, after which no more submissions will be accepted, and judge the competition soon after that. To avoid losing on time (it is a time trial after all), get your solutions in early rather than later! You can send in improvements while the competitions is running, so there is no downside to sending in something you know might not be your best effort if you had forever to work on it. This is subject to change due to the update on the levels. Specifics to follow in good time.
7) I reserve the right to update the levels within the first week of release. If you find any odd things about the levels, please give me a nudge. I will only apply changes that make the competition better, which means I might fix a ridiculous bust or some other aspect that is obviously meant to work in some other fashion. If any updates are made, I will alert you in this thread. However, no updates will be made after April 11th in any case. (See? I knew I'd need this rule some day.)
Report any problems or ask any questions here! Have fun!
-Miika
http://cczone.invisionzone.com/index.php?/files/file/225-ccz-tt-1304ccl/
Important! The levels were updated to version 2.0. Do not use the initial release for the competition!
Everyone knows what an item swapper level looks like, but these are not quite like that. I wanted to make some easier levels this time, but still keep the optimizing a challenge. The result is these three levels that I'm dubbing "item fetcher" puzzles, as you keep fetching free items after losing your earlier ones (as opposed to an item swapper, where you are rewarded with new items for using your old ones). I have seen this concept explored in at least the custom levels Full Houses
(#43 of geodave3.dat) and Combinations
(#32 of ajmiam-pit-or-100-tiles.ccl), but would be interested in hearing of more examples. I'll post more on the creation of this set once I start receiving submissions.
The scoring is a bit different this time, so you might want to read the specifics below, but basically if you have the fastest time you'll win. Enjoy!
EDIT:
The first versions of the levels were a bit too complex to be as fun as they could be, so two of them were updated. Make sure you have version 2.0, which includes more levels but only three for the competition. See details in posts below. (Red text in this post highlights changes during the update.)
Details:
1) Instead of looking at the combined time remaining on the three levels (Freshmen Fetcher
, Sophomore Fetcher
, Junior Fetcher
), this time we will focus on the relative placement of entrants for each individual level. The full method I have in mind is a bit complicated, as it takes into account all sorts of ties, but the idea is that first place on a level is worth a little over twice that of second place, which in turn is worth more than two third place finishes on a level and so on. The winner will thus be someone who has the best time on at least on of the levels, and if someone has the best time on two levels (not tied), it won't matter what time they scored on the third level. Once the winner is decided, the remaining players will be examined as if they were the only entrants and the winner out of this group will come second overall, and so on until everyone's placement is settled. If there are unforeseen problems with this method, I will settle it as fairly as I can.
2) You may enter in either Lynx or MS, with the latter being the primary rules, meaning that any Lynx solution times that exceed the best MS solution time will be considered equal to that MS time, but otherwise all the times will be compared together in one category. There may be a tie in the overall score.
3) Please send your solutions (either the tws file or avis) to CCZoneNextLevel at gmail dot com, or to my own email valeosote at hotmail dot com. Do not post your solutions or solution times or share them with others. All times will be published at the same time, and the quickest solutions will eventually be released. I will strive to respond to your message by a confirmation that your score has been recorded.
4) The levels shouldn't be too hard to solve. Don't be afraid to send in your solutions even if you sense they aren't perfect, and simple casual solutions are also appreciated. You may enter if you solve at least one of the levels, but solving more will obviously place higher. The levels have time limits of 120, 240, and 240, and you most likely can complete each one on your first try if you are careful. (The original versions had time limits of 120, 360, and 360 seconds
, which might not have been enough to guarantee that you could solve them all on your first attempts, but competitive runs should still have left over half of that time unused.)
5) This is part of the 2013 season of the Chip Cup. Winner will be awarded 15 points, second place 12, third 10 points, and so on. If you win a competition here for the first time, you receive the "You're Winner!" award. All participants who haven't participated in a time trial earlier receive the "Run, Chip, Run" award. If your name is James, I will write you a short poem in my CC blog.
6) Submission deadline is at the end of the month. During the last week of April, I will announce a precise cut-off time that will be at the start of May, after which no more submissions will be accepted, and judge the competition soon after that. To avoid losing on time (it is a time trial after all), get your solutions in early rather than later! You can send in improvements while the competitions is running, so there is no downside to sending in something you know might not be your best effort if you had forever to work on it. This is subject to change due to the update on the levels. Specifics to follow in good time.
7) I reserve the right to update the levels within the first week of release. If you find any odd things about the levels, please give me a nudge. I will only apply changes that make the competition better, which means I might fix a ridiculous bust or some other aspect that is obviously meant to work in some other fashion. If any updates are made, I will alert you in this thread. However, no updates will be made after April 11th in any case. (See? I knew I'd need this rule some day.)
Report any problems or ask any questions here! Have fun!
-Miika