I was warned this would be the pack of difficult levels...so far, it seems to be the pack of levels that I really want to like, but have at least one notable issue that keep them from perfection.
#2 Down the Hatch -- OK concept, but tight on time.
#3 Chip Battles the Blue Robots -- Too easy for a walker to clone directly on top of your head. You can wait and time it, but having to wait while monsters are randomly bouncing around trying to kill you isn't exactly ideal.
#5 The Lab -- In MS, at least, it's easy to deflect two fireballs at once near the beginning, creating a larger-than-necessary problem for yourself. Still manageable, though.
#8 Wild Mouse -- It's very easy to cook the teeth/brown button section by removing a specific dirt tile. That might trip up a beginner at first, but they'll probably figure it out....On the other hand, the "quick build a bridge" section has very strict timing that probably requires blocksliding (something a new player won't think to try right away) and since you can't see what's controlling the trap, you have no idea you need to be that fast. Or, even worse, you could make it early but quit anyway because you think you're stuck. If the timing mechanism were made visible, the puzzle of quickly building a bridge there might be okay, but having it that late in the level is still iffy IMO (-3
-2
penalty
if the timing mechanism is not made visible or removed entirely).
#9 Dodgeball -- Thrilling level overall! The top-right room, however, has lucky timing because you need to rush through 5 rows of balls and can only see 4 before you may be too far in to turn back. At least the level isn't too long, so it's not a major issue.
#12 Milliardaire -- This level's time limit is cruel, and this is me speaking as a player who scored a 131 in its 60-second Treasure Hunter competition! For one thing, it's easy to miss chips under blocks; for another thing, you have to dodge monsters all over the place; for a third thing, you need to solve a tough key puzzle. All of these eat up precious seconds, but the red key puzzle is the worst. It's probably possible to window-shop the correct solution, but with only 200 seconds for the whole stage, there's barely any chance to. Anyway, the solution to the key puzzle is quite unintuitive and took me several minutes to find using the level editor, so imagine how many tries it will take a new player!
Still, I really like the unusual, erratic collect-a-thon style of this level and wouldn't mind seeing it in CCLP1, probably with more time and/or an easier key puzzle. (-2 penalty
unless this is addressed OR the level is very late in the set)
#14 Key Hunt -- This level seemed to flow very nicely once I figured out the first half. It was enjoyable despite the CCLP3-style "false modularity" where it looks like you can do multiple parts first when there is really only one order (in this case, bottom-left must come before top-right). However, returning to the pink ball corridor is a big problem. In MS, you have 2 ways to avert lucky timing--either "hit the brakes" by moving against the FF, or step off backwards and wait on the gravel. In Lynx, no such luxury--you must walk across the rapidly-filling walker room if you want a fast shot into the corridor.
Also, this level is BUSTED--you can exit using only 2 yellow keys and 0 chips. (-3 penalty
if neither the bust nor the timing issue is fixed, drops to -2
if 1 but not both are fixed, -0
if both are fixed.) (-2
if the timing issue is not fixed, the bust can be fixed or not at author's discretion. I dunno, maybe it'd be nice to have a CCLP1 level with "shortcuts" built in like this one.)
Note: when I mention "penalties
", I request that the CCLP1 staff reduce my form-submitted votes (whenever I cast them) by this amount if they or the author decide not to address those specific issues.
#2 Down the Hatch -- OK concept, but tight on time.
#3 Chip Battles the Blue Robots -- Too easy for a walker to clone directly on top of your head. You can wait and time it, but having to wait while monsters are randomly bouncing around trying to kill you isn't exactly ideal.
#5 The Lab -- In MS, at least, it's easy to deflect two fireballs at once near the beginning, creating a larger-than-necessary problem for yourself. Still manageable, though.
#8 Wild Mouse -- It's very easy to cook the teeth/brown button section by removing a specific dirt tile. That might trip up a beginner at first, but they'll probably figure it out....On the other hand, the "quick build a bridge" section has very strict timing that probably requires blocksliding (something a new player won't think to try right away) and since you can't see what's controlling the trap, you have no idea you need to be that fast. Or, even worse, you could make it early but quit anyway because you think you're stuck. If the timing mechanism were made visible, the puzzle of quickly building a bridge there might be okay, but having it that late in the level is still iffy IMO (-3
-2
penalty
if the timing mechanism is not made visible or removed entirely).
#9 Dodgeball -- Thrilling level overall! The top-right room, however, has lucky timing because you need to rush through 5 rows of balls and can only see 4 before you may be too far in to turn back. At least the level isn't too long, so it's not a major issue.
#12 Milliardaire -- This level's time limit is cruel, and this is me speaking as a player who scored a 131 in its 60-second Treasure Hunter competition! For one thing, it's easy to miss chips under blocks; for another thing, you have to dodge monsters all over the place; for a third thing, you need to solve a tough key puzzle. All of these eat up precious seconds, but the red key puzzle is the worst. It's probably possible to window-shop the correct solution, but with only 200 seconds for the whole stage, there's barely any chance to. Anyway, the solution to the key puzzle is quite unintuitive and took me several minutes to find using the level editor, so imagine how many tries it will take a new player!
Still, I really like the unusual, erratic collect-a-thon style of this level and wouldn't mind seeing it in CCLP1, probably with more time and/or an easier key puzzle. (-2 penalty
unless this is addressed OR the level is very late in the set)
#14 Key Hunt -- This level seemed to flow very nicely once I figured out the first half. It was enjoyable despite the CCLP3-style "false modularity" where it looks like you can do multiple parts first when there is really only one order (in this case, bottom-left must come before top-right). However, returning to the pink ball corridor is a big problem. In MS, you have 2 ways to avert lucky timing--either "hit the brakes" by moving against the FF, or step off backwards and wait on the gravel. In Lynx, no such luxury--you must walk across the rapidly-filling walker room if you want a fast shot into the corridor.
Also, this level is BUSTED--you can exit using only 2 yellow keys and 0 chips. (-3 penalty
if neither the bust nor the timing issue is fixed, drops to -2
if 1 but not both are fixed, -0
if both are fixed.) (-2
if the timing issue is not fixed, the bust can be fixed or not at author's discretion. I dunno, maybe it'd be nice to have a CCLP1 level with "shortcuts" built in like this one.)
Note: when I mention "penalties
", I request that the CCLP1 staff reduce my form-submitted votes (whenever I cast them) by this amount if they or the author decide not to address those specific issues.