CC2 Community Pack Survey

[Ihavenoname248]

49 minutes ago, quiznos00 said:

What should the set be named?

CC2LP1, assuming nobody has a better idea.

49 minutes ago, quiznos00 said:

How many levels?

I'm still a fan of 150 levels. 200 feels like too many, especially when many of them would be heavier than the CC2 main game. No real reason to stick with 149 so why not go for the round number, as the amount of levels in CC1 packs hits a sweet spot.

49 minutes ago, quiznos00 said:

Allow levels with CC1 boot rules?

I'm inclined to say no to this unless the level has a very good reason to use CC1 boot rules and it's made clear in a hint that CC1 Boot rules are in effect.

49 minutes ago, quiznos00 said:

Consistent viewport size (9x9 or 10x10)?

Map size limit? Namely, should the 40x40 limit from the CC2 main game be retained?

No to enforced viewport size. Some levels can work better with the smaller one- I'd say 10x10 should be relatively standard unless the aesthetics/window shopping would call for 9x9, similar to Oasis in the CCLP4 port. Likewise, no to map size limit. I imagine very few levels larger than 40x40 (which is already nearly double the play area of a CC1 level!) will even be submitted, this would rule out very long and very tall levels, rule out huge mechanisms in small play spaces... if the level is too hard due to its length or too tedious then it won't do well during set construction, and that phase will weed out levels that (ab)use the size.

49 minutes ago, quiznos00 said:

Should any tiles or techniques be banned? Some "unsupported" tiles are innocuous, like the zero-directional block or the blank "no" sign, but hex editing can lead to weird and wild tiles, as seen in TSAlpha's Enter the Void. There also are some non-obvious techniques, like block slapping and the gimmicks in TSAlpha's Great Job CC2! levels, that may not be well-suited for an official pack.

Any other standards that should be set in place?

Again, I think these should be case by case on levels- if it's too unclear/specific then it's likely it will be weeded out early (Great Job CC2 falls into this, as though they are cool demonstrations they're fairly obtuse). And if the level goes over well but the staff deems a hint explaining things slightly would be an improvement, then a hint can be added reminding/teaching the player about block slapping.

As for other standards...the main thing I can think of would be to make sure any changes made to levels are designer approved. But this has pretty much been how things have gone in the past, so we should be good there! I feel like CC2 has a lot more potential for minor changes with aesthetics/bordering/window size etc. Aesthetic balance should be done with the default tileset, as well, if necessary.

edit: Inaccessible or binary choice bonus flags are fair game IMO. Submitted levels should require a recorded solution that, ideally, obtains the maximum bonus for ease of testing.