26-Feb-2012, 12:34 AM
#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 :-)
#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 :-)