22-Aug-2016, 2:26 AM
Amorphous (#2): When I designed this, I tried to do something interesting and fair with ball dodging, while also being difficult. On playing it again, I feel like I succeeded on that approach but in doing so may have extended the level a little farther than it needed to go- the entire bottom feels unnecessary. Still, I think it's one of the better ball levels in voting, though the difficulty and length could definitely be off-putting to some.
Til Tuesday (#6): Dave why did you put the really long corridors in this level they really aren't necessary
Flooded Forest (#7): I've said my piece on blue walls and deadly obstacles before and it's my least favorite combination- second only to hidden/invisible walls and deadly obstacles, as at least blue walls are up front about maybe being a wall. That being said- this level is designed quite well and if any blue wall/deadly obstacle level had to be in the final set, I'd go with this one, as the green locks and force floors make where you can and can't go a little more clear.
Gone to Lunch (#12): This is a really fun concept. The right side of the level is really frustrating to clear out, though, and because of that I can't really rate this too highly in "fun".
Chipweave (#18): I could understand why this was in CCLP1 voting, as it's a simple maze that is somewhat easy to get lost in. But really, it ends up playing like an iced version of Patchwork without the diagonal lines and balls blocking passages that made Patchwork so enjoyable to play. This level is just... empty.
Bind Mender (#28): A lot has been said about this level. I really don't have anything else to add other than that it can be busted in MS via slide delay in a way that adds to the overall level. Easily a top 10 pick for the final set.
Against the Floe (#29) and Brickwalled (#33): Another couple levels where the comments to Chipweave apply. There's not really anything interesting here- sorry Andrew!
How I Learned to Stop Bombing and Love the Worry (#35): This level is one of my absolute favorites, right here. Too often bomb themed levels tend towards monotony or careful arrangement of blocks and monsters to clear out all/specific bombs. Too often block themed levels tend towards tedium or sokobans. This level completely ignores both trends and sets a field of blocks, bombs, and a few chips, and challenges the player to find a path through. Some of the chips are quite devious to try to reach, and the outer edge always has more points of entry available.
Blocked Passage (#39): Yeah this is what I meant with block levels tending towards tedium. To make matters worse, slide delay can result in some late cooks. Not really very fun to play and honestly stressful in MS.
Gliders and Gliders (#49): An impressively varied melee level based entirely around... gliders! Unfortunately, the block section is easily screwed and is a puzzle element in a dodging environment, and I don't the level needed an abrupt change of mental process. Few levels can pull that off well, and I think Think Tank is one of the few that did- and even then, only due to theming. (both the dodging and puzzle parts revolve around tanks) Here...you have dodging gliders while picking up chips, dodging gliders, picking up chips while dodging gliders, and pushing blocks to specific locations with gliders in the area. That last part just utterly destroyed the flow for me: if there wasn't a specific solution in mind (fill 25, 26 or cook) I wouldn't mind. Just... one minor detail seriously hurt the level in my eyes.
Favorite level: How I Learned to Stop Bombing and Love the Worry (#35) (with Bind Mender as a close second)
Least favorite: Carnival (#27)
Til Tuesday (#6): Dave why did you put the really long corridors in this level they really aren't necessary
Flooded Forest (#7): I've said my piece on blue walls and deadly obstacles before and it's my least favorite combination- second only to hidden/invisible walls and deadly obstacles, as at least blue walls are up front about maybe being a wall. That being said- this level is designed quite well and if any blue wall/deadly obstacle level had to be in the final set, I'd go with this one, as the green locks and force floors make where you can and can't go a little more clear.
Gone to Lunch (#12): This is a really fun concept. The right side of the level is really frustrating to clear out, though, and because of that I can't really rate this too highly in "fun".
Chipweave (#18): I could understand why this was in CCLP1 voting, as it's a simple maze that is somewhat easy to get lost in. But really, it ends up playing like an iced version of Patchwork without the diagonal lines and balls blocking passages that made Patchwork so enjoyable to play. This level is just... empty.
Bind Mender (#28): A lot has been said about this level. I really don't have anything else to add other than that it can be busted in MS via slide delay in a way that adds to the overall level. Easily a top 10 pick for the final set.
Against the Floe (#29) and Brickwalled (#33): Another couple levels where the comments to Chipweave apply. There's not really anything interesting here- sorry Andrew!
How I Learned to Stop Bombing and Love the Worry (#35): This level is one of my absolute favorites, right here. Too often bomb themed levels tend towards monotony or careful arrangement of blocks and monsters to clear out all/specific bombs. Too often block themed levels tend towards tedium or sokobans. This level completely ignores both trends and sets a field of blocks, bombs, and a few chips, and challenges the player to find a path through. Some of the chips are quite devious to try to reach, and the outer edge always has more points of entry available.
Blocked Passage (#39): Yeah this is what I meant with block levels tending towards tedium. To make matters worse, slide delay can result in some late cooks. Not really very fun to play and honestly stressful in MS.
Gliders and Gliders (#49): An impressively varied melee level based entirely around... gliders! Unfortunately, the block section is easily screwed and is a puzzle element in a dodging environment, and I don't the level needed an abrupt change of mental process. Few levels can pull that off well, and I think Think Tank is one of the few that did- and even then, only due to theming. (both the dodging and puzzle parts revolve around tanks) Here...you have dodging gliders while picking up chips, dodging gliders, picking up chips while dodging gliders, and pushing blocks to specific locations with gliders in the area. That last part just utterly destroyed the flow for me: if there wasn't a specific solution in mind (fill 25, 26 or cook) I wouldn't mind. Just... one minor detail seriously hurt the level in my eyes.
Favorite level: How I Learned to Stop Bombing and Love the Worry (#35) (with Bind Mender as a close second)
Least favorite: Carnival (#27)
My CC1 levelsets: (25, 150, 149, 149, 149, 149, 60, 149, 43, +2 = 1025 total)
25 levels.dat | Ultimate Chip.dat | Ultimate Chip 2.ccl | Ultimate Chip 3.dac | Ultimate Chip 4.zip | Ultimate Chip 5 | Ultimate Chip 6 | Walls of CCLP4 | i^e
IHNN-Ultimate: 147 of my best levels (through UC5), plus 2 entirely new ones. May be overhauled soon.
My CC2 levelsets: (100, ???)
IHNN1 | IHNN2
My CC score tracker. Has lots of cool automated features!
Twitch | Youtube | Twitter
25 levels.dat | Ultimate Chip.dat | Ultimate Chip 2.ccl | Ultimate Chip 3.dac | Ultimate Chip 4.zip | Ultimate Chip 5 | Ultimate Chip 6 | Walls of CCLP4 | i^e
IHNN-Ultimate: 147 of my best levels (through UC5), plus 2 entirely new ones. May be overhauled soon.
My CC2 levelsets: (100, ???)
IHNN1 | IHNN2
My CC score tracker. Has lots of cool automated features!
Twitch | Youtube | Twitter