19-Sep-2013, 2:51 AM
Hi Ian!
I just downloaded your set and am about to try the first level. Should I look in an editor? I don't like doing that and I fear it might not help get a feel for the level so I won't. I'll write my reactions to the level below.
00:00 First death by glider when trying to find a blue wall that wasn't fake. Opening the editor because figuring it out manually isn't fun.
00:02 Ok, so they are all fake. Why are they blue to begin with if none of them are open? Just to frustrate me I guess?
00:03 Second try. I guess I could start by pushing the blocks into water. I'm playing in Lynx so I can't flick one into (6,20). I guess I'll change over to playing MS so I don't have to waste the pop-up without knowing if I need it later.
00:04 Ok, so I don't need to fill that water just yet. I can fill other water tiles to get all the way to a blue key under a block. Glad I looked in an editor for that. So what do I do with it? I see a blue door I can reach... actually there are two. How do I find out which to open?
00:06 So using the teleports now kills me. Good to know.
00:07 The hint talks about a trigger trap button. So let's try to figure out which one of the 14 or so trap buttons that means.
00:18 Ok, so I've been studying the map a bit and all this water confuses me. Which ones am I supposed to fill in with blocks? And which ones are there just to fool me and could just as well be walls or something?
00:20 So if I get the yellow key (which was conveniently hidden under a block that now seems to be locked in place) I can get the teeth free if I'm really careful with the movements and happen to get the stepping correct.
00:22 Even if I don't get the yellow key but rather use the pop-up, I end up drowning all the teeth monsters in this area before I can get all the items. Because of the name of the level, I feel like those monsters are needed for blowing up the bombs or something but for now I can't see how to do that. So I'll experiment what I find with the fire boots now.
00:23 Yes! I can reach another pair of fire boots since I already have them!
00:24 Ok, so if I use the yellow key and drown the teeth, I can get to a new area since I haven't wasted the pop-up. Let's see if I can get out of that area.
00:25 Going through the teleport here, and entering it again might get me another pair of fire boots. Ok, I'll rather go to the start equipped with all the cool new items I've gotten.
00:27 I can now use the pop-up to get a yellow key and get to a new yellow door. I do however feel bad about having locked that block in place to get the first one earlier.
00:30 Next I should probably experiment with some button pressing.
Ok, that's all I had time for today. The level seemed very messy at first, but once I started playing I could get some sort of handle on what could be done. Still, after over half an hour I don't know if I'm even heading in the right direction. Getting further seems like it will take a lot of work. Will it be worth the time it takes to understand the level?
In general your levels feel very cluttered and it is hard to know what should happen. Even here you use many teleports which mainly bring confusion to what will happen when they (or the buttons) are used. On top of this you seem to prefer blue walls, wild button connections, hidden items under blocks, lots of thin walls AND complicated dodging far into a level. These aspects distract and subtract from any cool puzzle ideas you have crafted into the level(s). It lacks focus. My brain hurts just looking at the map. I see that you have interesting ideas, but I really hope you could try to make levels that are less cluttered, even if they are difficult to figure out. I hope you enter some more create competitions when we have them.
Having said that, I probably still will return to this level and try to get further. At the moment, most players, myself included, are still working on the hundreds of levels that are in the voting packs for CCLP1, so this is not the optimal time to release new levels and expect lots of feedback.
So there's my initial reaction to your level. Don't hate me because of it
-Miika
I just downloaded your set and am about to try the first level. Should I look in an editor? I don't like doing that and I fear it might not help get a feel for the level so I won't. I'll write my reactions to the level below.
00:00 First death by glider when trying to find a blue wall that wasn't fake. Opening the editor because figuring it out manually isn't fun.
00:02 Ok, so they are all fake. Why are they blue to begin with if none of them are open? Just to frustrate me I guess?
00:03 Second try. I guess I could start by pushing the blocks into water. I'm playing in Lynx so I can't flick one into (6,20). I guess I'll change over to playing MS so I don't have to waste the pop-up without knowing if I need it later.
00:04 Ok, so I don't need to fill that water just yet. I can fill other water tiles to get all the way to a blue key under a block. Glad I looked in an editor for that. So what do I do with it? I see a blue door I can reach... actually there are two. How do I find out which to open?
00:06 So using the teleports now kills me. Good to know.
00:07 The hint talks about a trigger trap button. So let's try to figure out which one of the 14 or so trap buttons that means.
00:18 Ok, so I've been studying the map a bit and all this water confuses me. Which ones am I supposed to fill in with blocks? And which ones are there just to fool me and could just as well be walls or something?
00:20 So if I get the yellow key (which was conveniently hidden under a block that now seems to be locked in place) I can get the teeth free if I'm really careful with the movements and happen to get the stepping correct.
00:22 Even if I don't get the yellow key but rather use the pop-up, I end up drowning all the teeth monsters in this area before I can get all the items. Because of the name of the level, I feel like those monsters are needed for blowing up the bombs or something but for now I can't see how to do that. So I'll experiment what I find with the fire boots now.
00:23 Yes! I can reach another pair of fire boots since I already have them!
00:24 Ok, so if I use the yellow key and drown the teeth, I can get to a new area since I haven't wasted the pop-up. Let's see if I can get out of that area.
00:25 Going through the teleport here, and entering it again might get me another pair of fire boots. Ok, I'll rather go to the start equipped with all the cool new items I've gotten.
00:27 I can now use the pop-up to get a yellow key and get to a new yellow door. I do however feel bad about having locked that block in place to get the first one earlier.
00:30 Next I should probably experiment with some button pressing.
Ok, that's all I had time for today. The level seemed very messy at first, but once I started playing I could get some sort of handle on what could be done. Still, after over half an hour I don't know if I'm even heading in the right direction. Getting further seems like it will take a lot of work. Will it be worth the time it takes to understand the level?
In general your levels feel very cluttered and it is hard to know what should happen. Even here you use many teleports which mainly bring confusion to what will happen when they (or the buttons) are used. On top of this you seem to prefer blue walls, wild button connections, hidden items under blocks, lots of thin walls AND complicated dodging far into a level. These aspects distract and subtract from any cool puzzle ideas you have crafted into the level(s). It lacks focus. My brain hurts just looking at the map. I see that you have interesting ideas, but I really hope you could try to make levels that are less cluttered, even if they are difficult to figure out. I hope you enter some more create competitions when we have them.
Having said that, I probably still will return to this level and try to get further. At the moment, most players, myself included, are still working on the hundreds of levels that are in the voting packs for CCLP1, so this is not the optimal time to release new levels and expect lots of feedback.
So there's my initial reaction to your level. Don't hate me because of it
-Miika