16-Aug-2016, 10:10 AM
My family's in town, so I've had limited evaluating time for the voting packs, but I was able to finish this one last night. A couple of 5s, a whole lot of average or below-average levels, but overall, still a fairly fun pack to go through. I'm going to start doing Jeffrey's "best / worst" crowning at the end (and have done ahead and edited previous posts to name such levels for the other packs).
#2 (BactLab): This level has the open, semi-carefree Dave Borgman-esque design style characteristic of CCLP2, but it's far too chaotic to feel anything other than frustrating. Open melee levels can be fun when the player feels like they've got some degree of control over the chaos, but this is quite the opposite.
#6 (Skydiver's Maze): This is one of the few levels I designed that I'm really hoping will make the CCLP4 cut. It was constructed shortly after the CCLP3 submission period had ended and was a tad too difficult for CCLP1, but I think it would fit right into this set. I'm a sucker for puzzles that allow you to see the entire level and plan your moves out before making them, which was what I hoped this would accomplish.
#7 (Restrictions): As I mentioned in some of the previous pack commentaries, I'm not particularly fond of a level where you basically have to do the exact same thing multiple times just so the level can extend its length or be symmetrical. This level is based on a really neat idea - don't operate outside the invisible fence for each room keeping the teeth in line - and then it just adds in a bunch of button switching, item swapping, and block pushing that doesn't really need to be there. It eventually got to the point where I was wondering when it was going to be over, which is dangerous ground for a level to tread.
#11 (Bisection): My only real complaint about this level is the strictness of getting to the suction boots. The open nature of the rest of it is so much fun and provided quite a few "wait, that'll actually work?!" relief moments that are a testament to the quality of the design.
#13 (Pushover): This level is short enough that the "gotcha!" moments don't feel terribly painful to reach on a subsequent attempt. They're also quite clever in subverting some of the typical expectations for symmetrical levels with extra chips, particularly with respect to what chips ought to be left behind and how blocks on one side differ in use from those on the other. Overall, I really enjoyed this and wouldn't mind seeing it in the final set.
#14 (Unravel): I've said my peace about levels with hidden complex mechanisms and ultra-rigid paths to walk in CCLPs. This level is ultimately more clever than, say, The Genie Lamp, but it still falls into that category for me.
#16 (Erode): As a kind of converse statement to my comments above on #7, I love levels that feature some sort of symmetry but require the player to think differently or do something slightly different in each section. This level is one of those and was a lot of fun to figure out.
#20 (Control Machine): The obvious comparison here is Warehouse II. It seems like this level was built to provide some of the same challenge (and at least for me, it was quite challenging) as its CCLP2 counterpart but without the unnecessary tedium. That being said, I still thought the path many of the blocks had to take through the southeast area was a bit long with quite a few loops. But even more importantly than that, I'm not particularly excited to see another plain sokoban level in a CCLP, especially since we have so many other, more inventive block-pushing puzzles in the voting pool. This is well-designed, though, and I'd be curious to find out if it was an original composition.
#28 (Victorious Comeback): This is one of those "do the same thing four times" types of levels I was alluding to earlier, but it at least has a neat opening sequence that's pretty unique.
#34 (Charcoal Cove): I think this could've been a stronger candidate if it had a bit more going on in each room than the rather mostly generic stuff that's there. That being said, I absolutely loved the aesthetic, the use of the glider, and the location of the secret hint, all of which raised the rating for me a bit. Pretty much all of these comments apply to levels 38 and 39 in this pack as well.
#35 (Everything That Drowns Me): I really enjoyed this. The designer claims this was inspired by Metal Harbor, and the influence is certainly visible. But unlike some levels that drew inspiration from other official levels, this one manages to take the general concept and run with it in a fresh direction. The design is also beautiful, and a few of the little challenges were neat to crack.
#42 (Scandinavia): I was a bit dismissive of this level when I played it in the set it originally came from, but on subsequent plays, I've come to enjoy it more and more. It feels like a spiritual successor of sorts to CCLP1's California, but it also contains a few neat references to previous official levels that don't come across as overdone.
#44 (Photopia): My absolute favorite level in this pack. There are quite a handful of excellent color-themed levels, and this one is no exception. I agree with all of the previous comments on this - and I especially appreciate how subsequent visits to each room feel quite a bit different. Overall, this is a level I would love to see in the final set.
Favorite level: Photopia
Least favorite level: BactLab
#2 (BactLab): This level has the open, semi-carefree Dave Borgman-esque design style characteristic of CCLP2, but it's far too chaotic to feel anything other than frustrating. Open melee levels can be fun when the player feels like they've got some degree of control over the chaos, but this is quite the opposite.
#6 (Skydiver's Maze): This is one of the few levels I designed that I'm really hoping will make the CCLP4 cut. It was constructed shortly after the CCLP3 submission period had ended and was a tad too difficult for CCLP1, but I think it would fit right into this set. I'm a sucker for puzzles that allow you to see the entire level and plan your moves out before making them, which was what I hoped this would accomplish.
#7 (Restrictions): As I mentioned in some of the previous pack commentaries, I'm not particularly fond of a level where you basically have to do the exact same thing multiple times just so the level can extend its length or be symmetrical. This level is based on a really neat idea - don't operate outside the invisible fence for each room keeping the teeth in line - and then it just adds in a bunch of button switching, item swapping, and block pushing that doesn't really need to be there. It eventually got to the point where I was wondering when it was going to be over, which is dangerous ground for a level to tread.
#11 (Bisection): My only real complaint about this level is the strictness of getting to the suction boots. The open nature of the rest of it is so much fun and provided quite a few "wait, that'll actually work?!" relief moments that are a testament to the quality of the design.
#13 (Pushover): This level is short enough that the "gotcha!" moments don't feel terribly painful to reach on a subsequent attempt. They're also quite clever in subverting some of the typical expectations for symmetrical levels with extra chips, particularly with respect to what chips ought to be left behind and how blocks on one side differ in use from those on the other. Overall, I really enjoyed this and wouldn't mind seeing it in the final set.
#14 (Unravel): I've said my peace about levels with hidden complex mechanisms and ultra-rigid paths to walk in CCLPs. This level is ultimately more clever than, say, The Genie Lamp, but it still falls into that category for me.
#16 (Erode): As a kind of converse statement to my comments above on #7, I love levels that feature some sort of symmetry but require the player to think differently or do something slightly different in each section. This level is one of those and was a lot of fun to figure out.
#20 (Control Machine): The obvious comparison here is Warehouse II. It seems like this level was built to provide some of the same challenge (and at least for me, it was quite challenging) as its CCLP2 counterpart but without the unnecessary tedium. That being said, I still thought the path many of the blocks had to take through the southeast area was a bit long with quite a few loops. But even more importantly than that, I'm not particularly excited to see another plain sokoban level in a CCLP, especially since we have so many other, more inventive block-pushing puzzles in the voting pool. This is well-designed, though, and I'd be curious to find out if it was an original composition.
#28 (Victorious Comeback): This is one of those "do the same thing four times" types of levels I was alluding to earlier, but it at least has a neat opening sequence that's pretty unique.
#34 (Charcoal Cove): I think this could've been a stronger candidate if it had a bit more going on in each room than the rather mostly generic stuff that's there. That being said, I absolutely loved the aesthetic, the use of the glider, and the location of the secret hint, all of which raised the rating for me a bit. Pretty much all of these comments apply to levels 38 and 39 in this pack as well.
#35 (Everything That Drowns Me): I really enjoyed this. The designer claims this was inspired by Metal Harbor, and the influence is certainly visible. But unlike some levels that drew inspiration from other official levels, this one manages to take the general concept and run with it in a fresh direction. The design is also beautiful, and a few of the little challenges were neat to crack.
#42 (Scandinavia): I was a bit dismissive of this level when I played it in the set it originally came from, but on subsequent plays, I've come to enjoy it more and more. It feels like a spiritual successor of sorts to CCLP1's California, but it also contains a few neat references to previous official levels that don't come across as overdone.
#44 (Photopia): My absolute favorite level in this pack. There are quite a handful of excellent color-themed levels, and this one is no exception. I agree with all of the previous comments on this - and I especially appreciate how subsequent visits to each room feel quite a bit different. Overall, this is a level I would love to see in the final set.
Favorite level: Photopia
Least favorite level: BactLab