04-Jan-2015, 5:11 PM
Quote:It wasn't decided that CCLP3 would have to be Lynx-c until the call for submissions. This arguably left many designers and levels "in the dust" (except for a few like Tom Rowe and Eric Schmidt who actively created Lynx-c versions of their levelsets). Subsequently, there was a tacit assumption that CCLP4 (or even-numbered CCLPs in general) would allow MS-only levels, although that no longer seems to be set in stone.
This is somewhat untrue. Prior to the 2006 call for submissions that Larry Jackson posted, Dale Bryan (who had coordinated CCLP2 production) posted a message or two on the newsgroup around 2003 stating that he was hoping to see odd-numbered CCLPs be compatible in both rulesets, whereas even-numbered CCLPs would alternate between rulesets. In other words, CCLP2 was MS-only, CCLP3 was supposed to be MS- and Lynx-compatible, and then CCLP4 could be a Lynx-only set, CCLP5 could work in both rulesets, and so on. So Lynx compatibility was on the table for a while. I think the reasons why we saw as many MS-only levels as we did prior to CCLP3 were [a] the last official set was an MS-only set and inspired designers to further explore MS-only behaviors, this curiosity further inspired players to dissect the game and create levels that exploited these behaviors, and [c] Lynx play was not nearly as commonplace as it has been since the release of CCLP3. As I recall, you were one of the first designers to encourage the rest of us to design for both rulesets.
I agree with Josh about the problem of MS-only levels being in another CCLP: we've reached the point where every official set can be played in both rulesets with the release of CCLXP2, and Lynx play is much more common now. I think your strongest point is that there have been many designers who have been gipped by the dual-compatibility requirement of the CCLP series. I still believe that a fair way to make sure that designers are free to make whatever they want and get some recognition for it while still respecting what's been done with CCLPs is to make special, shorter packs between CCLPs with a specific hook: all MS-only levels, all Lynx-only levels, all super-difficult levels, all CCZone competition levels, etc. Basically, anything that wouldn't fit within the CCLP series that's meant to be played by a general audience with whatever ruleset they want to use. And while it's impossible to please everyone, I can't really see too many other options that come this close. If we as a community want to encourage designers to play around without having to conform, I don't think it's terribly unreasonable to go ahead and honor those who have worked hard over the past few years, go through with CCLP4, and then start fresh, exploring what kind of special pack could be made during the long wait for CCLP5.