Souvenir Pack - Discussion

[Flareon350]

This is the official discussion thread for CCLP4 voting's Souvenir Pack. Feel free to share your thoughts, opinions, and comments on the levels here!

[jblewis]

This pack had quite a few levels I enjoyed, especially in bunches. It's definitely one of my favorites in voting so far.

#1 (Quadruple Check): In some respects, I wish levels like this stuck with the most memorable content when they're juxtaposed with rather forgettable material. This one has a rather familiar multi-layer elemental maze at the beginning, but then it launches into a multi-layered section that's unlike anything I've seen in any level, with lots of interesting "machinery" that requires some care to decipher. There were multiple occasions when I had to go, "Oh, so that's when I had to go through there / use that button / etc.," but then that required going through the beginning yet again - after failing there a few times to start with.

#4 (An Exit Too Far): I really like how this level didn't succumb to the "TRUST ME" pitfall of including patently obvious content - of the "hey, you need to go through here to advance!" or "this is obviously a red herring" or "here's where you exit" varieties. The red herrings here are quite extensive, with the actual solution obfuscated in a way that isn't exactly obvious if you're playing blind. It avoids being lengthy enough that replays don't feel like grunt work, which is always welcome. Overall, I enjoyed this and wouldn't mind seeing it in CCLP4.

#13 (Collection): I'm probably going to be in the minority here, but I'd love to see this as an early introductory level. It's not exactly groundbreaking, but it does a great job reintroducing players to the game and getting them comfortable walking around in its open spaces that still allow you to gauge distance and speed by looking at the wall formations.

#23 (Roy G. Biv): There is not another level out there with this concept. Even if there were, it would be hard-pressed to exceed the quality of this level's implementation of it. There are a lot of levels with a design that hinges on color, but this one steers everything in a completely different direction. Keeping up with where on the color spectrum you are with respect to the monsters you encounter, keys you collect, and buttons you're pressing is a fun challenge. The icing on the cake has to be the chip "vault" in the upper area. There's just something incredibly fun and satisfying about collecting a load of chips after putting your brain to work.

#24 (Time for a Swim): The gliders in this level are rather annoying and felt unnecessary. Other than that, there isn't a whole lot here this level brought to the table that was new - though the tank / toggle mechanism was rather cool.

#31 (Stuck in Emerald): One thing that helps a level stand out for me is a subversion of expectations. This level is small, simple, and looks rather homogenous upon first glance - and then when you actually play it, you find out each section of the "emerald" plays differently. First, you have to negotiate some nails with the green doors in the upper left. Then, you move on to some simple chip collecting...until you discover that you have to navigate around some hidden walls. The next section uses the force floors to interesting effect so that you have to figure out where to enter to get the chips. Finally, you activate the toggle doors and get the suction boots. It's a nifty level that would be right at home in early CCLP4.



#33 (Outside the Box): There's usually one level in each pack that ends up being far more trouble than I expected, and this one was it for Souvenir. I'm still not sure if my solution was the intended one, but my juggling of the monsters involved far more block-pushing and clever "herding" than felt necessary. Even the challenge of just getting the fireball out of its room in the lower right corner felt more complicated and rigid than it needed to be, which was only compounded by having to avoid the fireball while studying the room. It's a well-designed level in many respects, but I didn't find it very fun.

#35 (Plastic Combustion): This level will more than likely draw some comparisons to the devious PUSH-UP MAZE from CC2, but unlike that level, this one doesn't contain hidden information that affects your route. I personally enjoyed this, particularly the block and teeth sections, and wouldn't mind seeing it or a level like it in a CC1 official set.

#36 (Tool Shed): I could totally see this as another early CCLP4 inclusion. This level is fairly simple, but it's effective at training players to observe their surroundings. The hint tells you everything you need to know, then it's up to you to figure out what rooms require the least amount of items so you can get your start - all while trying to nail down what item isn't necessary. Very fun and enjoyable.

#37 (Stratagem): Yet another solid potential early-tier entry for CCLP4. We've seen this kind of toggling magic in other levels like Dig for Fire, but I think this level distills it down into a neat puzzle that does a fantastic job of throwing you for a loop before you discover its secret. Don't let the small size fool you!

#40 (Coral Reef): Another level with fantastic theming. This one is brilliant at taking a simple idea that hasn't quite gotten its due in a CCLP - "underwater blocks" - and crafting a cool but not overwhelming series of puzzles with it. The glider dodging at the end is manageable, though the southwest section is a bit tight, but it's not enough to lower my rating.

#46 (The Luck of the Irish): I have to wonder if the designer of this level was trying to go for a wide-open teeth melee level. Either way, you can totally avoid the teeth until the last few chips and just make a simple dash for the exit - nothing terribly crazy.

#50 (Taking Coins Out of a Bottle): My "time" on this level in Tile World is [373], which should tell you about how long this takes - and that's after getting the first part down fairly quickly. I love the idea here, but it feels more suited for a game where you can see the effects of what you're doing as you're doing it. In CC, it's just tedious.

[Flareon350]

#24 (Time for a Swim): The gliders in this level are rather annoying and felt unnecessary. Other than that, there isn't a whole lot here this level brought to the table that was new - though the tank / toggle mechanism was rather cool.

Yeah I didn't enjoy the roaming gliders around in this level either but I did use them to my advantage and reach the exit a lot faster.

[Ihavenoname248]

Yeah I didn't enjoy the roaming gliders around in this level either but I did use them to my advantage and reach the exit a lot faster.

The bomb at (12, 1) can only be taken out using a glider, so that's the required solution!

[Flareon350]

Then they are necessary

[Ihavenoname248]

Then they are necessary

Well, they're necessary with that bomb as part of the level. J.B.'s statement that the gliders are unnecessary still holds if you include what the gliders are later used for-specifically, bombs for the exit.

Personally, I don't like the amount of idling that's possible at the end there- the gliders really don't add much. Maybe if they were spaced out throughout their entire loop and could be used to shortcut at the end without being required they'd be better? As it stands, in my opinion they detract from the level.

[Flareon350]

Yeah I didn't enjoy the roaming gliders around in this level either

Stated because in that sense yes they are unnecessary.

[chipster1059]

Some packs are easier than others.

1: Overall it's a good level, apart from the aggressive blob cloner.

2: It's really easier than I expected.

3: The only real challenge with this level is that the force floors can get hard on the eyes. But it's so easy!

4: Most confusing level in voting so far.

5: Despite the simple premise, it's a great maze.

6: This was in Po100T, and in Not_CCLP4 with a funnier hint. I don't think any self-proclaimed "unfair" levels belong in the final set.

7: Metal Harbour is an easy level to copy. In fact, I did it myself. I find this one slightly disappointing.

8: Very fun puzzle, and the two ways to exit work well.

9: This is a really great level, and the title is amazing. It's a shame those two walkers are on floor and not gravel, though...

10: That's a short level. The solution seems obvious once discovered, but it's still a challenge.

11: And most of the time you don't know whether those are "worthless rocks" or whether they have something important underneath. I love the CC2 eye object.

12: The concept is interesting, but the level is too repetitive.

13: You just have to collect the items. The maze isn't hard and there are no special puzzles nor strict time limit.

14: I said that this level would be a good first level for CCLP4. I still think so.

15: Weird concept.

16: Creative concept, although executing the solution is rather easy.

17: This feels like a lesson level about blocks.

18: A very good force floor level.

19: At first it seems easy, but in the end it's crazy dodging, somewhat fun.

20: Once again, easier than I expected. Too easy.

21: First you get rather hard teeth dodging. Then you get a small maze (with ugly fireballs in Lynx) that serves no purpose other than filling up the rest of the map.

22: I played this in Po100T. While many levels with this concept instead rely on a warning click that ruins the level for those who play without sound effects, this one uses the timer instead, and this is great.

23: It's a decent level, and it won H&H:Po100T. However, I think the only reason it won was because some people wanted to save Automatic (Caution) Doors for CCLP1. Which, in the end, didn't work, since H&H:CCLP1 was won by The Ancient Temple.

24: Great itemswapper.

25: Decent key level...I guess...

26: I made a level with a similar concept, called Glider Cycle, which is not in voting. My level was simply dodging, while this one is also an itemswapper. In the end, I am not satisfied with either of these levels.

27: I played this in JoshL6 and JCCLP2. Unfortunately, if you miss some chips at the start (which is easy to do), you have to restart.

28: This would have been a good level, but seriously that invisible and hidden maze at the end...

29: Much easier than expected.

30: I played this in JCCLP. It was a fun level with a few hard parts.

31: Reading the hint isn't much of a challenge except in MS (but I don't care). Either way, very fun level.

32: This level lacks the concepts that made the original Tiny great.

33: Much harder than I expected.

34: Another JCCLP level. I found it extremely hard when I LPed the set, but now it seems very easy.

35: I don't generally like recessed wall mazes, but I guess this one is better than others.

36: The skates are the ones that aren't necessary. I figured it out because the ice can be bypassed using the green lock in the top right room.

37: Short and very creative level.

38: One of the most strict levels so far in voting.

39: This is a good level, but unfortunately very easy to cook at the end.

40: The first part of the level, with the blocks, is decent. The blue wall and glider part feels like a way of artificially expanding the level to fit the whole map.

41: I'm glad those fireballs don't have to be redirected. The bug dodging is decent.

42: I hate walkers, but sometimes I hate them less than other times.

43: It's fun, but very easy. I feel like I've said this many times in this pack so far...

44: Who is the second designer? Either way, amazing use of invisible walls.

45: Thankfully, there are no evil slides.

46: I've seen harder teeth levels in the voting packs.

47: The fireball section is terrible in MS, and the tank section is terrible in Lynx.

48: A simple itemswapper.

49: This was in UC3, I think. It's a simple chip collecting level without any major challenge.

50: The concept is interesting, but unfortunately the player must work from memory, and that gets very frustrating.

[Flareon350]

Chipster beat me to leaving feedback on this pack since I was planning on doing this today as well, so here is mine.

1. Quadruple Check

I think this level would have been a lot stronger if the bottom half didn't exist. In my opinion, it's just a confusing mess that really doesn't make a lot of sense to me and could have been left out.

9. It Suits the Purpose

Amazing aesthetics concept and fun level all around. Definitely a level I would love to see in CCLP4 and if it does, yes those two walkers will be placed on gravel.

10. Puzzle Solver on a Tight Budget

Normally I'm not too big on levels like this and have a strict time limit but I really enjoyed this one. It could use maybe an extra 20-30 seconds but I still found it enjoyable to play with the current time limit, since it's meant to be strict. Probably an unpopular opinion, but this is something I think CCLP4 needs in its late game and for that, I gave it a high rating.

18. Confunded

I was easily reminded of Force Field from the original game when playing this and that's not a good thing considering I never liked Force Field. However, it's an easier take on the concept but I still didn't enjoy it. Sorry.

22. Periodic Lasers

When I played this during the submission period, I wasn't a fan of it. However, after replaying it here I've grown to appreciate this level and the concept it holds, which hasn't exactly been showcased in an official set before either. Compared to other levels I've seen in the voting pool with this concept, this is probably my favorite one and the only one I wouldn't mind seeing make it in.

25. The Key Cave

In the LP of Ultimate Chip 5 I did a few months ago, I played a key collection themed level and stated there's not really a level that makes "strict" use of key usage but remains fun. That statement can easily be applied to this level as there's only a certain amount of keys that can be used creating strictness, yet the level is a ton of fun to play. Similar levels such as Stained Glass Piñata Party (Yodel #10) and Three Color Problem (Cobalt #25) have plenty of extra keys upon completing the level, whereas this one isn't as likely. Having extra keys is not a bad thing but I am a sucker for that kind of strictness. In the end, this is a fun level to play and I hope makes it in CCLP4.

28. Against All Odds

I would have liked this level a lot more if that NE section wasn't so demanding with the teeth and the timing. Other than that, it was pretty fun to play. The green key portion at the end was also very well designed.

37. Stratagem

For the size of this level and what is provided, I wasn't expecting it to be so tricky to figure out. Very satisfying to solve and another level I think would be perfect for CCLP4.

40. Coral Reef

Water under blocks has been a tile combo I've been wanting to see in an official set for quite some time. This level makes, in my opinion, perfect use of such a combo and makes the level a blast to play. I'm not a fan of the glider dodging at the end but like J.B., it wasn't enough to lower my rating either. I hope this make it in.

42. Walker Cavern

I'm pretty neutral with this one as it's really just an open walker dodging level. The trap mechanism kind of felt like it was added just to make the level interesting, which sadly it wasn't for me. Lastly, I don't see why those tank cloners and ball couldn't have been walkers, to go along with the walker theme this level has but at this point, that's just nitpicking the aesthetics. In the end, I'm not particularly excited to see this in the final set as I think there are stronger walker levels in the voting pool. This one was still fun though.

Favorite level: The Key Cave (25)

Least favorite level: Confounded (18) / Streets (26)