JoshL6 discussion

[Flareon350]

I just realized I never made a thread for this set, so here is one.

If you like, feel free to talk about my latest and final CC1 set, JoshL6! Any comments or feedback about its contents are welcomed and appreciated.

I should warn that it is unfinished and outdated at the moment. Should be finalized shortly into next month.

[Flareon350]

JoshL6 has been updated to 85 levels! As mentioned on the download page, it will be updated again to 90 levels sometime next month.

Also if you're up for a mini-challenge, if you reach either hint tile on the level "Suddenly, Tanks Falling From the Sky" (currently level 80) I will list your name (or username) in the hint itself. This is completely optional so think of it as a small award for your efforts, if you decide to do so.

[jblewis]

JoshL5 was one of my favorite sets last year, so I had some high hopes for the follow-up. I don't think this set is quite at its predecessor's level of conceptual brilliance and variety, but it comes awfully close at points, with some entries I'd love to see in CCLP4. Probably the set's poorest material comes toward the beginning, with many easy levels feeling like retreads of familiar ideas: Energetic Elements, for instance, doesn't do a whole lot differently from a design perspective than countless other "elemental quadrants" levels. But there are quite a few gems here, including the first level, the wonderfully scaled Flipper Departments. My favorite, though, is undoubtedly Keyboard Malfunction. This is a concept I can't say I've seen in many other levels, and its execution here is nothing short of incredible. If you haven't played this level, I highly recommend it for a future CCLP.

As the set continues, the levels that stood out for me tended to be the most aesthetically interesting. Escape the Hamster Tubes balances its lovely design sensibilities with reasonable and fun blue wall maze gameplay. Flooded Forest, if I remember correctly, is a rebuilt version of a level with the exact same elements, and the improved design shows. And then there are the epic campaign levels Ragged Mountain and Nectar Meadow, both of which are complemented by amazing design that never quite feels distracting. The end of the set contains some pretty epic challenges, like the Amsterdam-based World of a Thousand Flames, tempered by simpler relief levels. Finally, the set is capped off with a retooled version of Flareon: Remastered, as well as a retrospective level I really enjoyed, Revelation Mountain. This could've been cluttered and overblown, but it wasn't.

Overall, I really enjoyed this set, and I hope other players get the chance to try it out. It's also a really fun optimization challenge too.

[Flareon350]

JoshL5 was one of my favorite sets last year, so I had some high hopes for the follow-up. I don't think this set is quite at its predecessor's level of conceptual brilliance and variety, but it comes awfully close at points, with some entries I'd love to see in CCLP4.

I used up almost every concept idea I could think of in JoshL5, so I was extremely limited with this set I didn't want to take other people's concept ideas without making it a complete ripoff, so I tried avoiding that for the most part like I tend to do regardless. I also didn't want to overdo the aesthetic design aspect either like I felt like I did somewhat of in JoshL5, so I toned that down as well.

Now that I look back at it I would remove Pocket Monsters, Energetic Elements, and possibly a few other levels at the start and later on in the set and etiher redesign them or replace them because levels like those are not my greatest work. But I don't have any ideas for CC1 levels and I doubt I will have some soon.

However, if I do somehow think of a clever level design or concept, I just might do that before it's posted on pieguy's site at least

[Flareon350]

Now that I look back at it I would remove Pocket Monsters, Energetic Elements, and possibly a few other levels at the start and later on in the set and etiher redesign them or replace them because levels like those are not my greatest work. But I don't have any ideas for CC1 levels and I doubt I will have some soon.

Lol I lied.

JoshL6 has been updated and now has all 90 levels! Seven levels have been removed and placed into my rejects set and seven brand new levels have replaced them! Because of this the level order has been slightly modified as well but not by much.

Enjoy!

[chipster1059]

Hello Josh,

I've been playing JoshL6 and so far I have solved the first 45 levels in MS. Here is some feedback:
1: The puzzles are small but fun.
2: I don't think this level is that good, partly due to the ice. I would have preferred it if it was just a small room.
3: This is a fun and good-looking level.
4: This level deserved to win for its palette in the competition.
5: This was for the December competition, right? While at first sight it looks like a chaotic level, it's actually rather fun.
6: A surprisingly fun itemswapper.
7: This level took me many attempts to solve because I was always getting distracted about the text I had read just before I first played the level. Anyway, mazes like this are really interesting.
8: This is a fun level, but nothing special.
9: This level is extremely easy. Pretty much the only threat is getting distracted and running into a teeth.
10: This level actually looks like a map, is this intentional? Either way, it's perhaps my favourite level so far and would be good enough for CCLP4.
11: I really like how the rooms can be entered in any order. The toggle wall room is my favourite, and the trick regarding the exit is really good.
12: I like how you used paramecia as walls, but unfortunately, that's perhaps the only good thing about this level. Sorry.
13: An interesting key puzzle.
14: This is an interesting use of pink balls.
15: Unfortunately, this is my least favourite level so far. The problem is that the thin walls can be easy to miss.
16: The centre section is really nice.
17: This level took me longer to solve than any other in the set, but it is a fun challenge.
18: This level is very confusing, unfortunately.
19: A great force floor maze. I especially like the slides that lead to the edge of the map.
20: I never played Pokemon and I'm not interested in doing so. Therefore I can't really comment on this. Sorry
21: I find this level to be much better than its CCLP2 counterpart.
22: A simple but fun level.
23: It's better than many other ice mazes I played.
24: A really good level. My favourite part is the one with the fireballs.
25: I would love to see this in CCLP4.
26: At first, I was sceptic, but it turned out to be a good level.
27: Putting exits all over the place is a really interesting concept.
28: Using blocks as walls in such a way should be done more often. The idea of being forced to pick up the keys and dispose of them is really creative.
29: It took me forever to find a way to drown the teeth, although once I found it, it seemed insanely obvious. This is a fun level.
30: Hilarious hint. This level may potentially cause problems in Lynx due to RFF patterns, but in MS it's fun.
31: This really deserved the win it got in the competition and should be in CCLP4.
32: This is really good, especially since it is nearly impossible to die. The hint is funny.
33: For some reason, this reminds me of the song Foreign Limo by Tyler Sontag. This is an interesting concept.
34: WHAT? NO CYPHER? _{(or did I miss something)} Anyway, really good level.
35: The puzzles were short but fun. I like how the hardest ones are at the start.
36: I'm sorry, but I really don't like levels with lots of teleports at seemingly random locations, I find them too confusing.
37: This is a really fun level.
38: A really unusual concept. This is very good.
39: This is a fun puzzle. Why the sockets under all the blocks?
40: An unusual but fun concept.
41: I find this level to be all right, but nothing special.
42: Using monsters as walls is really a nice concept. The chip part is my favourite part.
43: I like the blobs. The maze itself is ordinary.
44: I would like to see this in CCLP4.
45: These are fun puzzles. My favourite is the one where the red keys must be avoided, and the ability to choose which puzzle to solve first is nice.
_{Did you actually read this? The text from level 7 is %96 rC@DD362C6C 3J #@8F6u2?zr oh did I hate that text!}

[Flareon350]

5: This was for the December competition, right? While at first sight it looks like a chaotic level, it's actually rather fun.

7: This level took me many attempts to solve because I was always getting distracted about the text I had read just before I first played the level. Anyway, mazes like this are really interesting.

8: This is a fun level, but nothing special.

10: This level actually looks like a map, is this intentional? Either way, it's perhaps my favourite level so far and would be good enough for CCLP4.

11: I really like how the rooms can be entered in any order. The toggle wall room is my favourite, and the trick regarding the exit is really good.

12: I like how you used paramecia as walls, but unfortunately, that's perhaps the only good thing about this level. Sorry.

19: A great force floor maze. I especially like the slides that lead to the edge of the map.

20: I never played Pokemon and I'm not interested in doing so. Therefore I can't really comment on this. Sorry

25: I would love to see this in CCLP4.

28: Using blocks as walls in such a way should be done more often. The idea of being forced to pick up the keys and dispose of them is really creative.

31: This really deserved the win it got in the competition and should be in CCLP4.

32: This is really good, especially since it is nearly impossible to die. The hint is funny.

34: WHAT? NO CYPHER? _{(or did I miss something)} Anyway, really good level.

36: I'm sorry, but I really don't like levels with lots of teleports at seemingly random locations, I find them too confusing.

39: This is a fun puzzle. Why the sockets under all the blocks?

44: I would like to see this in CCLP4.

5. Yes it was and got a very bad overall ranking - 6th out of 8. The idea was to make a beginner friendly level here.

7. "Did you actually read this? The text from level 7 is %96 rC@DD362C6C 3J #@8F6u2?zr oh did I hate tat t"ext!" I have never seen this text before so I'm not sure what it exactly means or how you got that. I'm glad you liked this one, it seems it's not that enjoyable by other people for some reason.

8. This is actually J.B.'s favorite level in the whole set he loves the concept, as do I "h


10. It's actually supposed to resemble the countries of Norway, Sweden, and half of Finland, all of which are part of the Scandinavian peninsula in Europe. Also explains all the random ice in the water up north

11. The toggle room I actually thought of myself mostly everything else was inspired by a different level involving paramecia.

12. Yeah that's fine, this level didn't turn out to be what I had in mind anyway.

18. Confusing, but fun!

19. One of my personal favorites glad you liked it!

20. it's okay, Pokemon isn't for everyone but me being a die hard fan of the franchise I had to make a level honoring their current 20th anniversary for this year! As if there aren't enough Pokemon game references in this set

25. Wow thanks, I honestly wasn't a fan of this level myself glad you enjoyed it!

28. The disposing keys idea was literally thought of at the last minute. It wasn't a necessary addition to the level but I wanted to see if it was doable with the space I compacted the level in and it was!

31. Thank you

32. Clever hint placement is clever. I wouldn't say it's impossible to die though there's still all the balls

34. Nope no Cypher so you didn't miss anything. I'm honestly not a big fan of cypher levels which is why I never create them. And since this set only has 90 levels I especially didn't see a need for one.

36. It's actually pretty easy and that's the only challenge to the whole level. I originally wanted all the blue walls to be chips before be thankful I didn't stick to that

39. Eh, why not? Just an aesthetic touch for the editor viewer's pleasure. Seeing sockets under really anything is pretty cool to me.

44. Seconded.

Thanks for your feedback, Chipster! Can't wait to hear your thoughts on the second half, though those are a little more difficult.

[chipster1059]

Sorry it took me so long to get to the second half of the set, Josh, but I've been busy with CCLP3 Lynx, C1059-CC2 and my novel. Anyway, here is some feedback on levels 46 to 75

46: A really great level, great concept.

47: It's all right, but nothing special, in my opinion.

48: The main part of the level is really good, but I am disappointed by the slide at the end (I suck at precise dodging).

49: I'm not a fan of this type of maze, but this is one of the better ones.

50: Are there any other BTTF references other than the title and hint? Anyway, really fun level.

51: It took me way too long to find out that you mustn't let the block blow up the bomb at the start, and I wasted a lot of time waiting for that fireball to blow up the bomb blocking the green key... still it's a fun maze.

52: The level title reminds me of a post I made a long time ago in the Ctrl+V thread, back when it was active (original source). Anyway, it's a really fun level, and I would like to see it in CCLP4.

53: It's a fun level.

54: Much better than I expected.

55: Sorry, but I didn't like it. There is nothing special with it.

56: Another bad level, sorry. This feels like an inferior remake of Lazy Hourglass.

57: Overall it's a good level, but nothing special.

58: I don't think it's a ripoff, I think it's a great level. However, the part based on Flipside isn't that good, but then, I'm not the fan of the level it is based on. The other parts are great though.

59: Crazy exits that serve no purpose other than confuse the player who uses the editor! Nice level, overall.

60: Nice hint. For some reason, the three gliders in the room with the very long ice slide sometimes glide the wrong way. I don't know if I'm making sense, but either way I like this level.

61: I hate this level, sorry. The concept is nice, but some chips are much harder to reach than others, and the time limit is too short.

62: I would like to see this in CCLP4.

63: It seems that many of your levels have tiles that do absolutely nothing except look good. Either way, this is a fun level with some interesting concepts.

64: I found this level to be much harder than it is probably supposed to be. It is fun, but there are better levels in the set, I think.

65: Great hint, great puzzles, great level.

66: Nothing special, sorry.

67: The sokoban took me forever to solve, but it is fun. The rest of the level is very creative, especially the end. However, I think you should replace the fire at [6,21] with a fireball, I think it would look better.

68: Yorkhouse is better...I don't know if the shape of the level is supposed to represent anything, but anyway...the title is nice though.

69: I don't know what to say. It's fun, but nothing special...

70: This feels a bit like Shrub, but with the bugs easier to see. It is a fun maze.

71: The concept of having a limited number of suction boots is really creative.

72: This feels like Wireframe in CCLP3, but much much better. I would like to see this in CCLP4.

73: Interesting concept, but needs a better title.

74: Amazing mechanisms that produce that weird pink ball shape, really cool! Also this level looks like a giant piece of candy. Also another good CCLP4 candidate.

75: Is there a secret trick or anything? I haven't solved this and most likely never will if I have to go through this huge mess of gliders...

Hopefully I'll be able to review the last 15 levels soon.

^{(and if you're still wondering about that text in level 7, it's encrypted with ROT47 and how did you ever discover the existence of this message?)}

[Flareon350]

Sorry it took me so long to get to the second half of the set, Josh, but I've been busy with CCLP3 Lynx, C1059-CC2 and my novel. Anyway, here is some feedback on levels 46 to 75

46: A really great level, great concept.

48: The main part of the level is really good, but I am disappointed by the slide at the end (I suck at precise dodging).

49: I'm not a fan of this type of maze, but this is one of the better ones.

50: Are there any other BTTF references other than the title and hint? Anyway, really fun level.

52: The level title reminds me of a post I made a long time ago in the Ctrl+V thread, back when it was active (original source). Anyway, it's a really fun level, and I would like to see it in CCLP4.

55: Sorry, but I didn't like it. There is nothing special with it.

56: Another bad level, sorry. This feels like an inferior remake of Lazy Hourglass.

58: I don't think it's a ripoff, I think it's a great level. However, the part based on Flipside isn't that good, but then, I'm not the fan of the level it is based on. The other parts are great though.

59: Crazy exits that serve no purpose other than confuse the player who uses the editor! Nice level, overall.

60: Nice hint. For some reason, the three gliders in the room with the very long ice slide sometimes glide the wrong way. I don't know if I'm making sense, but either way I like this level.

61: I hate this level, sorry. The concept is nice, but some chips are much harder to reach than others, and the time limit is too short.

62: I would like to see this in CCLP4.

64: I found this level to be much harder than it is probably supposed to be. It is fun, but there are better levels in the set, I think.

66: Nothing special, sorry.

67: The sokoban took me forever to solve, but it is fun. The rest of the level is very creative, especially the end. However, I think you should replace the fire at [6,21] with a fireball, I think it would look better.

68: Yorkhouse is better...I don't know if the shape of the level is supposed to represent anything, but anyway...the title is nice though.

70: This feels a bit like Shrub, but with the bugs easier to see. It is a fun maze.

71: The concept of having a limited number of suction boots is really creative.

72: This feels like Wireframe in CCLP3, but much much better. I would like to see this in CCLP4.

73: Interesting concept, but needs a better title.

74: Amazing mechanisms that produce that weird pink ball shape, really cool! Also this level looks like a giant piece of candy. Also another good CCLP4 candidate.

75: Is there a secret trick or anything? I haven't solved this and most likely never will if I have to go through this huge mess of gliders...

That's okay no worries.

46. Glad you liked it, reusing Sapphire Cavern was fun

48. That slide at the end was much worse than what it is now. Though it's understandable to dislike it. (I died there a few times myself while testing if that makes you feel better)

49. In my opinion, there needs to be more levels like these. That sole reason is why I made this to start with. A good old-fashion maze

50. 88 chips = the required speed limit to time travel. Other than that no. You can consider the blob cloner to be the Liberians from the first movie but that works differently between rulesets. One cloned in MS, whereas non-stop cloning in Lynx.

52. Yes that is exactly where I got the title from so thank you for that! It actually inspired the whole level

55. Didn't like it either so no worries. This one was very close to being rejected actually.

56. Hmm... while it is Lazy Hourglass inspired, people have preferred this to Lazy Hourglass. I'm honestly torn between the two myself but to each his own.

58. This whole level is meant to be a joke so I didn't really pay much attention to the Flipside room.

59. Thanks I like this one too.

60. Yeah slide delay affects those gliders sadly. It depends on the time you push the block on the ice around the start that determines whether they are affected byt slide delay or not.

61. This one took forever to make too but you are not the first to say that.

62. Really? Thanks, I wasn't much of a fan of this one myself.

64. I originally wanted this level to use the whole map but decided to keep it contained.

66. [7:15:35 PM] J.B. Lewis: “Nothing special, sorry.” - Chipster on Chocolate Covered Chocolate

[7:15:39 PM] J.B. Lewis: NOOOOOOO

67. I would do that but I don't expect people to update just for an aesthetic change glad you liked the level though!

68. Doesn't resemble anything. This level is just my excuse to have a dodging level.

70. This actually came before Shrub. This is personally my favorite maze level of my creation. Glad you liked it, not a lot of other people do

71. Lol I felt this one was boring and tedious.

72. Surprisingly not inspired by Wireframe at all. I don't remember what led me to make this honestly but thanks!

73. You can't judge a level by its title. Also in my opinion, the concept isn't that interesting.

74. Actually this levels design is of a badge from the Pokemon franchise. The mechanisms took a lot of tweaking but glad you liked it.

75. No special trick. But.... the bold for this level is 521. And you don't need blocks to reach it either!

Worth mentioning that you stated the words "nothing special" seven times here, Chipster. At least change it up a bit thank you for the feedback again!

[chipster1059]

I solved all 90 levels of the set in MS and here is my TWS file: http://cczone.invisionzone.com/index.php?/files/file/563-joshl6-ms-tws/

It may need to be approved by a moderator.

Here is some feedback on levels 75 to 90:

75: Well I just rushed through it and made it without any blocks. It's a good thing these are gliders, as the pattern is predictable.

76: This is a very hard level, perhaps the hardest one in the set that doesn't consist of insane dodging. It was fun but slightly frustrating.

77: Amazing sokoban level.

78: For some reason, after downloading the latest update to JoshL6, a solution for this level popped up in the TWS (when played back Chip died very fast). This solution was overwritten by the successful solve, but either way, this is a nice level that shows that there is much more to pink balls than just bouncing around in a straight line.

79: Surprisingly fun. The title is funny too.

80: I would like to see this in CCLP4.

81: You say on pieguy's site that this was inspired by ZK3A. Unfortunately, this level feels like just a bunch of tiles put together, and I don't really like it that much, so I won't play ZK3. Sorry.

82: Really great and fun level. This was from the January Create competition, right?

83: This level is busted: it is not required to "only push the block below you two spaces initially" as the hint says (see my TWS for more information). I don't know what the intended solution is, but either way it's a fun level.

84: This level took me way too long to solve. I made one attempt at solving it, then refreshed the main page of the other forum I visit to see if someone posted, then I tried this level again, and so on. Unfortunately repeatedly refreshing a page does not cause people to post, and I solved the level before someone posted. Anyway, the part with the teleports causes needless frustration by allowing the shaft to become partially filled with tanks. This would have been a nice level if the tanks were cloned by something other than blobs and walkers. I didn't reach the hint and I have no plans to do so.

85: The first sokoban is all right, but I've seen better ones. The second one is extremely hard, and spending over 90 minutes on the same puzzle isn't fun and is one of the reason why CCLP3 is my least favourite official set. The hint is funny, though.

86: Such an easy level in such a late slot. I've seen better mazes with this concept, but the title is awesome.

87: This level is absolutely amazing and the concept is extremely creative.

88: I think this is the best level in the set. I love how you referenced so many official levels and put them all in the same level without it feeling like a bunch of random rooms dumped together. The only problem I find is that it is possible to boost into a glider while leaving the teleport in the Rat Race section, but that's only a minor issue. This is much better than Producing and I would absolutely love to see this in CCLP4. In fact, this is probably my favourite level not already in an official set.

89: This is a fun level using the same concept as 88. I like this level, but 88 remains better.

90: I would like to see a Flareon level in CCLP4, not necessarily this one, I'll see which ones pop up in voting. However, this is better than the Flareon level in JCCLP. How do you pronounce "Flareon" anyway?

And with that I'm done. I can't really compare this with other sets of the JoshL series, as this is the only one I've finished (I played a bit of JoshL0 and JoshL5, but didn't make it very far in either set) but I must say that this is one of the best levelsets I've played. It contains several great levels that I will give high ratings in CCLP4 voting if I'm still active in the community when that happens. Good job Josh!

Also, I don't know if you're aware of this, but someone is currently LPing JoshL6:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL...2XZDoUXm0O