March 2015 Time Trial - Dedication
#1
The first week of March flew by and finally we have a new competition starting!

Your task is to download this file and complete the first two levels as quickly as possible. The first one, Fly Me to the Stars
, involves some boosting, so I have dedicated it to Paul Gilbert who always beats my scores on boosting levels. The second one, Time Trial Mix I
, is the first level in a (possible) series that collects pieces from earlier Time Trial levels to create a new experience. It is dedicated to Tom Patten, as all the levels it borrows from are his. It has some random elements, so I added a third level, Time Trial Mixed I
, which you may use for practice. If you don't solve the second level, I will accept any solution on the third level to replace it, but do note that the time limit is a second shorter. (Though the randomness is not really too bad.) I can't wait to see how you all solve these puzzles!

Enjoy!


Technicalities:

1) The person with the highest combined remaining time on the two first levels wins! You may use the third level in place of the second one if you wish, but note that its time limit is one second lower. There may be a tie in overall score.
2) You may enter in either MS or Lynx, with the former being the primary rules. This means that any Lynx solution times that exceed the best MS solution time will be considered equal to that MS time, but otherwise all the times will be compared together in one category.
3) Please send your solutions (either the tws file or avis) to CCZoneNextLevel at gmail dot com, or to my own email valeosote at hotmail dot com. Do not post your solutions or solution times or share them with others before the competition results are announced. All times will be published at the same time, and the quickest solutions will eventually be released. I will strive to respond to your message by a confirmation that your score has been recorded.
4) The levels aren't too hard to solve. Don't be afraid to send in your solutions even if you sense they aren't perfect, and simple casual solutions are also appreciated. You may enter if you solve at least one of the levels, but solving more will obviously place higher.
5) This is part of the 2015 season of the Chip Cup. Winner will be awarded 15 points, second place 12, third 10 points, and so on. If you win a competition here for the first time, you receive the "You're Winner!" award. All participants who haven't participated in a time trial earlier receive the "Run, Chip, Run" award. I may consider dedicating a level to you in a future Time Trial this spring if you are the first to send in solutions this month.
6) Submission deadline is April 1st where you live. I will judge the submissions without warning the during the following days but will accept submissions until I do. If you need a more specific time, you can always ask. To avoid losing on time (it is a time trial after all), get your solutions in early rather than later! You can send in improvements while the competition is running, so there is no downside to sending in something you know might not be your best effort if you had forever to work on it.

7) The designer of the levels (myself), may enter the competition, as I have not optimized them, nor will I have significantly more time to work on them compared to the rest of you. I never work on my own scores after seeing someone else's solution. However, if someone protests against this, I may exclude my own submission. This month it looks like I won't have time to participate anyway.
8) The levels may receive an update within the first week of the competition. This will only be done if there is some significant problem with the first versions of the levels.


-Miika

P.S. I have played all the levels submitted to the February Create Comp, so expect some results soon, though not immediately.
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#2
Results! Thanks so much for all your comments on the levels! (oh, sorry it's not April Fools any longer...)

Anyway, here are the results:

1. J.B. Lewis_____ 102 + 263 = 365


2. Ihavenoname248_ 100 + 264 = 364


3. Bacorn__________ 93 + 250 = 343


4. Syzygy__________ 86 + 242 = 328


5. pillowpc2001____ 88 + 235 = 323

Congratulations to J.B. for boosting out a win! That was a close one! (Well, at least since I chose to make it closer by disqualifying your updated 268 solution that I received 24 minutes after what I think was midnight where you live. I usually allow that sort of thing but here it doesn't affect the standing so I enjoyed not accepting it just for fun this time. Tongue ) Ihavenoname suspected there to be an extra second there in the first level, but was happy with the time he got rather than work on the boosting again. Syzygy was the only one to use the third level for a better time than the second level, and he was also the only one to submit score in Lynx (72 and 236). I think pillowpc2001 made a comeback record of having the longest time between consecutive Time Trial entries; I hope nobody else is trying to beat that record, and that it'll take you less than two years before you enter again Slight smile Congrats and welcome also to Bacorn also for third place as a first time entrant!

A few other comments not related to the results. Sorry that I forgot an extra trap under the SW Walker in the third level. Otherwise I'm pretty happy with that level, as I made it from existing pieces and it seemed to be rather interesting to optimize. Also, had I thought of it in time, I might have named the first level "Slide Me to the Stars" but now I'm not sure any longer. I do think that some of the boosting in that level scared away a lot of the competition, even though the second level was complex enough to negate any bad boosting in the first one, I think.

Join us again next time for a whole new batch of exciting levels! (and a new designer too)


-Miika



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#3
I sent in my updated solution at 10:26 where I live. Wink So that 268 is still legit!
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#4
Quote:I sent in my updated solution at 10:26 where I live. Wink So that 268 is still legit!
Ah, but not by email, but rather Skype, to which I logged in and downloaded it from you two hours later WinkMy game, my rules.
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#5
Quote:I think pillowpc2001 made a comeback record of having the longest time between consecutive Time Trial entries; I hope nobody else is trying to beat that record, and that it'll take you less than two years before you enter again Slight smile


I was about to correct you that I found a Time Trial competition AVI of mine from January 2013, proving that it's only been a year or so since my last entry, not two....then I realized it's 2015. Smiley Wow, can't believe it's been that long...

Also, I believe I entered the 21st century by submitting a TWS for the first time... Tongue
Mike L

My level sets:
MikeL2 - 200 levels, updated 1/22/2017
MikeL2-fix - Lynx compatible version of MikeL2
MikeL3 - 86 levels, updated 1/22/2017 - a best-of set with levels from MikeL2, MikeL4 or my now-hidden rejects set
MikeL4 - 27 levels, updated 1/22/2017 - home of any new post-2009 levels I make
MikeLrejects - 351 levels, updated 5/16/2013 - all my older/experimental/not as good levels
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#6
Hi guys, just want to add some info, perhaps clarifying some stuff.

I usually accept late submissions to these comps because I feel it makes the practical aspects surrounding the deadline a bit more streamlined and creates fewer feel bad moments. But this month I was under more time pressure than usual due to Easter and wasn't able to be quite as flexible as I usually might be.

Wednesday was the first, and that's when I downloaded all the files sent to me early in the morning, but I was able to upload the results only by Thursday (when I was already away from home). I didn't check for any submissions on Thursday, and that's why I missed RB3ProKeys' entry of 83+194=277 though it was only sent in a few hours late from where he lives. I feel bad about not allowing it in even now, but I think that would set a bad precedent as I'm sure you understand.

And I wanted to still explain my reasoning for not allowing J.B's other entry even others might interpret the rules differently. The main reason I disregarded the quicker route was because it did not have an effect on the end results and having the the competition be a bit tighter is more fun for me. Additionally, if I were being really strict about the rules, I do believe J.B. about sending it before midnight where he was, but Skype does not tell me this at my end. The time displayed at my end was when I downloaded it, and that's what I used. I might have logged in a week later and not seen the submission until then. The main method for submissions is through email and it has the benefit of being downloadable multiple times if I mess up something at my end.

Too much text for so little info? Sorry Slight smile I'll move onto posting more in the other threads...

-Miika
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