March 2012: Treasure Hunter competition

[AdrenalinDragon]

Are we on for the time bonus or not?

Yes, for this round anyway. I think what Markus said for next month would be a good idea.

[jblewis]

I think giving points for time is okay, as long as there's some reward for taking too long. That will help distinguish this competition from the Time Trial.

[M11k4]

If 1 tenths of a second is possible to record, then yes. I think that will be better than the 5 second per point rule. Maybe the number of squares each player has touched could be an option perhaps?

It took me a while to figure out what you meant, but I guess I was the reason for the ambiguity. When I wrote 5/10, I didn't mean "five tenths", but "five or ten", refering to how many seconds have scored a point in the past. In any case, I think we all agree that forcing a strict "better time = better score" system isn't a good idea, but having the time factor in the score somehow isn't all bad. I like the ten second rule, and it would work even better if compared to the best submitted time.

And on counting how many tiles are visited, please no. It just makes it too complicated to look for the best route. It would actually be worse than judging by time down to a tenth of a second, if you think about it. Besides, a level designer can fill the level with chips to mimick this effect to some extent, so it all depends on the level.

[jblewis]

I think as long as a level contains plenty of isolated items that take some amount of time to get, along with a fairly non-linear structure, the competition can work well. Or, much like last month, have a level with a very short time limit that makes it impossible to get everything.

[AdrenalinDragon]

I think as long as a level contains plenty of isolated items that take some amount of time to get, along with a fairly non-linear structure, the competition can work well. Or, much like last month, have a level with a very short time limit that makes it impossible to get everything.

Originally, the competition level had a few blue key doors so you could gamble and get more keys, as you only had one blue key. Probably should have left it like that.

[rockdet]

Also nice guys letting me feel I'm not even close to J.B. or pieguy in level designing, though I already acknowledge it.

Still an appreciated very good push in the back

[jblewis]

It was a compliment, Rock.

[Markus]

I didn't mean to offend you, Rock - last month's level was lots of fun . There's nothing wrong with needing to be quick to collect items, but, as M11k4 put it, it's not the only way to go.

[AdrenalinDragon]

Also nice guys letting me feel I'm not even close to J.B. or pieguy in level designing, though I already acknowledge it.

Still an appreciated very good push in the back

Sorry Rock. We liked your Treasure Hunter levels. In fact, mine's the weakest.

[rockdet]

Well the first one was linear so meh, the second one was too much related to time. I'm now trying to see how I could make it so it feels something new.