I have looked through Flingsane difficulty as well and solved 11 of 16 levels.
One level shows missing terrain (9 - "The Great Wall of Lix"). It seems to contain the old oriental tileset.
I managed to solve another Insane level. The solution of which is attached as well.
Some remarks:
In "Skyline Skydiving" you don't have to assign anything. I'm not sure if that's intended since it doesn't use flinging mechanic then.
The lix count of the Insane level "Dig This!" seems a bit high. It's like some hectic assignments in the beginning and then long waiting for all lix to come out.
What do you mean with difficulty curve?
Within one difficulty? It didn't really seem to me like that but that is a matter of strengths and weaknesses I think. So I'm not sure if I can answer it properly.
Some personal impressions concerning difficulty:
The hardest level of Arcane was for me 14 - "LixBot Lab" (combined precise execution and hard puzzle).
7 - "Over and Under and Out" had a hard puzzle.
16 - "Turning the Screws" was about that one tricky idea concerning blocker mechanic. 9 - "Runner Stunner" was a about one tricky idea as well.
12 - "Compression Method Infinity", 13 - "Builders Without Borders", 20 - "Send in the Square Squad" and 22 - "Beaten into shape" were nightmarish executionwise.
The first few levels really seemed a bit easier though 3 - "Things can only get Batter" was scary executionwise. 23 - "Sandy Knolls" felt easier as well.
I think I backrouted at least 18 - "Shopping Cart Race" (my solution trivializes the level and doesn't use the quirk of wrapping around) and 25 - "Santa's Workshop" (very hackish solution and skills left).
The Arcane difficulty generally felt more execution oriented than puzzle oriented. It's more about excitement and doing crazy things in lix. But things feel a bit random in some levels then.
The Insane difficulty on the other hand seems much more puzzle oriented. It's about tough puzzles designed to think a longer time but therefore have better reproducablity if you know the solution.
I would say it's the heart of the pack with clean to the point puzzles.
There the first level "Made to (mis)meassure" felt a bit harder whereas 2 - "Run around the block", 4 - "Redlined" felt indeed a bit easier for me. 8 - "Bumpy Ride" and 25 - "Hang in there!" were on the "easier" side as well.
16 - "Hall of Stalling" was about one tricky assignment idea. 10 - "We all fall down eventually" was a bit finicky but the puzzle was not that hard.
The levels that I haven't solved yet are: 6 - "Builders' Cracks", 7 - "Hello, Goodbye", 9 - "Pick me up", 11 - "Switchback Mountain", 15 - "Nothing to Lose", 19 - "Square Squabble"
The two no-trampoline variants to 18 - "Inside the Fourth Wall" and 20 - "Wrap your head around this one!" seemed much easier compared to the other levels in Insane. I don't know if they were harder with trampolines. They are nevertheless cool levels.
The Flingsane difficulty is about a certain game mechanic. So it's difficult to pinpoint. Maybe here is even something like a difficulty curve.
I haven't solved there (apart from the level that has missing terrain): 8 - "Another Pick in the Wall", 13 - "Two bridges, too far", 14 - "Set Fire to the Rain" , 16 - "Fling Me"
I haven't really played the Humane difficulty to this point.
Edit 2: Since I have talked about having a backroute in the level "Shopping Cart Race" I have attached a probably more intended solution.
Edit 3: I have a less executionheavy solution to "Send in the Square Squad" attached, which doesn't use flinging. It still contains long waiting though. Sorry for the long period of doing nothing in my first replay of this level by the way. I probably have done something else in the waiting time. The now attached replay is much cleaner.
It still feels a bit finicky but can probably done better.
As last thing I looked through the Outtakes levels (v.0.9.2).
4 show missing terrain: 1-3 -"Abridged Inversion" and "Abridged Version" in two versions and 18 - "Korean Border Crossing" (all containing old oriental tileset).
I haven't solved the following 4 of the remaining: 8 - "Chaos Theory" and 17 - "Just drop in"; 12 - "Fill the Floor" (reply #93 indicates that it relies on variable SI), 16 - "Interval Training" (from the name it sounds as if it relies on manipulating the SI and cf. reply #93)
So I have attached 17 solutions out of 25 levels.
23 - "Time is Running Out" seems to have relied on time limit; is therefore pointless now.
Many of the levels are introductory or show off a certain mechanic. 22 - "The Turnaround Compendium" is a really nice introduction into most of the skills.
The problem with missing terrain have two Humane levels as well: 5 - "Bridge Burnout" (seems easily repairable by raising the entrance a bit), 22 - "About Face!" (contains old oriental tileset)
Some question about changed mechanics:
The backroute in "Shopping Cart Race" makes me wonder if the builder turned earlier when coming close to terrain with her head in the version the pack was designed for.
Edit 2: Attached the solution to the Insane level 11 - "Switchback Mountain" (felt really finicky). So remain 5 levels of Insane.
Yes, Fill the Floor and Interval Training rely on variable spawn interval. If ClamLix gets a D Lix release, Interval Training should be cut, and Fill the Floor should get adapted or cut.
Korean Border Crossing relied on the exact looks of Matt's bridge tile. There is no easy way to replicate that in Lix ≥ 0.7. But other missing levels are easier to replicate: I've attached an archive with screenshots of the Oriental levels in their original terrain. One of those screenshots is attached for example.
In June 2017, I autoconverted other levels from Matt's Oriental to my Oriental, I'll look into how I did that. The autoconversion preserved the rough shape, but not the exact terrain physics.
Levels with time limits can become trivial and need a deeper fix: Kill lixes that turn around, merge another group after delay into the first, ... If there is no fix, it's okay to ditch a level.
Shopping Cart race builder: In 0.6 and earlier, the builder generated her brick further behind by 2 hi-res pixels = 1 lo-res pixel. After a climber had hoisted, you could assign builder in 0.6 to have this backstep block the wall for subsequent climbers. The bridge was shorter to the front in 0.6.
I believe bumping head is the same in 0.6 and 0.9, but I cannot guarantee this.
Do you have a hunch about Shopping Cart Race's intended solution? Feel free to fix the level for this.
Forestidia, by now, you've become more knowledgeable than anyone about ClamLix. Would you like to become maintainer for this level set?
You would decide which levels to keep, change, or possibly cut altogether. I would include the pack in the main download once we have 100 % replay coverage and you're happy with the solutions. I won't know the solution to every level, I or others would occasionally ask you whether their solution is a backroute. Sometimes, ideally only once or twice per year, Lix physics change, requiring to re-cover some levels with proof replays.
It's your choice. It's okay to pass on the maintainership later, geoo started the lemforum pack in 2011 and passed maintainershop to Proxima early 2017. Clam merely left before we recognized the value of 100 % replay coverage and chosen maintainers.
-- Simon
Thanks, I looked at geoo's replay to "Pick me up" there. Unfortunately already desynched but gave me nevertheless the right hint what to do. (I guessed the skills wrong and mixed up Builder with Platformer.)
I have attached the solution. Were a lot of tricks in it I didn't know.
Edit: I have a solution for "Set Fire to the Rain" with the help of geoo's replay, which gave me the hint what I was missing in my solution.
I have attached the redone oriental levels. Furthermore an attempted fix to "Shopping Cart Race" is included.
I have solving replays for the new "Shopping Cart Race" and the new "Great Wall of Lix" included as well.
I haven't tested the bridge levels at all. I have two variants included for them: One with big angled tiles as in the picture, which used the old tiles as pattern, and one with slightly changed big angled tiles that fit better to the straight tiles.
One "problem" concerning "Great Wall of Lix":
The culm tiles are much shorter than the bamboo tiles which I think lead to having only 4 small standing points instead of five. The level is still solvable and I think in the spirit of the intended solution (geoo's replay even works still, Nepster's fails on the other side while working in 0.6). I have cut off one blocker for harmonization there.
I have attached an attempted fix with a solving replay to "Just drop in" in case it relied on variable SI.
I let the lix spawn faster. A puzzle still remains nevertheless.
(Sorry for the clumsy naming.)
Hah, I didn't notice TameLix. Good catch. The replay checker doesn't complain when entire directories are untouched, by design.
Will include mobius's Square Squabble from reply #126. I have mobius's replay recorded on 2017-10-19, that solves mobius's Square Squabble from reply #126.
Will include your replay for Abridged Version v2. If you don't like it yourself, feel free to change the terrain as you wish or cut the level entirely. After all, this level is in Outtakes/ and its terrain broke heavily due to the Oriental set.
From the Brink, we removed it because it's not possible in D Lix. From the Brink requires exiting after nuking.
-- Simon
My replay of "Square Squabble" should fail in mobius fix, so that could be maybe then removed.
Tried to solve "Abridged Version (v2)" in the original tileset, it was similiar as in the new version but
the new version seems a bit more fiddly but therefore the lix didn't get stuck in side holes. But I haven't tried around with all the possibilities anyways.
I don't have a clear opinion about that myself.
Nice that you got it, mobius. With your hint from the IRC coverage I could get it myself but my particular way was more finicky (at least for me).
I assigned the runners early, therefore they all had really a use. But I think nevertheless your way of solving is more elegant. You are probably right that you get the runners to finetune and avoid precision. Though I'm not fully sure of it.
My backroute should be fixable since it is very tight and contingent. Proxima's way of solving on the other hand seems to be more engrained in the level.
I looked at Forestidia86's replay to "Urban Ledge-End"
Was blocker stacking like this always possible in Lix? (it's not currently in NL; blockers are not allowed on top of eachother, that's why I'm asking.
If not then this is most likely a backroute.
Although; could be a backroute even so as there's 3 blockers left over... plus the steps aren't used and the solution seems a little too not-neat-enough for Clam. I'll try to solve this level otherwise but I haven't been able to before.
Attached another solution to "Urban Legde-End" that works without and in some sense uses all the terrain but has another strange quirk therefore and doesn't need to use all skills.
Btw my backroute to "Shopping Cart Race" doesn't seem to work in the C++-Lix version:
The builder turns around earlier before she can close the gap.
Attached another solution to "Urban Legde-End" that works without and in some sense uses all the terrain but has another strange quirk therefore and doesn't need to use all skills.
Btw my backroute to "Shopping Cart Race" doesn't seem to work in the C++-Lix version:
The builder turns around earlier before she can close the gap.
:thumbsup::thumbsup:
I would bet money that is much closer to the intended solution. That's a pretty neat trick that I've never seen before actually.
10 blockers could be a nice round number just make it neat. And having more than necessary didn't hurt in this scenario.
-----
no idea how to fix this atm, although I found this level was still pretty tough even so.
Thanks.
Though I personally liked my first solution better because the second one felt to me like bruteforcing the use of all terrain. But I can't really assess what is intended or not; you have much more experience there. It was even a level where I suspected that it could be that it is not fully intended but I thought I had the main trick. That's why I didn't mention it. Both solutions work within the C++-Lix version that Simon provided.
I liked the first solution since it uses one specific trick for containment, was neither overly precise nor particularly hackish and everything worked out in the end. But you are right it doesn't use all the terrain.
My second solution is a bit more finicky but uses the level to the full.
The amount of blockers equals the amount of Lix in the level, maybe that's the thought behind the number.
For my second solution you only need 5 blockers I think. Reducing the amount of blockers accordingly could be a way to make my first solution impossible.
I think it's quite interesting that both solutions use a peculiar blocker trick.
here are replays for Square Squabble and Santa's workshop.
Santa's workshop is maybe still a tad finicky;
I seem to need to use the runner at the start but may not be necessary. Some movement of the hatches or terrain might prevent this. Also I didn't use the other runners; they might help.
Thanks mobius.
I actually had already included your replay of the new "Santa's Workshop" that you provided in reply #160.
There you
don't assign the runner at the beginning (you do that there in a later situation), which possible because you only assign the second lower lix as climber instead of the first one.
An attempted fix to "Square Dancing" with solving replay (reproduced Clam's replay).
It's quite suboptimal:
I cut the blocker and exploder but therefore put some terrain that substitutes the blocker at that place. (Took care that splat height still remains similiar.)
Maybe somebody else has a better idea.
The level should be tested if it really excludes the backroute.
Attached my and Proxima's backroute to "Square Dancing".
I tested only very little and I'm not really the best tester but: I think (maybe) the backroute to Square dancing needs only removal of the bomber and not also the blocker?
I always used the blocker in such a way that you don't need to bomb it. And while you can trap the crowd in the top block with the blocker; freeing them maybe be impossible this way. This fix may not need the extra terrain in that case.
I'm stupid and forgot the bomber is needed in some of the solutions but not on the blocker; at a different spot.
I'm 50:50 about this change, too.
The same red bars appear in the top of the map, to enable the bashing towards the right. Even if you remove the lower red bar, you still have instances left.
You can leave in the lower bars for consistency with the upper side. It's a nice hint, too.
Despite knowing all this, I'm stuck on the level because I can't mine rightwards properly. I could mine from the far-left, but it's expensive to get a lix there. Or I can mine with the crowd, that will hit air in the fence and cancel the miner too early.
Since I'm stuck here, I could look at the red bar that you're considering to remove, deduce from where a miner would hit that bar, then try to mine from there. This way, yes, the red bars are a nice hint.
Feel free to decide on your KBC from 2017-12-07, still. For aesthetics, maybe also remove the nubs in the rails, I've circled them in the attached picture? Do the grouped tiles match perfectly with each other, or are their heights wrong by 1 pixel maybe?
-- Simon
I've tried to improve it with a bit modified bridge tile groups and attached variants to "Korean Border Crossing" and "Abridged Version (V1)" + replays but no matter what I have to leave it for a week or so.
I hope replays and levels fit together.
I can't say of course for sure that my solution is the intended one. But I had the impression that it was much more finicky/obscure in D-0.6 than in C++-Lix and in this version it should be the most lenient.
So compromise:
I've attached a version which has the lowered bridge but keeps a red bar. I can't make it any clearer; the original level was much more obscure/finicky about that if my solution is intended. But in this version my solution works out well I think and seems to me interesting enough on its own.
Simon, look if everything is aesthetically ok; I've adjusted "Abridged Version (V1)" as well, which is in the zipfile in the post above.
mobius,
concerning Square Squabble (this is the level you mean, isn't it?) and particular backroute: Can you explain what you have to do for the backroute, then I could test. The 2-builder-cancelling seems to be very particular in Lix, maybe it won't work in the circumstances of Square Squabble.
mobius,
concerning Square Squabble (this is the level you mean, isn't it?) and particular backroute: Can you explain what you have to do for the backroute, then I could test. The 2-builder-cancelling seems to be very particular in Lix, maybe it won't work in the circumstances of Square Squabble.
you're right; it's that level and this is the trick that can backroute it: Simon has told me that the
2-builder-cancelling is possible. It must be quite tough to pull off; because I tried and thought it wasn't possible.
You can use this to turn one lemming around near the right of the exit and mine to the right. I have a possible fix for this but it changes the solution a bit fundamentally and requires removing the flames near the exit. But Simon said he doesn't want this behavior so that may not be necessary.
Yeah, got it unfortunately to work.
But
could it be that it depends on the exact distance of the lix? So that it's something like sub-frame-perfect? In this level you unfortunately can finetune with the two climbers. Maybe it can be fixed that if you do that then the second builder lix builds too far?
Thanks mobius for the answer and Proxima for the help with the reordering.
My idea was:
That 2-builder-cancelling would build too far, so that the lix builds over the exit or the miner tunnel would not be deep enough if the builer is assigned at an earlier place. But that makes the miner assignment much too obscurely precise and there would be non-square rectangles.
I think, we just take your fix, thanks mobius.
A small probably backroute-fix to BEHIND YOU.
The level was solvable without flinging, which is probably a backroute considering that the level is in Flingsane.
I'm still stuck on this one... I feel like I have the general idea, but I'm not sure, and I don't want to ruin the challenge by watching a replay...
I feel like the general idea is thaaaat:
The primary challenge is how either get the Lix up and over the pillars on either side, or use a single basher to take out both pillars... I can lay down a bunch of platforms to get the Lix about halfway up the left pillar, but I'm not sure how that helps, since I've still got two pillars to bash through and one basher. So it seems like the real challenge is "How do I knock out two pillars with one basher"... So... Here's where I feel like I'm a crazy person. I must have this excessive amount of platformers for a reason... Am I really supposed to just use them to layer things so that the basher has something to bash all the way across the bridge to the other side? Because that seems hilariously excessive, but also like it might really be what's intended here. The only issue is the time I tried it, I ran out of platforms with about 1/3 of the bridge still unbashable. If I leave gaps, I wonder if I might be able to make the whole thing bashable, but I'm not sure.
Mostly I just feel like I've become so fixated on getting the 'all-the-way-across' basher to work that I've blinded myself to a more obvious solution. So... Am I on the right track here, or am I nuts?
Got it! This is a good level.
The thing I was missing was that the slowness of the basher gives you some time to build the last layer of the bridge!
Attempted fix to Chaos Theory, if included should be in Outtakes.
Was a nuke level. Gave infinite exploders, lowered the exit a bit. Save req. from 10 to 50. Amount of spawned lix from 999 to 500.