@IchoR1 - That is 100% intended. Well done!
@kaywhyn
I think R1 is intended now.
But, let's say all the pickups and steelblocks have turned quite a few parts of the level "on rails" aka it is clear what needs to be done because terrain + pick-ups throw out all (or most) other possibilities.
The most prominent example here is the new top right section:
- Because of the steelblock at the button it is pre-determined you need one of the other climbers here and top left is the obvious candidate and that therefore also pre determines the top left corner pretty much.
- Because of the digger pick-up and the iron slope for the lower lem the way to turn around the top climber multiple times is clear.
- Because of the stoner pick-up it is clear a lemming has to go into the flamer path with no exit and there is no way out from there (even digging down at the platform isn't viable anymore). So the only thing he can do there is block.
As a result entropy, and therefore difficulty have dropped quite a bit. --- That does not mean I dislike the level now! I still think it is a good one!
That's a good point, I didn't think about the solution being a bit more obvious the way it currently is. I think at some point I had both of the stoners be the same pickup rather than separate ones, but that probably still won't increase the difficulty significantly. Then again, I think to someone like you the difficulty wouldn't be as high because you're very familiar with the tricks, but to many others it will be a very hard level because of the many tricks needed. Some I consider quite obscure.
For example, blocking and then stoning him to remove the blocker field that's holding back the others to release them. I actually discovered this when I was resolving Aquarius 10 of Uncharted. As Armani has told me last night on Discord, it's not required on that level, but I thought it was so cool that I wanted to make a level that requires it
Also, regarding that trick, I was thinking it was possible to place the blocker the way you did. In my solution, I use the last lemming going to the right going underneath the staircase to block so that everyone is contained on the right side but those coming from the left can still merge with the crowd on the right side and thus allow the climber to still build out to the right. In any case, it doesn't matter, as the important thing is stoning the blocker to release the crowd trick is present in the solution
Then there's the others too: Totally Stoned trick of digging down a stoner to make a safe drop, turning fallers in midair with a blocker, and finally using a stacker to make a splatform, as well as digging out the builder staircase to stop the climber from getting into danger. Also I guess bashing into the steel to turn around can be considered one
Sadly, the new upper right section is needed due to a timing heavy solution Armani showed me on Discord last night that would spare you a few skills. Originally, I was going to accept that as an alternative challenge solution, but I later discovered that one of the leftover skills would make an obscure trick I intended not required anymore and therefore a fix was needed
This to me was the easiest way to fix the backroute without making anything else look too out of place
Happy to hear that you enjoyed the level!
I hope I did your tileset justice here, even though in its current state it doesn't look that great anymore IMO with all the fire traps everywhere but they were necessary to block all those backroutes sadly. I really wanted to include your duneworm trap in some way just so it at least makes an appearance in a level of mine, but sadly I couldn't think of a way to without it looking too out of place. However, I just thought about how it could, and that is where the masher trap is. It still won't change the intended solution in any way, it'll just simply be another obstacle to get by. Even then, the level's already been updated so many times, so I probably won't update it just for that
I'll think about it, though, along with possibly changing up some of the pickup locations.
The only thing that makes me think that it could maybe be another backroute is that I do not see the resemblance of the solution to neutrality 7 yet. Do I miss something here?
Let's say not the overall solution itself resembles that of your United level, but rather they share some elements. For example, both have buttons and hence they're hunt the buttons to push and unlock the exit type levels. Another is they both are 99RR, although with mine the crowd isn't in any danger right away. Yet another is
- Multiple workers required, 3, similar to what your level needs. They also all take separate paths to do work in a different part of the level. The biggest difference is that mine I would say is on the much harder side because in contrast to your level, which gives you a floater and a glider, in my level you don't have either one! The only athletic skills you're given are climbers and a swimmer, the latter which is another thing shared with your level as it too gives a swimmer.
=> Because I didn't think to do what I described in the spoiler, I was stuck on Neutrality 7 for a long time and hence it was my first major roadblock of the pack. This therefore lead to me to make a tribute to that United level of yours
The big difference is that mine is far harder IMO due to the many tricks required, at least when the intended solution is enforced.
R2 -
For V19, changed the OWAs on the thin pieces in the upper middle area to downward ones. I know they're hard to make out, but hopefully in the area it does cover the direction of the arrows can be discerned. Somehow I feel the area can still be brute forced to cheese the level, but let's give it a try. In any case, it does stop your backroute you showed me