Quote from: Crane on November 27, 2025, 10:18:44 AMI've made the most frustrating fix for you! V4 coming up.
I've tried to balance the arts and science too, although I have always been very focused on mathematics, physics and computing. It hasn't stopped me from doing some art and writing though.
If it was intended, then well played Crane - very clever!
Quote from: kaywhyn on November 27, 2025, 09:18:53 AMThanks for the compliment!Glad to hear you enjoyed my levels
You've also done a great job with getting the other levels in the collection pack solved and finding some backroutes in the process. In particular, I haven't seen your solutions to Icho's R1 and R2, but I'm surprised you managed to backroute them because when I pre-tested his 3 entries I managed to get the intended solutions to all of them. Nice finds!
QuoteAlso, thank you for the feedback of my R3 regarding the difficulty. It is a bit surprising to hear that was the hardest part for you, but as a level designer you can't always predict what parts will stump players and what parts they'll figure out quickly. More often than not, designers often underestimate the difficulty of their levels, which is easy to do because you as the creator know what's intended while other players who play them don't. Moreover, just only seeing the intended solution is what makes us designers blind to backroutes! This is where other players sending in solutions and feedback come in very handy. That's why authors often get testers for their levels/packs!
QuoteOh nice, another computer programmer on the Forums!There's plenty of programmers/coders in this community. I'm not one, but I did have to take a C++ computer programming course in my undergrad for my math major.
Quote from: Crane on November 27, 2025, 09:36:20 AMWell. this is an interesting one, because I too am a computer programmer and my claim to fame is that I'm a core member and contributor of source code to the Free Pascal Compiler, specialising in optimisation and assembly language, so you can't get any more logical than that! And yeah, I'm not too good at cryptic crosswords either, although I've managed to solve a few random clues, like "Bent coach stole confectionaries" (10 letters).
You forced me to use all of the skills this time tho!Quote from: JawaJuice on November 27, 2025, 08:51:59 AM...Well. this is an interesting one, because I too am a computer programmer and my claim to fame is that I'm a core member and contributor of source code to the Free Pascal Compiler, specialising in optimisation and assembly language, so you can't get any more logical than that! And yeah, I'm not too good at cryptic crosswords either, although I've managed to solve a few random clues, like "Bent coach stole confectionaries" (10 letters).
I'll take another lookIt'll probably get to the point soon where I can no longer backroute it if I can't find the correct solution
Thanks for the insight into the creation process! I'm no closer to solving Ice Cream Cake Part 2 btw, or Outside the Box 2. I think our brains work in quite different ways, you and I
Not a bad thing at all, it just happens sometimes. I feel like your solutions sometimes require a degree of lateral thinking, which is not something I excel at - I'm a very logical person, being a computer programmer by trade! I can't even begin to do cryptic crosswords haha
Quote from: JawaJuice on November 27, 2025, 08:39:12 AMCheers, kaywhynIt was a pleasure playing your levels in this contest; I enjoyed them very much!
You've also done a great job with getting the other levels in the collection pack solved and finding some backroutes in the process. In particular, I haven't seen your solutions to Icho's R1 and R2, but I'm surprised you managed to backroute them because when I pre-tested his 3 entries I managed to get the intended solutions to all of them. Nice finds! QuoteSpoiler
I seemed to recall your AWESOME Fire level used it as well when I said that but I may be misremembering there - was that one just blocker turns to extend the miner? Anyway, you're quite right, I can't jump to that conclusion based on a couple of levels. It was just a frivolous observation thoughI thought your use of the technique in your R3 level was very clever - I certainly didn't spot it as a possibility for quite a while and you might have less experienced players stumped.
I just thought it was funny that, out of the nearly 50 levels total I've made (some haven't been released yet, since they're for my WIP level pack) over a span of 4 (almost 5 now) years, I have only made about 5 levels that require keeping skills going and you thus associated me as someone who likes this element in my intended solutions
There's other skill types that can do the job as well, and I've yet to make those levels! 
How time flies haha.QuoteI'm a very logical person, being a computer programmer by trade! I can't even begin to do cryptic crosswords haha
O.o, cryptic crosswords. Those are tough! Never tried one, but I know what those are. I can't even complete any kind of crossword puzzle from newspapers haha. At least not without doing them with another person or group of people
Quote from: Crane on November 27, 2025, 06:23:57 AMBackrouted again. V3 is out.
If a solution is unique, beautiful or more difficult than what's intended, then it might be kept as a viable alternative. It's very subjective though.
One recent example with my own levels... the original "Ice Cream Cake" was just one level with the "part two" solution as the intended one, but it had 2 bombers that were meant to be a red herring, but Armani playtested it for me and found a solution that was just too beautiful to pass up. Coincidentally, this was at the same time that the previous contest was being run where you had to make a pair of levels with different skillsets, where one wasn't a subset of the other (so they had completely different solutions and one couldn't be performed in the other), so I withdrew my submission (which was the "Outside the box" levels) and submitted two versions of Ice Cream Cake... one with a bomber removed (to stop Armani's solution) and one with a climber removed (which wasn't required for Armani's solution)!
Sometimes you do get happy accidents.
It'll probably get to the point soon where I can no longer backroute it if I can't find the correct solution
Thanks for the insight into the creation process! I'm no closer to solving Ice Cream Cake Part 2 btw, or Outside the Box 2. I think our brains work in quite different ways, you and I
Not a bad thing at all, it just happens sometimes. I feel like your solutions sometimes require a degree of lateral thinking, which is not something I excel at - I'm a very logical person, being a computer programmer by trade! I can't even begin to do cryptic crosswords hahaQuote from: Armani on November 27, 2025, 04:04:17 AM@JawaJuice
Close enoughwell done!
