Lemming Ledger - V5:

Changelog

- V2: Terrain under rightmost brazier is now steel to prevent backroute from JawaJuice
- V3: Removed some of the steel above the exit to prevent backroute from JawaJuice
- V4: Retracted steel above exit slightly to prevent backroute from JawaJuice
- V5: Added a brazier inside a hole in the terrain to patch a backroute from JawaJuice (they're getting good a this!)

Redneck Redemption - V4 (unchanged):

Changelog

- V2: Bad version (shrunk terrain to the left of the exit, rejected it as a fix, but uploaded it by mistake instead of what is now V3!)
- V3: Added a steel plate to the left of the bottom exit to patch a backroute from JawaJuice
- V4: Reduced the height of the terrain above the steel to patch a backroute from JawaJuice

Reverse the Polarity - V3 (unchanged):

Changelog

- V2: Moved pickups on bottom platform slightly to prevent backroute
- V3: Reshaped the steel under the rightmost Digger pickup to prevent backroute from JawaJuice

Your solution to Lemming Ledger is still a backroute unfortunately, and the intended solution is a bit more involved, so unfortunately can't be an alternative.  Got to think how to patch it without making things look too ugly!

@JawaJuice

Your solutions for my three entries are now intended! Great job! 

Quote from: Armani on November 27, 2025, 04:02:38 AMIncluding replays or not has nothing to do with whether we trust players or not.

Yea, I know. I was joking, hence the lemoji. I can completely understand your reasons for not wanting to share solution replays up front, just to be very clear about that.

Quote from: Armani on November 27, 2025, 04:02:38 AMwhat if ... we created a dedicated website where users could voluntarily upload all sorts of assets related to each level, including styles, solutions, music, previous versions of the levels and so on so that players could download as much or as little as they want.

How would this differ from the platform we already have (i.e the Forum)?

Hey Crane, I wanted to play the older levels you posted in the Random Level sharing topic and I know you're someone who appreciates feedback and solution replays, but I didn't want to clutter that topic again, so thought I could post my replays here, along with the level file.

If you're not OK with this, or you simply don't want the hassle of fixing old levels that I backroute, let me know and I won't do it any more - I'll just silently play your older random levels.

In case it is OK though, here's the first one!

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.

OK! I can confirm that completely nullifies any possibility of my previous backroute.

Spoiler

After the longest time of looking at this level, a completely different approach occurred to me, operating on the hypothesis that the climber and floater are actually complete red herrings designed to lead the player into a mental prison. I gotta say, I'm really pleased with this solution, even if it turns out not to be intended If it was intended, then well played Crane - very clever!

@JawaJuice
Thanks! I'm flattered.

If you want my more challenging stuff, you can check out my Halloween pack. Its overall difficulty is slightly above my usual contest level. But judging from how good you are at this game, it probably won't give you much trouble. I honestly don't know if my levels are that difficult though.
If you want something easier, you can look at Holiday Lemmings, which I collaborated on with Mobiethian! For that pack, I focused more on the visuals while keeping the puzzles simple.
There are also some much earlier levels I made, but those were literally the first ones I ever created, so I can't guarantee their goodness.

P.S. I used to be more of a math person back in the day, but these days I'm more into art.

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!

Cheers! He hasn't confirmed yet, but I think I have now found the intended solutions for Icho's levels. I was surprised to backroute them too. I just normally take a path-of-least-resistance approach, rather than thinking about what the author might have intended, which sometimes leads to backroutes I guess! The exception to that was his R1 level. Initially, I couldn't really see how to do it at all, so it was more of an any-means-necessary approach, which I pretty much knew would be a backroute b/c who uses the basher/blocker trick as a key element to a solution? XD

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!

If you want to put it in spoilers, I'd be curious to know what others have found to be the hardest part of your R3 level, because the rest seemed relatively straightforward to me. Working out how to release those two lemmings that fall into the little well was the main headache. As I've said, I'd love to be a playtester on your upcoming pack, so bear me in mind when the time comes for testing!

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.

C++, now you're talking my language

I'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.

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).

LOL what a clue - the mind boggles, or possibly recoils in horror! Wow, that's impressive stuff, Crane! I don't have much experience with assembly directly. I dabbled in 68k on the Atari ST but I've focused on high-level languages (mainly C++) in a professional capacity. You're right though, we have similar backgrounds. Perhaps I'm the less logical one after all; I've always been torn between the arts and science. My first degree was actually in English Language and Literature (so yes, odd career choice!)

Back to the topic in hand, your fix for your R1 level slowed me down but didn't stop me from bloody-mindedly pursuing my solution You forced me to use all of the skills this time tho!