Why is using a small portion of actual terrain a good thing, JM? I thought that level was easy, actually... Oh. Timballisto, could you explain the title for that level (4)?
Before I start the review/rant, I just wanted to ask Timballisto not to take any of this personally, because it isn't.
Timb03 - Level 5: The Selhajek Arbenition.
80 Lems
77% to save
RR: 1
Time: 7 minutes
Skills: 4 climb, 4 bomb, 1 build, 1 mine
Good: Nothing.
Bad: Where to begin...
This level falls into a category that I don't have a name for yet, but here are the criteria the level must meet:
1) The solution must be extremely obvious. There is to be no flexibility as far as things that you can try to do.
2) The implementation of the solution must be annoying to pull off because of the precision needed.
3) The level must include unnecessary and/or unclear obstacles to achieving your goal. Examples include steel areas represented on normal terrain, non-steel areas represented on steel terrain, fake exits, hidden traps, fake traps, or requiring one lemming in a tight clump of lemmings to use a tool in a certain direction without giving a way to guarantee that all lemmings are facing the same way. Exception: The title or terrain or something about the level hints that something is not as you normally expect it, and this is at least somewhat clear.
4) The level must include repetition, and being imprecise once will require you to start over. Bonus, and a real teller: You must scream profanities at your monitor when this situation arises
Now, if a level has one of these, OK. I'd be hypocritical to say otherwise, as I break some of these myself (but only occasionally, I hope
). Plus, there are some cool tricks that inevitably require precision. But when a level meets all four of these criteria, it is in my opinion a VERY BAD level.
This level meets all of these critera:
1) Your first move MUST use up the builder. You have ABSOLUTELY no other logical option other than making the very first lemming a builder to close off the right gap, then walk to the left, and fall to his death. Why even give the builder in the first place? Fill in the gap, cut out the builder, raise the save% required to 78% (this is how many I saved btw, so you'd be able to get 80% really), and call it a day. Then your only option is to climb and bomb. There is NOTHING else you can possibly do, especially as it is clear where you need to put the miner.
2) Timed bombers. Not a major offender in and of itself, but it doesn't help
3) Steel areas over non-steel looking terrain. Of course, after my first try of the level failed, I just looked at the level in LemEdit to see where you decided to put the steel. Side note: this steel does not even add challenge to the level! You would still have to do #4 (below) if there were steel or not. Furthermore, even knowing where the steel is doesn't make the solution easier to execute.
4) 4 bombers, all timed. This level is not forgiving in the least.
If you think I'm singling you out, rest assured that I'm not. Conway's "Back and Forth" is a bigger offender of this list, and he's heard some of my rant before... But since these two levels pissed me off for whatever reason, I decided to see what they have in common, and came up with this list.
(continued on next post)