Thank you! And congrats on third place!
I'm really happy to see Rhizome win. Before the release, I must have sunk 30 hours into backroute-fixing. I designed the solution on paper first, with a loose inspiration from It's Hero Time. Then I spent a night to built the terrain, fine-tuned the various timings, and had several days of backroute testing.
I've cut some parts from the early paper brainstorming (second floater, a blocker, and a 3-builder-wall) for their backroute potential. Don't be afraid of cutting scope in your own levels! The remaining ideas are often strong enough to keep the level interesting.
If you've attempted to solve Rhizome, you may have tried to use this notch in your solution. It looks purposeful and deliberate, and it's placed at an important spot.
But it shouldn't be possible to use skills in the notch to help you solve Rhizome; the solution would remain conceptually the same with straight terrain instead of the notch.
The purpose of the notch: It turns the floater right-to-left after the floater has finished platforming rightward. All lix are then back with the main pack, and there are no stragglers far away from the pack. It's eye candy during the final walk to the exit.
Inside Your Router arose the opposite way. I placed the terrain first, gave myself 10 builders and started toying around. When I found the solution (which I didn't design), I was surprised how well it worked. Backroute fixing was minimal, too: Builders 10->9 to prevent a 3-builder ramp block near a hatch, and the lasers in the center. Unless you know this story, you'll likely have a hard time guessing that the solution wasn't designed.
The competition was tough. Excellent levels, everybody! I've had a soft spot for Natural-born. And had I been forced to bet on the voting, I might have bet on Clown Fiesta.
-- Simon
