Lemmings Forums Level Contest #15 - Playing Phase (Discussion Topic)

[Crane]

My backroute to "Temple of the :3 God" is still possible with a tweak.  Unless it breaks the intended solution, you might want to increase the release rate slightly or something.

And these are now known as "Crane Backroutes"?! I didn't know I was that unique or infamous!

[mobius]

@ Crane; is this the intended solution to Glide Slope? (using latest update)

[Crane]

@mobius Yes it is! Cute and simple!

The coloured bricks are supposed to be a guide, but they only work if you place the digger as far to the right as possible.

[Crane]

@Gronkling If this is the solution to "Tomb of the :3 God", you are a genius!

[Gronkling]

yay thats 100% intended solution

[joshescue18]

I finished Raymanni's level.

[Nessy]

I have solved the first level of IchoTolot's Rule 1 entry. Still working on the second level, but I would like to know if the first level of Rule 1 is intended before moving on.

I loved the solution and level so far though

[IchoTolot]

A slight backrote, but a bunch of elements of the intended route were still there. Fixed it with pick-up skill repositioning.

[grams88]

I had a shot at IchoTolot's two levels, they look nice and well designed, still not solved any of them as of yet. Hopefully very soon.

[Nessy]

It is with a heavy heart that I must sadly announce that I won't be finishing my LP of these contest levels. They're very tricky which I don't mind one bit because I love the challenge! However it becomes a major pain while recording because I end up with hour-and-a-half long videos where nothing gets solved in the end. I might change my mind later on though.

I will upload videos where I showcase my off-screen solutions and talk in as much detail as possible about my experiences with the levels. That way I have good contest videos to showcase and also allow room for the bonus videos

[IchoTolot]

So, setting the level creation phase to ~ 2 month I would call a success, as it provides every person a fair chance to get an entry in.

But for the playing phase, it seems a bit like the 2 months may be a bit overkill, judging by the current process. I've put a poll up to see how others feel about this and if we should shorten the time period by a little bit.

Maybe a longer solving time is needed, but it could also be the case that after a month people won't even go for further tries. Vote in the poll and let's see how the majority feels!

[Crane]

When the creation deadline comes and the playing phase begins, I find everyone jumps in and plays the heck out of the levels during the first few days, before it quickly dies off as backroutes are patched and people simply get burnt out, and then really, nothing happens after a couple of weeks.

[Gronkling]

if the playing phase is shortened i think it would be best to wait longer for the next contest so we dont get rapid fire contests all the time and they lose their specialness

[Proxima]

Rapid fire? The rules for contest #14 were posted in December. That's two contests in nine months.

I would love to have more frequent contests. All too often it happens that I don't manage to find time to make a level in between everything else that's going on in my life, and then the next chance is an eternity away.

[Crane]

People are different. Sometimes I have a burst of inspiration and can make a level in a very short time (I made "Heaven and Earth" in the space of about 6 hours tops, from concept to the first release).  Other times I struggle with the rules and am not sure how to proceed, or just need a break due to creative burn-out or simply being too busy.

If there was a competition every month, then that would definitely be too frequent.  Every three or four months, I think, would cause the next one to start too soon after the last one concludes (if it's even possible with the voting phase etc.), and yet every six months feels like an eternity.  It's a difficult one.