Vesuvius

[GooRoo]

Designer:		GooRoo
Level Set:	3TT/TT	Area 3 "Trouble In The Tropicz" Level 10
Est. Completion:		10:00
Est. Solve:		Probably less than an hour.
Date Released:		May 23, 2018
Status:		Released
Notes:		Difficulty=Easy Size=Small (32X24) Density=Dense (space for combat, of course)
		Forum's web host
		Forum's web host
Statz Page image Statz Page image		Forum's web host (GooRoo) Forum's web host (Zu)
Statz info.
Survivorz:		1
Deathz:		0
Toolz:		4
Toyz:		0
Powerupz:		0
Coinz:	2	+2 (hidden)
Secretz:		2
View the map!		489,549 bytez - Forum's web host

[GooRoo]

I just proved that this one is playable, and just need verification in order to release it for distribution.

[Zu]

It's nice to see you getting back into making new levels. Unfortunately, I ran into issues with this one...

First and foremost, I have no idea how the player is expected to kill all 6 boomerang gruntz. I assume that they are supposed to do so by harming each other, but getting them to perfectly distribute the damage so there isn't a single unkillable grunt left behind is borderline impossible. And the one time I managed to do this, my grunt fell into a hole I couldn't see, hidden behind a tree in a rather malicious manner.

Some other things to note as of now is that the level doesn't start off showing the player's grunt (StartX and StartY in World Properties should be set to zero), and that there's a lonely mismatched lava tile next to the volcano.

[GooRoo]

May 22, 2018 21:42:47 GMT -8 Zu said:

It's nice to see you getting back into making new levels. Unfortunately, I ran into issues with this one...

First and foremost, I have no idea how the player is expected to kill all 6 boomerang gruntz. I assume that they are supposed to do so by harming each other, but getting them to perfectly distribute the damage so there isn't a single unkillable grunt left behind is borderline impossible. And the one time I managed to do this, my grunt fell into a hole I couldn't see, hidden behind a tree in a rather malicious manner.

Some other things to note as of now is that the level doesn't start off showing the player's grunt (StartX and StartY in World Properties should be set to zero), and that there's a lonely mismatched lava tile next to the volcano.

There are no mismatched tilez ... everything in the Lava flow is a toggled Bridge tile, with an associated Blue Toggle Switch.

It is possible to remove all of the Boomerang Gruntz ... but one may be left alive ... but not the one at the very top.

There are obscured Holez in several places, so after acquiring the Shovel, it is wise to "wave the Shovel around" to see if there is something it can work on. And it is NOT a "magic Shovel". If the solver fillz in a Hole and digs up the resulting Mound, it leaves behind an ordinary Ground tile with nothing to be picked up. And any Mound dug up will leave behind a safe Ground tile, so the solver does not have to use the "Super Duper Pooper Scooper" again.

Holez (obscured, or not) and enemy Gruntz are simply to add a bit of difficulty to the puzzle.

[Zu]

May 22, 2018 23:51:21 GMT -8 GooRoo said:

There are no mismatched tilez ... everything in the Lava flow is a toggled Bridge tile, with an associated Blue Toggle Switch.

It is possible to remove all of the Boomerang Gruntz ... but one may be left alive ... but not the one at the very top.

I'll see if the level is beatable with one of the boomerang gruntz left alive... though it didn't seem so at the time.

Holez (obscured, or not) and enemy Gruntz are simply to add a bit of difficulty to the puzzle.

I am okay with enemies and holes if I can see them ahead of time and plan around them. But my unit getting suddenly killed by something I couldn't see falls squarely into what game developers call fake difficulty.

[GooRoo]

May 23, 2018 0:50:11 GMT -8 Zu said:

May 22, 2018 23:51:21 GMT -8 GooRoo said:

There are no mismatched tilez ... everything in the Lava flow is a toggled Bridge tile, with an associated Blue Toggle Switch.

The area you have circled contains four Death Tilez, clockwise from top left:

1. 112
2. 106
3. 109 ... should have been 117, 118, 125 or 126
4. 131

none of which are Bridge Tilez needing any logic.

P.S. Leaving any Boomerang Grunt alive will make things much more difficult on the east side of the Volcano.

[Zu]

The issue with the area I circled is that there's a single tile that contains a cut off corner of an island. It's rather hard to see against all the dark lava, but it's much more noticeable when playing in lower resolutions.

[GooRoo]

May 23, 2018 14:55:56 GMT -8 Zu said:

The issue with the area I circled is that there's a single tile that contains a cut off corner of an island. It's rather hard to see against all the dark lava, but it's much more noticeable when playing in lower resolutions.

I changed that tile from 109 to 117, but have not re-uploaded it.

How have you done on playing the puzzle?

[Zu]

I did get the PERFECT eventually:



The part with the boomerang gruntz is easily the hardest, or at least the most unclear. I think the part that threw me off is the fact that the topmost bridge tile is operated not by the boomerang gruntz, but by a hidden blue switch; since I didn't know that until much later, I assumed that this bridge tile is operated by them too. Had this tile started the level being raised to begin with, and the springz weren't hidden, the intention would be much clearer.

Once this problem is taken care of, the rest of the level is relatively easy.

[GooRoo]

I take it that you agree with my difficulty rating then? I will distribute it tonight ... even to you, since you may not have the version with the corrected Lava tile.

[swietymiki]

I would argue with this level being rated "dense" because, as the uploaded map picture suggests, there are lots of empty spaces. Lakes are very uniform and two top areas are only standard ground tiles with single trees (the gradient doesn't count).

[GooRoo]

May 24, 2018 5:26:12 GMT -8 swietymiki said:

I would argue with this level being rated "dense" because, as the uploaded map picture suggests, there are lots of empty spaces. Lakes are very uniform and two top areas are only standard ground tiles with single trees (the gradient doesn't count).

I did mention "with room for combat", didn't I?

[swietymiki]

Got the "Perfect" on this one as well (5:37)

I don't consider the Boomerang Gruntz part the hardest; you just walk in their range (or the Yellow Gruntz do it for you) and then everyone in the middle gets killed. Getting rid of the Toob Chaser was rather annoying with the birds flying around until I realized I could use them to my advantage. Same with the Pink Swords standing next to the King's Fortress; you can just stand next to them and wait until a bird flies by to completely defeat the purpose of Zap Cola bottles.