Radiant
Level: Moderator

Rank Points: 142
Registered: 02-05-2003
IP: Logged

I'm once again rounding up levels for the yearly SubTerra level design contest and accompanying level pack. This is really for levels made in 2008, but if people haven't posted them yet they have one week of time left to do so.

Essentially, all levels posted in this forum are eligible, unless you tell me not to, and unless they lack a valid demo.

And, happy new year everyone!

____________________________
= Radiant =

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[Last edited by Radiant at 04-05-2009 04:26 PM]

Radiant
Level: Moderator

Rank Points: 142
Registered: 02-05-2003
IP: Logged

Okay, here we go. This was delayed a bit because I wanted to release it simultaneously with the Speed Fix.

First place: Pay Ratio, by The Mystic
Second place: Deadly Skulls Of Death, by Stew Boy
Third place: Chain of Rooms, by CM

Congratulations to the above, and thanks to everybody who participated!

You can download the new levelset here: http://crystalshard.net/dls/expand.exe
Please note that in older versions of SubTerra, you will be unable to see more than 8 levelsets (and this one would be the ninth); the newest version fixes that problem.


____________________________
= Radiant =

The Stew Boy
Level: Master Delver
Rank Points: 247
Registered: 05-10-2005
IP: Logged

Reasons?

Radiant
Level: Moderator

Rank Points: 142
Registered: 02-05-2003
IP: Logged

The Stew Boy wrote:
Reasons?

Because they're cool levels, that's why

____________________________
= Radiant =

wonkyth
Level: Goblin
Rank Points: 15
Registered: 06-18-2007
IP: Logged

Congrats to All!
Esp. Celtic Minstrel.
I will download the new version(with levpack) as soon as I have timeBloodyDialup, Is it possible to just get the executable? re-downloading all that stuff on 0.9 kB/sec is a bit ridiculous.

Yet again I have the opportunity to ask: when will we be getting the ST2 levelset? how many more levels are needed to hit an acceptable amount? If we're close, I might do a quick finish on a few levels I have coming, ones that are big and complex.

____________________________
"Satire denounces the world;
Wit penetrates it;
Humour accepts it;
But Nonsense Transforms it"
- Cedric Whitman
w.r.t. Aristophanes

Radiant
Level: Moderator

Rank Points: 142
Registered: 02-05-2003
IP: Logged

wonkyth wrote:
Yet again I have the opportunity to ask: when will we be getting the ST2 levelset?

We have ten levels. A levelset would need about 50 of them. So no, we're not getting that any time soon.

____________________________
= Radiant =

wonkyth
Level: Goblin
Rank Points: 15
Registered: 06-18-2007
IP: Logged

TEN?!?!?!?!?
WHAT!?!
I suppose I'll have to get busy then, I've got about 10 levels half made, and another 20 ideas, so I'll try and get some of those finished...

____________________________
"Satire denounces the world;
Wit penetrates it;
Humour accepts it;
But Nonsense Transforms it"
- Cedric Whitman
w.r.t. Aristophanes

The Mystic
Level: Goblin
Rank Points: 18
Registered: 09-20-2006
IP: Logged

wonkyth wrote:
I suppose I'll have to get busy then, I've got about 10 levels half made, and another 20 ideas, so I'll try and get some of those finished...

Sounds like me with ST1. However, I might decide to take a break for a while....I noticed that about half the levels in the 2008 pack are mine.

Radiant wrote:
First place: Pay Ratio, by The Mystic

Thanks, I think. I kind of hate to admit it, but that level was actually a 30-minute quick & dirty experiment that I almost deleted.

____________________________
Either I'm crazy, or everybody else is nuts. And I know I'm not crazy because the little man who lives on my shoulder told me so.
If people don't think there's something wrong with you, there's something wrong with you.
Oh well. Another day, another dementia.

Danjen02
Level: Roachling

Rank Points: 11
Registered: 11-08-2007
IP: Logged

But it won. As Radiant said, it was interesting. A very challenging puzzle made of diamonds, rocks, and dirt is less fun than an interesting one that uses lesser used objects.

____________________________
SubTerra
- Ultimate rank
- 2009 level design contest, 2nd place

Kwakstur
Level: Smiter

Rank Points: 385
Registered: 05-05-2006
IP: Logged

Hmmm, I tried running expand.exe on the SubTerra folder, and noticed that the installer said that to accomodate for 9+ level sets, SubTerra would now ask if I wanted to play the Expansion Pack. It does not. It just opens like it did before (Fullscreen or no?) and all I see in game are 8 level sets. Zozo and Isi has been bumped off the bottom, still there, but not visible (it can be selected by arrowing down below Supaplex or by clicking on the space where it would be).

I then tried running the latest installer for STI v2.6, once again installing to the same folder (I want to ensure my progress is kept intact), but that didn't seem to change anything.

____________________________
Also known as ExpHP everywhere else.

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[Last edited by Kwakstur at 04-08-2009 01:53 AM]

The Mystic
Level: Goblin
Rank Points: 18
Registered: 09-20-2006
IP: Logged

At the end of the list of level sets, it should say "more...". Click it.

____________________________
Either I'm crazy, or everybody else is nuts. And I know I'm not crazy because the little man who lives on my shoulder told me so.
If people don't think there's something wrong with you, there's something wrong with you.
Oh well. Another day, another dementia.

Radiant
Level: Moderator

Rank Points: 142
Registered: 02-05-2003
IP: Logged

Kwakstur wrote:
Zozo and Isi has been bumped off the bottom, still there, but not visible (it can be selected by arrowing down below Supaplex or by clicking on the space where it would be).

Hm, that's odd. If you use 2.6, there should be a "more..." at the bottom. In earlier editions, it would be cut off (because when I first wrote the game, I never envisioned that there would be so many expansion packs).

Could you please check the folder the game is in, and check the properties of the SubTerra.exe file? (right-click, then go to properties, then the rightmost tab holds a version number)

____________________________
= Radiant =

Danjen02
Level: Roachling

Rank Points: 11
Registered: 11-08-2007
IP: Logged

I have the latest version (with the speed fix) and the description says:

File Description: SubTerra II
File Version: 1.4.0.0



____________________________
SubTerra
- Ultimate rank
- 2009 level design contest, 2nd place

Radiant
Level: Moderator

Rank Points: 142
Registered: 02-05-2003
IP: Logged

Danjen02 wrote:
File Version: 1.4.0.0

Ah, that's not the latest version, then. The latest version should say 2.6.0.0. Try downloading again? I've made some changes between announcing the speed fix on this forum, and officially announcing 2.6.

____________________________
= Radiant =

Danjen02
Level: Roachling

Rank Points: 11
Registered: 11-08-2007
IP: Logged

Ah, okay. There is a whole new installer then, as opposed to just the .exe...

I'm just curious - do you keep a copy of the previous versions' builds kicking around, or do you only have the lastest few ones?

____________________________
SubTerra
- Ultimate rank
- 2009 level design contest, 2nd place

Radiant
Level: Moderator

Rank Points: 142
Registered: 02-05-2003
IP: Logged

Danjen02 wrote:
I'm just curious - do you keep a copy of the previous versions' builds kicking around, or do you only have the lastest few ones?

Not on the site, but I do have extensive CD backups around my desk.

____________________________
= Radiant =

Kwakstur
Level: Smiter

Rank Points: 385
Registered: 05-05-2006
IP: Logged

I still have a copy of v2.5 (the one before the speed fix) for ST I backed up on my system. I just simply downloaded any updated .exe's to my ST folder under a different name, so I have two legacy versions of this speed fix too. I have a really old ST II on the computer in my room. I'm not sure what version that is, but it's probably really outdated.

____________________________
Also known as ExpHP everywhere else.

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[Last edited by Kwakstur at 04-08-2009 10:04 PM]

Celtic Minstrel
Level: Roachling
Rank Points: 12
Registered: 09-06-2008
IP: Logged

Whuh... I got third place? Wow...

Danjen02
Level: Roachling

Rank Points: 11
Registered: 11-08-2007
IP: Logged

I think the trick is to make a level that is "fun and inventive" as opposed to "hard and puzzling".

____________________________
SubTerra
- Ultimate rank
- 2009 level design contest, 2nd place

Celtic Minstrel
Level: Roachling
Rank Points: 12
Registered: 09-06-2008
IP: Logged

I don't remember it being particularly inventive, really...


...but maybe that's why I came third rather than first. *shrug*

The Stew Boy
Level: Master Delver
Rank Points: 247
Registered: 05-10-2005
IP: Logged

Well no, but sometimes levels that are easier can actually be more fun (I personally enjoyed your level), and fun is probably what Radiant places the most emphasis on.

Radiant
Level: Moderator

Rank Points: 142
Registered: 02-05-2003
IP: Logged

The Stew Boy wrote:
and fun is probably what Radiant places the most emphasis on.

Indeed

Elegance is better than rube goldbergness.

____________________________
= Radiant =

The Stew Boy
Level: Master Delver
Rank Points: 247
Registered: 05-10-2005
IP: Logged

Radiant, three of my levels that I posted, "Move Those Rocks", "Stepped", and "Dirt Track" aren't in the level set. What happened to them?

Radiant
Level: Moderator

Rank Points: 142
Registered: 02-05-2003
IP: Logged

The Stew Boy wrote:
Radiant, three of my levels that I posted, "Move Those Rocks", "Stepped", and "Dirt Track" aren't in the level set. What happened to them?

My apologies, I must have missed them in the forum thread. I didn't have them on my hard drive. I can't even find Dirt Track with the forum search.

How about I save them for next (this) year?

____________________________
= Radiant =

The Stew Boy
Level: Master Delver
Rank Points: 247
Registered: 05-10-2005
IP: Logged

File: Levels.zip (6.4 KB)
Downloaded 43 times.
License: Public Domain

Ok. Here's all three in one zip file. You probably couldn't find Dirt Track because I didn't mention it in any post and even the file is named differently.

The Mystic
Level: Goblin
Rank Points: 18
Registered: 09-20-2006
IP: Logged

Radiant wrote:
Elegance is better than rube goldbergness.

I'm actually a big fan of symmetry, hidden exits, and smaller-sized levels.

____________________________
Either I'm crazy, or everybody else is nuts. And I know I'm not crazy because the little man who lives on my shoulder told me so.
If people don't think there's something wrong with you, there's something wrong with you.
Oh well. Another day, another dementia.

The Mystic
Level: Goblin
Rank Points: 18
Registered: 09-20-2006
IP: Logged

EDIT: Oops, accidental double post.

____________________________
Either I'm crazy, or everybody else is nuts. And I know I'm not crazy because the little man who lives on my shoulder told me so.
If people don't think there's something wrong with you, there's something wrong with you.
Oh well. Another day, another dementia.

---

[Last edited by The Mystic at 04-14-2009 02:00 AM]

Danjen02
Level: Roachling

Rank Points: 11
Registered: 11-08-2007
IP: Logged

I like the puzzles that require a fair bit of thinking, and make efficient use of design space (Cell Block and Razzle Dazzle, for instance).

____________________________
SubTerra
- Ultimate rank
- 2009 level design contest, 2nd place

wonkyth
Level: Goblin
Rank Points: 15
Registered: 06-18-2007
IP: Logged

Seconded, although they do drive me crazy.

____________________________
"Satire denounces the world;
Wit penetrates it;
Humour accepts it;
But Nonsense Transforms it"
- Cedric Whitman
w.r.t. Aristophanes

Danjen02
Level: Roachling

Rank Points: 11
Registered: 11-08-2007
IP: Logged

Ah, but when you do finally solve one of those beasts, it makes the dementia worth it.

____________________________
SubTerra
- Ultimate rank
- 2009 level design contest, 2nd place