Custom Map #9738: Refined Island hopper. By: AG

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This topic is for discussion of map #9738: Refined Island hopper


Author: AG
Size: 128x128

Desc:
Small changes often make a big difference

[Johnny Haywire]

Color me impressed! I must admit that I was highly skeptical when I first saw the map. Pretty much the same as before, right? Granted, a lot is pretty much the same, but one key factor is removed (literally).

That wasn't the only change though, right? Not that I tried to memorize the other map or paid close attention as I'm just haphazardly waving the enchanted paintbrush and making AC sparkles light up the canvas... but I think some of the outputs of the emitters changed as well. (?) In any case, your change(s) was/were very insightful and made the map a joy to mosey through!

Thanks for the map!  ;D ;D

[AG]

I'm so glad you like it!  :D

When I saw how many were struggling with the last map, with 2-3 hour scores, I felt it necessary to make some improvements. The old map wasn't accessible enough to casual players as many of the challenges became exponentially more difficult if you didn't choose an optimal path at the start.
Some ideas didn't feel completely fleshed out too, like the middle spiral that you could bypass until the cursor output values made the creeper ducts redundant.

I'm very happy to see how people have responded to these improvements and I feel like a point has been made about mapmaking, as what looks like minor superficial changes make a huge difference for speedrunners in non-obvious ways. Finding the optimal path can be very difficult when you have such an abundance of choice at every step and a single pixel of terrain can completely change the strategy required.

There are still a few scores above 2 hours however, so I feel like there is still a lack of communication to the player from my behalf. Please let me know how I can improve this. I'm still learning how to make maps, and I look forward to see what you guys can teach me.   

[Deatzar]

Отличная карта

[yum-forum]

Отличная карта

Не понимаю как играть. К сожалению.   ::)

[Johnny Haywire]

There are still a few scores above 2 hours however,

Some players just enjoy taking their time and just playing around with a map. I almost never pause nor slow a map down at all unless absolutely necessary, and on maps like this I like to do experiments to see what weird things can happen. On one of Tricky's old maps that wasn't exactly designed for overflow into space, I let it run for a few hours just to see what the max output would be.

You seem extremely helpful, and I'm sure if anyone has difficulty and is reading the forums they'll ask for help. A lot of players don't seem to ever read the forums though, so you'll almost always have people playing your maps who are still trying to figure out how to toast a Pop-Tart. They're the same ones who get frustrated, rate it a 1 (because that's as high as they can count), and just move on to the next map without learning anything. They may not even realize there IS a forum where they can seek help & guidance... but then again they also may not realize they're supposed to take off the foil first and THEN toast the Pop-Tart.  ;)

[Johnny Haywire]

Отличная карта

Лучше водки!

[AG]

LMAO Johnny, I appreciate your words of encouragement although I don't think I can allow myself to think this way, if I want to create decent maps, I must listen to the feedback. I must say though, I am very happy with the warm reception I have gotten for my first maps and I will probably keep it up for that reason alone.

[TrickyPlayer]

Small changes make a massive difference on cursor maps. Adding a few "stairs" to a wall suddenly turns it into a new path that one has to consider for the best time. Adding a little lake means the player will often have to go around the lake, and slow them down as well. Making an emitter weaker makes it an earlier target. Changing anything about an absorber usually is a massive difference. Space height can be changed globally as well and I don't have to explain why that makes a big difference. Changing digitalis paths to suddenly connect to a creeper or anticreeper lake of sorts pushes a lot of pressure through it.

I'll have to add all those kinda things to the template in the form of messages as well, on an "advanced info" cache. There's a lot that can be done and even with all the tricky (!) things I've already created, there's always more to do. Use space as height 0 terrain to artificially make places where the cursor won't work? Use an absorber that absorbs anticreeper and releases it as creeper? Who knows what other interesting things may be possible?

[AG]

To Tricky:
Please don't feel you must make a polished map with good descriptions and clarifications and what not, I am sure that it will get refined automatically by the community, and I will request others add all the CSM and PAC scripts too.
All we need is to lower the barrier by that minuscule amount, and the rest will fall in place. Mapmaking is such an easy thing to do, but the documentation is basically non-existent, the initial investment cost of hours upon hours just to create a barely functional terrible map can be cut down dramatically, which would ensure an abundance of new maps, improving mapmakers and drawing more people in. There are not many games like this one, it's very unique, and a great way to waste time, I find.

To Deatzar:
Спасибо

[teknotiss]

There are still a few scores above 2 hours however, so I feel like there is still a lack of communication to the player from my behalf. Please let me know how I can improve this. I'm still learning how to make maps, and I look forward to see what you guys can teach me. 

i did not get a fast time, but the two replays are pretty different... and i don't know why...

this may be a part of the problem for other slower players too.

it is not intuitive as to why the cursor strength increases and decreases either.  i noticed it seems to rise rapidly in some areas of the map, decrease in others and randomly (seemingly anyway) rise and fall in cursor output when in some parts of the map.

can you give us an idea more clearly of what the AC cursor is doing and why it changes perhaps?

i like this mode a lot, and will prob pinch the scripts to make my own versions, but i would want to know what i was asking the palyer to do more clearly first!

cheers for any info you care to share dude  8)

[Johnny Haywire]

The cursor's AC amount increases as the area of the map occupied by AC increases. So the more area you can cover with AC, the higher output your cursor will have. In this map, it's very helpful and probably even necessary to figure out how to get that AC to cover space as well as land.

I think that explanation was in an older map, but that's a great point - it would be helpful to have a built-in menu with an explanation of essential stuff like that.

Cheers!

[teknotiss]

The cursor's AC amount increases as the area of the map occupied by AC increases. So the more area you can cover with AC, the higher output your cursor will have. In this map, it's very helpful and probably even necessary to figure out how to get that AC to cover space as well as land.

I think that explanation was in an older map, but that's a great point - it would be helpful to have a built-in menu with an explanation of essential stuff like that.

Cheers!

it definitely sometimes drops though too... but i guess i missed the older map that had the explanation in it.

yes i think i have spotted a faster AC creation route, i will replay it tmmw and see if it work the way i think it does...  8)

[Dr_Luni]

How do you actually play the map? All of the structures are locked and cannot be placed. There is only one emitter moving to the right and as soon as it hits the AC it turns into an AC emitter. But it moves by itself. I have no control over it.

[AG]

Your cursor bleeds anti-creeper. The more ground you cover, the more anti creeper it bleeds. Strategically plan out where you can get the most ground coverage for the least amount of work, and play for speed. Don't accept a score below 1 hour.

This is based off of some magical script Tricky wrote, you can find other levels like this by searching for 'Cursor'. I should have hashtagged it and given this brief description within the map, but I gots the big dumb  :(