----- Original Message -----Sent: Wednesday, November 16, 2016 4:25 AMSubject: [LaserTank] How to solve a hard/deadly level
Hi all,
After having solved 120 deadly levels, I would like to write something of my personally opinion about how to solve hard/deadly levels, for players who feel frustrated on them. Hoping it is somewhat helpful :-)
1.⬝Freely moveable Objects⬝(FMO)
Moveable objects are joined by blocks, moveable mirrors and antitanks. Some object is �Sfree⬝, if it can be moved in a relatively large area. And when one is free, your tank can control it to do many things, such as making a bridge, making a barricade, making up timing tricks, hiding from antitanks, occupying a place on a tunnel and so on. So it is of great value if you have a free object, and even times of value if you have SOME free objects.
It is generally easy to win if you have enough FMOs(except they are too crowded like lasertank.lvl#0250). Then you will know why there are more levels which contain shortcuts in lasertank.lvl file: some authors underestimated the potentialities of the FMOs.
Please cherish your FMOs. Don�"t sink one except you have to. Don�"t make one unfree except you have to. Sometimes the author make you do some trading: let one go and another come. Trading among FMOs of different kinds is often the key of some levels.
�SWhere can FMOs go? Where should FMOs go?⬝ is often the central problem in the hard/deadly levels.
I take Ch-V#0144 for example. There are 3 FMOs: E2,E5,B7. They are very active and do many things(including many tricks) to show what FMOs can do.
2.Going and Thinking
If you meet a very hard level, only thinking while staring at the origin map is not a very good way. Try to think and GO. Don�"t be afraid of failings. GO (while think) and you will be familiar with the map, and get more chances to know what are needed.
I take Ch-III#0003 for example. It is very hard for me and I didn�"t know what is the function of the antitanks on the ship during the first hours. I finally decide to shoot them into water then go until I reach a deadend. Then I went on to think what if I bring an FMO or even two to this situation. Gradually I got the idea.
Another example is sok-II#1109. It seems unsolvable then I started to go. Ok I am short of many blocks. Maybe the strategy is wrong. Maybe a beautiful problem has a beautiful strategy. I change a strategy. Wow I am short of 2 blocks. Maybe the strategy is right but I am not efficient enough. Be more efficient. Gotcha!
Another is Ch-I#1333. At first I was very afraid of it, which was called a top deadly level. Then I started to go, pushing blocks to the possible places, walking through the thin ices. Then I got the strategy and solved it after about 6 hours. This level is also a good example on �SFMO⬝. Some moveable objects are limited to go very freely--according to this feeling I found the right strategy.
3. Reversibility
When can we call a process �Sfrom one situation to another⬝ reversible? If an up-pointing antitank is moved left or right, it may be reversible because you may push it back to its beginning place. If an up-pointing antitank is killed, it is irreversible because you won�"t revive it. If you moved up an up-pointing antitank it is irreversible unless there are good tunnels. When a unit of bricks is shot, or a piece of thin ice is walked through, it is irreversible. If you can freely shoot both the left and right(or both up and down) side of a rotary mirror, it is reversible.
Sometimes we keep the map reversible in order to avoid regret after hundreds of moves, or just keep a certain area reversible for some time. If you go into a deadend, you can think if you did some irreversible process which is evitable. Let the thin ice break as late as possible. Be careful if you cannot rotate a mirror by 360 degrees. Carefully shoot bricks near ice/antitank.
I take Ch-IV#1833 for example. Don�"t shoot all the bricks because near the end you will use some. The similar suggestion is into Ch-V#292 (if there�"s no shortcut). You may realize it near the end but it doesn�"t matter. �SGO⬝ is also important.
4. Editor
Many have said the importance of using editor to remove objects to the places you want. Then you can start to try if certain trick can work. If it is not work, you can observe whether our tank is late or early then go on to use editor. The pivotal situation that you designed can help you a lot to save your resource of brain.
I take Ch-II#831 for example. Click Editor. Remove B3-->G5, B4-->G14, B15-->G6, B16-->G16, O16-->H16, O2,O3,O4-->M5,L14,H15, then close editor and go up to see what happens.
A group of pono�"s levels contain two or more timing tricks.
You can also take this way in some levels without timing tricks like lasertank.lvl#0501.
Please have a good study of tutor.lvl.
5.Shortcuts
Everyone is bound to make levels containing shortcuts. If the number of the shots of some GHS is much less than the author�"s, there is probably some shortcut.(maybe except the levels containing many rotary mirrors)
I take Ch-III#0002 for example. The GHS holder�"s shots is 217 while the author�"s is 263. Yes there is a shortcut. Can you find it?
6. Thinking like an author
Objects were put on the map by the author for 4 reasons: (1) useful. (2)Beautiful. (3)misleading. (4)special hobby. In many cases they are useful, especially when some object(s) are weird on the map. Ask yourself �SWhy is it there?⬝ And you may get more.
I take Ch-III#1493 for example. It was rated medium but I think it deserves hard because it is like one of Kheper�"s classic levels and at least as hard as it. I scratched my head when trying it. Finally I noticed that I hadn�"t taken any use of A13 mirror. Why there is an A13 mirror?? Then I know the idea.
Ch-IV#1834: Pay attention to E7&G7 crystal blocks. They are different from E7&G7 in 1833. Why are they different? The reason involves an interesting design in #1834 (If there is no shortcut).
Ch-V#0186 is also a good example. Please observe the size of the ice square. So⬦
There is a phenomenon which happened time to time: you thought for many hours on some hard/deadly level and have made good progress. You overcame many difficulties and were very near to win. However, near the end of the logic, you met a hidden trouble that seems unsolvable. How far away is the right solution from you? Generally it is not far away(of course there are exceptions and no suggestion is universal). Give priority to keeping your former strategy and consider if all the possibilities, from the beginning to the end, have been thought of. Why? Let�"s think as an author: It must be very hard for him(maybe not hard for Iron) to design a very delicate strategy which seems feasible but wrong, while he also needs to design another right strategy which is �Shard⬝ or �Sdeadly⬝.
I take Ch-II#1525 for example. Someone once mailed me to say that he was stuck near the end: The problem is about �SH2 is ice⬝ and an up-pointing antitank. The answer is to change the destination of an FMO by only one step in the middle of the strategy.
7.Thinking priorities
I strongly agree with what LFE the FLE (Sahan) has said in the massage #8971. Some are:
For most players, a trick would be the last option to solve a level. You try all the simple methods to solve the level, either working forward from the starting position or working backwards from the ending position. And you encounter something you can't get past. As a last resort you consider the possible tricks. Probably not the most efficient method.
But if you've seen a particular layout before, it becomes much easier (and you have the rating issue).
Similarly, please try enough easier levels before hard ones if your basic skills are not very good.
8. Some little tips
I like to save an unfinished lpb if the level is very hard. Then I open it and observe the whole process.
It is normal to think a deadly level for hours even days (even years! Of course not think day by day). Lasertank.lvl#948, Ch-III#0003, Ch-III#0652 had trapped me for years.
Be creative.
Best Regards,
Li Yifeng
Re: How to solve a hard/deadly level
From Eduard Baumann at 2016-11-16 19:15:06
Thanks.
Very interesting thougths.
Ed Baumann