Sméagol

There's another Ninji Speedrun, and once again a fun one. Got it under 23 seconds. Don't think I can get it under 22, but should be enough for gold.

I'm probably going for it myself.

Well if it isn't a good time to shadowdrop a surprise sequel to a popular indie game, I don't know what is. Some cool stuff, I'll post my list later.

Forgot to reply but.. I'm a bit excited for this. It seems to be the first in thing in a long time that EA has handled well. I have almost all the games, and I believe they technically work, but it obviously doesn't work too well or look too great. I'm pretty sure I tried to play Tiberian Sun on this computer, it worked, but it was stretched in HD, and videos were awful. I'll probably cry if get to play that again in HD, it was my first PC game.

After a few failed attempts with the Silent.. I misclicked, and started a new run with Ironclad instead. I thought "whatever", so went ahead with it. Result is I unlocked A6 with pretty much the same deck I beat the Heart with previously. Slightly inferior set of artifacts for this deck, and I was missing Entrenched, but the deck was a bit tighter and had more card draw, and had a couple of Imperviouses to make up for it. Took down the Awakened One with apparently only 7 damage. Facepalm moments though: since I always intend to go for the Heart, I try to look out for the key parts. But I often forget in Act 3.. I was checking the contents of the map chest, then suddenly realized this might be the last one. This is dumb, because of course it's the last one, because there is only one on the map. I also didn't realize I could check the map while I'm in a menu, because I wanted to check, but didn't know how. Still, I went ahead and picked up a Happy Flower, not gamechanging for this deck at this stage of the game by any means. I was hitting my head against the wall when I immediately realized my mistake. But I got lucky, a question mark provided me with another chest! Got the key part!.. Then I arrive at the camp fire and muscle memory takes over again, and I upgrade a Body Slam and forget yet again to take the key part. So I didn't get to play Act 4. Back to Silent again. I watched some Jorbs videos, and this might be the first time I played the game as the devs intended it (apart from when I just got the game and didn't know what I was doing anyway). Go with the flow, and build a deck around what you get and what you need. I lose constantly, and I know why. I suck at Roguelikes in general, and bought this for the deckbuilding. But the Roguelike part will not often allow me to build a deck i like and want. So I try to force my way into a type of deck, but this will most of the time fail miserably. So I tried another approach. Well actually, now I think of it, I think I've tried several times, but always failed due to lack of experience, not seeing the value of certain (often common) cards. Rather skip them because I'm alergic to bloat. But not this time, tried the intended approach, which got me this bloated deck: But as you can see, it unlocked A5 for me, and made it to the Heart. I got a bit lucky though, Lizard Tail saved me from a death from Time Eater, needed more time to set-up with this bloated deck, which I got. But the same thing failed with the Heart. There's definitely some cards I should not have taken, but the deck is obviously close to being good. And the videos inspired me to take cards I didn't like myself, like Pierced Wail and Backflips. Anyway, deck probably tried to do too many things, but it was fun getting the various strategies to work in one deck. After my resurrection, I got Time Eater with a Cataclysm kill. But the most satisfying thing was getting my Choke and Storm of Steel combo off with a hand full of cards and an Envenom active. Anyway, after that, started a defected run again, since he's behind on A3. I looked at the Neow blessings, I looked at the map, and thought "why the fucking hell not. Let's go yolo." Took the curse to receive 250 gold. Shop was way up, but there was a nice path with lots of events. Figured one of them let me remove the curse, otherwise I'd just keep it until the shop. First event actually let me remove it. Second I forgot, I think I took a yolo hit and traded some health for some upgrades. Third was an early surprise shop, so I spent all my money there. There was a fork, one lead to a Elite, but I had only fought one or two normal enemies, so most of my new stuff I got from the shop. I did have a Genetic Algorithm from the start, maybe from the first fight even. While I didn't have any actual good attack cards at this point, this was yolo, so went ahead and tried my luck for a relic. I didn't need good attack cards, Gremlin Nob was getting slaughtered by a dualcasted dark orb from the Symbiotic Virus I got from the shop. Yolod my way to the top, mostly hitting the campfires and events, barely fought anything in Act 1. Scariest thing so far? Not the Hexaghost boss, but the pair of lice before it. I entered that battle with 2 HP I think. One wrong card draw.. I quit and saved there, I wonder what Act 2 will bring. May stop yoloing, but Act 1 was fun haha. At least I've secured the Neow blessings.

Pen Nib + Terror + Glass Knife = Massive Damage. Really wish I had the Kunai and Shuriken in this deck though.

<sigh> The run immediately afterwards.. I have a very similar deck. Same key cards, but not nearly as tight, and some other relics. Rematch with the Champ, and of course I defeat him with this inferior deck..

Crap. I absolutely love tight decks when I can get them, but it's walking on a tight rope if you're looking for specific things. I was holding out for the last shop before the 2nd act boss to give me some good block options, but the merchant didn't have any. Hence the Grand Finale.. Had money to spend so I thought "eh, why the hell not". Actually got it to go off during the bossfight, so that's cool, and totally appropriate for a grand finale! Even if I didn't have any cards to set it up. In any other case I'd pass on it because it requires specific decks, and it's plain useless in all others. I got him to 70 HP, so it was very close, but I couldn't block his last attack. I needed one more turn I suspect. I had 3 intangible potions earlier, but I used all 3 on the Book of Stabbing. I did pass on a Blur earlier, perhaps that'smy biggest mistake, but I don't know if that would have saved me. But I'll keep trying for this type of deck haha.

At the start of Act 2 with the Silent. I just gave N'Loth my empty cage.. Good deal. I wonder how this runs goes. My deck is super tight.. Just 11 cards right now.

Finally beat the Heart with character № 2, Ironclad, with my favourite type of Ironclad deck.. The Barricade / Bodyslam combo. Also had a nice set of artifacts, plenty money, and plenty of energy during fights. Now I it's the Silent's turn to defeat the Heart, then I'll have "finished" the game as far as I'm concerned.

This one seems interesting: Also seems to get a physical release from Red Art Games.

There's no official link yet, but it seems Nightdive Studios is bringing a remaster of Blade Runner to consoles & Steam. Apparently they reverse engineered the code. It's funny, as GOG recently only releaseda "port" of the original game on PC. It was mowe the original code wrapped up in some emulator. Nightdive studios is actually going to enhance the models and do other stuff. https://nintendoeverything.com/blade-runner-enhanced-edition-announced-for-switch/ I bought the game day 1 on GO, but if for some reason you don't want to play this on PC, or can't stand the ouddated graphics, this should be a good option. Blade Runner is a classic point & click adventure, and fits in the list of early examples of great licensed games, like Batman for NES and Goldeneye. I'll update the OP as soon as we have an official site and trailer. Intro of the classic version. Some background info.

Yeah that would be a real shame. I really want a "traditional" set, a Peach's Castle. I'm not buying anything from that video.

Haha. I wasnt to build something. But I suspect this will be a special dedicated set, and we'll still get the Peach's Castle for the builders.

Put too much effort into this boring level. Besides the pussy route, I Couldn't help myself and still put a hard alternative route in as well, along with a true ending. Stay out of the pipes if you want to live. If that's not enough, there's also a separate speedrun route. Theme courtesy of @londragon

Yeah, I posted a whole list earlier in this thread, and I've more things to add to that list. As for themes, I'd love a SMB2 one, but that would require a change in their set-up. SMB2 levels are structured differently, and 1-1 is impossible to recreate with current restrictions. There are also those clear conditions from the campaign whihc they "forgot" to implement in the editor. I would love to work with that heavy block.

Quoting you here, as this is just general advice. There are plenty of puzzle levels created, so a limit of 2 checkpoints shouldn't stop you.. If every puzzle you make needs a CP, you're doing something wrong. You can go back and check @Dcubed older levels, he made some really cool ones, and here on #NE, he's the most prolific puzzle level creator. Just be mindful of how many puzzles you create, and how you structure your level, and where you put your puzzles. If the puzzles are easy, you can put more before placing a CP. If they're hard, put less puzzles before a CP. Also take into account how fast you can go through a puzzle once you know the solution. If you can breeze to some hard puzzles once you know how they work, it's ok to have more of them. Another factor is how deadly the puzzles are, or any platforming obstacles between them. If the puzzles are super hard, but there's no real danger of dying (apart from timing out), it's ok to have it far from a CP. Also keep in mind puzzles involving red coins, the CP will save all collected red coins, but not the collected key!

Ah ok. Can't help you with the checkpoints, you can only use 2, and only one in each area. I really wish you could add more. For Vileplume's level: to progress it's mostly actually only the one Spike to the right that's a threat. Time your jump over his ball, kill him if you will, stay on top of the snake, and get off as soon as you can reach the pipe, because that's as long as you need to stay on the snake.

Was going to edit my previous post, but londragon posted in the meantime. Let me add a quick comment about Kirby's Dreamland 3. I gave it a quick go when it was added, like I always do with all games. I needed a manual, as Kirby had a lot of options I wasn't familiar with, so haven't started seriously playing it. I didn't immediately get into it, as, besides not knowing all the options, it's too slow for my liking. Which is my common complaint with all Kirby games I've played after Kirby's Adventure. It's funny as I saw someone mention above Kirby's Adventure was slow, but the game can be fast enough most of the time, and I really miss Kirby's mobility in other Kirby games. But then again, I haven't played many. I'll probably give Dreamland 3 a serious go at some point though, it's still a Kirby game.

I wouldn't mind a replay of Axiom Verge. I'll try to join in if it's a game I already own though, unless you go for Old Man's Journey, that one's shit, or Inside, which is meh. I might even buy a new game, I've never fully played the orinal Doom (or Doom 2) (although I'd play that on PC), or maybe some cheap indies like Xeodrifter or the original Steam Dig (from that list).

Would be cool if you could add more specifics for the other levels though. That's helpful for us level creators. Anyway, hope to see you join in next month!

The OP was updated with a link to the post with the current challenge.. Which has all the codes. ;).

Votes A Seriously Spiky Situation [4] Dcubed / Glen-i / Vileplume2000 / londragon Spike's Very Own Level! [1] Sméagol Spike's Silly Prickly Puzzles [0] A Spike up the Butt! [0] The SPIKE castle [0] Spike's Spectaculair House of Fu [1] Redshell Don't drink Spiked drinks! [0] We're missing a vote from Morgan, and there could be potential player votes, but it looks like we have a clear winner.

More comments. A Seriously Spiky Situation @RedShell The level with the most attention to the aesthetics, it's just pleasing to look at. They're being functional as well, with you using background as hints. This mostly flew over my head (I've only now found all the 1-UPs while replaying the level.. I didn't even find those the first time I hit that slide. I was like "Cool. Coins"). But those for the trampoline were really clever and your eyes would naturally gravitate towards them. Loved the "preview" rooms, just a nice detail, and funny to watch the Spike's doing their thing. Loved the ending with all the spinjump bouncing, and the ball clearing the way. My only criticism would be that.. For me personally, your level is too easy, though that didn't stop it from being fun. But one more specific thing: the ending, while being cool, could be a bit longer at the start. You start wth a slope towards a saw.. And because you are bouncing, on something else that's already bouncing, it's hard to time your jumps, and you're likely to hit that first saw. Would have liked to start with a horizontal section, and more space before and between saws, just to adjust to the timing of the bouncing. Spike's Very Own Level! @Glen-i To me you had the most satisfying overall platforming experience. Cool use of the Spike's hitting on/off switches in the first section, then in the second section a very cool puzzle to start, and a fun p-switch race. Not a superfan of the slow green snake ride at the end, but I'll overlook it. Spike's Silly Prickly Puzzles @Dcubed By now I have said most already. I spent most time on your level for various reasons. Went back for another time, and finally cleared it the intended way, with all the hints. My two biggest issues are the vertical section.. I feel it's out of place in the level, and the level would be better off without it completely. Which would also free up a CP. The other one would be the softlock. Correct me if I'm wrong, but using the p-switch the way I did, leads to the 2nd half without being able to do the puzzles. If you miss your one chance to reach the goal, you're stuck in a big area with the 2nd half of a puzzle, which isn't obvious. It was genuinely the first thing I tried. Now I know I'm not typical, and have seen too many videos of troll levels, and most people won't try that on first attempt.. But still. it's obvious some people will, and get stuck without knowing they're stuck. Having only access to half of the puzzle obviously doesn't help with solving it. The puzzles are very cool when you know the solution.. But I think the puzzle section needs some streamlining and tweaks overall. It's a shame, because it's very satisfying to see it all coming together. A Spike up the Butt! @londragon I didn't have the energy to try to optimize it more, and since it's a simple level, I don't have much add to what I already said. Except for that it seriously needs more variation. Most of the fun came from speedrunning and optimizing it. For a casual playthrough, it's not super interesting, as it's too easy and you do the same thing until the end of the level (..just jump over the spike balls). It's a shame, because you're the only one using clearpipes, which look cool at first glance, but you're not actually doing anything interesting with them. Players bypass them completely by jumping on top of them. But still, being simple makes it automatically suitable for speedrunning. There are some fun optimizations that you clearly haven't thought of, seeing your clear check time! The SPIKE castle @londragon's son Morgan Yeah first of all, one big thing I forgot first time: the big softlock at the start. Again correct me if I'm wrong, but falling down in that first section below the first skull lift, drops you into an area you can't get out of. That's a softlock, and a big no-no. At least give me something to kill myself with! I have not much to add to what I already said beside that heinous softlock, but I do like the jumping challenges. I just don't like them when I have to do 50 of those, one after another, without pause! So this is a huge step up. I like the little avoid the lava walljumps, and the big walljumps over the lava later. And the "Spike towers", which look intimidating, but actually aren't. I mentioned he should do something about aesthetics, but forgot about that "clown factory", which has no function at all, besides looking silly! Yeah I don't know. There's nothing to do gameplay-wise, but it was strangely satisfying to see those Spike's drop in the clown cars! Don't drink Spiked drinks! @Vileplume2000 Also not much to add. Like I said, not a big fan of forced hits, specifically if there's no reason for it. It's fine if it's for a puzzle or set-up later, as long as it's obvious. Your level doesn't look like a place where you may encounter such a thing, so it left me wondering how I was supposed to get rid of it. Being short, I suspect it may also be suitable for speedrunning, but I haven't tried that. I did like the 1-way gates section. At first I thought "what's with the ugly gates and the messy jumping". Then the fireballs lined up perfectly, and that was satisfying to watch! And another slow green snake block finish.. Forunately, you don't need to spend much time on it. I also liked how you made the secret a bit tricky to jump to. My vote goes to Glen-i for Spike's Very Own Level! I enjoyed the running and jumping in it more than any other levels, and I really liked the overall use of the theme, with the Spikes hitting switches and stuff. Best title - A Seriously Spiky Situation Best overall use of theme - Spike's Very Own Level! Best individual use of theme - Spike's Very Own Level! - Boomeranging the Spike with its own ball. Most satisfying jump(s) - A Seriously Spiky Situation - Spinjumping on the Spike balls at the end. Best overall platforming - Spike's Very Own Level! Best speedrun level - A Spike up the Butt! Funniest troll - Spike's Silly Prickly Puzzles - Timing the jump over the switch floor. Best puzzle - Spike's Silly Prickly Puzzles - Key puzzle Best WTF moment - Spike's Silly Prickly Puzzles - Bypassing all puzzles. Best visuals - A Seriously Spiky Situation Most balanced difficulty - Spike's Very Own Level! Best pacing - A Seriously Spiky Situation Coolest ending - A Seriously Spiky Situation - Waiting for the parachute ball after a series of spinjumps. Best softlock - Spike's Silly Prickly Puzzles - Abusing the 1-way gate and getting stuck in the process. Best red herring - The SPIKE castle - Return to start when going to the narrow passageway (same as Glen-i's tweet) Coolest secret - A Seriously Spiky Situation - Baby face Best level overall - Spike's Very Own Level!