Tutorial 4

This is not a challenge, it's an exercise to illustrate new tricks for beginners to advance their skills!

For more tutorials, see here.

This tutorial demonstrates how to render stairs on the edge of a model unusable, by exploiting a design-time constraint that governs the model size. The purpose is to create a red herring: where a path that might seem promising is in fact blocked... as if by magic!

To illustrate - load the card into the game and try and send B up and down the three sets of stairs (avoid the win block while we explore) - let's call the stairs by the grass block the "north stairs", etc. Notice that both the south and east stairs are unusable - B can't ascend or descend them, only the north stairs work!

In my experience, there is no way for a player to overcome this effect. It's possible that the east stairs might be vulnerable to the deprecated "Boogie Bot" trick (where you get B to dance around a block until he eventually stumbles onto it), but I haven't had any success with it. Nevertheless, as a designer, you can eliminate this vulnerability by flanking the stairs with obstacles so that they can't be danced around - like the metal blocks at the south stairs.

How it works
This exploit is based on the Max World Size constraint in design mode, which dictates that you are restricted to the space of a 16x16x16 cube (the "design space") when building a model.

When running a level (in play mode), the game space is much bigger - B, R bots, balls, and other elements can wander far and wide with little restriction. However, the design space maintains a certain influence in play mode: where it intersects with the game space, it creates anomalies. And puzzle designers have used this to good effect in their levels: @explorer (in predestination, tricky climb); @Astral_Mage; and @sawdust (in Elevate).

How to accomplish it
Lets build a simple model, and then manipulate this design space anomaly to prevent a player from using selected stairs. In a fresh design space, the basic model below will offer full access to all stairs as expected...



So lets restrict access to the south stairs. To do this, we must shift the design space relative to the model, so that the south stairs lie on the edge of the design space - and thus enjoy the effect of the anomaly in play mode. Remember, the design space is an invisible cube, 16x16x16 in size, and encompasses all of the blocks in the model. So by adding blocks to the opposite side (north) of our target edge (south), we can force the boundary onto the stairs. I'll use balls temporarily to do this...



While adding the balls, you'll eventually notice a warning on the top left of the screen, "Max World Size", and you won't be able to add any more balls (or any other element) in that direction. At this point, the south stairs and the farthest ball lie on opposite sides of the design space boundary.

Next, we must lock the boundary in place. Do this by compiling a QR code for the model, as if you've completed it. You can test your design at this point, if you wish.

Finally, return to design mode and remove the dummy balls, before compiling the QR code again. Be careful not to add any elements farther south than the target stairs, otherwise you'll shift the design space! The model is now complete.

Final Tips

• To make the east stairs inaccessible too, add balls to the west side of the model in order to shift a design space boundary onto the east stairs. This will mean that the model now sits in the south-east corner of the design space.
• You can add the balls (north and west) at the same time or in separate steps.
• Similarly, you can return the south stairs to normal operation by adding a ball south of the stairs, to shift the design space boundary away from them.
• Last but not least, remember to compile a QR code to lock the design space boundary in place, before removing the balls for the final QR code.

Another good tutorial, though unlike the previous three, this is aimed more at designers than players, ie, it doesn't explain how to get B to do things (autopilot, etc.)

- Thanks for the feedback. And yes, this time the "how to" of the tutorial is more for designers who want to stretch their skills. But players can benefit too, by understanding what lies behind some otherwise weird behaviour, and what to expect from it.

Awareness is half the battle won.

Another AWESOME tutorial. Thank you very much for sharing it with us sir

Another excellent tutorial, I usually use this to ensure that my restart stairs are accessible as well, so it serves many purposes :3

@Astral_Mage - yes, very clever! Thanks for sharing that.

A level that could benefit from this tutorial is @Jorbaa 's Cube Garden.

Wow, this is very interesting! Thanks for this, and your other tutorials! (I'm working through them now ) ...in the past, I've encountered blocks that B couldn't walk on, and wondered why. This tutorial explains some, but not others...there was one level (not sure if I found it here or on Twitter; I'll link to it if I find it again) where a block in the middle of a platform was unwalkable. (Still haven't solved that level because of that block!) Any idea what that problem might have been caused by?

I need help scanning the things could you help me ?

@Tatinbi1209 Do you know how to scan them? Or are you facing problem with the QR code?

@ADM the se cond one but know i how thx anyway

@Tatinbi1209

@ADM i made a elevator i will Pass you the link ok ?