Skyreach

I designed this, my first published level, to look and feel like a traditional old fashioned arcade game from my youth. I think the only use of tricks is the jump from the moving staircase. The level has been developed and tested on a Galaxy Tab A only.

I suspect the level is difficult but, given I will shortly turn 76 years old, may not be a challenge to younger more adept players. I can complete the level about one attempt in three in about 10 to 12 minutes. This after three designs over a period of several months, so the gameplay is embedded in my brain. The spoiler video, to come, is an end to end recording of a single play.

The level can be frustrating as it is possible to be zapped to almost the last move, entailing a restart, so anti zappers beware. Falling outwith the gameplay area is recoverable, but with caveats which I will leave to players to discover or see in the spoiler hints. Falling inside the gameplay area is unpredictable. Due to the amount of content, visibility can be very restricted. To read the QR code will require a screenshot of the card cropped.

I am indebted to various level creators for the flying bots and especially to game developer Per Nyblom for assistance with problems encountered after the latest app update. If I have omitted any due acknowledgements I apologise, but it is difficult sometimes to remember where the idea for a particular element originated. The forum is a treasure trove of information and inspiration.

A busy level but I wanted to see what I could cram into Mekorama, having cut my teeth on Z80 assembler games over 40 years ago. Congratulations to Martin Magni for a superb product.

Spoiler: Video run through

Spoiler: Hints

# There are three sets of lifts.
# If you miss stepping on to the first one then game over.
#If you miss the second there is a second chance alternate.
#If you miss the third, up to the win block, there is an alternate method of ascending but you will miss stars.
#I spent some time over the 'chutes' to prevent wobble on ascents but this introduces friction which can result in ascending bots sticking. Nudge with the slider to release.
#If zapped game over I'm afraid.
#If you fall outside the game zone it is possible to re-enter but not if you have used your second life on the second set of lifts.
#If you fall inside the game zone the results are fairly unpredictable. Sometimes you end up stuck with no way out. You could discover an accidental cheat but hopefully not. The ones my 5 year old grandson found are fixed.
#On the moving stair wait until it hits the end stop and starts reversing, then tap just in front of the retreating stair.
#Red blocks are there for a reason.
#It is possible to ascend the windmill staircase with sliding zapper unaided but easier to jam the zapper.
#Some very long vertical slides. Take care not to descend too fast.
#Beware accidentally moving manual sliders. Your lift to the stars could disappear.
#Beware letting zapper bots escape.
#Remember if crossing a gap you have closed that a zapper can follow.
#Advisable to let rising bots clear the gameplay area before proceeding.

https://mekoramaforum.com/attachments/screenshot_20210623-205441_drive-jpg.30219/

@cimarronline Fair comment about size and complexity, I thought that might be the case. I still enjoyed building it though. Have a few more in development, still large and complex I'm afraid, but think I'm over the zapper phase.

If you have the time would be grateful for info on the cheats.

Thank you very much for trying the game and for responding.

@cimarronline Thank you for going to so much effort to answer my request re shortcuts. I have looked at tricks including autopilot, more with a view to how to block them, but your example never occurred to me. My first response was to put a fence up in front of the star block. This prevents autopilot but can result in very unpredictable behaviour when B runs to the first tap under the star. Another interesting problem to solve.

I note some debate within the forum as to whether many of these are features or bugs.

Again, many thanks for your very kind interest and help. It is much appreciated.

That was one long level and I must have repeated it about 20 times minimum. Thanks also for the vs as I think I was starting out on the wrong top level. It looks crazy to begin with but the nice part is it's only 1 route for B to take so he can't get confused. Quite a masterpiece

Thank you @Sammy 5 for perseverance and endurance to complete what I agree is a very long level. I wanted to create an arcade style game which would require practice to master. Interestingly I replayed it recently and found that I had forgotten some of the techniques, resulting in many attempts to complete.
Thank you also for a very generous compliment and rating.

Holy smokes, quite involved, intricate & fiddley! Well, B reached for the sky alright, tho it was long journey. I absolutely LOVE these kind of levels. So much to explore & play with and not as hazardous as it appears, if you're observant & look ahead. Awesome creation! Thank you.

@MomoKeego you have made my day, thank-you so much. This was my first Mekorama level and I sweated blood over it. To my knowledge you are the only player, other than myself and probably only one other, to have completed it. Congratulations and thanks. I think the level, I hate the term level and prefer game, does appear imtididating but as you rightly say it is not as hazardous as it appears. It can require multiple restarts but I believe this is in the spirit of the early arcade type games I encountered when I first entered the world of computing almost 40 years ago. Play, crash, learn, plan ahead and eventually triumph. Thank you for your enthusiasm and support.