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Block builder

The Daltons V

The Daltons once again find themselves in a difficult situation. The sheriff was forced to release The Daltons, but set them out to die in the scorching heat of the desert. It is known that the only water in this area is located in caves, but the caves are very hard to find. Can The Daltons survive?

The Daltons V
Block builder, Sep 28, 2017
Helena, Ítalo, laurence.gr and 4 others like this.
    • Block builder
      Full story

      As the wind is blowing tumbleweed across the desert, The Daltons once again find themselves in a difficult situation. The reintegration cell project of the sheriff from The Daltons IV has failed. It lacked flexibility with each cell requiring a specific number of inmates, and was too expensive. The sheriff was forced to release The Daltons, but set them out to die in the scorching heat of the desert. It is known that the only water in this area is located in caves, but the caves are very hard to find. Clearly, cows have also been unable to find the water, their carcasses are everywhere. Can The Daltons survive?

      The cave entrance is narrow, you'll need a second Dalton to push a first.
    • Rating:
      5/5,
      ridgerunner
      Another superb level. I spotted most of the clues early on , but still quite a puzzle sorting out the order. I fell for one misdirection and got pbot stuck then finally got everything in the correct order. My rbot turned his back on the winblock but managed second time.
      I felt sure one of the balls was needed to release pbot and spent some time tring to direct the right ball. Also pbot was so slow to move the budgeable I thought it needed eyebot at first.
    • Block builder
      @ridgerunner I'm glad the gameplay worked out like that. It should be mostly about ordering steps, and only partially about understanding individual steps (but leaving small surprises, hopefully).

      The misdirection with P(illarbot) was intentional. I could have separated the start area from P's final path, but didn't. The balls were really only meant to be decorative. :unsure: Btw, cows are heavy. :rotf:

      R (or Zap if you switch their order) can indeed turn right just before the win. The good-old "R thinks he's in the air for a split-second when walking down stairs and being disturbed, making him turn right". Luckily, the cave has some stalactites/stalacmites that prevent him from freezing. And the other bot at the entrance does the same. So it should always work out.
    • Jose Luis Galiano
      A very funny story. Unfortunately the solution is too complex for me. I regret not being able to qualify the level because it has been impossible to reach the goal without seeing the video before :(
    • Jose Luis Galiano
      However, I have to say it's my fault, because it's a great level, but I'm a bad player.
    • Block builder
      @Jose Luis Galiano You're not the first one to say this. I'm ok with bending the rule of "win before rate" in case you're unable to win. :smirk:

      Anyhow, thanks for the feedback!
      nGord likes this.
    • Rating:
      5/5,
      Jose Luis Galiano
      It's understood
      When I was a beginner in Mekoramaforum, @nGord kindly let me know that I should not evaluate a level before I solved it. Normally I follow the rule, but if the level is impressive an exception can be made :cool:
    • Block builder
      @Jose Luis Galiano I think @nGord would be a very happy man if all players were as "obedient" as you. (And I really mean that in a kind way)
    • nGord
      Hi guys, while I believe that the community desires honest and fair feedback on levels created, the request to do so only after finishing the level was intended to encourage the "fair" part. Some new players were rating only based on the attractiveness of the level or worse, based on whether they could win easily or not.

      Later, others were finishing with random tapping (odd shortcuts) so the rule was expanded to read "rate only after finishing in the way intended by the creator." The main purpose of this was to promote ratings by those who understood how the level worked and thus be based on a more holistic appreciation of the engineering of the level. This was also prior to the wide adoption of video solutions.

      The videos now allow a player to learn much more about the level. If the solution itself is elegant and perhaps surprising, then that should hold more value than a solution that is based on luck. Ultimately, the video should enable any player to finish the level and thus also satisfy the rule (guideline?) that one should rate only after finishing.

      The suggested rule was never about trying to see who was in fact able to finish the level or not. It simply was the only suggestion we could make to encourage good reviews. Once a player learns how to finish the level and has actually done so - and thus has actually experienced it - by all means they should rate. Whether they figured it out on their own or not is not relevant (but that knowledge is useful to include in the rating comment so the creator can adjust difficulty levels).

      Is this sensible?
    • Rating:
      5/5,
      Star Penguin
      Wow!! ... :confused: I had to watch the video, but this deserves five stars! Ingenious double use of paths and bots and I thoroughly enjoyed following along with the video to complete the solution. :D As per nGord's nonfiction novel above, I shall rate now that I have completed the intended solution. ;)
    • Jose Luis Galiano
      Thanks for the clarification, @nGord. I understand and I agree.
    • Block builder
      @Jose Luis Galiano @Star Penguin you guys do realize that if you used the video, you can consider The Daltons dead? :( That also means that you can't play a hypothetical 6'th level. :unsure:

      :rotf:
    • Rating:
      5/5,
      cpw
      Another nice sequel (and more stable than Daltons III :rolleyes: ) with less reliance on draggables but more reuse of paths/loops that change upon insertion of other objects. The terrain looks rather confusing at first glance but the path loops become obvious once you start playing it, and the little details in the visual design helped concealing the purposes of individual elements.

      The puzzle is totally solvable without the video, provided that you pay extra attention to the variations of wall heights, and have knowledge of R behavior on paths with slightly different heights. The paths of the two shorter bots are relatively easy to visualize, while the reuse of the taller bots was more puzzling. Nice surprise in the end as I almost thought it's solvable with just 3 bots. :smirk:
    • cpw
      Almost forgot.......What @chemi will say when he finally finishes this. :joy::rotf::rolleyes::smirk:
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  • Album:
    The Daltons
    Uploaded By:
    Block builder
    Date:
    Sep 28, 2017
    View Count:
    2,657
    Comment Count:
    20
  • Video of the solution.