The Great Escape

As per the description of the level, your mission, should you accept it, is to assist a crack team of R and L bots spring unfortunate prisoners from a notorious prison. The first team has daringly paraglided on to the parapet of the outer prison wall. Your first task is to help them storm the control room which controls the outer defences. Should you succeed the control room for the inner wall will, as designed by the regime, rise into the 'stratosphere' out of reach of conventional Mekorama forces. The rescue mission now falls to team two who have access to specialised jet pack equipment (flying bots). Your task is to coordinate these launches. One launch is sequence critical. To view the flying bots rotate the view till looking down into the prison.

The card works OK on the online player but doesn't load using the app despite processing with Mekorama Studio. Enlarged QR code in Spoiler.

Spoiler: Enlarged QR Code

https://mekoramaforum.com/attachments/screenshot_20230304-223135_gallery-jpg.37906/

Spoiler: Video solution

This level is an experiment. It attempts to control gameplay via a vertically expanded play area, the 'stratosphere', from the normal 'terrestial' play area. Gameplay is simplicity itself, five sliders. The players are R and L bots, B is redundant but if interested see design notes. There is no win block and there are no stars to claim. This means, even on completion, the level will not 'black out' and will have to be manually closed. It should, however, be clear if you have won.

Due to Mekorama shadow bugs I have had to highlight the inner sliders using zappers. The zappers have no effect on gameplay.



The level requires patience. You send in an assault team but once launched you have no further control. For example the assault on the control room sometimes runs like clockwork, other times, as in the video solution, it is chaotic and lengthy. Some of the moves can be perilously close to 'watching paint dry' but, hopefully, the finale is worth it.

I'm conscious this level is large and resource hungry. If there are problems with some devices I apologise in advance. I note that the game is significantly slower in the online player than in the app on my device.

Spoiler: Design notes if interested

Design Notes

Not sure, but may be of interest to designers, otherwise ignore.

Like @denisnazin I am interested in life outwith the matrix, or as he describes it, 'white space'. In this world B is severely limited in his powers above ground level. R and L bots sometimes gain powers. My own particular interest is in the space more than one block above the matrix, an area I have described as the 'stratosphere'.
In this environment I believe B to be powerless but R and L capable of action. However R and L are incapable of independent action via 'screen tapping' and so external influences must be applied. To do this in this level I have employed flying bots, released from within the 'matrix', to trigger the action in the 'stratosphere'.
Conversely to trigger action in the 'matrix' from events in the 'stratosphere' I have used ball drops.
It should also possible to do similar moves using vertical sliders and techniques like wedge climbing, but I like to experiment and I think the result is visually interesting.

I hadn't intended to include B but I have discovered that zappers don't flash unless he is present. In this level he is 'entombed' in blocks in the the 'stratosphere' and other than triggering flashes plays no part in the proceedings.

Flying Bots can veer off course. A vertical 'launch tube' helps but can cause excessive friction, so the 'tube' evolves into a series of baffles.

I find bugs in the treatment of shadows irritating, although other designers have used this to create visual effects. Labrenight has gone even further by exploring unsual game effects created by shadow. In my case the fact that the shadow of the 'outer cage' remains when it rises means that the 'inner cage' is almost black and obscures detail like moveable sliders. Hence my use of zappers to highlight slider locations.

This has been the most difficult level I have attempted. Ball drops from a moveable platform are subject to vibration and have a nasty habit of falling prematurely. Adding blocks to stabilise the ball frequently results in the ball sticking. After months of redesign and repeat testing I think this aspect is now stable. The flying bots need to wedge long enough for the R and L bots to step across the gap. In one location this works but in the other I had to resort to adding 'shoulders' to stop the bot rising. Any addition like this can cause the bot to wobble and miss the target which is only one empty block space.

The level relies on latching mechanisms triggered by a ball drop. Given the weight of walls to be lifted many vertical sliders are required and the upward force is considerable. Coupled with vibration this can cause the latch to disengage without application of an external event. Again hopefully fixed.

A great achievement in complexity and looks. I guessed what the ending would be but it was satisfying to see it happen. The level ran smoothly on my ipad8 and i had less delays than the video. There was plenty of internal visibility to work out the gameplay and I succeeded in my second start. It was hard to tell but i think my gameplay was similar in the second half of the level although i went for a different ball first.

My friend, this is a very interesting idea. But it seems to me that this level will be difficult for the forum players to assess. Because:
1) no stars and win block
2) the level is really very buggy and slow (I think this is due to the very large number of sliders)
3) Poor visibility and a large number of design details that prevent you from seeing the gameplay (sequence of actions).
Honestly, I confess I could not see and understand the gameplay. I just looked for sliders throughout the design and moved them randomly until something happened. That is, I want to say - that my victory is unconscious (accidental).
Now for the good:
1) Very original non-standard idea! I love unconventional ideas.
2) Cool stylization - the atmosphere of the prison is well conveyed.
3) Very cool and original design. I think it's a lot of work to do it. Thank you so much for all your hard work making this level.
4) Good show! Of course, I immediately realized when I won - it was spectacular

Spoiler: My win Foto

. I like it.
5 from me! Thank you

Thank you @ridgerunner for kind comments and very generous rating. This was an experiment and it remains to be seen whether the concept can be developed and improved. I am always a bit nervous about your reviews in case another Ferguson blunder raises its ugly head.

Thank you @Denis Nazin for feedback and very generous rating.
In general I don't refute your criticisms. However in my own defence I did go out of my way to warn of potential performance issues on some devices. I was a bit taken by surprise by the performance on the web app. I use a Galaxy Tab A.
On the question of visibility this is a direct result of the bug in Mekorama's treatment of shadows.
Thank you very much for your very kind words regarding the design, they are much appreciated.

Wow!! Amazing design & very fun long logic gameplay... & although the fact that there is no win block is strange, it doesn't matter,you know where the gameplay ends... thanks for sharing @MekoMole

Thank you very much @delator77 for very kind compliments and for such a generous rating. It's fantastic to have all three of my Musketeers play one of my levels again. The absence of the win block is deliberate. I wanted the jailbreak to be the finale, watching the captives disappear into the distance. The final star or a win block can be rather an abrupt end. Perhaps I am trying to create Mekorama movies, I'm not sure where I am heading at the moment. I'm delighted to have you play one of my levels again, thank you.

I'll say this, for no stars or win block, this was pretty satisfying to finish. Made me want to yell, "Look out, the inmates have escaped the asylum! Run for your lives!"

Thanks @MomoKeego for playing, kind comments and such a generous rating. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Your humorous comment has started me thinking. 'One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest' as a sequel?