Even from the outset, the effort you put into it is amazing
- Custom icon
- Extremely easy install instructions; it's added on as an additional level, not overwriting anything, which is very nice. You could have made it easier by just pointing Driller Night's LevelLinks to CunningCanyons, but then you ruin the continuity of the level; but the install instructions are dead easy anyway
- RBG fog values which are very pretty
- astounding usage of elevation, partly to create land you can't build on but also to create veeery pretty waterholes
- comes with useful priorities set off the bat
Unfortunately the level itself isn't amazing, but this is mostly because of the game engine and the shoddy way in which I played (hadn't booted up LRR for a couple of months). In this map, you expand in all directions at once; which has the significant disadvantage that your economy is slowed to a crawl as your STT goes to one side of the map to pick up 1 ore, another side for a second ore, and back again for a third... ugh, but I can't really blame you as much as I blame myself.
The lack of land isn't really a problem. You've easily got enough for two Support Stations. Getting enough space for a Super Teleport shouldn't be tricky, but it was when I played because I didn't mine east enough, instead eviscerating all of the south and noticing random 2x2 flat squares I could build on whereas behind some Dirt I reinforced to stop the landslides where six lovely flat squares.... oops However, given how Large Vehicles notoriously suck hard, this just meant I didn't build any of them until I noticed that spot. Then I teleported down six Loader Dozers, upgraded their engines, and just went AFK to pick up the rubble
The level is not challenging at all. Providing you remember that the Tunnel Scout and Cargo Carrier actually exist (forgot the first until a good deal later, whoops...), it's a cakewalk. No monsters, no erosion (but two squares of lava gave me quite a fright!), and only occasional landslides which really aren't a threat. (Bonus points: you disabled random landslides, which is always a nice thing :P), not even any slugs. There is oxygen, but it isn't a problem, and were it disabled I wouln'd have noticed.
This isn't a bad thing as per se, and it was quite nice to be able to AFK for a while as my Loader Dozers pick up about 100 tiles of mess it's just that having played Time Raiders, and having played my own Time Raiders levels, my default is to arm 60% of my Raider Population with laser beams, build Electric Fences, and carefully think about blockading slug routes To find none of this was necessary just made me think you were saving a monster rush till later.
(Speaking of monster rushes, I realised using NPL scripts it'd be reasonably easy to make an invasion appear when your HQ is built up enough; or lower the scale of an invasion if you haven't even got a Support Station together yet)
I have some minor suggestions for improvement:
- Occasional messages from Chief congratulating you on managing to fit your buildings in the space you have could be nice
- Please remove those two lava tiles, they give me nightmares
- Put extra crystals in the "final mining spot." this just prevents me from having to teleport up all my Loader Dozers for their crystals
- Remove the oxygen requirements as this lulls the player into a better sense of security, hinting that they're not going to be monster mashed
- Find some way to stop me using a tongue smiley at the end of every sentence
It is a very good level, and I realise my feedback above diesn't sound like a compliment. That's because I've been playing difficult levels and have also been thinking how I can make my own levels difficult; hence it's strange to find a "puzzle" level which has no threats, and I keep thinking it's going to erupt into calamity in a moment