Really fun puzzle game, and by really fun I mean I put 5 hours into it lol. At least 3 and a half of those were on Traffic Lights, which I did manage to get (exactly), but it was inconsistent and would work once, but then not the second time. I'm really curious if you have your solution on hand so I could compare; I feel like I must have been missing something with this level. Fantastic job though, I got sucked super deep into this game. There's the obvious comparison with MiniMotorways, but I think beyond the theme and aesthetic, they play like very different games.
The 3 star scores were based on my score, and then I lowered it to make it easier and to account for some variability in the simulation since it fluctuates a tiny bit. I really should have taken screenshot, but I can tell you it was very different from your solution!
Thanks for sharing a screenshot and your review, it's very interesting seeing other people's solutions! I suddenly feeling like trying this level again and sharing what I come up with :)
146 days ago(+1)
Sorry it took so long, but here is one of my solutions. I really need to rework the scoring and requirements by testing a lot more. I didn't mean to make it so hard!
I didn't explain it anywhere, but currently, the scoring is based on how many times cars pass through their own nodes. So if cars slow down a lot because of merging with other busy roads or taking sharp turns, it adds up, reducing the score significantly. Avoiding sharp 90-degree turns is a lot easier said than done, especially with the current ramp mechanics and limited space.
Definitely not a perfect system, but I feel like it worked given the time constraints. I really tried to limit the scope of the game, and even though I had many other ideas, I stuck to my initial plan as long as it worked in practice.
Thanks again for sharing your experience with the game, really appreciate it!
146 days ago(+1)
Really appreciate the reply, would have gone crazy not seeing a clean solution; now I'm sitting here like "Why didn't I think of that..." I think I convinced myself that splitting them all into their own tracks was going to be slower due to longer reroutes but clearly not. I think the systems are good; there's some learning and some tinkering, but I was able to get a pretty good understanding even without any direction from the game. Like for this level at first glance, one big ring through all the nodes looks like the fastest solution -- it's obviously not and I assume that's because the cars are slowing down the ones behind them as they spawn through nodes. This isn't a knock though, it's actually a good thing; I'm able to figure out the systems through gameplay instead of explicit guidance. Now obviously there's a balance to be had between the two, and that could be found through iteration, but even the presence of that dynamic is laudable, especially in such a short time frame. It's only because I got so obsessed with this game and that I like it so much that I've noticed some of the hidden, unexplained things (seemingly cars don't have to go through every node of their color, just return to the starting node) that both frustrated and intrigued me. The more I thought about it, the more this feels like Poly Bridge than MiniMotorways. I can beat a level with endless tweaking and optimizing, but sometimes you need to step back, scrap a whole idea, and start fresh, and that is very, very, very cool. Anyway, thanks for making the game and sharing it, if it's not clear from my rambling, it's awesome and I love it.