The Old Trail (Solo Extreme Demon) by Bram4Real [verification]

Описание: EDIT 2/24/2024: Here's another update to tweak some visuals that got altered by 2.2 as well as some more balance changes!    • The Old Trail (Solo Extreme Demon) by Bram...  
EDIT 10/19/2023: I verified a small balance and visual update!    • The Old Trail (Solo Extreme Demon) by Bram...  

Link to showcase:    • The Old Trail (Solo Extreme Demon) by Bram...  

If you told me 5 years ago that I'd be able to beat an Extreme Demon, I would've been amazed. If you told me I'd be able to MAKE an Extreme Demon, by myself, from scratch, and then verify it, I would've called you insane. This is the culmination of 9 years of playing - I started on mobile in 2014, took a break throughout most of high school, and came back to the community last year with some mild ambitions. Yet here I am, the creator of something I would've never thought possible just a year ago!

This is the first and (barring an incredible reversal of mindset) last level I will make with serious dedication. My last real level, Ignite, was made on a flight in 2017 and has (expectedly) aged quite poorly. I hope that this will be the opposite - I poured hundreds of hours using self-taught editing techniques to bring my vision to life. I always had the idea of a mountain- or winter-themed level since I started playing again, but when I played Misty Mountains, there was just something there that I couldn't ignore.

I thought I could adapt the atmosphere that the creator (We4therMan) poured into his work, except with my own spin on how I saw the idea of bleak winter and rugged wilderness. My vision changed in the several months since I started, but I am happy with the way I stuck with the rugged outdoors theme while tweaking the gameplay to be (mostly) fun and intuitive.

I could not be more proud of my work and dedication, because I thought this wouldn't go anywhere when I uploaded my first (unlisted) preview of a layout back in late January. By previews 3 and 4, I had made a basic snapshot of what I had been envisioning for the very first part - distant mountains and a nearby stretch of wilderness to match. If you'd, for some reason, like to skim the unlisted previews to see the progress of the level, here is a playlist!    • The Old Trail Preview Collection  

And yet, 2 official and nearly 40 unofficial previews later, I have a full-fledged level that is not just challenging but unique. I don't know how many 2-player Extreme Demons there are like this - it's not something most people try or know how to play, which was especially noticeable when finding and hearing back from playtesters when they got to 60%. That is why I expect it to be so hard for people, because while none of the timings are particularly difficult, this level fits into a very particular niche that has barely been explored so far.

The obscure realm of 2-player Extremes is becoming more and more accessible since Codependence has gotten more attention recently. But unlike Codependence or We Are Not The Same or Wobbling Machine, this is designed to be beaten by one person, using click-sync and polyrhythms to pass the formidable final stretch.

I hope you all enjoy this level. I nerfed the predrop a decent amount since the last 2 previews, seeing that I had a rough time with them during the (quite brief) verification session. I made a few important clicks a bit more accessible given some blind transitions. I also nerfed the following night part, mostly some robot clicks and the mini cube right after the shooting star UFO. Other than that, not much has changed, and, despite my woes with the predrop, I verified the level in just over 100 attempts! I also had to update it to fix visual bugs and decoration, and somehow I beat it again in only 5 attempts! This video is actually this update verification if you were wondering.

If you're looking for some motivation, you can definitely build something like this with enough time and dedication. I went in with only basic editor knowledge and a vision, and ended up with this! You can do it, and with 2.2 just around the corner, I am confident that there will be TONS of new tools that will make creating easier and more accessible. You can do it!

Thank you all very much for the support during the building and learning process. The amount of positive feedback I got from my IRL friends, the DLPS, and others was astounding - I could not have wished for a better community for this! Seeing positive comments on my early previews, plus hearing the amazement from people in voice calls - it means the world to me. So, again, thank you!

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Attempts: ~18.1k (18k playtesting, 100 verifying LOL)
Favorite parts: 48-54%, 60-100
Least favorite part: 36-42%
Good start pos locations: See level or the Start Pos version!

Level ID: 94690267

Overall Difficulty: 10/10
Relative Difficulty (Extreme Demon): 3-5/10? verifier bias is insane lol
Length Difficulty: 5/10
GD Demon Ladder Placement: 22-26?
Overall Enjoyment: 9/10 (Predrop is a little rough but the rest is really fun to play!)