Challenges

[Space Guy]

"Challenges", supposedly providing something different to do and a test of skill and logic rather than deathmatching or building. However, most of them do not.

Instant Death Traps
You walked into the wrong bit of the maze: DIE
You slightly glanced that wall tinted red: DIE
You clicked the "helpful" button that was the wrong colour: DIE
... Come up with something slightly more original. At least give people a chance...

Add Checkpoints
Challenges should be fun and maybe hard, but still humanly possible. And definitely not repetitive. Dying and having to restart the entire challenge is not fun in any way. Making one mistake (see above) or being stupidly tricked by a button (see below) and then having to redo the entire thing isn't "skill", that's just extremely boring and repetitive.

Trivia
No, I don't care "What Does A Duck" (this was seriously asked in one) and what vague answer I'm supposed to give. A challenge should test my skill at controlling the game, not general knowledge. Trial and error quiz questions with no logical answer are not fun. Especially annoying if combined with the above.

GET ADMIN ADN JETS IF U WIN
Then what am I supposed to do? Even if I get to the end of your impossible challenge, I'm then stuck with absolutely nothing useful to do apart from fly round and die on the various traps around the place. Especially if the entire challenge is contained in private boxes which cannot be entered.

Multiplayer
This is one thing I never see and would like to see. Cooperative challenges, perhaps allowing two players to work together to reach a goal. The last proper one of these I saw was in v0002, ran by Ephialtes for one section of his challenge. This was good. Today, the only cooperation I see is people cheating by standing on each others' heads to reach a goal quicker. Design your challenges around this and stop people from doing that. Occasionally I've went to great lengths to open a door somewhere, only to find that this other idiot waiting at the spawn just sat there and then walked through it. Where it closes behind him with no indication to me. Now I end up having to do it again.

Also, remember that if you make a particularly hard level, and many people are getting stuck on it, suddenly the spawn point will become clogged with people which might actually make it impossible if it's badly designed. If you need a run-up to get past a certain part, then it turns out you can't because Blockhead4912634 is in the way and trying to jump on your head, then nobody can ever get past it unless you can co-ordinate them into dying and staying dead until each person is past e.g. never.

Cheating
If you're going to enable building or the Wrench in your challenges, ensure that nobody in the server has trust to build on your bricks. I've seen on many occasions people just building giant bridges across stretches of a challenge and then walking to the end. This is useless, as the only reward might be from actually figuring it out. (see above)

Unoriginality
Jumping across poles spaced approximately 16 bricks apart
Jumping across collapsing platforms over lava approximately 16 bricks apart
Find button that opens door, then trek backwards across challenge to get to it (then idiot waiting by door goes through and locks it)
Use Super Jump Pads with addvelocity to go up a tower

Unfinished Challenges
Most of the time, I'll get to the "end" of the challenge to find it's still being built. This is quite annoying. Now I have to sit around and just wait and follow the guy making it for eternity with nothing to do. If you're going to make a challenge, finish it before opening your server. This also gives you a chance to take a look at the whole thing - is it actually a good challenge or is it an assortment of floating primary coloured poles which kill you?


...

[Ad Bot]

[Antallion]

ANNOYINGLY TIMED DISSAPEARING AND REAPPEARING ROUND 2x2f's ON LAVAAA

[Chaos Master]

I am working on a challenge at the moment that
I "think" would pass an exam by Space Guy.

The last thing it lacks it originality.
:D

[snot2]

what does a duck anyway? :D

[Space Guy]

I can't remember. It was either fly, eat, cook or nothing as options.

[Bushido]

we need more ridiculously hard but not necessarily linear challenges

[snot2]

ones like BLOODBATHs really hard jump challenge?

[Bushido]

that wasn't too hard but yeah, like that

[tails]

[Kerog]

  I was in this challenge called "the hardest chalenge ever in blokland" hosted by ElectronicBoy (ID: Unknown) and his challenge had all random deaths and traps, and no checkpoints. I told him I don't know how many times where and what a checkpoint is and he never got it. Also get this, at the end of his challenge you got to face him. With what you say? Sword vs. Guns Akimbo and by sword I mean you and by Guns Akimbo I mean him, so who's gonna win? Him pretty much. I've seen people actually make it and they die in less than 1 second. Also he abuses his Host Options and Super Admin. An example of him doing this was when he started to richard around with our playerTypes and turned us into zombies and started killing us and he thought it was funny. Basically he's a Rykuta at heart.

tl;dr

If I see his server up again i'll be sure to get his ID.

[Dr.Block]

You clicked the "helpful" button that was the wrong colour: DIE

I have one of those in my challenge. Sorry :(

Jumping across collapsing platforms over lava approximately 16 bricks apart

That would be level 16, but they are not 16 bricks apart. It's doable.

Cooperative challenges, perhaps allowing two players to work together to reach a goal.

http://forum.blockland.us/index.php?topic=41533.0

[skoposh]

Instant Death Traps
Also known as best part of the challenges, tells you if you forget up. Simply allowing you to win without ever dieing is pointless and is quite frankly boring for the host. Deaths allow for 'High Scores', as does total time it took you to win.

Add Checkpoints

... having to redo the entire thing isn't "skill", that's just extremely boring and repetitive.

Checkpoints should be only after a 'hard' section, because being able to redo something is in fact a skill. I can't tell you how many people I have seen miss the first jump of a challenge (or the first jump of a level in one) not once, not even twice, but over and over again. Now imagine - in deathmatchs hitting people far away without zoom - doing it once is luck, being able to repeat it is a skill.
Now about it being boring can't really help you there.

Trivia
I agree here as 90% of people playing are stupid rendering any trivia challenge utterly pointless.

GET ADMIN ADN JETS IF U WIN AKA 'rewards'
First challenge I built people got jets for wining ... to bad almost no one won. I give people nothing now, I just let them assume they will get whatever reward they start talking about by ignoring them when they ask about the reward for wining. Rewards eliminate the fun for hosts, thats why the reward for my challenges is death and getting to redo everything. Also you get on the pointless high scores. Then can try to to get a better score.

Multiplayer
I design my challenges to either force working together because you suck too much to do it right, or because you actually need the help. The latter reason is too much work for me as a host however. Why you ask? Its because the same dipstuffs that make trivia challenges pointless are the ones who decide to abandon their allies and move on without them at the first chance there is.

Cheating
It seems like you just join bad challenge servers. I try to add in 'cheats' for the players who work together or know how to think; too bad the ability to think is in short supply nowadays. The latest challenge I have hosted, EVERY person that played failed at a simple task involving thinking and following directions.

Unoriginality

Use Super Jump Pads with addvelocity to go up a tower

Best ever part of all challenges. Want a way to instantly weed out morons use these, oh and put a "Instant Death Trap" below them too that will get the morons to leave after they get sick of dieing.

Unfinished Challenges
I agree here, however I open servers with unfinished challenges all the time. Why? Only about ten people ever win on my challenges anyways so I can expect Mr. Block or Lalam to come in and finish what is done while a horde of others get stuck on level one forever then spam help over and over.


TL;DR
Don't join bad servers of any kind then you wont have this problem.

we need more ridiculously hard but not necessarily linear challenges

:D I'll make you one later.

[Resonance_Cascade]

Play the syn_trials4 maps in Synergy and then come back and make a decent challenge.

[Colten]

REDGrim's jump challenge from back in v0.03 was fun :(

[-Jetz-]

Joined one today, ended up loading about 60-80 add-ons that the badmins used to shoot players.