Challenge: Multi-purpose contraptions!

[holmstrom]

Can you build a contraption that not only clears the level, but clears other levels too? That's right, I want to see what stort of contraption can make it through more than just one of the 20 standard levels, using positioning and environment to overcome the new obstacles, and not just redesigning.

There will obviously be minor changes as the contraption has to be rebuilt every time.

GO!

Edit: Trying some stuff I realise that not changing at ALL is impossible: Changing the power a catapult throws with (by disabling a spoke/wire or two) I think is okay, or changing the height of a triangle on wheels etc. BUT NO MOAR!

[AlexT]

Ok I'll bite: with a UNICYCLE!

Reach up http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=58094
On a roll http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=44753
The wall http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=58012
Higher http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=58044
Bend http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=58051
Up the Stairs http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=58067

[holmstrom]

Well, I've just tried to beat all 20 levels with my Multipurpose Catapult of Awesomeness MKII. I'll just quote the txt-file I have the links saved in:


(bold ones are legit wins)

1. Rolling Away
http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=58247

2. Reach Up
http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=58249

3. Mind The Gap
http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=58262

4. Junkyard
http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=58269

5. The Wall
http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=58295

6. On A roll
http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=58319

7. Full Up
http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=58490 (thanks to AlexT for adding the final winners touch to this one)

8. Higher
http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=58551

9. Around The Bend
http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=58568

10. Up The Hump
http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=58619 (fails horribly - up the hump is the arch-enemy of catapults!)

11. Mission To Mars
http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=58667

12. Up The Stairs
http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=58716

13. Big Ball
http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=58740

14. Four Balls
Not gonna waste my time on this one.

15. Down Under
Same as above...

16. Awash
http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=58838

17. Handling
http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=58883 (well, I tried... it's probably theoretically possible)

18. Tube
http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=59018 (fails and modified)

19. Back and Forth
My contraption is immobile, so I won't even try this one.

20. Unpossible
http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=59227 (close but modified)

That's 13 wins with the same design! Catapults rule supreme!

[harborpirate]

I made an earlier thread about the versatility of the Club design.

I was able to solve 10 of the levels with this simple 3 piece design.

01. Learn to Play - Trivial, build your own club and see.
02. Easy as Pie - Trivial, build your own club and see.
03. Rolling Away - Trivial, build your own club and see.
05. Mind the Gap - http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=7215
06. Junkyard - http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=7222
07. The Wall - http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=7655
08. On a Roll - http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=7645
09. Full Up - http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=7182
11. Around the Bend - http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=7202
14. Up the Stairs - http://fantasticcontraption.com/?designId=4879 - Disclosure: This design was built by someone else for the simplest contraption competition.

Versatile, simple, powerful. The Club is a great multi-tasker.

[Gieron]

Presenting: The Over Engineered Self Propelled All Purpose Contraption Dozer


In most designs only the dozer is used and there are no extra bits. No goal bits have been used in the dozer construction. The dozer is always complete and unmodified (all pieces present and connected the same way). However, I have had to warp it somewhat between levels, sometimes more than somewhat.

1. Rolling Away - http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=98311 [Warped due to limited space]
2. Reach Up - http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=98360
3. Mind The Gap - http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=98368
4. Junkyard - http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=97189
5. The Wall - http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=97220
6. On A roll - http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=97256
7. Full Up - http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=102554
8. Higher - http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=97367
9. Around The Bend - http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=97436
10. Up The Hump - http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=97466
11. Mission To Mars - http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=97589 [Warped due to limited space etc]
12. Up The Stairs - http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=97650
13. Big Ball - http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=97739
14. Four Balls - not done
15. Down Under - not done
16. Awash - http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=97851
17. Handling - http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=98094 [Warped, had to specialize it]
18. Tube - not done
19. Back and Forth - http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=112004 [Uses extra bits]
20. Unpossible - not done
21. U-Turn - http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=896935

[valkynaz]

Here's my Megalauncher.
Rolling Away http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=289375
Reach Up http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=356202
Mind the Gap http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=289882
Junkyard http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=317142
The Wall http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=317229
On a Roll http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=293032
Full-up http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=317219
Higher http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=293930
Around the bend http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=294002
Up the Hump http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=294276
Mission to Mars http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=356051
Up the Stairs http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=287721
Big Ball http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=341012
Four Balls (Not Done)
Down Under (uses extra bits) http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=341711
Awash (uses extra bits) http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=354023
Handling http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=342466
Tube http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=317173
Back and Forth http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=317190
Unpossible http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=285495

So that's 17 which don't use extra bits.

[Gieron]

General awesomeness

Hilarious. Especially the slow motion destruction of the wall. That one didn't finish for me though, or does it just take a long time?

I hope they never fix that bug

[valkynaz]

Hilarious. Especially the slow motion destruction of the wall. That one didn't finish for me though, or does it just take a long time?

I hope they never fix that bug

Works fine for me. It comes back from the isle on top after destroying the wall and kicks it in.

[Mountainmage]

It doesn't work for me either, it eventually stops and doesn't kick it in.

[sccook]

I used the mighty caterpillar my first time through the levels on the Big Ball. It worked on Unpossible in another challenge, so I think that I will see how many levels I can get it to work on.

Unpossible:
http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=702662


EDIT: I couldn't figure out why I couldn't edit this post and just figured it out.....Somehow I got logged out. I posted 19 solutions with the mighty caterpillar in the next post.

[Guest]

The mighty caterpillar has proven its worth with minor changes from one level to the next. If the construction zones were all the same size, it might be worth fooling around with an identical design optimized for a maximum number of levels. For example, some levels needed blue tracks added to the wheels, and others don't. It would be fairly simple to add tracks to those designs that don't need them....but it's just not worth the bother.

For now, I'm happy with these:

1 - Rolling Away.......http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=704688
2 - Reach Up...........http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=741104
3 - Mind The Gap.....http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=704955
4 - Junkyard...........http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=719459
5 -The Wall............http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=719648
6 - On A Roll...........http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=719880
7 - Full Up..............http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=720224
8 - Higher..............http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=720256
9 - Around the Bend...http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=720815
10 - Up the Hump......http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=720919
11 - Mission to Mars...http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=721066
12 - Up the Stairs......http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=721232
13 - Big Ball http.......http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=721330
14 - Four Balls..........http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=723249
15 - Down Under.......http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=723481
16 - Awash.............http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=712457
17 – Handling..........http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=743085
18 - Tube
19 - Back and Forth...http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=708520
20 - Unpossible........http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=702662

It should be possible to do the Tube with two opposing caterpillars, but so far my attempts have been woefully inadequate.

[sccook]

All right, I'm logged in this time and I've "optimized" the mighty caterpillar to do as many levels as possible. If anyone wants to tackle the Tube with my caterpillar...be my guest.

1 - Rolling Away.......http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=957236
2 - Reach Up...........http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=957157
3 - Mind The Gap.....http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=957017
4 - Junkyard...........http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=956943
5 -The Wall............http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=956881
6 - On A Roll...........http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=956805
7 - Full Up..............http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=956686
8 - Higher..............http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=956631
9 - Around the Bend...http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=956570
10 - Up the Hump......http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=956398
11 - Mission to Mars...http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=956298
12 - Up the Stairs......http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=956017
13 - Big Ball.............http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=955302 (I used caterpillar here on first time thru)
14 - Four Balls..........http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=951939 (hardest design to finish)
15 - Down Under.......http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=962159
16 - Awash.............http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=954785 (painful to watch)
17 – Handling..........http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=954340 (stretching the rules)
18 - Tube
19 - Back and Forth...http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=952414
20 - Unpossible........http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=957365
21 - U-turn.......... ..http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=952152

The caterpillar is always the same:
- 6 CW motors with five motors on the ground
- Motors connected via wooden rods in a "backbone" triangular pattern
- Front two motors connected via two sets of water rods
- Back three motors connected via two sets of water rods.

Changes between levels:
- "connection" between the target and the caterpillar
- "environment" added on several levels

[sb1920alk]

I claim artistic license on some of the harder ones for design deviations/extra parts.

Level 1 Rolling Away
Level 2 Reach Up
Level 3 Mind The Gap
Level 4 Junkyard
Level 5 The Wall
Level 6 On a Roll
Level 7 Full-Up
Level 8 Higher
Level 9 Around the Bend
Level 10 Up The Hump
Level 11 Mission to Mars
Level 12 Up The Stairs
Level 13 Big Ball
Level 14 Four Balls
Level 15 Down Under
Level 16 Awash
Level 17 Handling
Level 18 Tube
Level 19 Back and Forth
Level 20 Unpossible
Level 21 U-Turn

EDIT: Updated Up the Stairs. Now it's just the standard design with no add-ons.
EDIT 2: Updated Tube and Back and Forth

[mr. jackerson]

Argh... the creativity of all users here is amazing. so much for my Ball-or-square-on-a-line design,nickname spear. i'll post some anyway.Behold The 7-uses
-spear!

Mind The Gap: http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=776974

The Wall: http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=1469678

On A Roll: http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=1469811

Full Up: http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=1469837

Around The Bend: http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=1469987

Up The Hump: http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=1469877

Big Ball: http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=1469931

[sccook]

You don't have to add a CCW motor to the spear on Around the Bend

http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=1475512


I've also seen a spear used as part of a catapult on the Tube. (It might have been Green as well, but I can't say for sure.)

[woofie]

soon to come: my lol car sires (typo)

[woofie]

http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=1918064 my alpha lolcar
http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=1918364 beta lolcar
http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=1918064 gamma
http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=1918833 delta
my badges (solved) (yellow) (yellow clean)

[quarthinos]

All right, I'm logged in this time and I've "optimized" the mighty caterpillar to do as many levels as possible. If anyone wants to tackle the Tube with my caterpillar...be my guest.

16 - Awash.............http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=954785 (painful to watch)

This doesn't work for me at all.. And it is painful to watch.

[Taerer]

All right, I'm logged in this time and I've "optimized" the mighty caterpillar to do as many levels as possible. If anyone wants to tackle the Tube with my caterpillar...be my guest.

16 - Awash.............http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=954785 (painful to watch)

This doesn't work for me at all.. And it is painful to watch.

it worked for me... it was even clean :D lol

very good job everyone. those are excellent.

[sccook]

All right, I'm logged in this time and I've "optimized" the mighty caterpillar to do as many levels as possible. If anyone wants to tackle the Tube with my caterpillar...be my guest.

16 - Awash.............http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=954785 (painful to watch)

This doesn't work for me at all.. And it is painful to watch.

Still "works" for me:

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n137 ... rAWASH.jpg