RTW Tricks
Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2018 5:20 am
At the request of Wonderland King, here we are. This topic is to share tips and techniques that are used when making levels that might not be so obvious to the player. I'll be organising these into what I believe to be the "common" tricks and the "rare" tricks. Common should be common knowledge and you be expected to know them, rare would likely only be used in a handful of levels.
Please share the things that you know and I'll update this top list accordingly.
I don't care much about hex editing but if you type it I'll add it.
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Common tricks
Walking into ice the wrong way
If you walk into an ice tile from the two obvious directions, everything works fine. If you walk into an ice tile from one of the two silly directions, you will be sent out either left or right but never up or down.
Link spheres
If you push a link sphere while some others are rolling, the rolling ones will continue rolling as they were. Only the stationary link spheres will be set moving.
Starting inside a wall
If you start the level inside an object or wall you will be able to walk to an adjacent walkable tile but not back into the wall you just left.
Ice objects
If an object rests on ice and you walk into that object to push it you will end up inside the object. This can be done with multiple objects on a long ice path so long as they are at least one tile away from each other. Every object will "stack" on the same end tile.
Trampolines 201
Of course, you know that trampoline jumps get extended if you come from another trampoline. However, it doesn't teach you that all involuntary movement works the same way. So, for example, you can have a single trampoline near an ice patch and use it repeatedly, achieving a higher bounce each time. The same applies to conveyors and teleporters. The trampoline jump counter is only reset if you come to a stop.
Box/trampoline/coin
If you put a wooden box on a trampoline and the destination is water with coin over it, then the box will be destroyed over the coin, but you can walk
over the water and collect the coin.
If you bounce a box onto a round button with a coin over it, the box will be destroyed and the button will stay stuck down.
Round buttons and timer buttons conflicting
If you set off a timer button and walk onto and then off a round button, the gate will close at first but when the timer runs out the gate will be stuck open until you step on another button.
Round buttons and UFOs/ghosts
Leaving a round button when a UFO is on a same-coloured round button, will leave the button pressed. This also works with ghosts.
Two objects can be placed on the same grid tile...
...if one of them is from the top "tiles" category and the other is from the bottom "objects" category. While playing the game, walking into this stack of objects will push only one of them out of the way and you will walk inside the other object.
Unsticky cubes
Sticky cubes that are originally placed next to each other when the level starts will not be stuck and can be pushed away from each other. They will stick if pushed back together, though.
Walk past UFO without it firing
If you time your steps correctly, the UFO will not shoot fire at you.
Watch on YouTube / Watch on CloudTube / Mirror on my website, cadence.gq
Mothership tile collision
The tile on which a UFO mothership is placed can be walked over by the player but cannot have objects pushed over it or enemies walk over it. If a boulder rolls over this tile, the mothership will be destroyed.
Walking through fire
If a teleporter has stationary fire above it, you can still enter that teleporter if you land on it from a trampoline.
Camera offset
If you walk through a teleporter while the camera is still zooming in on Stinky at the start of a level, the camera will be offset and will no longer be centered on Stinky. This is usually an annoyance. This can be avoided by waiting for the camera to stop moving after starting the level.
Teleporter exit block
If an enemy covers the exit of a teleporter, boxes will not be able to use that exit. However, Stinky will be able to, and will walk into the enemy.
Kaboom coin stealing
If a Kaboom is circling around a coin, it is possible to take the coin with precise movement: finish walking into the coin as the Kaboom reaches the corner of its path. (This is featured in one of the later levels of TOW.)
Kaboom travellator
If a Kaboom is circling around a box, if you push the box in the same direction as the Kaboom's travel you can walk the Kaboom to another place in the level. (This is featured in world 10 of TOW.)
Rare tricks
Box density
If there is a stationary box on a floor tile and another box sliding towards it on ice, if the sliding box has equal or greater density then the stationary box it will push the stationary box. If it has lesser density then it will bounce back along the ice without moving the stationary box.
If I recall correctly, density works like this: wooden < steel = reflectors = push cannons = many other objects < plasma.
Stopped transporter
When an object on a moving transporter is, in any way, destroyed, the transporter stops.
Double reflection
You can use one reflector to do two reflections: just when the fireball is reflected from the reflector, move the reflector one tile to the direction where the fireball is reflected. If timed correctly, the fireball again should be reflected. I used and discovered this in Stinker Rescue level in WSW.
Disable cannon fire
Putting a lot of flames in a level will stop cannons and UFOs from firing.
Boulders/ghosts/coins/ice/what the heck
Watch on YouTube / Watch on CloudTube / Mirror
---
This is starting to fill up, but I bet there's still a lot of things that aren't in here. Could you help me out by sharing your own knowledge?
Please share the things that you know and I'll update this top list accordingly.
I don't care much about hex editing but if you type it I'll add it.
---
Common tricks
Walking into ice the wrong way
If you walk into an ice tile from the two obvious directions, everything works fine. If you walk into an ice tile from one of the two silly directions, you will be sent out either left or right but never up or down.
Link spheres
If you push a link sphere while some others are rolling, the rolling ones will continue rolling as they were. Only the stationary link spheres will be set moving.
Starting inside a wall
If you start the level inside an object or wall you will be able to walk to an adjacent walkable tile but not back into the wall you just left.
Ice objects
If an object rests on ice and you walk into that object to push it you will end up inside the object. This can be done with multiple objects on a long ice path so long as they are at least one tile away from each other. Every object will "stack" on the same end tile.
Trampolines 201
Of course, you know that trampoline jumps get extended if you come from another trampoline. However, it doesn't teach you that all involuntary movement works the same way. So, for example, you can have a single trampoline near an ice patch and use it repeatedly, achieving a higher bounce each time. The same applies to conveyors and teleporters. The trampoline jump counter is only reset if you come to a stop.
Box/trampoline/coin
If you put a wooden box on a trampoline and the destination is water with coin over it, then the box will be destroyed over the coin, but you can walk
over the water and collect the coin.
If you bounce a box onto a round button with a coin over it, the box will be destroyed and the button will stay stuck down.
Round buttons and timer buttons conflicting
If you set off a timer button and walk onto and then off a round button, the gate will close at first but when the timer runs out the gate will be stuck open until you step on another button.
Round buttons and UFOs/ghosts
Leaving a round button when a UFO is on a same-coloured round button, will leave the button pressed. This also works with ghosts.
Two objects can be placed on the same grid tile...
...if one of them is from the top "tiles" category and the other is from the bottom "objects" category. While playing the game, walking into this stack of objects will push only one of them out of the way and you will walk inside the other object.
Unsticky cubes
Sticky cubes that are originally placed next to each other when the level starts will not be stuck and can be pushed away from each other. They will stick if pushed back together, though.
Walk past UFO without it firing
If you time your steps correctly, the UFO will not shoot fire at you.
Watch on YouTube / Watch on CloudTube / Mirror on my website, cadence.gq
Mothership tile collision
The tile on which a UFO mothership is placed can be walked over by the player but cannot have objects pushed over it or enemies walk over it. If a boulder rolls over this tile, the mothership will be destroyed.
Walking through fire
If a teleporter has stationary fire above it, you can still enter that teleporter if you land on it from a trampoline.
Camera offset
If you walk through a teleporter while the camera is still zooming in on Stinky at the start of a level, the camera will be offset and will no longer be centered on Stinky. This is usually an annoyance. This can be avoided by waiting for the camera to stop moving after starting the level.
Teleporter exit block
If an enemy covers the exit of a teleporter, boxes will not be able to use that exit. However, Stinky will be able to, and will walk into the enemy.
Kaboom coin stealing
If a Kaboom is circling around a coin, it is possible to take the coin with precise movement: finish walking into the coin as the Kaboom reaches the corner of its path. (This is featured in one of the later levels of TOW.)
Kaboom travellator
If a Kaboom is circling around a box, if you push the box in the same direction as the Kaboom's travel you can walk the Kaboom to another place in the level. (This is featured in world 10 of TOW.)
Rare tricks
Box density
If there is a stationary box on a floor tile and another box sliding towards it on ice, if the sliding box has equal or greater density then the stationary box it will push the stationary box. If it has lesser density then it will bounce back along the ice without moving the stationary box.
If I recall correctly, density works like this: wooden < steel = reflectors = push cannons = many other objects < plasma.
Stopped transporter
When an object on a moving transporter is, in any way, destroyed, the transporter stops.
Double reflection
You can use one reflector to do two reflections: just when the fireball is reflected from the reflector, move the reflector one tile to the direction where the fireball is reflected. If timed correctly, the fireball again should be reflected. I used and discovered this in Stinker Rescue level in WSW.
Disable cannon fire
Putting a lot of flames in a level will stop cannons and UFOs from firing.
Boulders/ghosts/coins/ice/what the heck
Watch on YouTube / Watch on CloudTube / Mirror
---
This is starting to fill up, but I bet there's still a lot of things that aren't in here. Could you help me out by sharing your own knowledge?
).