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2024-05-21 20:18 dustin  
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inspired by  altermaven 's latest cave :d

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2024-05-26 14:25 dustin  
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my solution free! while  darkstoorm  takes a lot of risk from the beginning, my first 100+ΑΑΑ are completely safe.  
  
the cso-ish thing about the cave is that, by just holding right from the start, Κ can collect over 100ΑΑΑ without any danger, which does not work if you hold left instead - then Κ can easily get crushed by randomly falling ΑΑΑ from above.  
  
here's how this works:  
  
1. if Κ holds right (safe):  
  
frame 0:  
ΑΑΑΑΑ  
ΑΑΑΑΑ  
ΑΑΑΑΑ  
ΑΑΚ Α  
ΙΙΙΙΙ  
this is a potentially dangerous situation: a Α next to Κ has just been swallowed by the slime, so now there's a gap in front of him, causing a dangerous chain of falling ΑΑΑ.  
the only two mobile objects right now are Κ and the Α diagonally above him. the Α is scanned first and falls into the gap. Κ is scanned afterwards and tries to move right, but he can't because there's a falling(!) Α in front of him which cannot be taken.  
  
frame 1:  
ΑΑΑΑΑ  
ΑΑΑΑΑ  
ΑΑΑ Α  
ΑΑΚΑΑ  
ΙΙΙΙΙ  
now, the next Α falls into the new gap. afterwards, Κ is scanned and he still cannot collect the Α in front of him because it is still in falling state. only then, this Α is scanned and changes its state from "falling" into "normal".  
  
frame 2:  
ΑΑΑΑΑ  
ΑΑΑ Α  
ΑΑΑΑΑ  
ΑΑΚΑΑ  
ΙΙΙΙΙ  
the next Α falls into the new gap. then, the Α to Κ's north-east side changes its state from "falling" to "normal". Κ is scanned next, and he can finally collect the (now normal) Α to the right.  
  
frame 3:  
ΑΑΑ Α  
ΑΑΑΑΑ  
ΑΑΑΑΑ  
ΑΑ ΚΑ  
...and Κ is safe, because the Α above him has already changed its state from "falling" (=dangerous) to "normal".   
  
of course, in the meantime, i ignored the ΙΙΙ which could of course have swallowed more ΑΑΑ during these 3 frames, but it wouldn't change anything crucial about the analysis.  
  
2. if Κ holds left (dangerous):  
  
frame 0:  
ΑΑΑΑΑ  
ΑΑΑΑΑ  
ΑΑΑΑΑ  
Α ΚΑΑ  
ΙΙΙΙΙ  
we start with the same situation as before - a Α has just been swallowed in front of Κ. the first frame makes no difference to the above analysis.  
  
frame 1:  
ΑΑΑΑΑ  
ΑΑΑΑΑ  
Α ΑΑΑ  
ΑΑΚΑΑ  
ΙΙΙΙΙ  
but now comes the big difference: the Α in front of Κ is scanned b e f o r e Κ! so it changes its state from "falling" to "normal", and when Κ is scanned, he is already able to take it (one frame earlier than before!)  
  
frame 2:  
ΑΑΑΑΑ  
Α ΑΑΑ  
ΑΑΑΑΑ  
ΑΚ ΑΑ  
ΙΙΙΙΙ  
and now, the Α above Κ is still in "falling" state, which means that now it crushes Κ.  
  
so holding right is much safer than holding left - that is, as long as there're enough ΑΑΑ left in the cave.   
however, Κ cannot solve the whole cave by only holding right. if he tries, he will eventually get crushed with 110ΑΑΑ collected. how can this happen? the problem is that, as soon as the cave has somewhat cleared, there's a new danger - ΑΑΑ falling sideways from other ΑΑΑ!  
here's what happens if Κ holds right for too long:  
  
frame 0:  
ΑΑΑ Α  
ΑΑΚ Α  
ΙΙΙΙΙ  
is this situation, where one column is already ΑΑΑ-less, the top-right Α now falls sideways, which means technically that it moves left and becoming a "falling Α". if Κ moves right...  
  
frame 1:  
ΑΑΑΑ  
ΑΑ ΚΑ  
ΙΙΙΙΙ  
...then the Α above Κ, which has just started to fall, will crush him.   
  
so after collecting the first 110ΑΑΑ, Κ has to change his strategy and "somehow" collect the remaining ΑΑΑ in time (which is still quite difficult!)

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2024-05-26 14:28 dustin  
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edit: of course,  darkstoorm 's risky strategy has also an advantage - his Κ can take a Α per frame at the beginning, while my Κ has to stop for a few frames several times :d

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2024-05-27 23:45 DarkStoorM  
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Also, thanks to Slime's predictable RNG you can craft a pretty good run :D grabbing a \ every frame on higher rows, avoiding the interruption by switching columns when Ι eats Α :D

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2024-05-30 22:14 dustin  
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yep, that's true of course.  :d