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2021-04-10 16:10 DarkStoorM  
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It took a lot of time, I had to make sure every level is fully clearable.  
This set is an easier version of BD2 Cave P with a different layout. I didn't use the max \:s requirement, so others can also enjoy the cave. I had to skip a couple of seeds, because max \:s runs were not possible.  
  
Fills:  
Boulder: 255  
Dirt: 100  
Diamond: 15  
  
Objects placed:  
In the top section, there are two boxes surrounded by boulders, the middle box only has side Brick Walls, all separated by Dirt.  
The bottom sections are both surrounded by Dirt, separated by a line of boulders through the middle of each box.  
  
Initial fill was left as a default for extra dirt spots.  
  
Seeds: 0, 5, 10, 15, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 70  
Where x = 0:  
Times: 300 - 10x  
Points per sec: 1 + x  
Speeds: 5 + 0.5x  
\:s required: 10 + x  
\ value: 10 / 30

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2021-04-10 17:17 dustin  
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very interesting! :d  
from the  dustin 's bd series, i've got quite a lot of experience with the creation of level-based caves, which i'd like to share if you're interested :)

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2021-04-10 19:27 DarkStoorM  
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Oh! I'm listening! :D

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2021-04-10 22:12 dustin  
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:d well i think there are more or less 4 categories of level-based caves:  
  
1. caves where the random seed is highly important  
classic examples: bd1-b, bd1-k, bd2-c  
if i create such a cave (for example, the recently uploaded dbd17-f cave), i usually test around 15 seeds and write down which ones i found easy or hard and why (tricky spots etc.) and then try to choose five seeds which are as different as possible (concerning tricky spots) and also have a wide easy-hard-range. if i haven't found a very easy or very hard seed among the 15, i sometimes search on until i found one.  
  
2. caves which have a random seed which is not so important  
classical examples: bd1-a,c,d,f,g,h,m,p, bd2-a,b,e,f,j,k,n,p  
i would also put your cave into this category. here, it's mostly fine to just choose five (or, in your case, ten) seeds which work.   
if there are random \, as in your cave, i think it's a very sensible alternative to increase the percentage of required diamonds, not the absolute value. here, for example, i found level 6 and 8 quite challenging but 7 was rather easy because it had more \ in total.for example, this might look like this:  
  
\ available: 22,23,22,26,18,20,26,19,22,22  
percentages: 50,55,60,65,70,75,80,85,90,95  
\s required: 11,13,13,17,13,15,21,16,20,21  
  
this would not give such a nice sequence of numbers, but i think in most cases this guarantees more an increasing difficulty.but i also like nice number sequences more and do the percentage-thing only if i really think it makes more sense for the cave ;)  
  
it's also an interesting question whether it's really necessary to make all levels fully clearable. after all, peter liepa himself didn't care about this in bd2-p and just took five consecutive random seeds where level 5 is clearly not fully clearable. but especially if the requirement comes close to the max, i think it makes completely sense to test the seeds for "clearability" (is this a word? :D)  
  
3. caves where the seed doesn't matter much in general, but there are still 1-2 exceptionally difficult seeds  
classical examples: bd1-i/4,o/4,5,bd2-g/4,5,l/3  
just like 2., but the exceptional seeds should obviously be put into the hardest levels.  
  
4. caves which don't have a random seed  
classic examples: bd1-e,j,n, bd2-d,h,i,o  
usually, the difference between the levels is to a huge extent defined by the \requirements here. sometimes, however, you want all \ to be required even on l1, as in bd2-o. in this case, there's often not much room for a 5l version. sometimes i have such caves too - well, then i can still play with the timer and sometimes also the speed still makes itself felt in the cave. of course, there can also be caves of category 2 where you want all \ required (bd1-c, bd2-n), in which case similar problems occur.  
  
well, hope you found that interesting :d these four categories have established themselves in my head when i started with the  dustin 's bd series. it made it easier for me to decide which caves need more effort to get a good 5l version (above all category 1) and which can just be done by increasing the \requirements :d

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2021-04-10 22:41 DarkStoorM  
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Thanks  dustin , that's very interesting!  
  
As I suspected, it's better to take your time and carefully pick and test the seeds, that's super informative :D  
  
Some day I will try it out, with a fresh, new cave set with lots of testing!

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2021-04-10 23:14 dustin  
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i'm curious! :d