For love of easy, large, environmental play grounds.

So I'm a newbie, gearing up to make my first knytts game.  I'm not big on forums, it takes too much time away from other stuff (because I talk too much), but I did want to do an introduction and ask a question.

I was drawn instantly to knytts stories because of the beauty, environment, and exploration I found in the original games, then I wet my pants when I realized people could make their own games.

However, I must say I'm a little frustrated in the level archive.   I'm a HUGE fan of the environmental play grounds, the fun, relaxing beauty with a hint of puzzle and plot, a few rabid dogs to avoid, a few nice timed jumps, but nothing I have to do more than twice to beat.  All I seem to find are the kind of games that either have impossibly complex jumps (for me, looser that I am) and which I get stuck in for 5 minutes straight without a clue as to what to do next.  At which point if the game is only somewhat promising, I delete it.  If it is more promising, I MIGHT just fire up the editor and skip to the next point.  Yes I'm evil.  Deal with it. 

If that came off as harsh, I'm just frustrated, because SOOOOO MANNNY of those games look good, but I just can't play them.  No time, no patience.

So, my question is, what are the great environmental levels, like the Machine and A Strange Dream?  Which of the hundreds in the archives are playable to an impatient, beauty over challenge gamer?

May I suggest you join us: http://nifflas.lpchip.nl/index.php?topic=2807.0 ? ;-)

Because, word. You're describing my own initial KS experience, exactly. There's some really annoying aliens in my favourite show, Farscape, whose sorta-catchphrase was, "Why so diffcult?!?" - that sort of became my own catchphrase in the first few months of downloading KS levels.

Thankfully, there *are* quite a few nice environmental and playground levels out there (and 'normal' difficulty challenges with nice visuals, too). Sadly, the old forum is gone, so I can't recommend you go and search it for environmental level recs anymore. But a lot of my own recs in the 'your favourite level' thread here on this forum, and most of those of the other members of the League, should fit your requirements. (I say 'most' because I do enjoy the occasional challenge, and have even completed, and liked, some 'hard' ones.)

All of my own currently published levels are either environmentals or easy to normal challenges with - I think - nice visuals, too. You can find two of them in my sig, and the third here.

One of them, Falling Water, I am still continuing to expand; it will be a huge environmental with very minor challenge elements (if any) when it's done. This is going to take time, though - my current estimate is another six months, minimum. (I started building it in June or July last year, and it's 320 screens now.)

You may also be interested in the recent, spectacularly successful "A Knytt in Time" by egomassive. It's currently a normal-difficulty challenge occasionally edging into 'hard' territory, but egomassive is building an additional, easy/environmental version of it (thus earning the eternal gratitude of the League of Crap Players, and this special mention *g*), which sounds as if it's going to be ready soon.

Anyway: welcome, and may your search for easy and visually pleasing levels be successful. If you find any that we haven't recced in the favourites thread yet, do rec them so we may find them, too! :-)

Gahhh, I can't resist the urge to shamelessly advertise. D:

One of my levels, Outer Reaches, is a large Environmental level. You can find a link in my signature. The other, Darkness, (the link to which can also be found in my signature) is a smaller level with a bit of challenge in it that you might also like.

Played Gaia?
Check out Mashu Prapa the recently released Underground too, they're in the Level Releases forum.

I'm going to shamelessly advertise too:
It's short, but you might like Medius.

Shameless advertisement go!
Natural was my first shot at an environmental and dedicated to the underused but absolutely beautiful custom tilesets out there. It's about 120 screens in length, and should take up a good 10 minutes to go through the level.

Cool, I love me a list of play grounds. 

I'm trying to finish up an entry in the level competition, so as soon as that is done, I'll start playing.  I've also gotta try out the knytts experiment beta 3.

Feel free to keep the suggestions coming. 

Trek by terv. The mother of playground levels.