Artificial Ascent
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Artificial Ascent
ID
27122654
Creator(s)
Verifier(s)
Combined
Created
Last updated
Artificial Ascent (abbreviated as AA) is a 2.0 Extreme Demon mega-collaboration level hosted by Viprin (the co-host/former host being LmAnubis), verified by Combined on 11 December 2016.[1] It was placed at #1 on the Demonlist soon after, surpassing Sakupen Hell, before itself being displaced a month later by Yatagarasu. It is the first instalment of the Technology Trilogy, succeeded by Digital Descent and Cybernetic Crescent.
History
[edit | edit source]Artificial Ascent started as a solo remake of Cataclysm. According to LmAnubis, the original theme of the level was 'an abandoned robotic factory coming to life', which is why it is called Artificial Ascent. The original level featured a song similar to the ones used in Cataclysm and Sakupen Hell. The decoration would have been mainly grey, with neon blue representing electricity. LmAnubis' goal was to 'make a level similar to Cataclysm but with a slightly harder difficulty and a far more futuristic and scary atmosphere' that he could verify. LmAnubis had high expectations for the level, so progress was extremely slow, as he was constantly remaking parts.
About one month after the development of Artificial Ascent began, LmAnubis lost all the data on his device, including the original level. The original song was lost, and LmAnubis was unable to find it again. He would look for a replacement song on Dimrain47's YouTube channel and found 'Surface', which was completely unknown at the time. LmAnubis decided to turn Artificial Ascent into a mega-collaboration after some stream viewers suggested it.
The original theme was almost completely abandoned when the level became a mega-collaboration. After being invited by LmAnubis, Sanic would be the first to finish his part, and then Hinds. Zobros could not finish his part and left it half-finished, leaving LmAnubis to design the second half. The second half was themed around the UFO part in Bloodbath.
The creator that LmAnubis would have invited was Giron, but his part was cut because it was too difficult for the level. Anthrax was the next to finish, although the gameplay of the ship corridor at the end is unfinished in the final level. Crack originally had a part, but it was cut as Viprin requested a ship part with more verticality; however, Crack had quit the game.[2] However, Crack's original part still exists above ZenthicAlpha's part in the final level. The next parts finished were those by Viprin, Wamiq8, and loogiah. Manix648 then finished the second part in the level after the part went through multiple versions. At this point, LmAnubis had assigned himself the first part but struggled to build it, so it was scrapped. According to him, the part resembled the first cube of Cataclysm.
The level would almost die out as LmAnubis went inactive for an extended period. Since not many people knew about the level, he was considering leaving it unfinished. Viprin asked if he could finish the level as the co-host, and LmAnubis accepted. Viprin added many new creators to the level: Codex, Michigun, ZenthicAlpha, nasgubb, AbstractDark, Etzer, Speed, Serponge, G4lvatron, and Terron. LmAnubis agreed to allow Viprin to upload the level to his account because of the amount of work Viprin had put into it. Combined verified the level.
Description
[edit | edit source]- 0-4% (Codex): Artificial Ascent begins with a half-speed cube section replacing Anubis' part. It is commonly seen as the easiest part of the level, featuring some easy timings and jumps, and some orbs to hit. This part features mostly grey decorations, along with some yellow decorations that resemble orbs floating in the sky.
- 4-13% (Manix648): Occurring at the drop, this part is a very tight mini-wave segment, which becomes a triple-speed normal wave and then a mini-ship sequence with a few green orbs and portals. A short mini-cube block maze follows, with Manix's name, then a ship sequence with a few gravity portals and a dual mini-ball. Next is another ship sequence comprised of narrow spaces and a mini-cube section with blue orbs to end his part.
- 13-19% (Sanic): Sanic's part starts with a double-speed ship sequence with a couple of gravity portals in a one-block flying space. It then changes into a mini-ball with some spamming and a yellow orb, which requires precise timing as there is a spike in front of it. The mini-ball changes into a dual cube section with a single jump, and the bottom cube turns into a normal ship, which requires precise timing to jump for the cube while still maintaining a straight-fly. It turns into a single mini-UFO with hard timings. Next, it is a robot with difficult green and blue orb timings. Finally, it transitions into a regular wave segment, consisting of tight spaces enclosed by spikes, followed by a mini-wave with very tight spaces, and then it turns back into a mini-cube.
- 19-25% (Hinds): This part starts with a normal-speed mini-cube section and then a wave segment that transitions into a triple-speed mini-wave with tight spaces. It then turns into a mini-ball with slight timing at the pink orb and some spamming at the blue orbs, followed by a mini-cube, in which the player must hit a blue orb and become an upside-down mini-ship that requires straight-flying and goes through a gravity portal. The player must then hit a green orb and become a mini-cube with a slight block maze.
- 25-28% (Zobros + LmAnubis): This part is arguably considered the hardest in this level (while still being the shortest). It starts with an asymmetrical dual-ship sequence that requires one ship to hit a yellow orb while maintaining a straight-fly on the other, making timing more difficult for the player. Both ships hit the surface and are split apart by a yellow orb that makes them go through the portal. After that, a straight-fly section is needed for both ships, and each ship must use two yellow orbs. Next is a UFO segment with slightly challenging timings for the blue orbs that the player must hit.
- 28-32% (Michigun): This entire part is noticeably decorated with blue and orange colours, making it stand out more compared to all of the other parts. It starts with a large block jump where the player must land on an invisible platform on top of a spike, then an elevated jump leading into a string of four blue orbs where the player must wait to tap briefly. Then, there are two yellow orbs and a triple spike jump, often seen as the signature of Michigun. If the player crashes at the triple spike, Michigun's signature cube pops up, along with text saying 'Michigun wins'.
- 32-36% (Anthrax): This part contains a background pulsing in all kinds of colours and some very detailed block design. The gameplay in this part is entirely played as a ship with some moderately difficult flying, featuring orbs to hit and gravity portals to go through. The end of this part features an auto segment, serving as a short break for the player to regain their composure.
- 36-40% (ZenthicAlpha): Unlike the previous part, this one only uses one type of colour, that being blue in many different shades. His part begins with a short block maze and a ship sequence that requires some timing to hit a yellow and a green orb consecutively. Then comes another slightly longer block maze containing more orbs than the first one, and to end the part is a short mini-UFO spam segment. Above this part in the editor is an old part made by Crack.
- 40-44% (Viprin): It starts with a ball segment. Here, the player must navigate numerous platforms and hit a green orb, which requires a precise timing to pass through a small tunnel. It changes into a mini-ball with a yellow pad, shooting it up and switching gravity, which transitions into a mini-wave with tight spaces. It then switches to a normal-sized cube with a jump and a pink orb, which requires precise timing because of a half-spike beneath it. The cube then hits a normal speed portal, and a full triple spike jump is needed to pass the obstacle. A simple green orb jump follows it and ends with a moderately tight ship part section.
- 44-49% (loogiah): Starting with an insane short auto segment, the triple-speed ship sequence has begun, which features numerous gravity portals with very tight spaces to fly through and a yellow orb leading into a cube with a single jump before the player rapidly enters a wave portal. This wave is very tight and utilises music sync, which can guide the player. Using a similar cube transition like the one before, the player must now perform a short UFO spam before a hard straight-fly segment.
- 49-53% (Wamiq8): His part starts with two spike jumps requiring some timing. After this, the player changes into a mini-cube requiring two jumps to proceed to the next segment. It transitions into a mini-ball part, requiring extreme timing to travel between the spikes. Lastly, it changes into a mini-robot, requiring two jumps with precise timings, then it enters a half-speed ship sequence, concluding the part.
- 53-58% (nasgubb): The song now slows down as the player is transmitted into the part. This part begins with a half-speed ship sequence, where high manoeuvrability is required, and then briefly switches to double speed. Then, a quick double-speed cube jump follows, transitioning into a half-speed wave segment with gameplay very similar to that of the ship sequence; this time, it is designed for the wave. All decorations change colours throughout this part in the corresponding order: Blue, Green, Yellow, Red.
- 58-64% (AbstractDark): Much like ZenthicAlpha's part, this part utilises only different shades of blue as its colour. The part begins with a mini-cube that features tricky timings while jumping and hitting orbs. An equally difficult ball comes next, with a bunch of orbs of different types to tap. Coming up is a mini-UFO with precise timings while changing size at some points. In the end, a straight-flying section features both size and gravity portals that appear at the song's beat throughout.
- 64-70% (Etzer): This part starts as a long, tight ship sequence with the player having to manoeuvre through tons of spikes on the way, as well as moving rainbow obstacles that pose a significant threat. It then progresses to a UFO, which quickly transforms into a tight wave segment and a ball with transparent blocks that fade in and out of visibility in the second half of his part. The entire part is primarily black and white, featuring many moving objects with numerous rainbow decorations. It is considered the level's most iconic part.
- 70-77% (Speed): With the song gaining some of the 'upbeatness' again, this part is timing-based primarily and features lots of orbs to hit, with purple being the primary colour choice. It begins with a double-speed portal leading into more orbs to hit, along with a short straight-fly sequence featuring gravity portals throughout, before returning to the cube again. Then, the player will find a cluster of orbs, and it is required to remember which ones to hit. A short UFO segment follows with some gravity portals, and then another cube segment where timing is crucial. The final moments are played as a narrow wave and a mini-cube section with a few jumps and some yellow/blue orbs before ending.
- 77-83% (Serponge): This part frequently alternates between cube and robot, comprising suspended platforms with a bunch of spikes and gears to avoid throughout the whole part. Timing is essential here, as all the different orbs are placed to mess the player up as much as possible. The blocks here are decorated with stripes going through them, along with a purple/pink/red moving background and similar platform motifs. Two final jumps end his part and lead the robot into the second-to-last part of the level.
- 83-91% (G4lvatron): This part starts with a relatively difficult mini-ship straight-fly sequence featuring numerous yellow orbs to avoid mid-flight, along with four green orbs to hit in succession. It transitions to a moderately difficult wave segment. After this, there is a relatively easy mini-UFO segment (compared to the rest of the level) with some timing. Following this is a small cube maze with a single green orb to hit, guiding the player into another ship sequence similar to the first one. This entire part also features constellations flying past the screen, both in the foreground and background, giving it a spacious feel.
- 91-100% (Terron): The last part of the level, Terron's part, features a very active background flashing in different shades of blue and pink throughout the part. It begins with a normal cube dual, which rapidly becomes a mixed dual, switching between various game modes one after another. However, there is a mini-straight-fly in the middle of the part before quickly returning to the intense mixed dual. This part continues for a while before a final solo cube appears with two orb jumps requiring no timing, followed by text saying 'Combined', 'AncientAnubis', 'Artificial Ascent', and 'GG' before the end of the level.
Gameplay
[edit | edit source]Trivia
[edit | edit source]General
[edit | edit source]- Artificial Ascent was nominated for Best Demon Megacollab in the 2.0 Geometry Dash Awards.
- Artificial Ascent was ranked #14 in GDToday's '100 Greatest Levels of All Time' list.
- Artificial Ascent is the only Technology Trilogy level that does not use a Creo song.
- Giron and Crack were both replaced by Michigun and ZenthicAlpha, respectively.
- Crack's old part still exists above ZenthicAlpha's part in the editor, as if it still formed part of the level.
- If the player crashes at Michigun's triple spike segment, Michigun's cube icon will appear and add 'Wins' or 'King' to Michigun's name, and the spaced-out triple spike will compress to normal.
- With precise timing, it is possible to jump late enough to trigger the text to appear but still survive and continue the level as normal.
- Similarly, if the player times their jump and dies on the upper half of the first spike, they will die, but the text will not appear.
- LmAnubis originally hosted Artificial Ascent before Viprin managed the level.
- LmAnubis had no hand in the final level aside from decorating the second half of Zobros's part.
- Bloodbath and Cataclysm inspire the name because BB is short for Bloodbath, and CC is short for Cataclysm; the level was named Artificial Ascent to be AA.
- There are male genitalia hidden in the structure above at 89% in G4lvatron's part.
Demonlist
[edit | edit source]- On 4 January 2017, the Pointercrate Demonlist was made, and Artificial Ascent was the inaugural Top 1, above Sakupen Hell.
- Artificial Ascent is regarded as the 26th instance of the hardest rated level in the game's history.
- Right after the official Demonlist was created, Artificial Ascent stayed on the #1 spot for ten days until it was dethroned by Sonic Wave along with Yatagarasu on 14 January 2017.
- Sonic Wave was already placed on a pre-existing version of the Demonlist but had not been placed on Pointercrate yet.
- Coincidentally, four players (Smokes, Theo, Slypp, and xander) beat Artificial Ascent on the same day—the first day of 2018.
- Sunix was tasked to be the verifier at one point, as Combined had issues with his computer. After getting it fixed, Sunix returned Artificial Ascent to the original verifier, as he found verifying the level boring compared to Sonic Wave, which he was practising.
- Zobros, Michigun, and AbstractDark's parts are claimed to be the hardest.
- SuperFX has a record of 92%, which is the first level he would potentially beat, except for the official levels; he has an attempt to jump from Stereo Madness.
- Artificial Ascent was pushed out of the Top 5 twice by Digital Descent; first, when it was initially placed, and second, when it was moved back above Artificial Ascent after its buff-date.
- The placement of untitled unmastered on 13 September 2022 pushed Artificial Ascent to the Legacy List of the Demonlist.
- Artificial Ascent beat Bloodbath's 1,997-day record for the longest-standing level before being pushed into the Legacy List, with 2,078 days. This record has since been surpassed multiple times, with Zodiac currently being the longest-lasting level on the Demonlist.
- This placement also makes Artificial Ascent the first level of the Technology Trilogy to fall off the list.
Notable fails
- Vortrox failed at 96% due to his ship flying too high.
- cobrablitz failed at 87%, 90%, and 95%.
- FinnStreams failed at 86%, which made him drop the level.
Notable completions
- Luqualizer is the first 60Hz victor of Artificial Ascent on 3 February 2019.[3]
- Coopersuper is the first to beat Artificial Ascent on mobile on 30 December 2020 in 31,613 attempts, one of his highest attempt counts in any of his beaten levels.[4]
- Coopersuper beat this on a 60Hz mobile device, while Noxop is the first High Refresh Rate victor of the level, playing on 144Hz, on 2 September 2021.[5]
Gallery
[edit | edit source]-
End screen -
A design from the original Artificial Ascent, created by LmAnubis -
Giron's cut part
