Great puzzle! I enjoyed flexing my logic skills; the deductions can be used to determine what the fail states are, so the solution is very fair, but it's challenging to find the arrangement that doesn't break anything.
I love how many important Pathology structures cameo in the solution if you're paying attention, even if they are impossible to notice from the start of the puzzle.
It's infuriating that there seem to be two 96s on the wrong side, but no 94 in sight. Regardless, on the correct side I somehow avoided the 2-off that others are referring to. I jumped straight from 98 to 94. Very nice level though.
wtf man
EDIT: After having solved R4, it became much easier to understand the kind of deductions you need to be able to reach the exit, but it is still not easy or trivial. Optimization, while not brutally evil, is much more involved than the optimization of R4.
Really struggling to optimize this one. So impressive that you packed so much puzzle in such a small reason. The possibilities make my head spin
Got it down to 256! What a remarkable level. For me, the last 10 was the hardest. There are some parts where you have to be really careful. Excellent level!
Another excellent level! I got quite badly stuck at 268 (and have all sorts of longer variations, as well).
Will keep trying.
EDIT 20th Sept., 2023: I finally found a way to do this in 256 steps. Excellent level, indeed!
(6-8-2023) First time reaching the exit = 384
After much time, can only do 314, can't see any more optimizations. Shall come back later.
Really appreciate the construction!
