I think the current playing public expect to see and jump on brains. At least, if you have a brain, have them able to hit it. If you want some puzzle element, have the brain clearly isolated and the puzzle clearly outlined.
Yes, but what exactly do you mean? You can connect up a piston or winches to move a switch. For my buggy I created a device that allowed a three-way switch to be operated by two indepedent grab switches, the only way to manage forward and reverse on motors, so its certainly possible to create varied solutions.
Regards the update, the Global Settings one is interesting in that it's been around in game for a while, but not released for us creators. There's a little 'Planet Earth' widget present in some official levels that starts light fades. Will make for a fabulous dynamic in levels, and really showcase the beautiful lighting engine! I wonder what has caused the change of heart, and how other features are being addressed? eg. Why does MM get to use long textboxes with red highlighted words but we're limited to 2-lines?