[Bug] NL shows "solved" tick if I download a replay and watch it

Started by Proxima, July 03, 2018, 11:01:08 PM

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Proxima

Even more seriously, if the replay saves more than my own record, NL overwrites my record with the number achieved in the replay.

namida

How does NL differentiate between:
- Your replay vs someone else's - maybe the tick was erased (or rather, turned orange) because the level has been modified, but your replay still solves it; in this case the green tick (and records) should definitely apply.
- A replay that solves the level, vs an attempt replay (maybe your own) you used as a starting point then finished off the rest manually - to some extent this could be determined by "has the user made any action since the replay ended / was cancelled", but it would get very complicated to determine whether the action is meaningful (maybe the action was assigning a leftover floater to a lemming that doesn't ever actually fall again); and even more of a problem, how does it differentiate between "finishing off an attempt replay" vs "cancelling a solution replay before the last couple of assignments, then doing those manually". One suggestion may be "the replay file should include data on whether the replay solves the level or not" - except, this data wouldn't be present on replays that are saved before they complete the level (but require no further action beyond waiting to do so).
- Someone else's replay that solves the level, vs your own replay that you've edited by hand. Given that there's no result that can be produced this way that can't be produced by playing the game directly, and that NL's focus is on solving rather than execution, I would argue that it's legitimate, even if it may be very unconventional.

Not to mention, replays affecting progress / records / talismans is extremely useful when creating content (talismans in particular, as the mass replay checker's output itself doesn't indicate anything to do with talismans - but one can verify talisman replays in a mass check, by first clearing their save data, then running the mass check and seeing which talismans do / don't get unlocked).

Don't get me wrong, I get your point for sure - but I don't see any practical way of actually fixing it without causing even bigger problems as a result, other than maybe manually asking the user "do you want this attempt to count in records / completion" which would get annoying.
My projects
2D Lemmings: NeoLemmix (engine) | Lemmings Plus Series (level packs) | Doomsday Lemmings (level pack)
3D Lemmings: Loap (engine) | L3DEdit (level / graphics editor) | L3DUtils (replay / etc utility) | Lemmings Plus 3D (level pack)
Non-Lemmings: Commander Keen: Galaxy Reimagined (a Commander Keen fangame)

ccexplore

Does the replay file store any information about who played it?  I'm guessing no?

Perhaps a way can be provided to let a user load a replay in a "watch mode" where it will never overwrite your own records (or at least will prompt you before doing so).  It will be an explicitly invoked mode that is different from the default way of loading replays, where overwrite will happen automatically like it does now.

A slightly different take on this may be to provide a way for the user to reset their records on a specific level.  Doing so will behave as if the level was never played.  Player can then re-apply a saved replay of their own to quickly restore progress for that level back to what it should be.  A bit clunky to be sure, but an alternative nonetheless.  It would also address the situation where you forgot to load the replay in watch mode per above, and need to reset/restore progress accordingly.

namida

No, the only user-identifying data in NeoLemmix is the author field in a level file, and even that must be manually entered for each level.
My projects
2D Lemmings: NeoLemmix (engine) | Lemmings Plus Series (level packs) | Doomsday Lemmings (level pack)
3D Lemmings: Loap (engine) | L3DEdit (level / graphics editor) | L3DUtils (replay / etc utility) | Lemmings Plus 3D (level pack)
Non-Lemmings: Commander Keen: Galaxy Reimagined (a Commander Keen fangame)