Three Things I Love About NeoLemmix

[WillLem]

Erikderkovits made a topic called 3 things I don't like about neolemmix, in which he actually mentions 4 things that frustrate him about NeoLemmix, namely:

1. The top and sides of levels being "dead zones".

2. The SUPERLEMMING level not being at the intended speed.

3. The cursor changing size when you zoom in.

4. No option for timed bombers.

Of these, I'm fine with the first and third ones because, having graduated from the University of Amiga, this is how I would expect Lemmings to behave.

I do agree about the SUPERLEMMING level, but of course it can simply be played with the Fast-Forward engaged in order to simulate the experience of playing the level as intended (as I did here).

I also agree when it comes to timed bombers as well (and, incidentally, I'd throw skill shadows in with this): I do think it should be optional. However, I think both erikderkovits and myself - and indeed others who appreciate the challenge of timed bombers - should concentrate our efforts on campaigning for their return to SuperLemmini rather than NeoLemmix (this will likely happen anyway as SuperLemmini maintainer Tsyu also likes timed bombers). As we are both SuperLemmini users anyway, it makes more sense that we should focus our energies that way when it comes to things we would prefer to see implemented and that NeoLemmix has already dismissed.

I've made it quite clear during my time on the forum so far that I'm by no means a typical "NeoLemmixer" in the way that I approach both the playing and the creation of Lemmings levels. Quite a lot about the "NeoLemmix Philosophy" has been somewhat alien to me, and I've had to almost re-learn the game and think about it in a different way in order to align myself with the community as best as I can.

Since there have been plenty of discussions already about such things, and particularly since I've started directly comparing NeoLemmix with the Amiga as a platform for playing Lemmings in my recent LP series, I thought that I'd share with you all three things that I love about NeoLemmix.

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So, here they are!

1. Steel is Steel.

This is something I always found odd about the Amiga version: you can't destroy steel... sometimes! But sometimes you can. And the physics of it aren't always clear. It seems to be that bombers can destroy it as long as they're standing on terrain when they explode near some steel, but not if they're standing on the steel itself. Bashers can sometimes make it through the edge of a steel block, but sometimes they can't even destroy the terrain immediately surrounding it. This makes no sense to me.

Happily, in NeoLemmix, steel is always steel and can never be destroyed by any means. Any terrain surrounding it can be destroyed right up to the point where the steel is visible, and terrain takes physical precedence over steel (most likely to prevent it from being hidden! )

I like this, though. Steel makes more sense to me in NeoLemmix than it ever has in any other Lemmings platform, frankly. So, it definitely gets the thumbs up from me as a feature I found particularly pleasing when I first began to play on NeoLemmix.

2. The Carefully Chosen Variety of Skills.

This is probably NeoLemmix's best feature, but I'm putting it second because it's so obvious. The skills are great, both for puzzle-lovers and action-lovers alike. Sifting out the gems from the baffling array of skills in Lemmings 2: The Tribes and marrying them up perfectly with the Classic 8 in such a way that allows them all to compliment each other is a monumental task, and one that has clearly taken a lot of time and a lot of passionate discussion from members of the community in order to achieve.

The new skills were always intriguing to me; I never felt put off by them, but they did take some getting used to. IchoTolot's NeoLemmix Introduction Pack proved to be a great way to learn the basics, and playing through the original and Oh No! levels with just the new skills as part of Minim's challenge thread helped to advance and consolidate my learning in a familiar environment.

I also see this as one of the areas where members of the community seem most open to ideas, as a lot of other topics seem pretty much closed for business as far as a lot of people are concerned, having already been discussed at length and decided upon some years before I even joined the forum. So, this is a very welcoming aspect of NeoLemmix and I fully enjoy exploring what all of the skills can do, particularly in combination with one another.

3. Framestepping.

OK, I have to admit it, I absolutely love the framestepping. What it destroys in execution difficulty it more than makes up for in making it so much easier and more enjoyable to explore a level, rewind, try out something else, skip through the long, tedious building sessions and get to finding a solution for the level.

It's also ideal for replaying levels for challenge solutions because it allows you to try out different ideas in a very short space of time. In fact, it basically renders time meaningless in the game (which is perhaps why timers are no longer seen as relevant).

I'll always love the challenge of playing a level without framestepping, and I'll always have my Amiga emulator handy for when I want that particular experience. But of all the various player-assist tools that NeoLemmix has introduced to allow players to focus on solving the puzzle, framestepping is the one that fits my gameplay style the most, and it took about thirty seconds of using it for it to feel like it had always been there.

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So there you have it! I do try to keep a balanced view of these things, and I hope that as I campaign to make SuperLemmini an ideal choice for people who enjoy a more action/execution-oriented gameplay style, there is no misunderstanding as to my appreciation for all the great things that NeoLemmix has done for the game that we all love.

[Proxima]

Sifting out the gems from the baffling array of skills in Lemmings 2: The Tribes and marrying them up perfectly with the Classic 8 in such a way that allows them all to compliment each other is a monumental task, and one that has clearly taken a lot of time and a lot of passionate discussion from members of the community in order to achieve.

The first eight new skills were added before NeoLemmix was a tool for the community, back when it was namida's engine for namida's packs, so we had no input and no discussion whatever. The first time there was a community discussion was when namida proposed adding the Fencer, although the discussion was inconclusive and several people preferred the Jumper or another skill.... Then Nepster took over for a while and ran a poll on what new features we would like, and the Shimmier and Jumper both placed in the top five, so they were scheduled to be added. And, of course, you know about the ongoing discussion around the hypothetical 20th skill.

[WillLem]

Thanks for catching me up on the history there, Proxima: I wonder who chose the 8 new skills originally added to the set, then?

Also - I read the Fencer topic and voted Yes on the Fencer skill: the poll was still open!

[namida]

Thanks for catching me up on the history there, Proxima: I wonder who chose the 8 new skills originally added to the set, then?

They were entirely my own choices, mostly based on "this sounds cool" logic rather than giving real proper thought as to how useful they'd be. Fortunately, most of them turned out to be at least fairly useful; although in all honestly I'd say that if I weren't averse to culling skills under any circumstances, the Disarmer would probably be gone by now (and possibly the Stacker too; but the rest would survive).

[Dullstar]

Most of the new skills are very useful, though the Disarmer and Stoner are probably my least used. The Stacker's property of blocking while also allowing a few lemmings to slip by during construction (as well as Climbers at any time) is useful in certain situations, but it's quite situational. The Stoner is effectively either a blocker or a quick platform, but I generally won't use it unless one of the alternatives would create a backroute that the Stoner wouldn't. I rarely use a straight-up Blocker/Bomber combo for crowd containment, and I feel like the Stoner as a Blocker alternative is less interesting due to the inability to free it.

I seem to really favor the Shimmier and Cloner. The Shimmier has been used in nearly every level I've created since its introduction, and I like Cloners as a way of turning lemmings around that can't also cancel skills like the Walker does. The Platformer also sees a lot of usage, but it's more straightforward why that one's useful.



As far as any skills go, though, I get the feeling that once I finally have enough levels to feel ready to actually make a pack, though, it's probably going to be themed around Climbers and Shimmiers, because I use them a lot. It's a lot of the reason I wanted that wall jump feature for Jumpers, too - it'll be great for that Climber/Shimmier pack.

[WillLem]

As far as any skills go, though, I get the feeling that once I finally have enough levels to feel ready to actually make a pack, though, it's probably going to be themed around Climbers and Shimmiers, because I use them a lot. It's a lot of the reason I wanted that wall jump feature for Jumpers, too - it'll be great for that Climber/Shimmier pack.

That sounds like a great idea for a pack! I also love these skills for their action potential, it'd be great to see what you come up with.

[WillLem]

Another honourable mention: Customisable Graphics

Want red and white umbrellas? Any simple PNG editor* will have you covered!

Don't like the look of the skill panel? No worries, you can build your own!

As long as you know where to find the corresponding PNG files within the NeoLemmix directory, and enjoy spending time getting creative with them, you can have your copy of NeoLemmix look pretty much however you want it to. That's both part of, and testament to, its continued encouragement of custom content, and is one of the engine's best assets.

*I recommend Paint.net. It's brilliant, and free.

[Pieuw]

Time control is indeed an awesome feature!

After fiddling with the Editor for a little while, I have to say I fell in love with groups. I didn't pay attention to this button at first, but wow is it awesome! Making all sorts of shapes and overlaping them, including erased terrain, is so easy with groups. No more messy mess when building intricate structures