[NeoLemmix]Yung's First Level Pack

[Yung Gotenks]

Hello there!
This is my first pack EVER, so please tell if it's good or not!

This pack has 3 ranks with 5 levels each. I know, criminally short, but i didn't want to go super big for my first level pack.
This pack will probably get updated, so look out for that if it ever happens.
It's a simple level pack with rank signs being the only custom thing here.
EDIT: 8.15.17
UPDATED to v1.1
Changelog:
-Switched Rank 1 level 2 with rank 1 level 3
-Changed some level design choices
-Fixed the backroute in Rank 3 Level 4


And now, some screenshots

Rank 1:Calm
Just Mine!



Rank 2: Decent
Frosted and Roasted Lemmings



Rank 3: Suspicious
Over the Gap



Download!
http://www.mediafire.com/file/8wqk69b5b42q1kw/Yung%27s+First+Level+Pack1.1.nxp
Hope you enjoy!

[Flopsy]

I've had a run through of this myself and it's good for a first try, there aren't any errors in the nxp when I tried to run it.

This uses Neo Lemmix v10.012.xxx which is not the latest version but that's not really an issue with the levels in this pack.

Even the rank signs look good, a different background color would be better for each different rank though.

I would avoid using mediafire to host downloads in future. The nxp was only 6MB and this is smaller than the 16MB limit which you can attach to forum replies.
Plus mediafire tends to hit you with annoying ad pages and potentially malicious sites the moment you click download.

Dropbox is a great alternative for file hosting and is used by a lot of people on here if you have big files which need downloading which exceed the 16MB

If you can't attach files which are less than 16MB to messages then it is a bug and needs reporting

Also, it is recommended that you don't put music files in the nxp, there was music from other Lemmings ports in here and the file size reflects this. It's ok given the small size of the pack but just a warning for if you make a bigger pack in future that the music files will inflate the file size of the nxp.
It is general now to have the music files as a separate download in a .zip file

I've attached my replays at the bottom of the post

Individual level feedback - in spoiler tags to avoid spoilers for those who haven't played

Spoiler

General comments - There is a lot of levels where you can just use Blockers and Walkers to contain the lemming crowd and send one worker lemming. These levels are generally ok if there isn't a lot of them. The best lemmings levels on here tend to be ones where you don't do what the Lemmings designers did with Original Lemmings and Oh No More Lemmings, containing crowd with blockers and sending worker lemmings seem to be the thing they did to death.
Also Time limits are generally not needed most of the time, you should only add time limits to block backroutes which take longer to execute than the intended solution. Time limits are ok if it fits the theme of the level you're trying to go for.

Calm 1 - It's generally frowned upon to put time limits in levels which don't really add anything to the level. Other than that it's a nice first level first rank level.
Calm 2 - The pillars near the trapdoor have very minute gaps between them which caught me off guard, I'm not sure if that's intentional or not but I can see other people commenting on this. Otherwise another nice level.
Calm 3 - Solution is simplistic but the level design is good
Calm 4 - Another nice looking level
Calm 5 - I really liked the look of this level but I felt it was let down by the intense amount of building. It would have been more interesting I felt if one could not bash through the wall above the flamethrower but that's my personal opinion. I get the feeling the intended solution would have been to build around the flamethrower.

Decent 1 - Brilliant level, I liked how the 2 lemming crowds could not join together and the platforming over the traps at the end was a nice touch.
Decent 2 - I felt this was a little too neat for a Rock tileset level, they are supposed to be jagged and lumpy like the Snow tileset I feel, that's my personal opinion though. I feel this level would work better without the platformers and have just builders.
Decent 3 - Great level, this one really got my thinking. It felt like hitting Crazy 1 in Oh No More Lemmings, where have all the skills gone?! More levels like this please! Time limit is not necessary here.
Decent 4 - Great level design, this level was not too bad solution wise. Although the lower block near the start is actually 1 pixel to the right of the upper block, not sure if this was intentional but it wasn't clear to the player either.
Decent 5 - This level could be greatly improved if you made all of the gaps such that they only required 1 builder or 1 platformer. Having gaps which are just too long to make it with one builder are frowned upon generally - either make them long enough such that they require the full length of 2 builders/platformers or make them short enough for 1.

Suspicious 1 - I don't often see ice blowers pointing upwards so this was a first for me. I'm not sure how others would feel about this but it's a nice level nonetheless. Making a good snow level tends to be hard I find so Snow levels will always get a thumbs up from me.
Suspicious 2 - I liked this level again but the building gaps are a bit too long. Long building sections should be avoided in general. I liked the use of the fencer in this level.
Suspicious 3 - Good level but would work better as a first rank level, I'm not sure if this was placed here because the title suggests that you need to take a break in a harder rank.
Suspicious 4 - Here we have a backroute (almost certain), I feel like this level could be good with a bit of tweaking. Also why not make all of the lemmings spawn as Climbers and Floaters. The 15 floaters in the skillset doesn't add anything because all of the lemmings will need them. The prettiest looking level in the pack I think.
Suspicious 5 - This level could do with more decoration, it's a very empty looking level. This level also seems to suffer the most from the Blocker/Walker method I used throughout the pack. It could be more interesting with more advanced containment techniques.

I don't mean to be harsh in this feedback, it will help your levels get better in the long run. I'm just making general observations on what other people will tend to say when they play these levels.

[Nepster]

Very nice, little and relatively easy pack. Replays attached to this post.

Some general comments:
- The best level is "There is only one-way". The two snow levels "Frosted and Roasted Lemmings" and "Builders are your best friend" are great, too!
- My solution to "Looks can be deceiving" seems to be too simple. Perhaps this is an unintended backroute?
- "Up and down lemmings": The gaps between the pillars are not readily recognizable as such. I would either close them or make them bigger. This level could be moved to a later position, btw.
- You tend to give more builders and platformers than necessary. This allows solutions that just build over every obstacle, e.g. in "The Marble Pillars". Such levels would be more fun for me if you reduce the number of builders to force me to use other skills as well.
- Sometimes you give more permanent skills than lemmings in the level, e.g. the climbers in "The Hellhouse". Usually the number of permenent skills is at most the number of lemmings.
- In some levels like "Cave Lemmings", the screen start position does not show the hatch. I prefer it otherwise.

[Nessy]

Hello Yung Gotenks.

Congratulations on making your first pack! I have played through it and here are my comments:

Spoiler

Calm 1 - Just Mine: A nice little level to start the pack off.

Calm 2 - Up And Down Lemmings: Calm 2 is a good first think-before-you-act puzzle where Lemmings automatically walk into danger and you have to plan accordingly. Personally, I think this level should switch places with Calm 3. In Calm 2 the Lemmings automatically head into danger while in Calm 3 they don't, making Calm 2 trickier than Calm 3.

Calm 3 - Up In The Trees: See Calm 2.

Calm 4 - Mind The Pond: Nice little level. By the way, did you purposely leave the flag off the exit? It doesn't bother me, I was just curious.

Calm 5 - The Hellhouse: A good level to end the first rank.

Decent 1 - Frosted And Roasted Lemmings: A good early second-rank level. However, I think the save requirement can go higher, otherwise you can pass the level by focusing on one entrance only. I liked the idea of using platformers or bashers to bypass the traps instead of a traditional "just build over it" approach.

Decent 2 - Cave Lemmings: I think this level would have been better if the number of builders and/or platforms was much lower, as to start forcing the player to be smart about how they use those skills in the terrain. For example, builders can be used over the first pond, but platformers have to be used in the second pond since it is much larger than the first pond.

Decent 3 - There Is Only One-Way: The best level in the pack in my opinion, and a good introduction to one-way walls in the pack.

Decent 4 - Distance: Interesting level. I would force the drop from the second floor to be lethal as to make saving them part of the solution.

Decent 5 - The Marble Pillars: It was a nice level, but I think I would lower the number of skills you have to force the player to be careful about where they use each skill and allow other skills to be used. For example, I bashed under the last trap but a lot of people would just build over it. Forcing the solution to use up all builders and/or platforms beforehand as to force that trick at the end would be pretty neat in my opinion.

Suspicious 1 - Builders Are Your Best Friend: Nice level with an interesting use of the froze trap.

Suspicious 2 - Over The Gap: The look of this level was a bit boring, but that's just me. It was a bit builder heavy for its position and the Swimmer skill wasn't used in my solution. I wouldn't have minded seeing a solution where the Swimmer is used to cross the first large gap and you have to work backwards from there.

Suspicious 3 - Take A Little Break: A bit too easy for its position. This level would probably have made a good early Calm level.

Suspicious 4 - Looks Can Be Deceiving: I have two replays for this level: one is a backroute I found and another one was my attempt at solving the level the way I think the intended solution was supposed to be. Most likely I'm way off, but if I'm not it will be an excellent puzzle level.

Suspicious 5 - Ending It Off: A bit too easy for its position.



Final Comments:

Overall this was a good, fun first level pack. I did notice that there were some levels where the amount of permanent skills was greater than the max number of Lemmings in the level, and that there were some levels where the starting position was not at the entrance. The latter doesn't bother me but it can be a bit annoying to other people. I would also start lowering the amount of Blocker and Walker skills in later levels as to start having the player think about containing the Lemmings in creative ways. Also, some of the save requirments were too low. Other than that keep making levels!

[Yung Gotenks]

Thanks to all of you for giving my level pack a chance!
and yes, there is a unintended backroute in rank 3 level 4, so i'll try to find a way 'round it.

[Yung Gotenks]

There is a new update
Check the OP (Original Post).

[Nessy]

Hey Yung Gotenks.

Nice fix on the backroute for "Looks Can Be Deceiving". Unfortunately, I was able to find another backroute (replay attached below). See the Spoiler tag for details.

Spoiler

I think an easy way to fix it is to add steel on the bottom part of the large walls I bashed through in my backroute replay. However, I don't know if that will interfere with your intended solution. I did try to solve the level the way I think you wanted it to be solved (replay also attached below) by doing the following:
- I allowed the Lemmings the climb up the first two walls.
- The last lemming made a bridge under the staircase-like structure after those two walls.
- The first lemming platformed over the gap before the trap to allow the other Lemmings to overtake the platformer to fall inside the little structure and get stuck there.
- I used the Clone skill on the platformer when he finished to bunch up two lemmings together so one could get past the trap.
- Finally, that same lemming collected the two basher pickup skills at the end to free the trapped lemmings.

I'm not sure if I was close with this since I didn't use all the basher and platform skills. I don't you to spoiler the solution, but am I on the right track at least?

[Yung Gotenks]

Hmm, that's unfortunate. i tried putting steel where the source of the backroute is but the lemmings still turn around.
I think this is a unfixable backroute

[nin10doadict]

This was a pretty neat pack. There were a lot of 'contain everybody while you build the path' levels but there's nothing really wrong with that. It just makes everything feel a little bit samey.
Because you have to save less than half in Decent 1, you can just ignore either the top or bottom entirely. Seems a bit odd.
The graphics pieces are sometimes laid out a little bit oddly, like that spot of water in Suspicious 2 that's completely under the ground, yet you can still see pixels of it popping out through the top. There was also the lizard in Decent 2 that had its trigger buried in the ground, thus rendering it useless. Apart from those little things, it looked pretty nice overall.
I was also able to cheese Suspicious 4 by just cranking the release rate to 99 immediately and then starting to bash through the wall. Most of the lemmings will turn around by the time you get through. By doing the same thing with the second wall everyone will turn around. Then you just clone the basher 3 times and you're done. It's even still possible to save the basher by platforming out and then cutting him off with another basher so he can climb out. Still a pretty neat level, and it stands out among the others as being more puzzle-oriented.
I think my favorite was "There is only one way." "Distance" was pretty good too; I feel like with some tweaks it could be made into something very interesting that forces you to use some skills in different ways.
The difficulty curve was pretty well laid out, and though it was overall easy it was still fun. Good job!

[Strato Incendus]

Hi Yung Gotenks,

so, this pack came out around the time when I joined the forum. The main reason it took me so long to play it was that I was just completely overwhelmed by the difficulty of most custom packs here, so I figured this one would be similarly difficult. Especially with smaller packs (e.g. Lemmings Migration), I often expect these will be especially challenging, because likely more work went into each single level.

Then again, I also knew this was your first level pack, so I didn't expect anything too mean either .

Overall, the difficulty seems to be pretty flat line - I don't really notice an increase from rank 1 to rank 3. The main exception is "Looks can be deceiving", although I managed to backroute that level once again .

The main reason this pack is not very challenging is the abundance of skills you provide. Especially walkers, platformers, and builders, all of which are very powerful skills, are often provided in such high quantities that it's never really a problem to e.g. free a blocker in order to save everyone, or to turn a lemming around.

The builder is strong enough by itself already; its main weakness can be the fact that it's gaining height, so lemmings can easily bump their heads when trying to build a longer bridge under a low ceiling. But you almost always give the player additional platformers to compensate for that.

Some levels have many builders and only 2 platformers, or vice versa, so you have to put a little effort in to figure out where these two skills should go, but I found out that more often than not, it doesn't even end up mattering that much.

But there's obviously an easy way to fix this: Just remove all skills that are not part of your intended solution!

There were a couple of levels though that did a good job at restricting the players options, namely by not providing any downward-moving destructive skills (i.e. no diggers, miners, or bombers, but only bashers).

That is a concept I'd suggest exploring further! You can easily turn this on its head, for example by creating a level where the lemmings have to move upwards, but you don't provide any builders, fencers, or climbers, but e.g. only platformers and bashers, possibly miners.

My replays are attached.