[Old Format][Cancelled]Holiday GigaLems 2017 Cancelled Prototype

[GigaLem]

Yeah, I have several reasons why this happened and I need go on why that is

Why is it "in Development?"
There isn't exactly an "Archived" or "Closed" Project board here, if I could be honest I wish for that to be a thing (Along with Skill emojis for the site) so those who ask with their last post to be sent there.

Why? and why now of all times?
1.I lost all inspiration for this project, I haven't even bothered with the logo or the graphics and music yet
2.Over Ambition, this is something i've ceased in my early years because I did too much at once and boy am I such an idiot for doing that
3.I really want to move on to other projects that need my attention sooner, its been on the back burner for so long that im gonna jump right in with a high head and good mood.

What also stopped me?
I play too much Pokemon XwX'

What did it contain anyway?
It would've had
-6 Ranks with 10 levels each
-Be the debut of my Friend's levels. you may know him as "Plom510" (Please get on the forum soon, you prowess needs to be shown)
-The subtitle "Homeward bound"
-The story was that the lemmings ran out of fuel during their last delivery, and they have to take the long way home, They'll travel forests, snowlands, and old factories.

What did it end up with
-94% Complete in terms of levels with two unfinished wips.
I didn't even get to assemble a .nxp

What's gonna happen with my projects in the future?
I should focus on more Realistic projects, My Milla's project is going slow but its to ensure its quality. I have to if it comes to newer levels.
If I want to make future holiday packs, I'm gonna make em smaller if I can help it. Maybe something called "Winter Festival Millas" which should have less levels with new graphic sets if possible.
have for the "GigaLems" level pack moniker....I have decided to officially Retire it, I may release my other unfinished projects and continue to focus on one big project at a time.

I deeply apologize for not keeping up with it every year but these things just fall out of my control and so does this levels block.

Plom, I thank you for helping me in the long run but it wasn't fully enough

Heres the in-assembled prototype Download

Update 12-12-21 - Recently Kaywhyn and I put together the NXP for the pack, since im prepairing another level for release, I figured I'd release this level pack in NXP form as well.
First off Kaywhyn's Playthrough, this is where  you can see this level pack in action Holiday GigaLems 2017 - Playlist
Second off, The NXP off the game and everything you need to run it, everything is here in this folder Download
Third and Last, prerelease versions of the nxps as an extra, differences can vary but they're mostly small. Though I only recommend playing it as an extra Download

[Nessy]

Don't feel bad GigaLem. This kind of stuff happens even to the best of creators. If anything you can always save whatever you have already made and you can always add to it or pick it up later on down the line

I am also really looking forward to your Milla's project as just the few levels I saw were really high quality. As mentioned, whenever you are ready to convert those levels I'll be more than happy to help. Also kind of sad that your "GigaLems" pack may be retired. I don't mind helping you convert that as well if that's the only issue.

[kaywhyn]

Hi Gigalem and Plom510,

Pack completed, so I just wanted to post my replays and provide some feedback, being the main tester of the pack to see how the levels are after having the honor of collaborating with Gigalem to update and bundle the pack together. Also, here's the link to my LP of the pack: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbp2m4KlFpJtFdpZE6NfUuGXrdscd3EWr. Enjoy!

General Feedback

This is a pack for Old Formats NL, i.e, v10.13.18, so you would need to dig up an older version of the NL player to play the pack. This pack didn't get completed fully, as Gigalem mentioned in the OP and his reasons for cancelling it. Nevertheless, there was still some true gems in here despite the incomplete state of the pack. In contrast to Holiday 2015 and Holiday 2016 (the hardest one of these three holiday packs, IMO), Holiday 2017 is easier than either one, though that's because most of the levels are currently very highly backroutable, and hence I suspect I passed a lot of levels more easily than I should had. Even then, I still enjoyed playing and solving this pack a lot.

Most of the pack consists solely of Gigalem's levels, with a few Plom510 levels here and there, and then the remainder are levels by the both of them together. In the third case, both of their names are listed in the author field together, otherwise there is only 1 name if the level is solely the work of one author. Nice work to Gigalem and Plom510, both for their solo levels and their collaboration levels!

I am extremely honored that Gigalem has credited me in the scroller for the development of this level pack alongside him, even though I played absolutely no role in making any of the levels Instead, my only contribution to the pack is simply selecting music. Here, Gigalem provided me his Holiday 2015 and Holiday 2016 music packs, where I went through the tracks and decided which to use and which ones I didn't want to use. In the end, I selected 22 out of the possible 53 tracks, some of which are Christmas tracks from his Holiday 2015 pack. As it would had taken me forever, I decided on a standard music rotation instead of preassigning a track to every level. I struggle a lot when it comes to selecting music for levels, especially since I don't know that much great music tracks.

In any case, I'm glad to see that Gigalem liked my selection for the most part. He sent me replacement tracks for 4 of the Christmas tracks I picked, which are the Acorn Archimedes tracks of certain tunes from that port of the game. Here, they reminded me too much of the SMS tracks, which I honestly am not a fan of. However, by working together with Gigalem here, I happily made some concessions and agreed that two of the Acorn Archimedes can stay, as after listening to them again they weren't as bad as I initially thought. One of them was one that he really wanted to keep for the pack. Since this is Gigalem's pack, I definitely wanted Gigalem to be represented in as many ways as possible, which included him having a role in picking some of the music too. In turn, I replaced the other two Acorn Archimedes tracks with a corresponding port version. Instead of the Acorn Archimedes version of "Dance of the Swans" and "Mind The Step," I replaced them with the Mandelsoft remix and Dos version of the tracks, respectively. Of course, I sent earlier draft versions of the .nxp file to Gigalem so that we could look over the pack together, and so obviously he can leave his Archimedes Acorn tracks in his version or rebundle the pack accordingly as he desires. The fact I replaced them was simply due to how I'm not a personal fan of the SMS or Acorn Archimedes tracks for the most part, instead preferring the Canadian/Dos tracks, since I grew up with both, as well as for the purpose of LPing the pack. Yes, I prefer to use the preferred music pack for level packs, but since I helped Gigalem with the development of the level pack, I might as well use music I like for the purposes of the LP.

I do this in Part 1 of the LP, but once again, I must thank Gigalem for granting me permission to LP and record my playthrough of the pack This is the very first level pack I have done a LP in real time on camera for Old Formats NL. This pack absolutely deserves to see the light of day, and I am all too willing to help out my friend here in any way I can. I absolutely look forward to his future projects and collaborating on them and assisting him whenever he needs my help

SugarPlum Rank Feedback

Very nice first rank! Nothing too particularly difficult in this rank, so not much to say here. A lot of these levels are very visually impressive, and Gigalem is one of the most artistic people I know on the Forums here! All the levels in this rank were made by him. SugarPlum 1 - Crash Landed is a great level to start off the pack and to get players into it. My favorite level in this rank would go to SugarPlum 9 - Mall Crossing and hence I think this can do for a remake My favorite tilesets tend to be L2 Outdoor, Toys, and BeastII of a level, and hence SugarPlum 2 - There are forests abound!, SugarPlum 5 - Back at the toy store, and SugarPlum 10 - Where Naughty Lemmings Go! are my favorites visually. Another favorite tileset of mine is Lab from Lemmings 3D, so SugarPlum 4 - Tribal Stumbling could also be a potential favorite.

I think the hardest level of the rank would go to SugarPlum 6 - Screwballs on Christmas. It's not a very hard level, even though it appears to be very intimidating and difficult due to the very tall level size, but it's not. A bit too repetitive for my liking, although the level concept is nice. Also, I think the pixel precision can be reduced a bit, as I think it's a bit overdone here.

SugarPlum 8 - SXSP can also potentially be difficult, but it's not that bad either. I think this is the very first time I've played a level in this tileset.


Cuddly Rank Feedback

This rank is somewhat a significant step up in difficulty, as there are far more hard levels here than in the previous rank. Here, the levels I thought were hard include Cuddly 3 - Treezy Does it, Cuddly 5 - Devine [sic] intentions, Cuddly 7 - Cry me a river, Build a bridge, Cuddly 8 - Presents of mind are an engima, Cuddly 9 - Monarch of the High Ground, and Cuddly 10 - White as Snow. For Cuddly 3, it can potentially be difficult, although here a gripe I have is that it's not very clear that the lemmings will fall into the updraft trigger and hence survive near the exit. Here, I would make it more clear that's the case, as, at least in my solution, you don't see them fall more slowly.

For Cuddly 5, it can be a bit difficult to figure out the most efficient way to get through the obstacles in order to reach the exit. Gigalem has told me there's only one part I did as intended.

Cuddly 7 isn't very hard, but there is the potential to be difficult despite just 3 skill types. As I suspected, I really overcomplicated the platformer usages, as confirmed by Gigalem. Decent puzzle.

I didn't struggle too much with Cuddly 9, but it too has the potential to be difficult. It can be hard to find the best way to get everyone, who are preplaced climbers, up to the exit. Yet another decent puzzle here.

Finally, I struggled with Cuddly 10 way longer than you actually see in the LP video (I don't have the original recording for Cuddly 9 and Cuddly 10). It took me probably close to 40 minutes before I solved it. Not easy at all figuring out the best route to take, as well as ways to be very efficient in skill usages so that you don't use more than is necessary.

Cuddly 6 - An abandoned path was my absolute favorite in this rank. Somewhat hard, but it has a very nice solution that I like so much that I think this can do for a remake! As a plus, it's a level in one of my favorite tilesets.


Festive Rank Feedback

Should be harder than the previous the two ranks, but honestly this one felt somewhat easier. That's probably because I ended up severely backrouting several levels here!

Spoiler

Festive 1 - The Runaround Nice level to start off the rank. The timing was a bit tight in my solution, but then again I think it can be done so that it isn't the case. Gigalem has already told me that my solution isn't exactly intended, but it the way I used the other platformers don't break the level in any way.

Festive 2 - No day off for the holidays I feel as if this was inspired by a level from Lemmings Migration due to the title, the one that mentions "accident" as one of the last rank levels. More or less uses the same concept idea as Cuddly 2 with the climber bombing, although one bomber needs to be done on the other side while falling for each obstacle.

Festive 3 - Depths Perception Almost a complete breather here, although the builder for the exit is quite precise. Here, I have to suspect that one can avoid this by using a stoner there and then building instead.

Festive 4 - Another gap to cross Very bad backroute, as Gigalem has mentioned. It's easier than it appears as a result, though I suspect that the intended solution is supposed to be much harder than the solution I found.

Festive 5 - Xmas-Axis, Y-axis, & Z-axis I like how the title refers to the mathematical concept of the triple coordinate plane. I've been told that I did most parts correctly, but it was unintended with not collecting the bomber pickup. Even then, I can see this one being a difficult one.

Festive 6 - Leaf me alone! I'm Bushed! Backroute here as well, particularly the part near the exit where I avoided a pickup just like the previous level Decent zombie puzzle where you really need to think about how best to avoid the zombies near the start with the given skills.

Festive 7 - The giving tree Hard one but my absolute favorite here! Thus, this can do for a remake as well. One miner being enough to contain the crowd at the start was hard to see. Some other parts can be difficult to see too, but the solution can be logically deduced given enough time when playing through the level. Nice job here, Gigalem!

Festive 8 - In the merry fine arts I'm certain this is a bad backroute. Again, I think the solution is supposed to be much harder than this. Still a pretty decent one.

Festive 9 - Donation Alley The only level in the pack that needed more than one video to solve. Definitely a hard one. I'm not sure if Gigalem is aware that stoners cannot be used to extend a basher on the right side, as I kept trying to adjust the position of the stoner and basher and they all failed. Thus, this strongly indicates that the intended way is to send the crowd up the top of the level, as there's no way to get the level solved otherwise. This can be difficult to achieve, especially in the starting area. I didn't use collect either the platformer or the basher pickup, so maybe a backroute in the end?

Festive 10 - Blocked and Loaded Looks difficult, but it's really not, thanks to the huge amount of builders that you are provided. Seems to be an any way you want level. Nice level in the Toys tileset. I think this might do for a remake. 

Biting Rank Feedback

Back to difficult for this rank. Lots of wide and very tall levels here, and some of these happen to be very hard! This is also the first rank of the pack where we finally start seeing levels made together by both Plom510 and Gigalem.

Spoiler

Biting 1 - Rocking around the Xmas Forest Nice level to start off the rank. Looks hard, but it's not. The save requirement is somewhat lenient here. The coordination among a few worker lemmings can be a bit difficult to time.

Biting 2 - Frost and Flow Very nice solution! I like how you have to clear the obstacles at the right times in order to make sure no one splats while having everyone take several rounds around the level. I'm not sure if it's intended for the first ice steam blower to not kill the lemmings. I have a basher leftover, and here I presume it's to avoid the ice steam blower trap? Probably a potential remake here?

Biting 3 - The Modern Art galery [sic] The very first collaboration level by Plom510 and Gigalem of the pack. I bet I really scared the both of them when I was certain I was going to severely backroute the level, only to find that the red pieces are actually steel here. Then again, I might had made them smile when they see me doing that in the LP, not aware until it was too late and I got taken by surprise with steel. Despite the left over skills, this appears to be an anything goes level. The both of them did great with this one.

Biting 4 - Not So Northern Lights Second collab level by Plom510 and Gigalem. Only a little bit harder than the previous level, although it also appears to be an any way you want level. If not, then slight backroute here most likely, especially with the way I avoided losses on the left side.

Biting 5 - I'll go forward My solution is probably a minor backroute here, but I really love how the crowd takes the long way around on the far left side while you send up some worker lemmings ahead to forge the path before the crowd arrives. This might do for a remake, although I don't blame Gigalem if he doesn't want to, as this would be quite a task to recreate due to how very wide the level is. It's also already in a favorite tileset of mine, save for the very well-hidden weasel trap by design, though it's not present here, and in New Formats NL it's not a problem due to the secondary animation which gives its location dead away.

Biting 6 - Another tree to climb Very hard level. Possibly the hardest of the rank. Not easy at all with finding the best way to get up the level and into the exit. Skills here appear to be super tight. Fortunately, the save requirement is lenient. I might had overcomplicated the solution here, although I think the path I took to the right is the best way to solve the level. Not sure.

Biting 7 - Plom's Nonsensical Fun Land Somewhat difficult, not anywhere near as hard as the previous level. There were some pixel precise skill assignments here, notably the tall wall without OWAs and the resulting builder, as well as diggers and bombing to make sure both sides of the wall would get cleared by a bomber. I have a bomber leftover, which proves that the 4-bomber version was possible the entire time. The version that's in the pack increased the number of bombers from 4 to 5, but as my solution shows no change to the level is necessary. Possible remake here?

Biting 8 - Merry Fistmas Another somewhat hard level, but a very nice one. Not easy to figure out how to best go about the level, especially with avoiding the traps before you get the disarmer pickup. My solution is probably a minor backroute, especially with the way I used a platformer to turn the climber back to the exit.

Biting 9 - Heat Vent Fixing Not as hard as the previous two levels, but it can still be challenging. At the same time, the somewhat big size gives the appearance of a hard level, but it's not too bad. Again, maybe a minor backroute here as well, especially with the tools I used to save the climber.

Biting 10 - Shadow of Santa Claus Pretty certain this is an any way you want level. Very hard level here, given the very tall size of the level, though maybe second hardest to Biting 6. The skillset might appear to be huge, but as you work through the level it won't be the case, considering a lot of wonky and rough terrain to get through. In particular, getting on tops of the trees with the leaves there's a lot of nuisances with the tiny holes/gaps that can interrupt your destructive skills. At least in my solution, the swimmer sound got on my nerves because of it constantly going off. I don't think my solution would work on New Formats NL, as I think the swimmer physics change would cause them to fall off the bottom of the level. It's not a problem in Old Formats NL, but I think switching to the v12.10 NL players will. It was also annoying to find the right timings to do some skill assignments so that I can block in the lemmings so that only one goes on ahead instead of several and many go splat. 

Gelid Rank Feedback

Probably only a bit easier than the previous rank, or at least the difficulty comes pretty close to that of the Biting rank.

Spoiler

Gelid 1 - Frost Fight Fort! Nice level to start off the rank! Looks hard, but it's not, especially given the very lenient save requirement. The hardest part is getting the crowd up after getting the landing platform in for the entrance so no one drowns, but you have far more than enough tools to do so. Seems to be an any way you want level. Could probably do for a remake.

Gelid 2 - Out on a limb Surprisingly a hard one, although my solution is likely a backroute. I totally didn't pay attention to how I lost 1 more than you're allowed due to the way I platformed at the start. That time, I was able to save a walker, but in my successful attempt I was able to save a platformer. Thus, should be a backroute either way

Gelid 3 - Some (Dis)Assembly Required It seems the intended way is to take multiple directions, but it's possible to simply have everyone go the same way. At the same time, seems to be an anything goes level. Certainly gives the appearance of a difficult level due to the sheer size. Nice level either way! Possible remake here?

Gelid 4 - Iced Hams Very nice level! One of my absolute favorites here, so I think this can do for a remake. If you take the normal route, you will only save half, or just one entrance, as you don't have enough to save both entrances this way. Instead, you need to think outside the box. The builder assignment to connect with the miner tunnel is a bit precise, though.

Gelid 5 - Grinded to Rust! Somewhat hard, especially with figuring out how to get all the buttons. I like the concept here of bashing with another lemming inside the digger and cloning in order to reach the buttons, and then once low enough you use the digger to bash and clone. My main gripe here is how the fire trap gives the appearance of killing the lemmings when you start bashing so that no pixels of ceiling remain above the basher but doesn't. It appears there's hidden terrain behind it, although I think it's just simply due to the basher checks once the digger is low enough. I have a lot of climbers leftover, so maybe a very bad backroute here? Also, I cloned a lemming going to the right in order to block at the end of the builder staircase so that no one slips past him and hence I lose too many to the bottomless pit. I don't think it's possible to adjust the digger/basher assignments and blocking the basher going to the right so that you don't have a lot bunched up and lose many to the bottomless pit.

Gelid 6 - Coming Together Another somewhat hard level, though here I was unaware that 1 builder is enough for both entrances to stop either one from splatting. I really like the puzzle here that involves figuring out how to get the worker lemmings to certain places in order to build from both sides of the gap to get over them. Perhaps the unintended part is with losing lemmings to the trap at the top on the left side, but even then the save requirement is very lenient here. Possible remake here?

Gelid 7 - Black as Coal Builderless level, one of my favorite types of levels in the game! This one was a quick solve for me, although I can see how this one can be hard. Any solution you find can easily be adapted for the other side due to the level being symmetrical. Can probably be a potential for a remake here, although at the same time the design is very monotone. Most likely the remake won't be, if it's agreed to do one.

Gelid 8 - Floating Chasm Hard level. Not easy figuring out the best path to get through the level. Skills may seem plentiful, but it's not that much once you start working through the level. I think the part where you think there's water behind the terrain is a bit deceptive, but then again I could had saved myself the trouble of finding out by using CPM. However, I'm a LPer who prefers not to use it while solving on camera. Builders are a very precious commodity here, as they're in very short supply and hence I think that's what increases the challenge significantly. I do like how you have to send multiple workers to several different areas in the level in order to make a safe path for both entrances.

Gelid 9 - Trash the Miners As the title suggests, you don't get miners here. In addition, another builderless level. Nice! Way too repetitive for my liking, though I like how you can use walkers to cancel diggers instead of a basher in order to keep the staircase steppable. The skills might seem plentiful, but they surprisingly run out fast. I think I could of had a much easier time had I realized that I could use walkers to cancel diggers earlier and hence have more bashers to work with. Definitely harder than Gelid 7 due to how it can be difficult to conceptualize what needs to happen in the level in order to get everyone up to the exit.

Gelid 10 - Are we in Sinnoh? Hardest level of the rank and I think also the hardest level of the entire pack in its current state. Thus, quite fitting for the rank finisher. I really like how a digger can keep going at the start if you place it correctly so that you can send the crowd to the bottom and further into the level. I wonder if it's necessary to use a walker to give a lemming a head start to dig so that no one slips by and you lose one to the water. Then again, I think that's what the swimmers are for so that spending a walker isn't needed. So, it appears that I overcomplicated the start The hardest part was certainly the part with the very large structure with down OWAs on the left side of the level. This is also a part that I feel I severely overcomplicated, especially since the 1 miner used here is very pixel precise so that he doesn't stop at the slope. The timing was also just right so that I didn't need to use a walker to turn a lemming around to climb and then block just as the miner broke through the structure. I also needed to time the assigning of a walker to another climber in order to get him to block at the right moment for the miner to turn back to the left so that it's low enough to get the crowd up. The rest of the level is somewhat straightforward after this maddening precision I used. You pretty much cannot waste anything here, as the skillset is very restrictive. There is some leeway, but not much at all. 

Scrooge Rank Feedback

I feel as if I pretty much backrouted every level save for possibly the final level of the rank. This is the only rank that doesn't have the full 10 levels, being only half completed at 5 levels total. As such, I went through the rank very quickly because of the very bad backroutes for the most part. I also managed to do all the rank in just one video

Spoiler

Scrooge 1 - Poor Lemming Strut Very bad backroute I found there that completely ignores the bottom part, where it seems that it's intended to be used

Scrooge 2 - Cluttered Workspace The huge size of the level definitely gives it the appearance of a hard level, and it is a hard level. I feel the only backroutish part was the way I turned the crowd back to the left towards the exit with the bomber and basher. I also managed to do the work with mostly the triathlete (climber, glider, and disarmer), while pretty much ignoring the preplaced floater.

Scrooge 3 - Let's get a move on! Might be a backroute here given the skills I had left, but if not maybe an anything goes level? I really like the tileset mixing here.

Scrooge 4 - Abandoned Toys It seems that it was a mistake to provide the stoner at the very start, as that easily makes a splatform for the entrance Somewhat hard one despite it, but it seems the intention is to get up the level to make the splatform via the builders/platformers for the entrance. Once again, I like the tileset mixing here!

Scrooge 5 - That's it! I'm getting me cane! To round off the pack in its unfinished state, a somewhat hard level, although the hardest part was certainly the sealing up the gap at the very top to keep going to the right, especially with the very limited supply of builders. I think that might be the only way to solve the level, but I could be wrong. Still, nice challenging level to end the pack.

Thanks again for the pack, Plom510 and Gigalem! I enjoyed what I saw of the pack despite the unfinished state of the pack. It was an honor being the main tester of the pack here Looking forward to collaborations of future projects, and you know how to reach me in case you need my aid/assistance


Quick recap of level remakes:

SugarPlum 1 – Crash landed (added, undecided before)
SugarPlum 2 – There are forests abound! (added, undecided before as well)
SugarPlum 5 - Back at the toy store (forgot about this one as well)
SugarPlum 8 – SXSP (added, undecided before)
SugarPlum 9 - Mall Crossing
SugarPlum 10 – Where Naughty Lemmings Go! (added, was thinking of including this before but kind of wasn't sure, but after Gigalem suggested I do agree here)
Cuddly 6 – An abandoned path
Festive 7 – The giving tree
Gelid 4 – Iced Hams

Undecided for a Remake

Festive 10 – Blocked and Loaded
Biting 2 – Frost and Flow
Biting 7 – Plom's Nonsensical Fun Land
Cuddly 10 - White as Snow (now added, both gigalem and i are still deciding with this one)
Gelid 1 – Frost Fight Fort!
Gelid 3 – Some (Dis)Assembly Required
Gelid 6 – Coming Together
Gelid 7 – Black as Coal
Scrooge 5 - That's it! I'm getting my cane! (forgot about this one here too)

edit: I added in the level titles, as well as added a couple of more after looking through the pack some more again for potential remakes. Again, just suggestions, but Gigalem and I have been discussing and we've reached mutual agreements on some with the added ones, others we're not sure yet but we'll work something out with some in-depth discussion after solutions have been talked about. It's great working/collaborating with him on this
     

[GigaLem]

Theres an update to the pack, and that's the form of a playable build of the game, check the first post for details