Integral Lemmings

[Swerdis]

Hi tan x,

thank you so much for your feedback. One word about laserers. I wasn't so convinced about this skill at first - but that was because I thought the Laserer would shoot upwards, vertically, just as in Lemmings 2 The Tribes. I didn't follow the entire discussion, so I was very pleasantly surprised that this is obviously not the case. The angled laser opens many more possibilities and your two levels already prove that.

[kaywhyn]

Hi tan x,

I've finally got the chance to play through the new Alpha rank, and I solved all the levels. Here is my entire replay collection, which includes the replays to the Alpha rank, although you only need to check the Alpha rank. Also, you can view my LP through the link I previously provided when I posted my replays and feedback to the Epsilon and Delta ranks, as I simply tacked on additional videos to my playlist. At the same time, you're likely getting Youtube notifications for my videos going up, meaning at least the Youtube bell is working for you

Alpha Rank Feedback

This rank, as described by tan x, challenges the tendency of level designers to make levels with a specific solution by dedicated an entire rank of open-ended levels and challenging players to get creative and find any working solution to them. Even though these levels are intended to be open-ended, it doesn't mean they will be complete cakewalks compared to the Epsilon and Delta rank levels. Indeed, I found some of these levels to be challenging despite the generous skillsets. I also found a lot of these really interesting in their own right. Though I was a big dummy on some of these levels, they ultimately fell by my solving prowess

After having played through and solved these levels, the Alpha rank is definitely worth playing through. It's not just an extra rank thrown in to serve as a bonus rank of sorts, it definitely feels as if they're part of the main pack, just with the concept of all being open-ended levels where almost any working solution should be fine and not a backroute.

Spoiler

Alpha 1 - The Locked Room Mysteries Nice level to start off the rank. I'm aware that it should be possible to save everyone, I just didn't bother to because honestly the repeated digging and cancelling to get through the OWW is a bit annoying to me.

Alpha 2 - Unfriendly Neighbours Another nice one, if one that looks more challenging than it actually is. Really once you find a way to get rid of the zombies, the rest is not a problem. Here, I simply made a containment pit inside the wall All it took was two sacrifices.

Alpha 3 - These lemmings and those lemmings Funny how I first tried bombing through the OWW, only to reject it too quickly and decide to approach the level another way. Then I watch Swerdis' solution and finds that all the time I spent could had been much less because bombing through does work after all. So, lots of overthinking on my part and being a big dummy and not realizing for a while that I can save a lot of platformers by sliding and then shimmying. Even then, this was a really interesting puzzle if you decide to take a non-linear approach. Challenging but has lots of very interesting ways to go about it.

Alpha 4 - Crowd Control It's obvious what needs to be done here, executing and getting it to work is difficult and can be maddening. Indeed, I had trouble making a narrow enough containment pit and finding an RR that works to compress the lemmings enough to minimize losses to the vine trap. Almost reminds me of Delta 9 in a way, except this one is far easier due to the generous skillset.

Alpha 5 - Thick and Thin Very nice and interesting puzzle involving an entrance that's both a preassigned climber and slider one! Very nice puzzles in various areas, especially the middle and juggling with keeping everyone safe if trying for the save all. The exit area can be the most problematic due to infamous nature of sliders going out the wrong way, but it appears the key here is to max out the RR at an opportune time so that no one gets blocked by the platformer bricks and then can't be saved.

Alpha 6 - A Sorting Problem Yup, I think you succeeded with making this a really hard level by swapping some entrances here. It's quite obvious here that the swimmers need to use the bottom right exit, but how to do that when it's right where the floater hatch is makes the level hard. I had to use some delay and stalling tactics to get a floater ahead of the swimmers in order to make it the last one to exit the top middle exit. I also cut off the builder staircase and made a tiny pixel gap so that it can be sealed off again with another builder before any floaters fall through to the water while letting the swimmers through first before it gets closed off. I certainly like the level for its concept of 4 entrances all with a different permanent athlete skill though! This level reminds me of a level from the NL Introduction pack involving a very similar concept!

Alpha 7 - The Big Dig Not much to say here in that this nearly a complete breather even this late in the rank. The hard part and main obstacle is the potential time cruncher. It's funny how I didn't realize bashers aren't provided, but I can understand why, as it would have been very straightforward otherwise.

Alpha 8 - Equivalent Exchange This was a difficult level for me, but once again it's a very interesting puzzle. I love how there's two specialist groups here, a preassigned glider hatch on the far left, and a preassigned floater hatch on the far right. It took me a while to realize that only floaters can access the left exit, although it's because I was wondering how to get down there if a laserer doesn't allow one to come from the right side due to the angle. I pretty much took a bottom route, in contrast to Swerdis, who took the top route pretty much all the way. Thus, the level is quite interesting for how there's multiple approaches to this level, one of which I didn't consider that Swerdis found.

Alpha 9 - Fun with Lasers Love how it's a builderless level, and the main challenge is figuring out how to go about the level with laserers as your only skill to destroy terrain and the rest of the skills are athletic ones. It's important to realize there only the top entrance can access the right exit, as it's impossible for the bottom entrance to get up there due to the gap where they are. No possibility of using terrain to get around that with them. Very nice laserer level, although honestly I'm not all that enthusiastic with laserers being in stable NL. It feels too "futuristic" and thus has no place in NL IMO. Its place in L2 is fine though.

Alpha 10 - Escape from Zombie Island Nice level to finish off the rank. Once again, I'm not too much of a fan of repeated digging and cancelling to get through terrain. Here, I managed a save all by containing the left zombie hatch between stackers where they can't get to the regular lemmings, while for the right entrance I simply bashed and platformed high enough to avoid them. Other than the repeated digging, it was fun working this one out. 

Thanks again for the Alpha rank, tan x!

[Apjjm]

I played through the alpha rank - some really nice open ended levels here that are certainly challenging even with the generous skill assignments. Great job tan x dx

Spoiler

1 The Locked Room Mysteries - A nice start to the rank. I went for the talisman on this one by using the diggers to get through the one-way wall.

2 Unfriendly Neighbours - The talisman to this one was quite the challenge, as rescuing the lemming that lets the zombies free was surprisingly tricky! I ended up constructing a small holding area which I sealed off at the last second for my solution on this one. I wanted to try and use the wheel trap at the top initially, but couldn't find a way to work that with the talisman.

3 These lemmings and those lemmings - Tricky level! Allowing the climbers to still be able to get up the central pillar again took me a little while to spot with the way I approached this one. I liked the way the disamers released the climbers at the end though.

4 Crowd Control - Compressing the lemmings is the main difficulty on this one. I construced a fairly narrow holding area using a miner + basher combo repeatedly but that doesn't get close to the talisman which seems pretty hard. I guess that probably involves some RR manipulation?

5 Thick and Thin - A favourite of the rank. I really like the way you have to be careful with the builders near the end of the puzzle to not leave too many behind. The various bits of terrain in the middle provide a lot of different options for how you split up the workers too.

6 A Sorting Problem - A very nice idea with filtering out the different hatches into different exits. The main challenge I ran into was how to filter the swimmers from the floaters - The only behavioural differences betwen the crowd are that one bunch falls slower & the other can swim. Unsurprisingly, letting half the lemmings drown doesn't solve the level, so I opted for catching the floaters after the swimmers fell past.

7 The Big Dig - Certainly a bit of an easier level compared to the previous few.  My first attempt did fall 10 seconds short of the time limit so I needed to go back and optimise things a bit. I wonder if the time limit on this could be made more of a soft-limit by adding a higher lemming total?

8 Equivalent Exchange - Tricky level, the platformers really run out quickly on this one too. Working out how to get to the bottom left exit is a challenging part given the laserer skill is all you have. I wasn't able to find a solution that preserved enough platformers that had the two sides of the map cross over, but I did find one where each side solved on their own. I'm guessing this is probably not fully intended, given the title hints at at least some interaction between the two crowds.

9 Fun with Lasers - A great builderless level & surprisingly tricky - especially given how strong the laserer skill can be in places for opening up areas of the terrain from distance. I liked the detail of using sliders rather than floaters / gliders here. They add some additional complexity and care required, otherwise they can easily end up going the wrong way out of a laserer tunnel.

10 Escape from Zombie Island - A really nice level to finish off the rank. I really liked the tension between wanting to get rid of the zombies to make a worker area but needing to keep them around so the basher doesn't go into the exit. I couldn't find a nice way to handle the crowd of zombies near the exit without digging through the one-way wall, but on reflection maybe I could have set up the holding trap on that side of the exit?

[Swerdis]

8 Equivalent Exchange - Tricky level, the platformers really run out quickly on this one too. Working out how to get to the bottom left exit is a challenging part given the laserer skill is all you have. I wasn't able to find a solution that preserved enough platformers that had the two sides of the map cross over, but I did find one where each side solved on their own. I'm guessing this is probably not fully intended, given the title hints at at least some interaction between the two crowds.

That's really interesting. I tried, but couldn't find a way to treat the crowds independent from each other. But I found a cross-over-solution. There is more than one, for Kaywhyn found a completely different way. He used a bottom route while I went over the top.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2HXekZehlo&t=2s

[∫tan x dx]

Hi Kaywhyn!

Once again, it's been a pleasure to watch your LPs. I always find it interesting to catch a glimpse into other peoples' thought processes.

Here's my feedback on your replays:

Spoiler

The Locked Room Mysteries - A good start! The bomber route is of course the easiest to execute.

Unfriendly Neighbours - Nicely done trapping those zombies!

These lemmings and those lemmings - Another good solution!

Crowd Control - A very impressive solution that saves 39 and doesn't involve changing the RR! Nice one!

Thick and Thin - This level is very focused on multitasking - making sure each lemming keeps out of trouble. That didn't seem to cause too much trouble for you, though! Nice 100% solution!

A Sorting Problem - Now this is a very fun solution! Lots of moving parts to get the different skill types to where they need to be. Interestingly enough, there's an often overlooked game mechanic that actually makes this level much easier to solve. I might make a separate post about it!

The Big Dig - Another great solution!

Equivalent Exchange - I'm surprised how many unique approaches there are to this level! Great solution!

Fun with Lasers - I'm glad you enjoyed this builderless level! Levels without construction skills really offer themselves to interesting ideas and solutions!

Escape from Zombie Island - Wow! A 100% solution! You even managed to save all the zombies too! Incredible work!

I'm really glad you enjoyed my levels, and thanks once again for the LPs

[∫tan x dx]

Hi Apjjm!

I'm glad you enjoyed my levels!

Here are my thoughts on your solutions:

Spoiler

The Locked Room Mysteries - A nice solution!

Unfriendly Neighbours - Oh WOW! That was brilliant! Saving that lemming at the last second was a thing of beauty! :thumbsup;

These lemmings and those lemmings - A very creative solution! I especially like the digger staircase to free the disarmers.

Crowd Control - Great solution! Saving 39 does indeed require manipulating the RR (Although it seems Kaywhyn has proved otherwise )

Thick and Thin - This level is tricky in that you need the majority of lemmings to be close together for the part at the end. The problem is that more lemmings require more coordination! Great solution

A Sorting Problem - When I first saw your solution with the separating of swimmers and floaters, I burst out into amazed laughter. That is utterly incredible!

The Big Dig - A very nice solution, which sees the lemmings jumping for joy! Nicely done!

Equivalent Exchange - A very interesting solution indeed! I consider this to be a valid solution, even if the level turned into a disjoint union!

Fun with Lasers - Great solution! I like the laser staircase that you carved out near the top!

Escape from Zombie Island - Aha! A gold talisman solution! Excellent work with the trick involving

Spoiler

a zombified basher bashing through the exit

Excellent work!

Thank you very much for playing my levels.

[WillLem]

Having a look at Alpha today, these are some neat levels! Open-ended whilst still presenting an interesting challenge, and the map layouts have a simplistic and minimalist charm to them which can be difficult to manage when designing this sort of level. Great work!

Saved 39 on the zombie level Unfriendly Neighbours. The simple design of this level is very deceptive, as it's actually quite difficult to work out how to get around the zombie crowd. I'll keep going for the 40, I'm sure I can do it - Method 2 is the closest I've got so far

[WillLem]

Absolutely love this level

[WillLem]

Aaaand that's the Alpha levels completed. Really enjoyed these, some good solid map designs in here and an appealing variety of levels. These are difficult; anyone who hasn't played L1 completely would struggle with these for sure. However, the open-endedness is inviting and helps to get the brain in gear for the later levels.

Some feedback on each level:

Spoiler

1 The Locked Room Mysteries - A good level to set the tone for the rank; multiple possible solutions but very non-trivial, and in fact quite a challenge. I couldn't get the talisman for this one, but managed a 39/40 solution.

2 Unfriendly Neighbours - One of my favourites. Simple map reminiscent of ONML, and several different possible solutions. Again with the talisman, I can't quite see a way to save the lem that lets the zombies through. I'll keep trying.

3 These Lemmings And Those Lemmings - You can mostly brute-force your way through this one, but I like that it introduces pre-assigned skill hatches in a fairly open-ended environment, as this format presents bigger challenges later in the pack.

4 Crowd Control - Took me a while to realise that this is a compression method level. I PM'd you to say that this level is too difficult for a first rank, but tbh the levels increase in difficulty from here onwards anyway so I take it back.

5 Thick And Thin - I really enjoyed figuring out how to save all of the lems in this level. It took me a fair few attempts but I got there eventually. The pre-assigned sliders make this very tricky; whilst playing this, I learned that shimmiers transition to sliders, something I was unaware of previously!

6 A Sorting Problem - Another one of my favourites; I love that the challenge here is to find a way to group the pre-assigned lems together so that you can send them to a particular exit. I very likely overdid this, especially given that there is a way to do the level in 1.5 mins (my solution takes well over 3 mins), but it was a lot of fun and very satisfying to finally solve it!

7 The Big Dig - This may be the first backroute solution; saved all 60 and got the talisman with a brute force hack.

8 Equivalent Exchange - This was my first no-solve, but I came back and had another look at it; when you really look at how the other skills besides the platformers and laserers can be used, it helps to unlock the solution. I'd say that this is one of the least open-ended levels in spite of its generous skillset, since the map really only allows one possible route for each group. A good challenge though, and satisfying to figure out.

9 Fun With Lasers - By far the least open ended level, but very well placed. By now, the player knows shimmiers, sliders and laserers quite well from having seen them in the previous levels. This was another one which I had to skip over, but later returned to it and was able to save all but 2 lems. I'd suggest removing the limited exits from this level unless they're absolutely necessary, since a save-39 is possible with regular exits.

10 Escape From Zombie Island - By far my favourite level in the rank. A not-too-difficult zombie level and a great way to round off the group The lack of destructive skills makes this one very taxing; I'd like to see the intended talisman solution tbh, because it really does look impossible! At first I thought it might involve using Stackers to continue the Basher, but that would likely take way more than 10 Stackers and it would also take the Basher lem in front of the exit.

Enjoy the replays

[WillLem]

Here's a Save-36 on Epsilon 2 What Lems Beneath. This is an optimisation/slight variation of Swerdis' solution which

Spoiler

makes use of the Basher to save the Blocker on the bridge, and only loses the lems required to be non-rescuable Blockers and/or Bombers

[∫tan x dx]

Hi WillLem!

I'm very glad you enjoyed my puzzles!

Here's my thoughts on your replays:

Spoiler

The Locked Room Mysteries - A good start to the rank! I like the way you combined both groups in the middle, then separated them precisely so that each exit got the right amount. Very fun!
Unfriendly Neighbours - Two very fun solutions! The 100% talisman for this level is one of the more challenging for this pack. There's usually a lot of preparation involved, and some very cheeky timing needed to pull it off
The Lemmings And Those Lemmings - Another pair of fun solutions. Special commendations in the first one for solving the level without disarming either trap!
Crowd Control - Nice talisman solution!
Thick And Thin - Nicely done! The last part of this level is definitely the part that requires the most planning.
A Sorting Problem - A very fun solution! And nobody else has found a talisman solution yet either... The tricky part here is figuring out how to separate floaters from swimmers, and your use of a large drop is very clever. As a hint, the talisman solution makes use of a very obscure and often overlooked game mechanic...
The Big Dig - Aha! This is the first solution I've seen that goes over the top! This is a perfectly valid solution! Nice one!
Equivalent Exchange - Another great solution! There are actually a number of variations for this level, including a disjoint union!
Fun With Lasers - Another great solution. I think the exit limits are necessary here, since otherwise players could simply guide all lemmings to the bottom left exit.
Escape From Zombie Island - And a nice end to the rank! The talisman for this level is indeed a very tricky one indeed, once again making use of an overlooked game mechanic. Check the other reposted replays for a talisman solution.

What Lems Beneath - A good solution! Nice use of efficiency

Thank you very much for your replays and feedback. Have you had a look at any of the other levels in the pack?

[IchoTolot]

Here are my solutions for the Alpha rank (with talismans).

[∫tan x dx]

Hi Ichotolot!

There's a few highlights from your replays:

Spoiler

Unfriendly Neighbours - I always love solutions with quick reflexes, and this solution is no different! Have to be quick when there's zombies around!
The Lemmings And Those Lemmings - Oh cool! I've not seen a solution that involves bombing from the right side! Nice lemming control!
Crowd Control - Nice synchronisation with the lemmings and the hatch here!
A Sorting Problem - A very streamlined solution! A kind of "blink and you'll miss it" approach.
Escape From Zombie Island - I absolutely adore the builder/basher staircase solution here! Awesome!

Thank you very much for your replays!