Lemmings Plus IV - Development Topic (Release in ~5 minutes!)

[namida]

Personally, I don't find it too difficult. We'll see how people find it when a demo is released, and if too many think it's too dark, I could brighten it up a bit.

[namida]

I'm going to stick with 4 graphic sets for this one. However, I might also consider doing VGASPEC type levels again - no choice yet on their themes. I also haven't picked any idea for the 4th graphic set yet, though most likely I'll go for something more rough-edged (though not to the same extent as the Sky set from LPIII was).


It would also seem I'm getting very good at balancing my style usage. Of the three styles that exist so far; the levels so far are 6 each in two styles, and 5 in the third. I hadn't even been paying very close attention to how much I was using each one; this is the first time I've counted.

[namida]

Another new level. Possibly the most challenging one so far (assuming no backroutes exist that I haven't found yet; which is a very poor assumption to make).

100 lemmings, 100% required
3 Climbers, 3 Builders, 5 Bashers, 3 Miners, 3 Diggers
Release Rate 99
No time limit

(Uploaded an updated image with some backroute fixes as well as a little bit of extra decorative elements.)

[mobius]

I'm anxious to make levels with that mechanical set.

What program do you use to draw the images?

I've been wanting to get one of those programs that makes simple patterns and textures. Do you know of any?

[namida]

Thought of a potential backroute to that above level... but also thought of a potential way to fix it (if it does in fact work out).

Anyway, my older graphic sets (up to and including the LPIII sets) were done in plain old MS Paint (the pre-Win7 version of it, not the awful new one). The Horror set, and these LPIV sets, are done in Paint.NET. No special pattern/texturing program involved; it's all done by hand. I make extensive use of the "Add Noise", "Gausian Blur", "Unfocus" and resizing operations to get the appearances you see in the end product, in addition to a mixture of antialiased and non-antialiased use of the regular tools. For getting the slightly-lighter/darker edges on certain sides, I most often use non-antialiased, 1 pixel thick black / white lines (for darker and lighter respectively) on their own layer, then set this layer to be almost-transparent (usually an opacity of either 15, 31 or 47).

It's also quite common for me to store "template" pieces that aren't actually used in the graphic set (or images that are used on several pieces, such as the screws used on the wood planks as well as the steel blocks in the Clockwork set), usually in Paint.NET's native format rather than PNG (so that layers are preserved).


I'd say that while the amount of work that goes into these is a fairly decent amount, the difficulty isn't really that high. It's more a matter of patience than anything else. Making enough good levels is by far the harder part of making a new Lemmings Plus pack.

[namida]

So, it's probably about time to start talking about demos.

Anyone who enters the current Level Design Contest gets early access to a demo; the public release will probably come 4-5 days after the contest demo is sent out. It doesn't matter how well you do in the contest; just that you submit an entry that's within the rules. If you get the demo through the contest, you also get some extra content that won't be in the public demo (but will, of course, be in the full version).

The public demo will contain 3 levels each from Smooth and Bumpy, 2 from Twisted, and 1 from Insane. Those who get a demo through the contest can choose for their extra content, either (a) one extra level each from Twisted and Insane, or (b) all four iterations of the once-per-rank level.

I've already mostly picked the levels to use, though I'm not 100% sure yet on the Bumpy levels - the main reason being that all three I've currently got in mind use the same graphic set, so if I make another level in a different set that seems demo-suitable, I'll probably use that instead of one of the current ones.

[namida]

I've come up with a once-per-rank level now. The concept behind this one is the same basic layout, but some of the exact details change between each version of it - for example, in one of them there's an extra wall, in another one the one-way field points in the opposite direction. All versions have the same lemming count, and a 100% save requirement. The time limit gets exponentially less each time (with the 4th iteration setting a new Lemmings Plus record for lowest time limit), while the release rate increases linearly. The number of skills reduces each time from 10 of each, to 5, then 3, then 1; in all four cases you've got four different skills, but which skills varies between iterations. (As awesome as the idea of the skillsets all being mutually exclusive is - and that could work since there's 16 skills to choose from - I didn't go with this in the end. So some skills appear in more than one iteration, although there is no skill that appears in all four iterations.)

And, I also decided to give the once-per-rank level its own unique music. In a way Lemmings Plus II did this as well, but in that case it was more a side effect of that the once-per-rank level was a Frenzy level, and no other levels were; this time it's been done fully intentionally.


By the way - still no final decisions as to the last graphic set, so feel free to throw more ideas at me. Preferably those that'd work well for a semi-rough-edged graphic set (think similar to the Snow, Tree or Martian styles, in terms of roughness - not to the level of roughness that Rock, Purple or Sky would be).

[mobius]

how about...

wasteland or nuclear fallout. [I imagine dead trees and maybe toxic labeled barrels and broken appliances.

temple ruins [this would be a good one to have both straight and rough pieces.]

underwater -no ideas on actual pieces might look like just sounds interesting. "water" trap could be vines or those heat vents under the real ocean.

[namida]

Wasteland could be an interesting idea. Post-nuclear would also be an excellent graphic set to use radiation objects in (we'll ignore the technicality that in reality, such radiation would be invisible; we already have visible radiation in 3 or 4 other graphic sets after all ). Temple ruins could work well too. I'll keep both of these in mind.

I don't see underwater working so well for Lemmings. It wouldn't really have an underwater feel to it without an appropriate background, some kind of slow-motion effect, etc - these are beyond what NeoLemmix currently supports. I'd also imagine that a lot of the terrain in such would be sand, which would make it quite similar to the Desert style.

[namida]

Development is now past half-way!

Also, the Clockwork set now has a triggered trap. I felt these were a bit underused in LPIII - only one graphic set had them at all. It remains to be seen how much use I find for them, but so far two graphic sets have them (Candy also has one, which has been used in a few levels).

[namida]

I've started sending out the contest-entry demos, even though entries haven't closed yet. Any further contest entries are still eligible for a demo, of course (with the choice of extra content).

General public release demo will be released in 4 days.

[Wafflem]

Just wanted to visit briefly to see how things are going, and it looks like there'll be a plethora of exciting fangames (including this one!).

I'm really excited for the Candy style the most, not sure why it didn't get any votes when only one picture of it has been revealed, which isn't fair to me, hence why I voted for that.

I'm not sure if you should use VGASPECs; I feel that they could work better as secret levels.

If you need more graphic set ideas, Minim posted about them in the Custom Ideas thread, which I've quoted here:

Gulf: A War-based tile set, maybe with Sentry Guns and Rifles as a trap.
Music: Speakers make great vertical walls! A drumkit may make for a challenging terrain piece.
Pirate: Similar to the beach theme, but involving Pirate ships.
Time: Literally involves clocks, with the alarm clock as a trap, although I'm not sure how you can make challenging levels without using several grandfather clocks...
Art: Now that namida has found a way to expand the number of colors, he could experiment very well with the art set! I mean, easels, paintbrushes and water is the order of the day here.

The Art idea could work very well for the semi-rough-based terrain.

I have an idea too: Farm - wood fences, barns meadows, haystacks, fields, vegetables, and farm animals (the animals have to be the moving background objects). The chickens (or any animal) can be the triggered trap (eating lemmings). Updrafts also work very well here. The haystack can also be the antisplat pad.

Can't wait for the demo!

[namida]

The LPIV Preview Video show a level (the same one as in the pic, though) using the Candy graphic set, as well as a level using the Space graphic set. By that logic, the Clockwork graphic set actually has the least revealed.

However, the demo contains levels in all three graphic sets.

Regarding the 4th graphic set, I actually have somewhat of an idea for it, though I'm not completely sure yet about how well it'll work in practice.

[namida]

I can confirm that there'll be a new object type (aside from the scrolling background object). What exactly it is though will remain a surprise, though I will say it's very closely related to an object type that has existed since the very original versions of Lemmings. Only the 4th graphic set will contain this object. The second level in the game will be a tutorial level for this object.

Speaking of which, I've decided on the 4th graphic set, and actually made very rapid progress in creating it. However, until release (or at least for now), I'm keeping secret exactly what it is, though I will say it's something that was suggested either here or in the tileset ideas topic.

[GigaLem]

Project reached 64%
Time to Get "N" the game