Plans for V1.37n

[namida]

Okay - this is gonna be the most significant update in a while!

Mainly because... I'm dropping the one pack = one EXE model! From V1.37n onwards, there'll be just a single "NeoLemmix.exe", with level packs taking the form of an external file that can be loaded by this EXE. These external files will still contain the entire game's data in a single file (excluding a music pack, which can still be created and provided seperately just like it can be now). This will slightly reduce the size of downloads for each pack, but the real advantage is that you won't have to rely on level creators to update their packs to the latest version each time there's an update to NeoLemmix (they'll still need to update it to V1.37n, though for any authors that have disappeared or simply refuse to pay attention to their older packs, I'm sure I can do the conversion; but updates to any further versions after that won't be nessecary as it's no longer built into an EXE). All official games are already ready-to-go once the update drops (which I still need to sort out a few things before it can); Lemmings Plus games might be a little bit behind.

(This also has the nice, although probably not important these days, side effect of that you can now use a Windows 95 / 98 / ME computer to build your custom pack, as the Flexi Toolkit doesn't have to be able to build the data into an EXE. Also, in case you were wondering, the same NeoLemmix.exe can also be used for the editor's testplay mode.)

That aside, I'm going to do something about the replay issue mentioned here. Exactly what that'll be, I haven't decided yet. Feel free to add your input to that topic.

Since most people seem to be at least okay with it, if not outright in support of it, and keeping it may be complicated especially since it's one of those options that should probably be global, yet there's good arguments for making it configurable per-pack (and would take a lot of work to implement "configure global, allow per-pack override"), percentages are going to be a thing of the past. Just like Lix, Cheapo, and (I think?) Lemmini; NeoLemmix is going to work purely based on lemming counts from now on. For now, I've designed the removal so that it can be fairly easily reverted if people really decide "no, no, bring it back!", but I'm going to leave it out for a while to see if it really is that big of an issue.

And - you may notice how one Lemmings Plus III level has a special, hardcoded level password. You might've wanted to do this for your own pack, either as a one-off thing for a special level or two, or even do something L3D-like where every level has a predefined meaningful (or pseudo-meaningful) code of some kind rather than randomly generated ones. Heck, you might even just want to use your own randomly generated ones, rather than relying on a code seed that another pack may share. You'll be able to do this in V1.37n, at last!

Depending on how long it takes to come to a conclusion on the replay matter, I might also get around to doing something about the much-requested lemming counts in zombie/ghost levels and/or adding more info to the skill bar. If not, they won't be far behind. But I can assure you they are both on my "to do soon" list.

If there's anything else you think should make it into this update, let me know here.

(One thing that might come up - music files by name rather than number. Although the player already supports this, implementing support in the toolkit will be a bit trickier with how it's currently designed, so it's not going to happen yet. It'll happen eventually.)

EDIT: Other changes:
> The cheat level hotkey (1 by default) has been removed; it's long since been deprecated anyway. You can of course still use the direct access codes (TRICKY10 / 0210), or left/right from preview screen.
> "REPLAY" is now displayed (when no lemming is moused-over) in the info bar when a replay is playing.

[Nepster]

As you already mention an update in the password system, let me ask this: Will there be a possibility to remove passwords altogether, i.e. enable the cheatmode permanently in a level pack (without requiring that the player enters a cheatcode)?

[namida]

As you already mention an update in the password system, let me ask this: Will there be a possibility to remove passwords altogether, i.e. enable the cheatmode permanently in a level pack (without requiring that the player enters a cheatcode)?

The option already exists (the "Unlock All Levels" option in Flexi Toolkit), and from V1.37n will be the default option (but can still be turned off). Codes will still exist in such a case, but will be more or less redundant since all levels are unlocked anyway.

[Wafflem]

Will the "Source" from the LPF/LPFII games (the one where it specifies which pack and level rank position) also be implemented into V1.37?

[namida]

Will the "Source" from the LPF/LPFII games (the one where it specifies which pack and level rank position) also be implemented into V1.37?

I'm probably either going to just let them say "Author" (since it's still obvious what it means), or else fully allow customizing that screen's texts. Or rather - the latter is to be done eventually, but V1.37n might just do the former.

[namida]

Remaining things to do before release:
> Implement a NeoLemmix version compatibility check (just in case)
> Remember directory to load replays from
> Implement icons rather than one-letter abbreviations on the info panel
> Change info panel (possibly as option to select between classic or new mode): http://www.lemmingsforums.net/index.php?topic=2362.msg54733#msg54733
> Fix a bug where certain packs' save files from older versions won't load in the new version. This only affects previously-built-from-source packs, not those made with Flexi.
> Fix talismans; something seems to have completely broken them
> Add functionality to load a single level, without having to do so via the editor and testplay mode
> Fix bug: Custom graphic sets not working in load single level mode
> Fix bug: Custom music not working in testplay mode
> Fix bug: Global settings seem to be ignored in testplay mode

And possibly, although it might wait until a later update:
> Cancel replay button

[namida]

Here's a look at the new NeoLemmix V1.37n info bar!

For reasons that I've discussed with a few people, I'm going to make this the only option in V1.37n. If there really is a lot of demand for the older style (of displaying "OUT" and "IN" in the way L1 does), I can consider re-implementing that in a later version.


This example panel shows PSYCHO 1 "Variety Day" from Lemmings Plus I; possibly one of my most well-known levels (hence me feeling it was a good one to use as an example). This level has 20 lemmings and requires you to save 18.

The first icon, represented by a crude window, shows how many lemmings remain unspawned. In this case, 8 lemmings are still waiting to drop from the window.
The second icon, represented by a lemming, shows how many lemmings are still alive. This includes both those who have spawned already and those who are waiting to spawn.
The third icon, represented by a goal flag, shows how many lemmings you've saved relative to the requirement. In this case, the player is 18 lemmings short of meeting the save requirement, so it shows -18. If it gets to 0, that means you've reached the requirement; if it goes above 0, you've saved more than is needed.
The fourth icon shows the time. In this picture, the icon is an hourglass, because Variety Day has a time limit. In levels that do not have a time limit, instead of an hourglass, it shows a stopwatch; in this case, the display is not how much time you have remaining (since your time is unlimited in such a case), but how much time you've taken. (Credit goes to Simon for both of these timer-related icons.)

Not shown: A red "R" will appear just to the left of the window icon, if the game is in replay mode.

This also means the "Rescue Count Blink" option is now irrelevant (since you can always tell whether you've met the required amount or not), so it is being removed. The Lemming Count blink, although somewhat pointless, will remain.

[Braden12 [Deleted]]

Great work namida!

Also, cool example with using "Variety Day" - I remember beating that level just to see if I could do it, but this was at least five years ago! (I remember playing the entire PSYCHO 1 level pack, or most of it anyway) But it was only for DOS CustLemm of course though.

[namida]

Oops, this topic should be closed now that V1.37n is released. Thanks for the compliment, though. I encourage you to try out the full Lemmings Plus I pack - grab a copy of NeoLemmix V1.37n, then check the "Lemmings Plus Series" topic in the "Other Projects" subforum.