[NeoLemmix] Lemmings Migration

[joshescue18]

I solved all of the levels.

[Nessy]

Nice job! I'll take a look at your replies later on today. Right now I'm going to update the custom music.

[Nessy]

I have fixed the custom music using the program nin10doadict mentioned. Thanks again!
- All custom music files are now .ogg files
- Loops have been fixed

[nin10doadict]

The music changes are definitely a step in the right direction, but there's still some improvement to be made. Here's a few tips for you.

Firstly, you can use 'Stereo track to Mono' from the Tracks menu to convert the song to a single track. It sounds almost the same but reduces the filesize, and makes it easier to work with.

Secondly, metadata tags. You don't have to have the loop start at the beginning of the track and end at the end. By using metadata tags, you can avoid losing the intro to songs like Gritzy Desert.

To do this, you'll first want to click the arrow next to one of the selection viewer windows at the bottom so that you can view the selection position in samples as opposed to minutes and seconds. The metadata tag uses samples, so you'll need these numbers.

Next, find a point in the song that makes for a good starting point for your loop. It can be a part that's easy for your ear to recognize, or a part where the waveform stands out somehow. Once you've selected that point, make note of what sample number it's at. I like to have a .txt file open to record these numbers. To really make your loop sound pristine and hard to detect, pick a point of zero amplitude on the waveform.

Do the same thing with finding the endpoint to the loop and again, make note of which sample number that's at. You can use Ctrl+1 to zoom in and Ctrl+3 to zoom out, so you can pick points precisely.

To test your loop, highlight the whole section of the loop, hold Shift, then click play. This will play the selection and loop it when it reaches the end; ideally, you won't even be able to hear when the loop happens.

Once you've got the whole loop section picked out, note the length of the loop in samples. The endpoint doesn't actually matter; what you need is the start point and the length.

If you want, you can trim off any section beyond the loop to cut down the filesize. (You should also trim the start so there isn't dead space before the start of the song.) Another good idea is to amplify the whole track to match the amplitude of the other songs you're using so that the volume is streamlined. It's nice when you don't have one song that's way too loud or way too quiet.

Once that's all done and you have the start point and loop length, you're ready to export. Use Export Audio (from the File menu) and you'll get the option to add metadata tags. Add two tags and call them LOOPSTART and LOOPLENGTH. For their values, enter the values that you recorded earlier. Export the file and it should work in game!

I've attached the Skull Dungeon theme after I reworked it by following these steps so you can see what it looks like when it's done. It seems like a lot at first, but with a bit of practice it becomes pretty easy. I may not be able to beat people's tough levels, but I can make sure they have high quality music!

[Nessy]

Thank you nin10doadict for taking the time to write all of this useful information for me I'm going to work on this today if I have some time, and I'll make you proud. I guess I can make good levels, but sound editing is something I need a lot more practice on .

[Nessy]

Okay, so I was able to do a quick one right now. I attached my fixed .ogg file used in the final level.

[nin10doadict]

Nicely done! Sounds really good.
Do remember to trim off anything that comes after the end of the loop though. You don't even have to be that precise about it, just make sure you don't cut out anything inside the loop. By trimming off the excess at the end of that file I cut the filesize nearly in half without affecting the song at all. It's nice to do this because it makes downloading it faster and just takes up less space in general.

[Nessy]

Finally got around to fixing and trimming all of the custom music. The link in the original post has been updated. It should now be more enjoyable and pleasant to the ear, especially on the harder levels

Once again, thanks nin10doadict for all your help!

[nin10doadict]

You're welcome! Looks like you've got the music thing nailed down now, which is great.
Been jumping around through the levels a bit. Some of the rank 2 levels still elude me, but I finished Headache 1 and 8. Nice trickery with the blocker in Kings of the Castle.

[Nessy]

Glad to hear your enjoying the levels and that you're almost done with Headache! The difficulty curve is still a little wacky so if you don't mind, and if you feel like it, can you tell me which Rank 2 levels are giving you trouble? There are some Rank 2 levels that have mixed opinions on how difficult they are and I would like your input on that.

The levels in question are...

Irritation 3 Ancient Temple Of Lemming
Irritation 4 Never Getting Back Together

[Flopsy]

Sorry I've been overlooking the recently released Lemmings packs due to being busy with the SEB Lems release.

Arty and Proxima were in IRC the other day and were stuck on Irritation 2 and Irritation 5 from this pack. I jumped on the pack to have a look at these 2 levels specifically.

I solved the levels quite quickly but I was really impressed at how good they are.

So for this reason, I've decided this pack will be my next Let's Play when I return to Lemmings following my Sonic 25th Anniversary tribute on my YT channel.
I don't know when exactly this will be but I'll post in here when I do start it

PS Attached my replays to Irritation 2 and 5 as well

(I still intend to finish Lemmingbytes however LPV may be abandoned due to the pack being too hard on final rank and plus namida is probably not going to see any subsequent videos I make, I may carry on with this if he ever returns however)

[Nessy]

Hey Flopsy, sorry for taking so long to respond to this as some personal stuff came up and I was trying to get the new NeoLemmix applications uploaded.

First off, it would be an honor if you did an LP of my pack . I know that when people do LPs they don't sit down and think about what they are going to say, they just say it and that's pretty good feedback in my opinion. Plus it's strangely fun watching all the attempts a person makes on a level instead of the final and successful attempt.

As for the custom music you shouldn't have any problems if you choose to use it. It's just 3D Lemmings and Nintendo music. The latter is at more risk, but it shouldn't happen.

I definitely recommend finishing LemmingBytes. It does get tough at the end, but not as much as some of the later Lemmings Plus entries.

I really need to try participating in the IRC chat one day. I was too shy at first, but I think I'm ready now.

[nin10doadict]

I would dive into the IRC chat if I had any idea how it worked...
As for the Irritation levels that have me stuck:

Spoiler

'Never getting back together' (no idea on this one), 'An incident in the mine' (I found something that looked like it should have worked but it just doesn't), and 'Cringe comedy' (I have no idea here either.)
'Ancient temple of Lemming' had a really nasty trick to it (builder through the thin wall, seriously? I didn't try pulling that until the final rank in Squared and it was more evident you had to do it. Then again this pack was designed to be hard and Squared is still a hot mess) but I was still able to figure it out. Perhaps move it up to the end of the rank, but it still feels like it should be rank 2 considering the horrors that are in ranks 3 and 4.
'Two for tea please' also stood out as really hard. I think the steel there near the end may have been added to prevent a cheese strat that I still made work, but if what I did was intended then it's ridiculously precise. I think I just had a series of nice coincidences manage to line everything up. I attached a replay so you can check that out.

I just realized I've cleared 19/40 levels so far. If I can beat one more I'm gonna call that a victory.

[Nessy]

For nin10doadict

Good feedback in your previous post, but you overcomplicated Ancient Temple Of Lemming majorly. The intended solution doesn't involve anything close to building through a thin wall, and Two For Tea Please doesn't require insane precision. That's all I'm saying.

I mentioned this several times but I actually didn't think this pack was going to be so hard. I guess that's just my style of level making, but hopefully if I make another pack I can at least make a better difficulty curve that starts easy and gets hard instead of it starts hard and it just gets harder.

[Flopsy]

I would dive into the IRC chat if I had any idea how it worked...

It's simple nin10doadict, it really is not as bad as it sounds. You're welcome as well Nessy of course!
Just go to this site, it's just a chat room contained in a webpage.

http://webchat.quakenet.org/?channels=lix,neolemmix

If you use this link then the channels are already entered in for you. This will join 2 chats at once, if you only want to join the NeoLemmix or just the Lix then delete the other one as appropriate.
All you have to do is enter your nickname and press join, you don't need to make an account or anything like that (ignore the Log into Q option, you don't need to use that).

The IRC chat tends to be at its busiest in the evening times, if you log in late at night then there won't be many people in there so don't get discouraged if you log in and there's hardly anyone there just try another time.

I've noticed a lot of people trying to use the IRC for the first time in the past, they log in at the quiet times and they think it's always like that and then don't come back.
To give you an idea, the IRC tends to go quiet about 3 hours before the time of this post.