[NeoLemmix] Lemmings Halloween 2017

[Nepster]

and next error -> Exception EPngError in module NeoLemmix.exe at 0026A6DA. Not a vaild PNG file.

minglw encountered this error, too. I already fixed this for the next player update, which I will hopefully be able to release tomorrow. Sorry about not being faster.

[Ryemanni]

You also need to move the "ray_spooky" folder from the zip to the styles folder. Do the same with the content of the music and sound folders.

[joshescue18]

I solved them all.

[openmind]

I will have to wait for the Experimental Versions next version of the error fix.
or someone tell me how solve ways. (Nepster told me)

bcoz Experimental Versions can't run before install Halloween 2017.
- Error message (on Windows 10).
"Exception EPngError in module NeoLemmix.exe at 0026A6DA. Not a vaild PNG file."

I enjoy played Stable Versions V10.13.18

Stable Versions can runing , no problem , this version need *.nxp. (very simple and easy)
but other *.nxsv can't run without *.dat. (I don't know where is *.dat)

I think Halloween 2017 release *.nxp version better for beginner.

[Flopsy]

Forgot to post my replay files from my LP Raymanni

[kaywhyn]

Hey Ryemanni, I've noticed that the download link for this pack in the OP is broken. Would you by any chance have a working download link for it? I would like to download and play this pack, as it looks nice and pretty cool. If not, no worries.

[ericderkovits]

hey Ryemanni, yes your link is broken, It would be nice to have this pack availiable(if possible) since Halloween is approaching.

[jkapp76]

I want to ask for a working link as well. Looks like a fun pack.

[Ryemanni]

Sorry about the broken link. I don't really have plans to update this pack to the new format (at least yet), but the least I can do for now is to upload the original files here again. You can play these in v12.03.01.
(Check OP for the new link!)

[kaywhyn]

Hi Ryemanni,

Thanks so much for finally reposting a working download link for the level pack I myself have been wanting to play this pack, as I believe some others as well but we couldn't because the download link the OP is broken. However, I just remembered that Flopsy provided me a working download from almost 2 years ago, so technically I could had played it from a while back, but I still haven't Thus, I'm sure the others who wanted to download the pack are grateful for a working link now I also don't have to worry about whether or not if I could publicly LP the pack anymore while there was a broken download link

You might want to replace the broken link in the OP and update it with the new one, as it's usually customary to put the pack download there for convenience and anyone who wants to download it can find it in an easy to access place instead of needing to search around the thread for it because it's buried somewhere among the multiple posts.

Also, I would like to give some advice on how to zip up the files so that it makes installation of your pack easy in case there are some users who aren't sure how to get the pack into NL. Here, I would advise taking the music, styles, and sound folders out of the Lemmings_Halloween_2017 pack and putting them on the same level as the aforementioned folder, i.e, when the zip is downloaded and opened, the user would see 4 folders right away. Everything else can be left in the Lemmings_Halloween_2017 folder. In addition, I would make a folder called "levels" in the same place where the other 3 folders are, and put the Lemmings_Halloween_2017 inside the "levels" folder. In this way, all the user has to do is simply extract all of the folders to his or her NL directory, and everything will just fall into place. Viola, the user will now see the pack in NL when the player is launched.

In any case, I'm just posting to confirm that everything loads correctly in v12.12.4. The only thing is that there was a pop-up saying that the style ray_spooky predates v12.7, but all one needs to do is open the style manager and download the style and then all the levels will load up fine.

Thank you again, and now I have this pack that I need to playthrough. I think I will also LP it, so when I do I will provide you the link to it. Yea, I know it's not anywhere near Halloween anymore, but who says the pack needs to be played around that time I'm still going to be playing some holiday packs around this time as well. I'm not sure when I'll be able to get to this pack, though. There's so many other level packs that I need to play through. So many packs, so little time

Finally, welcome back to the Forums after a long absence    

[Ryemanni]

Thank you. I replaced the working link in the op.
It's been a long time since I used neolemmix, so I wasn't sure how easy it would be to convert old levels into the new format. Turns out it's very simple, so I'll replace the link in the op once again with your recommended fixes in mind.

[kaywhyn]

Hi Ryemanni,

Pack solved. My replays are attached and some feedback. Also, you're already aware of it, but I'm going to provide the link to my LP of the pack as well in case anyone else wants to watch it: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbp2m4KlFpJvWoQMjXr405bTqxXQco37s. Enjoy!

General Feedback

Lemmings Halloween 2017 is Ryemanni's second pack, after Raylems, the latter of which is currently only for Old Formats NL. Perhaps I can ask him if he has plans to convert that over to New Formats, as I remember it being a great pack when I played it years ago and if not, perhaps I can get his blessing to do it myself. I especially was amazed by his tileset creations used for that pack!

As indicated by the name, Lemmings Halloween 2017 is a Halloween themed pack which uses a new tileset called spooky. Other than the spooky tileset, there are two other styles used for the pack, Fire from L1 and Gronkling's Menacing tileset. I had been wanting to play through this pack for quite a while, but the problem was that the download link was dead for a very long time by the time I did come around to expressing my interest in doing so. Ryemanni finally returned to the Forums after a very long absence at the beginning of this year and has restored a working download link for the pack. Thanks again for that, and it's wonderful having you back! Also it's been wonderful getting to know you better on Discord

In my experiences, I was taken by complete surprise by how difficult the pack already starts from the get-go with the first level. It remains difficult for the entire pack, with probably only 3 breather levels out of the 20 total. It was clear to me after just the first two levels that the pack will not be a cakewalk in any way. However, as I have told Ryemanni that challenging/hard levels are absolutely my favorite type of levels in Lemmings, I really enjoyed this pack a lot. The puzzles in here are great and do not disappoint in any way, other than the ones that are a bit too heavy on the precision/fiddliness for my liking. After finishing the pack, this level pack for sure earns a spot on my list of favorite packs of all time, meaning I can definitely and highly recommend this pack for others to play, with the understanding and warning that it's not an easy pack by any means As such, I 100% classify the difficulty of the pack as Medium-Hard for anyone who's interested in what the difficulty of the pack is. It might even go to Very Hard, but I think the pack as a whole the difficulty averages out to be about Hard at the highest.

Trick or Treat Rank Feedback

Despite being a 20 level pack of just one rank, it's not an easy pack in any way as I've already mentioned.

Spoiler

Trick or Treat 1 - Night Shift Nice level to start off the pack, though I was surprised by how such a level manages to be challenging despite the very minimal skillset. I pointed it out at some point in the LP, but perhaps a secondary animation for the grabbing hand trap is needed so that anyone can easily make out that it's a trap. The trigger can easily be mistaken for harmless similar looking terrain. However, I do understand that it's a hand that pops out from underground to grab and kill a lemming, but I think for the most part the NL community would appreciate a secondary animation just so one doesn't have to rely on CPM to know for sure it's a trap, as it would ruin the aesthetics when playing with it on.

Trick or Treat 2 - Let's fire it up! Way too fiddly for my liking, though the concept is nice of each lemming can only be assigned a builder a maximum of 1 time only. However, there is the annoyance of being able to get the timing and spacing correct in order to bash through before anyone turns around. I'm definitely curious of your solution to this level if you have a replay.

Trick or Treat 3 - Enter The Mansion Nice breather level after the first two difficult levels, where the solutions are obvious but the execution is the main challenge. Here, that's not the case, as you don't need to rely on timing if you don't want to, as I'm certain that's what the blocker and walker are for. However, for a challenge solve the level without using either one. It's definitely possible with the right timing and assigning the correct lemmings the skills.

Trick or Treat 4 - Road of the pumpkins Nice ceiling solution! This definitely reminds me of a level or two from LWT with a similar concept of going over the top instead of through the bottom because there just isn't enough skills to do so. The only hard part is figuring out where to build to reach the ceiling, but I think it has to be a bit past the tombstone.

Trick or Treat 5 - Taking the wrong turn Not a hard level, but the entire level is dependent on how the miner is placed. I had the misconception that the lemmings would fall before the wall instead of being to land in it to proceed further to the right. I think it's easy for any person to think the former, as many placements would allow that to happen, instead of the 1, possibly even 2, critical pixels that need to be found in order to allow the others to land in the tunnel. Also the other hard part is figuring out which exit is impossible to go for.

Trick or Treat 6 - Level under construction Somewhat hard but this one wasn't too bad. I think I made the level a bit harder than I needed to, as I relied on the builders finishing the gap on time before one of the workers slips through to the water. Instead, I realized after solving that I could had simply made the miner build to hit his head and turn around, giving the lone worker more time to build over the gap with the remaining builders.

Trick or Treat 7 - The Great Old One The first level of the pack to use Gronkling's Menacing tileset. This one was much harder than I thought. It might seem you have plenty of builders and fencers, but they surprisingly run out very fast. Pretty sure I made my solution harder than it needed to be here, as I used some precise timing in order to get my solution to work. I compared with josh's, and no timing very timing heavy required at all.

Trick or Treat 8 - Wizard's Tower Nice level, especially with the sense of urgency that you need to rescue the hatch as quickly as possible, as 20 floaters might seem like a lot, but they all ended up being used, at least in my solution. Come to think of it, it might not be possible to solve the level with any remaining. My mistake was using two platformers when only one suffices to stop the others from landing in the water in the pot. Once I realized that, the rest of the level is easy, making your way up with the constructive skills and assigning floaters as necessary.

Trick or Treat 9 - Attack of the Pumpkin Men Another nice, somewhat hard level. Nice keeping the crowd going with the right entrance, where the builder builds to get over land just in time before the next one slips through and falls into the water. Also made the solution a bit harder than it needed to be, as I could had placed the blocker in a different location so that it doesn't look weird with the blocker field being right on top of the trap trigger. It was also hard to see that the gap on the left needs to be done from the right instead of the other way, as it will leave a gap to the water if you do that rather than seal the gap completely. Finally, it wasn't easy figuring out how to get to the exit, especially with mining to get the left crowd up and then building to the exit trigger.

Trick or Treat 10 - The Box of Pain Deceivingly hard. It might seem like you have a lot of builders available, but not so when it comes to accounting for how you need to build a long bridge to get over the top and into the maze. This would be considered a bit too builder heavy by the community, but I personally don't mind the occasional one, especially if it's an interesting level. I ran into a lot of problems in trying to conserve the builder as much as possible to ensure I would have enough to get the level solved. I would had ended up with a builder to spare I think, but I had to use the final one to get a bit higher in order for the gliders to land on the steel block at the bottom when bombing through the platformer.

Trick or Treat 11 - The Catacombs My favorite level in the entirety of the pack! This definitely had Chip's Challenge vibes for me, in that there's an early level of the game that requires you to go inside force fields areas to collect items in order to access the chips. I think it's called "Elementary," but fans of the game in this community can correct me if I'm wrong. It was a lot of fun figuring and working out the solution here. Very ionic!

Trick or Treat 12 - Pocket Hell It may be a small level, but it's a deceivingly difficult level. I've stated many times that even small levels can be hard if done correctly, and this level is one such. Here, I used some RR manipulation in order for the second lemming to avoid the firebox trap and be able to land on the platform to bridge the gap before anyone else arrives after turning on the stoner. I initially thought to get up through the far left side, but the problem here is that you would need two stoners, which you can't afford since you can only lose 1, and it's obvious that one needs to be used to turn everyone back to the left, as the lemmings go out in the wrong direction from the hatch. Still a nice, decent challenging level!

Trick or Treat 13 - Zombie zoup Nothing hard here other than you just need to build over the gaps at the right time so that the lemming doesn't get infected by any zombie falling out of the entrance. Seems that's what the blockers/walkers are for in order to help with that and to reduce the annoyance. Still, great two-lemming breather level!

Trick or Treat 14 - The Devil's Mark The second level in Gronkling's Menacing tileset which is also a hard one. Seems I overcomplicated the left-most entrance, as that's where I used the digger and bomber, which I consider the two most difficult skills to use in this level. The massive building isn't as bad, but you still need to be careful with them, as they too run out very fast despite how you have a lot provided, 19. This would definitely be considered way too builder heavy for the community, but again I don't mind the occasional one, and it's not like it's being done to death after the second time in the pack. Nice design with the claws.

Trick or Treat 15 - Night of the living lemmings Hard one but a great level! Not easy due to the 2-of-everything skillset in 6 skill types. This was a fun one to figure out, though it's certainly hard to figure out how to avoid the zombie horde while still doing the other parts of the level. Here, I managed a lose 3 solution, so several over the requirement.

Trick or Treat 16 - Only one way to hell The final breather of the pack, as this literally took me only about a minute/1.5 minutes to solve I think I can see the intention of the basher going through the huge wall to the right and would require platforming at two different levels to achieve that.

Trick or Treat 17 - Roadkill Nice non-trivial stoners only level. It looks hard, but really it's all about observing where the lemmings from each entrance goes via the gaps/cracks in the terrain. The middle entrance will naturally make their way to the exit, so once you realize this it's just a matter of figuring out how to guide the left and right entrances to the exit. I merged the right with the left so that they take the same path. I don't know if there's other ways to solve the level.

Trick or Treat 18 - Very hard level but a really good one! It was certainly not easy to figure out how to avoid the zombies, some of which land on the left side, the rest land on the right side. Nice use of a platformer to stop the zombies on the left, a digger pit the get rid of the ones on the right. To achieve the latter requires blocking the basher midstroke and having one use the staircase to get through to do the pit. After that, the rest will fall into place, although there's still good timing needed to stone in time before anyone slip to the zombie pit on the left. It's also not clear that the lemmings will step up onto the exit platform after platforming, though it seems this is very precise, as you need to platform when you're as high up as possible, which is dependent on where you stone. Certainly hard because it's not easy to figure out how to get up the level given that you only have platformers.

Trick or Treat 19 - Trick or Treat? I thought this one was going to be hard because I tend to be very bad with using stackers to solve levels, but this wasn't as bad as I thought. I used a stacker staircase to get a climber to go over the top, but watching other solutions turns out I miss the more obvious of just using a bomber to get past the first obstacle. The very limited skillset makes the level difficult, especially with many obstacles in the way to account for, and it's not easy to figure out which route to take. Going over the top with everyone seems very tempting, but I think the solution has to involve going through the bottom.

Trick or Treat 20 - The Belly of the Beast A very hard level to finish off the pack. This is the only level of the pack that needed more than one video to get solved, but turns out that I was on the right track for the most part, I simply didn't do a part of the solution correctly or take it far enough. Again, compared to other solutions after solving, and I can't believe I missed the obvious bombing to stop anyone else from following the worker. I think it's due to how I didn't think bashing would work if you don't place the basher correctly. Instead, I came up with a more precious solution than it needed to be, as I relied on a miner to get the basher lower so that he doesn't stop due to steel earlier than he should. Then I waited for everyone to collect in the narrow pit after mining and then I started bashing towards the exit, with the lone lemming coming in at a time when he has enough of a distance to build to the exit before anyone gets into danger. Because of this, I went against my custom of normally doing two attempt videos of the same level by working out the level off-camera. Once I found something that works, I saved the replay in case it took me too long to recreate the solution by hand on video. I definitely had doubts squeezing through the narrow space at the top was the intended route, but it seems that it is indeed the intended path, comparing it to the other solutions available after I solved the level on my own without help (I'm one of those players who prefers figuring out levels on my own first before watching replays to compare, therefore I don't ask for hints).     

Once again, overall an excellent pack that I can recommend! Thank you for this, Ryemanni I had a lot of fun figuring these challenging levels out!

[Swerdis]

When I played Lemmings Plus IV recently, Kaywyhn made some proposals which pack to play next. He proposed two Halloween packs, one by Raymanni and one by ∫tan x dx since this event was arriving soon at that point of time. I didn't quite manage to finish the Lemmings Plus pack right on time, but I still decided to play the two Halloween-packs in a row. I'll start with Raymanni's. 

Spoiler

Trick or Treat

1 - Night Shift

For a first level of a pack this one was quite demanding, as the disarmer has to keep the lead. I like the tileset here.

2 - Let's fire it up!

Tricky and fiddly level. The solution was a result of some try and error.

3 - Enter The Mansion

Very easy level. The blocker is unnecessary here. 

4 - Road of the pumpkins

Nice one. Took me a moment to see that the upper road is the way to go.

5 - Taking the wrong turn

Took me while. At first, I couldn't decide which exit to try, but then I saw that only one is possible and the solution lay on the table. The only problem was that it required spot-on precision. A bit too much, for my taste.

6 - Level under construction

Hard one. Increasing the Release Rate to the max seems to be key here. By placing the blocker at the edge there is enough time to build the bridge over the water later on.

7 - The Great Old One

Look much easier than it actually is. Builders and especially fencers are scarce and run out quickly. I used the Dolly Dimple trick in the end to isolate a final builder (which wasn't necessary as they're all swimmers).  The "Old one" looks pretty creepy, so, combined with the music, that's a very atmospheric level.

8- Wizard's tower

No problem here since it's actually clear what to. Floaters may not be sufficient, but some Lemmings are allowed to die - so this level is no real time-cruncher.

9- Attack of the Pumpkin Men 

Easy one as long as the right side is treated first. The pioneer from the left side must not appear on the scene too early which is no problem as the crowd there is perfectly safe in the beginning.

10- The Box of Pain 

Look intimidating, but when I had solved the level, I must say that this one is even a favourite of mine. This is finally a level which requires logical and to some extent combinatorial thinking. Which potential bridges/platforms are compulsory, which can be omitted. And which pick-ups are probably Red Herrings? Great level!

11- The Catacombs 

Hard level. Took some time to find my way around here since this level looks so confusing. It's no easy decision to tell the good from the bad pick ups which lead to dead ends only. I was able to save nine for a long time, with the tenth Lemming being caught in an infinity loop. I solved this by saving an extra builder elsewhere.

12- Pocket Hell 

Great one. Very small, but very challenging. Only one Lemming may die, so only one of the three stoners can be used. This eliminates the bottom round although it's possible to platform through the base of the flame thrower - since two stoners would be needed. So the direct approach is the way to go - even without terrain-removing skills.

13- Zombie zoup 

This one is just a matter of timing. Building to the exit through the falling zombies. Things must be regulated with the blockers and the walkers as the bridges are just enough for all the gaps. Generally, a bit of a breather.

14- The Devil's Mark 

Very challenging level. That's because of the big distance between solid ground and the scarcity of terrain-removing skills. Also, the builders run out quickly. I had the biggest problem with the "claw" at the bottom, but I finally saved this crowd together with the crowd from the left hatch.

15- Night of the living Lemmings

This one was equally hard if not harder than the previous. The problem was not so much to get rid of the zombies, but I was always one skill short with the rest of the level. So I decided to let the zombies walk parallel with the Lemmings as with the initial Release Rate they always fell in the gaps between. This was pretty hard to adjust, but maybe it's even the intended solution. I think so because of the traps to the right of the exit which prevent the zombies from turning around.

16- Only one way to hell

Considered a breather and it's one, indeed. Don't know what about the basher and the remaining platformers - maybe the solution is not quite intended.

17- Roadkill

Interesting and quite exceptional level. With only five stoners this was harder than it looked. I merged the left and the right with the middle crowd which found its way alone - this saved one stoner and one Lemming over the requirement.

18- They came from outer space!

A very iconic level with the Zombie-Aliens landing from above. The peaceful beginning and knowing that this will change soon - this provides for a creepy atmosphere. The level ist kind of hard as well.  I tried to get rid of the zombies by digging on both sides, but this didn't work. I had to adjust it a bit. Also, a pretty sophisticated trick ist needed to help the crowd out of the tunnel at the right side.

19- Trick or Treat?

An obstacle course which looks diffcult, but actually isn't. The ladder at the right side gives a hint that the crowd has to pass it which means the bottom is the way to go. To make this work, the cloners are very helpful as two Lemmings have to be bombed. Saved some stackers in the end.

20- The Belly of The Beast

The final level plays a bit with the expectations of the player as no one would assume that the intended solution requires squeezing through the little gap between the steel blocks. But it seems to be as it's completely impossible to go through the bottom with four bridges only. Once having seen this, the hardest part is isolating the worker. Precision is needed with the miner as well.

Overall, a very good pack which is not easy by any means almost from the beginning. My favourite level is probably "The Box of Pain", but there are several more that would be worth mentioning. I also really like the Spooky-tileset (the Menace-tileset less so) and the music!

All my solutions can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/@Swerdis

[kaywhyn]

@Swerdis

I've noticed that the custom music pack and custom sounds are missing from the download. I've PMed them to you.

@Ryemanni

The download link in the OP is missing the music pack and custom sounds.