Lemmings Plus VI - Development Topic [100% - Preparing Release]

[namida]

Some things I'd be interested to hear from anyone who plays the demo:

1. Regarding the Garden graphic set, do you still feel after actually playing that the background is distracting / interferes with visibility? I'm considering making it a bit darker, though I still want it to look nice.
2. How do you feel about the Bridge set, mechanics-wise?
3. What's your thoughts on the overall difficulty? In particular, does Swampflower seem to be too hard? (Keeping in mind that I'm wanting to tone down the difficulty a bit compared to LPV and LPO2 - somewhere around LPIII or LPIV's difficulty is ideal. However, also keep in mind that Swampflower will likely be very close to the end of the pack, though not the final level.)
4. Replays are always welcome. I'm especially interested in solutions to the 4th level (A Lemming Is Born), as so far it's turned out to have many different, yet hard enough to be acceptable, solutions.

[namida]

No new levels to report lately - haven't been in a level-making mood the last few days.

I did, however, come up with rank names... but I won't reveal them yet. I did also start on the 3rd graphic set, but again, no details yet...

Also, there's now a level on the "might get cut for being too difficult" list. According to a tester I sent it to, it's "a little bit harder than Swampflower", which was already somewhat pushing (but not quite exceeding) the limits I had in mind. Don't worry, even if it gets cut from LPVI, you'll see this level sooner or later - either as part of an eventual LPO3, or if that's not likely to ever happen, I'll probably just make a bonus pack of some kind with cut levels (and if need be to make it a decent size, some all-new really hard levels). If the level does stay in, expect it to be the 2nd or 3rd to last level (as that's generally where I try to put the hardest level, although in practice it doesn't always work out that way - not doing so was a concious decision in LPIII, but in any other pack where that didn't happen, it was intended to but just didn't work out that way, either due to me misjudging the difficutly of some levels (eg. LPIV, where I overestimated "Overclocked Lemming" and underestimated "Artifically Sweetened"), or due to mechanics changes affecting the difficulty (eg. LPI, where "Death Row" is by far the hardest level now, but that wasn't the case at the time of release)).

[GigaLem]

Some things I'd be interested to hear from anyone who plays the demo:

1. Regarding the Garden graphic set, do you still feel after actually playing that the background is distracting / interferes with visibility? I'm considering making it a bit darker, though I still want it to look nice.
2. How do you feel about the Bridge set, mechanics-wise?
3. What's your thoughts on the overall difficulty? In particular, does Swampflower seem to be too hard? (Keeping in mind that I'm wanting to tone down the difficulty a bit compared to LPV and LPO2 - somewhere around LPIII or LPIV's difficulty is ideal. However, also keep in mind that Swampflower will likely be very close to the end of the pack, though not the final level.)
4. Replays are always welcome. I'm especially interested in solutions to the 4th level (A Lemming Is Born), as so far it's turned out to have many different, yet hard enough to be acceptable, solutions.

I'll awnser 1 and 2 since I haven't beat the other three levels
1.The BG is just very ill fitted for me, if its based on a garden, try what I suggested. A picket fence with a giant hedge behind it.
2.Bridge set is really good looking honestly, if I had to suggest more pieces for it. try something based on the golden gate bride. Why not make a locked exit based on a toll booth too?

Your soundtrack selection is very easy on the ears. I like it a lot!

[nin10doadict]

Haven't tried the levels yet, but I did peek at the music.

Spoiler

Can't fault you at all for using Phoenix Wright stuff. Gumshoe's theme is love.

[namida]

I think the Basement tile set has finally progressed enough that I can show it off.

"Builderdash!"
5 lemmings, save 2
Spawn rate 35
1 climber, 1 floater, 3 builders

This is a pretty easy level. And I'm probably going to replace that ugly rotated plank near the top exit with something nicer-looking, once I make a suitable piece.

Release version

[IchoTolot]

There are 2 things currently feeling not quite right to me about this tileset by looking at the picture:

- The background makes it somewhat hard to see a bunch of stuff and the stones look a bit weird let's say - more like a sewer than a basement. I feel this can still be optimised by quite a bit.

near the top exit

- Is the exit these 2 blue things (flags?) on the wall? I must admit I can't really tell

[namida]

The background is meant to look like a wall made of wood; but at the same time, dark enough to not interfere with the actual level elements. I do need to improve that still.

The exit is supposed to look like a hole in the wall, with the blue flames to make it stand out (as the red flames are deadly).

[GigaLem]

The background is meant to look like a wall made of wood; but at the same time, dark enough to not interfere with the actual level elements. I do need to improve that still.

The exit is supposed to look like a hole in the wall, with the blue flames to make it stand out (as the red flames are deadly).

Maybe try household doors?

[namida]

The background is meant to look like a wall made of wood; but at the same time, dark enough to not interfere with the actual level elements. I do need to improve that still.

The exit is supposed to look like a hole in the wall, with the blue flames to make it stand out (as the red flames are deadly).

Maybe try household doors?

That's not a bad idea in theory; but... no, wait, I think I can think of a way to make that work. Will need some creative use of objects in not-entirely-intended ways, but this graphic set already does that with the flickering around the flames. (I can't add entirely new features this time, so I feel it's my responsibility to use existing ones in new ways instead. )

EDIT: Now that I think about it, the idea I had in mind limits me to one exit per level if I want it to work properly... But I can think of a way to modify Builderdash to only need one exit, so... (And I wouldn't be too worried about losing Builderdash in the first place, anyway. It's not really special in any way, just a fairly generic simple puzzle for the early ranks.)

[namida]

Made a lot of tweaks. I don't think the exit even needs further modification (except maybe on the flames), with the new background change.

[Strato Incendus]

I'd suggest you keep both types of bricks available for the background; the second one looks brighter, so it's easier to see things, but it's also just more plain.

Those dirty-yellow bricks from the first image were a lot creepier, fitting the mood much better!

The exit is fine as it is; a good way to remind the player again that lemmings are actually mice...

[namida]

This is Builderdash as it currently stands. Note the newly-added spider web terrain; as well as the bookshelf no longer being hollow (which was very hard to pick up on visually, and didn't really have much level design advantage).

Also, the steel blocks around the top, and the flooring, are actually steel now. They weren't before due to an oversight; not that you could tell that from a screenshot.

[namida]

I made a new background for the Garden set. I'll probably add a bit more to this background eventually.

Here's Swampflower (from the demo), with the new background... and a few other minor decorative changes (nothing that impacts the solution).

Release version

[GigaLem]

Now that is an improvement!
Visually appealing and easy to tell what's what
I'd probably blur the bg a tad just to be safe but I like this change

[namida]

Here's how it looks on another level I made recently.

"Secret Garden"
Save 28 of 30
SR 50
No time limit
2 climbers, 1 bomber, 1 blocker, 3 platformers, 2 builders, 1 basher, 2 miners.

And yes, that thing between the first and second flowers on the second clump of terrain is indeed a trap - specifically, a single-use trap.

Release version