Lemmings Plus VI - Release Topic

[namida]

This topic is now closed. Please direct further Lemmings Plus VI discussion to the general Lemmings Plus series topic.

Well, it's been a few months since the announcement, but Lemmings Plus VI is finally here!

As usual for the main Lemmings Plus series, Lemmings Plus VI features a few new graphic sets - only three this time - and a large number of levels using them, this time, it's 80 levels across four ranks.

A common complaint with Lemmings Plus V and Lemmings Plus Omega II was that they were getting far too hard, so I decided to dial things back a bit for Lemmings Plus VI. That does NOT mean the pack is a total pushover, just that it isn't as hard as my other recent packs - it's a bit more on par with Lemmings Plus III and IV difficulty-wise. I also dialed it back on the huge levels - there's only one level in LPVI that comes close to "huge", and that level is a pure horizontal scroller. (Those of you who preferred me in "evil genius" mode, don't worry. I don't plan to never make hard packs again, I was just taking it easier for this one.)

I'll spruce this topic up a bit later, but for now, let's give you what you really came here for - the download links.
Download Lemmings Plus VI V12.01
Download Lemmings Plus VI Music

You must download the music seperately, the main download does not include it. I have taken this step because whereas previous packs had maybe 1MB or so of music, Lemmings Plus VI's musics add up to over 10MB, due to the use of OGGs rather than modules.

Extract both zips into your base NeoLemmix folder; everything will end up in the correct place. If you're asked about overwriting the "theme.nxmi" file in "namida_special", it doesn't matter what you do - that "theme.nxmi" file is really just there to avoid crashing if for some reason a level defines its theme as "namida_special" (which none intentionally do), and the new one and the one you've already got are likely identical anyway.

Regarding the use of graphic sets for your own levels, I make the guarantee at this point that there will be no physics changes to existing pieces, though I do not yet make the same guarantee for cosmetic changes or new additions.

On a side note - try to get all the talismans! Although some are the usual "get the solution perfect" or "save as much as possible on an easy level", there are a few cases in Lemmings Plus VI where the talisman is more like an extremely hard repeat of the level, and a good, unique challenge in its own right - Manic 1 being the best example of this.

Special thanks to the testing team - Akseli, Flopsy, joshescue18, Nepster, Nessy and Wafflem.

[namida]

Bridge graphic set

Sane 10 "Peak Point"


Loopy 15 "Let There Be Lemmings"


Loopy 18 "A Lemming Is Born"

Garden graphic set

Sane 1 "Rocky Road"


Sane 17 "Hold It!"


Manic 10 "Secret Garden"

Basement graphic set

Sane 5 "Builderdash!"


Sane 13 "Centrism"


Manic 3 "Dareful Drop"

Random trivia

First levels created in each graphic set
Bridge: Delirious 7 "The Highbridge", although the intended solution was that of Delirious 19 "The Highbridge (Part II)" and there was only one part. The first that survives in original form (minus backroute fixes) was Loopy 13 "Let A Lemming In".
Garden: Manic 19 "A Lost Tale"
Basement: Sane 5 "Builderdash!"

New Lemmings Plus records
Most lemmings in a single level - Sane 14 "Infection Channel", with 999 lemmings + 999 zombies. This is however purely theoretical; only about 245 of each will spawn before time runs out.
Smallest level width - Sane 16 "Break Away" is 180 pixels wide, no previous pack had levels narrower than 320px (though some other LPVI levels are inbetween)
Smallest level height - Manic 5 "Lemmingholes" is 80 pixels tall, no previous pack had levels shorter than 160px (though some other LPVI levels are inbetween)
Smallest final level - None of the others so far even come close
Lowest release rate / highest spawn interval - Sane 8 "Loopback Bridge" has a release rate of 1 / spawn interval of 102, due to all being pre-new formats all older packs have release rates of at least 50 (spawn intervals no higher than 53).

Fun facts
- Sane 14 "Infection Channel" is the only non-Bridge level with a time limit.
- Manic 9 "Work In Progress" is the only level that uses pickup skills.
- There are a total of five non-standard backgrounds (not simply including different sizes) used in LPVI. Every graphic set has an alternate background for zombie levels. There is also an alternative "night time" background for the Bridge tileset, which is used on the last Bridge level of each rank. Finally, Loopy 10 "A Bridge In 'Straya" has a unique background that no other level uses - although it's just the normal one but upside down.
- Every bridge level using the aforementioned night background, also has the same music. However, this music is not exclusive to levels with that background.
- Each graphic set has one level with multiple "parts", although only Garden's level remains completely unchanged terrain-wise between iterations.

[nin10doadict]

Even harder than I expected it to be. I'm getting stuck in rank 1. I might give it another try later, but I'll more likely give up now and get it out of the way.
Tilesets look good. I like the alternate palettes for some levels.

Ok initial bitterness aside I'm back at it. It's too charming to give up so quickly.
The talisman for Sane 14 is brilliant. I saw how to do it right after I got the normal solution. Favorite level so far.

[GigaLem]

I see you've made a few level that would have the horror aesthetic. Pretty good looking too (though one level is a bit fiddy with it's execution)
I'm suprised you didn't do the same with the bridge set, if you were to make a zombie bridge level, how would it look like? 

[Strato Incendus]

Wow, you were really fast with this one! You started later than many other packs currently in development, and still finished it before them.

I'll take a look at it soon!

[namida]

Wow, you were really fast with this one! You started later than many other packs currently in development, and still finished it before them.

I'll take a look at it soon!

This was nothing. Lemmings Plus II was three weeks start to finish, 100 levels, 5 graphic sets, plus it was the pack that first pioneered gimmicks so I had to code them (it had 7, although only 6 were actually used), at a time where no tools for editing graphic sets existed and I had to make those myself too. Oh, and all the testing, since I didn't have testers on that one (aside from a couple of cases where I got someone to test one or two levels) - Lemmings Plus III was the first with a proper testing period.

(Also, Lemmings Plus VI had been in the works for about a month before I announced anything.)

[namida]

I see you've made a few level that would have the horror aesthetic. Pretty good looking too (though one level is a bit fiddy with it's execution)
I'm suprised you didn't do the same with the bridge set, if you were to make a zombie bridge level, how would it look like? 

Probably something like this.

Delirious 9

Basement and Bridge levels only got an alternate background for zombie levels (and in Bridge's case, the red water, though zombie Garden levels have the same water too). Garden got a few special terrain pieces too. Part of the reason I bothered to do this is due to there being two Garden zombie levels, whereas Basement and Bridge only have one each. The other was that there wasn't such an obvious change to make for the others. I guess it also doesn't help that, while Garden and Basement's alternate backgrounds for zombie levels are highly distinguishable from the regular ones, Bridge is only a slight difference.

On a side note, you probably noticed that the standard Bridge and Garden backgrounds have alternate versions, for use in particularly tall levels, since the normal ones only work well for levels up to 160px tall. Even though no level uses them, there are larger-size copies included of the zombie backgrounds (and the night Bridge background) included with the styles. The only background that doesn't tile vertically and doesn't have a large version is the special background in Loopy 10.

[Akseli]

My solutions are attached. Comments will come a bit later, I'll now just say for a starter that this is how levels are designed in moderate difficulty, and this pack should be really accessible for lots of players!

[IchoTolot]

I really liked the pack!

The tiny height of some levels were a bit annoying while saving replays, as your mouse is stuck to the playing area during the dir select, but well that are NL limitations...

I've attached my solutions.

[joshescue18]

This level pack is great!

Attached is a solution for every level and every talisman.

[nin10doadict]

Heh, figures the experts are done already. You guys are nuts.

I've cleared over half the levels now, though I have skipped around a bit; Loopy isn't fully done yet. While this pack is easier than the likes of Omega 2, it's still really hard. I'm getting to the point where the frustration is becoming real. Not sure how much more I'm going to be able to take on. I beat Delirious 6, and that's probably going to be my crowning achievement here.

[Akseli]

Some comments on the levels (contain spoilers):

Spoiler

Sane13: Centrism – Yeah, 2 extra bashers can easily lead to astray, nice!
Sane17: Hold it! – Underfencing a blocker, that's something that's rarely been done in custom levels I'd think? A good level!

Loopy3: Basement of Terror – I decided to wait until the zombie crowd has gone away.
Loopy16: The Side Quest – This seems a level that's done many times before.

Manic3: Dareful Drop and Delirious12: Dareful Drop (Part II) – Awesome, maybe my favourite levels of the entire pack!
Manic4: Deathly Hollow – Saved 2 platformers, a backroute probably.
Manic13: Worthy Edge – Beautiful, a new take on this trick, I remembered this from PimoLems level Stormy9: A Matter of Pragmatism.
Manic17: The Shed – A delightfully compact, not too easy a level!
Manic20: Bridge To Terabithia – Yea I agree that this is now Manic20 instead of Loopy20, I commented on the difficulty of this in the first test batch already saying that it was harder than early Manic levels but you tend to have difficulty curves inside the ranks so that latest levels from an earlier rank can be harder than earlier levels from a later rank. But Terabithia suits in Manic rating, yes.

Delirious2: Tell Me, Little Lemming – Ooh, my digger-blocker placement is pixel precise and I use few terrain removal skills in crowd delaying, not sure if this is intended, but it's a fantastic solution nevertheless.
Delirious3: Not A Lemming Went By... - I didn't say this during the test phase but turning the same builder twice with 2 blockers is nifty, well done!
Delirious18: Caveflower – Plays mind games with the player, it's possible to send a glider right from the hatch to a different area, but in the end it doesn't have anything to do with the solution!
Delirious19: The Highbridge (Part II) – After backroute fixes the approach was easier to spot, and in the end the levels had surprisingly similar routes, part two had of course more twists in it. Great!
Delirious20: Rocky Road (Part IV) - Simplistic layout yet this many different solutions with different skillsets, you nailed it. Chicken butt!

[namida]

Re: feedback / replays,

Sane 13 "Centrism"

Indeed.

Sane 17 "Hold It!"

Yeah, that's very rare. I didn't consider it an overly advanced trick because it's just doing a common basher/miner/digger trick with a fencer instead, but the only other level I know of that intentionally involves using a fencer to free a blocker is one of the Sharp levels in LPO2 (of course, it's far more well-hidden in that one).

Loopy 3 "Basement Of Terror"

That's fine; that's meant to be an option on this level.

Loopy 16 "The Side Quest"

Yeah, but every Lemmings Plus has to have something that's been done to death.

Manic 3 "Dareful Drop" / Delirious 12 "Dareful Drop (Part II)"

Thanks! I quite like those two myself too, although I do have to say I like the first one more.

Manic 4 "Deathly Hollow"

As you suspect, a backroute. Not sure how that got overlooked.

Manic 10 "Secret Garden"

I know you didn't comment on this one, but can I just say I LOVE your solution here!

Manic 13 "Worthy Edge"

I haven't actually played PimoLems yet, for that matter, I don't think I've ever seen this trick used elsewhere. Though I'd be very surprised if this level (and the PimoLems one) are the only times it's been used, it doesn't seem that obscure and it works even under DOS mechanics (albeit a bit fiddlier).

Manic 17 "The Shed"

This was originally going to be a breather level in Delirious, but it was a bit too easy for that I guess.

Manic 20 "Bridge To Terabithia"

Yeah, makes a lot more sense here. Actually though, the reason it was changed was much more to do with overall stylistic goals for LPVI, than so much the level itself.

Delirious 2 "Tell Me, Little Lemming"

Wow, that was a very overcomplicated solution.

Delirious 3 "Not A Lemming Went By"

It's actually possible without any single builder (or even multiple-builder span) being blocked more than once, but your solution is still fine.

Delirious 18 "Caveflower"

That wasn't even intentional, actually. But since it doesn't lead to any backroutes, it can stay.

Delirious 19 "The Highbridge (Part II)"

Ugh, this is still a backroute.

Delirious 20 "Rocky Road (Part IV)"

Indeed. Plus, I thought it would be an interesting twist to use the once-per-rank as both the first and last level of the pack.

[GigaLem]

I have one more question. When will all the level images be available on the Neolemmix Website?

[namida]

I have one more question. When will all the level images be available on the Neolemmix Website?

The old versions of NeoLemmix had a hidden feature that generated the info in a format that could easily be imported to the NeoLemmix website. The new versions don't have this, so I need to write some code to generate it directly from the NXLV files.

The images are already there, http://neolemmix.com/levelimg/lpvi/XXXX.png (where XXXX is a two digit rank number and a two digit level number, eg 0309 for Manic 9). But the way the NeoLemmix website is written, it needs the other information too, then it autogenerates the level lists from that.