How to play .nxp files

[Simon]

If you have a .nxp level pack file, how to play it with NeoLemmix? This was asked in #neolemmix twice within few weeks.

Answer: Get version 10.13.18 from the NeoLemmix download archives. This version is outdated, the NL authors don't support it anymore, and level authors should not make packs for it. But many authors still have packs only for this version.

Somebody more knowledgeable than me should explain in detail how to run these outdated versions. namida explains in the next post how to play the .nxp pack with that version.

Should this thread be pinned? Should this be moved to the board with outdated packs? This question appears often enough that the NL authors should think about a solution. Maybe even let NL v12 detect .nxp files and tell the user what to do?

-- Simon

[namida]

It's pretty much as simple as that - get the old version (which is a self-contained EXE that is not dependent on any external files, and can generally auto-download most missing styles - although authors should have been building non-standard styles into their NXP files anyway).

When you run the old version, you'll be given an Open File dialog from which you select the NXP file. Alternatively, you can drag and drop the NXP file onto the old version NeoLemmix.exe, or tell Windows to open NXP files with old-version NeoLemmix.exe when you double-click them - all three of these methods work equally well.

Some NXP files may require even older versions, but 10.13.18 (and all other NXP-supporting versions, for that matter) should be able to tell you which version is needed. I would estimate 80% of NXPs expect NL 10.13.18, with a further 15% or so expecting NL 1.43, as these are both "last versions before major culls" (1.43 the last before gimmicks were culled, 10.13.18 before radiation, slowfreeze, splatpads and some minor physics details eg. solid ceiling were culled).

Simon's post already stated this, but I will reiterate: No new content should be created for older versions; they are there for the sake of playing content that has not been (or cannot be) updated.

[ccexplore]

Should this thread be pinned? Should this be moved to the board with outdated packs? This question appears often enough that the NL authors should think about a solution. Maybe even let NL v12 detect .nxp files and tell the user what to do?

I'll defer to board moderators but seems reasonable to pin this thread, maybe even on the main board.  (It depends on how clear it is to users that nxp is an outdated format.  I suspect a fair share of people who needed to ask this question probably don't understand the history of NeoLemmix file formats either, so......)  As long as title is updated maybe to indicate this is strictly an old-version thing, maybe something like "... .nxp files (level packs for older NeoLemmix versions)".

The new version detecting old files and redirecting user to this thread is not a bad idea either, as long as it doesn't try to automatically take over all double-click opening of .nxp files.

[namida]

The new version detecting old files and redirecting user to this thread is not a bad idea either, as long as it doesn't try to automatically take over all double-click opening of .nxp files.

Unless Nepster's added it in newer versions, NeoLemmix has never automatically set up file associations; it's simply capable of handling certain ones being associated with it manually. (NXP in older versions, any supported single level file in all recent-ish versions - at least as far back as when NXP was introduced.)