Festival Millas 2019 - Release Thread

[GigaLem]

While its still 2019 for me I present to you


Feature 32 new levels with the combined effort of Plom510, Nessy and I, 2 new sets being Tisseria and Mabetu (based on Siberia and Tibet) along with the existing sets, and this time Talismans. I am going to patch last year's pack so I can fix the music and add talismans to it after a few days.

So what do you have to go through?

冷 - Lěng - Chinese for Cold

"That's Snow Mountain" - This is the standard starting rank, simple enough puzzles. This Rank was entirely handled by Plom

乳头 - Rǔtóu - Chinese for Nippy

"Picking the right tree" - This is were you need to put those skills to good use. It ain't getting warmer

北极 - Běijí - Chinese for Arctic

"Help Thy Neighbor" - Your quest got a whole lot colder, don't expect any punches to be pulled

冰河 - Bīnghé - Chinese for Glacial

"First Impediment" - Suit up, it's gonna be a cold one. Get ready to face your coldest quest yet. Take what you learned and get those puppies home

DOWNLOADS
Graphic Sets (The new ones, get these first & extract them into the styles folder
The Level Pack (If you have a folder named "levels" extract this into that folder)
The Music Pack (Get this last, extract it into the music folder)

Credits
Plom510 - Additional Levels, Testing, Talismans, Graphic Sets
Nessy - Additional Levels
Namida and Nepster - Everything NeoLemmix
Leilani Wilson, Mod Archive Artists, DJ TAKA, Josh Mancell and Beenox, Feryquitous vs Xi, Mozell, Nakatek - Music

I hope you enjoy the last level pack of the Decade and enjoy what's to come for 2020.

[GigaLem]

If you played this and liked what you played, if you haven't checked it out.
Play the recently updated Festival Millas 2018

[IchoTolot]

First batch of replays. Finished the first 2 ranks and the last level (where I managed to save all with only the bomber left).

I even did the talismans this time.

[IchoTolot]

And here is the rest.

I smell backroutes though!

[GigaLem]

Looks like I'll be taking a look at these later

[IchoTolot]

As I am cleaning up my replay library I thought I provide some help:

Levelpack is not possible with the new NL release:

- Beiji 6 has some glider paths not working out anymore.

I also think I might have improved my solution to Binghe 8 a bit after fixing it.

Replays attached.

[kaywhyn]

Hello Gigalem, Plom510, and Nessy,

I have solved the pack. Here are my replays and feedback. Also, link to the LP of the pack: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbp2m4KlFpJvVta5vFYRyTmakl5ewh_-g. Enjoy!

General Feedback

FM2019 is another holiday pack by Gigalem, with some contributions by Plom510 and Nessy to the pack here and there, using the Millas sprites. The rankings are all in Chinese, which I have stated several times in the LP that I don't know any. I am Asian, but I'm not Chinese, I'm Vietnamese, but even then I can't really translate Viet that well either. From my understanding of the OP, they essentially describe different varying degrees of "cold," with the first rank meaning the least cold out of the other 3 ranks, while the 4th and final rank being the coldest of all.

As usual, the graphics are quite nice, although one gripe I do have on some levels is that some things can easily be mistaken for solid terrain instead of background. I wonder if some things can be darkened in order to help distinguish the two further. Then again, I believe that's what Gigalem meant by overhauls he's doing for the pack. He's not sure when he'll get to it, but it will happen whenever he can find the time and motivation to. Absolutely no pressure and rush there!

In my opinion, the first rank is easy, gets hard in the second rank, goes back to easy in the 3rd rank, and finally is about medium/hard difficulty in the final rank. The last rank wasn't as much of a challenge as I thought it would be, but then again that's probably because I found a lot of backroutes Indeed, I felt way more challenged in the second rank than any other rank. However, perhaps things will be different once I do FM2020 and FM2021. Both packs will probably challenge and test me way more.

This is not to say that I didn't enjoy FM2019, because I still did. Let's say I was expecting more of a challenge with the pack, if FM2018 was any indication of my struggles with it. Thus, FM2019 felt easier than FM2018, as I struggled with the latter way more, but that's because the former seems to have a lot of levels in a highly backroutable state. Indeed, the pack has not had a single patch after its release. However, there will need to be a new download link with Beiji 6 fixed, as the one in the download is indeed impossible as reported by Icho. Gigalem provided me the fixed version on Discord, but I'll let him know to upload it to the level release topic too. Even then, it's nice to see plenty of levels being a bit on the easy side for once, as while hard levels are my type of levels I like playing and solving, I do suffer from mental burnout playing nothing but hard levels for a while, so it's nice to break away from this and play easy/medium levels for once.

Leng Rank Feedback

All the levels in this rank are all by Plom510. He did great with this rank, I absolutely enjoyed them, even if they were easy for the most part. The only level I consider hard in this rank is Leng 6, but that's because I played without CPM in the LP and I failed to explore the entire map due to having some unexplored parts at the bottom because I didn't scroll down enough. As a result, I missed one teleporter entirely because it was out of my viewing sight. So, my general advice to others: Make sure to scroll and look everywhere!     

More detailed feedback on the levels

Leng 1 - Tower Bashing Nice bashers only level to start off the pack! Just bash to where the buttons are and you'll be fine!

Leng 2 - A Shimmy and a Squeeze Another nice level introducing the shimmier skill, which I believe was added to NL around this time when the pack was first released. Just the basic usage of it, no combos of it.

Leng 3 - That's Snow Mountain A bit harder than either of the previous two levels, but still nothing too hard. The hardest part is likely getting up to the exit, but if one knows what the fencer does, it shouldn't be a problem. It's probably what needs to be done after that that can be a bit challenging.

Leng 4 - Festive Fireworks I'm normally not a fan of bomberfests, but this one at least isn't anywhere near as bad as the ones I've played in Ski Sloping Lemmings. The path should be pretty obvious, and you do go down either side to get to the exit.

Leng 5 - The Key Under the Door Mat This was probably my favorite one of the rank. Very nice, easy puzzle!

Leng 6 - The Gifts that Give Somewhat hard, but it's chaotic more than anything due to the many teleporters/receivers in the level. As mentioned, I failed to realize where one of the teleporters was because it was out of my sight and I didn't know there was more to scroll down in the level. Once I saw that, then the level wasn't that bad at all. Before that, I tried some very fiddly stuff at the top which likely wouldn't work out no matter what, as eventually the digger pit would get too long and some will come in and splat. This was the only level that took the longest to solve in the entire LP, but even then this was still a nice level!

Leng 7 - Highway Work Ahead Another nice and easy level!

Leng 8 - Dashing Through Dirt Nice level to finish off the rank. The only 1 Milla level in the entire pack. The path should be pretty obvious here and shouldn't be hard at all, especially since you only have one Milla to work with. 

Rutou Rank Feedback

I feel this rank is a huge step up in difficulty from the previous rank. That's probably because we start seeing more of Gigalem's levels here! The first several levels here felt challenging here before dropping in difficulty around the midpoint of the rank and still going down from there.

Spoiler

Rutou 1 - Crystal Clear Vision Difficult level to start off the rank. With the very restricted 2-of-everything skillset, it's quite a challenge to get through and up the level with the very limited amount of each skill. Even then, should be an any-way-you-want level.

Rutou 2 - Jingle Bells Rocks Most likely another any-way-you-want level, although this one isn't as hard as the previous level. I do like how you need to start with one hatch to get up and get to the other side to help the other hatch. I think the hard part is just making sure you don't run out of skills while solving.

Rutou 3 - How Now Plow Cow? Harder than the previous level but maybe just a bit easier than the first level of the rank. Here, there's a splat hatch to deal with, and even after that's dealt with I thought the middle area was the hardest, especially given the steel and somewhat wonky design of the terrain. Nice challenge, though I wonder if I made the solution a bit harder than I needed to That's because I used some extreme precision to get out of the middle area.

Rutou 4 - The One Place It Doesn't Snow...SPACE! Another hard level, especially with the very limited skillset on all skills except for the constructive platforming skills, where we have 10 each of platformers and builders. Of course, I could had made things easier and not spend as much time on the level by activating CPM to know where the exit and buttons were, but well, I prefer to figure things out as I go rather than take the easy way out It was not easy to figure out how to go about the level at all, and given the many big gaps you can easily think you'll run out of platformers/builders. Also getting both buttons with the very limited skillset. Navigating about the level isn't easy at all. One of the hardest parts to figure out is how to get the Milla that gets the bottom button back to safety, as everyone needs to be rescued. This level was quite a nice challenge, though! I also know what the buttons look like now in this skillset!

Rutou 5 - Finding the right tree Another quite difficult level. It's not easy to figure out what the most optimal route for workers to take in this level at all, let alone how to allocate the skills to various areas of the level. The entire level is just hard, but this was satisfying to figure out!

Rutou 6 - The rift between us Now back to easy here after the last several difficult ones. This is an excellent level and puzzle! I like how you need manage each of the Millas here carefully and the way each of them need to contribute to the solution in order to help each other out to get to the exit safely. I didn't use the stacker, but I think I understand what it's for: In case you get the timing wrong or are off with it, then it's used to prevent the left Milla from drowning the water pit on the far left. Since she didn't turn back to the left while the other parts were being prepared, I didn't have to use it

Rutou 7 - Stuck in the toybox Somewhat hard, but another nice level. I was a dummy here and didn't realize to bash underneath the level from the left instead of one of the ones that gets trapped on the far right at the bottom corner. That allowed me to spare the builder I otherwise used at the top right to help me get everyone up to the exit on the far bottom left area.

Rutou 8 - City Scramble Another nice rank finisher, although maybe a minor backroute due to the leftover basher? I also now know the truck is a trap, as I mistook it for background when it can easily be confused for solid terrain. Again, not a problem if you activate CPM ahead of time, but I didn't. The solution and timing just all works out, so there's nothing too hard about it at all other than it can be a bit confusing to know what one needs to do due to the splitters.

Beiji Rank Feedback

Back to easy here for this rank IMO. Think this is the first rank of the pack where I found a lot of backroutes!

Spoiler

Beiji 1 - Don't Steel My Dirt Another hard rank starter. It's not easy to figure out how to get the crowd up the level and to the exit at all. I did like the idea of sending several climber workers on ahead to be at various places to help the solution come together. In particular, getting the blocker in the right place to bounce the miner was clever! Not sure if my solution is a backroute, although it might also be an anything goes level and thus not a backroute despite the leftover skills I have.

Beiji 2 - An Abridged Solution Should be a very bad backroute here, as I have a lot of skills leftover I'm sure the level's supposed to be much harder.

Beiji 3 - Taking the Scenic Route Likely another very bad backroute, as I didn't use any of the builders. Probably still won't be too hard even after being patched up if it is a backroute, though this level is another instance of appearing hard but it's not.

Beiji 4 - Its yacht what you think! Again, looks hard but it's not. The hardest part is probably figuring out how to get through the middle and right areas, though I was a dummy how I went about it. I didn't use the stacker, so minor backroute?

Beiji 5 - Help Thy Neighbor Somewhat hard, although once again I was a dummy and thought the left crowd needed to build up to get to the exit, but fortunately it didn't take me long to realize the climber pickup is for all of the left entrance. This was quite a nice puzzle involving figuring out how to get the entrances down safely to the exit, moreso with the left entrance. I took advantage of the steel to reduce the drop a bit before they land on the builder staircase, which makes it easier to make the splatform as they now don't have as far to drop. Before that, it was an epic fail on my part where I didn't check for whether splattage could still happen due to how I didn't place the digger carefully enough.

Beiji 6 - Rescue Mission One of my absolute favorites of the rank! I really love how the preplaced climber/gliders have to do all of the preparation work before releasing the neutrals. The solution comes together quite nicely and the timing all works out in the end. I enjoyed this level very much!

Beiji 7 - Mandatory Holiday Meeting Another nice level where I thought a builder/miner combo is needed, but nope, not required at all! I was also a dummy with solving the level, but this has a nice solution. Just need to know how to go about the level getting the worker where she needs to be in order to help the crowd get to the exit.

Beiji 8 - A Crowed Christmas at Grandma's The very first level by Nessy in the entire pack. I'm not sure if this is a backroute despite the leftover gliders, but my solution feels quite cheesy and hackish. This level looks hard, but it wasn't as bad as I thought. That is, if my solution is intended or close to it and not a backroute. Yet another nice rank finisher here!   

Binghe Rank Feedback

For the last rank of the pack, this one didn't give me much of a challenge, though it might just be due to how I found a lot of backroutes here too!

Spoiler

Binghe 1 - First Impediment Somewhat hard level to start off the rank. The beginning was especially hard, but after that the rest is easy, though my solution might be a backroute, as I don't use any of the climber pickups at all. I wonder if the intended solution does use the left exit or if it's just a complete red herring.

Binghe 2 - Ornimental Seems to be an anything goes level here. I'm not sure if there's supposed to be a lot of switching between using a climber and floater to do some of the work, as I didn't really have to do that at all here. Still a nice level, especially with the different single colors throughout the level.

Binghe 3 - Remains of the before time Another level that appears difficult but it's really not. The only hard part would be the bottom area a bit past the exit. I failed to realize the string of lights that can be used to get further up the level. Once I did, the rest was not hard. Seems to be another anything goes level here in terms of solution acceptance, though I can probably imagine there not being many possibilities.

Binghe 4 - Hazy Memories Somewhat hard here, especially since the skillset is more tight than it appears despite being an X-of-everything. This was a pretty fun one to figure out and play. It's really all about skill resource management while also figuring out the most efficient way to get the crowds to the exit. I did have to change up the way I used the constructive skills to get the solution to work, as I realized that I needed a platformer for the end. Overall, great level!

Binghe 5 - I have some time to skill Reminds me of Icho's contest level "Tribute to V" due to how you don't start with any skills and need to collect the various pickups scattered throughout the level. I mentioned I thought Binghe 7 was the hardest of the rank, but this might be the one instead, or at least close to it or vice versa. This one is not easy at all, as it can be very hard to figure out how to get to the pickups, as well as the most efficient route to get the left entrance to the exit. There were plenty of times I kept running into a dead end due to running out of the necessary skills. It also makes it difficulty to quantify the skills, as there's various amounts of each skill in different places of the level. All of these combine to make quite a tough level. Even then, both Nessy and Gigalem did a nice job here!

Binghe 6 - Not Getting Away That Easy! I probably kept overthinking this level, as it seems hard but it's really not. I don't know if it's intended to use a shimmier in a basher tunnel as a delay, as this created the necessary timing and spacing to allow one to turn around in the basher tunnel at the top to mine down to the Millas trapped at the bottom on the left side, which came after first using a basher as a delay. However, it seems that both builder pickups absolutely need to be collected, as you cannot solve the level otherwise. At the end of the day, maybe my solution is still a backroute?

Binghe 7 - One last rest before the final fight! Arguably the hardest of the rank/pack, or at least a close second for hardest to Binghe 5. I really love the puzzle here, especially near the end with platforming to allow the others to land safely in the trigger area of the anti-splat pad. I think I realized that I could had dealt with the first two pillars a bit more efficiently by fiddling around with some digging/bombing so that I might have a walker for use elsewhere. Around the starting area I would definitely say is the hardest to figure out with the various obstacles in the way.

Binghe 8 - Gate of Freedom Not the hardest level by any means, but it's still challenging and a nice level to round off the pack. Skills run out faster than I thought they would, but at least it's not as chaotic as Binghe 5 with pickups everywhere. Some skills could had been saved at the end, but I ultimately had to use a basher/builder to stop a digger in order to get a save all. I also bypassed one of the OWWs completely by simply platforming on top of it and hence allowed me a spare basher for the digger on the right side of the level with getting rid of one of the OWW pillars. This was still a fun one to play and solve, even if it does appear intimidating difficult, but it's really not.

Once again, thank you gentlemen very much for this pack! Hope all of you are doing well