Casualemmings 2.0

[Swerdis]

The "calm" rank is history, now it's time to get "perky".

Spoiler

Perky

1 - Lem in da hood

This is a typical kind of level from the old days. Trap the crowd between blockers (in this case: stoners), isolate a pioneer who does all the job. Then release the crowd....a very "calm" start of the Perky rank.

2 - Hero's trial

A miner and a fencer probably can't cancel each other, so that's where the walker has to be used to stop one of them. Quite easy level. 

3 - Hope that's soft water

Actually an easy one, too. The walker was a bit confusing for I initially thought I had to use him to turn the Lemming around at the bottom. But in this case the blocker can't be released anymore. I also saved the digger.

4 - Level fit for a BG

Both plaftorms at the buttom have to be built in a way that the Lemmings turn around automatically. Otherwise, 1 walker is not enough. Apart from that - easy.

5 - Fetch the supplies!

Nice puzzle! There's more than one solution here - you can also use the platformer first and go through the bottom with one Lem. This is one of my favorite tilesets, because it looks so tidy. The first pack I played that made use of it was Lemmings Migration and I still have the music in my ear. Great tune which I like much better than the variation of the CanCan here. [/b]

6 - Hero's merit

Harder version of Calm 16. Only one Lemmings may die, so the walker must be used carefully.

7 - Gone for a dip

Small and simple level. The stopper must be placed on the little hill, so the worker can bash him out.

8 - Thy request be granted

The preplaced Lemmings comes in pretty handy here. Easy one though the blocker shouldn't be released too early for obvious reasons.

9 - To those who wait

I understand the level's title. But since I'm not a very patient person I think this one is pretty annoying. Not be able to do anything until the last Lemmings has spawned (with a locked Release Rate) adds nothing useful to this level which is - apart from that - pretty repetitive as well. To those who like it.

10 - Be not idle, my Lemmings

Looks like a harsh time-limit, but it's not at all. Key is not to use any bashers, then there shouldn't be a problem.

11 - Don't get greedy

Dealing with the exit can be a bit tricky since one bomber is not enough to make one Lemming pass to build the final bridge. But it's still not a hard level to be honest.

12 - Labrynthine Kitten Gauntlet

Not too fond of this one. No puzzle involved, it's just a lot of clicking to avoid the Lemmings walking into the traps. The skillset is very generous so this level should be no problem at all  - even to save everyone.

13 - Hero's excavation

Better one. Nice puzzle, not overly complicated. Because of the fencer it should be quite clear where to start here.

14 - A touch too much
Very easy level due to the limited skillsets. Still a nice idea though, especially the use of the second basher.

15 - Six pixel principle

Didn't we already have a level with this name in the pack so far? Educational level here to teach the stacker/stoner combination. Since I am familiar with this trick, this one was a quick solve.

16 - Small

The tininess of this level should not be misleading. This can be a hard one since the trick is not particularly common. Surely a step up in difficulty.

17 - Half the fun

Standard level. To reach the pickup, a pioneer must be isolated which is quite easy. The bomber is probably a Red Herring.

18 - Another death march

Challenging one! It's easy to see that the pickups are Red Herrings again since a hole in the floor would be created to reach them and there is no building skill at all. And because the basher is the ony skill that can be cloned, everything falls in its place.

19 - Flooded forest

The only tricky part is to isolate three Lemmings because of the bombing part. I didn't quite get it done, so an additional Lemming died, could have saved one more.

20 - If only they had stairs

Easy, but boring level. Too much repetition of one and the same skill. I'm not so keen on stackers as well.

21 - Caves in the deep

Harder than I thought. The glider must not be assigned too early otherwise he get stuck. The final bridge is not easy to see - and the following glider mechanics are really, really cool. Nice level.

22 - Look at them shimmy!

Great level! I was on the wrong track here since I thought the left Lemming had to climb while the right one had to be the glider. Took me a while to see that I could prevent the left Lemming from falling down by using the glider there.

23 - Yum yums

Ten-of-everything-level and open-ended. I chose to go through the bottom as far as I could and used the basher-staircase in the end.

24 - Who's on detour duty?

Another really decent level. It's the final Lemmings from the hatch who has to do the work.

25 - Tricky triangles

Despite the high-release-rate an easy one. Again, the last Lemming is the hero who has to lock the way back with a platform. After this, the crowd is safe.

26 - Sailing the skies

This is a nice thing to find out how to give two Lemmings a head start so that one of them can build the platform to the exit before the others arrive. Really interesting Glider-mechanics, again.

27 - Lemming mash

A variation of Calm 12. Surprisingly I did a lot of stupid things here before realizing that this level is actually pretty simple. Still not one of my favourites, but an ok level.

28 - Service with a smile

Very hectic in the beginning, but I like this level - especially for the fact that all four Lemmings have to contribute to the solution.

29 - Celestial drawbridge

The beginning is the by far hardest part. I used the Dolly-Dimple-method here to isolate a pioneer. The rest was a cakewalk then.

30 - Sucker for punishment

I solved this level by accident, I believe. Surely, it's based on a nice idea, but I'm not the biggest fan of levels like this. There's not much to do here and there's little or no strategy involved. The traps look funny when it action, though.

31 - High speed gap closing

Now this is what I would call a great level. Solution may be a bit obvious, but is nevertheless well-thought. Time-limit is also not too tight, I would say.

32 - As the Lem flies

I overcomplicated things a bit here since I didn't realize that all Lemmings are swimmers by nature. This made it much easier of course. This level also seems to be a bit open-ended.

33 - If only they could dig

Nuke-solution came immediately to my mind. I'm sure it's possible to save more than I did, but I'm not a optimizer when it comes to things like this. Done is done.

34 - Down and dirty

Visually not very appealing, but it's a very good puzzle. I used the unevenness of the terrain here for the digger - don't know if that's really intended.

35 - One shall pass!

Not an easy level. Maybe the basic plan is not so hard to figure out, but the execution is tricky. I wasted the miner at the beginning part for quite some time, but he is needed right above the exit.

36 - Live and lava

More ore less a Worker-Lemming-level which is in this case not a bad thing. Solution's not too trivial, but the level is still not on the hard side due to the generous skillset. Don't know what the second swimmer is good for, though.

37 - Severe flood warning

Final level of the rank. A challenging one in my opinion, but a very good one! I love how the Lemmings must be trapped in the water. I'm also a big fan of levels that make use of several Lemmings working on the solution simultaneously. Took me a while tu succeed.

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

[kaywhyn]

The final level of the rank has dramatic music and an odd distribution of skills - but is actually pretty easy.  Nice first rank. I realize a constant increase of difficulty, but no "jumps" - so it's as it should be.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibonacci_sequence Of course, being a math person I noticed it right away

Fun fact: nin10doadict did the same with his first pack Lemmings Squared, where the skills usually had a quantity that was a perfect square, i.e, a number that is the product of a number multiplied by itself. So, for example, 4 (2 x 2), 49 (7 x 7), etc. This includes 0 and 1 too of course, since 0 = 0 x 0 and 1 = 1 x 1. Not only in the skillset, but sometimes also in, say, the number of Lemmings and the save requirement too. Hence the pack name

Anyway, my congrats on beating the Calm rank. One thing I do find strange is the level with the effect of duplicating a skill with a cloner comes right before the level where it's just cloning a walker and for which IMO is a jump up in difficulty, though your solution shows that mine is a little more complicated for the kitty trap level.

[Swerdis]

I feel a bit "twitchy" at the moment. Let's see if I can master this rank.

Spoiler

Twitchy

1 - Six pixel principle

The third level with this name. I learned this trick while playing the NeoLemmix Introduction pack I think. That was just recently. The trick is a bit fiddly to trigger in my opinion, but since it's the only thing to do here, it's a relatively smooth thing.

2 - A fair trade?

Repeat of Calm 10. A first-attempt-solve which means I saw the solution immediately. The hardest thing was to prevent the pioneer from climbing back but this was done quickly. Still a nice level.

3 - Lem isn't fair

Pretty hard level since it uses a mechanic not seen very often. I was on the right track from the beginning, but discarded it later because I had no platformer left to build through the bomber-hole to the exit. I was much later when I realized that floaters very well can exit in mid-air. This trick comes out of nowhere, so it's likely to be a roadblock for novice-players.

4 - Sacrificial Lem

Fun level. Took me a while to see that it's the cat-trap that removes the zombies from the game. Also, the left blocker has to be assigned to a Lemming directly from the hatch so that he walks to the right when he is released.

5 - To each his own

Five lemmings, five preassigned skills and a lot of teleporters - that's the recipe for levels I usually have a hard time with. But here I saved all Lemmings in the same exit, so this wasn't much of a problem.

6 - Someone has to...

Hard, but very good level which I solved by accident by placing the blocker directly in front of the exit. This is a trick I did not really have on my radar although I think I've seen it somewhere already. The bottom part was not so difficult since I got quickly that the stacker had to be built from the opposite direction to make the wall climbable.

7 - Janky devices

Another pretty good level which was no cakewalk again. I did a lot stupid things in the starting area with platforming, blocking and so on. Took me a while to see that a bomber would be enough there. The plaftforming over the anti-splatpad was easier to see for me. I saved the blocker in the end.

8 - Trigger finger

I thought I had to redeem the fourth Lemming with the walker first, but this didn't turn out well. So I solved the level from left to right. It's still a bit tricky, but nothing too hard.

9 - Terminator

I like this one! Nice thing to trap one Lemming which is the only one to survive this level. In general, this level looks a bit harder than it actually is.

10 - Sewage shaft

A blueprint of a level I don't like - spamming one and the same skill over and over again. Tedious and uninspiring.

11 - Hero's proof

Breather level. Turning the Worker-Lemming around can be a problem, but apart from that the solution is quite obvious.

12 - Vertigo

Nothing too bad as well. If not careful, the crowd can be caught in a continuous loop in the end. Also, the walkers can run out easily.

13 - Attack on Kitten

Typical Pioneer-level with the crowd being trapped by a blocker. Of course, the traps are placed at the most uncomfortable spots, but it's still not too hard to evade them.

14 - Adrenaline rush

A brilliant level in my opinion. I tried it the conventional way, but there just wasn't enough time to break through to the exit. So I decided to contain the zombies in an infinite loop - didn't think it would work, but it did. It's a bit fiddly, yes - especially since the ceiling of the miner's stairs must not be destroyed, but I think it's okay since the entire concept is so good. Footnote: I later learned that this isn't the intended solution. It should actually be solved by alternating between the miners and walkers - so this levels loses its magic a bit for me. 

15 - Mount Lemerest

Much easier than the previous one. No big challenge to make it to the top for both sides as there are plenty of skills. Another prove that walkers are a powerful skill - often too powerful for my taste.

16 - Build faster, slave!

Cute level with an original solution which can be hard to see for novice-players. Don't know what the basher is good for, though.

17 - Getting there's half the fun

I was a bit surprised that all of the Lemmings had to walk the big round, but it's the only way to reach the pick-up which is really needed in the end. It's a bit annoying that the pioneer has to walk back and forth to complete the bridge over the big gap in the middle. Generally, this level is also a bit on the easier side, I would assess.

18 - Me, myself and Lem

Really good level that makes use of cloners the way it should be in my opinion (not filling up the crowd). I found this one pretty easy, but maybe because I was on the right track from right the beginning. Trickiest part was to avoid the climbers to climb into the traps. Therefore both buttons had to be reached quickly - and since the miner at the upper-left side is significantly slower than the basher at the upper-right side it was key to find out that not the miner itself has to be cloned, but the walking Lemming after he pushed the button.

19 - One at a time

Took me a while to realize that these traps are one-time-traps. After that, the level was quite easy though I must admit that it's based on a clever idea. Saved a builder, by the way. 

20 - Dangit Harold!

Not a big fan of this one. The path is predestined, there are no surprises here. The level is more about the execution than the puzzle - which makes it very easy as well.

21 - Puzzles within puzzles

Tricky level, escpecially the beginning. I had a hard time timing three Lemmings in the digger's hole in a way that all three swim to the right closely behind each other. This enable on Lem to pass the traps and do the rest. I had a lot of skills left and I could have spared even the third builder by simply letting the pioneer climb out of the water.

22 - Pit of panic

No panic here as this level is super-easy. Could well go into the first rank in my opinion. 

23 - Do more than just dig!

I can't say that I haven't played levels of this kind before, but I still like them from time to time. They always evoke the "How is this possible in such a short time-span?"- moment. But you see - if the Lemmings work together, they can move mountains Nice one!

24 - Square wave

Hard level. The problem was not so much to cross the big gap in the middle because it was clear the bridges must be extended by stacks. But since I placed the first stacker wrong, I had a hard time to pave the way for the crowd after the pioneer did his work.

25 - Dive on in

Easy one. The only tricky part was to pass the second trap. I initially used the stoner to contain the crowd, but then it dawned on me that I had to use this skill to bypass this trap. The rest was predictable.

26 - Operation: Super Rescue

Super easy level, a one-attempt-solve. I had tons of skills left and I could had even saved an additional walker. Don't know what these huge amounts of bashers and walkers are meant for.

27 - Castle in the woods

A bit harder, but that's mainly because of glider-mechanics. It can be a bit tricky though to free the pioneer after he has collected the pick-up since he must not go to the left.

28 - Legion

As it's not necessary to save the Lemming that pushes the button and with several walkers provided, this level is very easy. Spared some skills as well.

29 - Frozen Factory

Looks more difficult than it actually is. This level is basically about getting the three platformer-pickups to construct the final bridge. This is done by only one Lemmings as there is only one climber - and so the biggest challenge was where to trap the rest of the Lemmings.

30 - A quick performance

Not a quick performance for me as I found this level quite tricky. Don't know what the intended solution really is, mine feels pretty messy. 

31 - CATS!

Repeat of  Perky 12, this time the Lemmings have to go upwards. The two buttons made the level a bit more complicated than I thought - escpecially since the pioneer is an instant-climber and therefore climbs over the stacks. But all in all, in wasn't THAT hard.

32 - Take me to the future

Hard level, but a very good one. Obviously, the main problem here is to gain height as there are no builders, but only platformers. So the stoners have to be used instead which is quite demanding. I'm sure there is a quicker solution than shown in the video.

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

[Swerdis]

Having arrived at the "Hyper"-rank, I expect slow progress to come. We will see...

Spoiler

Hyper

1 - United we stand

Hard level to start off the rank. Since only six Lemmings may die, I had to prevent one from the hatch to step over the stack. That's when the platformer came into play - I didn't see this for quite some time. The part at the bottom was easy then.

2 - The joke's on you

Quick and easy one in one of my favourite tilesets. One must be aware not to waste a walker here - i.e. on top of the zig-zag-staircase to prevent the pioneer from climbing the steel tube. But most of the solution I've seen quite from the beginning. Still a nice level.

3 - Hero's sidekick

Unconventional solution, but hey - it works. Bit different from kaywhyn's, but we both avoided the left side of the level which means it's probably a backroute.

4 - Taxing triangles

Looks a bit like Perky 25, but it's not really a repeat since the layout is a bit different. Not a hard level which is mostly about bringing some distance between the first Lemming and the rest. Special mention goes to the music. Finally, a good tune.

5 - Double the fun

Repeat of Perky 17. Interesting level. The way to make the wall climbable to reach the pick-up is quite creative and not easy to see. But the real challenge was to bring the crowd back - took me a while to find the one and only sweet spot for the miner.

6 - Timed triangle trial

I found this level hard. Couldn't solve it the conventional way, so I can't assess at all if my solution is intended or not. Time-limit is very, very tight.

7 - Diving for treasure

Great level! First I thought it's a very easy one  - until I saw that my swimmer wasn't alive anymore in the end. Since that's a "conditio sine qua non", I had to totally rethink my strategy which led to quite an unconventional solution. Still had some skills left plus I saved everyone here.

8 - Catch 22

Annoying level. Basic solution is not hard to figure it though I initially thought I had to use all cloners except the first one in the middle part - but in this case, the potential miner can't be turned around as all walkers are needed for the blockers. Solution is very fiddly to execute, there's no leeway at all.

9 - Telefragged

Strange level. First, I didn't know what to do at all. Then, some Lemming accidently passed the teleporter and I had to ask myself why. The rest wasn't hard to figure out anymore.

10 - Bit of a biggie

Repeat of Calm 13. Probably a bit easy for it's position, but it's always a nice thing tu build up through the digger's tunnel. I've already seen this in other packs, so it wasn't too hard to figure it out.

11 - Criss-cross crossing

Obvious solution, hard to execute. I'm sure it's even possible with only one builder as I achieved this in of my attempts - unfortunately I had one Lemming left of the stoners who was cut off the exit then. All in all, not my cup of tea.

12 - Save the animals

Very hard level that cost me several days to solve. Biggest problem was how to get rid of the zombie-disarmer in the end - until I realized that this is not possible at all. Instead, the small time-window when he climbs up the wall has to be used to make the crowd exit which means the Lemmings have to be trapped from the beginning. Since this requires two stackers I had to overturn my entire concept. The concept of the level is really great despite its difficulty.

13 - Cloner country

Strange level which feels a bit unfinished. My solution doesn't look intended at all as I used most of the cloners to fill up the crowd. Moreover, I see several parts where cloners are supposed to be used (probably), but the crowd never gets there, only the pioneers. For the way I did this level, I found it very easy.

14 - Waterlogged woods

One of my favourites from the rank so far. I like it because it's such a "pure" level - no traps, no NeoLemmix gimmicks, only seven skills for a really nice puzzle. I was on the right track here from the beginning, so it was a quick solve, but I can definitely see some stumbling blocks here. Repeat of Perky 19.

15 - Fiery forest

Quite clear what to do here though I'm not a fan of these levels. Fortunately, the execution wasn't that hard as well as how to trap and release the crowd.

16 - <3

Very easy one, but due to the sheer amount of skills I have left, this can't be intended at all. As for the upload: Youtube doesn't allow angled brackets in video-descriptions, so I had to find a different solution.

17 - Roads to nowhere

Another backroute, I'm afraid. Maybe the big water gap at the bottom has to be closed from both sides, but I'm not sure if this is possible in time. Nice tune, here!

18 - Terror temple

Repeat of Calm 24 and almost as easy as that. Kind of a brute-force-solution, but it obviously works.

19 - Dragon's table

Looks intimidating at first, but is actually just a race against time, even if there is no time-limit. I sacrificed the second pioneer to save skills and then hurried up to seal off the part between the hatches in the middle with the platformers. By doing this, no trap has to be disarmed there.

20 - Palace of Winds

Wow. This is my level of the pack so far. A brilliant puzzle. More than once I had to overthrow my strategy, more than once everything failed by only one lacking skill. This is also a very atmospheric level - with the weather-theme and the menacing music. One that will surely stay in mind.

21 - Power Core

Hardcore at its finest. Leaves no room for mistakes at all and depends heavily on timing-issues - so this level is no fun to figure out at all. It's probably well-ranked as the penultimate level of the main pack, but it's certainly not a personal favourite.

22 - On the fritz

Open-ended closer of the main pack and therefore certainly not the hardest level. I still used any skill except for three climbers, so this one felt a bit sluggish - I'm convinced there are far more elegant solutions.

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

[Swerdis]

The Hyper-rank has fallen. Now, it's time for bonus-stage to follow. Kaywhyn told me that these levels are quite simple except Troll 4 and 5. I expect lots of Gimmick-levels that are not really fun to play. But we will see...

Spoiler

Troll

1 - Pachinko

And it begins as it's supposed to be. This level looks totally impossible - until the player realizes that in some cells the pick-ups are stacked behind each other. There are no hints, so it's some kind of try and error. The bridge to the exit must still be stretched.

2 - If only they could climb

Easy and unfun. The Lemmings can make their way up between the two tree-trunks.

3 - Maze of Lies

Finding the correct path thorugh the blocks was harder than I thought. Deserves to be a Troll-level, as no logical thought can lead to the solution, only try and error again.

4 - Hey diddle diddle

Hard and annoying level, especially the permanent alternating of the Release Rate. The basic concept was easy to grasp, but it took a lot of fine-tuning.

5 - Hey you, stop that

No, repetition doesn't make for good gameplay. Still a fairly good level, at least better than the one before. Blocker-spamming at its best. The second platformer would be unnecassary if the platform was long enough to place all the blockers.

6 - To those who wait

Repeat of Perky 9, though the title is misleading here. It's just brute force and therefore very hackish. Fortunately, skills are plentiful - eye must only be kept on the bashers as they run out quickly.

7 - Ponzi Ponzi

A non-solve by me though it's crystal-clear what to do here. But since virtually no Lemmings may turn around this is frustrating and tedious experience.  I didn't have the patience for that.

8 - By popular demand

Nonsense-level. At least it's an easy one.

9 - Dizziness

To make things even more complicated, the number of walkers could be restricted......despite being probably the most trollish of all the Troll-levels, I found it easier than Troll 7 which I skipped.

10 - A bombin' nation

Not as bad as the other levels in this rank. It's clear that a nuke-solution is demanded, but some preparations have to be made. Didn't realize that they are swimmers for quite some time. From an aesthetical point of view, this level is horrendous.

11 - Rubber gloves on plastic bottle

Probably the most annoying level of all. Using stackers only to bring a crowd of Lemmings several layers up isn't a good idea at all  - and it plays as bad as it sounds. Just like Troll 7, I didn't make it to the end.

12 - Shaft o' suffering

The third and final non-solve although I must admid that this one is not quite as bad as the other too. My main criticism here is that it's not possible to hurry up the fallers as there is one Lemmings who can't be saved with an umbrella. The climbing process with the stackers isn't real fun, but at least doable.

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

[kaywhyn]

Congratulations on completing all of what you could! Also thanks for the credit on my 3 Troll solutions! It's like you said, the Troll rank can pretty much be considered a Bonus rank, one in which the levels were intentionally designed to be really bad. To some, they just aren't worth playing, and for them that's perfectly fine! The only reason I did the entire rank is due to how I'm a completist Not to mention I did the whole rank with nin10doadict as my co-commentator, which was a lot of fun and hence I can forgive him for the torture that he puts the player through here!

Anyway, see you for Lemmings Open Air, the one I've been for you to get to for a while!