[LP Series] WillLem Plays Through Just The First Rank Of A Bunch Of Custom Packs

[kaywhyn]

Nice job, WillLem! Level 10 is indeed the hardest one of the pack. I first played the pack via Custlemm (custom lemming levels on Dos, which is the lemmings computer engine that I grew up with, and as you already know there are some major differences on some of the levels on Dos vs the Amiga, the major one being that most levels had the water removed on Dos) a really long time ago and I was able to beat all the levels, including the last one, albeit with much difficulty on the final one. Just like with mantha, the hint I offered is to take advantage of how you can lose up to 16 lemmings in the level. This means if you use all 6 blockers you can still lose up to an additional 10 lemmings. Also, you might want to find a better way to get up to the platform at the top so that you have the necessary amount of builders for the end.

[Ron_Stard]

Episode #3: Rodents by Ron Stard is up!

First of all, thank you for playing my pack. But you were playing an outdated version of it:I made several (but minor terrain) changes in a new version (1.0.1) and updated it in the corresponding thread. These changes weren't made to affect the intended solutions, but to prevent backroutes. I think I informed you of it via P.M. Sorry if I didn't

You can find the current version here:

https://www.lemmingsforums.net/index.php?topic=4870.0


I see you have struggles with some levels. I can give you some hints if you want =)

I'm glad you appreciate the decoration of the levels, as well as the intended solution in No time for a spa . The solution for The Freedom Man was not the intended one, but I like it. Can you try that solution in the new version of my levelpack?

And yes, the title of the final level is inspired by the current worldwide situation. I hope everything get back to the normality soon. Can you solve it without Pause, as in one of your challenges?

Please, give my pack another chance! I promise you it's really Amusing!

[WillLem]

First of all, thank you for playing my pack. But you were playing an outdated version of it... I think I informed you of it via P.M. Sorry if I didn't

Ah - my bad, you did indeed inform me of the update. I thought I did actually have the most up-to-date version... my apologies!

You can find the current version here:

I see you have struggles with some levels. I can give you some hints if you want =)

I've now downloaded the most recent version for sure, and yes - some hints would be great!

The solution for The Freedom Man was not the intended one, but I like it. Can you try that solution in the new version of my levelpack?

Just checked it - the solution doesn't work on the new version, aaand I now can't solve it!

Can you solve it (the final level) without Pause, as in one of your challenges?

Absolutely!

[Ron_Stard]

Can you solve it (the final level) without Pause, as in one of your challenges?

Absolutely!

Never thought it was going to be THAT hard!

I see you have struggles with some levels. I can give you some hints if you want =)

I've now downloaded the most recent version for sure, and yes - some hints would be great!

Ok, let's go!

Spoiler

03 - Trekking Foray
You MUST use all the tasks for my intended solution. However, there is an interesting backroute where you can miss one of them, but you can't save them all either.

04-Christmas at Damocles'
Somebody has to save the day by doing all the hard work!

06-Marooned
Each lemming depends on the other two. The solution is very spectacular!

07-The Freedom Man
My favourite level. Avoid the trap at all cost . And hurry the lemmings on the bottom! The solution, again, is pretty spectacular!

08-Workers of the World
Be creative! (and precise!)

Honi Soit
Clean the terrain!

[WillLem]

Never thought it was going to be THAT hard!

Haha! I probably made it look harder than it actually was by not planning the order of the actions first.

I'm more of a do-er than a planner, so for pause-frees I tend to make multiple attempts that basically involve gradually shaping the final solution. If I took the time to plan it all first, it would likely take fewer attempts and look easier, but I wouldn't find that approach as much fun!

[WillLem]

Episode #5: NepsterLems by Nepster is here!!!

[WillLem]

Episode #6: Lemmings Plus VI by namida is here!!!



Also: Just looking for a bit of feedback on this series so far. What do people like about it, what could be better, general stuff like that. If you've been watching each episode and you have a moment to offer some comments I'd be very grateful.

One thing I'm thinking is that the episodes are quite long... I was hoping they'd be no more than an hour each, but since I'm taking on a whole rank in one episode, the times are getting longer and longer. Is this an issue, or do people enjoy having a nice long LP to watch?

[namida]

Episode #6: Lemmings Plus VI by namida is here!!!



Also: Just looking for a bit of feedback on this series so far. What do people like about it, what could be better, general stuff like that. If you've been watching each episode and you have a moment to offer some comments I'd be very grateful.

One thing I'm thinking is that the episodes are quite long... I was hoping they'd be no more than an hour each, but since I'm taking on a whole rank in one episode, the times are getting longer and longer. Is this an issue, or do people enjoy having a nice long LP to watch?

I would personally say that an hour and a half is a bit on the long side - my thoughts is that 30 - 40 minutes is a good episode length, although shorter would be okay too (but shouldn't be too short - I'd say around 15 minutes should be the minimum, though this too doesn't need to be exact).

To be clear, this doesn't mean I'm not going to watch it - I still will! - just giving my input in general.

[WillLem]

I would personally say that an hour and a half is a bit on the long side - my thoughts is that 30 - 40 minutes is a good episode length

I agree - an hour tops is what I aim for generally, but even with copious edits the episodes can easily end up going well over that. I think it's mainly the nature of the series - I'm playing a full rank in one episode, and they're all levels I've never played before. My first attempt at solving levels is almost never my best (as you've clearly seen!), so these episodes are largely me scrabbling to put just about any solution I can find together, and I often spend far longer on levels than I actually need to.

Two things occur to me here: 1) Maybe it's worth me taking a quick glance at each level first before recording, so my subconscious can get to work on a solution for the levels which are the least obvious, and then the recording will be quicker and the episodes therefore shorter. However, 2) I think that doing it this way might take something away from the fact that what you're seeing in these episodes is me taking the levels on for the first time! Maybe there's been enough of that so far, though...

What do other people think about this? Your opinions do matter, please share!

Also, each episode takes well over 2 hours to film and then probably double that to edit. It's a lot of work, so...

I've put up a poll to get an idea of viewership of the series so far.

If people are enjoying the series, then I'll continue with the full list of packs in the OP. If not, or if interest is fairly low, I might limit it to 8 or 10 episodes and just choose a few more that I definitely want to cover in this series.

Either way, my next video series is definitely going back to the shorter format of my Pause-free Playthroughs! - these were much quicker to film, edit, and of course watch. I think shorter videos are better suited to my presentation style as well.

Then again, I could well be overthinking all of this. Comments, discussion and feedback are, again, very welcome...

[Dullstar]

One thing to keep in mind is that you can always do other content in between episodes. Thus, you can chip away at the list a little bit at a time while still making other (shorter if desired) content. Also, don't feel like you have to do the whole rank in one episode! It's okay to split a pack up into multiple episodes to keep the episode length to more manageable levels (in general, I'd suggest between 25 minutes and 1 hour per episode for most LPs - shorter usually ends just as the viewer is getting all nice and settled in, while longer can be hard to sit through).

[WillLem]

One thing to keep in mind is that you can always do other content in between episodes. Thus, you can chip away at the list a little bit at a time while still making other (shorter if desired) content.

That's true.. I have been doing other things as well, hence the long gaps in between episodes. I probably will end up doing the whole list, because looking at it it would be very difficult to shortlist what's there; I'm looking forward to doing all of these packs. I think the best thing to do would be to find a way to limit the length of the episodes to 1 hour.

Also, don't feel like you have to do the whole rank in one episode! It's okay to split a pack up into multiple episodes to keep the episode length to more manageable levels

I have thought about doing it this way, but I definitely prefer the idea of keeping one pack to one episode, at least for this series. My most likely approach to this going forward is that I'll glance over the levels before recording - not play them, just literally take a quick look and see how many levels there are, what sort of difficulty they present, etc. I might also limit playing time for each level as well, which I think is a good idea given the nature of the series topic: easy levels should ideally be do-able within a short amount of time.

This said, I'm aware that Rank 1 doesn't necessarily have to be easy, and that some creators have experimented with not having an "easy" rank at all, and starting with a medium difficulty rank. But the main premise of this series is to find out what makes a good easy level, so ultimately that's what I'm interested in exploring. Therefore, I'm happy to skip levels which are too hard, and thus mostly irrelevant for this series. If this means skipping most of the levels in the rank, then so be it.

That said, I don't want to rush my way through the packs at all, so I'm likely to continue spending a good amount of time actually filming the episodes and playing the levels. But, if I end up skipping a level or not finding a solution within a given amount of time, I might just edit it out of the episode altogether.

Keep the opinions/comments coming; I haven't made my mind up yet about any of this really. It's great to see that people seem to be interested in the series, as indicated by the poll results so far.

Please do respond to the POLL if you haven't done so already.

[WillLem]

Here's Episode #7: Sammings 2 by Mantha16

The shortest episode yet!!!

This main LP is actually only 20 minutes long but features a 35 minute bonus afterwards, for those who like the longer videos

So yeah, OK, altogether it's not the shortest episode yet

[mantha16]

what i particularly loved is how the one you think you backrouted in leminas is actually harder than the intended solution and do you want the replay for the level you gave up on?

[WillLem]

what i particularly loved is how the one you think you backrouted in leminas is actually harder than the intended solution

It's often the case that backroutes are more fiddly and complicated than the intended solution. I find it fascinating that a person can design a level very carefully, and someone else can see something totally different in the same map and skillset.

do you want the replay for the level you gave up on?

Sure, I'd be interested to see the full set of intended replays for this pack if you have them.

[mantha16]

ok ill put it up in a bit