Level Design Contest #21

[IchoTolot]

Welcome to another contest of the Lemmingsforums! This time the three rules have been picked by DireKrow for winning contest #20.

A few words to new participants and forum members: If you haven't entered before, I strongly encourage you to try - even if you don't win, it's fun to participate; and we have had cases where first-time entrants have won before! There are three choices of rules given, you may enter one level for EACH one of the rules.
You may either use new format NeoLemmix, or Lix.
If you have more than one entry, they may (but do not have to) be for the same engine. Please make sure you tested your level for basic solvability before submitting and be sure to also submit any custom tileset you are using, so others have no problem playing your level.

Pre contest testing: You can choose 1 person who does a bit of pre-testing for you, so that the biggest backroutes and screw-ups of your levels can be detected before the playing phase. I cannot control this so it's only a guideline, but still I would prefer not everyone knows every level before the playing phase starts.

Here are the rules on how the submission deadlines work:
- Initial submission phase deadline will extend such that it's 72 hours from the time of the last submission, up to the 5th submission (inclusive). After this it no longer changes no matter what.
- Update phase deadline will not extend over the initial dead line!
- Even if you missed the cutoff date for the initial submission phase, late entries are accepted until the update phase ends. There is no penalty for a late entry, beyond that people are less likely to spend as much time on the level before voting begins.

And here is the new ruleset:

Rule 1

- Make a level that uses at least 3 jumpers. You may provide more, but at least 3 jumpers must be required in the intended soltion to solve the level.

Rule 2

- Make a level with exactly one entry hatch and at least two exits. Each exit must have a lemming requirement equal to the total lemmings to be saved divided by the number of exits. To avoid edge case numbers the amount of exits must be a clean divider of the number of total lemmings to be saved.

For example, if you have 2 exits and must save 30 lemmings, each exit must require 15 lemmings. If there's 3 exits, then each exit would require 10 lemmings instead. Pre-placed lemmings are disallowed.

I won't 100% reuire the NL lemming exit limit, but if you don't use it it must be impossible that more lemmings than the exit limit can exit the exit. Aka you need to make contraptions that are only passable for the required number of lems - seperation by permanent skills would be the logical consequence.
To be clearer: If you don't use the NL limiter your filter contraption should be crystal clear in signalizing that the exits have only limited access.
The filter needs to be clear on the first sight as I need to verify that the rule is followed and it's impossible for more lemmings than allowed to reach the exit.
Again, it needs to be impossible that more lemmings than the exit limit can exit the exit! The easiest way is still the NL exit limitation function.


Rule 3

- Make a level whose terrain is in the shape of a recognizable character, creatures, object or landmark, either from real life or fictional media.
Additional terrain is allowed, but the majority of the puzzle should take place on, in and around the featured character/object.

Examples include: "Hunt the Nessy" and "Here's One I Prepared Earlier" from L1, "Mutiny On The Bounty" from ONML, "Lemtris" from L2, and several L3D levels including "Lemmings Inside", "Attack Of The Fifty Ft Lemmings", "Breakout", "Lemmhanger", "A Head Above The Rest", "Away Team", "Lemmtris" and "Fun Fair".

The use of "special VGASPEC tilesets" is forbidden! So you don't just pick a suitable png, make it into a tile of terrain and you're ready - you need to actually build up something.

I will probably be a bit easy on the rule here though and allow some let's say slightly "failed" creations -- aka a person wanted to make Sonic but ended up with Sanic.

You can use custom tilesets that you made as long as you don't simply use a bunch of giantb terrain pieces and cheat in a way that is not in the spirit of the rule.

Also: I would be very happy if not everyone creates a new tileset specifically for this rule. At least try to get along what we have available. Having to include 10 new tilesets in the downloads with tilesets that are specifically for this is just messy.


Submission phase ends September 30th 2020 at 00:00 UTC.

Ruleset in detail again: http://www.lemmingsforums.net/index.php?topic=2246.0

Send me a personal message with your level/s and if needed tileset/s to participate. It would also be nice to also tell me the rule which each level satisfies.

Please use the following naming format:  User1_Levelname_R3V1.lvl ---> Level "Levelname" by User1   for Rule 3   Version 1 of the level

Prize selection:
- US $5.00
- One month's advertising on the forums news ticker
- Pick next contest's rules

Entries so far: 16

- Armani (3)
- IchoTolot (3)
- NieSch (2)
- Mantha (3)
- Shmolem (1)
- Crane (2)
- Nessy (1)
- Dullstar (1)

[Simon]

Rule #2 (n exits that each take 1/n of available Lemmings) in Lix: Physically, exits always take any number of lixes. To design a level:

• Either don't enforce the rule; instead write this extra requirement into the level title.
• Or design such that runner-jumpers reach one exit, climbers reach another, floaters reach another, ..., and enforce the rule via the skillset.

-- Simon

[Dullstar]

Rule Questions:

Rule 1 is pretty straightforward, so no questions about that one.

For rule 2, in NL, is it required to explicitly limit the number of lemmings allowed to use the exit, or is doing it through other means (e.g. permanent skills, splitters, disjoint unions (not that it would probably be good design to use a disjoint union, but...), etc.) and leaving off the lemming limit also acceptable? The reason I ask this is that I plan to put my entries in a pack at the conclusion of the contest, and I want to try to keep the number of mechanics that only get used once or twice to a minimum, so it's likely that the pack version of the level would strip out the lemming limit. Most likely my implementation of the rule will be based on movement skills in some way or form; I use a lot of movement skills in most of my designs.

For rule 3, the use of vgaspecs is prohibited. Out of curiosity, would this extend to any custom style created for a level made for this rule, or would it be acceptable as long as the style's not single-purpose (i.e. it should be easy to create large amounts of meaningfully different terrain layouts with it)? This one's more out of curiosity, as I doubt I'll be doing this, but sometimes the existing styles for nature scenes are a bit hard to use, especially if I want climbers or shimmiers in the level, and if I make something for this it'll probably be a landscape (that counts as a landmark as long as it's a real place, yes?)

[DireKrow]

The intention with Rule 2 was that you actually apply the limit to the exits by setting the 'Lemming' count on the exits in the editor. At least in NL. In Lix, you can't do that, so instead you have to enforce it through the solution.

For Rule 3, the spirit of the rule is that you're using terrain to create (a) sculpture(s) of some kind. Like building a boat shape out of bricks for instance. So if you use a custom style, that's totally fine as long as you don't, say, make your sculpture out of one giant terrain piece that you prepared earlier, which is akin to vgaspec.

[IchoTolot]

My take would be here:

Rule 2

I won't 100% reuire the NL lemming exit limit, but if you don't use it it must be impossible that more lemmings than the exit limit can exit the exit. Aka you need to make contraptions that are only passable for the required number of lems - seperation by permanent skills would be the logical consequence.
Again, it needs to be impossible that more lemmings than the exit limit can exit the exit! The easiest way is still the NL exit limitation function.

Rule 3

You can use custom tilesets that you made as long as you don't simply use a bunch of giant terrain pieces and cheat in a way that is not in the spirit of the rule.

Also: I would be very happy if not everyone creates a new tileset specifically for this rule. At least try to get along what we have available. Having to include 10 new tilesets in the downloads with tilesets that are specifically for this is just messy.

Updated the first post with these specifications.

[IchoTolot]

Regarding rule 2:

I've added the following clarification that if you don't use the NL limiter your filter contraption should be crystal clear in signalizing that the exits have only limited access.

The norm should be the limiter and only if you really don't want to have a limiter a filter contraption should be used. This filter needs to be clear on the first sight as I need to verify that the rule is followed and it's impossible for more lemmings than allowed to reach the exit.

[Dullstar]

If I do go with the custom style route, I'll also make sure to give it a standalone release in the Styles board.

By the letter of Rule 2, cloners are allowed, since they're not preplaced lemmings, but would you consider the use of cloners to go against the spirit of the rule?

[DireKrow]

Cloners are fine, imo. The reason preplaced are disallowed is because the idea of the rule is that the lemmings all come from one starting location (the entry) but have to be evenly split among the exits.

[kaywhyn]

Just pointing out that the news ticker announcement on the home page for the site for the LDC needs to be updated to say #21, as it's incorrect for it to still say LDC #20. Along with that, link needs to be updated to the current LDC

[Nessy]

Just pointing out that the news ticker announcement on the home page for the site for the LDC needs to be updated to say #21, as it's incorrect for it to still say LDC #20. Along with that, link needs to be updated to the current LDC

Fixed!

[IchoTolot]

Alright, the first entries are coming in. Keep them coming!

[Shmoley]

I'm actually going to submit a level for the contest! I'm a little confused for the naming formatting though.. do I have to name the level under that format or the .lvl file under that format? I think I understand it but just making sure.. Edit: Looked at it again.. I think I understand it now

[IchoTolot]

I'm actually going to submit a level for the contest! I'm a little confused for the naming formatting though.. do I have to name the level under that format or the .lvl file under that format? I think I understand it but just making sure.. Edit: Looked at it again.. I think I understand it now

You can name the level whatever you want. Just the .nxlv file itself needs to be in the format so that everyone and myself see from which person the level is from, what version+rule it is etc.

[IchoTolot]

A bit less than 2 weeks remaining. Get your entries ready soon!

[IchoTolot]

The playing phase is close! Get those last entries in!