[NeoLemmix] Lemmings Open Air [Difficulty: Medium - Hard]

[Swerdis]

Yeah, I agree the LWT-theme suits really well to the Eurovision contest. I must admit I know hardly a song from there - that's not quite my kind of music, I'm a punk-rock-guy. That's why I liked the inclusion of the Dropkick Murphys ("Shipping up to Boston"). On the other side I was a bit irritated by "Ich und mein Holz", especially since I am German. This song is so terrible . But the level was a good one as far as I remember.

[Swerdis]

Loud-rank solved after quite some time. Generally spoken i found this rank harder than the previous one as it should be. Halfway through the pack right now, I expect a steep increase in terms of difficulty right now for the Heavy-rank cause that's what I heard about it. Let's see...I'm not always the quickest, but I'm tenacious.

Spoiler

Heavy

1 - Let me entertain you

Very easy level to start things off. Maximizing the Release-rate was key here for me.

2 - High tide

The rank begins quite gentle it seems. No problem here again. First level with a jumper if I'm not wrong, but the solution is easy to spot.

3 - What I've done

What a cruel end for the pioneer......Nice level, I like this one. But once again, not that hard.

4 - Needled 24/7

Fantastic level, it goes back and forth. First I thought I had to platform over the water pool, leading the crowd this way. But I couldn't gain height in the end, so I found the - what I think - intended solution.

5 - A change of seasons

Nice idea with the season, but as a level, I'm not too fond of this one. It's a typical example for a single-worker-level, but luckily it was pretty easy to solve.

6 - I believe in a thing called Lems

Next Jumper-level here. This is a very well-crafted level, I really like the solution and how everything falls into place. I could have saved a builder though by directly jumping onto the ceiling.

7 - I was made for loving you, Lemming

Hard level, full of mean things. The miner's treatment of the one-way-block was especially hard to see, but I already knew this tricky, fortunately.

8 - Hero

Of average difficulty I would say though I was a bit stupid here. Didn't see that I could easily bash through the left obstacle for quite some time and also tried to shimmy beneath the one-way cloud. Finally, I didn't use any shimmier.

9 - The evil that Lems do

A one-attempt-solve, the first in a very long time. Despite a bit easy, I really like this level. The jumper is a skill that suits me, in contrast to the stacker for example.

10 - Enter Sandman

Although I normally don't like spamming the same skill over and over again, I must admit that this is a very creative level. Like the song as well.

11 - Eight Of Swords

Not too difficult here, the trick to release the blocker is really neat. Immediately after solving I realized how to spare the second swimmer for the talisman. The crystal and rock tilesets blend well, this wasn't the first level I played with this combination.

12 - Burning the witches

I had my problems here, especially since there is no real way to trap the crowd. It's just a matter of timing plus the creative use of the shimmier we know from former levels. Since all skills are used I guess it's the intended solution.

13 - Let the bodies hit the floor

Zombie-level and a fun one. The title makes absolutely sense here.

14 - Still loving Lemmings

Easy, but nice one. I shortened the solution a bit by not going the long way around.

15 - Poison

The biggest problem here was to trap the crowd efficiently. Once done, this level wasn't that much of a problem, especially since it was quite obvious to see where the shimmiers have to go.

16 - Eruption

Very easy level which plays a bit like on rails. Almost a first-attempt solve. I like the released blocker becoming the new pioneer by turning him around in the fencer's tunnel.

17 - The bee

I read about this level being hard and, with this expectation in my mind, it wasn't as bad as I thought. Which does not mean that it's an easy one. There's a lot of precision required here and, at least in my solution, all of the provided skills have to be used. Also, this level look really good - the rock, the crystal and the honeycomb tileset blend together well.

18 - Chop Suey

Breather level. But maybe just because I did my best to severely backroute this one as I spared a ton of skills.

19 - Lems burst into fire

Weird solution here. A lot of improvisation, but at least I used all the given skills here. Basically a tricky level, but with some Strato signature moves, so nothing too hard, finally.

20 - The other side

Hard level, one of the hardest in the rank so far, no doubt about it. Especially stopping the fencer while still making it possible for the crowd to reach the exit was really really precise. Also, it took me long time to find a way through the one way all because of the little gap and the absence of construction skills.

21 - Tear down the walls

I had my problems here as well. Totally overlooked for a while that the ceiling can be shimmied. After realizing, the rest wasn't that bad anymore.

22 - Valkea joulu

Tricky one. Finally, a direct approach worked - going from the entrance to the exit with the crowd instead of doing the level backwards like so many times. The updrafts seemed to be purely cosmetic.

23 - Prayer of the refugee

I dig this one. Very nice cloner-trick in the beginning. Forcing the crowd into the pit while isolating a pioneer is the hardest part of the level - the rest is quite easy in my opinion.

24 - Paid in full

Hard, but fun one. It's actually a blueprint of how a level should be: always something to do, no downtimes and no solution which is visible from the first sight. I especially like the way the climber comes into play. Great work here!

25 - Come as you are

Much easier than the previous. The biggest question was where to start the long bridge to the exit as I originally didn't think that five bridges would be sufficient. But they are - as long as they are extended by one stacker.

26 - To Hell and back

Super-easy, but this is certainly not the way it should be done. I smell a major-backroute here.

27 - Wooden pints

Now this was a real challenge. With only one climber and one basher and miner each, every step had to be carefully considered. Finally, I used up every skill.

28 - Davidian

Nice and not overly difficult level. I think there are several solutions in detail that all share the same way to place the one and only bridge. Took me a while to figure this out.

29 - Les fleurs du mal

When I saw Kaywhyn's solution I asked myself why I didn't use compression method here. This would have made life much easier. So no wonder that my solution was very finicky, but at least I made it work.

30 - Hard Rock Hallelujah

Harder than it looked. I used up every skill here and I had severe builder-shortage for most of the time. Thought that I would need four to get the left crowd out of the pit - but when I had made it with three this meant level solved.

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

[Strato Incendus]

Good job, Swerdis!

Yes, the first Jumper level isn't too difficult - it can't be, since this is the level that introduces the Jumper within LOA.
That's just what happens when a skill gets introduced in the middle of a pack's development:
All the levels from the first two ranks were already done, so rather than making one Jumper tutorial level on the first rank, and then never featuring it for the remainder of the first two ranks, I dedicated the first two ranks to the Shimmier (which was the first new skill LOA introduced, compared to World Tour). And only once the player knows all the main tricks with the Shimmier, the Jumper gets thrown into the mix.

"High tide" is a Jumper crash course, though, because it already requires pretty much all the things the Jumper can do. For someone potentially encountering this skill for the first time in LOA, that's still a lot to take in. Obviously, that's not the case if you've already played a bunch of other packs featuring the Jumper in the meantime. But as far as I recall, LOA was one of the first larger packs that came out shortly after the Jumper's introduction.

I was a bit irritated by "Ich und mein Holz", especially since I am German. This song is so terrible

Just wait until the (Baseball) Batter is introduced into SuperLemmix. Then I'll make a level called "Ich haue meinen Lemming mit dem Schläger auf ein Holzbrett"...

[Swerdis]

Just wait until the (Baseball) Batter is introduced into SuperLemmix. Then I'll make a level called "Ich haue meinen Lemming mit dem Schläger auf ein Holzbrett"...

Oh my God. I know the allusion...that's one level higher, indeed :-)

[kaywhyn]

Then I'll make a level called "Ich haue meinen Lemming mit dem Schläger auf ein Holzbrett"...

One problem, though. The maximum number of characters allowed in level titles is 40, and so some of this will get cut off

[Strato Incendus]

Does the character limit also still apply to SuperLemmix?

There were already a few song titles I had to shorten in the past, such as U2's "I still haven't found what I'm looking for".

In this case, I could just shorten this future one to "Ich haue meinen Lemming auf ein Holzbrett"...

[kaywhyn]

Yes

[Mobiethian]

I'm really enjoying the videos that you are putting up on YouTube. Excellent!

[Swerdis]

Now that the Heavy-rank has been fallen, it's time to go Hardcore. I still enjoy the pack very much, there are many clever puzzles here.

Spoiler

Hardcore

1 - Beneath a dying sun

What's this? A super-breather to start off. I would say this is one of the easiest levels in the entire pack.

2 - God hates us all

I was warned about this level of being one of the hardest of the rank and thus the pack. But it wasn't that bad I must say. It seems to be pretty open-ended as well as I have seen.

3 - The descent of Lem

Another easy level. Didn't use the two platformers, so my solution most likely isn't intended. Thought I had to mine somewhat in a zigzag-style between the blockers, but this wasn't the case.

4 - The Nexus

This one looked impossible at first since I thought the force fields are traps and therefore cannot be passed. But after I've seen where the three jumpers have to go, I worked out the solution piece for piece. Nice level.

5 - Blood God rising

The buttons make this one pretty tough. It seems to be a bit open-ended though as I've seen a variety of solutions here. Personally, I used the cloner just to fill up the crowd.

6 - Under a serpent sun

Easy level once the player is aware of the trick. Also, not trying to save anyone here is key.

7 - Viszlat Nyar

Repeat of Loud 4 and signifcantly harder than that one. I had huge problems here. First, I followed a totally wrong approach, and later there was so much optimization here that I finally saved one over the requirement. But it was a long road to the solution.

8 - Evisceration plague

Looks intimidating, but isn't at all. It's actually a fairly straightforward level as I saved the three crowds one by one, not simultaneously. I don't know if the swimmer is a red herring, but I didn't find a use for this skill.

9 - Forlorn skies

Quite obvious solution for a final-rank-level, but this is still a very nice one. The key skill here is the glider which must be assigned at the right point of time.

10 - Mass obliteration

A fun level to play! I was on the wrong track here since I thought I had to make the first Lemming from the left hatch a glider (because he's quicker than the swimmer). But it turned out that it had to be the opposite way (left: swimmer, right: glider) However, I waited with the assigning of the glider until the cloner-pickup had been collected. In the end, I saved way Lemmings more than needed.

11 - Charred remains

Well, this one probably wasn't quite intended since I simply delayed one of the Lemmings by letting him climb. Therefore, I spared some skills, especially the swimmer which should have come into play somehow.

12 - Crystal mountain

Nice level though a bit of a breather. I used two pioneers here, but other ways seem to be possible as well. Good visuals, too, the different tilesets blend well each other.

13 - Hordes of chaos

Another fairly easy level as well. Again, multiple ways are possible. I trapped the crowd with the stacker and let one Lemming do all the work.

14 - Mayhem with mercy

Favourite of mine. I like falling bombers. I solved this a little by accident as I thought the shimmier would shimmy to death along the arc. But when I saw at which spot he would land, I immediately knew what to do here.

15 - Open the gates

This is a pretty difficult level, mainly due to the beginning part which is quite complex. It seems logical to start the platform at the final pixel of the chain segment, but for some reason this doesn't work. The penultimate pixel has to be used to make the first Lemming who can't get an umbrella anymore safely land on the platform. And - as it turned out later - this was even important as otherwise the glider won't climb up the chain. And it must be the glider because only he can do the rest of the level and reach all the buttons.

16 - The pursuit of vikings

The art design of this level reminds me of GeoffLems, one of the first level-pack I played in NeoLemmix. Here, this is a quite straightforward level, almost a breather, as long as it's clear that it's possible to swim underneath the ship.

17 - Mourning palace

Heavy 20 rears it's ugly head, again. Thankfully, the successor is much easier, due to the miner which is a big help here. Still think, I cheesed it a bit.

18 - Chopped in half

Yeah, finally one of my favorite tricks finds the way in this pack. So this level has my sympathy anyway. I think this level can be something of a roadblock because two of the tricks here - this  and the other one (canceling the digger with a blocker) are not THAT well-known.

19 - Clockworks

Easy level. The start can be a bit tricky however, especially finding the sweet spot where to mine as the falling distance is just about splat height. Very nice-looking mix of two tilesets here.

20 - Symphony of destruction

Plain and simple: One of the hardest levels I ever played and certainly the hardest of the pack. However, the high degree of difficulty evokes from absolute precision and high traffic within small areas, not so much from the puzzle itself. Therefore I wouldn't count it to my favourite levels though it's still a pretty good (builderless) one.

21 - Circle of the tyrants

Trickier than I thought, especially the beginning part. I like how two Lemmings work together and prepare the path.

22 - The True Beast

A bit of a standard recipe here. Bringing a worker on the other side by a lot of jumping around and free the crowd from there. Not a bad level, though, and what makes it challenging are these tiny gaps in the tree trunks and especially the foliage.

23 - Nemesis

At first I thought that his level could become really hard. It looks kind of intimidating and I'm not particularly good at levels with a lot of stoners. But soon it dawned on me what to do, fortunately there are plenty of skills here.

24 - Fall from grace

Very hard level. Many way seem to be possible, but in fact, almost nothing works. As an example, it was difficult to decide what to do with the second Lemming. Make him jump? Make him stack? Finally, I made him block on the bridge which seemed to be the least likely possibility to work - but it did somehow.

25 - Wipe your ass with sandpaper

Not as complicated as it looks. It's actually quite clear what to do here. Used the cloner to contain the crowd with platformers. In the end I gave one Lemming a head start with a jumper to make him start the platform over the abyss before the others arrive.

26 - Make total destroy

I was told this level being hard and I was not disappointed. However it's a very nice one and there are even several ways to bring the crowd to the top. Good work here, Strato!

27 - The divine land

Actually, not an excessively hard lone. But I was a dummy here. Didn't see for a long time that I could free the crowd at an earlier point of time and then trap it again left of the one-way-block. This made a second pioneer necessary and that's how I solved the level. [/b]

28 - The puzzle

Ambitious title. It's not just a puzzle, it's THE puzzle However, I feel my solution is not the mother of invention as most likely both sides of the level have to be used. After some trial and error, I restricted myself on the right side only.

29 - When all is said and done

Ingenious level, one of my absolute favourite. Doesn't look so difficult, but it's really a tricky one. Main question is how to bring a Lemming to the side and it seems obvious to use a stoner/jumper/shimmier-combination there - which works. But then, the stoner is needed in the end - so something different must be done. Great level and probably backroute-proof.

30 - Hammer-smashed face

The final level of the pack was by no means an easy level. I was warned that the amount of skills is deceiving as they would run out quickly - and so it was. Lots of midstroke-interruptions of bashers by shimmiers to gain height - this is really a signature trick by Strato.

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

[Strato Incendus]

Congrats for beating the Heavy rank, Swerdis! As said on YouTube, your solution to Hardcore 01 is a backroute, but I have no idea how to fix it without having "double one-way arrows" at my disposal...

[Swerdis]

Having started on March 17th, I brought Lemmings Open Air to the end today. The final four levels have alle been quite tricky - and I would crown Hardcore 29, along with Hardcore 26 as my level of the pack. The hardest one - and I'm in good company with this - was definitely Hardcore 20. I'm happy having played this pack. I already liked Lemmings World Tour, mainly for the visuals, but this one was a big step forward in terms of level design. So many great puzzles here. And I don't mind the old tilesets at all as they provide for clear und clean visuals.

I compared most of my solutions with other players like Kaywhyn or Eric and so I'm quite sure I backrouted some levels. Don't know if these will be fixed since it's not a new pack anymore, though. Some levels were probably intended to be open-ended as well. Thanks again, Strato, for having created this pack. It's still a big joy to play this game. I don' feel bored at all and there are still many packs out there that have to be played.

[kaywhyn]

@Swerdis

I already did so on Youtube, but I'll drop it off here in the topic as well. Congratulations on solving all of Lemmings Open Air and joining the short list of others who have done the same! I absolutely enjoyed following your videos throughout your entire quest to solve all of the pack. As usual, I continue to be amazed at some of the alternatives I saw and occasionally was surprised that I managed to miss a "cheesy" backroute or whatever I'm very happy to hear from you that you enjoyed this pack of Strato's Not only did I recommend LOA to you due to me being one of the pre-testers and me thinking the pack is excellent, but also I really did think you would enjoy this pack very much, which you did

Right now, Strato's focus is on getting Lemmings Hall of Fame ready for release, which as you know I'm currently doing some private pre-testing. I think once that pack is publicly released, Strato will go back through his earlier packs, including this one, and see what you managed to unveil with your solutions. So, his priorities are elsewhere right now, but don't worry, at some point he'll go through your LOA videos, if he hasn't done so for all of them already

[Strato Incendus]

Congratulations, @Swerdis, on beating the entire pack! And of course, thanks a lot for your kind words about it. 

As @kaywhyn pointed out, I still have some things to fix about Lemmings Hall of Fame — not just checking out kaywhyn's new replays, but also fixing my remaining replays that broke due to the shift to NeoLemmix 12.13. I'm more confident about this now, now that I know neither the Shimmier nor the Fencer changed, so that only levels featuring the (new) Slider should be affected by the shift to 12.13, not packs that preceded the introduction of the Slider, like Lemmings Open Air.