[NeoLemmix] Lemmings DD (32 Levels) [Difficulty: Easy-Medium]

Started by WillLem, December 19, 2020, 07:20:58 PM

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WillLem




Lemmings DD is a small "coffee break" remix pack of 32 levels featuring a simulation of the Direct Drop mechanic from Windows Lemmings (and some older ports).

Originally a bug, this mechanic allowed lemmings to be dropped into the exit from directly above - even if it was from an unsurvivable height, as long as the lems landed on the exit's trigger, they would be saved!

NeoLemmix (and indeed various other engines) fixed this bug, of course, but it can be simulated using the updraft objects. Since these make unsurvivable falls survivable, they can be placed above an exit in order to slow the lemming's fall. And, if a lemming lands directly on the exit's trigger from a survivable fall, they will exit "in midair" (i.e. without touching the ground first), thus also simulating the look of a Direct Drop exit as well.

These 32 levels have all been designed to be completed this way, but as with all of my remix packs, there are a few other challenges along the way, and often multiple ways for the levels to be solved.

I'm sure you'll fall for Lemmings DD straightaway, so take a leap of faith, drop in and give it a try! :lemcat:

What's in the attachment:

:lemming: Level pack
:lemming: Full set of solution replays
:lemming: willlem_special style with modified exit & updraft animations
:lemming: Custom menu graphics
:lemming: Custom skill panel graphics
:lemming: Amiga Lemmings music files

To install, simply unzip the folder directly to your NeoLemmix directory.

Gronkling

I finished it 8-) I'd definitely say this pack is "easy" rather than "medium", I finished pretty much every level on my very first try, I made the earlier levels a bit more challenging by trying not to use the drop thing.

WillLem

Quote from: Gronkling on December 19, 2020, 11:46:04 PM
I'd definitely say this pack is "easy" rather than "medium"

To be fair, that doesn't surprise me, since your solving/puzzle-making abilities are very advanced.

There are a lot of users on the forums (myself included) who would consider this pack more in the "Medium" category. For me, "Easy" means tutorial levels or "any way you like", no puzzles at all. "Medium" starts introducing more puzzling elements, complex and limited skillsets, etc, which enough of these levels do feature.

Anyway... I'll see what the general consensus is (if any) before making any changes to the suggested difficulty.

Also, this is why I think we need a forum-wide difficulty "standard" that everybody agrees on and uses. I've brought the subject up several times, to no avail.

Quote from: Gronkling on December 19, 2020, 11:46:04 PM
I made the earlier levels a bit more challenging by trying not to use the drop thing.

I knew that some players would try to do that ;P So I occasionally included more skills or alternative exits to create different routes around some of the levels. Glad to see you had fun with it!

There are a few of these solutions which did feel more like outright backroutes, though, so I've made some fixes, detailed in the next post.

Thanks for taking the time to play the pack!

WillLem

OK, so I've already had to fix some backroutes for this pack!

Gronkling played through the entire pack always trying to avoid the DD solution wherever possible, which helped to expose certain backroutes. For some levels, it's fine - I designed a few of them to be open-ended and solvable via a number of different routes.

However, I made fixes to the following levels, which are intended to be more puzzle-like in nature:

Level Fixes

Tricky 2 Careful Dropping Saves Lives - added steel to prevent taking the "normal" route through this level
Tricky 4 Lemmings In The Basement - this one was just a straight-up backroute; added steel
Tricky 5 One-Way Dropping To Freedom - moved the exit platform further away
Tricky 6 Dropping From The Boundary Line - added steel and a spike trap
Taxing 3 Compression Method DD - reduced the number of Bombers to 1
Taxing 7 Drop In To My Place - added steel; removed Blocker & Floater, and reduced Walkers to 1
Mayhem 7 Drop Me - added steel

I've attached just these levels (plus any replays which needed updating as a result of the fixes) to this message. For those who already have the pack, simply download the attachment and paste the updated levels over your existing copies.

EDIT: Attachment removed. Please download the full pack to get the latest version 8-)

For those who don't have the pack yet, I've updated the original OP download with the level fixes and new replays as well, so just go ahead and download it from there.

WillLem

Apologies to anyone who's been hearing silence when playing these levels, I've just realised that the music.nxmi file refers to Amiga_Lemmings_Music.

Not to worry, here it is as a separate download if you already have Lemmings DD, and I have of course updated the OP download as well.

Or, if you prefer the silence, simply leave it as it is! :lemcat:

N.B. if you just want the standard music rotation, you can simply delete the music.nxmi altogether (which will cause a fallback to the default)

EDIT: Attachment removed. Please download the full pack to get the latest version 8-)

ericderkovits

hey WillLem, I think you need to add steel near barrier left of exit. see my backroute for tricky 6. Definitely doesn't use Direct Drop.

WillLem

Thanks, @ericderkovits!

Yet another backroute fix for Tricky 6 (hey, that rhymes!) :lemcat:

I'll make this the last one; if it's still backroutable, then so be it!

However, this one should definitely help with enforcing the intended solution; it's one of only a handful of levels in this pack where I like the main puzzle enough to prefer that to be the way the level is solved.

The OP download is of course updated, but attached here is the replacement level for anyone who already has the pack.

Enjoy! 8-)

EDIT: Attachment removed. Please download the full pack to get the latest version 8-)

WillLem

Lemmings DD V1.01 Update

A new update for the pack, V1.01 has now been released. The OP contains the fully updated pack.

Here's what's changed:

V1.01 Changelog

Updated info file with version number
Includes Amiga Lemmings music
Includes full set of working replays

Plus fixes to the following levels:

Tricky 7 Cascade DD - Layout change, talisman update, skillset update, far left exit accepts all 100 lemmings, then it's 90, 9 and 1 for the others

Taxing 3 Compression Method DD - 0 Jumpers talisman added (solution by Proxima)

Taxing 5 Drop From The Nessy - Backroute fix and layout change

Taxing 7 Drop In To My Place - Backroute fix and layout change

Mayhem 7 Drop Me - Backroute fix and layout change

To install, please download the full pack from the OP and extract it to your NeoLemmix directory.

Enjoy! :lemcat: :lemcat: :lemcat: