Turrican's Remix Pack

Turrican · May 28, 2021, 08:42:09 PM

Hi! After a long time , here is my first level pack , called "Turrican's Remix Pack".

It contains 20 levels , divided in 2 ranks. The levels have already made their appearance in the "Turrican's Superlemmini projects" thread , but now , it's time to appear in a levelpack too. 2 of these levels have been made by me , and the other 18 levels , have been made by other authors for Lemmix , and I have converted them to Superlemmini. You will find the pack , as an attachment in the bottom of this post.

Here is the list with all the authors , whose levels appear in this pack and which level belongs to each of them:

Spoiler

Turrican
--------
The Crystal Coves
Reachable Heights

Wihu61
-------
The equation
We like those objects!
Another lost civilisation
Crystal caves

Tseug
------
Not Quite
Rush Hour
Oh No, Not Again!

Geoo
------
Prepairing their ways
Everything you don't need
More 'No Builder Problems'
Stroke at Retirement Age
Trading and Cooperating

H0ru5
-------
The specialists
Fortress 13

Dodochacalo
-----------
All That a Basher can Do

Gronkling
---------
The Isle of Skye

Clam
------
From the Brink
Need I re-MINED you?

Also, I have attached the replays of the solutions of the levels . The replays that I had attached in the "Turrican's Superlemmini projects" thread , don't work with the levels here in the pack , so if you want to view the replays of the solutions , use the relays , that I have attached here.

About the music:

Here is the link for my Dropbox , where you can download the music tracks for the levels of the pack:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/139006m12paemao/Turrican%20projects.rar?dl=1

It contains a folder , called "Turrican projects". You need put that folder , inside the music folder.

All except one of the music tracks , have appeared also in the "Turrican's Superlemmini projects" thread . But , as I said here , there is a music track that hasn't appeared in that thread. If you have downloaded already all the other tracks in the "Turrican's Superlemmini projects" thread , and you don't want to re-download them again from my Dropbox, here is the link for that music track:

https://modarchive.org/index.php?request=view_by_moduleid&query=108047

EDIT : I have uploaded the version 1.01 of the pack. It contains updated versions of Wild 4 and Wicked 6.

Here are some pictures from some of the levels in the pack:

"Fortress 13" by H0ru5

"Everything you don't need" by Geoo

"The Crystal Coves" by Turrican

WillLem · April 13, 2022, 02:15:11 PM

Finished the Wild rank today. There are some really well-designed levels in here. One or two of them rely a bit too much on obscure trickery for my tastes, but for the most part this is a good compilation of playable levels. It's good that there aren't too many as well; I appreciate the chance to complete a pack quite quickly.

Some feedback on individual levels:

Wild feedback

1 The Equation - Excellent level! This is a very satisfying solution that doesn't take too long to figure out. A good start to the rank.
2 We Like Those Objects - Another great level which uses the skills very well. I have provided 2 replays for this, one with timed bombers and one with untimed.
3 Another Lost Civilisation... - A good level, which seems easy at first but the challenge comes from putting it all together within the time limit. Nicely done.
4 All That A Basher Can Do - Very much an "easy when you know how" level! I hadn't seen this trick prior to playing this for the first time so I confess I needed to check the replay to unlock it. I've since seen the trick used in Lemmings Plus III as well. I'd say of all the levels in here which require such tricks, this one is the best. It's a good "aha!" moment when you realise how it's done, and the trick isn't too precise or fiddly to get right.
5 Crystal Caves - A very busy-looking level which is off-putting at first but ends up being quite an enjoyable one to hack away at. My solution to this almost feels like a backroute, but maybe it's an acceptable alternative. It took me a while to figure this one out, and I enjoyed finding something that worked.
6 Not Quite - This one probably took me the longest to solve out of all the levels. The level design is very simple but the solution is very elusive. Nice level.
7 Prepairing(sic) Their Ways - Didn't like this one unfortunately. I couldn't solve it and so ended up just watching the replay. This level uses way too many obscure, pixel-precise tricks and glitches, and falls into what I call "replay levels" - those which are great to watch the replay for, but feel basically unsolvable while you're playing through them. I've attached the replay of my best attempt, which gets close to the "alternative" solution but misses the miner glitch by a pixel or two.
8 Reachable Heights - Another one that relies on very pixel-precise tricks. At least I already knew the trick to this one so it didn't take too long to unlock the solution, but it's a very fiddly level. These sorts of solutions are best left to challenges IMHO.
9 Everything You Don't Need - I enjoyed this one. As levels requiring tricks go, this is more like it. It's obvious from the save requirement that you need to bash rather than bomb down to the left, and the rest almost plays itself. A good bit of messy fun!
10 The Specialists - Loved this one, a really great way to round out the rank. I hope my solution is an acceptable solution to what's intended, since I didn't use all the skills.

Looking forward to the Wicked rank next! Will there be a Crazy rank of easier levels and a Havoc rank of even more difficult ones, or are you leaving this pack at just the two ranks?

Turrican · April 14, 2022, 03:22:04 PM

Quote from: WillLem on April 13, 2022, 02:15:11 PM
Finished the Wild rank today.

All of your solutions are intended or acceptable alternatives! Great job!

More feedback :

Spoiler

First of all , great job , on sending replays for "We Like Those Objects" , for both timed and untimed bombers!

About "All That A Basher Can Do" : The original version of the level , was a glitch level that required the use of a "Lemmini-only" glitch. In order of the conversion of the level , to have a solution , as close as possible to the intended one , I made it require the use of that basher trick instead.

Good job , on your solution of "Not Quite". I think that it is a level , whose solution , makes smart use of it's terrain.

Your solution of "Crystal Caves" is an acceptable alternative. It's a level that it is meant to be able to be solved in multiple ways.

About Prepairing Their Ways : Near the end of the rank , I wanted to have a level that is a bit more complex than most of the levels on the rank , so I did put that level. Your solution is indeed pretty close to the intended one.

Your solution of "The Specialists" is an acceptable alternative. That level , and the other level by the same author ( Fortress 13 ) , are levels whose intended solutions have been lost , due to their author being inactive for years. So when I converted these , I just tried to find a solution for them that just "makes sense".

The original version of the level for Lemmix also , contained an exit in the middle of the level , that I had found , that it could lead to several very easy backroutes , so I removed that from this conversion.

Looking forward for your solutions for the Wicked rank!

About the ranks of the pack : I won't add more ranks in the pack. Currently I an working on the creation of "Turrican's Remix Pack 2" , so all my current Superlemmini projects will be put there.

Generally , I use Wild and Wicked as the names of the ranks in my packs , but there also be variations of that. For example my Neolemmix pack , contains also a bonus rank with three levels , and "Turrican's Remix Pack 2" , may also , contain a Crazy rank.

kaywhyn · June 14, 2022, 11:17:32 AM

Hi Turrican,

I have solved all the pack, so my replays are attached! Also, you're already aware, but in case anyone else wants to, link to my LP: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbp2m4KlFpJsp7-pnViWIEMivCGt4XF1Y. Enjoy!

General Feedback

Turrican's Remix pack is a pack for Superlemmini where Turrican collects levels from various authors and puts them in this collection. I am familiar with all the authors, except for Wihu61 and Horu5. I have never played levels by them before despite having played many 10-level packs for Dos back in the days. There were also several levels I have played here before, so in those cases it was just a matter of me remembering how to solve it. In any case, the levels pretty much got harder as you got deeper in each rank, although it's different from other packs in that a lot of the levels aren't made by Turrican but rather are levels from various level designers. There's also at least one level that needed to be adapted in order to work on Superlemmini, as some levels were originally Lemmini/Lemmix and whose solution relies on a glitch exclusive to one of those engines, and glitches for the most part got eliminated from Superlemmini and hence needed to change in order to recreate the solution as closely as possible to the intended one.

If you can look past the fact there's no backwards framestepping or rewinding, I can definitely recommend this pack! Even though I'm now very used to NL in playing custom content, I still very much enjoy coming back to both Lemmini and Superlemmini from time to time to play and solve packs on. This is especially the case because of how I'm a diehard traditionalist when it comes to the game: classic 8 skills, time limit on every level, etc. After all, we had to make do without the convenience tools and features of NL when we played the game all those years ago

Wild Rank Feedback

Other than Wild 4 and Wild 8, I haven't played any of the levels in this rank before, so they were pretty much all new to me. Very nice assortment of levels in this rank! I found Wild 10 to be the hardest one, although that's likely because I overcomplicated the solution and did some parts suboptimally.

Detailed Feedback on the Levels

Wild 1 - The Equation Great level to start off the pack!

I'm a math person, as you might know, and hence I threw in some math knowledge in my LP

Also, the solution is quite easy to figure out, so the hardest part is just finishing on time.

Wild 2 - We like those objects! Harder than the previous level, although it wasn't as bad as I thought. I thought the time limit would be a big problem, but as long as you max it out after the first few then you should be fine. Figuring out the best route was difficult, especially given the skillset and design.

Wild 3 - Another lost civilisation Easy level. The time limit can still catch you off guard, though, like it did with me when I was successful

I like the design here of the exit being at the top of a pyramid/ziggurat-like structure.

Wild 4 - All That a Basher can Do I've played this level before as mentioned. Turns out I had the solution correct the entire time, I just failed to realize a tiny ledge where the shredder trap is in order to build and prevent the crowd from walking out and going into the hidden masher traps. To be fair, it doesn't really stand out and so I can see how one can easily miss the ledge is there. I would personally make it thicker so that it's easier to see.

Wild 5 - Crystal Caves Harder than any of the previous Wihu61 levels seen thus far in the pack. Still interesting that there's still multiple solutions to this level. The Rock tileset from ONML is one of my favorites, although Bubble is my top.

Wild 6 - Not Quite... Nice solution that uses a jumping miner, one which I didn't know was possible in Superlemmini. Now I know. I know it's possible on Lemmini. As you correctly said, some of my earlier attempts with placing a passthrough blocker was correct and hence would had made the timing far less tight. I totally forgot about assigning the basher to the miner after he moves and before he can take another full swing of the pickaxe

Wild 7 - Prepairing their ways Somewhat hard, although I pretty much had the general idea of the solution down fairly quick. It was simply a matter of executing it correctly afterwards. Pretty hard to get the checkerboard mechanic with how you need to place the miners very precisely, but it does alleviate some problems later on if you get it correct.

Wild 8 - Reachable Heights Played this level in NL for Mike's Lemmings, so it's just a matter of remembering the solution here.

Wild 9 - Everything you don't need The solution is obvious with using builders to keep the basher going so that he can go through multiple walls, executing it is an entirely different matter. Luckily, there's way more than enough builders to repeatedly spam them to keep lemmings safe while you build to the exit. I had nearly built over the exit, but luckily they just drop in and exit right away.

Wild 10 - The specialists Certainly the hardest of the entire rank IMO, so its position as the final level of the rank is very appropriate. I originally tried some timing things with both at the bottom at the start, even though I had quickly figured out the climber going through the top while the floater goes the bottom very fast. I don't like how I used the solid ceiling in my solution, although that's because I made several parts harder than I needed to, for example with timing the lemmings in such a way so that the builder staircase catches the climber in time after he finishes digging through. It never occurred to me to use a builder to build into the steel to turn him around at the top

Despite the difficulties, this was a pretty enjoyable level for the most part.

Wicked Rank Feedback

Like Mike's Lemmings, Turrican's pack for NL, the difficulty pretty much resets with the Wicked rank, although it already starts off pretty hard. This rank was quite slow going, where a lot of the time I could only get one or two levels solved at a time in each video. I have previously played Wicked 2, Wicked 9, and Wicked 10

Detailed Feedback on the Levels

Wicked 1 - Fortress 13 Hard level to start off the rank. It was not easy to figure out at all. The hardest was figuring out how to get everyone down safely from the starting platform, as well as releasing blockers so that you will save enough. I also now know that fallers too turn in midair by a blocker in Superlemmini, just like NL and I believe Dos too. I'm going to guess yes in Lemmini as well. I love how this is a builderless level!

Wicked 2 - The Crystal Coves Played the NL version in Mike's Lemmings. I've attempted this level back when you first posted it in the Superlemmini topic, but I had no success in getting it solved due to not containing the crowd at the start efficiently. In any version, the start is the hardest, as it's not easy to figure out the minimum amount of builders needed. It's also hard to figure out how to make sure just one lemming goes on ahead too. It's even worse on Superlemmini due to the execution not being eased by any means.

Wicked 3 - Need I re-MINED you? One of Clam's challenge solutions to Tame 3 of ONML. Easiest level thus far in the rank, as with miners only it shouldn't take too long to figure out, if you're aware of miners being able to take out terrain behind him too. This is certainly a behavior that I'm very well aware of from Dos and Lemmini. I think at one point I would like to take on CST, although so far I've only solved Tame 1. Tame 2 should be similar to this level, so I think it might had been a matter of me giving up too quickly on it due to the execution on Lemmix.

Wicked 4 - The Isle of Skye Somewhat hard but nice level by Gronkling here. It took a while to spot that going through the tree is possible in order to set up the builder/miner combo. This level showcases being able to cancel out both the miner and basher at the same time when they're both going in opposite directions. I have to suspect it's possible to solve the level without it, although I haven't tried. I think all of his packs are for Lemmini, although I've only played his two most recent ones. I've solved all of the latest one, and only have two left in the pack before it.

Wicked 5 - More 'No Builder Problems' Very nice builderless level!

I've already played several levels like this, and so this level wasn't a problem at all. It took sometime due to missing a skill assignment or the wrong timing, but I know the general solution from playing plenty of levels like this already.

Wicked 6 -Stroke At Retirement Age Hard one but a backroute as you already told me. I will see this in RotL, and as you also stated the way I used the digger in the solution won't work there, so I'll have to find a different way to solve it. I might forget the "intended" solution in 6 months, but well, we'll see

Wicked 7 - Rush Hour It wasn't too hard of a level, I just didn't realize that the OWW at the bottom left plays an important part in the solution because it's possible to cancel both a miner and basher when going in the same direction as well in Superlemmini. It's natural to assume it isn't due to it being impossible in NL, but at the same time, the design of the level and skillset should eventually lead to the conclusion that it must be possible. Another level that I needed to solve off camera after one video attempt.

Wicked 8 -Trading and Cooperating I would probably consider this the hardest of the rank, although I can see how Wicked 10 can be very hard too. There's so many dead ends here, and the route is very non-obvious and well hidden. Yet another level I needed to solve off-camera. Good thing, because it would had taken me a very long time. It's a really good solution, but there is a timing heavy element required in the solution, as well as a lot of pixel precision. It never occurred to me to send the climber up through the pillar on the left rather than the right side of the level. The digger/basher and blockers were also very hard to see. The level does a very good job of making you think certain skills go in certain places because of how very appealing they appear. For example, the builder I kept thinking either goes on the top right or right where the single pixel small brick is so that a lemming can cross over back to the left. Overall, a very nice level by geo once I managed to figure out the level!

Wicked 9 - Oh No, Not Again! Already played this in RotL for Lemmini. I think I remember the solution being a bit tight on finishing the building to the exit. I also remember watching namida's LP of this level and it just barely finished.

Wicked 10 - From the Brink Already played the level when I LPed Clammings near the end of 2020. I think Crane suggested this to be the final level of RotL instead of the previous one for the Lemmini version, although I think what ended up happening for one of the NL versions is that "Duality" by Yawg was the final level. Just like Clammings, I remember being a bit frustrated of rescuing the floaters in time before their nuke timers go off. It's harder on Superlemmini due to how lemmings will "un-exit" if their timers expire before the exit animation finishes and hence they aren't safe anymore. This was why I had a very hard time converting the penultimate level of Deceit's Lemmings for Superlemmini. I ended up just changing the skillset so that you can still save the original percentage.

Overall, a great pack that I absolutely enjoyed, especially playing levels by authors who I never heard of before, as well as some new levels by some designers I'm familiar or heard by name

Thank you for this pack, Turrican, and I look forward to your second one, if that's being planned!

Turrican · June 15, 2022, 03:39:31 PM

As I also , said to you , in your youtube video , Great job solving the pack !

Now , i will try to realease a version of Wicked 6 that fixes your backroute , and a version of Wild 4 , that fixes the issues with steel and the ledge near the exit.

About Wicked 7 : I tested the steel properties of the original version of the level and here is what I found ( I will post here some pictures of the steel pieces of the level. The thin red lines you will see in each picture represents the steel properties of each piece ) :

From these pictures if you reduce the width of the steel properties , of the steel piece , in the first picture , by four pixels , it will perfectly allign with the steel piece. That makes me wonder if Tseug had made it wider , in order to block some backroute.

In comparison, if you reduce the width of the steel properties , of the steel pieces , in the second and third picture , they will become more narrow , than the steel pieces.

Turrican · July 14, 2022, 05:24:34 PM

I have uploaded the version 1.01 of the pack. It contains updated versions of Wild 4 and Wicked 6.

About the new versions of the levels :

Wild 4 - "All that a Basher can Do" : The ledge , near the exit area is more visible now , and the basher assignment at the final part of the solution , is easier too.

Wicked 6 - "Stroke at Retirement Age" : It contains a backroute fix.

WillLem · August 19, 2022, 06:35:16 PM

Quote from: Turrican on June 15, 2022, 03:39:31 PM
I will post here some pictures of the steel pieces of the level. The thin red lines you will see in each picture represents the steel properties of each piece

Just a quick tip: if you press F7 (to turn on steel rendering) and then F4 (to bring steel rendering to the foreground), you can see the blue square steel areas as semi-transparent overlays, making it much easier to edit steel areas in 1.43:

Turrican · September 05, 2022, 03:49:25 PM

Quote from: WillLem on August 19, 2022, 06:35:16 PM
Just a quick tip: if you press F7 (to turn on steel rendering) and then F4 (to bring steel rendering to the foreground), you can see the blue square steel areas as semi-transparent overlays, making it much easier to edit steel areas in 1.43:

I know that the steel properties of the level can be more precise , but one of the reasons, that sometimes , this happened to these old levels , is because the author of the level , wanted to block backroutes.

So , this is the reason that I don't touch the level for now. If I will make the steel properties more precise, I will do some testing for backroutes first.