Level Design Contest #25 - Playing Phase (Discussion Topic)

[IchoTolot]

All zips only need to be unzipped inside the main folder of your NeoLemmix Player!

NeoLemmix Level Pack: https://www.dropbox.com/s/qfv801qd7tb0e8z/Contest_25.zip?dl=1

Music: https://www.dropbox.com/s/gvcat4hmax02pzn/Contest_25_Music.zip?dl=1

Styles + Sounds (I think these are already in the NL styles download but just to be sure...): https://www.dropbox.com/s/mkclusygig310d2/Contest_25_Styles.zip?dl=1

Rule 1 Levels

Armani's "Insert Coin, Choose Lemming" (V1)
Dire Krow's "Infiltration" (V1)
IchoTolot's "The Four Corners Of Cloud Seven" (V1)
Kingshadow3's "No Other Lemming's Gonna Do That!" (V2)
The Tomato Watcher's "Lemsicle" (V2)
WillLem's "It's All A Matter Of Spacing" (V1)
kaywhyn's "Sports-tacular Athletic Rescue Mission" (V3)


Rule 2 Levels

Apjjm's "Roiling Clouds" (V1)
Armani's "Tightrope Planet" (V2)
Crane's "Looks simple enough..." (V1)
DireKrow's "Steep Bee-scent" (V1)
IchoTolot's "Decent Default Design" (V2)
Kingshadow3's "Atmospheric Breach" (V2)
tan x dx's "Not much to work with..." (V5)
The Tomato Watcher's "A Roundabout Trip" (V5)
WillLem's "Minimalemism" (V1)
kwywhyn's "The 10 Piece Puzzle Rush" (V3)


Rule 3 Levels

Apjjm's "A Digital Switchover" (V4)
Armani's "Underwater Hijackers" (V1)
Dire Krow's "Ancient Lemmarine" (V2)
IchoTolot's "Starlight Pinball Zone" (V1)
Kingshadow3's "Mad Dad's Chemical Research Dept." (V2)
tan x dx's "The Treachery of Lemmings" (V1)
The Tomato Watcher's "The Claaaaaw..." (V1)
WillLem's "Bosom Buddies" (V1)
kaywhyn's "The Lemming Calculator" (V10)


You can check the rules details again here: https://www.lemmingsforums.net/index.php?topic=5914.0

Playing Phase will be closed on 31th of May! (A bit longer due to LOTY overlapping a bit)
Updates will close on 28th of May!

Note: This topic is for posting your comments, replays, etc for the levels. If you wish to post an update to your level, or enter a late submission, please do so in the Updates Topic instead.

Link to update topic

[IchoTolot]

Ok, already had a late entry while creating the topic - kaywhyn's levels have been added!

[IchoTolot]

Updated the music zip as I forgot the music files for The Tomato Watcher's levels, be sure to redownload!

[The Tomato Watcher]

Managed to solve 2 R2 levels tonight, but one of them felt like a backroute.

WillLem's "Minimalemism"

Clever little level here! Good use of splat fields, and I liked how you used both the Floater and the Glider in different ways. Nice use of Bombers too.

kaywhyn's "The 10 Piece Puzzle Rush"

Very fast-paced level. Lots of options for where the Climbers and Jumper go. I especially liked figuring out the best way to get a lemming ahead to bomb under the trap. Though, I may have done that wrong, or perhaps it was getting a lemming ahead to platform across the gap. Either way, I ended with an extra Floater and a completely unused Laserer!

[kaywhyn]

@The Tomato Watcher:

Thanks for the replay for my R2. Yup, that's a backroute. For V2, I've adjusted the time limit, so this will probably force the intended solution I have in mind now

[The Tomato Watcher]

@kaywhyn How's this? Quite satisfying to figure out, especially

Spoiler

the part where both the Slider and Floater go over the block and end up going opposite ways.

[kaywhyn]

@The Tomato Watcher:

Getting closer, but not quite what I had in mind. Not really noticeable, but for V3 a slight shift in the terrain, but still shouldn't be a problem for you.

[The Tomato Watcher]

@kaywhyn Hope I've got it now, it certainly felt more challenging.

Spoiler

That's some decently tight timing concerning when to send the Slider over (and/or when to make him a Floater). You gotta send him early enough for him to finish the platform before the crowd gets to the pit, but you gotta send him late enough so that the first group of lemmings doesn't go down the Laserer tunnel. Tricky!

[kaywhyn]

@The Tomato Watcher:

Intended!

Spoiler

My solution has the first two become the climbers, while the third lemming turns back to the left, jumps over the green block and past the trap to bomb away the terrain where the trap trigger is. However, your solution is acceptable, as either way the core tricks of sending two lemmings over the block at the very top to do the work and release the stragglers that won't make it to the exit on time if you don't laser through the big block are now there. The other thing to realize is that you will always finish with a second to spare, although I realize that I can now put it back on the original timer (I'm a dumb-dumb, that would render the laserer useless again and hence why the fix was needed in the first place, so no, the original timer cannot be reinstated) I had before. So, I might release another version doing that, but it will not break your solution. So, everything is fine on your part. Great job!

[Armani]

played through all rule1 levels.
They all probably are not quite intended other than Icho's level which is I'm pretty sure open-ended.

[DireKrow]

played through all rule1 levels.
They all probably are not quite intended other than Icho's level which is I'm pretty sure open-ended.

For my level... it's much closer to the intended solution than you think! You solved all of the 'problems' you were intended to solve, and used most of the skills in the places you were intended to use them... you just did it in a way that takes a lot longer and was slightly more complicated, but saves a skill as a result.

I think I'm okay with leaving this as an alternate solution. I'd rather err on the side of keeping it a little more open-ended, to make it more accessible to people. Plus it provides a way to solve it without having to multitask, which I think people will appreciate.

If I really wanted to block this solution, then adding a 2:30 timer is something I could do. It would fit the level too, since some base infiltration have to be done under time pressure, after all But I don't feel the need to do that yet. Another option I'll consider is to make beating it in <2:30 into a talisman.

[The Tomato Watcher]

@Armani Welp, that's frustrating.

Here's Why

I actually thought about that Jumper trick you did to free the Blocker without a Builder, but didn't test it thoroughly enough and assumed it wasn't possible!

V2 is out now and should hopefully render that route impossible.

[kaywhyn]

@Armani

Ugh, I can't believe I missed the obvious backroute in those two places at the very start for my R1. They were definitely oversights on my part, but at the same time that's what I get for waiting til very close to the end of the submission phase and not doing enough testing on my own levels For V2, I've added terrain and OWAs. Hopefully that blocks out other alternatives, but let's see how it holds up now!

[Armani]

resolved updated levels Both seem good now

Lemsicle

I used all skills now! I love the part where I have to keep using multiple jumpers to cross the snowman bridge

Sports-tacular Athletic Rescue Mission

This feels intended! I was really tempted to free the floater-blocker with a walker but I also really wanted that walker to reach the borrom right exit. I concluded that the only blocker I can free with the walker is the climber lemming and I have to free the floater-blocker with well-aimed laserer. It was also very satisfying to figure out which lemming should take which exit, as some of them are only reachable by some specialist lemmings. I was 100% sure bottom left exit is for the glider/swimmer lemming but I wasn't so sure about the rest. After I figured out I can send normal lemming to top left exit with relatively few skills, everything came together nicely. Nice level

[kaywhyn]

@Armani

Different from the intended solution, but this is also a really awesome solution that uses all the skills that I think this is a perfectly acceptable alternative.

Spoiler

The intended solution sends the normal preplaced lemming to the top right exit, while the climber simply goes back to his top left exit. For this, I platform with the glider/swimmer and he reaches over to the slanted platform in time so that the climber simply climbs back up and goes into the miner tunnel he made earlier. After bashing with the glider/swimmer to release the normal lemming, the latter lasers to the right instead, shimmies into it, builds to get high enough to jump and get over the block. I have the glider/swimmer use the underside of the platformer to shimmy so he bounces off the block and glides down to the bottom left. For the blocker floater, the other alternative is to release him with a walker after building enough of the staircase so the floater lands on it, turns around on the block back to the right, and then floats down to the bottom right. However, I didn't realize that I placed the blocker in a way that he can also be released with a laserer. Very nice catch! I'll leave that part of your solution in, as he still needs to be turned back to the right at the bottom anyway.

Thanks for the compliment, I'm glad you liked my R1! I really love the solution here, as I tried to sprinkle in a variety of ways for the preplaced lemmings to get to the exits: Shimmier over the water pit with the non-swimmer, build to get high enough to laserer the ceiling and then use the resulting tunnel to shimmy into it to get onto the exit platform and then platform over the water pit to reach the exit, fence to get into the water pit to get to the exit, and finally laserer the ceiling and use the resulting tunnel to jump into it to get around the traps before the exit to reach the exit. So really, I'm quite proud of my R1 if I do say so myself