[NeoLemmix] Lemmings Cranium (150 levels) [Difficulty: Medium-Extreme]

[Crane]

CURRENT VERSION: v1.07

It is finally here, the one everyone has been waiting for!  Lemmings Cranium, 150 levels from Crane!  Some old, some new, some with a twist.

I tend to be a traditionalist with level design, so most of these levels use only the original 8 skills and game mechanics.  However, that's not to say I don't branch out into new ideas, and you will find plenty of levels using the new skills.  Enjoy the ride!

Cute
A nice, gentle start to the journey, but don't get complacent.


Curious
Some advanced tricks start to be introduced in this rank.  Make sure you think ahead.


Cunning
Now it starts to get difficult.  How good are your lateral thinking skills?


Challenge
Take a step back for a moment and revisit some original levels with a twist... less time, higher save requirements or fewer tools provide a new challenge.


Chaos
Playtime's over.  Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.  Think you're good enough?


Note: The music ZIP is quite a hefty 50 MB download and can be found here on Dropbox.

Changelog (possible spoilers):

Spoiler

v1.00

- Initial release.

v1.01

- Added kaywhyn to the menu credits for converting my old CUSTLEMM levels.

v1.02

- Spelling mistake in Armani's name fixed.
- Music track "prophecy1" added (you'll have to redownload the music ZIP if you don't have this track).
- Background music for Curious 21, Challenge 26 and Chaos 27 changed to "prophecy1".
- Cute: The positions of "Element", "Lemming Popsicle", "Fluid Mechanics", "Dream Eater" and "The needs of the few" have changed.
- Cunning: The positions of "Ball Bearing", "Around the Block" and "Faithful Friends" have changed.
- Chaos 10: "Wrong-side Failure" - backroutes fixed.
- Chaos 17: "Divisive Action" - backroutes fixed and talisman removed.
- Chaos 24: "Halls of Reflection" - Backroutes fixed.
- Chaos 28: "Denial" - backroutes fixed.

v1.03

- Paiy and kaywhyn added to tester credits.
- Cute 8: "Lemming Popsicle" - backroute fixes from Chaos 2.
- Cute 11: "Element" - new gold talisman.
- Cute 12: "Fluid Mechanics" - backroute fixes from Chaos 9.
- Cute 13: "Dream Eater" - new silver talisman.
- Cute 17: "Battery Lemmings" - fixed trapdoor overwrite flag.
- Cute 20: "Tia Na Nog" - backroute fixes from Chaos 22.
- Cute 22: "A Bridge Too Far" - backroute fixes from Curious 29.
- Cute 27: "Not as simple as it looks" - backroutes fixed.
- Curious 2: "We need a blow torch NOW!" - increased height of one-way arrows and fixed terrain anomaly.
- Curious 13: "Overhang" - backroutes fixed and extra decoration.
- Curious 26: "Virtue?" - talisman renamed and requirements made stricter.
- Curious 27: "Sharing a Climber?" - fixed trapdoor overwrite flag.
- Curious 29: "Blockout" - backroutes fixed.
- Cunning 18: "Crunch Time" - design and solution changed slightly; bronze talisman upgraded to silver talisman and requirement tightened.
- Cunning 22: "Pipe Burst" - backroutes fixed.
- Chaos 1: "SUNSOFT Swindle" - backroutes fixed.
- Chaos 2: "Polar Pass" - backroutes fixed.
- Chaos 4: "Containment" - backroutes fixed.
- Chaos 6: "Mind the gap!" - backroutes fixed.
- Chaos 9: "Overflow" - backroutes fixed.
- Chaos 11: "Stonecrest Bay" - backroutes fixed.
- Chaos 14: "There's One Small Problem..." - backroutes fixed and minor graphical update.
- Chaos 18: "Splashdown" - backroutes fixed.
- Chaos 22: "Hallowed Ground" - backroutes fixed.
- Chaos 24: "Halls of Reflection" - graphical artefact fixed.
- Chaos 27: "Dodge This!" - now has a time limit of 4 minutes.

v1.04

- Cute: The positions of Cute 9: "The needs of the few" and Cute 13: "Dream Eater" have been swapped.
- Cute 24: "Printing Press" - some graphical updates.
- Curious: The positions of Curious 18: "Stop, Look and Listen" and Curious 23: "Glide Slope" have been swapped.
- Curious 7: "The Long Way 'Round" - time limit increased from 2 minutes to 3 minutes; new bronze talisman added for completing in under 2 minutes.
- Curious 9: "Reverse Engineer" - new gold talisman.
- Curious 17: "Island Hopping" - backroutes fixed.
- Curious 21: "Going Down . . . . ." - bronze talisman upgraded to silver talisman and requirement tightened from 5 bashers to 4.
- Cunning 13: "Compression Method 2" - some graphical updates; new gold talisman.
- Chaos 12: "Chilly Disposition" - backroutes fixed.
- Chaos 19: "JAILBBEAK!" - backroutes fixed.
- Chaos 20: "Hell's Challenger" - talismans removed; new toolset.
- Chaos 23: "Thanatos Gambit" - map error fixed (compressor trap was too low).
- Chaos 24: "Halls of Reflection" - minor terrain change to reduce the precision required.
- Chaos 25: "Immortal" - backroutes fixed; builders increased from 3 to 5.

v1.05

- Added missing music tracks "passage" and "Prophecy1" (you'll have to redownload the music ZIP if you don't have this track).
- MASTER-88 added to tester credits.
- Cute 9: "Dream Eater" - backroute fixes from Cunning 17 ported over.  Talisman promoted from silver to gold.
- Cute 12: "Fluid Mechanics" - backroute fixes from Chaos 9 ported over.
- Cute 17: "Battery Lemmings" - release rate locked to match Curious 27.
- Cute 20: "Tia Na Nog" - backroute fixes from Chaos 22 ported over.
- Curious 16: "Nelson's Column" - backroutes fixed.
- Curious 18: "Glide Slope" - backroutes fixed.
- Curious 20: "Precarious Construction" - backroute fixes from Cunning 5 ported over.
- Curious 27: "Sharing a Climber?" - release rate locked to prevent backroute (this was the only way it could be done).
- Curious 28: "Cold Burn" - toolset changed to fix backroute.
- Cunning 3: "Lemming Cathodes" - backroutes fixed.
- Cunning 5: "Precarious Construction (Part 2)" - backroutes fixed.
- Cunning 13: "Compression Method 2" - gold talisman requirements changed.  New bronze talisman.
- Cunning 15: "S.C.R.O.O.G.E." - moved to Chaos 5 slot.
- Cunning 17: "Nemesis" - backroutes fixed.
- Cunning 18: "Crunch Time" - backroute fixes from Chaos 1 ported over.
- Cunning 19: "Shim-Shimminy Shim-Shimminy" - backroutes fixed.  Now has a time limit of 2 minutes.
- Cunning 20: "The Ziggurat" - backroutes fixed - moved to Cunning 25 slot.
- Cunning 21: "That's it????!!!!" - metal placed under the water container.
- Cunning 22: "Pipe Burst" - backroutes fixed.  Renamed to "Water Hammer".
- Cunning 23: "Oil Refinery" - solution and layout changed slightly.
- Cunning 25: "Cloning Vats" - backroutes fixed.  Background changed.  Moved to Cunning 15 slot.
- Cunning 26: "Prize Catch" - backroutes fixed.
- Cunning 27: "Die Doppelgaenger" - backroutes fixed.
- Cunning 28: "The Wishing Well" - backroutes fixed.
- Cunning 30: "Run!" - backroutes fixed.
- Chaos 1: "SUNSOFT Swindle" - backroutes fixed.
- Chaos 2: "Polar Pass" - backroutes fixed.
- Chaos 4: "Containment" - backroutes fixed.
- Chaos 5: "Perilous Parkour" - moved to Cunning 20 slot.
- Chaos 6: "Mind the gap!" - backroutes fixed.
- Chaos 7: "Don't Bother!" - backroutes fixed.
- Chaos 9: "Overflow" - backroutes fixed.
- Chaos 10: "Wrong-side Failure" - backroutes fixed.  Now has a time limit of 1:30.  Talisman requirements tightened from 0:50 to 0:45 and promoted from bronze to gold.
- Chaos 11: "Stonecrest Bay" - backroutes fixed.  Time reduced from 5 minutes to 4 minutes.
- Chaos 12: "Chilly Disposition" - backroutes fixed.
- Chaos 14: "There's One Small Problem" - new toolset.  One-way wall is now wholly right-pointing.
- Chaos 15: "Dropship 12" - backroutes fixed.  Now has a time limit of 5 minutes.
- Chaos 17: "Divisive Action" - time limit decreased from 3 minutes to 2.  Backroutes fixed.
- Chaos 18: "Splashdown" - backroutes fixed.
- Chaos 20: "Hell's Challenger" - backroutes fixed.
- Chaos 22: "Hallowed Ground" - backroutes fixed.  Background changed.
- Chaos 25: "Immortal" - backroutes fixed.
- Chaos 27: "Dodge This!" - backroutes fixed.  New bronze talisman.
- Chaos 30: "Last Lemming Standing" - fixed typos in the postview text.  Gold talisman time requirement reduced from 5 minutes to 3 minutes.

v1.06

- Cute 6: "Ice Station II" - backroute fixes from Curious 28 ported over.
- Cute 8: "Lemming Popsicle" - fixed issue where the interactive objects didn't exactly match the level's repeat, Chaos 2: "Polar Pass".
- Cute 9: "Dream Eater" - backroute fixes from Cunning 17 ported over.
- Cute 12: "Fluid Mechanics" - backroute fixes from Chaos 9 ported over.
- Cute 18: "Keystone" - changes from Cunning 1 ported over.
- Cute 22: "A Bridge Too Far" - backroute fixes from Curious 29 ported over.
- Cute 26: "Castles in the Sky" - upper platform lowered slightly to reduce precision required.
- Curious: The positions of Curious 15: "Deep Freeze" and Chaos 20: "Precarious Construction" have been swapped.
- Curious: The positions of Curious 18: "Triad" and Chaos 22: "Release The Hounds!" have been swapped.
- Curious 2: "We need a blow torch NOW!" - extra terrain added so the solution is more obvious.
- Curious 9: "Reverse Engineer" - time limit increased from 3 minutes to 4 minutes.
- Curious 10: "Two Steps Forward, One Step Back" - renamed to just "One Step Back". Talisman renamed from "Efficiency Drive" to "Two Steps Forward".
- Curious 12: "Arch-Nemesis" - level replaced with a brand new level: "Just Try It!"
- Curious 13: "Overhang" - backroutes fixed.
- Curious 15: "Precarious Construction" - backroute fixes from Cunning 5 ported over.
- Curious 17: "Island Hopping" - backroutes fixed.  Time reduced from 8 minutes to 7 minutes.  Paiy listed in credits for aiding in backroute fixes.
- Curious 18: "Glide Slope" - backroutes fixed.
- Curious 19: "Release The Hounds!" - changes from Cunning 11 ported over.
- Curious 26: "Virtue?" - silver talisman upgraded to gold talisman.
- Curious 28: "Cold Burn" - backroutes fixed.
- Curious 29: "Blockout" - backroutes fixed.  Level compressed slightly to alleviate time crunch.
- Cunning 1: "Build it up with iron and steel" - pillars moved further away so time-saving strategies are required.
- Cunning 5: "Precarious Construction (Part 2)" - backroutes fixed.
- Cunning 7: "Two's company..." - backroutes fixed.
- Cunning 11: "Steeplechase" - changed shape of wooden obstructions so they can't contain the crowd in order to prevent unfairly precise alternative solution.
- Cunning 12: "Around the Block" - backroutes fixed.
- Cunning 15: "Cloning Vats" - backroutes fixed.
- Cunning 17: "Nemesis" - backroutes fixed.
- Cunning 25: "The Ziggurat" - backroutes fixed.
- Cunning 27: "Die Doppelgaenger" - backroutes fixed.
- Cunning 28: "The Wishing Well" - backroutes fixed.
- Challenge 21: "The Expanse" - music changed.
- Chaos: The positions of Chaos 3: "Incompressible" and Chaos 8: "Tier Drops" have been swapped.
- Chaos 6: "Mind the gap!" - backroutes fixed.
- Chaos 9: "Overflow" - backroutes fixed.
- Chaos 10: "Wrong-side Failure" - backroutes fixed.  Talisman time required loosened from 0:45 to 0:50 and demoted from gold to silver.
- Chaos 11: "Chilly Disposition" - backroutes fixed.
- Chaos 12: "Stonecrest Bay" - backroutes fixed.
- Chaos 14: "There's One Small Problem..." - backroutes fixed.
- Chaos 18: "Splashdown" - backroutes fixed.
- Chaos 19: "JAILBREAK!" - backroutes fixed.
- Chaos 20: "Hell's Challenger" - backroutes fixed.
- Chaos 22: "Hallowed Ground" - backroutes fixed.
- Chaos 25: "Immortal" - backroutes fixed.  Number of builders reduced from 5 to 4.
- Chaos 27: "Dodge This!" - backroutes fixed.
- Chaos 30: "Last Lemming Standing" - fixed typos and formatting in the postview text.

v1.07
- Curious: The positions of Curious 13: "Overhang" and Curious 17: "Island Hopping" have been swapped.
- Curious 2: "We need a blow torch NOW!" - terrain adjusted to remove newly-introduced backroute while hopefully keeping intended solution more obvious.
- Curious 13: "Island Hopping" - backroutes fixed.
- Curious 17: "Overhang" - backroutes fixed and more greenery added.
- Curious 18: "Glide Slope" - incorrect version of level supplied in v1.06 fixed.
- Cunning 17: "Nemesis" - incorrect version of level supplied in v1.06 fixed.
- Cunning 21: "That's it????!!!!" - backroutes fixed.
- Cunning 28: "The Wishing Well" - backroutes fixed.
- Chaos 11: "Stonecrest Bay" - backroutes fixed.

[Crane]

Minor update to the menu credits.  Can't forget kaywhyn and his help in converting my old CUSTLEMM levels to NeoLemmix.

[Crane]

I should encourage you chaps a little bit.  There's something for everyone in this pack.

Cute: Fun/Tricky, touching on Taxing a bit at the end.
Curious: Taxing/Mayhem
Cunning: Havoc, touching on Very Hard a bit at the end.
Challenge: Taxing to Very Hard
Chaos: Very Hard to Extreme

[MASTER-88]

Very awesome looking pack, but got little tech troubles. I start play it, but game stopped cute 9. Some pieces used level are missing, you will not be able allow play this level.

This weird i load zips. IIRC i am got some same type troubles other special type levels too.

[jkapp76]

Cute 9 seems to work fine for me. saved 20 lemmings.

[MASTER-88]

Cute 9 seems to work fine for me. saved 20 lemmings.

Yeah this look its not allow me play levels which have those special type background like Cute 9, 12 & Curious 5. Then my neolemmix give me text: Some pieces used level are missing, you will not be able allow play this level. 

Other type levels work very well. Luckily most levels work. All normal type lemminsg levels and also Xmas level work well.

I think i´ll need manually set some pieces (like this background). This somereason not zip that correctly. I am just skip those 3 levels and keep playing otherones.  This seems very great pack. Also surprisely tough one. Cute 29 take me while to solved even it is step 1 mode level.

[Crane]

I'll have a check of that.

[Proxima]

Cute 9 requires you to have the ray_spooky style installed. If you have online features enabled, you can do this from within NL. Otherwise, this link goes to the all styles download: https://www.neolemmix.com/download.php?program=52

[Crane]

Ah yes, a number of levels have custom backgrounds, mostly for the aesthetics.

[Crane]

My general theming is that the last handful of levels of a rank give you a taste of things to come, so like the last levels of Cute are quite a bit tougher.

[Crane]

Some useful information - the following backgrounds are used:

- flopsy_deathegg:deathegg_act2
- flopsy_starlight:starlight
- gigalem_desertmd:night
- gigalem_skymd:cloudtops_night
- l3_shadow:mines_sky
- namida_bridge:night_small
- namida_clockwork:cogs
- namida_mineshaft:rocky
- orig_marble:marble_level
- orig_dirt_md:genesis_blue
- orig_fire:fire_level
- ray_snow:back_repeat_snow
- ray_spooky:spooky_inside
- ray_spooky:spooky_night
- special:amiga_blue
- zanzindorf_agony:agony_night

The MegaDrive blue I can probably replace with the Amiga blue in a future release so things are a bit more harmonious.

[MASTER-88]

Cute 9 requires you to have the ray_spooky style installed. If you have online features enabled, you can do this from within NL. Otherwise, this link goes to the all styles download: https://www.neolemmix.com/download.php?program=52

Thanks. Its work well rightnow.

BTW:
Just test final level. My completion replay Chaos 30 Last Lemming Standing. Very interesting last level. Saved all 41. I take little shortcut attempt to last level. My actual game is goes middle of curious.

EDIT:
Final Level Gold talisman. Beat sub 5 minutes. 4 minutes 17 seconds. I think i could even sub 4 minutes. I think need little bit better starting i think.

EDIT:2
Final Level speedrun 3:32. Let se did i can make sub 3 minutes. Damn this is fun level.

[MASTER-88]

Sub 3 minutes Final Level speedrun. 2:58:76. Okay Gold Talisman required under 5 minutes. Okay very happy with this. This could be still done faster, i am pretty pleased it rightnow. I think i set good PACE. I think its time to go sleep or something. This pack are keeping me play whole night.

Somereason i loved that last level and stuck to play this. 

EDIT:
Added Chaos 30 Final level silver talisman less than 40 skills. That was actually much harder than gold talisman IMO. Have to look bronze talisman yet. I think i´ll need few beers.

Spoiler

That main reason i finally notice my lemmings can Swim, this also might make speedrun time faster in future

[Crane]

Sub 3 minutes Final Level speedrun. 2:58:76. Okay Gold Talisman required under 5 minutes. Okay very happy with this. This could be still done faster, i am pretty pleased it rightnow. I think i set good PACE. I think its time to go sleep or something. This pack are keeping me play whole night.

Somereason i loved that last level and stuck to play this. 

EDIT:
Added Chaos 30 Final level silver talisman less than 40 skills. That was actually much harder than gold talisman IMO.

Spoiler

That main reason i finally notice my lemmings can Swim, this also might make speedrun time faster in future

I'm glad you liked the final level!  I did design it to be a grand finale rather than the hardest level, and it sounds like it worked beautifully!

[MASTER-88]

Yeah thats really great pack. Just make level to level i am somewhere Curious level 17 level rightknow. Many even those curious mode levels are very tough one and give good challenge. Did you Crane can tell me which is hardest level in your opinion?

BTW
Last level is finally busted with all talismans. Bronze solution.

Spoiler

This take whole 12 minutes no walkers/jumpers and all saved. That was really tough IMO, just hardest all talisman in final levels IMO, its take me nearly 2 hours attempts, i think there might be some more simple looking ways, let see.