Level Design Contest #31 - Playing Phase (Discussion Topic)

[IchoTolot]

Yep Arty's solution was a backroute. Guess I have to place that steel block after all...

[kaywhyn]

@Colorful Arty

That is the intended solution for my R2. Great job and thank you for the compliment! To answer your question about the music, yes, that is the L2 Outdoor remix track from Strato's Lemmings of Hall Fame which he just released last year in November 2024. Just like LWT, Strato ended up remixing all the L2 tracks, and I think he did a great job with most of them In a way, the timing of the release of the pack was just perfect so that I could use one of the LHOF tracks for this contest I definitely wanted to feature one of the tracks from that pack as a preview, just in case the player hasn't had a chance to play through the pack beforehand

@Icho

R1 - To my surprise, you got the intended solution. Great job! Your solution isn't the most optimal in terms of being quick or not using too many of the infinite skills, but it's fine Because the fiddliness will vary among players, I didn't want to punish players in any way by not providing enough walkers, jumpers, or blockers and therefore just gave an infinite amount of these 3 skills. Even my solution isn't the most optimal with not using too many jumpers/walkers/blockers. I was really aiming for a fun level while there also being a challenging puzzle with the skills that are limited with the new objects. I think I managed to succeed with the result! Let's say I was inspired by some of the action-based levels from Armani's Lemmings Uncharted and your Double Vortex level from Lemmings United!

Spoiler

For example, when releasing the second group of neutrals, I quickly turn around with a walker skill and jump at least once to get ahead of all the neutrals so that I didn't need to use the walkway at the top like you did in order to do that Similarly, at the bottom, I just block once in the small area where the neutrals get their athletic skills removed by the skill remover object and then once everyone turns around at the far left when I make him block, I quickly release him, turn him around, and jump several times to get him ahead of the neutrals. Again, your solution is fine, since the fiddliness will vary depending on when and where the player releases the normal Lemming after making him block, for example.

As for how the level resulted, this was inspired by a first rank LemmingBytes level! Also as I've mentioned in my reply to your video comment on my sneak preview video, I'll happily submit this level for the NL Community Pack after the contest is over!  

R2 - Intended! AFAIK, this has never been backrouted, and so for the very first time in any LDC I participated in as a level designer, I finally succeed in releasing a level that hasn't been backrouted even once Took me long enough, though!

R3 - Different from any of the solutions I had in mind, but you managed to deliver yet another solution which I call acceptable, therefore making at least 5 different ways the level can be solved! Well done! There is a leftover skill, but well, it is an open-ended level as you might have guessed, and you managed to still need all the other major skills, so it's fine At least it's not a solution like Gronkling's that managed to save too many skills for my liking in an earlier version, and while I will nearly accept any solution to the level, I would like all or most of the skills to be accounted for and hence I decided to block off a few routes that used one particular area!

Spoiler

Apparently that was made possible due to being able to merge the bottom crowds back when there weren't any fire traps in the bottom middle area. I said, nope, that's too many skills saved, I'm going to block that area off. However, the biggest improvement from two solutions I received was increasing the save requirement from 18 to 19, which has resulted in a level that I'm now more satisfied with I had a suspicion it was possible to just lose 1, I had no idea why I didn't see those ways before!

On the bottom left, you can of course instead build twice to get up that wall where you used a backwards basher to make it a climber friendly wall. The fact I gave nearly enough climbers for one entrance resulted in a solution by Armani where it was a completely new one I hadn't seen before, but it also shows that I frequently overlook this when playing custom levels!

I just barely noticed this, but surely it's pure coincidence that this level turned out exactly like your level The God of Fear and Hunger in terms of what it features: 4-of-everything skillset in classic 8 skills, we both increased the save requirement from 18 to 19 in an update, and 4 entrances and an exit in roughly the corners and roughly middle, respectively! Only thing that is different is the RR. Yours is 70 while mine is at the standard 50 for New Formats NL, though my level can easily work with a 70RR. Or any RR for that matter! I didn't have your level from several LDC's ago in mind when making my R3, though Like I said, it was pure coincidence my level turned out just like yours in terms of having a lot in common!

All that being said, it still surprises me people have told me that my R3 is difficult. I wasn't even trying to be hard with my levels this time, having made the observation that my recent levels have been much harder than I anticipated and hence it was intentional on my part to dial back on the difficulty of my own levels My advice is to "think simple," as none of my solutions use anything fancy save for one but even then it's a pretty well-known one among the classic 8 skills.

The track is from L3D, in particular it's one of two tracks (sometimes three, but the third one is a remix of one of the tracks) that plays on computer levels in the game.

I look forward to giving all these levels a go sometime in the upcoming weeks!              

[IchoTolot]

I uploaded my solutions to YouTube including the ones for my own levels.

Rule 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwLqm5-uqBk
Rule 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtsU01dJ6xo
Rule 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUBXs0DpSM8
Rule 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wq3kDWW9v6M

[ericderkovits]

@Icho

I noticed in my Rule 2 level in your video the lemmmings were the default ones.

They should be once again using strato's recolored Lemminas (Lixes). That's why I used 1 of Willlem's music tracks.

I uploaded strato's lemmings (recolored Lixes) here for use.

[Gronkling]

All three solutions are correct for mine 

Spoiler

The extra bomber in r3 is just a red herring

[Armani]

@Ichotolot
r1,2 - intended
r3 acceptable

Here're my intended solutions
https://youtu.be/1rQXkcOwL14