I like this idea, but maybe in some tilesets it can look kinda unusual ("Outdoor" or "Dirt" with laser beams ). Maybe match the color of the tileset (or builders) with them.
EDIT: Maybe the deadly edges option adds 8 pixels of map to each side and puts a laser beam in there automatically -----> lesser hassel for designers
Adding 8 pixels ouside the level area completely unnecessarily turns lots of levels into ones with vertical scrolling. Adding them inside reduces the level area. So a big NO to the suggestion in the edit.
And I would be careful to match the colors to the style: E.g. this made the pickup-skills very hard to distinguish in the rock style.
My Feeling: open edges > steel > electric fence.
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Once again. The edges aren't an electric fence. When edges are deadly, the lemmings get lost in the void outside of the level. The edges do as little as possible!
Interesting that you care so much more about the fluff explanations than about the actual game mechanics. I agree that thinking about the edges as an electric fence is unnatural, gut game-wise the only difference is whether the burning animation is displayed or not.
I prefer open edges as well, but ultimately it is pretty irrelevant to me how the death of a lemming is displayed, as long as the cause is clear.
The per-level option is not as bad as it is now, should the boundaries get visual hints.
What visual hints do you propose?
a) Do colored edges of the minimap suffice in your opinion (as I suggested some posts ago)?
b) Do you want visual hints directly in the level screen? If yes, then how does this differ from placing laser traps at the border of the level?
I could live with deadly edges, but I have to strictly veto against a deadly ceiling
I could live with a solid ceiling as well. Solid ceilings tend to create far less backroutes than solid edges, so turning deadly ceilings solid will not break many levels.
From a purely game mechanics point of view, this might work pretty well. However the explanation of this behavior would become even more problematic: Consider a dirt level. Why should the (empty) sky be solid, but not the edges?
Additionally it still does not solve the issue
how to tell the player which sides are deadly and which are solid.