It's already been done lol. Not by me, though (I still don't know how to use a NL/level editor). It's been done for months
Thanks for the clarification, kaywhyn!
I wasn't sure anymore... I had something in the back of my head that it might have been converted by now, but I didn't bother to check.
I should probably give it another shot, then! Without all that hidden stuff that can't be checked for via CPM, it should be a lot of fun. The puzzles were actually great, considering this was (probably?) GigaLem's first pack.
You should be able to directly run the levels from it through Cleanse Levels using V12.7.X to V12.9.X of NL (it won't work on V12.10.X as that no longer supports LVL files). I suspect most replays will break, though.
Good to know, thanks!
I always have this certain bias of trying to open individual level files in the editor first. And none of the New-Formats editors supported these very old (1.43) level files. But the player by itself seems to be quite a bit more forgiving.
The only one I still disagree with to this day is the removal of Timed Bombers, mainly because these were a key feature of the first 2 games but also because I am really good at working with timed bombers, and NeoLemmix doesn't need this skill which I spent a small part of my youth developing!
That said, I can accept that they aren't relevant any more, and the advancements that NeoLemmix has made in other areas of the game far outweigh the absence of this relatively minor game mechanic. And, there are still other platforms on which to enjoy it (Amiga emulators, Windows Lemmings, older versions of Lemmix and Lemmini, etc).
That said, instant bombers can be fun, and are certainly more convenient. I personally think this is a situation where both would be best; i.e. if Timed Bombers could make an appearance maybe as an alternative version of regular instant Bombers, so that either could be used in a NeoLemmix level, that may be a good way to bring it back without upsetting too many people. Maybe. I won't get my hopes up though
Well, that's one reason I enjoyed radiation and slowfreeze . Although it was weird that they set the countdown to 9 instead of 5... maybe namida originally came up with those objects more as a delayed trap than something that's actually useful? A countdown from 9 instead of 5 gave lemmings more time to reach the exit before they exploded / stoned.
The Stoner is one important factor to remember here, though: Since its main application is breaking falls, the fact that they are instant is crucial to many levels that have lethal drops early on.
If Bombers were timed, Stoners consequently would have to be timed as well. And that would make them a lot less useful / powerful. While you could make the execution difficulty of timed lethal skills easy via skill shadows (i.e. show how far the lemming will walk until he goes oh-no), if a level requires a Stoner within the first 5 seconds if in-game time, that wouldn't help a lot.
Now, I will be the first one to argue that Stoners are often
too powerful, precisely because of their ability to break falls. But Stoner backroutes usually don't occur at the beginning of a level, but elsewhere where you can simply cut an otherwise lethal fall short. And later in a level, a timed Stoner could of course still be exploited for taht. Thus, timed Stoners would pose almost the same danger with regards to backroute potential, while only having the additional downside of being pretty much useless for the first five seconds of a level.
Thus, the main reasons why I enjoyed radiation and slowfreeze was not the timing itself, but
a) the ability to limit Bomber / Stoner usage to specific areas of a level, like a geo-restricted pickup skill
b) the ability to clone Bombers and Stoners (since they oh-no or die right away, you can't do that with regular Bomber and Stoner skills)
c) the ability to have Zombies walk into them, so that you would have to use the enemy lemmings instead of "just" killing them (of course, they still died in the process of bombing / stoning). If radiation and slowfreeze had been taken to New Formats, this usage would apply to Neutral lemmings as well, since they can't be assigned skills. Maybe that was a small missed design opportunity.
But I don't want to restart that discussion again, even I no longer really miss radiation and slowfreeze anymore now.
I still encourage everyone who plays packs of mine that feature those objects to do so in Old Formats, because I really went out of my way to make these objects work in a fair way. But I probably wouldn't want to try and come up with any new radiation and slowfreeze puzzles anymore, even if they were available today. Not because I personally hate them, but I've realised that a lot of forum members do, so who would go out of their way to intentionally design something that's unlikely to be enjoyed by the majority of players?
And gimmicks seem to be a similar thing. WillLem and I briefly discussed the idea of making a follow-up to Lemmicks, i.e. a second gimmick pack to be created long after the culling of gimmicks. But as WillLem outlined, preferences for individual gimmicks vary in the community, so it was hard to find common ground there, especially for a collaborative pack.
That said, if WillLem - or anyone else, for that matter - still wants to design a gimmick pack by him- or herself, I will be the first one to play it!