We've had a lot of discussions about which of the abundance of elements from Lemmings 2 could still be added to NeoLemmix. In comparison, Lemmings Revolution, which is a lot more faithful to classical Lemmings again in its design, has received rather little attention. Pretty much the only object from this game we've ever considered is the anti-gravity pad - which is probably also the most difficult to program. But this game contained other distinctive features, some of which might be easier to introduce into NeoLemmix, while still being worthwhile.
Here's an overview of all the features of the game (aside from the skills, which are just the standard eight from original Lemmings).
My comments on each of these in perspective to NeoLemmix:Weasels. Their main function is already covered by Zombies - however, Weasels are somewhat less dangerous, since they don't infect Lemmings they encounter, which, in case of Zombies, can then go on to infect other Lemmings, i.e. the effect is cummulative. Weasels are really more comparable to moving traps, like the bird or the "Lemme fatale" in Lemmings 3.
Which would be the next point:
Moving traps. The only one I remember is the spike roll that would circle around the level, killing any Lemming that happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Both Weasels and moving traps make levels harder to predict, because they rely on timing. In that sense, I wouldn't consider them puzzle-friendly. Then again, for some people, timing and flow control are part of the puzzle.
Laser gates and levers. These act basically like exit-opening buttons in NeoLemmix - but they work on a more general level and can be used to "lock" or "unlock" other things. For example, filling up a gap with water, or draining the water from a gap, or opening and closing metal gates to certain areas.
Filling up or draining water would sound reminiscent of the rising water gimmick, but in Lemmings Revolution, it's an all-or-nothing thing: Either there is water in a basin, or there is none. I'd very much love to see this feature - it would allow to make levels about creating Swimmer-friendly paths, much like some levels are about creating paths that only work for Climbers or Floaters - but then, filling water into an area should be instant, not a slowly-rising thing. Essentially, working with active and non-active water trigger areas.
Applying the same logic to terrain (active / non-active), we end up with:
Gates. In general, these are much more versatile than locked or limited-number exits: They can act as one-way terrain (if a Lemming has to get to the other side to push a lever and make the metal pieces retract), they can serve as bridges to cross gaps or barriers to block lemmings, cut off the path to certain pickup skills, only allow a certain number of Lemmings to pass before closing for good, etc.. They might even be able to kill Lemmings (or Zombies / Weasels) if they extend while a Lemming is passing by? In NeoLemmix, such a Lemming would probably only get trapped inside the terrain (although, if that terrain is also considered steel, he would have no chance of ever escaping again).
Essentially, this would mean "active" and "non-active" terrain in NeoLemmix, but clearly identifiable visually. A fair version of the Clock gimmick, so to say (though I've never actually seen this gimmick in action), which, according to my knowledge, made terrain present or absent on a mere timing basis (=execution difficulty). With metal gates like the ones in Lemmings Revolution, we could incorporate this idea into puzzles in a fair and predictable way!
Speed-up pads. These would essentially be to the Lix Runner skill what radiation and slowfreeze were for Bombers and Stoners. They might not be hated as much by the community as a whole, because they don't include a countdown. But they would essentially introduce the Runner skill (or Superlemming gimmick) in specific locations of a level. I actually opposed the introduction of the Runner skill into NeoLemmix in the early days of New Formats, arguing that it would mainly be exploited to create scenarios of difficult execution. Some people pointed out the possible interactions between Jumper and Runner. I still think a skill isn't really viable if it's only worthwhile in combination with specific other skills (like, in this case, increasing the Jumper's distance). But the closer we get to the introduction of the Jumper into NeoLemmix, the more tastes may vary.
Anti-gravity pads. I've stated repeatedly that I'm a big fan of these, because they add all the versatility of L2 skills like the Magno Booter, or other conceivable skills, such as upward digging or downward building, without requiring the introduction of actual new skills. Then again, the reason they do this is because they essentially work like a gimmick - not like the "no gravity" gimmick, of course, but more like an actual application of "Upside-down world". So while I do believe these have huge puzzle potential, I also acknowledge they'd probably be a nightmare to code, especially whenever any new skills get introduced.
Teleporters / Portals. The big thing about teleporters in Lemmings Revolution is that they're not release-rate sensitive: They work just like splitters in NeoLemmix and affect every lemming passing through. That's why I'd call these "portals", to distinguish them from teleporters: Rather than triggering, they just change the position of a lemming. I think introducing these, while it might seem redundant to teleporters at first glance, would accomplish several things:
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being an actual case of the "super teleporter" created by Arty, giving people the option to create teleporter-heavy levels that don't take ages to solve, because the player no longer has to wait for eternity until all the lemmings can be transported
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offer the option for "wraparound" levels without requiring the re-introduction of the gimmick. I've been using regular teleporters in the past to simulate the level wrap gimmick, and it works perfectly fine, except for the release-rate sensitivity of standard teleporters. Portals would provide the option for level wrap in specific locations, without the entire level side or ceiling becoming a doorway to the other side of the level. Actual level wrap can introduce a bunch of backroutes that are difficult to see for the level designer - portals, in contrast, allow to restrict this effect much more, without forcing you to make your level release-rate sensitive.
Break-away floors. I don't actually remember these from playing Lemmings Revolution myself, but these would essentially work like limited-number exits - except that they're limited-number terrain. I wouldn't recommend the terrain falling apart piece by piece, like the rising water gimmick in old NeoLemmix; instead, they could be labeled with a number, just like limited-number exits, and then the terrain would simply disappear once that number reaches zero. Essentially, this could be combined with the idea of
gates explained above.
Some of these would probably be rather easy to introduce, especially things like Portals (=non-timing-based teleporters), which could basically rely on the code for something that already exists, and merely slightly adapt it, while still providing many new opportunities for level designers.
What do you all think?
I've labeled those in green which I'd personally approve of in NeoLemmix, and those in red which I'd find redundant or even harmful in light of our standard level-design philosophy.