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Messages - kieranmillar

#31
It just occurred to me that new level The Bridge Is Out in Hard But Still Fun rank has a completely trivial backroute. Sigh. Typical I would think of it as soon as I uploaded things. Well it's late today, I'll figure out a fix another day.
#32
It's been almost 4 years!!! Finally time to finish this pack off. More levels! More fixes! More ... Neolemmix version numbers!

I've upgraded the pack to the latest version of Neolemmix, 12.12.5, which is now required to play this. Please not you will also need to redownload the music, the tracks were renamed and also made much smaller in file size. (Delete the old ones from your music folder, they all used to be prefixed with jsmw_ but now it's qfk_ ).

Thanks you to Armani for another batch of demos, very helpful, got a lot of changes made based off of those.

I'm expecting more backroutes in my new levels, so please upload demos if you can. Please also let me know about the difficulty curve, it is extremely hard for me to gauge the difficulty of my own levels, and I'm worried the difficulty is all over the place here.

Download the latest version, and the updated music pack, from the opening post.

v07 changelog:
Spoiler
Fun
5 - So Close ... And Yet - Added steel
9 - Have a Bash at This - Minor changes to remove Blocker
10 - Well That's One Group Solved... - New level
13 (was 12) - Two's Company, Thirty's A Crowd - Minor terrain tweak
14 (was 13) - Just Dropping In - Terrain tweak

Also Fun

4 - Most Valuable Lemming - Terrain tweak
8 - Tree Top Trouble - Replaced with Rescue Rodents from Not Fun rank (Rescue Rodents unchanged, Tree Top Trouble deleted)
9 - Impact Zone - Replaced with new level, Crystal Cavern
11 - Temperature Drops - New level
12 (was 11) - Iron Awe - Terrain tweaks + major skill changes + lower save requirement
13 (was 12) - The Dire Docks - Major terrain changes

Hard But Still Fun
2 - Once You Pop You Can't Stop - Terrain tweaks + many less bombers + higher save requirement
5 - Recession Proof - Filled in terrain holes just in case you get unlucky with basher, no change to solution
8 - Pillars of the Community - Added steel
9 - Slow Motion - Redone top trapdoor area entirely
10 - Master Exploder - Remove a Bomber
14 - The Bridge Is Out - New level
15 (was 14) - The Ultimate Quest, Take 3 - Terrain change. This shouldn't impact the solutions of the other Ultimate Quest levels, although the same change has been made to them too.

Not Fun
3 - Mined Your Head - Replaced with new level, The Great Firewall
4 - Rising Condensation - Terrain tweak
5 - Rescue Rodents - Moved to 8 Also Fun position and replaced with new level, Crag David
7 - Down the Tubes - Major reworking
9 - The Firing Squad - Terrain changes
10 - Pain Factory - New level (I suspect if any of the new levels are riddled with backroutes, it'll be this one)
11 (was 10) - Offshore Rig - Minor terrain change
12 (was 11) - Toil - Major reworking
13 (was 12) - The High Ground - More steel and minor terrain tweaks
#33
Ow ow This ow ow sound ow ow sure ow ow is ow ow annoying ow ow
#37
Part 13: https://youtu.be/-krq50fQZLQ

It looks like my recording had some framerate issues in places for some reason. Sorry about that.
#38
Here are some generic hints about the skills and objects in the Tribe.

Magnobooters can only be cancelled in two ways: You assign a skill when they are right side up, and you remove the ground they are standing on.

Jepacks cannot be turned around when they are on the Jetpack, they maintain the direction they were facing when you assign the skill. You also cannot push them through a 8 pixel tall gap, so if you see small gaps in the walls, it's likely a no-jetpacks-allowed enforcement.

Teleporters have no limit on the number of lemmings that can use them at once, and they maintain their facing direction. Magnobooters persist between teleporters too! Well, only if there's something to stand on at the destination.

Level specific hints:
Level 1: Introducing: Space
Spoiler
You have to send everyone the long way round. Just construct a path and you should be fine.
Spoiler
The most difficult part imo is how to get everybody past the machine gun robot trap. If you're getting mad at execution, then it may help to know that is expected that every lemming use every teleporter.

Level 2: Anti-Gravity
Spoiler
A simple spot-the-trick level. With so few skills you don't exactly have many options. It should be clear what two skills are required for the crowd to walk to the exit so that will reduce your options further. If you're still stuck, re-read my generic skill hints above.

Level 3: Blast Chamber
Spoiler
The place you use the platformer should be the most obvious skill use. The rest of the level is a turn-the-lemming-around puzzle.
Spoiler
Multiple turn-the-lemming-around puzzles actually. And how are you going to cancel the attractor? Might need some double-duty skill use.
Spoiler
If you can't turn around your jetpacker after using it, what if you turned the lemming around before using it?

Level 4: Space Elevator
Spoiler
Hopefully it is clear your goal is to get someone to teleporter 3, and you can only do that by magnobooting from teleporter 1. Well, you'd like to, but something else needs doing first.
Spoiler
You'll need somewhere to stand to do that though. Sadly there is no elevator. Well, maybe you can use a series of steps.

Level 5: Friendly Fire
Spoiler
There are a range of solutions here. Hopefully it is clear how you dig through the ground, you just need to find a safe way to do it.
Spoiler
I send a magnobooter the long way round each side, to construct a safe ceiling on the opposite side.
Spoiler
If you're struggling to get the last blasts done, you can send one group to the bottom and dig out the other side from underneath.

Level 6: Gravity Chamber
Spoiler
The attractor isn't only useful for crowd control. It also indefinitely stalls a lemming until you use another skill on it.
Spoiler
If you can't create a hole to detach a magnobooter in, try doubling up on bazooka shots.
Spoiler
If you're struggling to find a good place to use the laser blaster, maybe you're using the wrong lemming.

Level 7: Satellite Junk
Spoiler
The most direct path for the crowd is the best one, but there are some issues constructing platforms in the correct direction. Yes it's another turn-the-lemming-around puzzle!
Spoiler
The first suitable place to turn around a lemming is closer than you think.
Spoiler
There is no suitable turnaround place in the second half of the level. Maybe you need to make one.

Level 8: Space Rescue
Spoiler
OK, there's a lot going on here. First concern is the main trapdoor, the lemmings will make their way over to teleporter 1 quickly. You need time to construct a platform to the exit, but there's no crowd control. And a platform isn't even long enough! Is this correct? How are we rescuing the upper-right trapped group if we don't do this? Do we really have to use the laser blaster to free them?
Spoiler
Well, we have 20 Jumpers which can cover the extra distance the platform can't, but we still need to delay some lemmings, and we can't spare any jumpers. Or wait, can we? Are we actually sending 20 lemmings to teleporter 1?
Spoiler
Sure would be nice to get someone over to teleporter 3. And it would be great if they could take their sweet time. Shame about the machine gun robot. How can you avoid this?
Spoiler
You don't need to save a magnobooter for the other side of teleporter 3 if you are already using one, so if you need to delay even more lemmings at the start, and also don't have enough jumpers, then why not give the other lemming some company?

Level 9: Space Station Skylem
Spoiler
At first this is another turn-the-lemming-around puzzle, but with magnobooters. And it is, but there's a little more going on here. Remember: if you can't find a place to turn a lemming around, you can always make one.
Spoiler
Should be clear we are eventually going to need to platform our way over to the teleporter, either directly or in a way we can magnoboot into it. But this offers us up another problem, if we cover up all the gaps to get to the exit, how do we laser blast a way into the exit at the end?
Spoiler
Not every gap needs to be completely covered up. But you are thinking too close to the exit. Think further out.

Level 10: Alternate Dimension
Spoiler
This level looks familiar. Why would I repeat a level? Let's be real here, I wouldn't make you do this twice unless it was a very different solution to the first time. I mean very different.
Spoiler
If you were wondering if the first level had a really devious and sneaky backroute, with the trapdoor being so close to the exit, you're right! Well, it wasn't possible before, but you can do it this time.
Spoiler
There's nowhere to turn a lemming around near the entrance. So we'll just have to find somewhere further away. Much much further away. What's the quickest way to get there?
Spoiler
If you were hoping you could skip the majority of the level, well, someone's going to have to traverse it all eventually. You should have the tools to take a totally different path this time.
#39
Part 12. Will I finish Shadow Tribe in this video? You'll need to watch to find out!
https://youtu.be/3OAUlmet1zU
#41
Here's part 10. I didn't look at your comments before recording this, in fact I've only just seen them.

https://youtu.be/mvgAA9m7KdY

This pack continues to be excellent and a lot of fun. Is it harder than QFK2? I have no idea, I am a poor judge of the difficulty of my own levels, but for sure this pack is quite tough. But I think it's a good difficulty level so far.
#42
Well it's been 9 months but I finally got around to playing this again and recording another video. Hopefully it won't be another 9 months until the next one.

https://youtu.be/UD2lO-xJy3M
#43
Congratulations on making it all the way to an entire 120 level pack. A huge achievement!
#44
Tech & Research / Re: Lemmings 2 glitches
December 13, 2021, 06:38:41 PM
Quote from: Ste Woz Ere on October 27, 2021, 04:53:33 PM
Another rock climber glitch - the dangling animation disappears when a steam valve is on the level. (the actual steam vents are fine)

(doesn't affect gameplay as you can still click the lemming, but it has put me off using rock climber -> shimmier combos on the 1 Sports level that has all three things)
I think this is because the steam valve contributes to the sprite memory limit and animations start disappearing when you have a certain number of animations possible in the level. For example, the Builder shrug is usually one that vanishes.

You may be able to salvage this by having less skills on the level, or picking some less sprite-intensive skills. Some skills use little sprite memory but there are some that eat up loads, like Superlem, Magno Booter and Canoer.
#45
Quote from: Ste Woz Ere on September 30, 2021, 07:18:35 PM
And so we reach the halfway point...and not for the first time I have my doubts about the way it's progressing. I know my levels are somewhat bigger than QFK2's with more to do in each one, and that's kinda how I like them...but I also get the impression that sort of design isn't popular. My design philosophy is also different, favouring strong (often unusual) themes (along with the odd gimmick) and designing around those (unless I have a strong puzzle idea).

What do people think - should they be smaller? Fewer skills? Terrain favouring execution rather than theme? Or is it better to be a stark contrast to QFK2 but with more bits that could go wrong?

(sorry for rambling on, it's what goes on in a level designer's head sometimes. Doesn't help that the twister was in the first 2 tribes though...leading to a bad first impression on the execution side)
Apologies for vanishing suddenly and being away for a while. That just happens with me. I still plan to play through this all.

I don't think you should worry about whether or not this is similar to QFK2. I'm not a good judge regardless, but I always was worried that QFK2 was too focused on difficult puzzles where people would just get stuck a lot until they figure out the "trick", a level style that actually only crops up rarely in official Lemmings games. I feel there's definitely an audience for levels more your style, I enjoy them at least. What I've played so far is very good, don't be put off by my griping about the Twister, that's just the Twister being the Twister.