What I've noticed is an increasing split between Old and New Formats in terms of difficulty:A lot of the easier packs, like SubLems, CasuaLemmings, Lemmings Squared, Yung Gotenks's packs etc. are getting left behind because they're not yet converted. (Of course, this is also true for my first two packs, Paralems and Pit Lems, on which I haven't decided yet whether I consider them worth converting in the first place - Lemmicks won't work in New Formats anyway).
Meanwhile, the packs that have been converted to New Formats tend to be on the harder side - Nepster Lems, SEB Lems, Lemmings Reunion, Pimolems, Deceit Lems etc.
And the new content that has come out for New Formats isn't exactly easy either - Lemmings Plus VI, Lemmings Plus Alpha, Integral Lemmings, and of course Lemmings United.
My worry is that a self-selection process might set in, resulting in all the easier levels being restricted to Old Formats, while New Formats becomes a "die-hard lemmings-fan exclusive".
My reasoning is as follows:- Converting a pack takes a lot of work, so the more "casual" content creators (no offence, guys! ) are likely to postpone the conversion of their - usually easier - packs.
- Meanwhile, the ones who do put in the time and effort to convert their packs also tend to be the most adept players, so most of the stuff that gets converted or created for New Formats is ridiculously hard.
- Most new players and forum members however are only going to know about New Formats, because of course, that's what the main threads and the website point new visitors to, and if the majority of content for this engine is that tough to beat, they are bound to become discouraged quickly.
I guess I'm one of the few in between, because I'm definitely a zealous content
creator, considering the quantity of packs I've put out in less than two years of membership, but I'm most certainly not a hardcore
player - meaning, I get stuck on most packs I play, and therefore, my own levels tend to be on the easier side in comparison to what Nepster, IchoTolot, and Nessy can design.
And the only reason why I personally haven't converted all my other packs aside from Lemmings World Tour yet is precisely because I'm
not casual about the levels they contain (because some of the best levels of Paralems and Pit Lems would get destroyed in the process).
And then, there's Arty, who's a great Lemmings
(let's) player, but of course, that also means his YouTube channel takes up a considerable portion of his time.
So, just to be clear: I'm not shocked that e.g. SubLems hasn't been converted yet!
I just think that New Formats would profit greatly from having some of these slightly easier packs as well, lest it might turn into a somewhat "elitist" platform.