Hey Ron, just wanted to check with you about something, and that is level 8 of your rodents pack. Have you confirmed that level 8 is solvable in Superlemmini?
Ah, so the level is indeed impossible in Superlemmini. This right here is a good example of physics differences between the different engines that may render a level solvable in one engine but is unsolvable in another. As mentioned before, the basher checks are more leninent in Neolemmix than they are in other engines, say, Superlemmini or Lemmini, which is why the solution is much easier to pull off in Neolemmix. There's likely other differences that seem quite minor but still make a huge difference when trying them out in different engines. The conclusion here is that just because something works for Neolemmix doesn't automatically mean that it'll still work on other engines. Most of the time, the same solution will still work, but there are some cases where they can still fail because of differences in mechanics/physics. The differences, as I understand them, are largely in part due to the direction that the creators wanted to take the engines in. Superlemmini mostly (keyword: mostly) tried to emulate Amiga gameplay, while Neolemmix pretty much got rid of the glitches that are present in Dos and Amiga and hence is pretty much an entirely different engine on its own.
In any case, the differences among the engines are enough that it's necessary to test your levels to make sure they are still solvable in the engines that you intend the pack for before release. It should had been very easy to test each level since there's only 10, but for larger packs, as much as it is a pain, you will make a better impression since you will have confirmed each level is still possible. I'm just surprised that no one else has reported a problem with level 8 before I did yesterday. The easiest way is to simply have a working replay of each level. I know it's more painful in Superlemmini, since you need to manually save the replay, whereas Neolemmix provides the option for automatically saving a reply when you pass a level.
(I haven't confirmed it, but it looks like the DOS version's basher check is done either at a lower row of pixels or a bit farther out from the lemming.)
DOS version checks 4 pixels all of which are 6 pixels above ground level (ie. if y is at the pixel of terrain the lemming is standing on top of, then y-6 with smaller y being closer to the top). The 4 pixels are from x+8 to x+11 where x is at the pixel of terrain the lemming is standing on. If at least 1 of those 4 pixels are terrain, then the basher continues, otherwise it stops. Furthermore, this check is only done after odd number of strokes; after an even number of strokes the basher will always continue on regardless of how little terrain is in front. (This means outside of interruptions due to eg. steel or falling, a basher always bashes an odd number of strokes before stopping.)
I hadn't tested Amiga's mechanics as much, nor do I remember the details off top of my head now. I'm guessing it checks x+9 to x+12 since the basher stroke in Amiga extends 1 pixel farther out compare to DOS, but I suppose it could also be x+8 to x+11 (which would then effectively be x+9 to x+11 in most cases, since x+8 is part of the removed terrain on Amiga). I think it's still y-6--that's easy to check, it's exactly how many pixels you need to dig down on flat ground before you can bash without stopping. I want to say the "skip check on even stroke" also applies but I could be mistaken (Mac is only version I know for sure doesn't skip the check, but it also does y-5 instead of y-6).
Odd. The file is in my Superlemmini directory, but when I launch it it doesn't detect the pack.
However, there is a bug that should not be happening on level 9, and that is the lemmings don't splat when they should.
Also, 10 is barely solvable, because when bashing the lemming still destroys the steel partially. It's still solvable, but there is one, and only one, basher position that will work so that all of the wall is destroyed but none of the steel gets destroyed. Any other position will result in the basher stopping too soon and the wall not completely destroyed, preventing the bottom entrance from climbing the wall.
You can edit the lvl0009.ini and replace maxFallDistance = 252 to maxFallDistance = 126.
Such degree of precision is intentional. After all, it's the final and harder level!
I planned very carefully the scenario and the position of steel, and even the wood to bash is carefully draw, in order to leave a clean path for the climbers!
Actually, I did know steel could be partially destroyed not only in SuperLemmini, but also in (Vanilla) Lemmix and Original/CustLemm/Amiga/etc Lemmings, except NeoLemmix. And that's why I was very careful at placing steel and wood shapes. I personally find the original behaviour ilogical, and I think the NeoLemmix one is more natural and rational.
Ok, but if you weren't aware that steel can be destroyed in Superlemmini, then this can potentially be a problem for a level like 10. At the same time, I must admit that took me by surprise, as I apparently have forgotten that steel can still be destroyed in Superlemmini when all this time I thought I vaguely remember that steel couldn't be destroyed. I think part of the problem here is that steel cannot be destroyed in Lemmini just like in Neolemmix, and so I thought it would be the same in Superlemmini.
In SuperLemmini, the actual default behavior (and the one used in this level pack) is to make steel completely indestructible. The reason this doesn't happen with the levels included with SuperLemmini is that they include a flag (classicSteel = true) to make steel behave like in the original games.
I did notice that some of the steel pieces in level 10 of this pack aren't actually marked as steel; the attached picture highlights these in red. Also, the steel areas aren't perfectly aligned with the steel pieces, so it's possible to destroy a sliver of some of their edges.
Attached are my replays for the pack for Superlemmini. Again, as I have already mentioned, some of the levels are a bit more difficult in SL than they are in NL due to the lack of skill shadows. In particular, Amusing 6 - Marooned is way more difficult in SL, and perhaps the most difficult of the pack in SL, due to the extreme precision required. In the latest version, Amusing 8 - Workers of the World is now possible (thanks for fixing this!), but it's still very annoying to pull off, as I believe there is only one basher position that will work. Bash too early and it will stop at the first bridge, bash too late and it will stop at the second bridge. Also, there is a discrepancy between the NL version and the SL version of Amusing 7 - The Freedom Man. In NL, the climbers can safely land on the piece of terrain without getting zapped after reaching the hole at the top, but in SL the climbers will get zapped before falling down the hole they reach at the top. As a result, this kind of made the SL version a bit harder. I'm not sure which is intended or they're both working as intended. However, I was able to find an alternative solution, which was toSpoiler (click to show/hide)
Thanks a bunch for making this for SL, as in a way it's still my preferred engine of choice over NL. Good to see there's still some people out there who are still considering making packs for SL.