For everything below
except custom pickup skills, you have until V12.10.0 to update (at which point non-updated content will no longer work) - but sooner rather than later is best! For custom pickup skills, please treat them as high priority - this should be the last time you need to update them, as they will now be officially supported and thus care will be taken to avoid breakages.
You'll be able to start updating in a couple of days when V12.7.0 RC is released. However, please wait for V12.7.0 Stable before publicly releasing your V12.7-ready content (you may, however, submit it to the styles download right away, to be released alongside V12.7.0 stable).
GeneralBACK UP YOUR FILES FIRST! Or even better, have them in version control (Git or similar).
ReplaysRun all LRB replays, or any NXRP replays that predate new-formats, through the
Replay Refresher tool. If you aren't sure if an NXRP replay is from old-formats or new-formats, run it through the refresher anyway - it won't hurt.
The Replay Refresher will also allow you to add your username to pre-V12.6.X replays when doing this.
LevelsNL V12.7.0 will have a "Cleanse Levels" feature. This essentially loads every level in a pack one by one, and saves a fresh copy of it to a separate folder. This copy will be completely up-to-date format-wise. Replace the existing level files with the newly-saved ones.
This goes for existing NXLV levels as well, right up to V12.6.5 levels. I've made some tweaks to tidy up the file format. However, note in particular -
this is pretty much "last call" to get old-formats content converted. This is one last chance, that will update it directly to the latest version. If you do not get your old content converted before V12.10.0, do not expect any assistance to convert it in the future - you've had long enough now! Support for old-formats levels, as well as importing of levels from other engines (Lemmini, Lemmix, Lemmins) will all be dropped in V12.10.0!
Backwards compatibility for older NXLV format will remain indefinitely in the game, but NOT in the editor.
Packs (other than levels)
In your levels.nxmi files, change $RANK to $GROUP. (This will not work with RC builds prior to V12.7.0-RC5. Or V12.7.0 stable. Whichever one happens first.)
info.nxmi and music.nxmi files do not need any changes. If you have custom panel graphics, you may now get rid of the disarmer graphic, as it is no longer used.
StylesIf your style has been submitted to the NeoLemmix styles download by the time of this post, the V12.7.0 RC build will come with an updated copy of it.
If your style gets submitted to the NeoLemmix styles download between V12.7.0 RC and V12.7.0 stable's releases, it may be either V12.6.5-format or V12.7.0-format. In the former case, it will be updated for you.
Once V12.7.0 stable is released, all styles being submitted must be in V12.7.0 format, taking note of new deprecations / etc - any new submissions using deprecated features / formats will be rejected, as support for them is for backwards-compatibility, not for people who aren't keeping up to date.
Custom pickup skills are an exception to the above. These are simply going to be removed from the styles download altogether, as existing ones will be completely incompatible. Style creators may either choose to leave their styles without the custom pickups, or to submit new ones in their place. You are encouraged to make new ones that are name- and physics- compatible with the now-removed ones, so that existing levels will work again as soon as the pickup is reintroduced.
To make sure it is properly updated: Create a level that has Walker, Shimmier and Cloner pickups, with at least one of them giving exactly 1 skill, and at least one of them giving more than 1 skill. Test this level in V12.7.0 (stable or RC). Make sure that all three display correctly. You may start submitting new / replacement custom pickup skills,
in V12.7.0-format only, once V12.7.0 RC is released - custom pickup skills in V12.6.5-format will not be accepted and/or updated for you.
Custom lemming sprites are a partial exception to the above:
- The deprecation of the "_mask.png" files will be handled for you, either in the new styles download or by the automatic update app (as applicable).
- If your custom sprites are a direct recolor of the official ones, and are submitted to the styles download before 12.7's release (RC or stable), I'll handle porting them to the recoloring system; but if they do not get submitted by 12.7-stable's release, it will be up to you to do this yourself - the update tool will not be able to automate this part.
- If you have completely-custom sprites and you want
them to be able to be recolorable like the official ones are, this is something you will need to do yourself in all cases.