NeoLemmix (Player: V1.26n-C | Editor: V1.26n-B)

[namida]

Alright, here it is. This is a fairly large update, there's a LOT of new/fixed stuff compared to most updates!

The new skill is Cloner. It duplicates a lemming; the clone is almost identical, apart from that it'll be facing the opposite direction. You can assign a Cloner to a lemming in almost any state.

There's three new gimmicks - the inverted steel one I mentioned before, plus one that makes the bottom of the level solid terrain rather than a deadly bottomless pit, and one that makes permanent skills wear off after being activated once.

One feature that was requested a very long time ago that I finally implemented - the player now behaves much more nicely after attempting to load an invalid / incorrect level replay; it won't lock up, but simply will restart the level (with no replay playing, just normal gameplay mode).

There's quite a few bugfixes here too. Also added a force autosteel option to NeoCustLemmix, and also made it so it won't crash on a non-existant level pack - if the pack specified in the INI file doesn't exist, it looks for LEVELPAK.DAT; if this doesn't exist either, it loads a level pack contained internally - which specifically, is a copy of the tutorial pack. Speaking of which, the tutorial pack has two new levels now - one which is a tutorial level for Cloners, and the other is another puzzle level; this new puzzle level uses (in combination with traditional skills and other new skills) every new skill that wasn't used in the first puzzle level.

Note that the two new levels of the tutorial pack will only be possible to open in NeoLemmix Editor, as they use the new format (of course, a general DAT decompressor will still decompress them just fine; but they'll still be incomprehensible to any editor other than NeoLemmix Editor).

NeoLemmix V1.17n
-------------------------
*  Added one more new skill, "Cloner". This duplicates the lemming; the new
   lemming is identical in almost every way (including what it's currently
   doing - if the source lemming is building, the clone will be too, for
   example; and it also has the same permanent skills that the source lemming
   has), the only exception is that the clone will be facing the opposite
   direction.
*  Added three new gimmicks:
     Inverted Steel - Steel becomes regular terrain, regular terrain becomes steel
     Solid Floor    - The bottom of the level is solid, rather than deadly
     Non-Permanents - Permanent skills can only be used once per assignment
*  Fixed the bug where certain types of objects would have weird effects if
   they were in object slot #32 or higher.
*  Fixed a bug where custom music selection wouldn't work in oddtabled levels.
*  Fixed a bug where custom music selection wouldn't work in new-format levels.
*  Fixed the bug where pressing a shortcut key for an empty skill slot would
   select the first skill (it now does nothing).
*  Improved the player's reactions when attempting to load an invalid replay;
   it now merely restarts the level (with no replay loaded) instead of refusing
   to do anything.
*  Multiple secret level triggers within a single level can now point to
   different levels.
*  Fixed the inconsistency between level edges (where the left edge would be
   considered a wall, but the right edge would not); both are now considered to
   be walls.
*  NeoCustLemmix now has an extra option in the INI, "SteelOverride". Enabling
   this option will use Autosteel (and ignore the level-defined steel areas) on
   all levels. This can be set to 0 (disabled), 1 (enabled with normal formula),
   or 2 (enabled with simple autosteel formula).
*  Lemmings Plus DOS Project player now has an extra rank, which contains levels
   from older versions of LPDOS that were removed (or in one case, modified) by
   the time of the final release. These are (listed by their original positions):
     Wimpy 12  "Life The Universe And Everything"
     Medi 8    "Take Us All Home..."
     Medi 16   "The Lonely Pole"
     Medi 21   "Ghostly Hall"
     Danger 17 "Livin' a Lie"
     Danger 21 "Phase Rotation Syndrome"
     PSYCHO 9  "Coalburner" (the classic version of this level)
*  NeoCustLemmix will now revert the selected pack name to LEVELPAK.DAT if the
   specified pack does not exist, instead of giving an error. If LEVELPAK.DAT does
   not exist either, it will play the new skills tutorial level pack (which is no
   longer included as an external file for this reason; it's now built into the
   NeoCustLemmix player).
*  Two new levels have been added to the tutorial pack; one is a tutorial level for
   Cloners, the other is another puzzle level which uses all the new skills that
   aren't used in "Stone Hot Sacrifice", plus some that are as well as some of the
   classic skills.
*  MAIN.DATs have all been updated to include graphics for the new skill. Graphic
   sets are also updated to include it in the pickup skills in Cust and Flexi.
*  The H94 / Xmas91/92 MAIN.DAT files now contain proper graphics for the new
   skills.

Also, as per one user's request, these are mostly no longer zipped. The exceptions are NeoCustLemmix, Flexi Player, and Flexi Tool; as these all come with included readmes (and, except Flexi, other stuff too).

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/z1h2vwtu90w8igs/AAD_-zIbcQXSvEB8KdE6Xsmua/NeoLemmix/V1.17n?dl=0



Of course, new features mean the need for new editor support, so:

NeoLemmix Editor V1.17n-A
--------------------------------------
V1.17n-A:
> Can edit the new gimmicks in V1.17n.
> Now has placeholder checkboxes for future gimmicks, to avoid having to immediately update
  the editor when they're added; only their name will need to be added, which isn't nearly
  as urgent.
> Added the checkbox and number entry for Cloners (new skill in V1.17n) to the editor.
> Fixed some issues with enabling/disabling options for different engines.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/z1h2vwtu90w8igs/AAAFuz4RPxVy1Xecw9-nrpHha/NeoLemmix/NeoLemmix%20Editor/NeoLemmixEditor_V1.17n-A.zip?dl=0



The independant downoads of style files have also been updated; the new versions add a proper icon for Cloners to the pickup skills (if you use an older version of the styles, it'll just display a ? for pickup skill Cloners).

Complete NeoLemmix Style Collection - Includes updated and NeoLemmix-ised versions of all official styles; updated, NeoLemmix-ised and remastered LPII styles; updated LPIII styles; and updated Sega style
Lemmings Plus II Unremastered Style Collection - Contains updated NeoLemmix-ised LPII styles, but with the traditional (non-remastered) graphics - functionally these are identical to the ones in the above set / included with the editors, they only differ graphically.



EDIT: Some players appear to have ended up with the wrong icon for the new skill. It functions fine; it just displays as a digger on the skillbar. I'll look into which ones have this issue and fix them.

EDIT: Okay. It's only Orig and LPIII that have the wrong icon for the new skill; also Xmas and H94 have some wrong colors on the Platformer and Stacker icons.

EDIT: All fixed versions are uploaded.

[namida]

By the way, based on the poll results, I think I won't try to do a NeoLemmix community pack just yet. While I'm fine with some existing levels being re-used, I was hoping there'd be interest in creating original content, or at least modifications to the existing levels to take advantage of NeoLemmix features. I might revisit this idea at a later date though.

Also, if anyone's interested in where some of the level names in the tutorial pack come from:

Level 1 "Maybe Not JUST Walk..." - A reference to Mild 1 from LPDOS "Just Walk!"
Level 4 "If It Ain't Broke, Unfix It" - A play on "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"
Level 6 "Lemmings on a Platform" - A fairly obscure play on "Snakes on a Plane"
Level 8 "Always Give 110%" - Both a reference to the saying, and to the level's save requirement of 110% (though it's possible to save more than this)
Level 10 "Master of the System" - A reference to the Sega Master System, since it uses the Sega style from that version

Known glitch: If you're using percentages, and you save a number of lemmings exceeding the amount in the level, it might display an inaccurate percentage - for example, on "Always Give 110%", it displays 104% rather than 105% when you have 21 lemmings exited. I still need to look into what's causing this. This only happens in-game; on the postview screen it displays correctly.

[Minim]

OK, I tried your new level pack, and the first one is still the better of the two proper levels in my opinion. The Clone on the MOTS level doesn't appear to impact anything at all apart from the percentage requirement, but at least I was unable to solve more than 100%, which is a good thing. I used all the skills available which is another good thing.

BTW, (I could've mentioned this earlier as it wasn't part of this update) I noticed changes to the graphics in the LPII sets, especially to the psychedelic-set, which is much more realistic looking. Thanks a lemming for that! It is much less migraine-inducing.

[namida]

It's meant to be nessecary in order to solve the level at all; (I won't explain exactly *how*), I'll have to take a closer look at this level tomorrow and fix it if need be.

BTW, (I could've mentioned this earlier as it wasn't part of this update) I noticed changes to the graphics in the LPII sets, especially to the psychedelic-set, which is much more realistic looking. Thanks a lemming for that! It is much less migraine-inducing.

Those were done a while back. Initially I just did them because, basically, "why not?", but the motivation to actually finish doing it was that I plan to use both the LPII and LPIII sets for "LPIII-2", and so I felt the LPII ones needed to look up to a similar standard to the LPIII ones. Of course, there is still the issue of the lack of new object types (apart from the one-way-walls), but this may work out quite nicely since some of the old types are rare in the LPIII sets - for example, only the Martian set has a triggered trap; compare that to the official sets (only Fire and Xmas don't have one), or even the LPII sets (only Metal doesn't have one).

But, thanks for the compliment on them. Just so you know - the two versions of the styles are functionally identical, so if a level's been made in the non-remastered versions and you want to play it with the remastered ones (or vice-versa), it should be just plug-and-play. At worst, there might be a graphical oddity here and there (the metal style is most at risk for this, if you've used multiple pieces and erasers to create unusual-sized blocks).

A feature I plan to add for the next update is a third option for displaying results, alongside traditional % and number-of-lemmings; which is Cloner-adjusted percent. Basically, this means that the percent displayed would be based on the number of lemmings *plus* the number of cloners in the level. For example, if a level had 20 lemmings, and also gave 5 cloners in the skillset, with this option enabled, saving 24 lemmings would display as 96% (whereas with standard percents, it would display as 120%). Of course this would be purely cosmetic, as is the percent display in the first place - internally, NeoLemmix determines results based on the number of lemmings saved. (Although that being said, some of the success/failure messages are based on the percent - but I can easily make changes to how that is handled).

[namida]

Alright, here's an updated version of the pack that should fix the backroutes.

[namida]

Found an issue with VGASPEC creation in NeoLemmix Editor that... isn't nessecerially a bug as such, but is annoying. Specifically, despite the fact that say, RGB(255,0,0) and RGB(252,0,0) are the same color once downgraded to the 18-bit palettes Lemmings uses, while it creates the palette based on 18-bit values, it doesn't make the same adjustment when comparing colors. Thus, if you don't round them off, it'll throw errors when it encounters a color even if it is identical to one in the palette. I've fixed this.

I'm also finally adding support for extended VGASPECs; these will not use a palette at all but will use direct RGB values. I don't currently plan to do the same for graphic sets, but if there's enough demand I can reconsider. (Those with more technical knowledge of the Lemmings formats may point out that a RGB-based, even if 18-bit, VGASPEC will exceed the 64KB size limit of a DAT section - already taken care of that, and increased the section size limit to well beyond what anyone is likely to ever use.)

EDIT: FINALLY got extended VGASPECs working perfectly in the editor. Now, to add support to the player... this should be easier, as about 90% of the hassle with them in the editor was to do with creating them, not loading them, and the player only has to handle the latter.


Just for reference, the editor can still create traditional VGASPECs too. If the image being loaded is within the 8 color limit (including the transparent black), it will automatically create a traditional-style one, if not, it will create a NeoLemmix extended one. I'll probably add support to CustLemmix and Flexi Traditional for these extended VGASPECs, just like I did with the extended palette graphic sets.



EDIT: Support added to the player. Like I expected, it was much less effort on the player side. The same also held true for supporting larger DAT sections - tested with a VGASPEC that was, when compressed, over 300KB and it worked fine. I doubt any typical VGASPECs will reach that size; I specifically made one with the aim of it being extremely uncompressable by the Lemmings algorithms. But even if you were to make the most incompressible one possible, it would still be under 350KB.


Also implemented for the next update, two more gimmicks - Disobedient Lemmings and Nuclear Bombers. You can probably at least somewhat guess from the names what they do. Attached an image to show just how powerful the nuclear bombers are; the shot is taken on Fun 25, and that's just a single bomber.

[Minim]

Wow, that nuclear bomber is such a scary size. This reminds me of Clones (You could make giant-sized clones and make them explode to create ridiculously giant craters like that one). I wonder if the blast symbol is double the size as well. I could use it to my advantage though - if the terrain is big enough below, I can block both sides and lose just one lemming, rather than two. I'd probably need to build out of my own pit though. " title="Angry" class="smiley" />

As for the disobedient lemmings gimmick, what skills would this gimmick affect?

[namida]

The update's here, so try it and see for yourself how it works.

My internet connection is being somewhat slow at the moment, so it might take a while for these to finish uploading. They're all up now.


NeoLemmix V1.18n
------------------------------
*  Implemented two new gimmicks:
     Disobedient lemmings - Lemmings generally won't obey you the first
                            time you click them.
     Nuclear bombers      - Bombers take out a much larger area. (No
                            custom graphics needed; they're resized by
                            the player automatically.)
*  Added an alternative percent display mode, which adjusts for cloners;
   so for example, 21 lemmings saved in a level with 20 lemmings and 5
   cloners would be considered 84%, not 105%. Set UsePercentages to 2
   to use this mode. Note that it is not compatible with Challenge Mode;
   if both are set at the same time, it reverts to standard percentages.
*  Fixed the glitch where saved percentage sometimes displayed wrong
   in-game when over 100%.
*  Fixed the glitch where gimmicks would not work on levels with a custom
   music track specified, even on forced gimmick mode. (SuperLemming worked,
   but no others did.)
*  Level 10 of the tutorial pack (Master of the System) has been changed
   slightly to remove a backroute, thus making it nessecary to actually use
   the Cloner for a purpose other than just saving an extra lemming.
*  DAT files with sections exceeding 64KB in size are now supported.
*  18-bit RGB VGASPECs (instead of 8-color palette based) are now supported.
*  Further fixes to the CustLemmix non-existant level pack fix; before, it
   didn't always work.
*  Slight change to Crazy 14 of OhNo; the entrance is now left-facing.
*  Added two new options to the Flexi player (LemMain has also been updated
   to allow setting these):
     - Default percent mode: When running for the first time, you can choose
                             which percent mode (standard / cloner-adjusted /
                             no percentages) is the default. This does not
                             prevent the user from changing it to whatever
                             they prefer (I will not add an option to do that),
                             it just lets you pick the default.
     - Center digits:        This will center single-digit skill counts on
                             the panel, like in LPIII. If using this option,
                             make sure the left-side zero digit is blank.

(LemMain V6.2 or higher supports these new options; they only work on Neo, so if you're using traditional Flexi, V6.1 still has everything you need.)

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/z1h2vwtu90w8igs/AADLULCEgqW9lEDWsV3x39Q6a/NeoLemmix/V1.18n

NeoLemmix Editor V1.18n-A
-------------------------------------
> Fixed some bugs with the custom gimmick selection on placeholder gimmicks and the new
  gimmicks added in V1.17n of NeoLemmix.
> Added support for DAT sections over 64KB in size. Note that these WILL NOT WORK IN
  ENGINES OTHER THAN NEOLEMMIX (unless they've specifically added support) - support in
  CustLemmix is planned.
> Added support for RGB-based VGASPEC files. These still downgrade to 18-bit color values
  to keep the Lemmings feel, but are not limited to an 8-color palette. These are supported
  in NeoLemmix as of V1.18n; support in CustLemmix is also planned.
> Fixed a bug with creating traditional VGASPEC files. (The editor will automatically
  create a palette-based one if the number of colors is low enough to do so.)

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/z1h2vwtu90w8igs/AAD6LHg3LdFoxonlm4kWK27Ha/NeoLemmix/NeoLemmix%20Editor/NeoLemmixEditor_V1.18n-A.zip?dl=0


Traditional CustLemmix also has been updated to support these new VGASPEC files, but I'll post about that in the CustLemmix topic.



Note: For now, it's probably best to avoid making levels / challenge runs that rely on very precisely-placed nuclear bombers; I plan to improve the algorithm that smoothes the edges of the resized mask in a future update. Using them in general should be fine, as long as precision with them isn't relied on.

[Minim]

What are the codes for these two new gimmicks? I can't find them anywhere at the moment.

And also, (I only just brought this up for the next update) is it possible to change the background color for some of the styles (They do this in DOS Lemmings 2 and Lix)? For example, the desert and sky sets are quite bright, so a light blue color would suit that perfectly.

[namida]

I have actually been considering that myself for a while. In fact, that to an extent happens when DebugSteel mode is active (albeit with a fixed color)... at least until you use a destructive or constructive skill - the former has graphical glitches, the latter doesn't work at all. I've been meaning to figure out how to fix what happens when those are used. It's not a big deal for DebugSteel mode since the primary aim there is to just look and work out how the steel is being applied, but if it was for actual gameplay, obviously they would need to be fixed.

That being said, I probably wouldn't do it on a "per style" basis, but rather, allow the user to configure what background color they like.


As I've said before; you can get the code for any specific gimmick combination (or skillset combination) by using the NeoLemmix Editor. Just set the gimmick combination you want, then look down the bottom of that section. (Alternatively, if you know how binary works, they're bitwise values - each new gimmick generally uses the least significant unused bit; whereas the skills are in reverse order (ie: cloner is least significant bit, walker is most)). I don't know if my explanation is very clear, so here's a screenshot (you don't have to enable the Extended Format box; but you *do* have to either have a NeoLemmix style active, or no level open at all - the options will be disabled when editing a traditional Lemmix or (Super)Lemmini level).

It's worth mentioning - they must be entered exactly as-is; ie: including any leading zeros. Also, if I update the player with new gimmicks but there's no corresponding editor update, I'll mention which (Gim##) box corresponds to the new gimmicks.

[namida]

I'm wanting to hopefully finish up the player fairly soon and land on a "finalised version", so if there's anything you'd like to see in it, let me know. Even if I've said before that it might be too difficult to implement, feel free to request it again, as my knowledge of the internal workings of Lemmix (and of Delphi) have obviously gotten much better than when I first started this project. Likewise, if you know of any bugs, let me know!

I will probably continue to improve the editor for a while beyond the finalised player - bugfixes, improving user-friendliness, as well as taking into account other engines (particularly SuperLemmini).

I won't be adding any more skills to it, I could possibly add some more object types though (although only if someone's actually planning to use them - I don't plan to make any more styles any time soon; I could look at adding a "decompile" option to LemSet so that people can modify existing styles to add them), and there's definitely room for a few more gimmicks.


One thing I'm going to look into doing is somewhat ressurecting the playtest mode, though in a slightly different form - specifically, not built into the editor itself, but rather an option to integrate it with CustLemmix or NeoCustLemmix (as appropriate for the style in use); so that if they're present in the folder together with the editor, it can use them to playtest the level. That also means I don't have to seperately update the playtest mode in the editor.

EDIT: Finished implementing this on the player side; implementing on the editor side will be a very simple task. Only implemented it in NeoCustLemmix so far; still have to implement it in traditional.

EDIT: Done on the Editor side. Before I release the update, I just need to quickly re-enable the Invisible setting for objects in SuperLemmini format, as Tsyu has now fixed that option. Once the editor's ready, I'll also upload the updated version of NeoCustLemmix that supports it (no point in reuploading anything else, as the changes don't affect any other players), then I'll update traditional CustLemmix to also support it.

[namida]

Alright, editor update is here!

NeoLemmix Editor V1.18n-B
-------------------------------------
> Playtest mode has been re-added, though in a slightly different form. Rather than being
  built-in, it uses a version of CustLemmix (including NeoCustLemmix) to test. Just put a
  copy of the version you wish to use in the same folder as NeoLemmix Editor, and specify
  in the INI file under the the style on the "TestEXE" option (see the included sample
  NeoLemmixStyles.ini file to see how it's done). Note that you must have a recent version
  of CustLemmix or NeoCustLemmix to do it. Newer copies of NeoCustLemmix V1.18n or traditional
  CustLemmix V15 support this; those versions will be labelled on the title screen's scroller
  info as "V1.18n+" or "V15+". All copies of versions newer than V1.18n / V15 support it.
> The "Invisible" option for objects in SuperLemmini mode has been re-enabled, as it has now
  been fixed in SuperLemmini itself.
> Fixed a bug with steel and object positioning when saving traditional Lemmix levels.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/z1h2vwtu90w8igs/AADj9wfT1Kvoqu-GFhTaYYNpa/NeoLemmix/NeoLemmix%20Editor/NeoLemmixEditor_V1.18n-B.zip?dl=0

The nessecary NeoCustLemmix update has also been uploaded:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/z1h2vwtu90w8igs/AACsVda0z3RiZIw5yfoud_lUa/NeoLemmix/V1.18n/CustLemmixNeo.zip?dl=0

The equivalent update for CustLemmix can be found in the CustLemmix topic.

If you use the Styles INI from the latest version update, all you need to do to set it up is put the new version of NeoCustLemmix (and traditional CustLemmix, if you want testing mode for traditional style too) in the same folder as NeoLemmix Editor, and it's good to go.
However, you might have a customized styles INI file for whatever reason, in which case you'll need to add one line under the styles section:

For NeoCustLemmix style: TestEXE=CustLemmixNeo.exe
For traditional style: TestEXE=CustLemmix.exe

(Of course, you can use CustLemmixOrig.exe or CustLemmixOhno.exe if you want to for any reason, too.)


Just for reference - if there's an update to either version of CustLemmix, you won't need an updated version of the editor to support it; just drop the new version in the editor's folder and it'll be good to go.



EDIT: By the way, I should mention - you do NOT have to use the CustLemmix numbering scheme for playtest mode to work. As long as you still have the original graphic set files (rather than deleting them after compiling them with the editor), the NeoLemmix Editor will direct it to the correct files to use. This applies to both Neo and Traditional.

[Tsyu]

I noticed some bugs regarding how the NeoLemmix editor handles (Super)Lemmini levels:

• Seconds-based time limits and custom fall distances aren't new to SuperLemmini, so they should be enabled for regular Lemmini levels as well. Both fields work the same way in both Lemmini and SuperLemmini.
• Relative paths (those beginning with a single dot) are interpreted by the editor as being relative to the level file's location; they should instead be relative to where the editor is located. (You can test this by using the NeoLemmixStyles.ini and attempting to a (Super)Lemmini level that's not in the NeoLemmix editor's folder. If a "file not found" message appears, look at the path that the editor tried to load from.)
• The (Super)Lemmini style names and paths in NeoLemmixStyles.ini should not begin with a capital letter. (This is important because some file systems, especially those used with Linux, are case sensitive.)

Oh, and SuperLemmini updated the documentation that appears in the actual level files. For your convenience, I'll put it here:

Code: [Select]

# Objects
# ID, X position, Y position, paint mode, flags, object-specific modifier (optional)
# Paint modes: 0 = full, 2 = invisible, 4 = don't overwrite, 8 = visible only on terrain (only one value possible)
# Flags: 1 = upside down, 2 = fake (combining allowed)
[...]

# Terrain
# ID, X position, Y position, modifier
# Modifier: 1 = invisible, 2 = remove, 4 = upside down, 8 = don't overwrite, 16 = fake (combining allowed, 0 = full)
[...]

# Steel
# X position, Y position, width, height
[...]

# Name
[...]


[namida]

1) Sweet, I'll make that change in the next update.
2) I'll have to test this to see what you're meaning here.
3) That should be a pretty simple fix - I actually just copied them from the original Lemmix's INI file. That being said, an initial-lowercase name would look weird in the menus, so I may have to look at adding a seperate option between the displayed name and the internal names.

By the way - I'd be quite keen to integrate playtest mode for (Super)Lemmini too, if there's any realistic way that may be possible. It works for (Neo)Lemmix by simply sending a command line parameter that tells it:
* to activate test mode
* which LVL file to load
* which GROUND file to load
* which VGAGR file to load
* which VGASPEC file to load

Obviously such a feature would need support from both the editor and the player; but if you'd like to help support such a feature, I'd be more than happy to integrate it on the NeoLemmix Editor side. I don't know if command line parameters can be passed to java apps, but maybe there's another way? (Perhaps a temporary INI file that SuperLemmini checks to see if it needs to activate test mode, then once it's read the info, deletes it? You probably know far more than I do about Java, I know next to nothing about it.)

[namida]

No release yet, but:

1) These two options are now supported in Lemmini formats whether traditional or SuperLemmini. While doing so, I also discovered a bug in that it wouldn't save the fall distance at all (even though it would load it just fine); fixed this too.
2) I can't replicate this one; loading a level in a different folder works fine for me.
3) I've added an option that allows specifying an internal name seperately from the one displayed in the menus. If no internal name is specified, it defaults to the displayed name in all-lowercase.

As for the in-file comments; those have been added.