Official Tilesets vs. Custom Tilesets

[Wafflem]

This poll was inspired by this topic and many opinions I have seen in the forums, especially those in the first contest.

Which type of tileset do you prefer? Many level designers like exit and redroom still stick to the official tilesets, but others like GigaLem, Pieuw, IchoTolot, namida and I actually use custom tilesets in our levels. A couple of others have also used the unofficial tilesets in the first contest.

What is your opinion? Feel free to post here if there is anything I missed in the poll, which was based on opinions I have seen around the forum.

By the way, I meant to say that you can vote for up to 10, not 8, but I can't edit that. If someone is able to, that would be great. Thanks.

[namida]

In the case of LPII and LPIII, I used custom tilesets to make these packs stand out, as well as because I'd just put together a tool to make custom sets (in LPII's case) so wanted to make use of it, since I was unsure if anyone else would. For LPIII, it was also the fact that no existing tilesets at that time had the new objects. On the other hand, for LP Omega, I felt that using the LPII / LPIII sets would be good enough. For Doomsday Lemmings, it was again partly to use a new feature (non-palette-based tilesets), but more than anything I just didn't feel any existing tilesets fit the theme well enough - Dirt came close maybe, but not close enough for my liking.

I've never really tried making levels with anyone else's custom tilesets yet, apart from a few levels back in the Cheapo days. Nowdays I'm pretty much only creating levels for NeoLemmix (and even there, I haven't created anything new, apart from one test level, since Doomsday Lemmings), and there are no custom styles for that yet apart from my own (and the Sega set if you count that one, though in some ways it's an official one); perhaps if some do arise at some point, I'll have a go with them.

When it comes to playing levels, I'm not so fussed. You can make a good-looking level in almost any tileset if you try, and same goes for making a challenging and/or fun level; these things matter more than whether the tileset is custom or official IMO. Plus, since I don't tend to be a huge fan of Lemmini, there isnt' that much custom tileset content out there at the moment on Lemmix or NeoLemmix - though that very well may change with the release of NeoLemmix V1.29n and thus the possibility to convert a large portion of the existing Cheapo content over to it.

[IchoTolot]

I think Custom Tilesets add a lot of variety to a pack. More different architectures and more different ways to create beautiful looking levels (especially if the custom ones have a specific theme which you can work on). Also the different terrain pieces could inspire new tricks. The official tilesets will always be a standard, but in my opinion the custom ones are the way to go to spice things up and to create more different looking landscapes.

And in Lemmini it's very easy to add new custom tilesets (just copy the folder in "styles" and you're good to go). This and the fact that I prefer the "new" Lemmini physics and Lemming selection mechanics (apart from the basher glitch) over the oldschool DOS physics and mechanics, are the main points why I create my first pack for Lemmini.

[Proxima]

A bit of both, for me. I love the standard tilesets and I agree with one of the options -- most custom tilesets just don't have that Lemmings "feel" to them. Back in the Cheapo days, I used the original tilesets exclusively, apart from making a few "special graphics" levels like the Minesweeper and Prince of Persia ones. But now  has a lot of beautiful tilesets, some clearly inspired by the Lemmings originals, but others unique, and I love working with these. It's simply nice to have more variety without sacrificing quality. I've also contributed my own tileset to the game and used it in a few levels.

[exit]

I personally only use the official ones because custom tilesets don't have that lemmings "feel" to them. I've tried making my own custom tilesets but I can't think of good themes that fit with lemmings.

In my opinion, having too much variety can get boring(ironic, right?). Using too many tilesets in one pack can lead to an underabundance of certain level play styles, making players just rush through levels waiting for the next one of a certain type.

Also, the original tilesets have many differences in the general feel, level play style, decorational style, etc. Some tilesets that are "inspired"(too put it nicely) by the original tilesets can feel like a v2 of a tileset with recoloring.

Lemmings is a very expandable game, but sometimes expanding something too far makes it not feel like what it is.

This doesn't mean I dislike custom tilesets, though.

Those are my reasons anyways.