Looking for a relatively easy pack to ease you into the world of custom Lemmings levels? Want something with a similar flavor to the original Lemmings? Looking to get better at solving levels and picking up tricks? This is the pack for you.
This is SubLems! One of the first levelpacks I ever made, and it's finally been ported to the new formats of NeoLemmix! This pack was originally made for SuperLemmini, back when NeoLemmix was still in its infancy. By popular demand, I ported it to NeoLemmix with some issues, since a few levels couldn't be ported so new ones had to be made. Porting to the new formats also took time, since many levels were scrapped for various reasons. But now it's complete, and I think the result is worth it.
SubLems contains 110 levels spread across 6 ranks with 10 levels in the first rank and 20 in each rank after that. The game starts off incredibly easy, similar to that of the original Lemmings, and steadily increases in difficulty as the pack goes on. The learning curve is steeper than the original game, and by the end it definitely exceeds the difficulty of the original game, but it's probably one of the easier packs out there, so it should be beginner-friendly. The levels should also teach you some of the tricks needed to solve the really tough custom levels. None of the NeoLemmix-exclusive skills are used in these levels, and the only NeoLemmix-exclusive objects that are used are pickup skills, so this pack should give you an experience close to the original game.
This port also features several new levels, since many levels were replaced either because I didn't like them, or they had too many backroutes, so this pack will be a new experience even for people who played a previous version! :)
Download SubLems here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/quuy050td1edjky/SubLems.zip?dl=1
Each level in this pack has its own unique music. All music should be safe to use for Youtube videos; please let me know if one of the tracks causes a copyright issue, and I'll try to change it for a future update.
Here's a breakdown of each rank:
Newbie
This is the tutorial rank! I don't count this as one of the official ranks in the game, it's here to teach you the basic mechanics of the game, such as the 8 main skills and the release rate. I recommend playing this rank even if you already know the basics, because the levels should hopefully be pretty, the music is nice, they're really short, and at least one of the levels in this rank returns in a future rank. ;)
(https://i.imgur.com/WSaSiqu.png)
Scaling Mt. Jerry
Sweet
The first official rank! Sweet is full of easy, inviting levels for you to savor. Taking the skills you learned in Newbie, you get to run wild with them and solve simple levels in this rank. The levels here are meant to be pretty and easy, although they do get a bit more challenging at the end. You will also learn some more advanced basics in this rank, keeping with the tutorial theme of the previous rank in a way. Enjoy the eye candy as put what you've learned to the test.
(https://i.imgur.com/JeC3Z4F.png)
Tri-color masterpiece
Scary
While the levels start out relatively simple, similar to the Sweet rank, this is where the challenge starts to come in. The environments you face are harsher and frightening, traps start popping up in abundance, skills are getting more limited, and some levels won't have open-ended solutions, forcing you to solve real puzzles now. You'll also have to start thinking creatively with the skills you're given.
(https://i.imgur.com/2Ryap69.png)
It's a hot one
Chaotic
And now, the chaos begins. Levels get even trickier in this rank, and multitasking will become mandatory. You'll have to act quick to save your Lemmings from unfortunate demises, and the puzzles get trickier still. Expect your brain to start working a bit harder in this rank, and the pause button will become your best friend as well. Also, keep a close eye on that clock, because from here on out, you'll have to work fast...
(https://i.imgur.com/tm7WFew.png)
The legendary bash of Crystal Cove
Insane
This is where the gloves come off, and the puzzles aren't holding back anymore. Time is getting really tight. The levels are getting meaner in design. Skills are highly restricted. Some very advanced tricks will be needed. Even the music is getting more frantic. Your brain will be kicked into overdrive in this rank, and by the end, you'll have gotten your first glimpse into hell.
(https://i.imgur.com/pLWKBDD.png)
Blame it on the chain
Hellish
Here we are: the final rank. Here, the puzzles hold nothing back, and everything you've learned up until now will be needed to solve these levels. Even experts may have trouble with some of these levels. I've saved the most devious puzzles for last, and the most epic music as well. Prove yourself here, and you'll be able to take on some of the tougher levelpacks out there. But first, you'll have to plunge into the nightmare that is hell...
(https://i.imgur.com/0JAFz4l.png)
Labyrinth of Lucifer
YES! Thanks for putting in the effort to convert this, Arty! :thumbsup: You know how much I admire the linear difficulty curve of this pack, and it's definitely the type of beginner-to-intermediate-level content that New Formats so desperately needs, in order to bridge the gap from the very easy packs to the ridiculously hard ones.
I might have to try beating this pack again in New Formats now, and see whether any of the levels have changed.
Just one question: Is the Retro rank still a thing in this version?
Thanks for the kind words Strato!
No, the Retro rank is not present in this version, for two main reasons.
1) I didn't really like that rank; there were really only two levels that come to mind that I actually think are good.
2) That rank uses the new skills, and I want this pack to only use the original 8.
That said, SubLems may be getting a DLC rank or two in the future. If I end up using new skills in the DLC rank, I'll bring back the Retro rank as well. ;)
Ah, good to know - I remember some of the Retro levels being the most difficult ones in the pack. But I hadn't consciously noticed that it was the only rank containing NeoLemmix skills. Of course, I know the pack was originally made for SuperLemmini, and thus didn't include any new skills at all - I just thought this had also been true for Retro.
I'm already curious about the bonus DLC rank! :thumbsup:
I just tried the pack last night and I'm already on chaotic 3 Death Chamber which has stumped me for now. It's a great pack! And very good for someone like me who's never beaten a level pack or even the original lemmings for that matter.. kinda embarrassing actually..
Edit: So, I solved Chaotic 3 but I think this may be a backroute but I'm not positive... and I want to know!
Quote from: Shmolem on June 17, 2020, 08:47:23 PM
I just tried the pack last night and I'm already on chaotic 3 Death Chamber which has stumped me for now. It's a great pack! And very good for someone like me who's never beaten a level pack or even the original lemmings for that matter.. kinda embarrassing actually..
No need to be ashamed. There's no requirement that the original games must be played and beaten before taking on custom level packs. It's definitely recommended, but not mandatory. Most of the people in the forums here have at least beaten L1 and ONML and hence are armed with knowledge of the game mechanics to take on custom level packs, but this is by no means required. Most of the new skills and objects in Neolemmix were borrowed from the other games besides L1 and ONML (e.g, fencer and platformer from L2: The Tribes, teleporters from Lemmings Revolution), but there are some skills and objects that aren't taken from any of the original games (e.g, disarmer and splat/anti-splat pads), and so the original games aren't going to be much help with familiarizing you with the new things. For this, we point you to the Neolemmix Tutorial Pack (https://www.lemmingsforums.net/index.php?topic=4332.0) that Icho is currently making, where it teaches you what the new skills and objects in Neolemmix do.
You're already more than halfway through Arty's pack, and I'm in agreement that you're doing really well in this pack. I originally played this pack when Arty made it for Superlemmini. In that engine, only the classic 8 skills are used and hence just L1 stuff. I may tackle this pack for Neolemmix sometime in the future, but as I have already beaten this pack on Superlemmini, I most likely will not get around to doing so for a while. There's definitely some difficult levels ahead of where you're currently at, but the pack as a whole has a nice difficulty curve, where it starts off very easy and gets harder as you progress, but the levels aren't hard in the extreme. Really, the only level I got stuck on the longest in this pack was Hellish 16. In addition, as you have definitely seen, so many of the levels in the pack are really well-designed aesthetically. They're really amazing to look at.
Hints for Chaotic 3
Have you ever tried and see what happens when you send multiple lemmings through a trap at the same time? Can you set up a situation that will allow you to get through each trap with minimal losses? Better yet, have you counted the number of traps and see how it relates to the save requirement?
Thanks kaywhyn! I think I did it the intended way based on what you said in your hint but you can download my replay I put in the post above just to see.
Quote from: Shmolem on June 17, 2020, 10:41:56 PM
Thanks kaywhyn! I think I did it the intended way based on what you said in your hint but you can download my replay I put in the post above just to see.
Yea pretty much the same way I did it, except
Spoiler
I trapped all the lemmings in with the blocker and hence I had a miner leftover as well. It saves the same amount, 81.
I find chaotic to be strange, like after level 3 I easily breezed through levels and now I'm on level 11
That's the tricky thing about level packs in that it's often very difficult to judge the difficulty of levels on your own, which is why feedback for the level pack author is helpful. Any input you provide will certainly be helpful for Arty to patch up backroutes and rearrange levels according to what most perceived as too difficult for its position or vice versa. I myself am not speaking from experience, as I have never made any levelpacks and I most likely don't intend to, as I am much better at solving levels than making them, but this is what I have observed from years of visiting this forum and playing and beating so many custom level packs. Unless the goal is to stump players with hard levels one after another and risk frustrating the player and possibly having the person give up early on the pack long before completing it, expect some easy breather levels in between the hard levels as well. Also remember that having skills leftover is not necessarily a bad thing in a pack like Sublems. Sometimes, the author intends the levels as anyway you want ones, i.e, find any solution that works, especially in the very early ranks. They're much rarer in later ranks, where leftover skills generally means it's a backroute, but not always. The any way you want levels in later ranks still show up on occasion. There were plenty of them in L1 in all the ranks.
Keep it up Shmolem! You'll have this pack beat in no time. :)
There we go, you were right about people having hard time judging difficulty of levels because I just got through Chaotic 11 and then level 12 hits me and I have no clue where to even start with solving it.
Spoiler
What use is diggers when you have to get up a mountain?
As this example pack shows, the difficulty of individual levels tends to be wobbly and jump all over the place, even within the ranks. In general, levels in the later ranks tend to be harder than the ones in the earlier ranks, but that doesn't mean all levels in the later ranks are hard ones. There can still be easy levels in a late rank and then all of a sudden you get hit with a level with a huge spike in difficulty, and similarly a rank can begin with several hard ones and then all of a sudden the next one is much easier. While early ranks tend to have easy levels, there can still be at least one hard level. Another common thing you will usually see is that levels at the beginning of the next rank tend to be easier than the levels at the end of the previous rank. Not always, but it's pretty common to see this.
Yes, I absolutely agree with you that Chaotic 12 is indeed a hard level. As a matter of fact, I don't think this level was originally part of the pack when I played it in Superlemmini, and so I'm seeing this level for the very first time. However, it is possible, although it took me almost a good 35-40 minutes before I solved it. In some of my early attempts, it was a, "I would had had it if I had just 1 more builder!" It is, indeed, possible with just the 8 builders provided.
Spoiler
The solution uses all the skills. My guess is that you already tried using all 8 builders to build up, but you quickly see that it's not feasible because the lemmings will keep getting interrupted and you get up the level way too slowly this way. Can you find a way to rectify this situation so that you get much higher with each builder?
Believe it or not, I never actually tried building up with the eight builders because I knew it wouldn't be that simple. I tried having three climbers go up, build over the exit and use the three diggers to make a wider space and then bash to the other side and try building up but that wouldn't work because the climbers would go up the snow pillar and die from falling too far and I don't think I had enough builders to get up from there anyway.
Spoiler
Try the left side instead.
I'm still stumped to be honest. I tried making the left side wider with the diggers but that didn't work I still don't have enough height to get all the way up.
Keep trying. It does work. It's difficult because there's a lot of precision involved, at least for me there was. Try adjusting the digger positions and minimizing the number of builders used to seal the gaps in each direction. This was why several of my early attempts, I kept saying, "If I had just one more builder I would had had it." However, the level is 100% possible with the skillset given.
The level in question is not that precise at all. If you're struggling with making it precise enough, you're probably doing it wrong. That said, I will move this higher up in the rank after hearing this feedback. ;)
You're right, of course. It was pretty much self-inflicted then, although it definitely seemed and felt like there was a lot of precision, but there is a few pixels leeway. I'm not seriously playing the pack atm, just helping Shmolem with levels he's stuck on, so you should wait for further feedback from him. It might be a while before I may play this pack for Neolemmix, since I have already beaten this pack on Superlemmini quite a while back. Chaotic 12 does seem to be a level that wasn't originally in the pack in Superlemmini, as it didn't seem familiar to me when I loaded the level.
I'm getting to the point of one more builder would've had it and I'm trying so many different angles and starting points and what-not but every time I end up back at a point where if I had one more builder I would've got it. Why game Why?
Yes, I have to say I think kaywhyn gave you some bad advice here.
Spoiler
Try going up the middle!
Quote from: Proxima on June 21, 2020, 08:58:41 PM
Yes, I have to say I think kaywhyn gave you some bad advice here.
I wouldn't consider any solution that works to be bad advice. Rather, the left route was the first one I thought up of and apparently has almost too much precision in order to work, but it does work, so I self-inflicted the precision on myself. I've been known to overcomplicate my solutions while others have found much easier ways to do the same level or vice versa. I just looked at the map again and indeed it never occurred to me to try the position you mentioned in the spoiler. I haven't tried it yet, but certainly seems a lot easier to pull off. Again, I'm not seriously playing the pack atm, and so I'm not really spending much time on any of the levels, whether it's one I've seen before or not. This level that's giving Shmolem trouble is one that wasn't originally part of the pack in Superlemmini, and so this is the first time I'm seeing the level. It's also been a few years since I've beaten the pack, but I beat it on Superlemmini, not Neolemmix. It's probably going to be a long time, if ever, before I take on the Neolemmix version of the pack for real.
I did it! Literally on the first try doing the middle thing! Next level now..
Quote from: Shmolem on June 21, 2020, 09:20:17 PM
I did it! Literally on the first try doing the middle thing! Next level now..
Great job, Shmolem! :thumbsup:
Chaotic 13 is definitely interesting.
Spoiler
No constructive skills, a big maze thing in the middle, and a whole lot of diggers.
Indeed, these levels without constructive skills tend to be quite interesting imo. The fact that it's impossible to get higher without them means you either to have to rely on climbers or the terrain or miners in order to get up. This is yet another level I haven't seen before, because this too wasn't originally part of the pack in Superlemmini, which I first played the pack in. However, this level is much easier.
Spoiler
I have two diggers leftover.
Spoiler
For me there always seems to be a few stragglers that won't go into the exit in time before the basher breaks the floor underneath the exit
That was what I originally tried as well, but it won't work. So,
Spoiler
Do not let any lemmings fall down the middle to the bottom from either side. Can you find a way to prevent that?
I think I know what your saying! I'll try it right now. Edit: Yep! I got it. Edit 2: Solved Chaotic 14 as well, here's the replay if you're curious to see my solution.
Nice job. I knew you could do it. I think what you're seeing is Chaotic definitely living up to its name. Don't worry. It's quite common to breeze through the first few ranks with little to no problems, but then all of a sudden you start getting stumped starting with the 3rd or 4th rank. It happens to me all the time, so it's not like I'm someone who doesn't ever get stuck on a level. If you take a look at https://www.lemmingsforums.net/index.php?topic=4894.0 (https://www.lemmingsforums.net/index.php?topic=4894.0), which organizes the packs I have completed, currently playing, and ones I'm thinking of playing, sure, it tells you that I have completed 50 packs, but what it doesn't tell you is how long I've been stuck on some of the packs in order to get to 50 packs completed. Before making the switch over to Neolemmix from Lemmini and Superlemmini and before beating Lemmings Reunion on Lemmini, I say the hardest pack I've completed was Pimolems. Once I've made the switch to Neolemmix, so far I say the hardest I've completed is Lemmings Stampede. I'm currently playing through two packs much harder than anything I've completed, United and Nepsterlems. Right now, I'm about halfway through both packs, but I'm still really far from completing them.
So really, I definitely think you have what it takes to solve levels. Perhaps Chaotic is where you really have to start thinking outside the box. That's a nice solution to Chaotic 14. However, it's definitely more complicated than how I did this level.
Spoiler
I simply dug and bashed underneath both pillars at the top and then built to stop the basher. Where you mined to the left, I did the opposite, once I bashed enough away to get all the groups out to the right. The other groups I digged and bombed in between to get the groups out. With the leftmost group I bashed to the right.
AND I solved Chaotic 15! I think I can make it through this pack but it might take me a bit. To be honest I'm usually one to make things more complex than they have to be.
That's perfectly fine. Take as much time as you need. I prefer to make my solutions as simple as I can, although I myself, like you, sometimes overcomplicate them. Many solution videos I watched had me going, "Wow, I feel so dumb that I didn't see that before, because my solution is way more complicated." Sometimes, though, it's the other way around, where I felt the person in the video who solved the level did his or her solution more complicated than the way I did mine. In any case, I don't consider myself a puzzle solver at the level of the experts here, just good enough that I'm able to beat difficult packs on my own given enough time. In the 50 packs that I have beaten, I did it all without looking up solutions before I have beaten the levels myself first and without hints, as I myself don't like asking for hints, so I allow myself to be stuck and stay stuck however long it takes, until I either finally figure it out or I just jump between different packs. That can probably be something you can do, where it definitely helps to get away from a level you're stuck on for a time, as the time away will allow you to start anew and with a clear mind. I know it has helped me tremendously from time to time with the more difficult levels.
I know you can beat this pack! :)
I'm glad this pack is garnering interest. :)
Nice solution to Chaotic 14! Completely different from every other solution I've seen, but still a perfectly valid one! Nice job using all of the skills. :)
It seems Chaotic 12 is causing a lot of people trouble. I'll move that higher in the rank. Perhaps I'll also make it more obvious the left side won't work. ;)
Chaotic 13 it seems kaywhyn found a backroute to. Easily sealed though, and you found the intended solution in the end if your comments mean what I think they mean.
Good luck with this pack Shmolem! I can already tell you that Insane and especially Hellish will be really difficult, as there are a few really evil levels in there. Don't be afraid to skip around the ranks a bit if you get really stuck on a level, although I'd save the boss fights for after you've beaten every other level in the rank. If you need help, don't be afraid to ask. I'm happy to give hints wherever I can! ;)
Sweet, 100th post! ;)
My solution for Chaotic 13
I used the left crowd. Bash to the right, made a lemming a climber to go ahead and climb the middle pole to dig it away, then block when it's on the same level as the crowds on either side of it. Then I released both entrances with a digger each, thus I have two diggers leftover.
I'm on Chaotic 19! The lack of destructive skills is a bit difficult. I've been debating where I use the basher specifically. And I'm not sure if I should build over some of the big structures or go through most of them. Edit: Replays!
I remember this Sandopolis level being in Superlemmini with the exact same title. However, I just checked, and this level is named Sandopolis Act 1 in Superlemmini. Despite this one being Act 1 while the Neolemmix level is Act 2, they both have the exact same layout. Another thing I just checked is the Sweet rank in Neolemmix, and both Act 1 versions in each engine have the exact same amount of skills: 20 of everything except builders, where there's 30. Interestingly enough, there is also an Act 2 level in Superlemmini that's in the Chaotic rank, but the difference is that the level is only a screen wide and the level only shows the right side of the level, with the pyramid at the left edge and then everything else in the level is new. Thus, I'm seeing the harder version of Superlemmini's Act 1 level for the first time in Neolemmix. I just solved Chaotic 19 in Neolemmix, so it is 100% possible.
Spoiler
You may be extremely limited in destructive skills, but you do have a lot of builders. So, it might be helpful to first eliminate routes that are impossible for sure first. Sometimes, you can eliminate certain downright impossible routes right from the start before even taking them, but sometimes it's difficult to tell for sure, and so this is where trial-and-error experimenting on the level comes in.
Yeah this really looks like a trial and error type level. It's kinda overwhelming because there are so many different ways you could potentially do things it's hard to know where to start. The very beginning where the lemmings are trapped is annoying because it forces you to use one of your
already limited destructive skills. I also notice that by the end of the level I don't have enough builders to clear that last little part.
Large levels have the tendency to be overwhelming, especially when skills are very limited. These often are difficult levels, and most of the time they do a great job of appearing to be a difficult level but sometimes they're simpler than they appear to be. Conversely, small levels tend to look easy but they can be deceptively difficult. From experimenting it sounds like you have eliminated one of the paths. However, it sounds like more thinking out of the box is required for the beginning.
Spoiler
You have all three types of destructive skills for getting out of the starting area: one appears to be the most obvious choice, another appears to be not as helpful for getting out of the starting area, at least at first, but you'll be surprised that it may be more helpful than it seems to be, and finally the last one is clearly obvious that it's not going to help to get out of the starting area at all. You also have bombers to help with terrain destruction, but the terrain removed has limited range and it kills the lemming too. That's not a problem, since you can lose up to 5. Finally, sometimes terrain that appears to just be scenery and are often out of the way can be more helpful than it appears to be. You might be able to find a way to use it to your advantage to solve the level.
My main problem now is that I'm running out of builders closer to the end.. it feels like you'll have plenty of them but in reality you don't. I guess it's all down to where the builders go at this point
Spoiler
If you're taking the route I think you're taking, by the time you run out of builders, you are nowhere close to the end. You'll see that no matter what you do, you'll going to need like 20 extra builders or so in order for this route to work. Even with 50 builders, the other issue is the time limit. While I don't know for sure if this route will end up running out of time, even if it doesn't I can imagine that time would be extremely tight.
That being said, 30 builders is way more than enough. In my solution (most likely very different from the route I think you took), I have 8 builders remaining.
Hey Arty,
playing through your SubLems pack at the moment, I finished the Insane rank recently and I thought I give you some feedback. I will restrict myself on the levels of that rank. Generally said, I enjoy this pack pretty much so far. The learning curve isn't too steep and the difficulty, at least to this point, moderate. Not many levels caused me real problems. Moreover, I absolutely love the fact that every level got it's own music. I didn't like all of the tunes, though, but that's normal.
1. Things are heating up!
No problems here at all since I used the same solution as in its predecessor. I don't know if this is really intended.
2. Ice cream dream
This is a great level! One that could well be a major obstacle for a novice player. I also had to think a little about it, especially how to do all the things necessary in the right order.
3. Lemmings about town
Though it was clear from the beginning that climbers play a major role here, this was not an easy one. I especially liked the way how to turn the Lemmings in the end, preventing them from climbing the steel wall.
4. Polly Pimple
The 50 climbers didn't fool me. A very nice one that didn't take me too much time. Which was a good thing since my wife found the music in this level very annoying ;)
5. Mini level marathon
I am not the biggest fan of taking the original levels as basis for new ones, nor do I like disjunct unions. So this one was not a level for ME - but I give you credit for forcing the player to rethink the original solutions - because, by using them, this level can not be solved.
6. Block-O-Tron mark II
A very short one. I don't know if this works really well as an one-of-each-skill-level since I only used half of the skills available. But maybe it's a backroute (I'm not so sure, though)
7. The Greater Lemming Caper
A very nice variation of the original concept. One of my favourites of this rank, though not particularly tough to beat.
8. BridgeWorks
Another favourite of mine. It was a bit fiddly to work this out, but then it went surprisingly well. Some "inside knowledge" about the Neolemmix mechanics is necessary here - this level could very well be big roadblock for untrained players.
9. Next stop... Lemming penthouse
While I'm not a big fan of time limits, it's absolutely appropriate in this level since it's part of the puzzle. I personally like levels like this one - when several Lemmings have to prepare the path for others simultaneously by doing different things. The first NeoLemmix packs I ever played - Namidas Lemmings Plus I and II - contained these "No Time to Die"- Levels which worked in a similar way. That's what I felt remembered here.
10. Failure after failure...
That's a very good level as well. I like the way the miners have to be used here - the solution was pretty funny. I also like the title of this level!
11. Crazy Christmas Crossing
This one took me a while. Not because the solution was so hard to find - but because of the pixel precision necessary here. Nice concept!
12. Play it like a flute!
At least for me, this was one of the hardest levels of this rank. Maybe that's because it's not a type of level I'm particularly good at - symmetrical stuff with lots of hatches. In the end I found a solution. But I can imagine there are more than this one. Again, a very nice title! (I like good level names)
13. The best-laid plans
The return of the mice :) In my first attempts, I tried a lot of pointless stuff here. Then I realized that this level should be solved in a straightforward way and that it was actually designed around timing. So I just had to find out the best moment to release the crowd - to make them land safely in the digger's hole in the end.
14. Firewall of fame
My intuitive first decision to bash all the way through at the bottom turned out to be right.
15. Blame it on the chain
At first I had no clue at all how to save this level - it seemed pretty impossible to me. I tried it to the left exit, to the right exit and to the central exit form the left side with no success at all. But then, as you can see from the video, I found a way by not using a climber at all. So I guess I backrouted it unless the climbers are red herrings.
16. Lemmings of the Lost Ark
I already played this level in Lemmings Redux with a different skillset and I found your version easier. Some pixel precision was necessary, though.
17. Farewell, my Lemmings
I guess, every rank needs a breather ;) Nice basic idea (I would never have come up with this), but totally easy to figure out.
18. No time for Lemmings!
When I saw the skillset I knew immediately that I could solve this level - then it took me longer than I thought. This level is a playground for using skills in an unusual manner - stretching bridges, mining upwards and so on - and it gives the player a lot of leeway instead of requiring pure pixel precision. Maybe that's why I like this level very much.
19. Balance Beam Bunker
This level looked pretty awe-inspiring in the beginning, even increased by the music. But then it wasn't that bad. The biggest difficulty was to bring exactly two Lemmings to the other side. But, after playing so many packs, we know how to trap a crowd by now :)
20. Boss Battle 4: Molten Monster
This monster looks really good. And I like the concept to finish every rank with a Boss Battle. The level itself isn't that great in my opinion - just as the Boss Battle in the previous rank. At least for me, searching hidden exits is not fun - but I know that this is a matter of taste.
The hardest level in your pack for me so far ist still "A matter of traps" in the chaotic rank. But I think this will change when I play the final rank which will happen soon. I'll give feedback then. Thanks for the pack, I enjoy it.
Bye, Swerdis.
All solutions can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/user/Vidusaka/
Uhhh soooo... I finally solved that level I've been stuck on for WAY too long.. But I think I found a backroute... There's no way this is the actual solution.. Edit: Just solved the boss battle first try! Onto Insane now...
Hey Shmolem, congrats on finally passing Chaotic 19. I just saw your replay, and yup, that's exactly it! That's exactly what my hints were trying to get you to do:
Spoiler
Use the ceiling route. It is the only way to pass the level, because there just isn't enough builders to go the normal way through all the obstacles. Also, you didn't have to block on the stairs and simply had more than enough builders to seal the gap to the right.
In the original version, it was an x of everything level except builders, which you had 30 of. You were given way more than enough to solve it the normal way. In this version, you are severely limited in the destructive skills, given only 1 of each, but still 30 builders. Because of this, to someone who hasn't really had any experience with the game, this may appear to be an impossible level, but that's why I gave the hint of "you can sometimes use terrain that appears to just be scenery to your advantage to solve the level." However, I understand why you think your solution is a backroute:
Spoiler
You used the ceiling. However, solutions that use the ceiling aren't necessarily backroutes. They can be very interesting solutions, though!
In any case, you finally made it and can now press forward. Good luck in Insane, and, if you manage to get through that, Hellish.
The first level of Insane is already showing it's going to be difficult, I think I can solve it with a bit of time though.
On Chaotic 19 I remember just looking at its ceiling and just having a hold up.... WAIT A MINUTE! Moment. It felt magical.
Observe. As I literally out of COMPLETE NOWHERE! Become the Albert Einstein of Lemmings.. But in all seriousness I have no clue how I solved all of these so fast.
EVEN MORE REPLAYS!! Seriously. I've already completed half of insane in one evening. I don't even know how I did it!
Woot woot, you the man, Shmolem! :) Keep it up! Gotta love it when you're on a solving frenzy and are able to successfully solve several levels in huge bursts. Definitely provides more encouragement to keep going, especially when you're close to the end of the pack.
What's this? Two more levels have been completed! At this point it's either that low key the levels are getting easier or I'm just getting smarter. Edit: So I've beaten 13 and 14 now. But Insane 15 has completely stopped me in my tracks. Edit 2: Yeah it really has stopped me.. but I think I'll get it with some time. Honestly I'm surprised that I managed to steamroll through 14 levels like that
Nice job Shmolem! I'll take a look at these later. Swerdis found a plethora of backroutes I need to seal, so I'll see if you found any others.
Insane 15 is where the pack starts getting really tough, so don't feel bad about getting stumped. :)
I JUST BEAT INSANE TODAY LET'S GO! Insane 15 was hard and I even got the talisman! Believe it or not I beat it without using a single climber! I've seen Hellish 1 and all I can say is... Oh god..
You still the man Shmolem! Congrats on getting through the penultimate rank. It has only taken you 2 days compared to the previous ones. Did you play other packs in the meantime or something? Definitely seems to have helped tremendously if you have been or all that time away has really helped. Regarding Insane 15, I remember that level from Superlemmini, but honestly I don't remember how I solved it. It was a really long time ago, like 3 years ago. I didn't bother saving any replays when I played through the pack in Superlemmini. It wasn't a stumping point at all (that belongs to A Tricky Quicky in the Hellish rank, which stumped me the longest out of all the other levels in the pack), although I just checked the Superlemmini version, and it is the same as the NL version except it is missing a miner. Not sure if that makes any huge difference, but I doubt it.
Good luck in the Hellish rank! 20 levels to go! :thumbsup: Oh, did you mean to send Colorful Arty your replays for Insane 15 through 20?
Da replays for Insane 15-20. I've played other packs before. But mainly Lemmings Plus 1 by Namida. Actually, in that pack I've made it decently far into the Danger rating. So I have experience with custom lemmings, it's just that I've never actually BEATEN a level pack before. But I think there's a good chance Sublems could be my first one! :)
Quote from: Colorful Arty on August 21, 2020, 12:55:17 AM
Swerdis found a plethora of backroutes I need to seal, so I'll see if you found any others.
I'm excited to see how many and which backroutes will remain in the pack and make it into talismans :-) I'm still stuck at Hellish 18 at the moment and I want you to know that I didn't capitulate just because I don't make progress on my youtube-channel at the moment :-) I comfort myself by slowly advancing in SEB Lems.
It tis the time for replays! I've made a small dent into Hellish!
Just a tip Shmolem: Since the maximum number of attachments is currently 6, you can put your replays in one zip file so that you can send as little or as many replays as you like. There's no limit to how many replays you can put in the same zip file. In this way, if you manage to complete more than 6 levels, you can certainly attach more than 6 replays if you like just by attaching a single zip file. Much more organized and less chaotic this way. Whereas if you attach individual replay files, you see that you quickly hit the max 6 limit, which admittedly gets really annoying in the sense that you can't attach more files in the same post this way. You're still subjected to the max 6 attachments with zip files, but at least you can put as little or as many replays as you like in each zip file. I use winrar.
Okay I'll try to do that. I'll have the replays ready soon but just here to say that I've made it to Hellish 8 and I'm still going strong. I'm really not sure what happened to me between the time I left Sandopolis Act 2 and when I came back to it. But something really did happen to me and I'm suddenly so much better than I was.
That's amazing! I think you're right about Sublems being likely your very first pack you will finish. Only 13 levels left. No worries, take your time. Yea, that's why I asked if you played other level packs in the meantime, because you're all of a sudden having these huge solving bursts is probably due to seeing other levels and gaining more experience with maybe easier stuff. At the same time, time away from the pack helps a lot too. It helps to clear one's mind so that the next time you come back to the pack you're starting with an uncluttered mind.
More replays. But this time, in a folder. I totally backrouted Hellish 10
Look at you go. Halfway through the final rank already. And yea, 8 replays would mean you would have to do 2 separate posts to post them all. See how much more convenient it is attaching as a zip/rar file so that only one post is needed?
Yes it's definitely more convenient not only for me but probably Arty as well considering that he'll probably look at my replays sooner or later. I'm so close to beating this pack I can feel it!
I come to share some bad news. Alas my absolutely insane solving streak has come to an end on Hellish 11. I think I have the solution it's just that I don't have enough time on the clock to do it. So I'm sad to say that the solving streak has ended...
Hey Shmolem, I just took a look at Hellish 11. I don't think I have seen this level before, as it wasn't part of the pack in Superlemmini. It's a difficult level, but I can assure you that the level is solvable within the 2 minute time limit. As a matter of fact, I found two solutions. One leaves me with a lot of time remaining, while the other one leaves me with about 5 seconds left without nuking in the end. I can't imagine what solution you're doing that causes you to run out of time. Perhaps you can enlighten me.
I not sure if I could type out the whole thing step by step but I'm working on it and now I'm like one second off from beating the level so I'm getting somewhere!
It's official. I can't get past Hellish 11! The one solution I've found is literally a second off on the timer. And as far as I can tell I can't do anything in that solution any faster. So I'm gonna have to think of another one.
I still wish I knew what you're doing that's running out of time. In any case, I already said that I found two solutions, both of which solve the level within the two minute time limit, although one leaves about 5 seconds remaining without nuking.
hey shmolem, You can post a replay even of an attempted one in NL. This way Kaywhyn can see what your doing. Even attempted ones that fail can be saved. Kaywhyn does this sometimes
with his attempted ones in United to show Ichotolot his trys.
This way Kaywhyn can help you get past the level so you can continue on and not be stuck on this one forever.
To save a replay, just press U at any time while you're still in the level. This is different from replays that are saved automatically when you are successful in passing a level. For this one, you have to make sure that is enabled via settings in the main menu. I presume that you do have that enabled, since replays through that are saved by the rank followed by the level number in the name. Replays via the U key are saved in the exact same naming format, although the location where these are saved are different. Instead of being inside the Auto folder (these are the ones that are automatically saved when you pass a level) that is inside the level pack's name, these replays are simply saved inside the level pack's folder. In any case, you get to the replays by going into the replay folder, followed by the level pack's folder.
Here we go, the failed attempt.
Ok, I saw your replay and it fails by about 3-4 seconds. This is interesting, as that was not the first thing I thought up of. I know you also mentioned that you had one that failed by about a second, and I'm guessing that one was more or less the same as the replay you attached with the positioning of the skills altered a bit. Once you read the hint, you should be able to totally solve it now.
Hint for Hellish 11
If the bottom route takes too long, then it should be clear that you must take the ...
OMG I DID BY GOD I DID IT.. So next is Labyrinth of Lucifer. I've took one look at it's a bit confusing to look at.
More replays coming at ya. Very proud of the Hellish 12 solve!
Just like that, you're in the home stretch and down to the final 5 levels of the pack. If I'm not mistaken, the level you're currently on was the one that stumped me the longest out of all the other levels in the pack. If it's not 16, for sure it's the next one, 17. Indeed, despite being a 1 of everything level AND a 1 minute level, Tricky Quicky is very aptly named! Similar to It's Hero Time from the original lemmings, 1 of everything AND also 1 minute.
If it is 16, this all reminds me of the situation I was in about 2 weeks ago: down to the final 5 levels of the main part of United, with the first one of the bunch supposedly the hardest level of the entire pack. I ended up solving it earlier in the week, and TBT I didn't think it was THAT hard. Then again, I do have a skill leftover and so it might be a backroute. Now, almost a year after I first started playing the pack, I'm on the final level of the main pack (I still have the Bonus rank to do). I have yet to make any serious attempts at it, but let's see how long it will stump me.
Let's motivate one another to finish the pack we're currently playing through. You can do this! Besides Tricky Quicky, once I got past that, unless the Superlemmini levels got replaced with new levels for the NL version, I recall the remaining levels weren't super difficult.
I'm sure you can beat the final level of United! It's an extremely hard pack from what I've seen.. But you can't give up. You're on the FINAL LEVEL! for crying out loud! And well.. I'll be making attempts for sure at my level. It's late where I live though so I'll be saving that for tomorrow. ;)
Nice nice haha :thumbsup: Good luck to you as well. I know you can do it too :)
here Is the retro rank I converted to neolemmix from Superlemmini using the 1.43 editor
just extract this to your sublems main NL directory
I also included the music that was with Superlemmini's version
after finishing your main ranks, go ahead and do these retro ones (NOTE: retro 20 used a glitch that is no longer used in Superlemmini or NL, so I made up one myself.)
Some background on the Retro rank. When the pack was originally made for Superlemmini, this was the rank that followed the Hellish rank. The rank takes 20 levels from either the original Lemmings or ONML games and modifies the skillset (the terrain is completely unchanged) in some way to create supposedly harder versions of the levels so that an entirely new solution of the level that isn't possible with the original skillset in the original games is now possible. I think you said that you haven't finished any pack or the original games (I might be wrong about the latter), so some of them you might recognize, if not all of them. Needless to say, if one is already very familiar with the original games and has solved the levels from them, the rank will be very easy despite being harder versions of the levels. Of course, solving the original level version from the original games first isn't necessary to take on the Retro rank, just that the rank might be a bit harder as a result. Regarding Retro 20, the original version used a glitch in Superlemmini that no longer works as of v1.04a of the engine, and so eric came up with his own version of the level so that it's now possible in both Superlemmini and NL without the glitch.
According to a comment for the Sublems pack in the Superlemmini board, Arty supposedly had an Impossible rank planned for the pack, but ultimately decided to not include the rank and to end the pack with the Retro rank. Even if there truly were levels that might had looked "impossible" (either because they're not supposed to be solvable or they are, just that they look "impossible") in some way so that even lemmings enthusiasts like myself wouldn't be able to solve them, I myself would had loved to see the Impossible rank.
I beat Tricky Quicky! And the level after it! Now I'm on Hellish 18...
Spoiler
It looks easy at first because I was like: I have 30 of everything.. How is it so hard? Then I realized.. YOU HAVE NO BUILDERS!
That was quick! Guess you saw the solution for the level really fast. I think it took me at least a week before I solved Tricky Quicky. Did you ever try taking the bottom left exit? I remember fiddling around thinking I could get it to work, but alas nothing works. All the other levels in Sublems, at least on Superlemmini, took me an hour or less. It's a wonder how Chaotic 18 managed to stump you for so long. Anyway, 3 levels left. Only one of them I didn't recognize (Hellish 18), so I can't assess its difficulty, while the Fire/Hell level has the exact same level title but is significantly different from the Superlemmini version (in NL, the exit is at the bottom, but in Superlemmini the exit is at the very top), so I can't say if the NL version is about the same difficulty or possibly easier or harder. I didn't find the Superlemmini version of the level hard at all.
edit: I just took a look at Hellish 18 after reading your spoiler. Wow, now I think this is going to be a real roadblock for sure. However, since I already know the tricks required due to the experience I have gained from playing and beating so many level packs, I think if I were to attempt solving it it won't be so bad.
I just took a quick swing at Hellish 18. Yup, not that hard for me since I already know the tricks needed and was able to solve in just 5-7 minutes. Still, I think this level will be a major roadblock for many.
Spoiler
Yeah how I did Tricky Quicky was I fiddled with the bottom exit for a while until I concluded that it was probably impossible to go that way. Then I tried bashing through the top wall and realized that if he was slightly lower he could bash through the whole thing. And then I remembered the Christmas Crossing levels and how when a digger and basher cross paths at the right time the basher will go lower a little bit and keep going. So I did that and then blew up the digger so he wouldn't make a hole the lemmings would fall through and die.. and yeah..
It really is a wonder what happened when I left Chaotic 18.. I didn't even play lemmings at all until I came back.. Who knows? Maybe a cleared mind is a better strategy than we could have imagined!
Spoiler
Ok so I've gotten myself to the very end of Hellish 18 where there's the giant wall and the exit on top. I honestly don't know how it's even possible to get up that without builders! Edit: I'm looking at the level while typing this on my phone.. and I think I'm starting to see a way..
Edit: SO. I was right! I did beat it and all I can say is
Spoiler
Plenty of Digger-basher stairs/Digger-miner stairs!
Yup, that's pretty much it! You have plenty of resources to do it. Also, the save requirement is extremely lenient for a level very late into Hellish, which isn't the main problem of the level. The main challenge is getting up the level in several places since you aren't given builders.
Well, two levels left! You got this! :)
Hellish 19 is giving me some problems. I'm able to get right to the end but by the time I get there I usually only have some diggers and blockers left. Forcing me to kill one. But I have to kill the blocker at the start as well. I'll get a failed replay so you can see what I mean. Edit: In this case, I didn't kill the blocker but it still forces me to kill two at the end..
Nice job Shmolem! You only have 2 levels left!
You're through the worst of it, since I consider Hellish 18 to be the hardest level in the pack by far. I'll save my feedback on each individual replay you've sent until after you're finished. It seems you've found a few backroutes, most of them were also found by Swerdis, but they've been surprisingly on the money for the most part! You've got this!
Quote from: kaywhyn on August 28, 2020, 01:52:00 PM
I myself would had loved to see the Impossible rank.
Trust me, no you wouldn't. ;P
@Shmolem Ok, since this level has the same title as Superlemmini's but the layout is completely different, I didn't know the solution to it. Because I'm one of those people who likes to solve levels before viewing solutions and replays, whether it's a solving or a failing one, I needed to attempt the level myself first. Interestingly enough, I too also struggled greatly with this level, but I was able to finally solve it after about 1.5-2 hours. I guess that's expected, since this is the penultimate level of the pack, after all. This is quite similar to the penultimate level of the original lemmings, where the consensus appears to be that it is much harder than the final level.
Now that I know the solution, even though it is a different level in terms of layout and the amount of skills provided, I have to say the Superlemmini version is many times easier. Once I solved the NL version myself, I took a look at your failed replay.
Spoiler
I don't know if my solution is intended, but it does use all the skills and a very difficult, obscure trick that you wouldn't expect to happen at all given the behaviors of the skills.
As for your solution, you're on the right track, but you'll need to think outside the box some more with some of the skill placements. Try and see if you can come up with a way to conserve the skills that can come in handy later on. If necessary, experiment with some different routes.
Quote from: Colorful Arty on August 29, 2020, 09:16:15 PM
Trust me, no you wouldn't. ;P
I'll be the judge of that :P Since it was just a one mention thing on the level pack topic, perhaps you could elaborate on what you meant by "Impossible." Impossible in what sense? Unsolvable? Very unfair levels that require glitches? What would had been your description of the rank in the opening post of the level pack release topic?
Regardless of what I would had thought of the rank, as a huge lemmings enthusiast myself, I love seeing all levels and ranks of a pack, even the rejected ones. A good example is when I played through Lemmicks, where I still played through the entire pack despite hating some of the gimmicks myself. Perhaps the one thing I was relieved about was when it was decided to not activate both the Frenzy and Superlemming gimmicks in the entire Hasty rank, and instead in its current form half of the rank with assign on collecting a pick-up active and the other half with the Superlemming gimmick active. In its current form there was still one very obnoxious level in the rank that I raged so much at that had both Frenzy and Superlemming active. The rank finisher also had both active, but it wasn't as bad due to the very low RR. Even then, I probably would had loved to see both Frenzy and Superlemming gimmicks active for the entire Hasty rank and see how far I could had gotten before I probably raged quit. Believe me, it takes a lot to make me rage at lemmings levels.
Anyway, I digress. Since your Impossible levels are probably long gone or still somewhere in your hard drive but you're probably not going to release them in any form, they likely won't see the light of day from any of us.
There's just something with Hellish 19 I'm not understanding.. I'm just not able to save enough skills for the end.. and I'm not sure what to change so I have that extra skill..
I have a feeling this is going to give it away completely, but
Spoiler
Again, I don't know if this extremely obscure trick in my solution is intended, but I honestly don't see any other way that the level can be solved without it. The blockers are key here.
See if this gets you anywhere, and if it doesn't, I'll either edit or make another post with an even bigger hint.
Anyways I've noticed you didn't post replays before chaotic so i"m doing these levels as I want all the replays for neolemmix's version also. But ones you posted i Keep.
Also some of the replays you have didn't get all the talismans. So the ones you didn't get I solved getting them.
Here is the list of the 10 Talismans (insane 18 is a double, got both at same time(Gold and Silver)
1) Sweet 14: Complete with max 1 bomber (Silver Talisman)
2) Scary 2: Complete with max 1 bomber and 6 builders (Silver Talisman)
3) Scary 2: Complete with no bombers (Gold Talisman)
4) Scary 9: Complete with max 5 total skills (Silver Talisman)
5) Chaotic 17: Complete with max 19 total skills and complete under 1:30 (Gold Talisman)
6) Chaotic 19: Complete with max 1 bomber (Gold Talisman)
7) Insane 10: Save 5 (Silver Talisman)
8) Insane 15: Complete with max 2 climbers (Bronze Talisman)
9&10) Insane 18 Complete with max 13 total skills(Silver Talisman) & Complete under 1:30 (Gold Talisman)
Personally, I don't care too much for the talismans, as I'm content on simply passing the levels in any way possible. I did get the one for Chaotic 18 back when Shmolem was stuck on that one, but that one's really easy: It's simply refining the solution you found for that one and making sure you break through the starting area without one. The talismans can pretty much be seen as challenge solutions, and often times solutions for them are much different from the normal solution. For the most part, I will generally only attempt one if I feel I'm able to get it to work, but if it appears to be one that's beyond my abilities then I'm not even going to bother attempting it.
Yes, I don't care for Talismans either I prefer having none. The only reason i got these were because Youtube has Sublems solutions and I used those to get the talismans.
Don't worry Shmolem Youtube doesn't have any posted ones after Hellish 16 so trying to peek for Hellish 19 won't be there.
You need to keep in mind the Youtube solution can be one of many solutions, depending on the level. Especially if it's open-ended and any way you want. Not using every skill doesn't necessarily mean the solution is a backroute for these levels. After solving a level, I will sometimes watch a replay or video solution just to compare, as sometimes I wonder if there's a much better way than the way I did mine, for example. Also, swerdis has up to Hellish 17. In the meantime, remember that you can always try and attempt to solve it yourself, rather than wait for others in being successful in solving. For the time being, my hint for Hellish 19 is probably too vague, but my intent is to simply guide people towards the right solution without giving so much of it away. That's how one gets better at level solving. Although I too struggled with it, once more the huge amount of experience I have gained from playing and completing so many level packs has helped me tremendously.
Hey Scmolem, I solved Hellish 19, but 18 I'm giving up on due to no builders. Will now try Hellish 20. Also Superlemmini Hellish 19 is different so I couldn't really do NL's using Superlemmini's
So I Managed to solve hellish 19 on my own, since Superlemmini's level is different and no Youtube to help me out. I saved the replay but I won't post until You(Scmolem solves it).
Regarding Hellish 18, I would recommend taking a look at my replays for the NL Tutorial Pack. Also, the end is the same as the beginning, so once you figure out the start, the rest of the level should be easy. Hellish 20 is the exact same as the Superlemmini's version, just with all the many traps visible, so you should be able to imitate my replay for it, but as it's a 99 of everything level that means you are welcome to take any route you like!
ok Hellish 20 is solved. did 2 ways. saving 96 with blockers because in NL there's deadly sides, and Kaywhyn's way saving 100. so I have 2 replays for this level.
NL's version is easier not only because the traps are visible, but because of backward framestepping(unlike Superlemmini only has forward). Also the save % is only 50%. but that doesn't make it harder since I used kaywhyn's solution saving 100.
I'll have to work more on hellish 18.
I think I need to be nudged slightly more in the right direction for Hellish 19
Spoiler
At the very end I tried mining on the left wall and then digging to trap them in except I'd get one lemming to start digging to the right of the first digger and when the first digger got low enough I would use a blocker to stop him and then when the second digger got down there to free him I hoped the second digger could use a blocker but there not being enough terrain beneath him due to him digging a tiny sliver of terrain to free him immediately free him from blocking and thus walking to the exit but he wasn't freed and thus I failed the level. I'm not sure what else I could do with the blockers!
Hint: Try using diggers elsewhere.
@eric I would put the whole thing in a spoiler tag (to do this, when typing a post, the circle with black and yellow triangles is the one to use, then just type in between the spoiler brackets) or at least modify it instead of outright giving away the solution like that. Remember that others who play this pack might want to figure out the solution for themselves. But yes,
Spoiler
I don't use diggers for the end part either. Regarding blockers, not only have you seen it turn any lemming around who hits it, you have also seen how some skills interact with it. At least in my solution, there is one skill that you have yet to see it interact with that is sure to produce an unexpected result if done correctly AND allow you to release and save both.
Spoiler
I was always aware of the miner-blocker trick this whole time, it's just that the blocker would have to die so that means I have to figure out a way to keep all 100 Lemmings until the end
Actually, I just realized that eric's solution is much simpler, so he has confirmed for me that indeed my obscure trick I'm referring to in my spoiler is not necessary to solve the level. Let's just say that mine is a challenge solution that unless you're aware that the odd quirk combo works, it's likely one will not be able to come up with it. So, this most likely means that you're not using some of the skills in the right places and possibly that you're probably taking the route that's causing you to use up more skills than is necessary.
hey kaywhyn I can P.M. You my solution. also since you already solved it, it's not giving away anything.
@eric thanks, but I already know how to achieve your solution, because my solution also uses that in the end. Now that you mentioned it, I have no idea how something simple like that managed to escape me. However, I can PM you mine and you'll see that mine is way more difficult and definitely one you wouldn't think of. Then again, you might had seen me use this on one of the War levels of United.
It has been done. I completed Hellish 19 and 20. That means I have officially completed Sublems. So thanks to kaywhyn and ericderkovits for help here and there. So yeah.. I guess that's it. Here are all the replays. Thanks Colorful Arty for the pack of course! It was the perfect difficulty level for me. I think I'll tackle Lemmings Plus 1 next I've made it very far in that pack already so I may as well finish it up.
that's a different way to do hellish 19. good job!
Also thanks for Hellish 18, I could have never done this level. I think that one is the hardest one in the pack.
My congratulations to you Shmolem for completing your very first custom level pack. :thumbsup: I knew you could do it. It must had felt really nice to end the pack with a super easy 99 of everything level after all the nailbiting levels. Now that you managed to complete Hellish 19, let me PM you my solution so that you can see the obscure trick I used. You probably won't ever need to ever use it in any pack you play, but if it ever comes to it, you might remember and use it.
Best of luck with Lemmings Plus 1. I'm quite certain you can complete this too. I first played it on Dos and I managed to beat all of the pack except for two levels which are extremely annoying and fiddly to pull off on Dos (in large part because there's no framestepping, you cannot assign skills while paused, AND no directional select). One of them is in the NL version, which I managed to complete thanks to framestepping, while the other one was a level that got replaced with another one in future NL pack versions. Some of the levels are challenging, but they aren't anything you won't be able to handle.
oh I forgot if you want to try the retro rank i converted it to Neolemmix from Superlemmini. You can download the levels to your folder and try these too.
Congratulations Shmolem on completing the pack! :thumbsup:
I know this is one of the easier packs out there, but it's still definitely tricky to beat, especially in the last two ranks. I hope you enjoyed playing. :)
Now... for my feedback on your solutions. You actually managed to backroute quite a few levels, so congrats on outsmarting me in several places :D I'll skip feedback on levels that were 100% intended and I have nothing to say about.
Newbie Solutions
No backroutes here, since these are the tutorial levels. There's really only one way to solve each level.
Sweet Solutions
Sweet 1: It amused me how overly complicated your solutions was, using one miner to cancel another. That's a trick I didn't want to require until the Insane rank. You can easily solve this level with just 1 miner.
Sweet 3: You built over one of the train cars with traps in it, but you can actually bash right through it. The hitboxes on the traps are too high up for the lemming to hit.
Sweet 5: Again with the miner cancelling trick. :) Admittedly, this is a tough level for the Sweet rank, I should definitely push it higher up. There are many solutions, but all of them require thinking outside of the box a bit.
Sweet 7: Very nice solution. This one is tricky because of the weird terrain. Getting the lemmings down either requires digging through the first cloud or making a bridge to stop the lemmings from splatting (or both as you did)
Sweet 8: The idea is to have both lemmings do everything together on this level, including making them both build at the end. You ended up separating them so only one had to build. Not a backroute at all, but not quite in the spirit of the "romance" feel. :P
Sweet 11: Interesting way of getting everyone up. The intended way is just making everyone a climber, which cuts back on making a dug path through the castle. Swerdis discovered it was perfectly easy to just build straight up to the exit. :P
Sweet 12: Nice solution. This level and its sequel I originally liked, but now I'm not too happy with them, mainly because the sequel keeps getting backrouted and I don't particularly like the intended solution either.
Sweet 14: Nice job getting the talisman! Swerdis made that talisman harder to get. Originally it limited you to 2 bombers, but he found a way to do it with just 1.
Sweet 17: Nicely done. Swerdis discovered a cheese strat for this level where you can just dig + bash under the entire thing for easy victory. I'm glad to see you went the intended route. :)
Sweet 19: Everyone who plays this level saves the blocker by freeing him. I don't intend for that to be required, you can just build over him. You're too smart for this level. :)
Sweet 20: I'm glad to see you at least destroyed some of his teeth. The boss battles all are designed to force the player to destory the boss terrain. I was worried you'd take the "just build over every trap" route. ;)
Scary Solutions
Scary 1: You could have dug + bashed under the final traps, but several builders also works.
Scary 2: ...definitely not a solution I've seen before.
Scary 9: That's the most skill-efficient solution I've seen to this level. I normally send 10 climbers to dig and bomb any of the remaining wall away.
Scary 10: I have not seen that solution before. What's cool about this level is it's an any-way-you want level that still manages to be hard due to the weird terrain. Plus it's an homage to Kingdom Hearts. :)
Scary 14: Love the efficiency of your solution using the two climbers as independent workers to make the complete solution. :)
Scary 19: You could have saved some builders by utlizing the chain more, but still quite intended.
Chaotic Solutions
Chaotic 3: With what you did with the lemming who escaped the group and mined under the first trap, if you time it right you could save an extra lemming. Perhaps a talisman for the future update?
Chaotic 5: Would you believe it if this was originally for the late Insane rank? SO many backroutes have been discovered for this level that it's quite open-ended. All of them are at least a little tricky, so this is still in the Chaotic rank.
Chaotic 13: This was a backroute, similar to what Swerdis found. This will be patched in the update.
Chaotic 14: That is the first time I've seen this solution. This level has so many solutions that are unintended, but all of them are just as hard, if not harder than the intended solution, so I'm keeping them all in.
Chaotic 15: Your solution no longer works after I patched Swerdis's backroute. You had the right idea though.
Chaotic 16: The blockers are supposed to be red herrings, but your solution ended up using one. Freeing a blocker isn't supposed to be required until Insane though, so no patch is needed.
Chaotic 19: This is the one that gave you so much trouble. Some people see the ceiling route immediately, while others do not. Even so, it's a tough level, which is why it's at the end of the Chaotic rank. Nice job finishing it with time to spare!
Insane Solutions
Insane 1: This is the same backroute Swerdis found. I've patched it by adding more fire under the exit.
Insane 4: Nice job saving an extra lemming! :)
Insane 5: Definitely not intended. You can do the intended route for each original lemmings level here, you just have to multitask. I never would have thought you'd just let half of the Perseverance lemmings die like that :P
Insane 6: That's a backroute, as it skips the most important trick: freeing the blocker. That said, you did use the blocker in an incredibly creative way, so I think I'll keep it.
Insane 9: Nice alternate solution. The intended way is to climb bomb through the pillar on the right and build to the exit, but your way is still acceptable!
Insane 10: Nice use of the miner cancelling trick to get through most of the end. The intended way is to use blockers to turn the miners and free the blockers with another miner.
Insane 13: This level I believe can't be saved from backroutes. I'm not a big fan of this level anyways, since the intended solution requires some precise timing. I may end up redesigning this level (along with its Sweet counterpart) or I'll just leave the backroutes in.
Insane 14: That's a backroute, but nothing a little more fire can't fix.
Insane 15: That's the same backroute Swerdis found. Going to be patched in the next update. :)
Insane 16: Well, that's a backroute I can't patch, because it existed in the original Lemmings Ark. Well done. You did the level like 90% intended anyways.
Insane 18: Very impressive solution. Basically exactly what I did, with just a few differences. Well done! :thumbsup:
Insane 19: This level is very, very broken. I'm going to have to redesign the solution to make it impossible to cheese, as well as making the intended solution more fair. (The intended solution right now is incredibly difficult and timing-based)
Hellish Solutions
Hellish 1: Dude, your method of bombing into the wall several times and building out of it over the flamethrower is one of the most ingenious things I've ever seen! :lem-mindblown: That is going to be a talisman for sure! You got the entire rest of the level as intended!
Hellish 3: My backroute patch from Swerdis's solution has broken your solution. You were at least doing some things in a way that was unintended.
Hellish 4: You clever little sneak! You managed to get all of the lemmings to the top route. This is completely unitended and broke the entire level. That will be patched. :)
Hellish 5: Same backroute Swerdis found. That will be patched.
Hellish 6: Holy cow, congrats on saving a climber! That's not intended, but impossible to patch and almost as difficult, so I'll leave it in! The intended solution in for the upper crowd to dig, one of the lemmings being dug down to build, and then the left lemming bashes through the structure across the bridge to the climber exit. The other climber is used to stop the builder from walking to where the left lemming came from.
Hellish 7: Holy backroutes, Batman! That is one of the most impressive backroutes I've ever seen! It's also similar to the intended solution in a way, so I'll probably leave it in!
Hellish 8: This level would have been a lot easier for you if you had used the blocker + builder to make a holding cell against the wall for the first 20 lemmings and used the rest to climb and dig the way.
Hellish 10: Same backroute as Swerdis's. This will be fixed. You solved none of the level as intended.
Hellish 11: Me sealing Swerdis's backroute broke your replay. You seemed to have a similar backroute idea to him. It's a shame because solving this as intended would have made Hellish 18 a lot easier.
Hellish 12: Exact same backroute as Swerdis's. This will be patched.
Hellish 13: A unique backroute that I need to seal, because the intended solution is amazing.
Hellish 14: This backroute will be sealed along with Swerdis's. Actually, I think they were the same backroute.
Hellish 15: Same backroute as Swerdis's. This will be patched.
Hellish 16: Very nicely done! A bit more efficient than my solution too! :thumbsup:
Hellish 17: This solution no longer works now that Swerdis's backroute has been patched.
Hellish 18: Amazing job. This is the hardest level in the pack, so you should be proud of that solution! It's more or less identical to my solution. ;)
Hellish 19: The instant you assigned the first skill, I knew it was a backroute. You did about 40% of the level as intended, and you found the main trick (stopping a digger by turning him into a blocker). An easy fix.
Hellish 20: The final level is more visual than difficult. With 99 of every skill, it should be effortless, except it's not. Getting past the fire art the end I thought required builder + digger + builder etc. but you used bashers instead of diggers. Well done!
Wow.. didn't realize I backrouted THAT many levels! Some levels were like yeah this is probably a backroute and others not so much. For the easy levels and why I used some more complex things in them is simply because I like making super easy levels overly complicated just for the fun of it. But yes I enjoyed playing this very much and hopefully I'll be able to beat more packs in the future. I have my eyes on you Lemmings Plus 1 I'm getting kinda close to beating you!
Hello Colorful Arty,
Reviving this topic to let you know that I have started my LP of your Sublems pack. Exactly 3 months since the last post no less :lem-mindblown: The link for my LP is here: Kaywhyn's LP of Arty's Sublems (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwaOpPn6oHQ&list=PLbp2m4KlFpJsEKwgdtlP3cEXJW8i2Ng2U). So far, I have completed the Newbie and the first two ranks, so obviously I'm not done with the pack. More videos to come at a later time. In the meantime, I'm going to go ahead and attach my replays and give feedback here. Replays from Newbie 1 through Scary 20 are attached, and so that means 50/110 levels completed. Total solving time is 2 hours so far for the first two main ranks + the Newbie rank. Not bad at all! :laugh:
As mentioned in Part 1 of the LP, I had already played and solved all of Sublems on Superlemmini back in 2017. 3 years later, I'm now taking on the New Formats NL version. I know there are some differences, such as how some levels that are in the SL version are not in the NL version. It's not a complete blind playthrough as a result, but I consider enough time has passed to start LPing the pack. Plus I don't really remember the solutions to any of the levels, especially since i don't have any replays for the SL version saved at all. Quite all right, since I can easily solve the levels for the most part. Should still offer enough of a challenge for me anyway :P
As for the music, I love the one for Sweet 17 -
The Metropolos Lemopolis. That is the music I love the best out of the entire Putt-putt and Pep's Balloon-o-Rama game. I grew up with the game, and I'm quite happy to see that you have LPed the game. Oh, childhood memories! :) If I'm not mistaken, you were nearly a toddler that time when I first started playing Balloon-o-Rama. At that time I was halfway through elementray.
The other soundtrack I like is the one for Sweet 5 -
Lemmings from the Caribbean. I recognize it as one of the tracks from the game Monkey Island. My brother and I grew up with the game, although I only watched him play it and I never got around to playing it until back in 2018, where I bought the Special Edition on Steam and played it. The other soundtrack I like from the game is LeChuck's theme. If you haven't played the Special Edition, I highly recommend it! You hear the spoken dialogue, and the graphics are extremely nice. Definitely difficult to go back to the no audible voices version once you do.
FeedbackRegarding the Newbie rank, nothing to say here other than all these tutorial levels were very well done. For someone like me and experienced players, we can definitely skip this rank entirely and we won't miss all that much for the pack. Even more causal players could if they wanted to. Regardless of one's experience with the game, I would still advise playing through the rank. Icho's NL Introduction Tutorial pack does pretty much the exact same thing with the Skills rank. However, for the purpose of the LP I played through the rank just for completeness ;)
Regarding the Sweet rank, very well done levels. I especially love the design of Sweet 3 -
Last train to Lemmingland. Mostly X-of-everything-levels, with X being 20 or less. There are a few levels with only 1 skill given, but overall it's a very easy rank. Certainly the passage of time has taken its toll on me, especially with Scary 20 -
Boss Battle 1: Crystal Creep, as I totally forgot about
Spoiler
The mostly hidden traps. Mostly because there are subtle indicators on the ground to mark the presence. For some reason, I kind of remembered that the SL version didn't have them, but of course that's wrong, since most of the levels in the NL are the exact same as the SL counterpart.
Regarding the Scary rank, as I mentioned in Part 2 of the LP, nothing too hard here either, as the levels are still very easy and so the difficulty is not much higher than the levels in the Sweet rank. The only levels I would consider difficult are the final 6 levels of the rank. Of course, they weren't hard for me, but here I'm thinking for less experienced and more casual players that they will be stumping points for them. Another very nicely designed rank finisher in Scary 20 -
Boss Battle 2: Scary Snowman. Certainly more visual appealing than Sweet's rank finisher, as the latter is quite bland due to the monotonous crystal tileset. It's still a nicely designed level, but between the two I'm certainly more in favor with Scary 20's design.
I think what I will do for the rest of the pack is I will come back and post my replays and feedback when I finish each of the remaining ranks one by one. In other words, I will post 3 more times since there's still 3 full ranks to play through. Keep checking back for my replays as well as more videos of the LP of the pack. Enjoy! :P
Ok, Chaotic rank is finished. Replays up through Chaotic 20 attached, and so 70/110 levels solved. The entire rank is covered in one video. The video is a little over an hour and 10 minutes, so I apologize for the very long length. I knew I should had stopped at the halfway point :XD: Apparently I really underestimated how long it takes to solve 20 levels in a single video, let alone an individual level. Perhaps because I felt every level has been an extremely quick solve that it gave the impression that I haven't recorded for a long time. At the same time, I need to add in the explanation/commentary time too.
As for the Chaotic rank, while none of the rank was overly hard, it's getting a bit difficult now. As mentioned before, I underestimated how long the entire rank took to solve even though there were a lot of extremely quick solves. Still, I continue to enjoy the levels and the pack very much
Chaotic Rank Feedback
Chaotic 1 - Let's get dangerous! Ok level to start off the rank. Nothing too special. Although I built at the extreme edge each time, I think the level still allows a few pixels of leeway.
Chaotic 2 - Freeze, ya Lemmings! Another easy level. Simply all about containing two of the lemmings while sending one ahead to build the long bridge to the exit
Chaotic 3 - Death chamber Harder repeat of Scary 1. Can definitely be a huge step up in difficulty if one is not aware of compression to minimize losses to the traps. Of course, the level was easy for me.
Chaotic 4 - Lemmingade stand Ok level. Just bash to make all crowds meet in the middle and then a lot of it is waiting for the lemmings to come to the right spots to build up.
Chaotic 5 - What an AMERICAN level! 3 skills and done. Very easy. Good choice of the Star Spangled Banner as the music for the level
Chaotic 6 - Lemming divorce Very nice level involving delaying the second lemming as much as possible with the destructive skills to allow the first lemming enough time to build the long bridge to the exit. In some ways, it can be seen as a more interactive version of Chaotic 2, except with 2 lemmings instead of 3.
Chaotic 7 - An evil recreation Nice remake of Keep your hair on Mr. Lemming/Tribute to M.C. Escher. However, the extreme precision can be annoying. Definitely much harder in SL due to no skill shadows. I love the music here. Very threatening sounding tone and evokes the feeling of danger.
Chaotic 8 - Don't be afraid to improvise Very nice level involving making a digger-basher staircase. I think for even casual players this level isn't too hard. Plenty of diggers and bashers provided to allow a lot of leeway.
Chaotic 9 - Emerald City Wizard of Oz/Wicked fan, I presume? Great level, and certainly difficult due to the time limit. Very easy level otherwise without it. I remember this one being one of my favorites even though it's not much in terms of what skills to use.
Chaotic 10 - Sniper range I say the many bashers to compress the group is quite unique, although certainly not the most ideal since it can be annoying to repeatedly assign the bashers. Easy level if you know how, hard level otherwise. It's really just a different way to achieve compression instead of the very simple use a blocker that I used in Chaotic 3 to trap the crowd between the wall and blocker. It was somewhat cool to see all of the lemmings fall down together and get zapped 1 by 1. The floater assignments after all the traps can be quite precise, though. I think the only way is to do it while paused.
Chaotic 11 - Think before you act Definitely harder than your standard puzzle level. Nice 1-of-everything level that requires some thought in order to solve.
Chaotic 12 - Snow way to get up! Much harder repeat of the original, which was a climber tutorial level in the Newbie rank. This is the first level which I helped Shmolem with, although my first solution you will recall is extremely fiddly and heavy on precision. With this new solution of going up the middle, the solution is much easier to pull off.
Chaotic 13 - High fives save lives The second level I helped Shmolem with. Still took some time for me to remember what I did, but still a quick solve. Nice trick with the blocker to turn the crowds from both sides despite there being a small hole due to the way the blocker field works.
Chaotic 14 - Dead lem tell no tale Harder repeat of Sweet 5. My solution is quite fiddly here, since there was only one place to dig and bomb to be able to break through both sides of the wall where the portholes are. Honestly, I felt like LeChuck's theme from the Monkey Island game would had been a good choice for the music here for the repeat version.
Chaotic 15 - The legendary bash of Crystal Cove Probably the hardest level of the rank, especially for less experienced players. As seen in the video, I initially took the wrong path by going through the bottom, not realizing there's no way to turn the lemmings around to the left and stop them from going off the side of the level and dying. Even after realizing that one must go through the top, it's still not easy to place the builders to get through each obstacle. The fact that there's only one digger and one basher adds to the difficulty.
Chaotic 16 - A matter of traps Can be a difficult level, but it's really not hard at all. Still struggled for a few minutes, though before realizing my mistake and that it's better to bridge the gap from the left instead of the right. Not sure if my solution is intended.
Chaotic 17 - Through the fire and flame Excellent level! :thumbsup: I also remember liking this level from the SL version. Can be difficult and definitely requires some thought in order to avoid all the fire traps and to get to the exit safely, but it's not too hard.
Chaotic 18 - The icing on the cake Harder repeat of Sweet 1. Not that much harder, though. It's still easy. Last builder assignment to go over the cherry is a bit precise, though.
Chaotic 19 - Sandopolis Act 2 Another level where I had to give several hints to Shmolem to help him pass. Because I've seen this level already and played it while I was finishing United, it's definitely hard to not remember to take the ceiling here. Plus experienced players will easily pick up on the ceiling route due to the extremely limited destructive skills anyway. I didn't have as many builders leftover this time, but 30 is still way more than enough.
Chaotic 20 - Boss Battle 3: Brickosaurus Rex Very nice design here! :thumbsup: I have played Gronkling's version, and I'm certain I backrouted it, as I didn't do as much fiddly stuff. Not an overly hard level other than it's another hunt for the hidden exit. In my solution, I don't like how it almost misses the exit entirely, though it's probably because there's easier ways than mine to ensure getting into the exit, like perhaps with mining to the exit instead.
2 more ranks and 40 levels to go!
Insane rank completed, and thus more replays and feedback inbound. Here are my replays up through Insane 20. So, we are at 90/110 levels solved. Definitely much slower going now, considering the rank took more than 2 LP videos in contrast to the other ranks. This is definitely an indicator that the levels are now getting hard to the point that they give even me a challenge and a good run of my level solving abilities. In particular, my stupidity definitely shows on Insane 12, as I ended up struggling with that level far longer than I thought I would. It's also the level that took me the longest in the rank, as well as the entire pack so far, to solve. Goes to show that everyone's stumping points/roadblocks are different.
Yea, this is definitely confirmation not for me to get too overconfident with any packs considered less difficult than United, because I still get stumped by these level packs from time to time, although certainly nowhere near as much as I was with United, which took me an entire year to solve completely.
Insane Rank Feedback
Insane 1 - Things are heating up! I used the exact same solution here as I did on the original, so this is definitely a backroute, as it's not as difficult as it's supposed to be thanks to this obvious backroute.
Insane 2 - Ice cream dream Solution is obvious, getting the setup right can be difficult. An example of not a hard level, just the execution is.
Insane 3 - Lemmings about town I struggled with this longer than I thought I would. Not a very hard level, I mostly didn't think about the solution completely before I started solving :XD:
Insane 4 - Polly Pimple I don't think my solution is intended, but at the same time I can't see how to use the climbers, since the ceiling is deadly in New Formats NL.
Insane 5 - Mini level marathon 4 of the original lemmings levels put together: It's Lemmingentry, watson, Tailor-made for blockers, Perseverance, and From the Boundary Line. The solutions are pretty much the same as they are on these repeats, other than the first one, where it's dig and then bash once it is low enough to not be splat height. Also the Perseverance one where it's dig and send one out to float and then bomb to turn the crowd around. The second one I'm sure everyone is familiar with the lose 3 solution for it. Other than 4 levels put in one, nothing too special here, and while I wasn't too big of a fan of the level, it's still an ok one.
Insane 6 - Block-O-Tron mark II Nice 1-of-everything level. I really like this one. It's a repeat of the blocker introduction level from the Newbie rank. Can still be somewhat of a difficult level, and the strict time limit can certainly add to the challenge, but time isn't as tight as I thought it would be.
Insane 7 - The Greater Lemming Caper Another level that took me a bit longer than I thought it would, but I really like this one too. As mentioned in the video, I made the error of assuming that the first lemming from the right side needed to be a climber right away instead of having him turn around to build the bridge to seal the water gap, which explains why I struggled with the level.
Insane 8 - BridgeWorks Another level where I know the solution, execution can be hard. The level was made easier due to how we have a lot of skills available and so players are free to experiment as much as they want. Luckily this isn't a huge builderfest. This can also be a roadblock for less experienced players.
Insane 9 - Next stop... lemmings penthouse Probably the biggest time cruncher in the first half of the rank. It's also somewhat of a difficult level, since it can be difficult to get up the level with the extremely limited skillset. I still somewhat liked this level.
Insane 10 - Failure after failure... To close off the first half of the Insane rank, the third level where I know the solution to the end part, execution in that area can be fiddly. The start still took me some time to figure out, but it clicked once I realized there's enough climbers for everyone to get up the level instead of mining them out.
Insane 11 - Crazy Christmas Crossing Nice use of alliteration in the level title. Yet another level where the solution is obvious, execution can be a pain. The 99 RR is what makes the setup easy. Even then, it still took me a while to get the entire setup correct. This is an ok level, I wasn't too much of a fan due to getting the two miners to cross one another without cancelling either one. Still, this is a good example of a level that demonstrates two different skills crossing one another, so it's a great level to demonstrate skills crossing.
Insane 12 - Play it like a flute! Yea, my stupidity really shows on this level. It's amazing how I ended up struggling for almost a whole hour here. I definitely sounded annoyed at times due to thinking the solution is quite fiddly, but as it turns out I simply went about the level incorrectly. Most importantly, I failed to realized there's enough climbers and floaters for just one entrance once the bombers are used. It also doesn't help that I was quite exhausted and sleepy while playing the level. At least The Nutcracker Suite was a nice music choice for the level here. That reminds me, I should definitely watch Fantasia again soon. It's been a really long time since I've seen it.
Insane 13 - The best-laid plans Another level that took me longer than I thought it would. I went about the level incorrectly for a while before I finally came up with the solution seen in the LP. Also I kept trying to readjust the builder from the left side of the OWW so that I can trap the correct number of lemmings in order to minimize losses. Can be a difficult level, but it's not overly hard. It's still not an easy level in any way. This was a fine level. I definitely feel it's the right difficulty for the rank.
Insane 14 - Firewall of fame I love how this level lists all of the level designers. Truthfully, there's way more than I thought there was. As for the level itself, it's quite a hard level due to the extremely tight skillset. The very large level size also makes it quite difficult to plan out the solution. I somehow have a feeling that the way I dug and then bashed towards the right entrances a bit past the middle of the level isn't quite intended. Especially since it comes very close to breaking through to the bottomless pit.
Insane 15 - Blame it on the chain This feels like a backroute, since I simply built up to the level and blocked on both ends of the platform the lemmings start on. Then again, it could be intended. I'm not sure.
Insane 16 - Lemmings of the Lost Ark Remake of the original level, which I'm blanking out on what it was called. Lemmings Ark? Nothing too special here other than it seems and feels easier than the original one.
Insane 17 - Farewell, my Lemmings If I'm not mistaken, this level or a similar one on Superlemmini has invisible terrain. Nothing too special here either other than to demonstrate that direct drop doesn't work and so fallers won't exit with an exit in midair, but floaters can still exit without terrain underneath the exit. However, the floater must be able to start opening up the parasol. They can still exit even if it doesn't open up completely. As long as the parasol opening animation plays before slipping past the exit trigger shows, then they're golden. Since I'm quite familiar with this mechanic, this was a very fast solve. Too bad we can't do anything else with the other lemmings and rescue them.
Insane 18 - No time for Lemmings! Definitely the hardest level in the batch of the final 4 levels of the rank. Not only is it difficult to get up the level, it's also a big time cruncher. It's still a nice looking level. You did pretty good with the clock design here.
Insane 19 - Balance Beam Bunker Another level with alliteration. Easy level, and I even went further and rescued the two climbers even though it's not necessary. The builder wall might not had been necessary, but it does make the level easier.
Insane 20 - Boss Battle 4: Molten Monster Another excellent boss battle level in terms of the design. Definitely one of the better rank finisher designs IMO. There's no indication as to where the exit is here, but as you have said the whole point of these rank finishers to destroy and kill the boss depicted in the level. Then again, I still think the skull is the likely place that people will look in and try to find the exit instead of searching the claws on either side. Also as has been true with all the rank finishers thus far, all are easy, although the Scary rank one can probably be the most challenging up to this point.
Onto the final rank Hellish and the final 20 levels of the pack!
And, Hellish rank solved and thus the entire pack on New Formats NL. Here is my entire Sublems replay collection, all 110 levels solved, as well as my feedback on the Hellish rank. In contrast to the previous ranks, Hellish needed the most videos due to solving time slowing down considerably. The Insane rank was also slow going, but Hellish was even slower.
I've already provided the link to my LP, but I'll put it here too just so all my replays and LP are in one place.
Sublems LP link: Kaywhyn's LP of Arty's Sublems pack (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwaOpPn6oHQ&list=PLbp2m4KlFpJsEKwgdtlP3cEXJW8i2Ng2U). Enjoy! :P I do believe I'm the first and only one so far to have LPed the New Formats version of the pack.
Spoiler
Hellish 1 - Welcome to Hell! Like Icho, I agree with him getting past the gun of the flamethrower trap without dying on the SL version is a bug and shouldn't happen at all. Fortunately that's not an issue on NL even though I never actually tried it. Difficult level to start off the rank, especially since it's not obvious which route to take at all. I might had overcomplicated my solution, though, especially with the timing needed to get a climber past the basher at the top before he bashes enough of the terrain away before the climber can't make it over the top anymore. Still a nice level, even if my solution was fiddly. Here, I think I prefer the SL version's music for the level. It uses another track from the movie Fantasia, Night on Bald Mountain. I remember this segment scaring the crap out of me as a kid.
Hellish 2 - Crazy Christmas Crossing II Again, solution is obvious, pulling it off successfully is hard. Luckily there's an indicator as to where and when to start digging. Much harder on SL. Here, I prefer this music over the SL one. I'm not sure what the SL music is, though. Nightmare Before Christmas I think?
Hellish 3 - Lemmings sold separately Difficult level due to the extremely limited skillset. It's not obvious how to efficiently get through the level especially considering the many obstacles/walls in the way. Still a very nice challenging puzzle, even if it took me a while.
Hellish 4 - Complex connections My solution feels a bit hackish due to digging and bashing below the level. A bit easier than the previous level, but still somewhat difficult due to the very limited skillset. Nice looking level, though! ;)
Hellish 5 - Pipe monster is unamused Seems like a backroute due to how I have some skills leftover. Nice level, though, even if it's easier than some of the previous ones in the rank.
Hellish 6 - A diabolical masterpiece I struggled with this one far longer than usual, but that's because I was trying to get the basher to cross the digger pit successfully with the aid of a builder. I think I remember using this solution on the SL version. I gave up on it after the basher kept stopping instead of bashing all the way through to the top exit. I ended up using the solution seen in the video after a while. It didn't look like he was going to survive that drop. As it turns out, I later found out that the basher crossing the digger solution I tried is possible but that's because I failed to realize that the pillars don't go all the way to the ceiling and therefore the climbers can simply climb them. For some reason I thought they were connected with the ceiling. Guess I need to get my eyes checked :XD: At least the music is soft and soothing and quite nice to listen to.
Hellish 7 - Ensnared in a sticky maze A little easier than the previous one, although the difficult part is getting the top crowd to the bottom to set up the builders to get a basher to go all the way through. Those builders I stacked on top of one another was definitely unnecessary as I later found out that I could spread the builders out more and the basher will still go through. I think I remember there being much more space in that area on the SL version. Not to mention the pit is much wider.
Hellish 8 - I Am R.T. Much easier than the original I Am A.T. level that this is based off of due to the 80 climbers and 80 diggers. It can still be quite annoying due to being extremely repetitive and can be fiddly to execute. Still a nice level, though! ;) Also nice remix of the Tetris music, I believe?
Hellish 9 - Ice cream nightmare Repeat of the ice cream level but with a basher instead of a miner. Even though that is the major change from the original, this is definitely the harder version due to the checks needed for the basher to continue. The basher needs the bridges on the bottom for the floor, as well as bridges further back for the ceiling check. In contrast, the miner only needs the floor check to keep going. Luckily, we have more than enough builders to pull the basher solution off.
Hellish 10 - The barbaric bars The only level in the pack that needed multiple videos to solve. The solution I tried before I was successful would had ended up with me being one short of the requirement, even with the diggers and bombers on the bars pulled off successfully, since I wouldn't have any skills left to destroy the builder over the exit for the climber to exit. The successful solution is most likely a very bad backroute, but honestly I don't see any other way to solve it, since it doesn't seem the fiddly digging/bombing solution will work.
Hellish 11 - It's just a phase lemmings go through I definitely don't remember this level being in the SL version, so one of the many levels found only in the NL version. It's a real time cruncher if you go about the level the wrong way, and I already have seen this level from helping out a forum member who was solving the pack at the time. Even then, this was months ago, so I still ended up struggling a bit. The solution feels extremely fiddly due to how the lemmings almost cannot step up after bombing the wall. It was probably just due to where I started bashing, though.
Hellish 12 - Labyrinth of Lucifer Looks quite intimidating and seems difficult, but it's really not that hard at all. I don't mind levels like this, while some others might due to not liking very difficult to see the path maze. It's really not that hard to see the path in the maze. Even then, the solution isn't obvious.
Hellish 13 - Strike for victory! I think I remember there being some fiddly bombing timing here on the SL version, but I don't remember if I solved the level using a bomber on that engine. I didn't end up doing that for the NL version, and so this looks to be a really obvious backroute. It's probably not supposed to be this easy.
Hellish 14 - The ends of the earth Excellent level with a really nice solution! :thumbsup: Building after the digger has dug through all of the terrain can be a bit fiddly, but being able to do this was already seen in Bridgeworks in the Insane rank.
Hellish 15 - In the shadow of an empire I remember liking this level a lot on the SL version. Yet another excellent level with an awesome solution :thumbsup: It can be difficult, but it's all about knowing how to use the skills effectively to get two workers up ahead, one being a climber who will take the upper route while the rest take the bottom, and getting the climber far enough ahead of the crowd in order to put the builder step in time before they arrive and splat.
Hellish 16 - A tricky quicky This was the level that I struggled with the longest out of any other level in the pack when I played the SL version back in 2017. I think it took me about a week. I didn't struggle as much with the NL version, but it still took me time. Very aptly named, with some nice red herrings and a difficult large wall basher section on top of being a 1 minute 1-of-everything level.
Hellish 17 - A Small Colossus My solution is likely not intended, considering that I'm sure you're supposed to trap the climbers between the wooden pillars like I was trying to do before I gave up on it and simply brute forced it by using all the builders for the water gap.
Hellish 18 - Tri-color monstrosity The fact that this is a repeat of a Sweet level with the skillset being the exact same with the major difference being that there are no builders makes this a huge step up in difficulty. Likely the hardest level in the entire pack. No builders means it's very hard to get up the level effectively. This was another level I helped out the same forum member on and was definitely easy for me due to how I'm already familiar with the tricks needed from having played the NL Introduction Pack earlier this year. Even then, it still took me a while to figure out the end part. Basher staircases and blocking and bombing with a nearby lemming to keep the staircase intact is the name of the game here.
Hellish 19 - Live and lem die Another hard level, although somewhat easier than the previous one. Yet another level that I helped out the forum member on from earlier this year. Even then, I couldn't remember the solution and therefore it still took me time to solve. Doesn't really matter, since I can still figure these levels out myself. I originally used the very fiddly basher-blocker turnaround trick to solve this level, only to later realize there it's not required due to another member solving it in a much easier way while I was helping out the forum member who had solved the entire pack up to Hellish 19 on his own with some hints from me from time to time. This level is present in the SL version, although there's a lot of terrain differences here, and I believe the exit was at the top instead.
Hellish 20 - Final Boss: Lemstronsity To round off the pack, a very well-designed 99-of-everything level which can arguably be the easiest level due to the skillset. Note that the NL version is drastically remade to be far less frustrating by having animations of traps giving away their location/presence, as well as halving the save requirement due to how the original SL version was way more frustrating whenever a mistake/missed assignment was made, as well as hidden traps. Even with essentially an infinite amount of every skill, the level's no pushover due to the many traps and some fiddly maneuvers, as well as a difficult end section before the exit. I definitely remember this one taking me a long time on the SL version and after a while I got quite annoyed with having to restart so many times. If anything, the level is a real eye pleaser to look at.
Overall, a job well-done with this pack, Arty! :thumbsup: As was true with the SL version when I played through it back in 2017, I absolutely enjoyed many of the levels and the challenges some of them had to offer. I certainly don't remember much about the levels, and so I'll have to take a look at the SL version and see whether some of the NL levels that replaced them are definitely better. I definitely recommend this pack to anyone who wants a pack on the easier side. It does get difficult near the end, especially in the final two ranks, but it should still be manageable and doable. Even when the going gets tough, many of the levels are just artistically brilliant to look at, even if one can't solve some of the levels. I will likely take a look at your Artlems pack shortly after now that I've solved Sublems. I did also finish your Lost Pieces pack of rejected levels. But first, to take care of some more LPs I have planned and the ones that have been suggested/recommended for me to LP.
Hope you're doing well!
Love you Colorful Arty:)