Hey everyone, so I've got a few levels to randomly share that aren't part of any pack but may be a part of Lemmings Plus, a Lemmings Community Pack or Lemmings Cranium 2 if I make such a thing in the future. For now though, play, enjoy and remember for the Level of the Year award if you think they're good enough!
Enjoy! Feedback is welcome.
Changelog
Bashergrum:
V2: Terrain flattened slightly beneath trapdoor to remove backroute by JawaJuice
The Oubliette:
V2: Floor reshaped in rightmost pit and added steel block in order to mitigate effects of Basher/Blocker cancellation trick by JawaJuice.
V3: Leftmost steps moved closer to the exit to prevent backroute by JawaJuice.
V4: Plugged up the gap in the left wall to prevent backroute by JawaJuice.
V5: Increased height of steel on right side of pit to prevent backroute by JawaJuice.
V6: Reshaped the leftmost wall to prevent backroute by JawaJuice.
V7: Increased height of steel on right side of pit (again!) to prevent backroute by JawaJuice.
V8: Added a divot in the pit to prevent backroute by kaywhyn.
The Sphinx' Riddle:
V2: Thickened the sphinx' neck to prevent backroute by JawaJuice.
V3: Made the upper platform slope downwards on the left side to prevent backroute by JawaJuice.
V4: Increased the height of the overhang near the sphinx to prevent backroute by JawaJuice.
V5: Increased the height of the overhang (again!) near the sphinx to prevent backroute by JawaJuice.
Got three more levels for you. One was a pair of levels for Level Design Contest #32 before I went with my "Ice Cream Cake" levels, while the other is another random one. Coincidentally, they're all brick levels!
Changelog
Outside the box: (1 and 2)
V2: Extended steel at the top of the box to prevent backroute by JawaJuice on part two.
V3: Raised elevation of terrain at the top of the box to prevent backroute by JawaJuice on part two. Time limit reduced to 4 minutes on each level to feel a bit more 'tricky'!
Also added the latest version of Backdraft here for easy finding.
@Crane Solved A Step Down With Difficulty - with difficulty ;) Man, your levels are kinda evil if this was anything to go by. Ingenious though! I look forward to playing the rest when I get the time :)
Spoiler
I might have fluked the talisman there as I couldn't really a see a use for the other climber.
Response
Not my intended solution, but the main trick with the Builder/Slider/Shimmier is there, so I'll let it pass; well done. The talisman comes from saving at least 2 tools.
Super-spoiler!
Also... the 2nd Climber is a complete red herring!
I have a reputation of making rather difficult levels, but I'm glad you're enjoying them - I look forward to seeing your solutions to the rest of my levels.
@Crane Bashergrum solved! I found this one a little easier than Step Down, though still tricky.
Spoiler
It actually reminds me of a level from another pack I played a long time ago (I forget which), where the solution involves freeing the blocker at the end and then making the last two lemmings climbers - I guess this is a variation on a classic puzzle really. Since I remembered that one, the general approach was fairly quickly apparent; the hard thing here is working out the best way to contain the crowd so that they can be released with access to the bridges that have been built. A blocker left over, which I suspect might have been intended to interrupt the digger and leave a little splatform, though the nature of the terrain made this unnecessary. I would say hopefully your intended solution this time, but probably not as I didn't have any use for the two floaters.
That is a backroute unfortunately. Here's a fixed version (also modified the post above)... at least I hope it's fixed. Any digger pits you put in that area should no longer have an overhanging lip.
I think I know the level you mean. I did base it off that level as a 'better' way of doing it, since freeing the blockers in that level required some very precise Digger/Builder tricks that the author had overused and were very frustrating to pull off.
Yes, I did wonder about that because I was initially specifically trying to get a digger pit with an overhanging lip and it didn't seem possible - when I did pull it off, it was more by luck than judgement! I'll take a look at your updated level.
In the meantime, here's my solution for The Oubliette.
Spoiler
Funnily enough, I was talking in another topic about one of LemFan's levels utilizing a trick I thought was less-well known; turning around a basher with a blocker at the same time freeing the blocker. If I've done this correctly, I believe the same trick is used here.
I wish I could tell you how much I hate that trick - it breaks so many levels and it's so hard to get the timing down! Still, I've hopefully patched the level to try to mitigate its effects.
Sorry, I seem to keep breaking your levels with backroutes here! :XD: I think I may struggle with this particular update as I couldn't see any other way of doing the level, but I'll take a look.
Let me know if my solution to your updated Bashergrum meets with your approval now!
Spoiler
I get what the floaters are for now, assuming this was intended. It's quite precise in the execution, if it is!
There is a less precise way you can use the second Blocker, but that's an acceptable solution - well done.
Intended use of second blocker
Turn the Basher into a Digger in the same location, then turn another lemming on the right side of the Digger tunnel into a Blocker. The Blocker quickly gets undermined, but the Digger is now facing left instead of right.
Quote from: Crane on November 23, 2025, 05:16:33 PMThere is a less precise way you can use the second Blocker, but that's an acceptable solution - well done.
Intended use of second blocker
Turn the Basher into a Digger in the same location, then turn another lemming on the right side of the Digger tunnel into a Blocker. The Blocker quickly gets undermined, but the Digger is now facing left instead of right.
Spoiler
Ha, yes indeed. I've used that so many times, I don't know why my brain went straight to the more fiddly thing of releasing the basher with blocker via digger! Still, acceptable I think, as you say. Nice level!
I can confirm that your added steel in The Oubliette patch does make a solution using the basher/blocker trick impossible: it means that the 3-bridge way up is a pixel too low. So I think you can consider that backroute fixed. As for my alternative solution, it just required thinking about the problem differently. Hopefully this is what you intended now.
Not quite. Always going to be backroutes with enough playtesters! Let's see how this does. I moved the leftmost steps closer to the exit.
Quote from: Crane on November 23, 2025, 05:42:30 PMNot quite. Always going to be backroutes with enough playtesters! Let's see how this does. I moved the leftmost steps closer to the exit.
Third time lucky? :XD:
Quote from: JawaJuice on November 23, 2025, 06:13:43 PMQuote from: Crane on November 23, 2025, 05:42:30 PMNot quite. Always going to be backroutes with enough playtesters! Let's see how this does. I moved the leftmost steps closer to the exit.
Third time lucky? :XD:
Looks like that I have to plug up that gap after all! 4th time lucky?
Quote from: Crane on November 23, 2025, 06:26:09 PMLooks like that I have to plug up that gap after all! 4th time lucky?
Probably not lol ;)
Spoiler
Given that this solution now utilizes the steel that wasn't there before and also relies heavily on precise timing/blind luck, I'm guessing this isn't want you're looking for either! I'm just not doing what you want me to do here, am I? Something tells me that trap on the right should be involved (otherwise what's it there for?), but I don't see how.
Not to worry - that's what playtesting is for. This was an easy enough fix. And maybe that trap is involved, or maybe not.
Quote from: Crane on November 23, 2025, 07:05:25 PMNot to worry - that's what playtesting is for. This was an easy enough fix. And maybe that trap is involved, or maybe not.
We could do this all night :D
Yes, yes we can!
Well, you got me beat this time! I can no longer backroute the level but neither can I see what you're trying to get the player to do here - I think I'll have to leave it to someone better than I to solve and move on to your other levels :)
Don't worry too much - it may suddenly click for you! Thanks so much for helping me to patch it.
I'm not gonna beat myself up too much - I know you and your devious levels by reputation ;) You're right, sometimes I find a solution can pop into your head when you're not even consciously trying to solve it (a sure sign you play too much NeoLemmix!)
I've just done The Sphinx Riddle. You're going to tell me this is a backroute as well, aren't you? :)
Quote from: JawaJuice on November 23, 2025, 09:46:26 PMI'm not gonna beat myself up too much - I know you and your devious levels by reputation ;) You're right, sometimes I find a solution can pop into your head when you're not even consciously trying to solve it (a sure sign you play too much NeoLemmix!)
I've just done The Sphinx Riddle. You're going to tell me this is a backroute as well, aren't you? :)
Absolutely! Good find.
Ha OK, I'll have another look!
In the meantime, I think I squeezed another backroute out of The Oubliette (hard to believe this was your intended solution!). If not, gimme a hint - have I ever been on the right track?
Definitely not intended, so now the steel on the right wall is higher up, probably giving away the intended solution more and more - oh well!
Clue
Try climbing to the right instead of the left.
Can you double-check that the Basher/Blocker trick still doesn't work? I ask because I shifted the steel plate on the far right down by 1 pixel so the miner doesn't hit it but still break through - I figure it's safer.
OK, will have another look and check that previous backroute. Cheers for the clue! I'm curious, not having been involved in playtesting levels before, when you're getting folks to playtest a pack, is it normal to have this many iterations of a level or are other players simply less obtuse? XD
Spoiler
I took a different approach to The Sphinx. This feels more intentional to me, except for having a couple of floaters left over again.
Quote from: Crane on November 23, 2025, 10:39:19 PMDefinitely not intended, so now the steel on the right wall is higher up, probably giving away the intended solution more and more - oh well!
Clue
Try climbing to the right instead of the left.
I can confirm that your change does not re-enable the basher/blocker trick. You also fixed my previous backroute. I'm really at a loss with this level though, despite the clue. It seems crazy hard! Either it utilizes an obscure trick I'm unaware of or I'm just blind to this particular level! You might need a new pair of eyes on it I think.
@JawaJuice: I'm sure you'll get it eventually.
Clue 2
The first thing the Climber does after ascending the wall is bash.
Sometimes, yes, one does get many iterations of a level in public playtesting. Privately there may be lots of versions too when you have a single playtester, and they often try variations of the same backroute until stumbling upon the intended solution (if they don't find it first). Admittedly I didn't playtest The Oubliette level much before publishing it.
In the case of The Sphinx' Riddle, there are many red herrings and sometimes a player find something that no-one else has ever thought of, which is what you're doing now!
Dang! I was pretty pleased with that Sphinx solution! I tried again - this is maybe a variation on my previous backroute though.
I guess this topic is accepted as a kind of sand pit then? I'm happy to take these back and forths to DM if they might annoy any other members.
Spoiler
RE: Oubliette, it did occur to me to bash as soon as the climber had ascended to the right (just in trying anything mode!), but it didn't seem to lead anywhere useful.
It might be a good idea to move it to DMs since the topic with all the levels gathered together, as well as other people's levels, will start getting buried (P.S. they're on page 18 (https://www.lemmingsforums.net/index.php?topic=3743.msg106961#msg106961) everyone!)
I should have seen that one coming with the miner into the steel. Made a fix! Hopefully the levels are almost completely patched!
I dare say, you should give the recent Level Design Contest levels a try. We'd welcome any backroutes or intended solutions you find.
Quote from: Crane on November 24, 2025, 12:26:31 AMIt might be a good idea to move it to DMs since the topic with all the levels gathered together, as well as other people's levels, will start getting buried (P.S. they're on page 18 (https://www.lemmingsforums.net/index.php?topic=3743.msg106961#msg106961) everyone!)
I should have seen that one coming with the miner into the steel. Made a fix! Hopefully the levels are almost completely patched!
I dare say, you should give the recent Level Design Contest levels a try. We'd welcome any backroutes or intended solutions you find.
Another thing you can do, which some have done (Turrican, Niesch, etc.) and are somewhere on the in-development board in their own personal topic and are now pretty much part of a level pack that has since been released, is make your own personal topic where you post your own levels, e.g, a topic called
Cranes' Levels.
I probably should do, yeah. I didn't think I had enough levels this year to justify it - sorry for flooding the board!
Quote from: Crane on November 24, 2025, 01:05:33 AMI probably should do, yeah. I didn't think I had enough levels this year to justify it - sorry for flooding the board!
No worries! I've went ahead and done that now. Looks much better and tidier now! :thumbsup: Feel free to edit the topic title in the OP by the way, this is just merely a suggestion :)
This seems like a good idea, cheers @kaywhyn!
@Crane I'll have a look at your latest Sphinx. I'm happy to playtest your levels, but as we saw with The Oubliette, it may reach the point where I can no longer backroute a level but neither can I find your intended solution. That's when someone else needs to pick up the baton!
Out of interest, do authors generally not accept alternative solutions they hadn't thought of, or does that depend on the author? By alternative solutions, I mean ones that are technically backroutes but don't seem that backroute-y.
Where can I find this Level Design Contest topic? I don't see it pinned in either the Levels or the In Development sub-forums. I'd like to contribute with playtesting there as well, if I can.
You're not going to like this,
@Crane, but your latest Sphinx fix was easy to circumvent I'm afraid :P
Spoiler
It was just a case of starting the second miner a bit further on to finish the bridge across the gap higher up and still be able to bash through to a survivable height.
Quote from: JawaJuice on November 24, 2025, 10:37:23 AMWhere can I find this Level Design Contest topic? I don't see it pinned in either the Levels or the In Development sub-forums. I'd like to contribute with playtesting there as well, if I can.
You can find it on the Contest board here: https://www.lemmingsforums.net/index.php?board=16.0 (https://www.lemmingsforums.net/index.php?board=16.0). The current one is LDC #33 Discussion Topic. At the same time, you could also just play the compilation pack Armani put together:
https://www.lemmingsforums.net/index.php?topic=6138.0 (https://www.lemmingsforums.net/index.php?topic=6138.0)
He updates it after the end of each contest, and so the LDC #33 levels will be included after both the playing phase and voting ends whenever he gets around to it.
Quote from: JawaJuice on November 24, 2025, 10:55:53 AMYou're not going to like this, @Crane, but your latest Sphinx fix was easy to circumvent I'm afraid :P
Spoiler
It was just a case of starting the second miner a bit further on to finish the bridge across the gap higher up and still be able to bash through to a survivable height.
I knew I was being too clever. Should have just increased the overhang all the way!
Yeah, that fixed the backroute, but sadly this is now another level I can't do. I came up with a solution using the two floaters but it only saves 98, not 99.
I tell a lie... :)
Spoiler
Uses your favourite basher/blocker trick again to turn around the climber. Near enough this time?
Outside the box...
Outside the box is close enough - well done.
I was afraid you'd find something like that for The Sphinx' Riddle - there is another backroute I know of that uses a Basher/Blocker cancellation trick and it's pretty much impossible to patch, and this one is the same in that I can't patch it without fundamentally changing the solution. It's kind of one of those tricks that I really wish wasn't in the game because it doesn't make logical sense to me... i.e. you bash, you remove terrain that undermines the blocker, but the blocker turns you around anyway (I feel like either the terrain doesn't get removed, or rather, it's removed behind the basher, or the terrain is removed and the Blocker falls, but the Basher continues going). Oh well, can't win them all!
Cheers! Outside the Box Part 2 has me completely stumped for the moment though! Obviously you're a builder down from Part 1, but I can't figure out how to use the extra basher to my advantage. If the idea was to make Part 2 harder than Part 1, I think you've succeeded!
RE: The Sphinx, would you be kind enough to provide a replay of your intended solution? It'd be good to know if I got vaguely close to what you intended.
Sure - will send you by PM, and yes, Part Two is meant to be harder!
Yes, that's what I meant - cheers! I'll move onto Tower Block next I think, and circle back to Box Part 2; that's clearly not going to be anything like a quick solve.
OK, Tower solved!
Acceptable solution - well done!
Cheers! That was a tricky one, @Crane! As with all your levels, it really gets the old grey matter working :P Neat design again!
I have a solution for Outside the Box Part 2 as well.
That was a backroute actually! Updated the level, and keeping with the original contest rules, updated "Outside the box" part 1 too (although it doesn't change your solution on that one).
Weirdly, that update did break my old replay for Part 1, but I was able to execute it the same way and provide a new replay (attached).
I suspected Part 2 would be a backroute - I didn't see that being your intended solution! I'll look at it again when I have time - solving the 'Denial' level you sent me probably took me the best part of two hours lol
OK, no doubt another backroute as it features the old basher/blocker trick again at the end. I see what you mean now about this potentially breaking so many levels - from a player's POV though, it's like a two-skill super power!
Indeed that is a backroute, but I think in this case it's patchable. Updated the "Outside the box" pair. Hmmm, I'm starting to wonder if I should rename one version to "Inside the box" just for a change!
Well, in that case, I'm afraid Outside the Box Part 2 has got me beat. Much like The Oubliette, I just can't see what you want the player to do with this one. I'll be interested to see if someone else can do it!
Think outside the box... *grins*
I've been having a look at some of these: as usual Crane's levels are visually enticing and deceptively difficult! Some of them I feel like I'm close but others I feel utterly lost. I'll be sure to post if I solve anything.
I'm glad they're those two things... visually enticing and deceptively difficult are good things! Good luck, have fun!
Hey Crane, I wanted to play the older levels you posted in the Random Level sharing topic and I know you're someone who appreciates feedback and solution replays, but I didn't want to clutter that topic again, so thought I could post my replays here, along with the level file.
If you're not OK with this, or you simply don't want the hassle of fixing old levels that I backroute, let me know and I won't do it any more - I'll just silently play your older random levels.
In case it is OK though, here's the first one!
That's fine, but you've got an old version of Blockout there - this is the most recent version (it's Cunning 29 in Lemmings Cranium), which does patch that backroute by making the drop higher.
Nice, this will work! I'll post others in the same vein, and if you have a newer version, drop it in. Obviously I knew that one was a backroute - you don't call a level Blockout and provide 5 blockers only to have the player use one of them ;)
Don't worry either, there are only about a dozen or so levels we're talking about here.
I was just playing your amazing massively open-ended Last Lemming Standing level - so much fun! Weird thing though: when I have saved +1 lemmings and there are only zombies left on the screen, the level doesn't end as it normally would. Even when I nuke the zombies, the timer kept going. Only when I pressed Escape did the level end. Also, I dunno if there is a newer version of Incompressible because it just seems impossible as it stands.
Spoiler
Initially I just got past the steel pillar, and dug down, then cancelled that digger with a digger in the opposite direction and bashed through. Save requirement is met, but I run out of time. The only other solution I could see is to start on one side of the steel pillar then dig on the other side with the last lemming that gets through and bash between the digger tunnels but the timing doesn't allow for this and I'm not sure the save requirement would be met doing it that way either.
OK, let me post what I've done so far, going through em alphabetically.
Crunch Time - vaguely remember this from Revenge of the Lemmings, but I'm sure it was different somehow. I don't remember doing the solution I did this time at all.
Deep Freeze - This one was definitely in Revenge of the Lemmings and I could never get the gold talisman. I don't chase talismans for long though tbh, I prefer to just move onto another level if I can't get the talisman fairly quickly.
Denial - The level you gave me and the solution you approved - just for completeness.
Hallowed Ground
Heaven and Earth
I won't post Last Lemming Standing since it's totally open-ended (I think?) and there can't really be an 'intended solution' to it.
And here are my replays.
Quote from: JawaJuice on November 26, 2025, 01:03:48 AMWell, in that case, I'm afraid Outside the Box Part 2 has got me beat. Much like The Oubliette, I just can't see what you want the player to do with this one. I'll be interested to see if someone else can do it!
Quote from: Crane on November 26, 2025, 01:27:27 AMThink outside the box... *grins*
The title literally describes the intended solution in a sense ;P
also Last Lemming Standing is one of the most enjoyable open-ended & infinite skills levels I've played so far. :laugh: (especially time crunch talisman!)
@Armani Indeed! Unfortunately that didn't spark any revelations for me ;) You gonna post your replays, assuming you've done some of these new levels? :P
With you on Last Lemming Standing - looking forward to trying the talismans!
Attached the latest version of that level! P.S. It is actually the final level of Lemmings Cranium (Chaos 30) as a kind of grand finale.
I also attached a couple of very old levels of mine. "Sharing a Climber?" is the first level I ever made back in the early 2000s, while "Deep Freeze" has been surprisingly inspirational despite how bare-bones it is.
Scratch what I said about Incompressible - the solution just came to me as I was doing something else entirely lol! I should have known better than to think you would ever publish an impossible level!
Ooo wow, I've just seen I have a lot of replays to go through! You've been busy! (And already done Deep Freeze, I see)
Yes! To be honest, I did Deep Freeze a long time ago, it's just my old replay re-saved. I had another crack at going for gold though, to no avail!
Quote from: JawaJuice on November 27, 2025, 08:09:32 PMScratch what I said about Incompressible - the solution just came to me as I was doing something else entirely lol! I should have known better than to think you would ever publish an impossible level!
That's actually unintended, but given how much precision is required, I'll let it pass! There is an easier way of solving the level:
Intended Incompressible Solution
Dig as close as you can to the steel at the top when there are about 27 lemmings left to come out. The digger tunnel will only be about half as wide and the compressor trap will only trigger once on that crowd.
I do have one fun level for you to try. It was an entry in a contest a few years ago, but is also Curious 24 in Lemmings Cranium. Behold, "Mincemeat"!
Quote from: Crane on November 27, 2025, 08:55:16 PMThat's actually unintended, but given how much precision is required, I'll let it pass! There is an easier way of solving the level:
Intended Incompressible Solution
Dig as close as you can to the steel at the top when there are about 27 lemmings left to come out. The digger tunnel will only be about half as wide and the compressor trap will only trigger once on that crowd.
Makes sense! Sounds similar but yes, agreed, a lot of precision required to pull it off my way ;) It would probably be unreasonable if that
were the intended solution!
EDIT: I think I have the solution to the latest version of Blockout, but it's gonna be difficult to execute :P
Wowzers, this one was really tight on time - needed a lot of small optimizations to get everything done on time!
I'm also gonna post Ice Cream Cake 1 & 2 here, if that's OK. You've already seen my Ice Cream Cake 1 replay, but hopefully other folks will want to give these levels a crack. I know you said Armani has done them - and is the reason that two versions exist! #2 still has me stumped. You urged me to think why I might need two climbers but my mind drew a blank!
Blockout is intended - well done!
There is a YouTube video out there of IchoTolot solving the two Ice Cream Cake levels if you're curious (skip to 9:00):
Cheers, yes, I thought Blockout must be the intended solution - a very nice level!
Spoiler
For a time, I was one lemming short, thinking I had to deploy another permanent one to turn around the final lemming to dig, but then remembered the old using a blocker to halt the progress of a digger right on the edge of a block :)
Icho's solution to Cream Cake 2 - I'll be honest, I
never would have thought of that. Having seen it though, hopefully I can bank that kind of strategy in my memory for future solving. Sometimes the best way to learn is watching a master in action!
Similarly stumped by Medivac. I don't tend to do so well with these kind of levels. Not sure what I mean by 'these kind of levels', but I know them when I see them XD
Quote from: Crane on November 27, 2025, 09:04:45 PMI do have one fun level for you to try. It was an entry in a contest a few years ago, but is also Curious 24 in Lemmings Cranium. Behold, "Mincemeat"!
Yeah, horrible level. I got precisely nowhere with that! I don't like 99 release rate levels at the best of times, but that's just :evil:
Ah, Mincemeat. The one I pre-tested for Crane. I still urge you to attempt the level, JawaJuice. It's one of my favorites and is quite a satisfying solve! :thumbsup: The talisman is excellent as well, even if it's on the fiddly side, but then again a lot of max-save challenge solutions are! :P
@JawaJuice ;)
Plus, here are some of the replays I uploaded to Discord before that are probably worth keeping
@kaywhyn I really do hate these kind of levels. I just find them stressful, especially with that abrasive 'I'll Be Back' tune playing haha. I did actually have another go at it, but again, I get nowhere with the normal version let alone the talisman!
Spoiler
You clearly have to use all 5 builders to cross the water, which only leaves you 5 diggers to get most of the crowd down safely. If I try an AT style solution to turn them around at the far end, hardly any of them get back up before the digger steps become too high to climb. Conversely, if I use the old stair steps technique of creating 1-pixel offsets by using one digger to cancel the other, most of the crowd end up going towards the fire trap, where they all obviously die. It's not really the kind of puzzle where you can come up with multiple ideas of things to try, I find, and I'm pretty much out of ideas already!
EDIT: Actually, scratch that. I think I've worked out how to do this level, though it's gonna be tricky to pull off. Apologies to
@Crane, I think I may have been guilty of complaining before properly engaging my brain in this case!
@Armani I shall take a look! 1m28s for Last Lemming Standing sounds insane!
EDIT: Those made for entertaining viewing with a coffee break, Armani! Your solution to Deep Freeze is very intricate, which ties into what kaywhyn was saying about max save solutions often being fiddly. Watching your Last Lemming Standing replay was a hoot! It was almost like watching someone play an arcade game like Mario rather than Lemmings :P I will hold off from watching your Outside the Box Part 2 replay for now, I might give that one another crack myself first.
@Crane Medivac! The solution came to me in a dream :) Well, not quite, but I was running through the level in my mind just before I went to sleep and I had to turn the light back on to see if I had hit on it - it seems I did!
Quote from: Crane on November 27, 2025, 07:58:04 PMI also attached a couple of very old levels of mine. "Sharing a Climber?" is the first level I ever made back in the early 2000s, while "Deep Freeze" has been surprisingly inspirational despite how bare-bones it is.
I remember Sharing a Climber from Revenge of the Lemmings, but this version is a bit different, with a locked release rate of 90 rather than 99. Interesting how that small change means my previous solution no longer works. Will think on it :)
Incidentally, I also found Reach for the Sky but I won't post the level or replay there as it's trivial. A good introductory level for newcomers to the game though, to demonstrate how shimmiers work.
EDIT: Got it! Not sure why that gave me so much trouble, as it's a tactic I've used before, but it did! A nice variation on the previous version of the level!
Another older one...
Have I finally cracked it? :D
OK, here we go with Mincemeat! It's actually a good little puzzle, but very fiddly!
I have no idea how to get the talisman requirement though :)
Spoiler
I went back and tried to optimize my solution, in terms of digging the next tunnel only at the point where a lemming can still get over the lip of it and not fall and die on the other side, and also made sure the last lemmings out of the hatch no longer die, but I actually ended up with one less saved somehow lol. I'm guessing then that the placement of diggers is also key (though logically, I don't know why that would be). It seems like there's an element of blind luck in terms of how many go to the left and how many go to the right at the bottom of each digger tunnel but there's probably some way of rigging the odds based on the placement and timing of diggers. To be honest though, I don't feel inclined to sweat trying to find it. I'm the kind of player that considers a level solved with or without the talisman; they're more of a nice-to-have in my mind.
EDIT: Optimized version now saves 38. Still a long way off the talisman requirement of 45!
Quote from: JawaJuice on November 28, 2025, 01:56:32 PMHave I finally cracked it? :D
Yes you have! That's intended - you thought outside the box!
Mincemeat is intended too. The gold talisman requires some extra thinking and finesse in your technique!
Quote from: Crane on November 29, 2025, 07:00:42 AMYes you have! That's intended - you thought outside the box!
:thumbsup: :D
wow, that was 10 days ago I posted???? It felt like yeserday... well I skimmed over the topic quickly and I don't think you've updated these two in that time??
I solved these two with the help of SQRon, The Oubliette particularly was very tough imo, but very clever solution, if it's correct. Outside the box is likely a backroute, I saved the blocker, but it felt as least partially intended, the overall jist anyway; I don't see how else to go about it... this solution does not work for the second one.
Both are acceptable solves - well done.
Spoiler
The intended solution with The Oubliette is to bash through the right wall after you climb up, then build towards the trap. It's not high enough for lemmings to walk up, but the basher tunnel gives the Builder time to bridge the gap before the crowd reaches him. You simply used the Basher and Builder in a different way, and cutting off a bridge prematurely is a nice little trick. I may or may not patch it, since the only way I can realistically patch it is to make the floor down below a weird shape so lemmings splat.
For Outside the Box (part 1), the Blocker is a red herring and the main trick is to use a Climber/Digger to widen the shaft.
For better or for worse, I tried to make a level borrowing ideas from my withdrawn contest level, Lemming Ledger. This one is called Double Blind, although I do fear it's too fiddly to be anything truly good.
I got a solution for this. If it's a backroute and you'd prefer I didn't attempt it again, just let me know; I'll understand ;)
Well it is a backroute, but I'm not unhappy about it as it's just the first version that hasn't been playtested yet.
In the meantime, here's the original Lemming Ledger again, this time with a locked release rate (not allowed in the contest) and a level kind of based on Redneck Redemption (I didn't choose it for the contest because it was too similar to Redneck Redemption in a way).
OK cool! As long as it's not making you unhappy, I continue to enjoy the challenge :thumbsup:
Here are a couple more solutions for Lemming Ledger and Double Blind. Hopefully I'm getting closer to your intended. Totally stumped by Backdraft though, sorry! Not even close to the non-talisman solution, let alone talisman. I definitely see the similarity to Redneck Redemption but I'd say it's harder.
Decided to try something different with Backdraft!
Well they're backroutes, but nothing too serious and hence are easy to patch out. Even "Double Blind" allowed me to introduce some potential new red herrings.
ADDENDUM: Fixed Backdraft too.
EDIT: Fixed accidental overwrite of Lemming Ledger with Double Blind.
Let's go again!
No talisman for
Backdraft this time. :(
Spoiler
If this is the intended solution, it reminds me a little bit of Denial with turning a lemming around by climbing up and falling back down in the opposite direction. The Redneck Redemption parallel is clearer now as well, bashing right and mining left. I can't really conceive how this could be done without using the climber/floater though (presumably the talisman solve).
Backdraft is intended - well done! Now I wish I did submit that to the contest instead of Lemming Ledger despite the similiarities to Redneck Redemption. The talisman does take a fair bit of thought!
Speaking of Lemming Ledger, both that and Double Blind are backroutes, but well done on using all of the tools! I think they can be patched, but I'll take a day or two to think about them.
Quote from: Crane on December 18, 2025, 07:37:52 PMBackdraft is intended - well done! Now I wish I did submit that to the contest instead of Lemming Ledger despite the similiarities to Redneck Redemption. The talisman does take a fair bit of thought!
Speaking of Lemming Ledger, both that and Double Blind are backroutes, but well done on using all of the tools! I think they can be patched, but I'll take a day or two to think about them.
Nice! :thumbsup: I've never been a talisman-oriented player; once I've solved a level as intended, unless I can quickly see how to get a talisman, I prefer to move onto other stuff rather than spend hours chasing it, so I shall leave that to others.
Backdraft is definitely a well-designed level and would have been a nice addition to the Contest - too late for its inclusion now I guess? Despite taking a fair bit of working out, the solution was certainly far more intuitive to me than
Lemming Ledger; I dunno whether that will be the case for other players as well.
In the meantime, I've added a copy of Backdraft to the second post of this topic for easy finding later on (where all the other levels are!)
Quote from: mobius on December 06, 2025, 12:59:58 AMwow, that was 10 days ago I posted???? It felt like yeserday... well I skimmed over the topic quickly and I don't think you've updated these two in that time??
I solved these two with the help of SQRon, The Oubliette particularly was very tough imo, but very clever solution, if it's correct. Outside the box is likely a backroute, I saved the blocker, but it felt as least partially intended, the overall jist anyway; I don't see how else to go about it... this solution does not work for the second one.
I patched The Oubliette, but let's just say you're
very close to what I intended, so the patch should now enforce it.
Crane make new pack? I loved your first pack. Cannot wait see your next. Im not goes play your levels until pack is ready. Then i´ll might give it some shots. ;P
Well, the levels I posted at the start of this topic I'm hoping would be good for a Level of the Year nomination. A new pack won't be for a while though.