Tricky 12 can be done with 10: Direct drop onto the exit.
Tricky 14 can be improved to 12 with a bit of release rate meddling and a bit of luck (although given the sheer number of possibilities, it was bound to work out somehow). Replay attached.
Tricky 25 takes 13 skills by the ceiling route which I introduced on the old forums. I don't remember if I ever uploaded my replay for this, or if anyone ever figured it out...
Tricky 24: 6
This is the score for Taxing 24 (as mentioned by Pooty), not Tricky. Could you fix this please? Also, the same may apply to level 27 as well, though I'm not sure.
Tricky 28 100% can be done with 4 skills. Hint:
Same technique featured before in previous challenges on Crazy 8 and Blitz 10. Here in Tricky 28, look for a single missing pixel of terrain just slightly below ground level.
Taxing 29 (and therefore also Tricky 3) 100% can be done with 8 skills. It is basically just a straightforward optimization of the standard solution. Some hints:
- Carefully pick where you start digging to contain the crowd, especially for Taxing 29 with its higher RR.
- Because of the uneven terrain, you can turn the climber around by picking the right place to build, without using a digger.
[edit 11/30/2019: re-attached missing replays caused by forum migration side effects]
My 1-climber solution to Havoc 7 for the "What are the skills you need for maximum %" thread (https://www.lemmingsforums.net/index.php?topic=1414.msg48247#msg48247) also improves the result here, so that level is now down to 20 skills.
Edit 11 Jun 2018: Down to 19 skills. I originally thought I needed a floater get the left group spaced out properly, but I found a way to avoid it:
1: Set the release rate to 80. After the second lemming enters the level, raise it to 99.
2: Make the first lemming from the left hatch a digger just before the pillar. The second lemming from the left group should be a climber.
3: Go to the right hatch and make a lemming build several pixels before the edge.
4: Immediately return to the left group. One lemming should be climbing the next pillar, and the next one should be about to hit it. Make the latter a miner at the last possible moment before he turns. The climber should drop into his tunnel, facing right.
5: Quickly go back to the right group and place a blocker on the first builder brick. He must be freed by a single basher later on.
6: Back on the left side, all of the lemmings except the miner will drop onto a ledge with a pillar to their right (the last one will barely make it before the miner cuts off access to this ledge). Make the first of these a blocker at the far left edge.
7: Complete the rest of the route normally, using a basher, miner, and 3 builders on the left, and 6 additional builders on the right.
8: Release the left crowd by making a lemming dig the instant he turns off the blocker (he needs to free the blocker).
9: Release the right group by bashing away a piece of the step the blocker is standing on.
Mayhem 17 with 11 skills confirmed in DOS. It's embarrassingly simple, to the point that I'm amazed nobody found this 10 years ago.
Use the regular "stepping stones" solution (using 9 builders), but place the blocker on the first builder brick. That way he can be released with a single basher.
Mayhem 18 with 18 skills is also confirmed in DOS - 8 skills for the right half, and 10 skills for the left. There is a small offset in the terrain that allows a lemming from the top right group to perform the tasks for the bottom right group, thereby saving a climber (along with another skill usage later on to prevent said climber from climbing off the right side of the level). See attached screenshots for details.
Note that this is a 13 builder solution, which also improves the result for "What skills do you need for 100%".
I finally confirmed Mayhem 23 with 16 skills in DOS. It was nothing intuitive or obvious, and I'm wondering if I'm missing something substantially easier. Anyway, here's the solution.
1: After the first two lemmings come out, set the release rate to 88.
2: Make the first lemming a builder at the far right of the initial holding cell. This should allow him to scale the wall and walk up the slope on the right.
3: The second lemming blocks at a pixel-precise location as soon as he steps off of the level ground, such that he can be released with a single basher later on.
4: The leader builds 5x to reach the wall on the left, about 3/4 of the way up.
5: Release the blocker using a single basher.
6: When the crowd gets to the top of the bridge, there is a sliding-glitch-friendly spot on the wall where a builder can force one of the lemmings behind him to slide up to (almost) the top of the wall.
7: Make the lemming that slid up the wall a basher as soon as he stops sliding.
8: Make the basher/leader a floater.
9: When the leader finishes bashing and drops down, build 3x to the right to build a catch bridge for the others.
10: The crowd bashes through the large wall.
11: Make the leader bash through the ball under the trap.
Mayhem 25 with 13 skills is also confirmed in DOS. It's pretty straightforward, except for the use of a steel glitch in the beginning.
1: Make the first lemming build at the very edge of the block, and then dig after he lays his first brick.
2: The second lemming builds just before he reaches the edge of the digger's hole.
3: The third lemming takes one step and then builds. Make him block after he lays his first brick.
4: Set the release rate to 19.
5: Make the digger build before he runs out of terrain to dig through. He will then make a path to the exit using 5 additional builders (this should be pretty straightforward).
6: Mine through the bridge restraining the crowd, about halfway up.
7: Make a lemming coming out of the hatch bash through the builder brick the blocker is standing on.
Taxing 20 is down to 7 skills in DOS, beating the SNES record by 1. The critical point is right at the beginning, where the first obstacle can be cleared with just a digger and a builder, while leaving enough terrain in place to block left-facing lemmings. This allows the right side to be completed with just 2 bashers. See attached screenshots.
Apparently I didn't push my own method far enough. Mayhem 25 is now down to 12 skills.
1: The first lemming builds a short ways back from the edge.
2: The second lemming builds a short distance behind him, just a couple of steps after he lands.
3: The third lemming digs in a pixel-precise location on the first builder's bridge, such that he will continue through the edge of the steel. (The first builder will hit the wall and turn around just as the second builder is patching up the hole.)
4: The fourth lemming blocks on the second lemming's first brick.
5: Increase the release rate to 19.
6: The digger/leader uses six builders to blaze a path to the exit.
7: Mine through the bridge restraining the crowd, about halfway up.
8: Make a lemming coming out of the entrance bash to free the blocker.
This solution will also work for Tricky 13.
I finally confirmed Mayhem 23 with 16 skills in DOS. It was nothing intuitive or obvious, and I'm wondering if I'm missing something substantially easier. Anyway, here's the solution.
I finally read this post when i read posts in this topic. I personally never figured out you can use slide glitch in this level max-% points min skills challenges.
My SNES solution which also was done 16 skills is done totally glitch free. Its use one little trick which could be pretty hard figured out, but im not called that real glitch. It just thing how i can continue building without web stopping it, but still break way pass lemming groups. My solution was also totally blocker free.
However this level could be different on DOS version. This sounds you did starting this level very different way than i did it my SNES. End part sound just like same way what i did.
EDIT:
About DOS version there is two levels which might be worth watching better. Taxing 2 & Mayhem 1: Spoiler alert:
Taxing 2. Snes version probably can done with 6 skills otherwise but 100 lemmings is too much with this. But 80 lemmings seems good enought make 7 skills solution on DOS. Yeah i know there is two entrance and 6 skills is definitely impossible on DOS version and SNES version strategy doensn´t work on DOS. Also DOS strategy doens´t work on SNES because there is 100 lemmings. I actually test out this. But 7 skills could be done. Im pretty sure about this. At least im confirmed it on SNES.
Mayhem 1: I am pretty sure 27 skills 100% working on DOS. I test some things and im not see troubles. Its just lock and release
Mayhem 8, I can't even reproduce Minim's result, let alone beat it. The best I can manage is 10 skills - three to contain + release the crowd, three builders to cross the gap. It seems you then need at least four to get past the wall without losing any lemmings (the easiest way being 2 climbers + 2 diggers).
I don't have time at the moment to try this out, but it seems to me that you should be able to get past the wall with just 1 climber + 2 diggers. There should be plenty of time for the one climber to climb up, dig down, and repeat.
Ah yep - I overlooked this, because I couldn't figure out how you'd get the lemming back to mine out the crowd.
...completely overlooking that you can just build out of the digger pit, which uses the same number of skills.
More Taxing:
13: 10, two extra skills are needed to free the blocker, and no-blocker approaches aren't efficient enough.
Just quickly look DOS 10 skills solution replay first time. Okay thats look DOS will requires use blocker and SNES could make this starting different skills using miner, digger and builder. However its still take same amount skills as DOS blocker strat. I pick up one thing about DOS which is used my SNES solution and if this might work you might can make 9 skills solution also DOS version. Im not are test out this on DOS yet, but i might test later if someone else didn´t.
Did you can start last miner to metal "which released crow other lemmings" little bit higher and avoid use basher cancel it, like you did your replay? This make my 9 skills possible on SNES version. I know this DOS miner is different and its probably won´t work, but cannot know without testing, you can try command this miner even higher than i did my SNES solution. I quickly look this miner cancel using basher might be possible avoid even with different miner mechanism compared SNES.
You can see this strategy also my SNES video strat clok 3:19.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqiZxfJsSfs&list=PL-Cn2MW-VOj136snR0XiQSGv4jxL4135B&index=14&t=0s
About SNES version this climber will turn around automatically when it reach right corner (because its use different starting strategy, i used basher through first metal), but if you can´t make it on DOS this climber lemmings might be lemming which release last blocker and t at least then you can turn it and break and turn both: blocker & climber safety back.
Im not are very experied DOS version, but this strategy skip basher at cancel miner might be working, only thing you really need is command miner higher than you did your replay or even higer than i did my SNES video, because this miner make mine much more deeper corridors on DOS than SNES.
EDIT:
Okay i just see this is tested and mention my SNES topic and its seems its won´t work :P
13: 10 (DOS) vs 9 (SNES). Expected: due to a bug in DOS, you cannot mine left-to-right the one-way wall just before the exit (miner will stop even though it's in same direction as the arrows), instead you have to mine down starting further left to get below it, then bash. Hence the extra skill usage.
I looked over the rest of Minim's ONML results, and came up with the following improvements:
Wicked 15: 16 skills - I haven't viewed ccexplore's replay, but the 8-builder solution I worked out also required 3 bashers, 2 miners, 2 blockers, and a floater, for a total of 16.
Wicked 18: 9 skills - see attached screenshot. This one required some clever skill placement; see details below.
The first two lemmings build so as to trap the crowd between the steel on the left and a stalagmite on the right. Set the RR to 99 and make the last lemming a climber. He builds to the floating island, climbs up and eventually turns around. Make him mine left to make a suitable path for the crowd. When he returns to the crowd, make him build in a pixel-precise location such that (1) he frees the crowd, and (2) he turns around. Make this climber mine in the place shown, and the rest of the crowd will turn around in his tunnel and walk back to the start, giving the leader just enough time to complete the last two bridges.
Havoc 1: 12 skills - The ceiling route. See attached screenshot.