Lemmings Forums
NeoLemmix => NeoLemmix Levels => Levels for v10 or older => Topic started by: bsmith on September 14, 2015, 01:27:35 AM
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My first level pack! Well, at least a pack I am comfortable showing you guys ;) Before I go submitting this to the database I want some feedback. My entry from official contest #6 (Safe Descent) is in here too.
So far I have 18 levels in this pack, all inspired by various levels in Lemmings. The pack is divided into three ranks, 'Zero', 'One', and 'Two'. The names indicate how many of the eight new skills appear in a level within that rank.
I plan to add a fourth rank using the zombie gimmick. Those levels are still under construction. These are going in my second pack.
Edit Simon: Topic name "my level pack" -> "bsmith's level pack"
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It should be noted that there isn't currently a proper database for NeoLemmix content. The NeoLemmix website does host a lot, but that's all updated manually by me. Mindless's database only supports Lemmini and Lemmix / DOS L1.
Anyway, your contest level showed a lot of potential, so I'm quite keen to play this. Depending on if I have anything else to play after Revenge of the Lemmings I might play this next; otherwise I'll do a proper video playthrough when you've finished making it. :)
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these are quite challenging. So far simplistic designed (something I like) but hard!
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Sounds like my kind of levels!
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Great! :thumbsup:
I will play through them for sure, but right now I have some other things to be taken care of first.
But after that you will get some replay feedback from me! ;)
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Well...... I wanted to just take a little look at the levels which ended in a solving frenzy :P
Sent you replays to all 18 levels ;)
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Thanks for the replays, IchoTolot. About half of them are pretty much the intended solution. The other half are a mix of alternate solutions and backroutes. I'll probably have an updated pack later this week.
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I finally have an update! New player in first post.
Ranks are now named Vanilla, Chocolate, and Neapolitan. Many level changes, mostly to address backroutes.
Cheat code is the default CHEATCODES.
Vanilla level changes:
'Without a Ladder Nearby' - Bottom chain link terrain filled in.
'Atop a Tall Brick' - Rebuilt level, mainly wider brick in the center.
'Hit the Pavement Running' - RR from 99 to 95.
Chocolate level changes:
'Lateral Movement' - Taller terrain at the exit.
'Safe Descent' - Removed trap.
'Not So Simple' - Widened level.
'Sour Flavor' - Added steel block near entrance.
'Send Me a Postcard' - Reworked terrain left of the entrance.
Neapolitan level changes:
'Arctic Ascention' - Now first level in the rank.
'Take the Hard Way Down' - Reworked the left side.
'Off the Shelf Lemmings' - Widened pit at the bottom.
I probably will not add my zombie levels to this pack. At the rate I am going I am likely to put those in a separate pack after namida releases the ghost lemmings update.
I have some ideas for talismans:
'Hit the Pavement Running' - Do not use miners
'Hit the Pavement Running' - Do not use floaters
'Top and Bottom' - Do not use climbers
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I haven't gotten very far yet but here's some comments: and a few replays in case your interested.
The first rating is hard enough for me already :P
I really liked Atop a tall brick. Without A Ladder Nearby had a cool trick (if that was intended).
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Thanks for the replays. Your solution to Without A Ladder Nearby is close to what I had in mind. I used 1 basher, 1 miner, and 1 digger in the beginning to contain the horde. Your solution to Compressed Sand is pretty much what I expected.
The ratings are sorted by the amount of new NeoLemmix skills are in each rank. Levels in Vanilla use just the classic eight skills. A Chocolate level will have one new skill along with the classic skills. Neapolitan has at least two of the new skills in each level.
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I started playing this; I've completed all of Vanilla so far. Some very nice puzzles there! :)
I'm making videos as I play; keep an eye on my Youtube channel (I'll post the link here when it's uploaded the first one).
On a side note - I moved this topic to the "Other Projects" board, as that's generally where most level pack topics are these days.
EDIT: Here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVWvcY0oGEFwL-pANz8O5FW03Z3AX-qmU
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Nice levels. I can't help observing that "Atop a Tall Brick" is almost exactly the same puzzle as my "Rumble to the Bottom" in the Lix community set ;) (not all that astounding a coincidence, as both are based on the same Original level....)
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namida, I watched your video for the Vanilla rank this morning. Thanks a lot, it was really interesting to watch someone play through my levels. Some thoughts I had while watching:
You found a different solution to Ups and Downs. I enjoyed seeing you work out different methods of dealing with the obstacles across the level.
You backrouted 'Without a Ladder Nearby'. I need to deepen the fire pit now!
Very interesting solution containing the crowd at the left end of the main sand block.
Again, a different solution than I expected for 'Atop a Tall Brick'.
The ease of losing a few lemmings is exactly why I made the save requirement 90% in 'Over the Top'.
No floaters solution to 'Hit the Pavement Running' - something I was already thinking of adding as a talisman.
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Glad to hear you enjoyed it. I'll probably do the next rating sometime later today. :)
(EDIT: Done!)
I'm also saving replay files as I play, so let me know if you'd like these right away. Otherwise, I'll send them when I've finished the pack.
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I finally got around to playing the last rank (geez, took me long enough). Very nice pack!
Also - since bsmith hasn't been posting in a while, I went ahead and converted this pack to an NXP file: http://www.neolemmix.com/old/levelpacks/B%20Smith%20Level%20Pack%20One.nxp
bsmith, if you're reading this: No changes to any of the pack's content is nessecary to build it as an NXP; just get the latest version of Flexi Toolkit and rebuild.
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Hey, I tried to download this one, but I'm constantly getting warnings from my anti-virus software (Avira). Even if I say the application should be opened nonetheless, it still gets moved to quarantine automatically. :/
Which is a shame, because judging from the comments here, these levels must be quite high quality and challenging...
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How about downloading the NXP in namida's latest post?
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Hey, I tried to download this one, but I'm constantly getting warnings from my anti-virus software (Avira). Even if I say the application should be opened nonetheless, it still gets moved to quarantine automatically. :/
Which is a shame, because judging from the comments here, these levels must be quite high quality and challenging...
Solution: Throw the anti-virus software away and get one that stays quiet. ;P I find it an absolute no-go when anti-virus software tries to block my programs, indeed the first thing I did with my new pc is deleting the pre-installed one that asks for premium subscriptions. I recently had to fix a game on my roomates pc and it was exactly the same cause; as soon as I fully deactivated the anti-virus software everything was fine again.
Senseful downloading is the best anti-virus software anyway.
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I find Avira to be pretty good, whether free edition or premium (though note that free edition will spam you with popups to buy the premium one, albeit not as frequently as some other free antiviruses do).
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I use Malwarebytes with very minimal problems (compared to others). Unlike 99% of other programs I've used it rarely incorrectly detects software (like NL) and *correctly* detects actual viruses or bad websites.
Whenever I have a problem I just temporarily turn it off. Turning off your antivirus doesn't not immediately contaminate your PC if you follow the following precautions:
1) you should be aware of what's going on in your PC at all times. If you're downloading stuff in the background, then yes, this may be a problem. Don't do that.
2) Don't have lots of things open at once. If you forget what's open and don't know what programs are doing; they could be accessing the internet and downloading viruses.
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How about downloading the NXP in namida's latest post?
Oops, I'm sorry, I really must have overlooked that! I guess I only looked at the bottom of each post for attachments... Thanks a lot, Proxima! ;)
The philosophical debates about which Antivirus software to use are interesting as well, but yeah, I'm with namida on this one, Avira usually works pretty well for all other purposes. :) And of course, if there's a NeoLemmix version already, I prefer that to standalone exe-files any day! :D
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I actually don't have any antivirus software at all, and my computer has not gotten any sort of virus in 7+ years of use. Risky? Perhaps, but it sure keeps my CPU free.
I remember one time an antivirus program almost ate my Tetris Attack puzzle editor. I was pretty upset about that... I've had a vendetta against them ever since then. Naturally I backed up the editor in two or three places right after I recovered it.
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Hi bsmith,
Find my replays for your level pack attached. I've attached replays for both v1.43, as well as the FlexiTool NL version that namida made for your pack. I don't know how often you visit the forums these days, but my replays will be here. As someone who's only been posting here for 6 months, I eventually plan to post all my replays for the level packs I play in the appropriate level pack topic. Since these replays are for a pack for very Old Formats and Old Formats NL (actually, I don't know what version of NL the FlexiTool one is considered), they probably won't be of interest, especially if you're not updating this pack of yours anymore.
Remarks on the Pack
I actually played this pack several months ago earlier this year, but I unfortunately didn't have any replays saved due to not having the setting of autosave a replay if you're successful in solving the level. So, I revisited the pack and did just that to have replays yesterday. I started with the v1.43 one, and then afterwards I did the FlexiTool NL version, despite how the levels are exactly the same in both versions and that the latter is way more annoying to play due to only the minus key working for rewinding. I also commonly used the comma key for rewinding in NL, but apparently it doesn't work in the FlexiTool version :evil: In any case, pretty much my solutions for the FlexiTool version are exactly the same as the v1.43 one, and it was a really quick solve anyway, as all the solutions I used were still fresh in my head. Also, I felt it really weird that the replays for for the FlexiTool version doesn't save replays in an Auto folder. Instead, it saves a replay along with an associated text file that lets you see things like which lemming you assigned a skill to, which I believe is what Lemmix does.
From the time I played this small pack earlier this year, I got to say these levels are absolutely no pushovers whatsoever, and the pack's overall difficulty is fairly high for a first pack by you. A lot of these were still great, enjoyable puzzles that I felt challenged me appropriately. Even the very first level of the pack in the Vanilla rank starts out with a difficult 2 of everything level, using only classic 8 skills. Vanilla 3 - Compressed Sand is also somewhat difficult despite it being a remake of Easy When You Know How/Compression Method 1 from the original Lemmings, although it's certainly a nice solution that's much different. The remaining levels in the Vanilla rank were all small and very short, but they weren't difficult compared to the 2 levels I already mentioned, with the rank finisher being a remake of Nightmare on Lem Street/The Great Lemming Caper, as well as being a 2 of everything level. Still pretty easy, though. I pretty much enjoyed the entire Vanilla rank, though I say the only annoying one is Vanilla 5 - Over the Top due to it being quite difficult to select the specific lemming you want when they're so close to each other since the lemming doesn't get highlighted in the very old NL version, this being the major drawback of using the old NL version. It can also somewhat be difficult, but with a limited skillset the solution should come pretty fast.
For the Chocolate rank, where only 1 NL skill is present in every level, it starts off with a remake of Patience/From the Boundary Line from the original Lemmings, Chocolate 1 - Lateral Movement. This second rank level is somewhat easier than the previous first level of the first rank. Chocolate 4 - Pole Jumpers, a remake of We Are Now at Lemcon 1/Poles Apart was probably the hardest one of the rank but nevertheless has a really nice solution that I like. Chocolate 2 - Safe Descent was a really nice tricky puzzle. Chocolate 3 - Not So Simple is aptly named, but only if you don't know how to turn a lemming around with the skills given. That's the only difficult thing in the level. Other than Chocolate 3 and 4, I thought the Chocolate rank was a bit easier than the Vanilla rank. Also, I kind of don't like my solution for Chocolate 6 - Send Me a Postcard, clearly a reference to Postcard from Lemmingland from the original Lemmings, because of how I mined on a OWW. I don't even recall if this was the first solution I found months ago. I think in New Formats NL it's not possible to do what I just did when it comes to OWWs.
Finally, for the Neopolitan rank, it starts up with a difficult level, Neopolitan 1 - Arctic Ascension (in the game, you have it as ascention, which is a misspelling). It takes some thought on how to get up on every landmass with the extremely restrictive skillset even though you have 4 of all the skills provided in the level. I also tend to have a difficult time with levels that have a lot of stackers, although this one isn't overly hard. Now that I've solved the level again months later, I think I do remember isolating another lemming the way I did in the replay. The hardest level of the rank is definitely Neopolitan 3 - Dancing on a Highwire, as it's not easy to figure out how to get the crowd down at all. I guess this one could be considered a remake of Crazy 2 Dolly Dimple from ONML. The remaining levels of the rank are clearly remakes of levels from the original Lemmings. Neopolitan 2 - One Minute Heroes is clearly based on Just a Minute from the Mayhem rank, Neoplitan 4 - Take the Hard Way Down is a remake of Fun 30/Mayhem 24, Neoplitan 5 - Top and Bottom is a remake of Fun 4/Mayhem 20, and finally Neoplitan 6 - Off the Shelf Lemmings is a remake of Fun 3. The solutions to all of them were pretty nice, and none were too terribly difficult, although they aren't trivial either.
Overall, nice job with this pack. I really liked this pack, and I definitely felt challenged enough. Hope you're doing well, and hope to see you around here sometime ;)
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Thanks for these replays, I got both sets (1.43 and flexi). I had this download but I was stuck on 1st ranks Vanilla(Over the Top), Was using Namida's Youtube solutions. But I couldn't get enough saved as too many splatted.
I'm surprised you even noticed this pack as it's not very well-known.
Also I updated my old formats list to show I now have replays for bsmith's pack(both 1.43 and flexi).
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I had this download but I was stuck on 1st ranks Vanilla(Over the Top), Was using Namida's Youtube solutions. But I couldn't get enough saved as too many splatted.
Requires good use of crowd delaying, sir! :P It's not a difficult level by any means, just a bit tricky. The one annoying thing is how it's extremely difficult to select a particular lemming when so many are close to one another. New Formats NL doesn't have this problem, as you can see which lemming is selected to perform the skill.
I'm surprised you even noticed this pack as it's not very well-known..
Are you serious, dude? It's called "searching the forums." It's right there in the NL level board. I had the pack since April earlier this year, but I have known the pack's existence for quite a while. I've been visiting the forums for the last couple of years, so I certainly knew about the pack for quite a while now. Yes, it's one of the lesser known packs, particularly since it's a really small pack and was made years ago, but there are plenty of lesser-known packs like this as well. The pack's been downloaded many times, so obviously I'm not the only one that knows about this pack.
edit: Thanks Simon for changing the OP's title to something more specific. Now it appears as "bsmith's level pack" in the NL board instead of the super vague "my level pack" :thumbsup: