I haven't yet had a look at the new levels, just the updated ones. Here are some comments with me repeating lots of stuff that was already mentioned by others.
Slaughterhouse: I like this remake very much. But I would remove the sawblades, unless they are necessary. They simply don't fit together with the gore style, in my opinion.
Conundrum: While I like the added decoration very much, I prefer the old name.
Cold Irons Bound: I have two solutions, the first one is nice, the second feels like a backroute.
Exit Stage Right: Very likely a backroute, because I can save 19/20.
It takes time to build: Even though the new style is nice, I prefer the original level. There the layout was a lot clearer and it doesn't have the problem that one may separate a lix from the top to help building stuff at the bottom. Moreover all these sawblades look ugly.
Path to Mahiman: Unique idea, but the solution soon feels very repetitive. So I prefer to cull this one (if we have good replacement levels).
Tower of Babel: This has a glaring backroute by going down at the left edge and not doing anything with the bottom lixes. Otherwise I like the changed style.
Five For Fighting, Lixes in Motion and Over my head: Very nice remakes! :thumbsup:
Now for the culling discussion (going through the list möbius proposed initially):
Digging the air: Agree to cull.
Babylon Fading: Agree to cull (the original version).
When the Levee Breaks: Agree to cull.
A Soulful Bounding Leap: This isn't a bad level. So I would only cull this if we need some more space and have a strong replacement.
Erbalunga: It's a nice level and there are other levels like "Breackout" or "Don't look back" that I would rather cull instead of Erbalunga.
Another funeral: I very much like the solution, but especially with the new digger mechanics the solution became a lot trickier to execute. So instead of removing it, I would prefer to simplify it's execution.
The Last Laugh: Yes, if we have a good replacement for this level among the proposals by möbius, this might be a candidate to replace.
Lixes in Arms: A better level than Last Laugh, in my opinion. Even if we had a very strong contender for its position, the question would be whether to replace this level or another one like "Cuber Replacement".
And finally regarding the reordering discussion:
Parking Garage: It should stay in Hopeless. I would even pose the question whether it shouldn't come even after "One Step Off", because it requires the same trick. But "One Step Off" hints at the trick, both with the title and the layout, while "Parking Garage" doesn't.
Tinker Tailor: It could be moved 1 rank down, but not more. Note that there have been several NL versions, with this being a backroute-fixed version of the harders NL version.
Lix lies on Broadway: For veteran players who know this trick, this is probably easy. But as far as I know this is the first time this trick appears in the lemforum pack. So a place in Hopeless is deserved.
Rhapsody in Blue: Should definitely stay where it is.
Oh no not again: While the solution is pretty easy itself, it is very hidden. So while we might move it 10 levels earlier within the same rank, it should stay in Hopeless (or be cut entirely).
Eye of the Needle: It is still harder than the first 10 levels in Hopeless, so while I am not against moving it to Hopeless 15 or similar, it should remain in Hopeless.
Conundrum: Feels prefectly fine at its current position.
Death or Glory: I don't think this is much harder than the other levels around it.
Erbalunga: I think mid-Cunning is fine for it, as it has a few solutions (one of them even having one basher and one digger spare).
I agree with all other suggestions for moving levels.
thanks for all the comments.
levels fixed:
Cold Irons Bound
Exit Stage Right
It Takes Time To Build
Five for Fighting (geoo's suggestion)
Babylon fading (fixed and changed title)
Six Ways to Success, changed decoration a little bit as well
tower of babel
As Good as Dead
@Simon:
You didn't solve "Path to Mahimah" why exactly? Was it too tedious/not fun or difficult? I don't think anyone found the level very difficult at all. I think the changes eliminated any tedium that were had with building (which it used to have).
new levels scrapped: Five Easy Pieces
There are some obvious backroutes with the new skills. I really don't feel like bothering with this level at all; as I've said it's already been pleagued in the past. If youre curious;
The intended solution is supposed to use the miner trick from "No Added Colors or Lemmings".
Other solutions were new but acceptable. Six Ways to success and t3tesla's levels have several interesting solutions. I might alter them but I'll think about it more. I have also not looked at Duality and Mass Lixicide yet. The extra builder there is to get over the blocker as geoo said.
Duality: that pointed area left of the upper hatch must be this way; it forces you to use at least two skills there (digger and miner) to hold back the crowd.
Cold Irons Bound: fixed basher backroute and geoo's alternate solution. Note that there may be secondary solution to this level which relies on super extreme precision (may not be possible) This is not the intended solution. There's no way to remove this if it works that I know of.
make a walker bash through the icicle while the building keeps going]. The SI may make this impossible.
And I hate to do this but I have one more new level to add!
It's the Whispering Wind, another from Mobilems, you'll notice it's a repeat of Five for Fighting.
at least one person really liked this level:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylzQwaNRkgk&t=808s
mobius: Please provide your replays for the most recent versions of Exit Stage Right, Cold Irons Bound, It Takes Time to Build.
I have attached my replays for Ascension and As Good as Dead. Check whether these are intended / acceptable; if not then provide replays of intended solutions.
Attached the intended solution(s). Cold and Time to build have more skills than necessary and allow for some leeway.
the other levels are intended. Ascension has a few different solutions; all acceptable. @ geoo's comment in IRC: is it really that precise? I specifically modified the edge of the pillars to avoid precision. Actually the level doesn't seem to work without this modification. I told Simon this; digging next to a straight wall makes odd behavior (easily makes notches in the wall). The walls could be modified even further I guess.
@möbius: Please check whether you agree with my changes and whether this is (at least somewhat) close to your intended solution.
@everyone: Please try to backroute this version.
this is pretty nice! If it works; I like it. But it may still require backroute testing...
my original intended solution was only different in that you mined over the platform from the other direction.
Proposed backroute-fix for Exit Stage Right.
Regarding Cold Irons Bound:
It looks like a similar U-shaped dig-and-bash solution should work but with the tunnel going through the steel. However, there's only a single pixel where the digger can go all the way down without the steel stopping him, and it turns out to be impossible to get the basher through to meet the dig pit. This should either be made possible, or more clearly impossible, to stop players getting frustrated trying to make it work.
It Takes Time to Build: My only remaining issue is that the extra skills don't really give enough leeway, with the lose-4 save requirement. May we change this to lose-5 (as geoo suggested earlier)?
Yes, this is yet another backroute. Attached are two new versions:
- theresa.txt: A fix for geoo's latest backroute, which keeps the steel-mining to turn a lix.
- theresa V2.txt: A daring change that replaces the five steel steps with usual terrain. This prevents any turning by steel-mining, but allows freeing the blocker with the miner instead. I remember that in the NeoLemmix version möbius made the steps deliberately steel, but at the moment I cannot see a good reason for this, provided the platforms are very thin. Most likely I just overlooked a very simple backroute, but if this should by some miracle work, then I would prefer this version over the previous one.
EDIT: geoo found some more backroutes to theresa.txt, but the intended solution to theresa V2.txt. So if you want to try to backroute this level, please focus on theresa V2.txt.
originally the steps were thick brick, then I made them steel then I went back to brick with holes in them or part steel... I tried different things, I don't remember ever trying very thin platforms. (this was also in NL without jumpers and batters and runners).
Are the runners necessary to get the climbers up? That's how I used them.
possible update for 'sauce for the goose' to remove a solution found by multiple people. Not sure if this will be better than before; the goal is to make it harder/more interesting, if that hasn't worked then disregard this fix.
Forest of Fears had two backroutes in 0.8.0.
(1) You could bash through the exit's terrain from the wrong side by raising the ground with platformers before bashing. Fixable by designing the terrain for a miner instead of for a basher.
(2) With good timing, a single waypaver could platform over all the waters. Fixable by shortening the terrain that is bashed for delay, and by widening the central water pit.
De-backrouted level here. Include this in 0.8.1?
(http://www.lixgame.com/etc/forestoffears.png)
-- Simon