Playing through Nessy's Lemmings Migration, I found out that on a lot of levels I got stuck on, it was down to me not knowing of certain skill combination tricks which were required to be used in order to even have a chance of finding the solution to the puzzle.
For example, the blocker-basher turnaround trick where the blocker turns the basher around at the same time as being freed by it was required on two levels.
A level from Raymanni's Raylems taught me the practical application of a trick I had just previously read about here; but otherwise, not knowing that this trick was even possible would have caused me to get stuck there as well.
The stacker-stoner trick uses a stacker to close the gap at the feet of the stoner, while the stoner prevents the stack from reaching full height. Since the stacker doesn't go higher than to the stoner's shoulder height, which conveniently is six pixels, the lemmings can now suddenly walk over the stoner.
And don't even get me started on Arty's "make skills go through" tricks ;) .
Bashers and diggers can pass through each other and both continue; in Lemmings 2, they can also cancel each other out perfeclty - I don't know whether the latter is possible in NeoLemmix.
Diggers and miners can also pass through each other and both continue; bashers and miners however can't.
Plus, bashers going down a slope can continue their work if their is enough terrain for them to bash through, effectively turning the basher into a miner.
Original Lemmings also did this by requiring things like the three-builder wall or digger pits to contain the crowd, and quite suddenly so, without prior explanation. This however also happens to be the major roadblock for first time Lemmings players, because while "skill teaching levels" are commonplace and easy to understand in both official and custom Lemmings packs, "trick teaching levels" are very unusual.
I did create a couple of these trick teaching levels in Pit Lems - namely "Ouch, my head!", "Stop right there", "Basic economics", "Doubling down", "Step up" etc. And I'm considering doing a similar thing for my upcoming pack, Lemmings World Tour.
The difference between a level teaching you a trick and one simply demanding it from you is obviously the prior announcement that the trick is possible via the pre-level text.
I'm uncertain now whether to include these with the levels in question - I have attached the most difficult four of them for the sake of illustration. These levels are designed to show off as many tricks as possible with one particular skill (miner, digger, builder, and blocker) in one level each.
The problem is of course: By using the pre-level texts, I give away a major part of the solution, thereby "degrading" possibly challenging levels and making them suitable for rank 2. Without the preview text however, some of these might be challenging enough for rank 4.
Unless, of course, we as a community decide to compile a separate "trick teaching pack" to point new players to. Then our custom packs can simply demand those tricks from the player without a bad conscience.
I want the player with the best problem solving skills to excell at my levels; I don't want anyone to fail just because they don't know a certain thing is possible in general (that's almost like not knowing of a given skill) and therefore don't even consider it as part of the solution. Because if that trick is all there is to a level, the solution is probably just one Google search away, even in case of a custom level ;P .
The NeoLemmix introduction pack already introduces all the new skills, objects, and mechanics, but not the synergies and combinations which are possible with these.
I'd be happy to contribute some of my levels to this trick teaching pack, i.e. those levels which I think showcase the respective tricks pretty well. "Stop right there" or "Doubling down" being two prime examples.
@Nessy:
I'm referring to "You know the drill!" and "Kings of the Castle". I looked at Flopsy's LP solution for both of them; however, the terrain for Kings of the Castle had been changed in the meantime. I couldn't find a way to stop the basher to the left without wasting a builder, or sending the second climber ahead too early.
I solved "You know the drill!" first, because that one was just about knowing or not knowing about the trick; after that, I looked at Kings of the Castle again, hoping to implement Flopsy's solution - but then, when I found out that wasn't possible due to the changed terrain, I had to look for a new solution, and then suddenly saw an opportunity to try that new trick.
@namida:
Yes, I was thinking about miners and bashers going in opposite directions - going into the same direction may actually work. It will probably end up with the basher going down the miner's slope; I know a basher can go down a fencer tunnel while continuing to bash.
I didn't use that trick for either of those two levels from Migration. I've attached my replays.
My replay for "You know the drill!" uses a different trick (blocker turns digger). "Kings of the Castle" doesn't use any tricks, just skills doing what they normally do. The basher is stopped by the steel.
@Proxima: Okay, your solution to Headache 6 surprised me!
In the end, it's a slight variation of the basher-blocker turnaround trick: You still used a temporary blocker with the lemming only being a blocker for a couple of frames; only that it was a digger removing the terrain under the blocker, rather than a basher.
Your solution to Headache 8 however, as I expected, does not work anymore. This is the same solution Flopsy used...
but now there is an additional ball of terrain blocking the climber's path.
@Nessy: I'll upload my solution involving the trick in the Lemmings Migration thread. Because if the solution used by Flopsy and Proxima apparently was a backroute (since you added terrain to cut it off), and that trick wasn't supposed to be required, then I don't really have a clue how this is supposed to work ;) .