First, congratulations on the release! 

I have one question regarding the downloads:
Are the custom sound effects optional and overwrite the standard ones? 
If they are indeed replacements for the standard ones I would place a hint in the first post to backup the files you going to overwrite so you have the option to switch back.

QuoteWould people be up for this in NeoLemmix as well? If so, we could either add it to the 'default' style, have it replace the default pickup, or add it to the 'special' style. If not, a red version of the above pickup is always available from 'willlem_lemminas', and I could add the blue one to 'willlem_lemminas_special' (in fact, I'll go ahead and do that anyway).

As many levels do rely on the pickup size and maybe even incorperate it into their design: How about making a second pickup_large object for the default style (if indeed a style can hold 2 pickup object types here)? Having the option would be a good thing and a net gain in all cases.

QuoteI've tried it and the digger does indeed turn around even if you don't see the Lemming become a blocker. All that matters is you block in the right spot. Maybe you're referring to the original engines, eg, Dos? At least, no matter how much I try, the basher/blocker obscure trick doesn't work on CustLemmix, so maybe that's what you meant by how diggers don't turn either when blocking with a Lemming inside the pit and he immediately gets released on an engine like CustLemmix?

Hm, I have memories of trying to do the trick, but failing because the blocker got immediatly released. Maybe my memory was indeed wrong or there is something else that's important here like the Lem-ID.

Anyway, no need to derail the topic.

Glad to hear that we have the same favorites in the calm rank. 

Here are my solutions.

All talismans cleared and in a few cases a little bit extra like 20/20 on "20 _Spring_Break". 

I really like the new takes! 

"19_Iron_Industry" looked a bit intimidating at first but once you structure the level in your head it becomes much easier.

The biggest challange was "12_Ancient_Crash_Site" alongside setting up the 1 miner solution to "16_Voltaic Mosaics" and "11_Minimal_Design".

My favorite level is "09_The_Strange_Relics_of_Lemnos"! 

I attached my solutions! 

Quote from: JawaJuice on February 27, 2026, 02:59:28 PM

Quote from: Pieuw on February 27, 2026, 01:47:11 PMRegarding the basher/blocker trick, doesn't it work similarly to the digger/blocker one? The blocker being canceled right away, making the worker turn around immediately.

Yeah, that's true. Unlike the basher, it's not visually obvious that the digger has changed directions, but you're right, he has. I suppose it does make sense then! It's odd then that no-one has an issue with the digger-blocker trick, but everyone dislikes basher-blocker.

I would say the main gripe here is that the basher-blocker behavior is pixel precise and a real hassel to reproduce and it is not that logical that the basher removes terrain under the blocker while he should already be turned (or the blocker turns the basher when he should already be freed).

Digger-blocker on the other hand is mechanically consistent and not very precise. Blocker has been placed down -> digger is inside the blockers trigger and gets turned if he is looking in the other direction -> digger releases blocker. Only the visual confirmation is missing as you already mentioned. But otherwise it follows the rule that the blocker turns everything facing the other way in its designated area.
And here the basher-blocker confusion is actually resolved! If you place the blocker right when the digger digs further the blocker gets instantly released and does not turn the digger in the same frame as I recall!

I will try to play through the rank when I find some spare time.   

Great to hear about the pack's progress! 

Eligible Level Packs

This is simply a rough list of levels that are eligible. They have not nessecerially been nominated, and the majority probably won't be. Please note that this is probably not a complete list, especially in regard to Lix levels; if you can think of anything that should be added, let me know!

NL and Lix

Level Design Contests: Level Design Contest #32, Level Design Contest #33

GigaLem: Festival Millas 2024 (Released in March 2025) - No older levels from the "Recall" Rank

The Tomato Watcher: The Lemmings Chronicles: The First Ten Levels, Sweet 'N' Sour Lemmings: a bite-size level pack

StokeApe: STOKEAPE JUMBLE: Level Pack

Scotty: Scotty's Lemmings Pack

92Dexter11: Lemmings Faithful (Only levels in the Safe and Treacherous rank!), Lock and Key

Guigui: Save One : do you have what it takes to save one Lem ?

Turrrican: Levels released in 2025 in the "levels by Turrican" thread

Crane: Levels released in 2025 in the "Levels by Crane" thread (https://www.lemmingsforums.net/index.php?topic=7270.0)


Don't forget to check out the Random level sharing topic as well!
        - page 18, V2 of saba's level only!

Please see the main LOTY2025 topic for more details on LOTY2025. This topic is merely a list of nominations.

kaywhyn

- "Oh Yes! A Hardcore Molten Problem" (Contest #32 Winner, NeoLemmix)
- "Oh No! Another Hardcore Molten Problem" (Contest #32 Winner, NeoLemmix)
- "kaywhyn's Organic National Park" (Contest #32 2nd place, NeoLemmix)
- "Quick Lab Rush" (Contest #32 3rd place, NeoLemmix)
- "It's Crazy Sports Day!" (Contest #33 Winner, NeoLemmix)
- "Help Me, Help Dune" (Contest #33 2nd place, NeoLemmix)
- "We Got Mad Lemmings 3 Lab Skills!" (Contest #33 3rd place, NeoLemmix)

Armani

- "Underroot" (Contest #33 Entry, NeoLemmix)

Guigui

- "So Many Spikes" (Save One - Neo 02, NeoLemmix)

Crane

- "A Step Down With Difficulty" (Single level, NeoLemmix)

The Tomato Watcher

- "A Puzzle Adventure" (Sweet 'N' Sour Lemmings - Sweet 06, NeoLemmix)

92Dexter11

- "Cursed Treasure" (Lemmings Faithful - Safe 08, NeoLemmix)
- "Prologue" (Lock and Key - Solitude 01, NeoLemmix)
- "Building, Fencing" (Lock and Key - Solitude 03, NeoLemmix)
- "Epilogue" (Lock and Key - Solitude 21, NeoLemmix)

GigaLem

- "Coyote Time" (Festival Millas 2024 - Jamboree 03, NeoLemmix)

For a list of nominated levels so far, please see the nominated levels topic.

And it's this time of the year again!

This is a bit different from the usual contests. You don't create a new level for this one; instead, levels released during 2025 get nominated and a winner picked from them. To be precise, the eligible dates are from 1st Janurary 2025 to 31th December 2025.

The following conditions must be met in order for a level to be eligible:
1. The level must have either been part of a large pack released during the eligible timeframe (1st Jan 2025 to 31th Dec 2025), or in some other way had its first public release during the timeframe. Private releases (such as sending to prerelease testers) do not affect eligibility either way. *
2. The level must be available for an engine that is usually eligible for the contests. Or in other words: NeoLemmix (new format version), or single-player Lix.
3. The level must be designed by a single author; collaboration levels are not eligible. (Cases of "I recreated an old level" or "I finished old scraps of terrain" are eligible!)
4. The creator of the level must not have specifically requested it be excluded.
5. The level must not have been nominated for LOTY2015/2016/2017/2018/2019/2020/2021/2022/2023/2024.

* To clarify here: If it was released publicly prior to 1st Janurary 2024 as part of a demo or preview, but the full pack was released during the eligible period, the level is fine (as long as it wasn't nominated for LOTY2015/2016/2017/2018/2019/2020/2021/2022/2023/2024).

Being a derivative of an ineligible level (as long as it's from the same author, the new author has a permission from the original one, or an official level) does not disqualify a level; as long as the level in question is clearly intended to stand as a seperate-but-related level rather than a newer version of the same level. Basically just don't send in carbon copies of ineligible levels.


To nominate a level, please PM me with your list of nominations. If you wish to modify your nominations at a later date, please resend the whole list of levels you wish to nominate, not just the changes.

Each user may nominate up to six levels from authors other than themself, up to a maximum of three levels per author. Anyone who nominates at least four levels by other authors may also nominate one of their own levels. (These self-nominations do not count towards the six nomination limit.)

So the maximum nomination value is: 6 levels from other users and 1 level of your own.

Note that levels that won a level design contest during the eligible timeframe get an automatic nomination, unless their author requests otherwise.

Nominations will be open until the end of May 8th 2026 (UTC). No additions / changes to nominations will be permitted after this date, with one exception: If a level someone has nominated is found to be ineligible for any reason and this is not discovered until after the deadline, they will be offered a chance to nominate a different level in its place.

Similar to last year, the voteoff will occur in stages:

Stage 1
The levels will be put into random brackets, and the top ~50% from each bracket will qualify for Stage 2.

Stage 2-3
This will also be done in regular voteoff style. The aim here will be to get down to around a couple of remaining levels, so exact details will depend on how many levels are entered.

Final Stage
This will be done in an elimination format to first determine the top 3 and then to determine a winner.

---

The prize on offer will be US $10.00 for first place.

Also note that, in the interest of being reasonable, the "don't discuss levels involved in contests anywhere on the site during the voting period" rule does not fully apply to this contest; instead, it will be "do not discuss them at all within the LOTY2024 topics during voting, and don't discuss them in relation to the contest anywhere on the site".

So, that's about it! Any questions, ask here; and feel free to start nominating levels!

Ladies and gentleman, we've got our final results!

The winning level/entry is:

kaywhyn's "Help Me, Help Dune"

The 2nd place goes to:

kaywhyn's "It's Crazy Sports Day!"

3rd place goes to:

kaywhyn's "We Got Mad Lemmings 3 Lab Skills!"

Congratulations to kaywhyn for winning the contest!

I will contact the author of the top 3 levels regarding the determination of the next contest's ruleset.

QuoteThank you, IchoTolot!  (Does your username mean something?  Languages always interest me.)

My username comes from a series of sci-fi novels called "Perry Rhodan".

But feel free to suggest a feature! Even if it doesn't get implemented in the end. Again, Simon is very open in that regard. 

QuoteI do have one further question which may well be possible but I've found only one crude way to do it.   I'd like to randomize a walking string of Lixies to go either up/down or left/right (and pseudorandomized is fine).   The one way I've found to do this is let a string of Lixes into a moderately wide pit.  They begin walking back and forth, moving either east or west depending on the last wall they bumped off.

The closet thing that comes to my mind in that reagard would be the splitter object in NeoLemmix (another game engine). These alternate between sending Lemmings left and right.

In Lix I think you would need to build custom contraptions, or maybe stack two entrances on top of each other with one spawning left and one right.

QuoteEven if it limited me to one entrance hatch, is there a way to pre-assign skills?

This would be a great thing to suggest as a feature! 

NeoLemmix has the ability to let hatches assign permanent skills to all Lemmings spawned from it.
This could be a good feature for Lix as well! ~wink at Simon~ 

QuoteIf the intention is to allow users access to the physics for modding, where do we stop? If we'd rather not allow access for the sake of simplicity, then the gfx/mask files shouldn't exist in the directory.

I agree there. Having fully customisable physics would result in confusion.

So, gfx/mask files shouldn't exist in the directory and should go in the exe.

QuoteIcho's position is interesting. What do you think about externalizing even more physics? E.g., create a physics configuration text file. Let people set custom splat height in it. Warn nonintrusively about custom physics when it contains anything else than 63 safe, 64 dead.

Yeah you are right, I think at that point it would create more confusing stuff than do any good. I would be against that.
I rather would agree to put the masks in the exe instead of externalizing even more physics.

I just like really like having files visible instead of big data-blobs hiding them from me. Flashbacks to old games where I wanted to listen to the soundtrack only to see that all tracks where hidden in data-blobs. Sad times! 

I do not have a strong opinion about it, when you wanna hide them for CE, do it. I just remembered why we actually went away from the big exe blob and I feel like that could be a frist step back to it.

Just be careful!

Looked inside the folder and I can maybe see somebody wanting to swap the highliter or countdown.

But yeah the other stuff would break physics and I understand the reasoning behind this, but all the files are there and visible so everything could easily be swapped out or modified if desired.

But what if somebody accidentally deletes/edits them? Well, what if somedody deletes/edits files in system32? Here just re-download the NL files and fixed.

I also really like to see where the actual files are instead of just big data blops, but that's preference.

This would seem like going a step backwards to me.