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Topics - mobius

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Tech & Research / Most restrictions vs. most solutions

« on: October 31, 2019, 10:33:57 pm »

Math nerds; I have a problem for you to work on

I want to see if I can figure out how to do this or if it's even possible or not.

This was how I formed this idea:
At first I wanted to try to make a level that has a large number of solutions (but not infinite). I want a lemmings level that has a definitive finite number of solutions that are certainty different from each other*.
Then I got to thinking why not make the level as small and limited as you can and see how many solutions you can fit into one tiny level? Two extremes: smallest level; smallest skill set, (possibly) smallest time limit but largest number of solutions.

Obstacles:
*The first major obvious problem here is defining how solutions differ from each other. I'm not sure if this was discussed in the NP hard thread but it goes without saying that every level has a huge number of solutions if you consider e.g. placing a builder bridge 1 pixel differently to be different.
For this to even be worth considering I think we need to come up with a good definition of what constitutes a "different" solution. But this is not easy. Some important factors:
-Each objective of each skill might have to be factored into this consideration. For example; in the above example; this would not constitute different because if the object was to cross a gap and placing the bridge with a leeway of 5 or so pixels still reaches said objective; then only one of those count. Placing the bridge on any of those pixels is the same solution.
However; if the bridge crosses a gap in one example; then in another; is placed 1 pixel to the left and still crosses the gap but the builder doesn't turn from hitting something above (which he did if one pixel to the right) then this in turn allows him to do something else not possible otherwise etc etc.) this could allow for a 'certainty different' solution. Already it's gotten pretty complicated.

I'm not exactly sure how to even begin. I'm curious if there's a way to compute this or make some kind of educated estimate/ballpark/upper & lower bound on what a possible answer might be.

IMO the best way to start would be to make the smallest possible solvable level (which I believe namida did posted a while ago in discord); work out the number of possible solutions; then make the level slightly bigger; adding only 1 new element or possibility etc. and go from there?

I got the idea for this while watching a video about the Tree3 problem. Maybe we will be able to create another new huge number while doing this

Lix Main / organize multiplayer levels

« on: October 07, 2019, 12:46:14 am »

It seems like every time we play lix (multiplayer) I at least, but others sort of alluded to this as well, struggle to find levels we're looking for. And almost every session we end up playing through at least a few levels that are out date and unbalanced, from back in the day when people didn't know better. Playing through some of these is always good for a laugh but the main issue is there are so many levels that it seems difficult to find new stuff or 'good stuff'. Perhaps a re-organizing them or getting rid of some is in order?

Lix Multiplayer Dates / Lix Multi. Sunday Oct 6

« on: September 28, 2019, 03:11:46 pm »

it's been a while and I feel like playing lix again. How about Sunday October 6th, usual time? (18:00 UTC) about a week from now

Engine Bugs / Suggestions / [SUG][CONTENT] change default arrow colors of original sets

« on: August 17, 2019, 03:13:53 pm »

So I tried making this point before with only words and it didn't work so this time I'm going to do it with pictures.

IMO; some of the default colors for the one way arrows are fine; blue for marble works great. It's clear and contrasts well with the terrain colors. But some are awful; take a look at my example pics and you tell me which one looks better. (or more importantly; which one is easier to see)

First is the default for fire:

this is another (red arrows from a L2 set, Egyptian I think)

Here is the default for rock:

now here's a a brown colored set (from one of Gronkling's sets)

--------------
I know it's now possible to add any arrows you want thanks to the new formats and I appreciate that but it's still an issue because sometimes the only thing I can find to work really well, to stand out is an odd graphic set that not everyone may have or it might be a graphic set that doesn't get updated because the person might not be around anymore. And I don't really like the idea of having a level that's only a rock level for example except for this one part of the level, the arrows being from some other random tileset and having someone unable to play the level because they didn't download that style for that tiny purpose. The other method I had of solving this problem was changing the theme of the level to another set but this has the downside of changing other things like the color of builder bricks which does not necessarily look good. Not to mention that it's just FAR EASIER if the damn default color looked good in the first place.

The color ideas I have come from Lemmini; I don't know who or why they changed the colors when making Lemmini but they made excellent choices as all of the arrows stand out really well and look really good imo. The key is to pick colors that contrast really well and can't blend in easily with the terrain; so essentially try to pick a color that doesn't exist anywhere else within the set already, or not very much. Look at the crystal set for example; the red arrows stand out (and people have commented on how good they look in the past) exactly for this reason.

Look at this example for the bubble set:
https://youtu.be/ylzQwaNRkgk?t=491
IMO the red looks FAR better than the pale default color from original Lemmings.

So here are my proposals:

marble: no change needed
pillar: change to blue the pale doesn't stand out so well especially on the lighter yellow blocks
fire: change to red?*
dirt: no change needed
crystal: no change needed
brick: change to yellow the pale color doesn't stand out at all on the pale/grey blocks and chains.
bubble: change to red the pale doesn't stand out so well on some of the lighter pieces
snow: no change needed
rock: change to brown or yellow

some of the L2 sets maybe could use a change as well but I haven't really looked into that too well yet. Many of them like Egyptian are okay imo.

*this one may be rather tricky actually because the fire set contains both a lot of blue and red but thinking about it I'm not sure what other colors would look alright in it. But imo; it's a pretty clear winner for red in that image above.

Now if everyone still thinks no change is needed or doesn't approve of any of these choices; can we get some kind of better way to choose our own color; without changing other things in the level??

Lix Multiplayer Dates / lix-May 11th & or 18

« on: May 04, 2019, 04:42:17 pm »

How about a game on Saturday the 11th or Saturday the 18 depending on whats better for people. Or both if youd like. If fewer than 3 people sign up i wont be playing

Closed / [BUG][EDITOR] Last open folder not remembered when opening old formats levels

« on: March 18, 2019, 01:23:15 am »

the editor remembers you're last directory when opening regular levels (which is commonplace and good) but it does not when opening old LVL files. Meaning if you want to go through a list of old levels, open them all and look at them it gets very tedious; having to re-navigate the folder every time. Could this possibly be fixed??

General Discussion / roles for discord

« on: March 13, 2019, 10:53:33 pm »

I just found out that you can ping people of a specific role so this has more uses than just silly labels.

backroute conductor -- should go out to everyone (not just Arty) who backroutes a lot (pretty much everyone who tests a lot?)

old timer -- for people who have been a part of the community for ... 10+ years say? or maybe 5+ . This is not to brag about being wiser or anything; it's for the benefit of someone, say a newcomer that has a question; can ask an 'old timer' who's more likely to have an answer, about say, something pertaining to the old forum.

level designer -- obvious maybe content creator is better? to encompass those that make graphics, music and games too?

contest winner -- why is Icho the only person with this? He's not the only person who has won a contest.

lemmings champion -- same as above; I think certain people are just known to be above average at the game like Icho, geoo cxx (I realize the last two aren't on discord) but the point still stands.

coder/programmer - Simon, nepster, namida, Icho(?)...

Lix - for everyone who plays lix (to help start games)

Ultimate Chicken Horse - for everyone who plays UCH (to help start games)

Gaston -- because why not? I wanna be Gaston, whoever wants to be can be Gaston.

Editor Bugs / Suggestions / [sug] Organization of lists in editor

« on: March 10, 2019, 02:53:09 pm »

Could their be a better way to organize the items in the background, theme and style lists in the editor? In alphabetic order perhaps?? As it is; I have no idea how they are organized but finding anything is always a chore. I know what I want but because it's in seemingly no order, or order that I understand I have to spend a long time going through the entire list to find what I want.

The theme and style lists aren't so bad; they seem to be ordered by having official sets first then ordered by author, though I still sometimes have trouble finding something especially if it's a custom set and if I'm not sure who did it. It's especially a problem in the background list. Seriously; how is this ordered? It's not alphabetical by name or author; it seems just random

Lix Multiplayer Dates / Lix Multiplayer Saturday 2018-12-15

« on: December 06, 2018, 12:51:13 am »

at 18:00 UTC.
Not this Saturday, but the following one. I can't do Sunday that week.

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I apologize for not showing last week- got very busy and totally forgot!

NeoLemmix Levels / [NFNL] Insane Steve's World

« on: December 02, 2018, 05:33:38 pm »

Insane Steve's World

Insane Steve's World is a level pack of 150 levels for up to date NeoLemmix. These levels are all created by InsaneSteve and compiled from old Lemmix, Cheapo and Lix, some dating back 10+ years. These levels were compiled by mobius and wafflem.
See us for questions about this pack.

I want to thank wafflem for working with me on this pack and doing a lot to make it possible. Also big thanks to all the testers.

wafflem; level updates/fixes, graphics, menu and title creation, backroute testing, music selection and level order.
Nessy, IchoTolot & joshescue: backroute testing, fixes and suggestions

Current version number is: 2 Jan 1, 2019

DOWNLOAD: see attachment:

MUSIC PACK: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/mlygubngtfpi5vq/AABzGucJogEZvDCwHSawrzv7a?dl=1

INSTRUCTIONS
-extract "InsaneSteve'sWorld" into a folder called "Insane_Steve's_World" in your levels folder. *I zipped the individual files instead of the whole folder*
-Dump the music files into your music folder.

everything else should be included with NeoLemmix by default. If there are any problems please report them here.

Editor Bugs / Suggestions / [BUG] EDITOR-- typing in terrain selection box

« on: October 28, 2018, 05:43:30 pm »

you should not be allowed to type into this selection box ---the dialoguge box where you select the terrain style at the bottom.

As far as I can see typing in here serves no purpose but I often accidentally do it then the following happens;
-it selects nothing then an error pops up and if you click no the editor closes. :| Several times now I've accidentally closed the editor this way (not to mention the escape button also accidentally closing the editor all the time) and it's irritating the heck out of me.

Level Design / Puzzle Types

« on: October 25, 2018, 01:17:05 am »

I've been thinking (maybe incorrectly) that there are two types of Lemming puzzles; a trick based level and a logic based level. Essentially what I mean is precision tricks like fancy builder tricks, basher half steps etc. These kinds of of tricks may be obscure and difficult to discover for a newcomer but once you know them; the trick is often easy to recognize and spotting them used in a level can be made quickly. Then said levels are not nearly as difficult as they are to a newcomer or anyone who's not familiar with the trick.

An example of this type of puzzle is "Final Call" by Bullet Ride from his 2nd old pack.
http://lemmings-db.camanis.net/levelpack/ag1zfmxlbW1pbmdzLWRichALEglMZXZlbFBhY2sYhwIM/

spoiler:
the trick in this level is to turn a builder with a blocker at a specific point so that following lemmings will not climb up, which they sometimes do or not depending on positioning.

Now there is a totally different type of puzzle; one which doesn't necessarily require an obscure trick or feature but is centered around the placement or decisions of using basic game functions. I like this type of puzzle better because it can be a challenge to both newcomers and veterans alike in that it doesn't necessarily require or favor intense experience with the game and knowing more about the game doesn't automatically make it easier for a veteran.

an example of this type of level is Pyramid Scheme by Geoff;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaeeUloWzA4&list=PLVWvcY0oGEFydXW47eQEGKJjLJf4t_NIQ&index=15
A similar level/idea but much harder is Clam's "The Floodgates Open"

To be fair; I'm not saying the first example is 'bad'. I myself have made many such levels. I'm just saying I prefer the second type and other people seem to also enjoy those quite a bit. Admittedly the latter level type seems to be much more difficult to create, which is way I guess, there seem to be fewer of these in the custom level scene.

I've always wanted to focus on making levels of the latter type but found it quite difficult and many of my own difficult levels are the former. With most of my latter type levels being rather easy.

Tech & Research / graphics from the PSP and Vita Lemmings?

« on: October 16, 2018, 01:12:32 am »

has anyone ripped/extracted/converted the graphics from any of the PSP games? I'm particularly interested in the two 'new' games that is the new graphics; the machine/factory, haunted house, candy, and space tilesets. Is this even possible in anyway? I'm not interested in this for using it in NeoLemmix or any existing game. I just want the graphics and or sprites in any format is fine. Any and all resources from the game would be nice actually.

Lix Multiplayer Dates / Lix multiplayer 2018-09-03

« on: September 02, 2018, 06:09:08 pm »

Anyone interested in a game tomorrow September 3rd? (Labor Day in U.S.) Usual Time. 18:00 UTC.

General Discussion / Meditation

« on: July 20, 2018, 12:46:11 am »

EDIT: don't do what I do here. If you've never meditated, I recommend starting with something called "Shamatha" or something similar which is paying attention to your breath. https://www.vipassanaforum.net/forum/index.php?page=2
The best thing to do is research or talk to an experienced mediator yourself. Meditation is powerful but takes a long time to do anything. Done incorrectly can give you severe problems.

As some of you know, I've began practicing meditation recently, on a regular basis. You may feel free to present your own practices or opinions on it here. I plan to detail my own 'adventures' into meditation, as a total newbie to this.

Meditation has a wide variety of types and applications. As far as I know, it has only health benefits and no risks. I could talk quite a bit more about this but I'll forgo details atm. If anyone would like me to, I can elaborate.

The point of this post is to detail my own journey on this. Like (I suspect) most people on this forum I'm a scientifically minded person. I need proof to believe in great claims. Great claims have been made about meditation and since this is something super simple I can test myself; this is just what I will do.

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The type I've been doing is mainly a simple Buddhist meditation for about 15-20 minutes per day;

this is sometimes called Focused attention meditation.

I don't think it matters when you do it; but time of day may have an impact on the effects. Also note that everything, time, setting, the things around you while meditating as well as past and future events, may very well have a impact on the effects.

-sit cross legged on a hard surface, in a comfortable place, as free from distraction as possible, preferably alone and not in a very bright room and close your eyes. It's not strictly necessary that you sit cross legged but I do this because I'm also exercising; I have poor posture and I'm trying to improve it. You may sit on a chair or even lay down. You should be comfortable. If you're in severe pain that may distract you from the meditation.
The Key is that you are comfortable enough to be without pain (which is distraction) but not so comfortable that you can easily fall asleep. If you begin to feel very sleepy; this is not meditation.

-Whatever your position, try to remain as still as possible. Things obviously sometimes get in the way; like an itch and you should scratch the itch, even if it distracts you. You want to remain still but also free from pain and distractions or movement as possible.

-Focus on something; some methods have you listen to music or hum or chant yourself but I've sat in quiet. You can even think a series of words, poems etc. Or focus on something simple like you're breathing. You should be focused on one thing but not letting your mind wonder. You want to avoid distractions; (anything like a knock at the door will likely pull you out of it). The focus should be on something that doesn't require much though. If you're thinking things like "am I meditating well right now?" you're not doing it correctly.
Note: that it may take practice to be able to do this effectively. Some of us, especially depending on our current life situation have very active minds. If you are very stressed or worried over something going on, thoughts will bubble up to distract you more often than otherwise. This only means it may take you longer or more practice to get it.

Another type I call "fixed point meditation"

-this is very similar but instead of closing your eyes, keep them open and stare at a particular thing. You should start by having your head level, looking straight ahead, then lower it slightly to a comfortable position so you're looking at the floor or near it. Find something to stare at (doesn't matter what it is) and focus on it and don't look away from it. You may blink, but you may noticed the meditation resetting every time you blink severely.
-As the above; music and mantras (whether spoken aloud or not) may help.

How do I know if it's working?

1) For simple or basic meditation, all that needs to happen is you feel relaxed and forget about whatever's troubling/worrying you or preoccupying your mind. The goal here should be simply to feel better all around. Your mind may feel clearer. You may feel more positive and may have reduced stress. This in turn may lead to an improvement in thinking or your ability to solve problems (maybe a particular problem that's worrying you).

2) For deeper meditation; you'll know immediately when it's working.
-You're breathing will slow and become quieter.
-Your body will begin to feel incredibly still like a statue.
-Your heart rate my decrease and your body temperature may decrease.
-You'll begin to have a very weird, indescribably feeling.
-Afterward you may be filled with a profound calmness and peaceful feeling.

If it's your first time and it disturbs you; keep in mind all you need to do is turn, look away or get up and the feeling will pass immediately. None of this should stick with you to a large degree long after meditation. If it does; seek medical help. I've not yet read of anyone experiencing this problem.

And lastly; don't be afraid. As I've stated numerous times in this blog; I've not yet read of anyone experiencing negative physical or mental health problems directly due to meditation.

---------
After a few weeks of this type of meditation I can report a few things;

-It most definitely helps me feel relaxed and less stressed. I always do it when I get home from work and after showering. Before I started meditating, I often felt exhausted after work and would spend a while either sitting in front of the TV or PC and just watching a video, reluctant to get to work on anything productive or creative (my actual passions in life). Since I've started this new routine, I feel more alert afterwards and more motivated to do the things I want. And more generally I've found I just waste less time after settling down after getting home.

-After a few days when I actually started 'getting the gist of it' so to speak;
Within a minute or two of meditating in this way I could become aware or define a distinct state in my mind, separate from my ordinary state (doing anything else like typing at the PC or talking to a person, that is). And this state is also definitely different in a subtle way from just 'day dreaming' or closing my eyes to rest and/or go to sleep. Beyond that I cannot describe it.

-After several minutes of this type of meditation I sometime will see images in my mind, coming seemingly from nowhere. The images have been simple and vague. Often blurry shapes, usually flying by at fast speeds or things just so incoherent I couldn't describe them at all. Rarely it's been large sweeping colors of images but very blurry and unable to discern. If I try to focus or think about these things they go away immediately; causing me to wonder if it ever happened at all.

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Now the weird part:
The past few days I've tried a slightly different technique:

-I will sit and do the above but only for a minute or so to calm myself and get me into a relaxed state.
-Then I open my eyes and now focus on a single object. I don't think it matters what the object is. The key is to look straight at this and nothing else. Keep your body and eyes perfectly still.
(I think this works better for me (for the below purpose at least) because I have a very active mind. And when I close my eyes it easily wonders)

-On demand, if I do this correctly, something bizarre clearly beings to happen to me.
Within just a few minutes, my visual perception changes in a way that is very difficult to describe. I can only explain here, a sort of "approximation" of what is happening, so please keep that in mind when reading this;
-I'm sitting in my room, on the floor and my carpet is brown. The room is lit but dimly; its sunny but the shades are drawn.
-I'm staring at a box of pencils (this is the object I'm using for this demonstration. Specifically; a tiny sticker on the box). I can see of course; the floor and my bed etc, even though I'm focused on the box.
-The floor changes color, or looses it's color. It seems to move, sort of grow larger then it fades away, like it's disappearing. Everything else but the pencil box becomes strange and fades.
-First time a strange whiteness surrounded my field of vision in a circle and felt in a way, like it was closing in on me. Second time it was a black darkness doing the same.
-I became aware or at least it felt like my pupils became dilated. Or I could somehow feel myself staring in a weird way.
I could go on but as I said, these are only approximations. Describing this scenario is super difficult.
-As you might expect; this was a little frightening. The last time my heart literally started beating heavily. So I stopped. The 'feeling my eyes' thing actually was the scariest part. As soon as I look away from the pencil box; everything goes back to normal instantly and I'm okay. I feel fine, alert, not harmed or distressed emotionally in any way. My floor is just the way it should be and my eyes feel fine and normal...

~~But now, needless to say, I'm feeling very unsure how to feel about this. I questioned my own sanity. Am I really okay? is this normal?~~ ....Well apparently it is... to some extent. If you read up on meditation you'll find a lot of bizarre and at times unbelievable things. Since then I've become much less afraid, though I'll admit it is still a bit unnerving at times.

So now I must admit that I went into this as a skeptic thinking that there was little to this or meditation was merely a way to relax and help you think clearer, but nothing more. I can honestly say there is obviously more to it than that! I want to keep doing it but I'm honestly now nervous about it. I am determined to keep trying however, I will do it a little bit at a time, doing longer/deeper every time. And I will be sure to report back here on what I find.

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