I got the Mac version first with L1 and ONML bundled together. Probably in 1995 – that's when various places say that the game was released for the Mac, although I have a walkthrough document somewhere which implies that the game was out in 1993, so I don't really know.

I can confirm that the game was out in 1993.  My family bought a Macintosh Performa 600 in 1993 and it came with a CD-ROM sampler disc with lots of software and games on it, including a Lemmings demo.

That Lemmings demo was actually the first Lemmings I ever had and played.  It was followed shortly by the PC version of the full game, which I played extensively at my grandmother's house on her 486 (when I was a kid I stayed there all day while my parents worked).  I really count the PC version as the first one I owned because it was the full game.

Now I own several versions of the original game: DOS, Win95 (Lemmings & ONML combo), Game Boy Color (also Lemmings & ONML), Sega Genesis, Sega Mega Drive, Sega Game Gear, Sega Master System, and Super Famicom.  And I guess the PSP version but I count it more as a remake than a port.  I think I have an Amiga copy I got somewhere, too, but I don't own an Amiga to play it on

HOLY FUDGE.  Glad you made it out of that situation okay.

Guys, the links are very obvious.  It must be your computer.

Screenshot:

If you set the number of lemmings to another value, the percentages will be wrong. How it works in-game at the moment is that when you rescue a lemming, the game will increase the "In" percentage by a value supplied in the level data. The number of lemmings is not considered.

So if there are 20 lemmings in the level, you set this value to 05, meaning every lemming you rescue will increase the "In" percentage by 5%.

If there are 3 lemmings, on the other hand, setting the value to 33 means you'll only rescue 99% if all lemmings are rescued. I'd like to fix that somehow. Three ideas spring to mind; either by removing any mention of percentages and replacing it with units (e.g. Number of Lemmings 20, 19 to be saved), by implementing a lookup table, or by implementing a division subroutine, active when each lemming is rescued.

Also, if you use more than 20 lemmings, a 21st lemming will increase the "out" counter to 21, but that lemming will not actually exist. The ghost lemming cannot be nuked, so you have to wait for the time to expire.

About overwriting the space the original levels use, it's very risky to do because the data is compressed. It's fine if the resulting file size is smaller or equal to the level you're overwriting. If it's larger, however, it's very likely that you'll spoil the data for a different level, or maybe interfere with some of the game's graphics, depending on which level you overwrite.

Sounds like a tall task; you're going to need a disassembly of the game.  (I haven't been watching the thread like a hawk, so if we actually do already, I apologize for not realizing it)  On the plus side, if we had one, it could make editing a lot easier-- a split disassembly would allow individual levels to be edited more freely without having to inject them back into the ROM, and they would not have to be the exact same size as the original level, because the pointers would be automatically rearranged and the ROM expanded to make room when the code is reassembled.  The Sonic hacking community has had great success with this method.  I don't know if you know Z80 ASM though.  I know I don't.

Thanks for covering me on the SMS stuff, Pooty, that's more than I knew.  I just remembered some NES stuff off my head from when I was attempting and failing to learn how to program for it.  It could be possible that the NES could have done as decent of a job as the SMS version, but we'll never really know.  It could just be related to the skill of the programming team.  Sunsoft did the Nintendo conversions, but the SMS/GG version was done by Sega and Probe Entertainment according to the title screen credits.  Different companies, different results.  Another thing to note, as I did before: it may just have been general effort-- the NES conversion made it out in 1993 and the NES was on life support in the US.  The SNES had been out for two years and only a few more games were released for the NES after Lemmings.  On the other hand, the SMS was doing great in Europe for years and years despite the Mega Drive being around, so there would be a lot more motivation for Probe (a British company) to program a really top-notch conversion like they did.  Hell, later they even ported Mortal Kombat down to the SMS, which I've never played but apparently turned out surprisingly well for an 8-bit conversion.  These guys seem to have known what they were doing.

Don't quote me on this because it's been years since I played it, but the original B&W Game Boy version could be worse.  I think it was pretty much the NES version, except with a far smaller screen size, and no color.  So yeah, it can get worse!

Quote from: Mr. K on 2011-06-27 22:04:11

Hey, I got bored and tried this on my smartphone (sick and bidden right now)... unfortunately it doesnt work well.  Speed is fine and I can pick skills , etc, but I can't click lemmings.  Sound doesn't work either.

This is on a HTC Droid Incredible 2 with Android 2.2.  I imagine fixing these issues is out of your control, but if not I can certainly play test.

Android play testing would be great as I don't have access to a smartphone.

Re the audio issue, apparently HTML5 audio is supported starting at Android 2.3 according to what I've read online.  I don't know how easy it is to upgrade?

I've added some code which should now allow you to click/select Lemmings on Android/iPhone - could you let me know if it works now for you?  If it detects you're using a phone it should display 'phone' underneath the level timer.

Hmmm.  It just sits on the loading screen now.
Regarding Android 2.3, the update is not yet available for my phone but it is reportedly going to be released within the next month or so, so audio should work OK then.