This topic is no longer relevant. This relates to the old formats version of NeoLemmix. While existing style downloads for it will remain available, no additions or updates will be made. Please do not create new content targetting outdated versions of NeoLemmix.

So, I thought I'd make one place for this rather than having it all over the place.

If you've made a graphic set and would like it to be added to the auto-downloadable graphic sets list, please post here with a link to the topic (or other place) where the graphic set was originally posted. Please also post here if you update a graphic set that's already on the list.

Note that it is up to graphic set creators to submit their graphic sets. I am not going to add every graphic set I see if it hasn't specifically been requested for addition, or ask the author every time whether they want it added.

Please ONLY post in this topic if it's to request the addition of a set, notify of an update to a set, or to point out why a request should not be accepted. Any discussion about the sets (beyond pointing out lack of compliance with the rules) should go in the topics about those sets, instead.


Requirements to be accepted

Naming - The graphic set must follow the standard naming convention.
This is that the name should contain some kind of reference to either the creator, or a pack it's associated with; followed by an underscore; followed by the name of the set. The name should also be in all-lowercase.
Some examples from sets that are already on the list:
ichotolot_dune - Author name + set name
lpv_abstract - Pack name + set name
Note that this rule is not retroactively applied to sets that already had a non-conforming name but predate this rule. Such sets may continue to use their existing name, as keeping the name consistent is more important.

Status - The graphic set must be complete.
This does not mean that once submitted it can never be updated. However, it means that it shouldn't be a work in progress; finish it first, then submit it. Once that's done, if it needs an update at some point, that's fine.

Public Use - The graphic set must be free for anyone to use.
If the graphic set is only for your own use in your own projects, build it into your NXPs instead. Remember that not only NeoLemmix itself, but also the Editor and the Flexi Toolkit, can access the downloadable graphic sets, so submitting it would inherently allow anyone to create levels with it.

Related Objects - The graphic set must not contain one object within a set of related objects, unless it contains all of them.
In the case of objects that are meant to work together, or are related, the graphic set must contain all of them. This means:
- The graphic set either contains all three directions of one-way arrow, or it doesn't contain one-way arrows at all.
- The graphic set either contains both directions of one-way field, or it doesn't contain one-way fields at all.
- The graphic set does not contain a teleporter unless it also contains a receiver, and vice versa.
- The graphic set does not contain unlock buttons unless it also contains a locked exit. The reverse however is allowed, since unlock buttons exist in various sets and have mostly taken on one of two standard appearances, so there is no need to duplicate them.

NeoLemmix Standards - The graphic set must be up to the standards of the latest NeoLemmix versions, or in some cases, a near-future version.
This means that, for example, it should not have large no-effect objects intended for use as backgrounds; instead, the proper background features should be used. The graphic set should not contain no-longer-supported object types, unless the graphic set predates the removal of those types and the object is kept to avoid altering the index of pieces (even then, it should ideally be replaced with a placeholder object with no sprite and no effect). Steel terrain pieces should be marked as steel. If the graphic set is converted from another engine, objects that NeoLemmix doesn't support should be removed (or in some cases, kept as no-effect or another new type of object, at the convertor's discretion). Et cetera.

Quality - Even if the above rules are all met, low-quality graphic sets may be rejected.
This means basically, if your graphic set looks like it was made in MS Paint by someone who's never seen a computer before, it probably won't be accepted even if it meets the above rules. This doesn't mean you have to be a world-class artist; it just means your graphic set needs to look like some effort was put into it.



When in the future, the new graphic set format is introduced, any graphic set which has been accepted to the auto-downloadable list, I will take care of updating them unless the author wants to do it themself, provided that the pieces have been given proper names.


If you want to check whether a set is on the list, you can do so here: http://online.neolemmix.com/styles.php
(The numbers next to the set names are the date they were last updated, in YYYYMMDDHHMMSS format. In the past, I just put zeros for the HHMMSS part, but these days the list is auto-generated.)

So, I just stumbled across this on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yesHDQvf3_s&list=PL3ADEFF9336CC2B12&index=19

I don't recall seeing this in the VGM rips from the game, so I'd be interested to know where he got it from. Certianly, the Master System version of the game doesn't actually contain A Beast Of A Level; Fun 22 in that version is "Go For It!" (roughly the same terrain layout as in Budget Amiga, but a much more generous skillset).

Does anyone know anything about this; in particular whether there's some obscure (perhaps beta?) version of the game that does have this level, and/or if unused Master System versions of the other special graphics level musics exist?

Alright, it's time for the voting to start! You all know how this works by now.

We have a whopping 13 levels to choose from this time. As such, the voting structure may need to adapt throughout the voting phase. As an initial outline:

Round 1: 6 votes per user, 6 levels qualify
Round 2: 3 votes per user, 3 levels qualify
Round 3: 2 votes per user, 2 levels qualify
Round 4: 1 vote per user, determines winner

Remember, no discussion of the contest levels is allowed anywhere on the site (except minor stuff via PMs) until the contest is over.

We've had a few spambots get in lately, so I've re-enabled a CAPTCHA.

This will appear:
1. When registering an account
2. When making a post, if the user's post count is 0
3. When sending a PM, if the user's post count is 0

I've set it to what SMF calls "medium" difficulty; which still looks perfectly readable to me. Hopefully it's not so readable to spambots.

If you're one of those users who sends PMs from time to time, but doesn't post on the boards; then (assuming you're not a spambot ), I'd suggest just finding an excuse to make one post somewhere or something like that, so you don't have to complete the CAPTCHA + security question each time you send a PM. Please note that the Forum Games board doesn't count towards your total post count, and as a side effect of this, posting there won't remove the security checks from your account.

I'm not sure if there's anyone (or how many) who use NeoLemmix but don't follow the bug reports subforums, so just in case, Nepster has made an experimental update with many bug fixes. Please check it out, as many of these are likely to be adopted if there's no problem with them.

http://www.lemmingsforums.net/index.php?topic=2626.msg57149#msg57149

So, I've been speaking lately with licence holders and developers on the subject of bringing NeoLemmix to platforms other than PC, and it looks like things will be going ahead!

For the record, I will remain in control of where the project goes. These other developers will merely handle ensuring that NeoLemmix functions properly on these alternative systems. It will be available on all of these via official channels, no need for modded systems. As part of the agreement with Sony (the licence holders for lemmings), it will be available on PS3 and PS4 for at least 6 months before coming to any other console; this does not affect the existing PC version, nor does it affect the Android version which should be available around the same time as PS3 and PS4.

I cannot give a release date at this stage, but I assure you that all your favorite packs (once compatible with the upcoming V1.44n update and later) will be playable on all systems. For legal reasons, the conversions of the official games will only be available on PC and on Sony platforms. Levels derived from them will not be affected so long as they make up no more than 3% of any pack (otherwise, those packs will also be restricted to PC and Sony consoles). Note: I'm trying to push for a one-off special case for Lemmings Redux, but it doesn't look very likely, sorry. So most likely, a Lemmings Plus pack, or possibly the NeoLemmix Community Pack if it gets finished on time, will need to be the "built-in" pack.

The editor and other tools will unfortunately remain PC only for now. Only the game itself will be available. The game will remain free on PC, but may have a small price tag (in order to compensate the developers responsible for porting) on other platforms, most likely around the US $2.00 mark. There will be no charge to download extra content on any platform; only the engine itself will have a price. Source code will also remain available for the PC version, however for reasons I cannot discuss in great detail it will not be available for other platforms, except maybe Android.

Currently it does not look like there will be any iOS version, but this may change in the future.

EDIT: I previously listed Xbox 360 by mistake. NeoLemmix will not be coming to Xbox 360 sorry; only Xbox One.

I cannot give any further details at this point in time, but I hope you're all looking forward to it!

This is a mistake that I notice people making very often, so I wanted to make a topic to draw attention to it.

The white/gray border pieces that go around the blue/white tiles have one line of solid black! Both to avoid misleading design, and to remain true to how the set is used in the actual Sega levels from the Master System version, this black line should be on the inside of the border.


Correct Usage

(Black line is touching the blue/white tiles.)

Incorrect Usage

(Black line is on the outside, which is also misleading to the user.)


Here is an example in an actual level:

Original Lemmings, Sega Master System version, Fun 20 "SEGA One" (Lemmix remake)

You can argue all you like that "well it shouldn't be solid black in the first place", but the idea was to authentically replicate the actual graphics from the Master System version. And part of that is that there is a solid black line.

So if you're using this graphic set - remember this guideline to avoid misleading (and arguably incorrect) designs.

Note: The Lemmini version of this graphic set seems to lack the black lines altogether. So this only really holds for the Lemmix / NeoLemmix version of it. For that reason also, just because this guideline isn't followed may not mean there's an invisible black outline if you're playing a Lemmini, or converted-from-Lemmini pack. It's an unfortunate result of this graphic set being independantly created for two different engines, instead of created for one then converted to the other.

This topic is for creators to post updates to their levels only! All other posts relating to the current contest should go in the discussion topic instead.

For those who are new here (or just never really caught on to how updates work), post your updates in this topic.

Due to the multiple rules, I'm going to be a bit more strict on how to handle posting updates, to minimize confusion. So - please follow these rules:
1. When posting a new updated version of a level, remove any old updated versions of that level. You can either delete the post altogether, or just edit it to remove the attachment.
2. Make a new post for a new update; do not edit your most recent post. You may, however, post updates to multiple entries (if you have more than one) in the same post.
3. Use the same filename as found in the ZIP of the entered levels, with "V2" "V3" etc added at the end. No matter how minor an update is, give it a new number.

Just in case, since we have a few new entrants (and a previously-unused contest structure where multiple entries are allowed), I will stress: You can only update your already-entered levels. You cannot enter levels towards additional rules now, nor can you enter now if you didn't already.

This topic is for discussion, posting replays, etc. If you're an entrant and you want to update any of your levels, please post in the updates topic. The ZIP attached to this post will be updated periodically, but until the update phase has closed, you should also keep an eye on that topic if you want to be sure you have the latest versions.

So, we all know how this works by now. Here's your levels, play them, upload replays, creators have a chance to fix any backroutes that arise, etc.

Two ZIPs here. One has the levels; the other has some custom musics for a few levels. A couple are variations on regular musics, but use non-standard names ("beast2" and "menacing", where the standard names are "beastii" and "menace"). Place these in a "music" subfolder of your NeoLemmix folder.

Rule 1 Entries (Create a level using only new skills in NeoLemmix or Lix)
Flopsy86's "Tell me the way to DMA..." (NeoLemmix)
IchoTolot's "A Silent Scream" (NeoLemmix)
mobius's "Terminal Velocity" (NeoLemmix)
Nepster's "All the Nines" (NeoLemmix)
Rubix's "Waiting For The Answer" (Lix)

Rule 2 Entries (Create a level with only one lemming / lix)
Colorful Arty's "The Tale of Sir Lemalot" (SuperLemmini*)
IchoTolot's "Lonely Drowning In Blood" (NeoLemmix)

Rule 3 Entries (Create a level with exactly two types of skills)
Apjjm's "Thrown Out With The Bathwater" (NeoLemmix)
Colorful Arty's "Freeze, ya Lemmings!" (SuperLemmini*)
Gronkling's "Zig-Zag Catacomb" (NeoLemmix)
IchoTolot's "Welcome To The Spider Dance!" (NeoLemmix)
mobius's "The Copenhagen Interpretation" (NeoLemmix)
Nepster's "Assault on the Helicopter" (NeoLemmix)

* Colorful Arty has mentioned that although designed for SuperLemmini, his levels should work fine on Lemmini too.

I'll assume that by now everyone knows how to play these levels, but if not, just ask.
Do note that many of the NeoLemmix levels use custom graphic sets. All used graphic sets are among the ones that can be auto-downloaded as needed, so the easiest way to get them is to simply turn "Enable Online Functionality" on in NeoLemmix. If however you don't feel comfortable with this, or play on a PC that doesn't have an internet connection, you'll need:
- Several of IchoTolot's converted L2 / L3 styles
- Gronkling's "BeastII" and "Menace" styles
Place these in a "styles" subfolder of your main NeoLemmix folder (or if you go through the editor, place them in the "styles/NeoLemmix" folder).

The update phase will be open until 16th April (subject to the usual extension rule), and the playing phase will close 4 days after the update phase ends.

ZIP last updated: 27th March, 3:14 PM.

Over on the NeoLemmix Bugs & Suggestions forum, I suggested some modifications to the NeoLemmix conversions of the official games. Proxima suggested keeping these as is, but creating a seperate, "updated" version using levels from the official games, under the title "Lemmings Redux".

I don't know how I feel about the name, but it works as a working title. The idea itself however, I do like.

My idea of what this should be - a single pack, as large as nessecary, using most or all content from the official games, including the Genesis version, Covox and Prima. Not sure whether we should also include Holiday in this. The content could be re-ordered, and solutions we think are likely to be backroutes fixed, as nessecary.

In the future, when NeoLemmix gets a proper level browser rather than the current "load one game at a time" setup, it could also be included (alongside the NeoLemmix Introduction Pack) as a default pack.

Some thoughts on changes to be made:

1. Get rid of repeats.
Usually this would be done by removing the earlier level, though in some cases it should be done by removing the later one instead (Fun 18 / Taxing 19, and Fun 30 / Mayhem 24, are good examples of this case). Some pairs where this may be questionable are the repeats of training levels, where if we remove the earlier version we lose a valuable introduction level; if we remove the later version, we lose a very good level (in one case, the level that was voted to be the best of all the official levels). Perhaps exceptions only in the case of the training levels is the best way to handle this. In regards of losing the easier levels to fill an early rank, I feel that the Tame levels, some of Covox and Prima, and perhaps even some of the very-misplaced later levels can fill this void.

2. Get rid of time limits where they aren't nessecary.
This one is quite self-explanatory. Some discussion may be needed as to what is or isn't nessecary.

3. Reorder levels.
We should try and improve the difficulty curve. We can split these over more than just four / five ranks if need be; indeed, we should try to stick to (although not consider it the "critical" goal) an equal number of levels per rank.

4. Ditch some of the levels that don't generally conform to modern standards.
The first level to come to mind here would be Tricky 28. Some others that do include the special graphics levels (which perhaps should just be excluded automatically anyway, or maybe replaced with their less-long-and-boring Genesis variants), Taxing 14, etc.

5. Backroute-fix existing levels.
This one may be quite controversial, as we don't really know what is or isn't a backroute. Particularly around the middle of the games, it's likely that many levels are intended to have more than one way to solve them.


For clarification: I'm not proposing we remake, or even to much of an extent alter, the existing levels. It would be more about trimming certain ones, combining into one large pack, and maybe fixing up a few that have functional issues (major backroutes, etc). The majority of levels would, in and of themself, remain unmodified, and the decision is more on where they fit into the overall order (and whether or not to include them at all).

So, I'm thinking - generally, in cases where games have officially been ported to a different platform, they've often had some adjustments - for example, Win95 Lemmings doesn't support VGASPECs or SuperLemming, so the relevant levels were removed.

Some precedent also exists for this in NeoLemmix - for example, most levels have had unused (or purely decorative) space on the sides removed; blockers that are used solely to time bombers have been removed from the skillsets, and so on. But I see room for further improvement here. So I have a few propositions, some more radical than others. This is not a case of "pick one, ignore others", but rather, several relevant suggestions which we may eventually decide to use some but not others.

Most of these suggestions would only affect Orig and maybe Extra. The first one would affect all games, while one relates exclusively to ONML.

---

1. Removing most of the time limits.
It is generally a convention in NeoLemmix to not have a time limit unless it's preventing backroutes or a major part of the challenge. Should we go through and apply this to the NeoLemmix conversions of the official games too? Obviously levels like "It's Hero Time" (backroute prevention) or "Heaven Can Wait (We Hope!)" (major part of the challenge) would retain them. Levels where the time limit is barely a factor, such as pretty much all of Fun, on the other hand, would change to having no time limit.

Some levels are a bit borderline. These are levels where the time limit isn't clearly the main factor, but does to some extent contribute to the difficulty. Levels that come to mind here include, for example, the later iterations of "We All Fall Down" (and in this case, with the time limit being identical across all iterations, we should probably keep it even on the early ones if keeping it at all). If this proposal goes ahead, we would also have to decide how to treat these cases.

---

2. Rename "Introducing SUPERLEMMING"?
Although it hasn't been removed yet, the next (major) update will be removing the Superlemming mode. As such, should this level be renamed? Or, could it be thought of as that it still fits due to being a large, single-lemming level?

Decision: No, leave the name as is.

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3. Move the 2-player maps into the Extra Levels pack.
The vanilla Lemmix players already have the 2-player maps in the Extra Levels pack, rather than the official game they're attached to. I feel that this makes a lot more sense, the more I think about it. So should we perhaps move those?

Decision: Yes, move them to the Extra Levels pack.

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4. Remove redundant repeats?
Due to instant bombers in NeoLemmix, some repeat levels are completely redundant, or very close to it. The four levels in particular that come to mind (there may be more among the Genesis levels too), with the middle two in particular being redundant, are:

Tricky 15 "Ozone Friendly Lemmings"
Tricky 17 "Diet Lemmingaid"
Taxing 19 "Bomboozal"
Mayhem 19 "Time To Get Up"

Assuming the 5th proposal below gets a "No" response, we'd then need something to replace these levels with. I would think that unless we decide against it altogether, the middle two will go for sure. So we may need anywhere from two to four levels to replace them with.

In the event of needing two, my proposal would be to use the two Amiga Bookclub version levels ("Through The Graveyard" and "Something Weighing On Your Mind?"). In the case of three, perhaps "Going Their Seperate Ways" could be added to the list. In the case of all four, I'd ditch those suggestions and instead propose using the Budget Amiga levels (ie: "Go For It", "Lemming Lament", "It's not over 'til it's over" and "Don't make the wrong choice!"). I also considered the possibility of extra repeats / earlier versions. The levels that I thought may be suitable for repeats are Tricky 27 and Tricky 29, while those that may be suitable for easier versions are Taxing 13 and Taxing 24. (Maybe also a repeat of Fun 3.)

It may be the case that there's also a level in Oh No! More Lemmings! that is purely bomber timing and nothing else. A problem here is that without introducing an entirely new level (which I would feel uncomfortable with going that far), the only spare ONML style level we have available is "Vacation in Gemland" (remember that NeoLemmix conversions are based off the Amiga version, so this level is not used in the H94 conversion).

---

5. Integrate other version levels into the main games.
This is probably the most radical proposal here. Should we integrate the levels that come from other versions into the main game? This is of course only really relevant to Orig. I would not propose moving the PSP levels in, but certianly the Genesis levels, the Amiga Budget / Bookclub version levels, the alternate Tricky 21s, etc. I'm undecided about the SEGA levels from the Master System version (and would say no to the alternate Tricky 12 repeat and "Sixes Not!"). The alternate special graphics levels from Genesis would most likely also not be integrated. Of course, these levels (as well as any removed under the above proposal) would remain in the Extra Levels pack!

The next question would then be how. Except perhaps in cases to replace the levels removed in proposal 4, I would think the tidiest way (to minimize inconsistency of what level a position refers to) is to only add levels at the end of ranks. This may result in a somewhat erratic difficulty curve, but it's hard to say that Lemmings doesn't to some extent have such in the first place. In the case of Present and Sunsoft, these tend to span the entire range of difficulties; so should they be kept as seperate ranks, or should these too be integrated into Fun / Tricky / Taxing / Mayhem as appropriate? And if so, how do we decide which level goes where? We would probably want to keep a consistent amount of levels per rank, which may somewhat influence the decisions.



Personally, I quite like all of these proposals, although I'm a little bit unsure about #3 and #5. What's everyone else's thoughts on these?

So, I think that before we look too much further into the physics, we should have a set of test maps we can use to see in practice what happens. Looking at the code is of course very valuable, but this doesn't really let us see how things work in practice, nor is it optimal at all for visualising a situation and asking how it should work.

As such, I'd like to suggest a project of making a set of test maps. I'm making a graphic set specifically for this, that focuses completely on functionality and not at all on any visuals beyond what is needed to understand how things work (or in some cases, simplify it, such as having pieces designed to help with judging distances).

I'm starting by converting the existing Climber test maps. I'll probably end up doing most of this myself, but if anyone would like to help - whether by actually making levels or just by putting forward suggestions - feel free to do so. It doesn't really matter if some things get duplicated; what's important is that they produce useful information.

The current contents can be found here, as can the graphic set:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/u3tqe18rcwqarvu/AABlpM1PCn0kSIW5V6JRhkUra

Can anyone think of any reason why this flag should be kept? These days, NeoLemmix automatically applies only-draw-on-terrain to one-way arrows; outside of that, the only use cases I can think of for it are invisible objects (which is better served by the actual "invisible" option, which doesn't draw the object at all rather than taking the time to attempt to draw it, and finding every pixel doesn't need to be drawn), or in very rare cases for graphical effect, the only case I can think of being Fun 20 / Mayhem 7 of Orig (those who've only played the DOS version won't know what I'm referring to here - try the Amiga version (which the NeoLemmix version is also based off) and you'll see what I'm meaning).

It's possible I've overlooked something, so feel free to point this out if I have. But otherwise, I'm thinking it's time to drop that option.

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EDIT

Also we may as well call two other options into question here - "Invisible" and "Fake". These do have a bit more use - yes, it is possible to use them in ways that would be "bad level design", but the way I see it, that does not in and of itself justify removing a feature. At any rate, these could be worked around by simply creating new objects that have no effect (or an effect but no graphic). This means that removal of them merely makes acheiving the effect less convenient. However, it would still be somewhat of a deterrent to bad level design - especially for the type of people who think "hey, there's an option, I MUST find a way to use this no matter how bad the resulting level is!".

One case I can think of where a single level uses both fake and invisible objects to interesting effect is "It's Opposite Day!" from Lemmings Plus IV. This level contains a fake window on the left side and a fake exit on the right side. There is then an invisible window where the visible-but-fake exit is placed, and an invisible exit (actually, several of them, to give a larger trigger area) where the visible-but-fake window is placed, giving the level its theme of opposites - as from the user's point of view, the lemmings spawn from the exit, and must reach the entrance.

EDIT: The decision has been made to not remove any of these options.

Title pretty much says it all.

Intended behaviour of locked exits if the level has no button is that they appear and function as unlocked.
In recent versions (I'm not sure exactly what version this is since, I know that in the past this didn't happen), they will appear locked (but still function as unlocked).

This has no effect on levels that do have buttons - they still work properly there.

BitBucket: https://bitbucket.org/namida42/neolemmixplayer/issues/15/overhaul-progression-system

So - following on from this topic, let's discuss the future of secret levels.

I've already decided to cull the secret level trigger object (the one which involves a secret level being unlocked by reaching a hidden point in a normal level (or, in one former case, in another secret level)). This is not up for discussion.

But what is up for discussion is secret levels in general. In particular, the other currently-supported way of unlocking them is that secret levels can be unlocked when a talisman is obtained. This one, I am more open to keeping if there's enough interest. (A third way which is technically supported is to hide the code for them somewhere - the former Lemmings Plus III Bonus Pack used this for one level, by scattering parts of the code among various normal levels. I would rather not encourage this approach.)

I'm also open to allowing other ways of accessing them, if any really good ones are suggested. I'm equally open to culling the secret level feature altogether, and ultimately that is what I'm currently leaning towards.

EDIT: I have decided to remove secret levels altogether.


Adding to this - if we decide against secret levels (or even if we don't), what about unlocking of regular levels? Currently, the choice is between L1 behaviour of "beat each level to unlock the next", or the more-commonly-used "every non-secret level is always unlocked" behaviour. Should we change this to always having the latter behaviour - keeping in mind that most players, if they're interested in playing the whole pack, will tend to play levels in order and not skip anyway? Should we perhaps have a PS3-like option, where 5 or so levels per rank are unlocked initially, and beating any one of them unlocks the next? Or any other ideas?

EDIT: Unlock all will be the only behaviour in future. Progress tracking will be improved.

So - in the interest of getting as much physics changes as possible done in a single hit - I think a good place to start is with  the question:

When should we be able to assign which skills?

Currently, the detection for this is quite a mess, for sure. However, we'll leave it to me on tidying up how it works behind the scenes, and focus more on the end results - what should or shouldn't be possible to do? We also won't worry about what exactly happens when the skill is assigned for now - just whether it can be assigned or not.

Let's look at what current checks are applied to assigning the various skills. Note that everything mentioned here is based off the code with gimmicks (except zombies) removed.

General

In general, the approach when a skill assignment is attempted is:
1. First, find two lemmings (Lemming1 and Lemming2) - this will generally be the highest-priority and second-highest-priority lemming. Which lemmings are eligible (and prioritized or deprioritized) may be modified by things such as directional select; we will leave /that/ for another discussion.
2. If one of the two lemmings is a zombie, change the marked lemmings so that both Lemming1 and Lemming2 point to the non-zombie. (If both are zombies, stop trying to assign the skill.
3. If both lemmings are zombies, the assignment fails altogether.
4. Proceed to the skill-specific assignment code.

Note: Not all skill-specific code does actually check Lemming2. It will be specifically mentioned if it does.

Note: All skills also (obviously) have a check "does the remaining skillset have at least 1 of the skill being assigned". I won't specifically mention this during the steps.

Walker

1. Mark Lemming1 as "SelectedLemming" if it is currently performing one of these actions: Walking, Shrugging, Blocking, Platforming, Building, Stacking, Bashing, Mining, Digging.
2. If Lemming1 was not doing one of those, and Lemming2 is, mark Lemming2 as "SelectedLemming".
3. If we have a SelectedLemming, assigning Walker to it succeeds.

Permanent Skills (Climber, Swimmer, Floater, Glider, Disarmer)

1. Check that Lemming1 doesn't already have the skill in question. If the skill in question is Floater or Glider, check it doesn't have the other one of those two either.
2. Check that Lemming1 is not performing one of these actions: Ohnoing, Exploding, Drowning, Burning, Splatting, Exiting. (Exception: Drowning is not checked for assigning Swimmer)
3. If both of the above checks passed, assigning the permanent skill to Lemming1 succeeds.

Bug noticed when writing topic: The "Exploding" state is only checked for in a Bomber explosion, not a Stoner explosion. The "Ohnoing" state is correctly checked for both skills.

Bomber, Stoner

1. Check that Lemming1 is not performing one of these actions: Ohnoing, Exploding, Drowning, Burning, Splatting, Exiting.
2. If the above check passed, assigning Bomber / Stoner to Lemming1 succeeds.

Bug noticed when writing topic: Like with the permanent skills, the "Exploding" state is only properly checked for with Bomber explosions. This one is more noticable - try assigning a Bomber or another Stoner, to a Stoner, on the exact frame of the explosion (click in the upper-left corner of the explosion graphic when assigning).

Blocker

1. Check that Lemming1 is performing one of these actions: Walking, Shrugging, Platforming, Building, Stacking, Bashing, Mining, Digging.
2. Check that no blocker field already exists at Lemming1's position.
3. If both of the above checks passed, assigning Blocker to Lemming1 succeeds.

Platformer

1. Check that Lemming1 is performing one of these actions: Walking, Shrugging, Building, Stacking, Bashing, Mining, Digging.
2. Check that at least one pixel in the area the first brick would cover is currently non-solid and so are the two pixels immediately above the 2nd and 3rd pixels of the brick (relative to the lemming's position / direction).
3. If these checks fail for Lemming1, perform them for Lemming2.
4. Whichever lemming (if either) they succeeded for first, gets successfully assigned Platformer.

Builder, Stacker

1. Check that Lemming1 is performing one of these actions: Walking, Shrugging, Platforming, Bashing, Mining, Digging, or whichever one out of Building / Stacking is not currently being assigned.
2. If that check fails for Lemming1, perform it for Lemming2.
3. Whichever lemming (if either) passed the check is successfully assigned Builder.

Basher

1. Check that Lemming1 is performing one of these actions: Walking, Shrugging, Platforming, Building, Stacking, Mining, Digging.
2. If that failed, check if Lemming2 is. Whichever lemming it passed for (if any) is now "SelectedLemming".
3. If the pixel at 4 pixels in front of SelectedLemming and 5 pixels above SelectedLemming (by foot position) is steel or an incorrect one way, the assign fails (in the case of steel, a sound is also played).
4. If all of the above passed, SelectedLemming is successfully assigned a basher.

I know the steel check is weird. It's mostly a carry-over from vanilla Lemmix and probably needs improvement. The check during the actual bashing action is, IIRC, much better.

Miner

1. Check that Lemming1 is performing one of these actions: Walking, Shrugging, Platforming, Building, Stacking, Bashing, Digging.
2. If that failed, check if Lemming2 is. Whichever lemming it passed for (if any) is now "SelectedLemming".
3. If the pixel where SelectedLemming is standing is steel, the assign fails (a sound is played).
4. If the pixel 4 pixels in front and 5 above (like with the basher's checks) is an incorrect one way (but NOT if it's steel), the assign fails.
5. If all of the above passed, SelectedLemming is successfully assigned a digger.

And you thought the basher's checks were weird...

Digger

1. If the pixel where Lemming1 is standing is steel, the assignment fails (no sound is played this time).
2. Check if Lemming1 is performing one of these actions: Walking, Shrugging, Platforming, Building, Stacking, Bashing, Mining.
3. If that failed, check if Lemming2 is performing one of those actions and not standing on steel.
4. Whichever lemming the checks succeeded for becomes a digger successfully.

No, you're not interpreting that wrong. If Lemming1 is standing on steel, then the assignment will fail for Lemming2 too, even if Lemming2 isn't standing on steel. However, while these false negatives can occur, false positives cannot (as far as I can tell) - the assignment will never succeed on a lemming that is standing on steel. My only guess as to why is that it's something that slipped through from vanilla Lemmix, and since it's so obscure, never got noticed.

Cloner

1. Check if Lemming1 is performing one of these actions: Walking, Shrugging, Platforming, Building, Stacking, Bashing, Mining, Digging, Jumping, Falling, Floating, Swimming, Gliding, Fixing.
2. If not, check if Lemming2 is.
3. Whichever the checks succeeded for first, the Cloner gets assigned successfully to that lemming.

I could swear I remember making it impossible to assign a Cloner to a Digger too, but the current code - and indeed, the results from testing the latest version - contradict that.

There's some areas where there's obvious room for improvement - the first of course being fixing the bugs with permanent skills / bombers / stoners assigning to in-explosion stoners - but I'd also like to get input from anyone else who has ideas too. Fire away!

A lemming falling through an updraft - be it as a faller or a floater (but not a glider, which has a special and intentional rule here) - falls slower than it would if it were not falling through an updraft (1px per frame for a floater, or 2px per frame for a faller).

Ohnoers, on the other hand, continue to fall at normal speed whether in an updraft or not (3px per frame, which is the same as a faller who is not in an updraft).

Okay so - now that LOTY2015 is over, let's have another regular contest - this time something a bit simpler.

I'm going to stick with the concept of having multiple rules, and allowing people to enter one level per rule. However, we'll go back to the usual "no loopholes", instead of "loopholing encouraged".

So basically - there's three categories provided, you may make up to one level for each. You can enter as many or as few categories as you like, but do note that there will be only one winner overall.

Rule 1
Create a level for NeoLemmix or single-player Lix, that uses only skills that were not present in L1.
For reference, these skills are:
-- NeoLemmix: Walker, Swimmer, Glider, Disarmer, Stoner, Platformer, Stacker, Cloner.
-- Lix: Walker, Jumper, Runner, Fling Exploder, Batter, Cuber, Platformer

Rule 2
Create a level for any allowed engine (Lemmix, NeoLemmix, Lemmini, SuperLemmini or single-player Lix) that has only one lemming / lix.
-- Special rule for NeoLemmix: Cloners are not allowed. This includes via the Clone On Assign gimmick or the Instant Pickup Skills gimmick with Cloner pickups.
-- To clarify, in NeoLemmix, zombies and ghosts do count as lemmings.

Rule 3
Create a level for any allowed engine that provides exactly two different types of skills (there is no limit on the quantity of skills given, except that it must be at least 1 of each).
-- Special rule: The skills must not be useless. It is fine if the solution doesn't ultimately involve one of the skills, as long as the skill could possibly serve some kind of purpose. Examples of what would break this rule - bombers / stoners / cubers on a level that requires saving every lemming; swimmers on a level with no water; etc.

For the avoidance of doubt - you do not have to submit all entries at the same time. But please state which rule you're submitting a level for, especially if submitting a level that could qualify for more than one category.

Remember, levels should be submitted via PM to me.

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The deadline for entries (subject to the usual extension rule) will be the 24th of March. Extension rule: New deadline is 1:44 AM on 26th March.

Your choice for prizes are:
- $5.00 USD
- A month advertising on the forum's news ticker for a project you're involved with (Lemmings-related or not)
- Your choice for the next contest's rules
- The original (physical!) drawing of Bumpy 12 from Lemmings Plus IV

Please note that from this contest onwards, only first place gets a prize. The only exception is if I enter a level myself and it wins, in which case second-place gets the prize instead.

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Entries so far: 13

Apjjm (1/3)
Colorful Arty (2/3)
Flopsy86 (1/3)
Gronkling (1/3)
IchoTolot (3/3)
mobius (2/3)
Nepster (2/3)
Rubix (1/3)

So, as you're probably aware, NeoLemmix V1.42n introduced some minor online functionality - specifically, it could notify the user of new engine updates (disabled by default), and could auto-download certain graphic sets if they were missing (enabled by default; supported ones are Gronkling's sets, IchoTolot's sets, the Genesis-Orig sets, and the Zombie Sign and Ghost Sign VGASPECs). So far, none of the NeoLemmix apps except the engine itself have any online functionality, but it would be very possible to integrate it into them at a later date.

Over time, I'm hoping to expand this to the point where one doesn't need to visit any websites to obtain content, but can simply get it through NeoLemmix itself. Even better - but I'm not sure that I have the skills to do this anytime soon - would be if content can also be submitted directly from NeoLemmix and its associated tools, although I'm not sure how exactly this should work - for example, should the Flexi Toolkit submit packs, or should this be something the player itself handles (as that's where the user is more likely to be after testing a pack)? What about graphic sets - should the graphic set tool submit these? Or perhaps, should there be a dedicated seperate (but bundled) application for it?

Of course, any such database would also be accessible via the web. Direct integration into NeoLemmix would be for convenience, not as the only way to use the database.

So I think now would be a great time to discuss what features you'd like to see in the database. While I'm not guaranteeing every suggestion would be implemented, and certianly not right away, I'm open to all sorts of ideas - eg. should it be possible (as an opt-in feature on the user's side) to show which levels have been beaten by who, and perhaps saved lemming and/or time records for them? Should we have some kind of rating feature for content, and how should it work (in particular, I'm thinking if we do, there should be two seperate ratings - one for quality, and one for difficulty).

It is quite likely that some kind of format change will be needed in order to facilitate displaying pack info on the website. Alternatively, capability could be added to NeoLemmix to generate an information file specifically for the database's usage, but this is somewhat messy.

So I thought it would be nice to get together a set of level design conventions for NeoLemmix in a single place, since we have a lot of them - some official (eg. "don't leave heaps of empty space", "use infinite time rather than 9-minute time limits on small levels", etc), others not official but widely used (eg. "place a fake pickup skill near an entrance to signify what permanent skills the lemmings spawn with").

My preliminary list is here, does anyone have any input on it?

http://www.neolemmix.com/old/conventions.html

Some things I'm wondering about:

> Point 3, the eventual plan is to have some built-in way to indicate pre-assigned skills rather than relying on the level designer to do so. However, until such a change is made, the existing (albeit currently unofficial) convention is very useful. As such, should that example be removed?
> Point 7, would it be better to just have a single "rule" here rather than one depending on whether new skills are used or not?

Any other input is welcome, of course. Do keep in mind though that this is meant to be "How to design a level that conforms to general NeoLemmix level conventions", not "How to design a good level". That's why, for example, I've made the suggestion to use infinite time if a time limit isn't needed, but not stated anything about how much margin of error a time limit should give in levels that do use them; or why I haven't stated anything about whether big or small levels are better, etc.