From the image, we see the available space:

OUT.2....IN.0....TIME.----

Assertions:
* You love the space to the left of OUT, so we do not touch that.
* Max initial count is 999.
* We can live with a quick and dirty replacement. You have something better planned.

Proposal with out/initial, in/required:

OUT.9/10....IN.0/5....----
OUT.0/10....IN.10/10..----
OUT.89/90...IN.1/60..10-59
OUT.130/200.IN.70/100.4-59
OUT.70/200..IN.130/1004-59 <- required touches time
OUT.200/200.IN.0/100.10-59
OUT.70/200..IN.130/1010-59 <- time overwrites 1 digit of required

This produces ugly touching of digits only whenever all three conditions apply: in >= 100, required >= 100, and a time limit is given. It will even overwrite 1 digit when in >= 100, required >= 100, time >= 10 minutes.

This situation is extremely rare. Levels where you have to save 100 or more are already rare. A level will always start with in = 0, and so the requirement is clearly readable and separated.

A hackjob is acceptable.

-- Simon

Lovely support! Thanks.

Since Neolemmix loves to clump everything together in one file, we have to download 80 MB of stuff again, most of which we already have. Because it's "clean". Ah yeah. Having multiple versions is extremely clean if I have 10 copies of the same music clumped in the opaque file.

-- Simon

Let's be honest.  "We" here consists solely of NaOH (and you, but that will always be the case as you're the primary game developer) AFAIK.

Quote

I've made the shoveller in 2011 to make basher staircases easier than in L1.

I'm not familiar with this detail.  Is it a case of having more animation frames and/or better masks that make it easier to achieve walkable steps with the technique?

<NaOH> <ccexplore> "We" here consists solely of NaOH
<NaOH> hehe
<SimonN> It's true. I wondered, but was not hesitant, when drawing sprites in 2011 about it

I was sailing in open waters when drawing the Lemmings-to-Lix replacement sprite. Bashing from top to bottom seemed the normal thing to do, because L1/L2/L3 all did it. I knew about basher staircases, and had to decide what to do with them. I didn't like how it was a precision move in L1. They should be either done away with, or made easier than in L1. I settled on the latter back then.

I'm pretty sure this is the first time this was ever brought up.

It crossed my mind occasionally, but that's normal with most mechanics; so I have never brought it up. NaOH has brought it up a single time before, we didn't discuss it as deeply as today then.

We are hardly at the point where "we" (other than NaOH) are in agreement of this being a bug.

Right. Though not being 100 % fond, I made the active decision to have basher staircases in 2011. I've changed my view about it from back then.

I wonder if it's a neutral side effect, or an unwanted side effect, when the horizontal tunneler is frequently used to make 45-degree upwards slopes in multiplayer. Had I felt everyone would agree that this is unwanted, I'd have spared making another dreaded cull topic. >_>;

[...] is at least understandably not the direction one might want the game to get into.

Right, the multiplayer is the main reason to consider no-basher-staircases. Speed mining, or mine-build-mine-build, all use at least one skill moving in the general direction where it would normally go.

-- Simon

About that concern, a completely new anim can make the tunnel head always look like after a full swing, and slowly advance this shape. Clones had a basher like this.

I'd like very much to keep the basher always interruptable, yeah.

-- Simon

so I don't need to start a new topic every time I have a question.

The whole board is exactly for this purpose. Making a fresh topic for each unrelated question is a Good Thing. Much easier to scan and search. <_<

when do you think newcomers learn to reverse a Lemming's direction using a builder to build into the ground?

Early on from trial and error.

Even though they know it, people do not use it to solve levels for a surprisingly long time. People tend to get stuck on Boundary Line, and Postcard from Lemmingland, and No Added Colors or Lemmings. All these levels have at least one standard route involving building into a walkable step to turn.

If you expect new users to play your pack, maybe make a dedicated level.

All new users play the original games though, before venturing into other people's packs.

-- Simon

This is extremely valuable.

This is also an excellent thing to ship with your engine/editor release, so you can deliver batteries-included.

I discourage pack designers from making full-blown tutorials about basic rules of the game. Tutorials in a pack eat up space and make the pack harder to filter for interesting levels. If a pack designer doesn't unlock all levels, even though they should, tutorials become a huge burden and outright kill the desire to play whatever is locked beneath them.

Since, obviously, there is a need to introduce new features, this dedicated pack is excellent.

Experience has shown how new people want to play L1 first, only then dive into custom packs. We can assume enough familiarity with L1 to skip introducing their skills. Should you want to include tutorials about L1 stuff sometime, make it a separate, skippable rating.

When pack designers are going to use strange tricks or features, I'm okay with selected, specific tutorials before such levels. That is normal, good design.

-- Simon

I've called in a spontaneous IRL meeting with Ichotolot this afternoon, to get a more detailed look at what I haven't solved yet.

-- Simon

-- Simon