To explain my most recent contest post in detail, the "distance from entrance" is measured in pixels. It records a certain pixel on the landscape that the required number of lemmings is able to walk onto. Let's call that point Z. The coordinates of the entrance's trigger area can be given the letter W. Finally the "distance" is given the letter D. The formula is:

D = Z - W

Given that this is the first time I brought this up I might only record the X coordinate to simplify things. Here're the details from the current competition level: The X coordinate of the entrance's trigger area is 21. (W) Let's say that the player can only get 80 lemmings to walk as far as pixel 251 (Z) - the last pixel before the large wall. Putting the formula to effect, the number will be recorded as 230. (D)

I hope my explanation is clear enough. This criterion probably won't be necessary on those short levels, but on the long ones like the one we have today I thought this criteria would be better than "saving 1 or 2 lemmings". If it's agreeable enough then we can discuss about adding to the formula by putting in the Y-coordinates and recording distance away from exit, but just remember, it only applies to solving contests, and also to players who fail to solve it.

Hi. Looks like I found the first bug of 2019.

I was creating a new level. I was intending to press the scroll-up button. I misclicked and pressed the close button and boom! The editor's gone with my progress gone, with no warning message either.

So what I'm saying is: The pop-up message needs to appear every time I press the close button on the editor, including when I'm making a new level. ATM it only comes up after the level is saved into a file. I hope this makes sense. Thanks.

1. ccexplore: 80 Lems, 76 SS, 5:09.53 TT
2. Nepster: 80 Lems, 75 SS, 2:13.12 TT
3. Ichotolot: 80 Lems, 75 SS, 2:37.29 TT
4. geoo: 80 Lems, 74 SS, 3:26.76 TT
5. Minim: 80 Lems, 71 SS, 3:39.41 TT
6. Simon (w/ Forestidia): 80 Lems, 69 SS, 3:53.65 TT
7. Flopsy: 80 Lems, 60 SS, 3:24.18 TT
8. SQRon188: 80 Lems, 48 SS, 3:17.59 TT
9. MandelSoft: 80 Lems, 46 SS, 4:55.47 TT
10. Nessy: 79 Lems, 75 SS, 3:55.82 TT
#. ccexplore (Post Deadline): 80 Lems, 77 SS, 3:10.47 TT

First of all, I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who took part in this contest. I've been going extensive lengths as to how I can make this game popular again. It's certainly not an easy thing to do. And with your support and participation, you're only helping to make this great game better.

So, the results are out! While the vast majority managed to save everyone, the tiebreakers meant the level turned out to be a remarkable success! Especially when you take into consideration the different number of skills involved.

Oh, and also, congratulations to ccexplore for winning the contest! He can select the next level for a competition, or if he doesn't feel like it, nominate someone else to.

I've sent each of the submitters a comment about their replay. If you haven't received one, or if a mistake was made please let me know. I thought that I'd give my thoughts at the end of the contest rather than during it, because every time a message pops up during the contest I'd rather be shown a replay, not just the message. Speaking of which, as ccexplore posted a replay six times (and once more after the deadline), maybe we should add a new criterion and limit the number of submissions?

If you've missed out on the deadline then don't worry. You can still upload your replays any time you want. Those that didn't get the top prize just won't be eligible for it; and also, the (Post Deadline) caption will appear next to your name on the leaderboard for any late submissions.

Now, I've renamed the replays (Some of them have a number to the right side of their name based on the number of attempts) and compressed them in a zip file. The file I've attached below includes all ten replays that counted towards the result, along with one of ccexplore's updated replays that was sent to me after the deadline (i.e. No. 7, the more recent one is further down the thread).  Enjoy the wonderful gallery!

Hello everyone, and welcome to the first LSC: Level Solving Contest.

As the majority of voters have picked NeoLemmix over Lix as their choice of engine I have gone ahead and created a custom built NeoLemmix level for you to play with.

I've carefully researched everyone's opinions and arguments on which criteria should be prioritised first in terms of competition and this is the order of priority I've come up with for this level.

1. Total Lemmings saved
2. Skills saved
3. Time taken

So here are the rules: The players will play individually for this contest. You must simply solve the level, and then upload a replay of your submission with your name contained in the filename to my Personal Messages box (not on this thread) by 14:00 UTC on December 27, 2018, in other words, you have just over a week. This I hope should allow enough time for anyone who may be taking time off for Christmas but still wish to take part. You can submit more than one replay if you think you've made an improvement, but only one of your replays will be selected as the final result. An example leaderboard will be displayed and ordered like this:

1. Jamie: 50 Lems, 45 SS, 1:04.22 TT 
2. Rick: 50 Lems, 45 SS, 1:06.59 TT
3. Carl: 50 Lems, 43 SS, 1:02.73 TT
4. Grace: 48 Lems, 46 SS, 1:03.86 TT

Key
Lems: Lemmings Saved
SS: Skills left over
TT: Time taken

The winner is the player who saves the most lemmings. The tiebreakers will be Skills left over, followed by the fastest time to rescue the 61st lemming. The Skills left over will be added up at the end of the replay, not by the time you save the requirement.

The winner will get to choose the next level for a competition, as well as select their own criteria and choice for prizes. Obviously I can't be the winner because I'm the host, but thanks to Simon's advice I'll enter the contest anyway just for fun. If he/she decides to upload their own level then they are exempt from winning the next contest, but can still enter if they want to.

Now here's a basic description of the level posted in the attachment below: It has four entrances. Each entrance is placed in separate corners and has a group of lemmings with different athletic abilities, with the exception of those in the top-right corner. With 80 Lemmings and 100 skills provided, you must rescue all four entrances for your result to count. I wish you the best of luck and have fun! Oh, and Merry Christmas.

Here is the list of players that have sent their replay:
* Nessy
* geoo
* SQRon188
* Nepster
* Flopsy
* Mandelsoft
* ccexplore
* Ichotolot
* Simon (w/Forestidia)

Hello everyone.

So basically what I'm proposing here is not a level design contest, but a level playing competition. So far for playing levels the competition always seems to be taking place in multiplayer, but what about single-player? Here are some rules as to how this contest is planned to work:

* The engines that can be used are NeoLemmix and Lix, although they can't be used together because of different mechanics. Both also have different recorded data however; for example NeoLemmix's time taken to Lix's Skill count.
* One level will be shown at the bottom of the opening post for users to download and play.
* The aim is simple: Just solve the level.
* The competitive part is to try and solve it within the fastest time in the case of NeoLemmix, or the fewest skills in the case of Lix. The total Lemmings saved factor could be prioritised depending on competitive viability. Would a maximum requirement reduce the number of viable solutions to the level?
* Both engines have an "auto-save level solutions" kind of button, so make sure you turn it on so you don't lose your replay!
* The process to submit results is similar to Family Feud. Upload your best replay to the host's personal messages box, not on the thread. Just to remind the guests that you need to be logged in to send PMs.
* The competition's playing phase will be open for let's say a week. After a week expires the user's Lemmings saved/fastest time/fewest skills etic. will be displayed on a leaderboard.
* The winner of the tournament gets to choose the next level for a competition. Any additional prizes such as the ones from the Level Design contest can also be suggested to be included here.

The poll above this post is a list of two engines. Cast a vote as for which one you think would be more viable to use for this competition. NeoLemmix is more popular but Lix allows more skills to be used in-game. If we want to use Lix then you'll need to download the latest version. The boards for other Lemmings Projects haven't been updated since November, so we'll leave SuperLemmini etc. out in the meantime.

So, I hope this new idea turns out to be a popular one. Here are some example levels off the top of my head which I think are not too hard but have enough variety in skillset to deserve competition. However as always, I'm open to any suggestions or questions.

NeoLemmix: Original Lemmings
* Fun 29: Worra lorra lemmings
* Tricky 10: There's a lot of them about
* Tricky 11: Lemmings in the attic

Lix: LemForum Pack
* Lovely 4: Diamond Dash
* Lovely 20: The Borderland
* Quirky 1: The Adventure Playground

This was an area I was working on about two months ago for personal use initially but I thought I might share this with you. This topic is about creating level maps using the random integer generator. I've created an OpenOffice (I presume it's still free) spreadsheet based on this.

Basically, the idea is to set the coordinates of terrain pieces (The lucky one turned out to be part of addamsgallery. I hope that's still available in the download, but the dimensions of 48x25 for a terrain piece are just right for this) and arrange them randomly using the RNG. The RNG also changes the skillset and dimension (Thanks to the one who lifted the screen size restriction) according to the coordinates, along with a few other parameters.

However, I do run into common problems like airborne exits, instant death starts and overlapping terrain pieces over objects. Looks like I'll need to create a few more parameters and some more terrain pieces to override these issues, but if this idea is popular, I'd be more than happy to come back and work on this, and eventually do all sorts of stuff.

Here I have some downloads below:
* A spreadsheet where on NeoLemmix you can add the coordinates for up to 52 terrain pieces (More can be added if necessary). They also give you instructions listed on the right of the border on how to set the level up correctly. The spreadsheet also contains a Lix exclusive worksheet.
* A .nxlv document of an example level. This document can be edited with notepad. The level itself is doable and not too hard.

Hope I explained everything clearly. Have fun!

Wasn't sure whether to put this here or in the Site Discussion, but as a lurker, I'm seeing that the majority of recent threads on the Lix Main board are about sessions which are now outdated. I propose an additional "Closed" child board like in some of the other boards so that somebody will eventually be able to clear up this mess. Thank you.

Hello, folks! Long time no see. Long time lurker here about to submit his first post of 2018.

You may be wondering why this exact date feels so special to me and why I remember it so much. It's because I was able to create my first level using the original Lemmix level editor. It might sound a bit stupid but believe me, I didn't have DOSbox at the time so I couldn't get LemEdit to work, and this Lemmix editor was quite buggy, with some features actually stopping to work unless you reboot it. Using the access keys to move terrain pieces and objects was one of them.

I don't have the first level on me at the moment, but it is actually a recreation of "The Twin Bridges", one of Essman's Copycat levels, under the classic pillar graphic set.

Once I made it and tested it on Lemmini I wanted to come up with a save file idea that was short enough so that I could access lots of levels onto a single file. It soon turned out to be 27108, the date I created it. Once I was able to achieve success I got addicted to it and went on to create almost 365 more levels, (Including a leap year) one for each year, and was able to get through it all approximately two months later, with some of my favourites near the end of the year starting on Christmas Day, and some easier versions of my levels (such as "Bash To Victory", the first level chosen for my first level pack) for the start of the year. There were a few clashes, the first one being 31108 that covers both 31st Jan and 3rd Nov, but I just left it in and moved on to the next.

Most of these levels had 100 Lemmings instead of 80, and were intended for Lemmini use. It wasn't until April that I tried optimising them for the Lemmix Level Player. (I nearly said NeoLemmix there!) This was also the time I uploaded these levels for public use. With that, I just picked the ones that I thought were the most suitable. It turns out I did fail with some of these levels, for example "The Squeeze Machine"'s trap not working because the trigger's too high.

But still. That's how all my Lemmings creativity came out. I hope that my levels are still on the archive and that my initial 'level a day' plan has inspired you to create any more projects you have in mind! Have a nice day!

Hi everyone! How's it going? Believe it or not, but this is my first post of 2017.

I was aware that Simon broke the Speedrun world record for Jack Jackrabbit; just forgot to send him my congratulations. This is a similar sort of thing: Record setting individual acts instead of doing it all in one go.

There is a feature that allows you to play as Sonic and Tails in Time Attack mode, rather than just Sonic. I found out how to take Sonic up in the air with Tails. That has helped me reached the top spot at Labyrinth Zone Act 1. Otherwise I wouldn't have been able to come close to it. As the scores look, it appears that I'm aiming to reach the top 10 of every act. I'm amazed that I've achieved this in two of the three acts in the Green Hill Zone, the most popular zone and first one to access.

Spoiler

Green Hill Act 1: 22.70 (#53)
Green Hill Act 2: 16.23 (#8)
Green Hill Act 3: 37.98 (#2), behind a cheater
Marble Act 1: 1:00.46 (#12)
Marble Act 2: 1:08.33 (#7)
Marble Act 3: 1:34.05 (#17)
Spring Yard Act 1: 27.65 (#22)
Spring Yard Act 2: 39.73 (#29)
Spring Yard Act 3: 1:36.33 (#28)
Labyrinth Act 1: 38.90 (#1)
Labyrinth Act 2: 1:07.95 (#14)
Labyrinth Act 3: 1:39.65 (#17)
Star Light Act 1: 24.71 (#21)
Star Light Act 2: 27.55 (#9)
Star Light Act 3: 1:04.65 (#3)
Scrap Brain Act 1: 38.86 (#5)
Scrap Brain Act 2: 51.50 (#9)
Scrap Brain Act 3: 23.68 (#12)
Final: Not bothering with this one, as I don't know the order which Eggman appears. I also hate the terrible music to this stage.

Overall, I'm really pleased to effectively prove that I'm a solid platform gamer. I also have records in Sonic 2 and Sonic CD, but for the former my positions aren't too impressive and the latter's leaderboard is broken.

Generally I'm not a theorist, but this is one kind of topic that I thought would make an interesting read for everyone.

What I would like to talk about are two levels from "Oh No! More Lemmings". Crazy 16's "Across the Gap" (ATG) and Havoc 13's "Highland Fling" (HF) Two levels in two separate difficulty ratings that some people would complain being in the wrong difficulty area. (Well, a lot of levels in this game are kind of out of place anyway). These two levels are what I would consider the worst offenders. So why would more solvers be actually telling the truth and complete a level 57 places up the ladder before this Crazy level?

So, firstly, let's have a look at each level and their respective previews.


Crazy 16: Across the Gap
Number of lemmings that drop: 16
100% to be saved
Release rate: 1
Available time: 03:00
Skills: 3 climbers, 16 floaters, 3 bombers, 16 blockers, 3 builders, 16 bashers, 3 miners, 16 diggers.


Havoc 13: HIGHLAND FLING
Number of lemmings that drop: 80
93% to be saved
Release rate: 5
Available time: 04:00
Skills: 2 bombers, 4 blockers, 10 builders, 1 basher, 1 miner

Well, it all boils down to the differences in the data given in the previews and how the solver approaches these levels. In terms of similarities both levels have:

* Similar skillsets - Bombers, Blockers and Builders.
* Similar starting level design: Both starting platforms have a wall to the right and a hazard to the left.
* Similar concepts: To trap the lemmings while letting one of them do the hard work.

Where they differ greatly is the requirements: You need to save 100% in ATG and 93% in HF. How solvers will approach these two levels is what will make this comparison interesting.

Some spoilery comments

Let's assume that we have ordinary lemmings player who knows how to create paths but doesn't know some of the more complicated methods of trapping lemmings. They approach both levels in a certain order: The example I will use being the more organised approach of "Let's trap the lemmings first, and then create a path to the exit". So, let's see how this approach differs between these two levels:

With HF's the area of the starting platform is quite big. This makes it easy to execute as you can afford to lose 2 lemmings as blockers, and placing them in the appropriate places isn't too difficult. Plus, you can set them free with a bomber and still pass thanks to the lenient requirement.

However, with ATG the area is much too thin, and only way to trap the lemmings safely is to make two blockers on both sides. This would constantly leave you short of the 100% requirement, and bombing them would obviously spell disaster. The solver is forced to avoid that approach and find another one which - whether or not they want to - is to "Ignore all rules and just make sure you reach the exit. You have infinite lives in this game so why not?" The trick to solve ATG requires this type of approach. If they watch where the second lemming is going after the first one elects to create a path then they are more likely to succeed than fail.

So, I hope this is an understandable and intresting read. Any questions or comments would be much appreciated. Thanks for viewing!

Basically, when I turn challenge mode on for some NeoLemmix programs, lemmings cannot be assigned at all, and the number of skills doesn't go upwards either.

I first encountered this bug while playing BulletRide's levels.

Stumbling across random Genesis levels here in the Extras pack. Unfortunately, the levels 'Everyone turn left' (Fire version) and its sequel 'Everyone turn left (Part 2)' are now impossible to solve because under the updated NeoLemmix mechanics the lemmings can't mine a one-way arrowed floor in the opposite direction. Only a minor thing, but still worth mentioning.

In levels like Rainbow Island and Compression Method 1, the entrance-opening sound effect gets louder than the others. This must be the case of multiple sound effects playing at the same time. Is this intentional or is it just a bug that needs fixing?

Preferably I would like it fixed. In case you're wondering I set the volume to 1/3.

Basically, after completing certain levels, on scrolling down the level select page, halfway down I discovered checks appearing on both the top and bottom set of dots (see attached picture below).

So, like I said in this new topic I wanted to look up "Lemmings 2 graphic sets" in the search box but instead of letting me through it shows up an error message, because the 2, the most important 'word' of my search, appears as one character.

May I request that this should be changed so that at least numbers are unaffected whatsoever by this prevention. I can't believe it won't let me search for Lemmings 2 stuff...

Per this post I wanted to record data on NeoLemmix Community levels via spreadsheet. However there are graphic sets that I can't access on the editor such as the Lemmings 2 sets. Has anyone got them?

This thread brings up a couple of pointers that may warrant separate threads here: One related to this and another one I just recently discovered to my horror.

Firstly, I think it would be a good idea to make another sticky topic on a list of uploaded community graphic sets, just like the Fangame List. This is so that I can easily access all the community levels regardless of graphic sets.

The other pointer is that in the search section every word must be two characters long. I tried looking for "Lemmings 2 graphic sets", but when I type that in the search box, it won't let me through.

I know there an Intro theme for some versions of Lemmings (Like Amiga and Genesis) but is there an intro for the Oh No version? (Or even Holiday Lemmings?) I can't seem to find a clip of it anywhere. So far all I know that there aren't any intros in DOS Lemmings.

Decided to try out D Lix for the first time, hoping to create a level for the design contest.

So far, I do like the editing interface, but the play level interface I'm not a fan of, particularly the skill icons. When I use fullscreen mode with my laptop's resolution, (It's 1366x768, therefore the buttons are zoomed 1.5x), I still get tiny skill icons that I can't read. May I suggest that each skill should be labelled while playing, whether you hover over it (ideal) or click on it.

Also, I think a black outline around each lix skill would look nice, just like in DOS Lemmings. That might also help making those icons display more clearly.

Hello everyone.

I know one game in the Lemmings series that contains all the levels in a single graphic set, and that is the Amiga version of Holiday Lemmings '94. All the levels are known to be possible (Well, why would you release a game if one of the levels are impossible?).

The big question is, can we make this situation possible on other games, such as Original and OhNo?

We have quite a few users on the forum that can design graphic sets (Gronkling, GigaLem, namida and now me too) so I thought why not create a challenge involving this concept?

This is a very unusual type of challenge. Not many challenges so far have been related to terrain. The only one I can remember was "Undamaged levels" back in 2012. This challenge not only tests your level and skills knowledge but how well your solutions are able to adapt with a change of graphics. Naturally, all levels are probably going to look messy, the rules can be a little bit complicated and this challenge may take a very long time to complete because of having to solve each level over again for every terrain change, but if this idea proves popular with other members, and if this theoretical graphic set idea works then the end result could be very rewarding.

Here are some rules to keep in mind when designing graphics:
* You can add or erase any part of the terrain you like.
* Object 0 must be an exit only, and the trigger area size must be 4x4. It can be in any position you like.
* Object 1 must be an entrance only and must be the same size.
* Because the objects of 2-15 vary, we can leave those out as blank "no effect" objects.
* Each terrain piece has an index number in a graphic set. Each index number in the unified set shows the width and height of the longest and tallest pieces. You are not allowed to exceed the size of any of the indices.

The rules to solve levels are just as normal: Save the required number of lemmings within the time limit using the given skillset.

I'm going to start off with Original Lemmings. Of course, at some point I will be encountering special graphic levels such as menacing. To avoid complications I'm going to leave those out, making a total of 116 levels. I may also leave out the earlier copied levels as most of them have tend to have more skills than the harder versions.

If anyone's interested in participating I won't hesitate to upload two attachments: One with the graphic set (Terrain pieces done, objects still to do) and the 116 levels (Work-in progress). Any queries I'm happy to answer.

Thanks!

EDIT: This pack has been converted to work on the latest stable NeoLemmix player (12.0.01).

Hi everybody!

You may have noticed that some of my most recent posts have been referring to the PS3 version of Lemmings. If you are wondering when I'm ever going to release that pack, then look no further.

In this bundle is a level pack containing all 45 levels from the Playstation 3 version of Lemmings, some of them backroute-prone, split into five ranks, and two different graphic sets: Factory and Dark, the latter of which I rather lazily mixed up a few terrain pieces and objects from the Fire set with some new interesting ones, including the coolest entrance known to Lemmingkind, and the wizard of ax, a lonely lemming in a blue wizard suit with an intention to kill unwanted territories with a large axe!

On both sets, there are notable differences to some existing NeoLemmix objects in comparison to the other sets, such as the teleporter and pickup skills, all of which are designed to make the game feel as familiar as possible. I will release an editor friendly version of these graphic sets later today.

You will use the eight default skills, but on some levels, because there isn't a cloning machine in NeoLemmix, I have decided to use a cloner pickup skill instead, making it 9 in total. Some levels do provide a different solution altogether!

So there you have it! Enjoy these levels, and my wonderful screenshots below. Any queries or problems I'm happy to help.