I didn't know. Thanks!

-- Simon

Quote from: Simon on July 13, 2026, 10:26:35 PMStrict English punctuation can produce unclarity, too. Above, I wrote {"Save N",} instead of the rules-abiding {"Save N,"}.

The latter is only rules-abiding in American English.

Quote from: Existing NLTitleOfLevel
PositionOfLevel
Other stats
Other stats
Author: NameOfAuthor

Maybe reorder the lines to shorten the word "Author:" to "by" and even omit the colon?

TitleOfLevel
by NameOfAuthor
PositionOfLevel
Other stats
Other stats

Title, author, and position/pack/... fit well with each other. I think of levels as "Level X by Y from pack Z". Others seem to think of levels as "Position N in pack Z by Y". Hard to say if author should be above or below the position. I don't care for the position (I care about the name), but others care about the position. I'd put author higher than position. If position ends up higher than author, reconsider "by" because it's not a position by an author; it's a level by an author.

If author is anonymous, you can hide the author line entirely. Or show it to prompt the designer to put a name? Hard to say. I'd hide it.

Time Limit: Yeah, consider to hide the entire line if it's infinite. That's the normal case. If you use color (unsure, weakly against but I'm largely neutral), then limited time should be the yellow line because the in-game time limit is also yellow. Consider fewer overall colors to make such a line stand out better.

Release rate/spawn interval feels irrelevant. I'd ditch that entirely. I believe it's a leftover from Lemmings 1 because Lemmix replicated that screen and nobody had the guts yet to cut it.

Maybe replace "N to be saved" by "Save N", but I feel I will be shred to pieces for such heretic chopping.

Quote from: GuiguiIn France it is one space before and space after.
Author : Anonymous

That's a typesetting rule specific to French. There is a certain merit to this rule to make the symbol stand out better. But it would be wrong in today's English, it would even look like a beginner's typesetting mistake in English.

Strict English punctuation can produce unclarity, too. Above, I wrote {"Save N",} instead of the rules-abiding {"Save N,"}. I deem it unnatural and ambiguous to pollute quotations in technical writing with punctuation from the unrelated outside level of speech.

-- Simon

I played through the tutorial levels. Then I tried connecting as guest to see if I could get on a leaderboard for the tutorials, but doing this put me into a multiplayer lobby where I could, as far as I could see, only select from multiplayer levels. I tried one, Astral Steps, to see if I could play it as a single player anyway, and the level doesn't seem to have an exit.

Feedback from the Level of the Year 2025 streams:

The "Cut 2 tasks" text has been surprisingly helpful. I was working on the early parts of a solution and two workers were coming out of the crowd. I wanted to re-do one worker's future, but I forgot which worker was which. It helped to see "Cut 2 tasks" vs. "Cut 8 tasks". I immediately knew which lemming's future to cut.

-- Simon

Hi, I just put out a new version of Lockstep Arcade, playable here: https://locksteparcade.com/Client

There are a bunch of tutorial levels, playable offline (click on the "Neon Swarm" button on the line with "Tutorials", on the offline menu for these).

And then there's also support for online multiplayer versus games, and online coop play.
(For this, you will need to connect to the server, using "Connect as guest", and create a room for the Neon Swarm game.)

You can also start single player games, when connected to the server. (Create a room for Neon Swarm as for multiplayer or coop play, and then start the game without any other players.)

There are high-score tables for single player and coop games, where you get scored first by number of swarmers exited and then by the average time to exit. (Solving the levels is pretty easy, but then there's plenty of scope for optimising time to exit.)

You can also look at replays for any high scoring games, to see how the high score was achieved.

I'd be very interested to see what scores people here can get, and I'm also very interested in any feedback or thoughts, generally.
(High-scores just got cleared for the release, but, if you put up a high score I will try to beat you!)

13/14th August is still available for me, I'm off work that week anyway so it would be an ideal time for me.

I'm open to both suggestions as well, as always I drive to the meet ups anyway and the biggest obstacle for me is finding somewhere to park. Parking is expensive in Leeds and I expect it would be expensive in Liverpool as well but if I were to book into a hotel if we met up in Liverpool, the parking has a chance to be included in the price so it would be a nice saving.

Option 1 - the safe option: We've done Leeds twice now and it is a nice city to meet up in but it feels like we've done it now after 2 meet ups there, although it's familiar so it's ideal for those who would rather have it being a more predictable day.

Option 2 - the new idea: I've never been to Liverpool and it would be quite a journey for me so maybe 2 days is a good call there.

QuoteI don't have an issue going to Liverpool just for the one day but I must be back at the station by 8pm to get home (Unlike Will and Flopsy, I don't drive and I'll get stuck pass a time where there are no buses running).

I don't mind giving you a lift up to Liverpool and back if you'd rather save on the train fare plus there would be no time pressure there, you're pretty much on the way for me anyway. It's upto you ultimately, if you'd rather get the train, that is also fine
Chances are I'd probably book into the same hotel as you also if this were the plan ultimately so it would also help you get to the hotel from the train station.

Another plus is Pooty lives in Liverpool and would not have to travel far to the meet up at all, he would also know the city pretty well hopefully and be able to advise if necessary.

I'm just brainstorming out loud anyway and I don't mind what option we go with ultimately, just want everyone to be happy at the end of the day

Do not forget to vote! 

Hi everyone,

I have just uploaded a new version of the Fizzles demo and I am looking for testers.

Fizzles is a cute 2D puzzle rescue game inspired by classic "save the little creatures" gameplay, but with its own visual style and modern touch controls. The current demo includes five playable levels, each introducing or testing a different ability.

This new version includes several fixes and improvements based on previous feedback:

- fixed overlapping/double dialogs
- improved Level 1 tooltip and Fizzle selection
- fixed Level 3 stopper selection
- improved the HUD direction arrow from Fizzle counter to exit counter
- fixed stopper placement so stoppers can no longer be placed partly in the air
- cleaned up the Level 5 bridge behavior
- improved visual feedback for assigned abilities
- added new level music
- added new success intermission scenes between levels

I would especially appreciate feedback on:

- whether the early tutorial levels are clear
- whether ability assignment is understandable
- whether the HUD is readable
- whether Level 5 feels fair and playable
- any bugs, confusing moments or visual issues

You can play the current version here:

https://hpwsoft.itch.io/fizzles

Any feedback is welcome. Even short comments like "Level 1 was clear" or "I got stuck in Level 5" are very helpful.

Yay! I'm sure a few of us are ready for more Lemfan Levels!