Quote from: Proxima on August 23, 2026, 05:03:53 PMThis seems like very much a "worst of both worlds". You put yourself to all the trouble of coding the feature and you prevent the player from using it. What's the point?

It's basically a reward system (many games lock features behind progress - this is normal), and one which specifically says 'we want you to solve the level without using framestepping', which - let's be really clear about it - is what we're aiming for here. Other player-assists could be encompassed here as well, although I'd probably draw the line at just framestepping; even Windows '95 Lemmings has assign-whilst-paused and direction select.

Quote from: Proxima on August 23, 2026, 05:03:53 PMThere is, of course, no such thing as a level that requires framestepping shenanigans...

The first Lemminas pack and (particularly) Lemmings Recurring both feature levels which are basically impossible to complete in real-time. I've tried.

After making those packs and realising that I actually disliked playing that way (and that NeoLemmix's player assist tools had made such levels possible to create and solve in the first place), I resolved to only ever create levels that can be solved without even using assign-whilst-paused. Obviously, all levels are made easier with the player assists, but when a level more or less demands that you use them, it's a bad thing (IMO).

Quote from: Proxima on August 23, 2026, 05:03:53 PManything that can be done with framestepping can be done without.

A level that requires assignments on frames X, X+2, X+4, X+6, X+8, etc. would be near enough impossible to complete without using framestepping.

Quote from: Proxima on August 23, 2026, 05:03:53 PMI think what you meant was on the lines of: "We don't want levels that are really annoying and fiddly to play without framestepping." ... what counts as "too annoying and fiddly" is hugely subjective.

You're right that opinions will differ on this. IMO, if a level requires an assignment on frame X, and another at frame X+n where n is less than about 10, it's too fiddly and annoying. Obviously, the closer to 1 n is, the more fiddly and annoying it is.

Quote from: Proxima on August 23, 2026, 05:03:53 PM

QuoteI can think of 2 possibilities

What happened to the checkpoint and jump-to-previous-skill possibilities mentioned in the first post?

I meant 2 possibilities of a Rewind system that could possibly preserve traditional gameplay (as opposed to a Rewind system in general). I've updated my previous post to reflect this, apologies for the miscommunication. At this point, all ideas being discussed in this topic are still on the table (including, of course, "do nothing").

Quote from: Proxima on August 23, 2026, 05:03:53 PMadd a savestate key

Yes, this is another possibility for sure. If anything, any Rewind system that's implemented would need to be savestate-based anyway, so this step would arrive sooner than a Rewind button anyway.

Quote from: WillLem on August 23, 2026, 04:35:28 PM2) Add Rewind, but lock it behind a 'Modern Mode' along with forwards Framestepping [...] A player must complete the level at least once in 'Classic Mode' before the modern controls are unlocked for that level.

This seems like very much a "worst of both worlds". You put yourself to all the trouble of coding the feature and you prevent the player from using it. What's the point?

QuoteAdding the ability to step backwards one frame at a time allows replays to be finely edited (thus inviting all of the UI quirks we're currently wrestling with in NLCE), and - worse - allows for levels which require framestepping shenanigans as part of their solution.

There is, of course, no such thing as a level that requires framestepping shenanigans. Rubix has a Lix level that requires text-editing the replay file, because there is no other possible way of inputting 95 climber assignments in a single frame (unless this has changed in later Lix versions; I haven't been keeping up with developments), but if same-frame assignments are forbidden then anything that can be done with framestepping can be done without.

I'm not trying to be snarky; this is leading into a serious point. I think what you meant was on the lines of: "We don't want levels that are really annoying and fiddly to play without framestepping." And I approve of that thought. But there is no system in place that stops people creating such levels. People did create such levels, back in the Cheapo/CustLemm days before any engines had framestepping. And people came up with challenges on the original levels that required incredible precision. Besides, what counts as "too annoying and fiddly" is hugely subjective.

QuoteI can think of 2 possibilities

What happened to the checkpoint and jump-to-previous-skill possibilities mentioned in the first post? Unless those have been taken off the table for some reason, we have at least four possibilities (five if we count the "add nothing" option).

I don't play RL so I'm not going to vote for my preferences, but I'd like to suggest one more option: instead of time-based checkpoints, add a savestate key so that if a level is 8 or 9 minutes long, you don't have to go all the way back to the beginning for every mistake. Restart + fast forward achieves a similar thing but is a more annoying way of doing it; as Flopsy mentioned, it's easy to FF past the point you wanted and have to start again.

I'm currently playing Hades II on the Nintendo Switch.

I have already cleared Hades I some years ago when it came out, and Hades II is a "more of everything" sequel, which is perfectly fine to me.
If you do not know those games Hades I and II are "roguelite" action games : you start a run and try to clear the game with your character. This run consist of a series of rooms in which you encounter various ennemies that you have to clear to access the next room. Sometimes you encounter boss, friends, story events and more. Sounds simplistic and it is, but more than enough to keep you on your toes.
At first you do not succeed in clearing the game and get a gameover, but you have gained more knowledge of the game mechanics, gather materials that allows to unlock character and weapon improvment, and meet more characters who will help you on your journey. Then you start another run and repeat.

The whole setting of the game is in the Greek Mythology which is both really well respected and sometimes made fun of. All characters from the mythology have interesting background, picturation and voice acting.

The game is still very engaging, gameplay and its loop are perfect and rewarding, story unfolding is great, the numerous combat and bosses phases are expertly crafted and clearing foes is addictive.

Very high recommend if you love action games.

Quote from: hrb264 on August 20, 2026, 08:00:17 PMi dont think id use it and dont really like the idea but i'd probably be ok if it was added as a mode you could turn on and off

Quote from: Flopsy on August 23, 2026, 10:50:27 AMI'm still of the mindset that rewind is not needed. Just having a faster fast forward option is preferable for me.

I like that RetroLemmini preserves the classic Windows 95 Lemmings

Yes, preservation of this gameplay style should be RetroLemmini's main goal, given that the other engines/clones already provide a wealth of player assist tools to make the game easier and significantly refocus the play style.

I can think of 2 possibilities (of a Rewind system that preserves traditional gameplay style):

1) Don't add Rewind, just add a 'Nitro' fast-forward speed which can be used to blast through the replay to the desired point. This is essentially what backwards framestepping actually does, but we add it as a manual control for the player to master.

2) Add Rewind, but lock it behind a 'Modern Mode' along with forwards Framestepping (which Charles made optional in SuperLemminiToo for some of the same reasons that are being discussed here; he saw the need to preserve the traditional gameplay style). A player must complete the level at least once in 'Classic Mode' before the modern controls are unlocked for that level. The player can choose to keep them locked, if desired.

(2) is much more work. I'd prefer to go ahead with (1) for now. We can trial this in the next RetroLemmini update and see if it's sufficient enough that we don't need (2).

Could this be built into the program itself? i.e. When closing, cache everything (as a background process) so that the next time it opens it's much quicker? How expensive/ethical would this be?

The Level Select Menu going unresponsive is something I've been continually working to prevent ever since I started working on SuperLemmix. It's come a long way, but clearly could go further. I discovered the other day that the Search feature can still crash; I thought this was sorted, but it isn't.

This seems to happen most often with large level collections; measures have been taken to make larger collections more manageable, but there is still more to do.

Best guess: the message queue is being flooded with each click, and the UI doesn't have time to fully update before being given more clicks to resolve. I imagine that the best way to handle this is to find a way to actively ditch the existing queue whenever a new click is made. I'm not even sure if that's possible (or if it's standard programming practice), it's just what I'm guessing.

I'll investigate this again soon. Optimizing/improving the Level Select menu is one of my favourite things to do.

So I was recording NeoLemmix 30 episodes today and I encountered crashes during one of my videos. The video is not live until mid September but I did record another video replicating what I did. It does seem to happen pretty randomly but when I click to open a tree of levels, the window might sometimes freeze and if I were to click again in this timeframe, I'll get the (not responding) on the window top line. Pressing X on the window then leads to the NeoLemmix is not responding window popping up.

This happens when I clicked the God Save The Queen pack in the embedded video, it's nothing to do with that pack, it's just a random thing that happens.

NL, Lix, RetroLemmini, ... all contain loose level files and loose image files for tiles. When you load a level for the first time, Windows takes ages to load the files from disk, even on a fast SSD.

To speed it up, make Windows cache the files:

• In a Windows file browser, navigate to your NL/Lix/... folder.
  
• Navigate into the tileset subfolder:
      for Lix, navigate into images
      for NeoLemmix, navigate into styles
  
• Shift + Rightclick into the folder.
  
• Select: Open PowerShell here.
  
• Copy and paste the following command into the shell:
  
  Code Select Expand
  Measure-Command { Get-Childitem -path . -recurse | Get-FileHash -Algorithm MD5 | Out-Default }
• Hit Enter.
  
• Wait until it has printed how long it has taken. (It might take 5 to 20 minutes or longer.)
  
• You can now close the Powershell or leave it open, your choice.
  
• Run the game.
  

Levels should now load significantly faster.

This can be handy before you begin a long uninterrupted play session, e.g., before a livestream. You want the game to load the levels fast, and you don't care if it takes several minutes of preparation.

Technically, this only makes Windows look at each of your files and do something nontrivial with it (compute its checksum). This typically makes Windows cache your file. But it's not a direct request that Windows keep it cached at all times. Windows forgets about the cached files after a reboot, or after you've worked with many other files than NL/Lix/... for a long time. You'll have to re-cache the files by following the instructions again.

Source:
https://stackoverflow.com/a/77295307
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/19825862/is-there-a-way-to-force-windows-to-cache-a-file

-- Simon

I'm still of the mindset that rewind is not needed. Just having a faster fast forward option is preferable for me.

I like that RetroLemmini preserves the classic Windows 95 Lemmings which I experienced and allows custom content, I couldn't ask for much more from this engine.

Thanks for your replays Will and I'm glad you think the converted levels are of excellent quality so far!

Spoiler

1. Back to Paradise - Nice 100% solution and trying to avoid bashers at the end for some reason.
2. 13 Little Stars - Again determined for the 100%, glad it's possible without too much trouble!
3. Welcome to the Highlands? - Not seen someone dig through the entry platform onto a splatform below before. It's always amazing how new methods come through in these early rank levels. Also 100% again
4. Cake Shop Visits - Usually other players come entirely from the right, you came from the left and then turned back to the left. Really thought you were going to go for the right hand exit which no one ever goes to. 100% also 
I then noticed your 2nd replay which goes to the right hand exit, nice to see someone do this at last and save 100%!
5. In the Dead of Night - everyone seems to get the same solution for this one. Not much to say really
6. T-Shirt Level - that was smart mining into the metal support before the fire pit and one way wall, made a turnaround crowd less problematic! 100% again!
7. Lemmtris 3D - First level which wasn't 100% but I'm not sure if 100% is even possible so 79/80 is still great!
8. Party in my Head - 100% is definitely impossible on this one, interestingly Simon played this level on Lix yesterday and managed to not use the Blocker, made a double bridge surrounding the water pit on the right instead.
9. It's the Name of the Game - Wow first time I've ever seen 100% on this level, it's nice to know that it can be done. The save requirement is so low that you can just lose lemmings to the first pit usually.
10. Hurry Up and Wait - I can see why you provided 2 replays now after seeing the first attempt. The exit...