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#41
Lemmini / Re: Artists Wanted! (for drawi...
Last post by zanzindorf - March 01, 2026, 12:08:20 AMHere's an attempt at the code icon:
This one kinda needs an outline for dark UI. Cramming sunglasses into 32x32 is very hard lol
This one's angled nicely, but might be too small.
This one's a front view with some binary.
Do we like the binary code? I can add or remove it to either render.
Also did a few more renders of the replay arrow.
This is the one from my last post.
For this one, I changed the lighting a bit to brighten everything.
Completely new model, is a bit more flat.
I'll likely have more time tomorrow. I may work on one of the more complicated ones, like IconEntrance or IconExit.
This one kinda needs an outline for dark UI. Cramming sunglasses into 32x32 is very hard lol
Do we like the binary code? I can add or remove it to either render.
Also did a few more renders of the replay arrow.
I'll likely have more time tomorrow. I may work on one of the more complicated ones, like IconEntrance or IconExit.
#42
Closed / Re: [+][SUG][ED] Saving Terrai...
Last post by WillLem - February 28, 2026, 11:40:12 PMI looked into this with a view to implementing a simple .txt-based Groups saving system (which would essentially save and load the custom groups to/from a .txt file in the exact same way that they're written to the level), but this proved to be way more complex than I originally anticipated, and progress was halted fairly quickly.
Amongst other things, given the fact that the piece would need to have some sort of visual reference, a .png of the group would need to be created anyway (if only for display purposes), so that got me thinking that we might as well just add the grouped pieces as new terrain pieces to whichever style would be the best fit. If we limit this to, say, 5 additional pieces per style (give or take), we'll likely cover the most-frequently-created groups anyway. For the rest, the workaround of saving to a "MyGroups" level file seems decent enough for the time being.
As for suggestion (2), my honest thoughts are that if a style creator recognises that a particular piece grouping is useful and should be available to all users, they should simply go ahead and add that piece as a regular terrain/steel piece, rather than the Editor having to messily support in-style groups for basically the same end result.
With this in mind, and given that I've added a lot of new and very cool features to the Editor recently, I'm going to reject this one. We can keep the topic unlocked (albeit in the Closed board) in case anyone wants to revisit the idea at a later date, but for now I believe I've explored it enough and come to the correct conclusions.
Amongst other things, given the fact that the piece would need to have some sort of visual reference, a .png of the group would need to be created anyway (if only for display purposes), so that got me thinking that we might as well just add the grouped pieces as new terrain pieces to whichever style would be the best fit. If we limit this to, say, 5 additional pieces per style (give or take), we'll likely cover the most-frequently-created groups anyway. For the rest, the workaround of saving to a "MyGroups" level file seems decent enough for the time being.
As for suggestion (2), my honest thoughts are that if a style creator recognises that a particular piece grouping is useful and should be available to all users, they should simply go ahead and add that piece as a regular terrain/steel piece, rather than the Editor having to messily support in-style groups for basically the same end result.
With this in mind, and given that I've added a lot of new and very cool features to the Editor recently, I'm going to reject this one. We can keep the topic unlocked (albeit in the Closed board) in case anyone wants to revisit the idea at a later date, but for now I believe I've explored it enough and come to the correct conclusions.
#43
In Development / Re: Ah yes, PimoreLems!
Last post by Guigui - February 28, 2026, 06:41:56 PMHey there Pieuw (fun fact is that I'm from France too, Poitiers)
I could clear the Calm rank of PimoreLems with the talisman, with the exception of Ancient Crash Site (dont know how to do Talisman either) and Spring Break (can not go through the 2 OWW at the beginning, I am not that good at miners fests).
Lots of fun had here. I must say that the talismans make things way harder than regular levels. Usually I first played the levels without even looking at talisman requirement, then I cleared again trying the talisman. This is why you may find 2 or 3 replays for some levels ; the ones with later timestamp being the talismans.
If you release the pack as is, I suggest mentionning clearly that talismans are hard. Or else new players may be turned off if they think the first rank is easy !
I'm giving thoughts on the levels that struck me the most :
I could clear the Calm rank of PimoreLems with the talisman, with the exception of Ancient Crash Site (dont know how to do Talisman either) and Spring Break (can not go through the 2 OWW at the beginning, I am not that good at miners fests).
Lots of fun had here. I must say that the talismans make things way harder than regular levels. Usually I first played the levels without even looking at talisman requirement, then I cleared again trying the talisman. This is why you may find 2 or 3 replays for some levels ; the ones with later timestamp being the talismans.
If you release the pack as is, I suggest mentionning clearly that talismans are hard. Or else new players may be turned off if they think the first rank is easy !
I'm giving thoughts on the levels that struck me the most :
Spoiler
Emerald Cave This one was hard to spot for me : after the builders we realize that we have 2 builders left to contain the crowd somewhere. I could do it in a precise spot at the right of the level, intended I guess ?
Lemming Falls I love the water fall in this level, tricky design
I used the floating piece of grass to avoid the splat for the crowd, not sure if intended.
The Strange Relics of Lemnos Still dont know how to do it without cancelling the upper left basher in some mysterious way.
Minimal Design I guess I have the save 15 solution you mentionned earlier. Gotta make splatforms in an optimal way : one bridge to both avoid splat and go over the blocker previously set for turn around.
It did not take me long to figure it out because, luckily, I just played the Mobilems pack in which the level If a Lemming Falls uses a very similar technique. This level had me stuck for a week!
The Italian Job Execution was pain here : mine too early and lemmings may splat if they have not joined the crowd yet ; mine too late and you get a bunch of close lemmings some of which may fall from one pixel too high and splat.
There must be something I overlooked here to make the miner easier to set.
Standard Test Chamber Wow ! A tribute to Portal in a Lemmings level, great idea. The two best puzzle games ever in one, brilliant.
One remark though : two heart cubes ? There is only one of them in Portal 1 for sure, and tons of them in Portal 2. Breaking the unicity or the extreme multiplicity of those cubes here seems like a weird idea.
Also a suggestion : definitely put a tiny "The cake is a lie" or "The lem is a lie" text in some corner of the level !
Anyway, great level. For the resolution I came to the conclusion that one needs to first get to the middle part to push the button, then get to the upper part with the crowd to the exit. So in the meantime I had to fill the hole leading to the middle part. Was that the intended way ?
How does it compare to JawaJuice solution ?
Voltaic Mosaics Not that hard even with a single miner. I must apologize that my solutions here are a complete mess as I was improvising most of the time.
What Happened in Sovogda Love the design and the red moon. Why not set the depart screen to this moon and starting area, as you did in The Italian Job starting zoomed on the helicopter ?
Clumps I also have a save all and no destructive solution. Walkers are that strong.
Iron Industry Very nice level. Regular clear does not need any pickups at all, and talisman needs all of them. As often with pickups, I cannot decide if they make things harder or easier actually. I mean looking at the level you can quickly see in which order to go and pick them, and this kind of gives away the solution. Though if you were to give the skills readily available, then the level would fall apart. So yes, pickups are double edged.
Lemming Falls I love the water fall in this level, tricky design
I used the floating piece of grass to avoid the splat for the crowd, not sure if intended.
The Strange Relics of Lemnos Still dont know how to do it without cancelling the upper left basher in some mysterious way.
Minimal Design I guess I have the save 15 solution you mentionned earlier. Gotta make splatforms in an optimal way : one bridge to both avoid splat and go over the blocker previously set for turn around.
It did not take me long to figure it out because, luckily, I just played the Mobilems pack in which the level If a Lemming Falls uses a very similar technique. This level had me stuck for a week!
The Italian Job Execution was pain here : mine too early and lemmings may splat if they have not joined the crowd yet ; mine too late and you get a bunch of close lemmings some of which may fall from one pixel too high and splat.
There must be something I overlooked here to make the miner easier to set.
Standard Test Chamber Wow ! A tribute to Portal in a Lemmings level, great idea. The two best puzzle games ever in one, brilliant.
One remark though : two heart cubes ? There is only one of them in Portal 1 for sure, and tons of them in Portal 2. Breaking the unicity or the extreme multiplicity of those cubes here seems like a weird idea.
Also a suggestion : definitely put a tiny "The cake is a lie" or "The lem is a lie" text in some corner of the level !
Anyway, great level. For the resolution I came to the conclusion that one needs to first get to the middle part to push the button, then get to the upper part with the crowd to the exit. So in the meantime I had to fill the hole leading to the middle part. Was that the intended way ?
How does it compare to JawaJuice solution ?
Voltaic Mosaics Not that hard even with a single miner. I must apologize that my solutions here are a complete mess as I was improvising most of the time.
What Happened in Sovogda Love the design and the red moon. Why not set the depart screen to this moon and starting area, as you did in The Italian Job starting zoomed on the helicopter ?
Clumps I also have a save all and no destructive solution. Walkers are that strong.
Iron Industry Very nice level. Regular clear does not need any pickups at all, and talisman needs all of them. As often with pickups, I cannot decide if they make things harder or easier actually. I mean looking at the level you can quickly see in which order to go and pick them, and this kind of gives away the solution. Though if you were to give the skills readily available, then the level would fall apart. So yes, pickups are double edged.
#44
Lemmings Main / Re: The Making of Lemmings (19...
Last post by Mindless - February 28, 2026, 06:32:50 PMHe's also posted the full interview with Scott Johnston.
#45
Level Design / Re: How do you differentiate a...
Last post by WillLem - February 28, 2026, 11:56:59 AMQuote from: hrb264 on February 28, 2026, 09:24:04 AMIs it OK to leave it in Mayhem as a kind of 'breather'?
Yes. It's your pack, go with your instincts
Quote from: hrb264 on February 28, 2026, 10:49:49 AMI get the impression many people often like to have 1 or 2 of each skill and don't like this sort of level? (To be honest, 1 of everything levels aren't my favourite type)
Mine neither, I'm also a fan of more open-ended levels that provide enough skills to find more than one solution. To each their own.
Don't try too hard to please others. Make the levels you'd want to play yourself.
#46
Level Design / Re: How do you differentiate a...
Last post by hrb264 - February 28, 2026, 10:49:49 AMAlso I usually like to be quite generous with the skill set because I often make mistakes 
especially if I make levels with 100+ lemmings, or where you have to assign a load of floaters etc, but I get the impression many people often like to have 1 or 2 of each skill and don't like this sort of level? (To be honest, 1 of everything levels aren't my favourite type )
especially if I make levels with 100+ lemmings, or where you have to assign a load of floaters etc, but I get the impression many people often like to have 1 or 2 of each skill and don't like this sort of level? (To be honest, 1 of everything levels aren't my favourite type ) #47
Level Design / Re: How do you differentiate a...
Last post by hrb264 - February 28, 2026, 09:24:04 AMThanks very much both
So I made a repeating level that gets harder, I finished the 'mayhem' version of the level which I was intending to be hard, it's definitely more difficult than the previous ones but I don't think it's as hard as my other levels in that rank and is probably a difficult 'taxing' level? Is it OK to leave it in Mayhem as a kind of 'breather'?
So I made a repeating level that gets harder, I finished the 'mayhem' version of the level which I was intending to be hard, it's definitely more difficult than the previous ones but I don't think it's as hard as my other levels in that rank and is probably a difficult 'taxing' level? Is it OK to leave it in Mayhem as a kind of 'breather'?
#48
Lemmini / Re: [BUG] Replay backwards com...
Last post by WillLem - February 28, 2026, 09:05:34 AMI've now implemented a failsafe for replays made in SuperLemmini versions 0.103 - 0.104a (which have untimed bombers only). Previously, if the "timed/untimed" data was missing from the replay, RetroLemmini would fallback to user option. Now, any replay made in these specific versions will be assumed to have untimed bombers.
Unfortunately, there's no way to account for replays made in SuperLemminiToo because this is when the timed bomber option was first made available but wasn't yet written into the replay (that came about in RetroLemmini 1.0). However, it is still possible to fix these replays manually should anyone wish to do so:
Implemented in RLPlayer commit 14affaf.
Unfortunately, there's no way to account for replays made in SuperLemminiToo because this is when the timed bomber option was first made available but wasn't yet written into the replay (that came about in RetroLemmini 1.0). However, it is still possible to fix these replays manually should anyone wish to do so:
How to fix SuperLemminiToo replays which include Bombers
1) Open the replay in a text editor.
2) Find any line which matches the following:
n, 2, FLAPPER, lem (where "n" is the frame number and "lem" is the lemming index)
3) If the replay was made with the Timed Bomber option enabled, type ", true" at the end of the line. Otherwise, type ", false". Examples:
162, 2, FLAPPER, 0, false (an untimed bomber assigned to lemming 0 at frame 162)
394, 2, FLAPPER, 5, true (a timed bomber assigned to lemming 5 at frame 394)
Done!
2) Find any line which matches the following:
n, 2, FLAPPER, lem (where "n" is the frame number and "lem" is the lemming index)
3) If the replay was made with the Timed Bomber option enabled, type ", true" at the end of the line. Otherwise, type ", false". Examples:
162, 2, FLAPPER, 0, false (an untimed bomber assigned to lemming 0 at frame 162)
394, 2, FLAPPER, 5, true (a timed bomber assigned to lemming 5 at frame 394)
Done!
Implemented in RLPlayer commit 14affaf.
#49
Lemmini / Re: [BUG] Replay backwards com...
Last post by WillLem - February 28, 2026, 08:04:24 AMOK, made a little bit of progress with this today.
Out-of-bounds exceptions for lemming indices are now handled by displaying the expected vs. actual lemming index in the window caption, like this:
So, the replay has an action for lemming 11, but there are currently only lemmings 0-5 available in the level.
Also, when loading a replay, RetroLemmini falls back to matching by level name alone if it can't find an exact match for pack title, rating and level name (this has been in effect since 2.7). This does occasionally result in mismatched replays being played, so let's show the expected name + pack title in the caption. The purpose of this is to make it easier to see which level the replay is actually for:
The replay is for "Take A Running Jump" from Lemmings, But With Lemminas!. This pack can't be found, so RetroLemmini has loaded "Take A Running Jump" from regular Lemmings.
Whilst there's still no guarantee that the replay will play without issues, the above tweaks at least help matters by reducing unhandled exception popups, whilst providing better user feedback so that issues can be more easily identified and fixed.
Meanwhile, I'll keep looking into what can be done to increase backwards compatibility with older replays.
Out-of-bounds exceptions for lemming indices are now handled by displaying the expected vs. actual lemming index in the window caption, like this:
So, the replay has an action for lemming 11, but there are currently only lemmings 0-5 available in the level.
Also, when loading a replay, RetroLemmini falls back to matching by level name alone if it can't find an exact match for pack title, rating and level name (this has been in effect since 2.7). This does occasionally result in mismatched replays being played, so let's show the expected name + pack title in the caption. The purpose of this is to make it easier to see which level the replay is actually for:
The replay is for "Take A Running Jump" from Lemmings, But With Lemminas!. This pack can't be found, so RetroLemmini has loaded "Take A Running Jump" from regular Lemmings.
Whilst there's still no guarantee that the replay will play without issues, the above tweaks at least help matters by reducing unhandled exception popups, whilst providing better user feedback so that issues can be more easily identified and fixed.
Meanwhile, I'll keep looking into what can be done to increase backwards compatibility with older replays.
#50
Level Design / Re: How do you differentiate a...
Last post by WillLem - February 28, 2026, 04:19:03 AMA question as old as custom lemmings levels, this one.
The difficulty of custom levels (as Proxima has already pointed out) is greater than that of the original games, but if we stretch the graph so that Fun still means "as easy as the game can be" and Mayhem still means "as difficult as the game can be", the following questions can provide a good barometer to sort levels out:
1) Does the level expect the player to find a single intended solution? Yes = 1, No = 0
1b) Is the level a tutorial level, or a level where the solution is intended to be obvious? Yes = -1, No = 0
2) Does the skillset provide more skills than are required to solve the level as intended? Yes = 0, No = 1
3) Is the layout of the level specifically tailored towards patching out all other possible solutions than the intended one? Yes = 2, No = 0
4) Does the level's intended solution feature a specific trick that the player must know/discover in order to find the solution? Yes = 3, No = 0
5) Once the solution is known, how easy* is it to play the level in real time without using the pause button? Easy = 0, Not easy = 1
6) Are there any assignments which cannot be made without the use of the pause button, L/R arrows, or any other player assists such as framestepping or skill shadows? Yes = 2, No = 0
*For the purposes of this question, if the level provides little to no challenge when playing out the known solution in real time, it's "Easy". If executing the solution presents any significant challenge at all during real-time play, it can be scored as "Not easy".
If the level scores more than 0, it's probably at least Tricky difficulty. The higher the score, the more likely it is to be Taxing or Mayhem, keeping in mind that the highest possible score from the questions above is 10.
The questions matter in combination as well. For example, if questions 1, 2 and 3 all score positively, I'd say it's at least Taxing if not Mayhem. If questions 1 and 4 score positively, but 2 and 3 score 0, it could be a more difficult Taxing level or even a Tricky level depending on how lenient the skillset is.
Really, measuring difficulty is a learn-by-doing process. The more levels you make, and the more solutions to your own levels by other players that you see, the better an idea you'll have of how difficult your level is.
As a player, I always appreciate it when a pack starts off with a bunch of easy, open-ended levels just to get me going. It's a good way to get to know the author's level design style and get warmed up for the later levels. Like a professional piano player doing a few scales or playing a few easier pieces to warm up before a concert, I see it as a necessary part of the process.
Anyways, keep going, keep creating. That's the best way to learn.
The difficulty of custom levels (as Proxima has already pointed out) is greater than that of the original games, but if we stretch the graph so that Fun still means "as easy as the game can be" and Mayhem still means "as difficult as the game can be", the following questions can provide a good barometer to sort levels out:
1) Does the level expect the player to find a single intended solution? Yes = 1, No = 0
1b) Is the level a tutorial level, or a level where the solution is intended to be obvious? Yes = -1, No = 0
2) Does the skillset provide more skills than are required to solve the level as intended? Yes = 0, No = 1
3) Is the layout of the level specifically tailored towards patching out all other possible solutions than the intended one? Yes = 2, No = 0
4) Does the level's intended solution feature a specific trick that the player must know/discover in order to find the solution? Yes = 3, No = 0
5) Once the solution is known, how easy* is it to play the level in real time without using the pause button? Easy = 0, Not easy = 1
6) Are there any assignments which cannot be made without the use of the pause button, L/R arrows, or any other player assists such as framestepping or skill shadows? Yes = 2, No = 0
*For the purposes of this question, if the level provides little to no challenge when playing out the known solution in real time, it's "Easy". If executing the solution presents any significant challenge at all during real-time play, it can be scored as "Not easy".
If the level scores more than 0, it's probably at least Tricky difficulty. The higher the score, the more likely it is to be Taxing or Mayhem, keeping in mind that the highest possible score from the questions above is 10.
The questions matter in combination as well. For example, if questions 1, 2 and 3 all score positively, I'd say it's at least Taxing if not Mayhem. If questions 1 and 4 score positively, but 2 and 3 score 0, it could be a more difficult Taxing level or even a Tricky level depending on how lenient the skillset is.
Really, measuring difficulty is a learn-by-doing process. The more levels you make, and the more solutions to your own levels by other players that you see, the better an idea you'll have of how difficult your level is.
As a player, I always appreciate it when a pack starts off with a bunch of easy, open-ended levels just to get me going. It's a good way to get to know the author's level design style and get warmed up for the later levels. Like a professional piano player doing a few scales or playing a few easier pieces to warm up before a concert, I see it as a necessary part of the process.
Anyways, keep going, keep creating. That's the best way to learn.