ArtLems (Cancelled)

[Colorful Arty]

It is with a heavy heart that I announce that I am cancelling ArtLems for a variety of reasons.

1) The biggest reason by far is that I have not made ANY progress on this pack for well over a year now, nor do I have even the slightest interest of continuing. Making this pack feels like a chore rather than a fun project (which it did start as). One of the reasons for this is my very high standards for the levels (much higher than my contest levels). They have to look amazing, reflect the time period, have a music track that fits perfectly, and has a beautiful solution. Needless to say, such high standards mean making levels for it is nigh-on impossible, because I never have ideas that are good enough. I'll often have an idea for what a level should look like, but I cannot get a good solution to it. Rampant backroutes have also been a problem, and sealing them almost always makes the level look bad afterwards. The extremely high difficulty I wanted for the pack didn't help either. I tried toning down my standards for music, art, and difficulty, but none worked at all. :/

2) Because the pack heavily relies on classical music (being the main theme of the pack), and the fact that most classical music you can get online you cannot share due to royalties or copyrighting associated with the performance of the pieces (not the piece itself) means people won't be able to play on Youtube or Twitch or wherever, which is a bit of a bummer. Not to mention the pieces are long which make the download very large (and they don't loop well).

3) I feel like I rushed into this project without thinking about it. I started work on the pack shortly after SubLems was released initially on NeoLemmix and in reality, I just wanted to make more levels. I decided on this theme on a whim when taking an art/music history class and thought it was a cool idea. It was cool, but way too restrictive. 99% of the time when I had an idea for a level, it was one that couldn't work for this pack. I also like designing levels around music, and most music I listen to and get ideas for levels for are not classical music, again dampening my will to work on this pack.

This was not an easy decision, but it is one I do not intend to go back on. Please understand my reasons. Making Lemmings levels is something that should be fun, and this pack hasn't really been fun to work on for a few years now. I had a lot of fun at the beginning when I was hot off of the concept and actually had a few great ideas for levels, but those ideas really started to fizzle out after like the 35 level mark or so.


HOWEVER!

It's not all bad news! Every level that I have made for this pack will be released to the public! A lot of them can be released in a different pack, and I may release a tiny pack with the heavily art-themed ones (such as the Ancient and Medieval ranks; those were actually really fun to work on, mainly because of their lower difficulty). SubLems will be getting a large update for the new formats release, and I may release a lot of these levels under a bonus rank or two there. Or I may make a new less-restrictive pack with these levels and more in the future. Not sure yet, but my hard work and your waiting won't be for naught! I will make sure of that!

Sorry for the downer news. I hope people aren't too upset about this.

[chrisleec728]

I'll admit I feel a little disappointed about this (considering it's the coolest idea ever in my opinion), but it happens sometimes. Perhaps the idea was TOO good, if that makes sense. I feel the same way about Spotify playlists sometimes: I get a cool idea but for one reason or another it fails.

[Strato Incendus]

I also thought this might be a pack I could try my hands on, given that SubLems was probably the pack I've enjoyed the most so far! And based on that, I didn't expect ArtLems to be as exceedingly difficult as, say, Lemmings United or other recently-released packs.

I'm looking forward to the release of what you have already created for this pack, though! I only have the "Lost Art Pieces" so far.

[Simon]

35 satisfying levels is still strong. Absolutely no shame in releasing the 35 as they are. Not every release must be a pack, and not every pack must have 100 levels.

-- Simon

[SQron188]

I've briefly touched on/participated in a conversation regarding this subject in voice chat recently, so just a few more words here:
I think it's good that you've already made some levels that you're happy with - and that you'll publish them. This should help you bounce back. Don't let the cancellation of this pack get to you.
And no one should give you the cold shoulder just because you've put the project on ice!