Lemmings Update (PlayStation 3)

[Pooty]

This game has just recieved a large update. Well.. large as in file size, as far as i'm aware. Just over 220MB, the game is now version 2.0. It now has trophy support, and your old file save is disabled (your high scores on the leaderboards are safe, however). Apart from that, I haven't noticed anything different about this game. I'll be sure to keep an eye on it. If you find anything different, please post it on this thread. I'll update this post if we find anything more.

New features

• Trophy support

[Pooty]

The trophies are:

Lemmie See Some Speed - Bronze Trophy
Complete Teach me Climbers and Floaters in under one minute

Lemmie See Speed - Bronze Trophy
Beat 3rd Time Lucky in under 1minute 30 seconds

Fabulously Fun - Bronze Trophy
Complete all Fun levels

Tricky but not Taxing - Bronze Trophy
Complete all Tricky levels

The Ultimate Clone - Bronze Trophy
Make a clone that can float and climb

Bridge Builder - Bronze Trophy
Build 100 bridges

Can you dig it - Bronze Trophy
Set off 100 digger Lemmings

Lemming Exploder - Bronze Trophy
Blow up 100 Lemmings

Triumphantly Taxing - Silver Trophy
Complete all Taxing levels

Mayhem Master - Silver Trophy
Complete all Mayhem levels

Lethal Lemmings - Silver Trophy
Send 1000 Lemmings to their death

Lemming Leader - Gold Trophy
Save every Lemming possible

[ccexplore]

Don't have a PS3 but that does sound kinda cute, can you explain what exactly is the trophy support?

Does the game really needs a Playstation 3 (as opposed to PS1 or PS2)?  That's a bit expensive even for someone like me, and especially if Lemmings is the only game I'm likely to play on it.

[Pooty]

Are you familiar with Xbox 360 achievements? PlayStation trophies are pretty much the same thing. You are given a number of tasks to complete (usually 12 on a downloadable game such as Lemmings), and the reward is a trophy. Your PlayStation Network profile will be given "experience points" whenever you win a trophy (the better the trophy, the higher the experience), and you can level up. As far as I know, you can only use these trophies and levels for bragging rights (unless there's stuff you can do in Home, but I haven't installed that game). Both Xbox 360 achievements and PlayStation 3 trophies are designed to increase replay value.

And yep, you need a PlayStation 3 because the software is designed to run on that system. It's different to the Lemmings on PS2 and PSP. It has new levels, vertical levels as well as the standard horizontal, and skills you can pick up (like Lemmings 3, except collecting the skill will add it to your repository). The one thing this game is missing that would make it awesome is a level editor.

[Fleech]

I'm downloading this as I type. When I first heard the news a while ago it was reported that some DLC is on the way as well, presumably new levels. Hopefully that's the case.

It's a fun version. It uses the eight classic skills but also uses the Lemmings 3 mechanic of being able to collect more of these in the level, as well as adding teleports and clone machines. If you have a PS3 then it's definitely worth picking up. There are only 45 levels, but it only costs £3.49!

I wonder if the the gold trophy description is accurate. It's going to be quite hard if it uses the actual maximum based on the current records, rather than the expected maximum excluding backroutes.

[Pooty]

It's very hard to gauge. For example, on Fun 6, you are expected to rescue four lemmings, my best score to date is eight (can be bumped up to 9 with better digger and builder placement), but according to the high score chart, all ten can be saved. Because my effort of 8 is in the top 200, it raises questions on what Team 17 think is the highest score per level, and there are no cues as to whether you have done enough on that level or not. It's pretty much safe to assume that if you have rescued the same number of lemmings as the person in first place (and s/he might have been using glitches to get there), you'll be fine.

[Fleech]

I've had a look around a few forums and can't find anything definitive. I'm going through and only saving the required amount each time for now to see what happens. EDIT: I meant the maximum using the intended solution. EDIT: Argh, I've made a mistake here. Never mind then.

Have you tried for any fast times on the leaderboards Pooty? I don't know anyone that has the game so wouldn't mind having someone on here to compare to. My PSN is sb59, add me if you want but no worries if not.

(Just noticed that you'd already mentioned the Lemmings 3 comparison before I made my first post. Not sure how I missed that. )

[Pooty]

Last time I checked, I hit a top 5 score in one of the Tricky or Taxing levels. I can't remember which level it was. I wonder if it's still there. I'll check when I get home, and I'll also add you to my friends list while I do so.

[Edit: Actually, it was Fun 07, and I am ranked 5th.]

[Fleech]

I've found the following list (from ps3trophies.co.uk) which two people have confirmed to work for them. It's an odd mix of requirements that does not require the known maximum for all levels, but it does require backroute solutions to several. Of course it may not be completely accurate, but it's a start.

EDIT: removed list.

[Fleech]

I just got the gold trophy. One of my scores was different to the list above (which I'll remove shortly). Here's a shorter, updated list that only includes the levels where the trophy requirement seems to be different to the actual level requirement. Some may still be unnecessary.

TRIAL
2 - 5 Saved
3 - 5 Saved
4 - 5 Saved

FUN
3 - 8 Saved
6 - 8 Saved

TRICKY
(none)

TAXING
6 - 8 Saved
9 - 8 Saved

MAYHEM
(none)

[Pooty]

It's very hard to gauge. For example, on Fun 6, you are expected to rescue four lemmings, my best score to date is eight (can be bumped up to 9 with better digger and builder placement), but according to the high score chart, all ten can be saved.

I've spent a lot of time on this level recently brainstorming with my brother, and there definitely seems to be a legitimate way of rescuing all ten lemmings, taking advantage of many subtle parts of the terrain. There's a lot to consider, I just can't piece them all together in one run, and my timing might be slightly out of whack as well. If this was Lemmix, it'd probably be done by now.

If I beat this level with all ten lemmings, I'll let the cat out of the bag.

[Edit: YES!! I've finally done it! ]

The first lemming that comes out is tasked with building in such a way, that not only does he block the way back to their doom, but he also creates a lip using the underside of the terrain next to the start. That would prevent the climbers from climbing up that obstacle (which would mean death). This requires 2 builders. When the notch is made, use one more builder to continue making your way up.

Meanwhile, the next four lemmings must be turned into climbers, and will climb up the wall on the right (to give the builder enough time to complete his job). All except the fourth climber are to be given floaters. This fourth climber will dig down to (and land on) the overhanging portrait. There is a "staircase" made of stone. On the bottom step, dig down about 5-6 pixels, then build. The lemming will bang his head, but the bridge will reach out just far enough to land on the platform below.

At this point, your other three climbers will be back at the bridge the first lemming built. Let the SECOND climber lemming that lands on the bridge build the next set of steps. When he has finished, let him go, and let a different lemming use one final builder. This should release the other lemmings, but it's possible you'll end up one pixel short, and have to start again. As the lemmings are released, make sure they all have floaters before they leave.

Now there is one last thing to do. The worker lemming (the fourth climber) should land on the platform below. Wait until he turns around, then make him dig. One of the climbing lemmings should catch up by this point. Build over the pit the lemming is making. The two purposes of this bridge is to make sure all the lemmings will face the right way when they fall down the pit, and the other purpose is that the digger does not have enough time to complete his pit before the lemmings climb all over it, and the bridge will prevent the lemmings from leaving the pit the wrong way (death). If everything is done right, all ten lemmings will be saved.

At the time of posting, i've scored 4th place on the leaderboards for this level.

[Fleech]

Nice work!

I think I'm getting closer to finding the save 10 solution, but I must be missing something important somewhere. I'll avoid reading the spoiler for now though.

That and Mayhem 5 are the only ones I haven't saved the known maximum on. The latter is annoying me. I've got a solution that in theory allows for 100%, but timing-wise I'm literally just a few frames away from making it work. It's making me wonder if my method is wrong, but I don't see any other way that it could be done.

I was quite pleased to find the save 8 solution to Mayhem 4, becoming only the second person on the leaderboards to have done so. I'm surprised it's not been found by more people since it's much easier than the above levels.

[Pooty]

Ah-ha! Yes, i've just worked out save 8 on Mayhem 4. That makes me the third person on the leaderboards to do so.

I've knocked you off your second spot on that level's leaderboards. Sorry about that.

I'm trying to work out Mayhem 5, but I can't even rescue 99 on it.

[Fleech]

You're not sorry.

I've never saved anything less than 99 on Mayhem 5 so I guess I've been backrouting it all this time. What's most annoying about my failed lose 0 solution is that it would work easily on DOS. The only reason I'm having trouble with the timing is because the game won't let me select a certain skill in a certain place so I have to work around it. Frustrating.

With Fun 6, did your solution involve any steel digging?

[Pooty]

No, I didn't used any glitches in my solution. There are at least two pixel-perfect moments in it, and there are some bits and pieces in the level that are easy to overlook, but end up being vital.

If you're still stuck, i'll give you one or two clues.

I used everything except the blockers, and one of the floaters.

The angled cut beneath the obstacle to the right of the start, the bump on the slope, the empty picture frame, and the stone "staircase" beneath it, are all essential.

[Fleech]

Thanks. I'll still not read the hints just yet, but at least that's one red herring I can ignore.

Anyway, I just managed lose 0 on Mayhem 5! My original method worked but it took quite a bit of fiddling to save the extra frames I needed. My time was much slower than the ones at the top of the leaderboard so I guess there must be a different way to do it, but I can't say I care much.

I'll edit in my solution in a bit.

1. Pause and set release rate to 30.
2. 2nd lem climbs.
3. When 3rd lem exits, pause and set release rate to 1.
4. Climber builds as close to the left edge as possible. Block as soon as 4th brick is laid (needs to be standing on 4th brick).
5. 4th lem climbs, turns and builds on lowest brick. Hopefully the 6th lem won't fall in the pit.
6. 6th and 8th lems build over the trap.
7. Set release rate to 99.
8. 4th lem climbs out of the left pit and floats. Build up to the terrain block on the right.
9. Build again about 1/3rd of the way from the left of the block. Continue building into the wall and build again as soon as you're facing left.
10. Build all the way up. He'll turn, so build into the wall again to turn back to the left.
11. Climb and bash to free the blocker. Dig from the left pit, and use the freed blocker to build to the exit.

[Fleech]

I've done it! 

I found a Lose 1 solution and worked from there. Very clever solution, especially the crowd control. A pain to pull off but certainly satisfying to complete.

That's me done with the game now. Just for the record, here are all the levels where lemmings are lost:

Trial 3: Lose 5
Trial 5: Lose 2

Fun 3: Lose 2
Fun 9: Lose 1

Tricky 4: Lose 1

Taxing 3: Lose 2
Taxing 6: Lose 2
Taxing 9: Lose 1

Mayhem 4: Lose 2

TOTAL: Lose 18

EDIT: Taxing 9 improved.

[Pooty]

Nice one, I knew you could do it.

Meanwhile, I just worked out how the Lose 2 solution works in Taxing 6. Also, i've just ranked #1 on Taxing 7, the first time i've topped the leaderboards on a level. 

[Fleech]

Congrats. I was top of Mayhem 4 until yourself and that other guy decided to knock me off.

Taxing 6 is one of a couple of levels where the maximum is limited only by the number of floaters you have. Very irritating. I thought I'd found a Lose 1 solution but sadly the exit is placed a few pixels further right than I needed it to be.

[AlgoTomar]

I was quite pleased to find the save 8 solution to Mayhem 4, becoming only the second person on the leaderboards to have done so. I'm surprised it's not been found by more people since it's much easier than the above levels.

Can you give me a clue?  I have to use all 3 blockers so saving 7 is the best I have done.

[Fleech]

Hey, just seen your email. I've not been on here much recently so didn't see your post.

You do indeed need 3 blockers.

See if you can find a way to release one of them.

Bombers are useful.

You're probably putting one of the top ones in the wrong place.

Put the first two blockers next to each other below the trapdoor. They need to be far enough apart to trap the crowd, but close enough that bombing one will release the other. You need to dig in a very precise place to stop the lems from splatting when they drop down. I think it's towards the right hand side of the round object sticking out of the ground. You should end up with an overhang when the digger falls through. You'll need to experiment a bit to get the digger and blockers in the right places.

Good luck.

[Frevett]

Trial 3: Lose 5
Trial 5: Lose 2

Fun 3: Lose 2
Fun 9: Lose 1

Tricky 4: Lose 1

Taxing 3: Lose 2
Taxing 6: Lose 2
Taxing 9: Lose 2

Mayhem 4: Lose 2

TOTAL: Lose 19

Just so you know, it's possible to only lose 1 lemming on Taxing 9. I'm guessing no-one had done it when you posted this, as as of a few days ago, there were only 4 of us with 9/10.

I'm stuck with two 7/10 solutions on Mayhem 4; and two 99/100 solutions on Mayhem 5 (one of which is a fraction of a second away from being 100/100; I guess there's somewhere I can shave off time at the start that I'm missing)

Now for the question I registered to ask: does anyone know of any planned DLC for this game? It's been a while now, and some extra levels would be welcome (as would a level creator); but I can't find anything on any of the developers' websites.

[Fleech]

Thanks for that. I remember having an idea for Taxing 9 but I couldn't get it to work and assumed it wasn't possible since as you say no-one had done it at the time. I'll have to have another go.

When the trophy patch was announced it was implied that there would be DLC, but I've not seen anything since. The patch was done by Cohort Studios rather than Team17 but there's nothing new on their site either. Hopefully there is something coming still.

I'd be interested to know what you're doing on Mayhem 5. I've saved 100% but my solution was nowhere near the times at the top of the leaderboard so there must be another method.

[Frevett]

Thanks for that. I remember having an idea for Taxing 9 but I couldn't get it to work and assumed it wasn't possible since as you say no-one had done it at the time. I'll have to have another go.

When the trophy patch was announced it was implied that there would be DLC, but I've not seen anything since. The patch was done by Cohort Studios rather than Team17 but there's nothing new on their site either. Hopefully there is something coming still.

I'd be interested to know what you're doing on Mayhem 5. I've saved 100% but my solution was nowhere near the times at the top of the leaderboard so there must be another method.

Wasn't aware that Cohort Studios had done the patch, thanks for that.

First lemming to fall into the right hand side climbs up and bridges immediately - bridging 4 steps then blocking. Second lemming into the right climbs up and bridges the gap the lemmings drop through. Third lemming into the right drops through into the compartment just before the bridge piece can be placed blocking him. If you block the first lemming on the third step it doesn't seem possible to free him with a basher. If I could keep the third lemming out of the compartment they can all go into the left compartment and dig down.

I was stuck for ages trying to bridge the lemmings out of one compartment rather than stopping them entering entirely. I managed to bridge them out of the left compartment and into the right one, but was left with two bridges too few for the last part unfortunately

I've pretty much given up trying to get close to matching the fastest times on most levels, some of them are insane.

[Fleech]

Cheers. No direct hints, but spoilered just in case.

That top method looks familiar.

It's quite fun trying to find different solutions for the leaderboards but some of them are indeed insane.

[Frevett]

I have a similar problem on Mayhem 4 as well. The second lemming enters the level too quickly and escapes the pit my first lemming's digging.

I have a 47/50 method on Mayhem 10 which takes around 70 seconds. I'm guessing the people at the top of the leaderboards have a variation on that. With an extra basher and a bit of luck I could do it.

I've also just found a fairly interesting second solution on Mayhem 9 which puts me about 30 seconds outside the top 5. With a bit of playing around with timings and release rates I reckon I could improve it enough.

[AlgoTomar]

Glad to see there is still some interest in this game.  Thanks to Fleech and Pooty for helping me with the Save 8 Solution to Mayhem 4.

I am still not convinced that some of the top times on the leaderboards are really possible.  I have 3 theories:

1) The top times are by the game's developers who know how to exploit subtle intracacies of the game's mechanics to do those seemingly impossible times.

2) Someone figured out a way to cheat.

3) Some people are just way better at Lemmings than me.

I believe there are separate leaderboards for the US, EU, and JPN versions of this game.  Can anyone confirm?  I am playing the US version and I am ranked 5th on Mayhem 10 with all 50 lemming saved in 1:56.38. 

Completing this level in 70 seconds or under would require all lemmings to use the teleporter.  I have an idea of how to do this, but I can't actually do it.  A steel-digging glitch may be required to actually pull it off.


Yeah, I wish their was some DLC coming for this game, but I sort of doubt it.

[AlgoTomar]

Just so you know, it's possible to only lose 1 lemming on Taxing 9. I'm guessing no-one had done it when you posted this, as as of a few days ago, there were only 4 of us with 9/10.

There is also a Save 5 Solution to Mayhem 3 which is technically Lose -1 since you start with 4 lemmings.

[Fleech]

Yeah the Lose X numbers are based on the total lems including cloned ones.

I've just checked the Mayhem 10 EU leaderboards and fifth place has a time of 1:16.14 so they are seperate for each region.

I do wonder if there's a steel glitch, especially with Mayhem 5. I'm 11th but 5th is five minutes faster and even if I maxed my solution it would be nowhere near that time.

Frevett, if you just want 100% on Mayhem 10 then ignore the leaderboards for now. There's a slower but much easier method. Mayhem 4 is interesting and uses some ideas that are quite obscure. No glitches, but you need to be creative with the skills.

[Frevett]

Yeah the Lose X numbers are based on the total lems including cloned ones.

I've just checked the Mayhem 10 EU leaderboards and fifth place has a time of 1:16.14 so they are seperate for each region.

That's kind of a shame, would like to see the top scores on a global level.

Managed to squeeze my way into the top 5 on Mayhem 9 (EU) with 4:13:56: half a second behind 4th. Still half a minute behind pioneer-mk6-100 at the top (if that guy's legit he's incredible (along with kgb555) dominating so many of the leaderboards). Reckon I can get 4th place, but I think a different method's needed to break the top 3.

I do wonder if there's a steel glitch, especially with Mayhem 5. I'm 11th but 5th is five minutes faster and even if I maxed my solution it would be nowhere near that time.

If you set the first lemming in that level to dig immediately, then the next lemming (in the right compartment) to climb out and start bridging to the exit; it takes roughly 2 minutes for the lemmings that are getting dug down to get to the exit (including the ones that head left once they drop to the bottom level). So to break the top 5 legitly you can't dig all the way down.
The only other feasible option I can see is to use the basher to get out when the digger is halfway down, but I see no way of getting all lemmings into one compartment without using the basher.

Mayhem 7 looks interesting with the top 3 half a minute ahead of 4th/5th. I'm just under a minute behind the 1:27 in first place, but I don't think my solution was what the designers intended.

The top 5 of Fun 6 can definitely be broken into legitimately. I was trying earlier but kept getting the timings wrong and having one lemming walk the wrong way at the end.

Frevett, if you just want 100% on Mayhem 10 then ignore the leaderboards for now. There's a slower but much easier method. Mayhem 4 is interesting and uses some ideas that are quite obscure. No glitches, but you need to be creative with the skills.

Yeah, I have 100% on Mayhem 10, with two different solutions:

One with the main body of lemmings walking across the top all the way, and one with them getting turned back and heading through the portal

In Mayhem 4 I can

dig through the first platform and leave a step for lemmings not to die of height and then get the two blockers close enough together so that one can free the others. Utterly stumped on how to stop lemming 2 escaping the digger though.

Taken a break from it while I have a look at the highscores on other levels.

Completing this level in 70 seconds or under would require all lemmings to use the teleporter.  I have an idea of how to do this, but I can't actually do it.  A steel-digging glitch may be required to actually pull it off.

I've managed about 47 of them in 70 seconds, but haven't made any progress from that. I need a basher to free the blocker I use and another basher to stop a digger digging himself to death, which is obviously one too many.

[AlgoTomar]

Some random thoughts:

1) Suppose there was a cheat code that gave you 99 of every Tool.  That would explain many of the impossible times.

2) The US leaderboards are also dominated by piooner-mk6-100.  That guy is either the greatest Lemmings player or the only one with the cheat code, haha.

3) I replayed Mayhem 10 with the goal of saving just 1 lemming as quickly as possible.  It took me 64 seconds.  Now even with the release rate maxed out there is about 15 seconds of "distance" between L1 and L50, so saving all 50 should require a minimum of 89 seconds.  But piooner-mk6-100 did it in 1:05.58 (65.58 seconds).  I dare say that is "impossible" unless there is a way to make lemmings run instead of walk!

[Frevett]

Some random thoughts:

1) Suppose there was a cheat code that gave you 99 of every Tool.  That would explain many of the impossible times.

If there is a cheat I guess it's most likely this; but it'd mean anyone who has the cheat doesn't use it to save more lemmings than is legitimately possible.

2) The US leaderboards are also dominated by piooner-mk6-100.  That guy is either the greatest Lemmings player or the only one with the cheat code, haha.

Odd. Does that mean he's paid for the game twice?

3) I replayed Mayhem 10 with the goal of saving just 1 lemming as quickly as possible.  It took me 64 seconds.  Now even with the release rate maxed out there is about 15 seconds of "distance" between L1 and L50, so saving all 50 should require a minimum of 89 seconds.  But piooner-mk6-100 did it in 1:05.58 (65.58 seconds).  I dare say that is "impossible" unless there is a way to make lemmings run instead of walk!

A <89 second perfect solution is (in theory) possible. I've tweaked what I was doing earlier, and now have a 49/50 solution in 66.12 seconds. What happens is the lemmings that exit later catch up with the first lemming (they don't all have to bridge the final gap, which is what slows down L1). The playthrough I just had actually had L1 (well, the lemming that bridges the final gap) as the final lemming saved as the rest of them overtook it as it was finishing its bridge and shrugging before stepping off the end.

[AlgoTomar]

Odd. Does that mean he's paid for the game twice?

Yes.  I chatted with someone at ps3trophies dot org who bought all 3 versions (US, EU, JPN) to get the trophies 3 times!  On your trophy list it counts as 3 separate games even though they are all identical in terms of gameplay.

What happens is the lemmings that exit later catch up with the first lemming (they don't all have to bridge the final gap, which is what slows down L1). The playthrough I just had actually had L1 (well, the lemming that bridges the final gap) as the final lemming saved as the rest of them overtook it as it was finishing its bridge and shrugging before stepping off the end.

Ah, good point!

[Pooty]

I'd love to know how piooner-mk6-100 does it. He's not only just beaten many of the top times; he's absolutely demolished them. He managed to knock me off the top spot for Taxing 07 (EU) by 4 seconds (though my #1 ranking for Tricky 07 still stands. ).

But what has really grabbed my interest is Fun 09. Everyone else has settled on 1:26 minutes. His time, however, is 36 seconds.   Try as I might, I just can't see how this is possible.

[AlgoTomar]

I did Taxing 07 in 41.50 seconds which I thought was pretty good, but it's nowhere near the Top 5.

What is your time on Tricky 07?  (just curious...)

I have a partial solution that might explain how Fun 09 in 36 seconds is possible, but I can't figure out how to finish it.  It's very tricky:

1. Pause and set release rate to 50
2. As soon as L2 appears at top of screen, pause and set release rate back to 1
3. Basically, we need to find a way to make lemmings turn around without using the Blocker
4. Make L1 start building in center of the flat land
5. L2 will climb the ramp that L1 is building
6. As soon as L2 falls off the edge of L1's ramp and hits the ground, immediately set L2 to a builder
7. L2 will start building but hit his head on the underside of L1's ramp
8. This makes L2 turn around and start walking to the left
9. By now, L3 has hit the ground and is walking right
10. Don't worry about L1 any more -- just let him fall in the green muck and die
11. You now have two builders left.  L2 and L3 must build in the shape of λ to force all remaining lemmings to do an about-face and walk left -- (this is the part I can't make work -- the humps on the ground are critical to the placement if this method is really possible)

[Frevett]

What is your time on Tricky 07?  (just curious...)

He's got 33.54, about 12 seconds ahead of second place. Piooner isn't even in the top 5 for that one.

I have a partial solution that might explain how Fun 09 in 36 seconds is possible, but I can't figure out how to finish it.  It's very tricky:

I see what you're trying to do, but can't make it work either. Does a lambda shaped bridge force the lemmings to turn? I thought they'd still step round the bridge as normal. I know the double thick bridge still turns lemmings who approach it from the wrong side, but can't see how to get two lemmings to turn around to build it with only 4 bridges to use.

Made no more progress on saving 50 in 70 seconds on Mayhem 10. Here's what I'm doing if anyone else wants to try:

1. Make the third lemming dig as soon as he hits the ground (you can make the first dig if you want, but I've found this way helps with the precision clicking coming up)
2. About 10 lemmings will escape the pit being dug, and the first two will be a little ahead.
3. What you need to do is turn most of the lemmings back, but have at least two lemmings drop down below (one to bridge the trap, one to bridge the final gap by the exit).
4. If you have two diggers either side of a blocker (this really needs to be pixel-perfect) they will free the blocker, but their pits will be separated by a small column of terrain.
5. Of the two lemmings slightly ahead of the other escapees, wait until they have just passed over the trap beneath them, then make the second one of them a blocker; then immediately make the first one a digger. (This is why the slight gap is useful, the lemming ahead is already in the right place to dig; and if there's no gap then an extra lemming will escape the blocker. If you do it the other way round then you have to worry about not digging too early so that you free the blocker you just placed.)
6. This is the hard part. You want the final lemming that escaped the pit to dig the exact instant he turns round from the blocker. If done right this will free the blocker and he will walk into the pit that the lemming further ahead is digging, and this pit will be too deep for him to escape.
7. With this timing, the first pit should finish with the two lemmings facing in opposite directions. Leave it as late as you can to make them floaters; and make the digger that freed the blocker a floater as soon as possible. You want to leave the two lemmings that hit the floor as much of a headstart as possible.
8. The lemming that heads left towards the trap should bridge the trap as late as possible (this is the part I haven't got to work yet, I'm not fully sure it's possible) He needs to have built up to the wall before the other digger drops down and walks over the bridge (he'll turn round due to the wall and get killed by the trap through the bridge)
9. As soon as the bridge over the trap is done, immediately bash the digger who's digging down the main body of lemmings. They'll drop onto the bridge and all head towards the portal.
10. The lemming who headed right should bridge the gap to the exit as you'd expect.
11. If all is done right the other 49 lemmings will catch up with him just as he finishes bridging and exit in around 67 seconds.

Notes:
- freeing the blocker needs to be perfectly timed. Even when I know when to dig I still mess it up 9 out of 10 times.
- it is possible (and perhaps easier to time) to free the blocker with the second digger still facing right. However this means you'll get two lemmings facing right; and as the first lemming has more bridging to do before safety compared to the lemming bridging the trap, I don't think this is the right way to do it.
- if you look at the terrain right at the start; just before the steel there are three long ovals in it. If you set off a digger near the right hand side of the first oval, his pit will contain an overhang sticking out from the right hand side. I don't know if this is helpful in any way. It seems (it's happened twice for me) that if you dig in a certain spot, the overhang will be the right size so that there's a large enough gap in the ground for him to stop digging; but he will step onto the overhang and hence turn right before dropping down. I can't see how to get this to help, but I figured it was interesting enough to mention.
- if you follow my method above you'll have one digger left over. I can't see a way of using that to slow down the third lemming that hits the ground by the trap. I've tried making the blocker start digging as soon as he is freed (before he drops into the pit being dug to his right) but it doesn't slow him down enough.

[Pooty]

I have a partial solution that might explain how Fun 09 in 36 seconds is possible, but I can't figure out how to finish it.  It's very tricky:

Yeah, I think that might just work. I think a stack of 5 builder blocks are needed to make a lemming turn around. Of course, you only have four builders, meaning this method would make the placement of the third builder absolutely crucial.

[ccexplore]

I have a partial solution that might explain how Fun 09 in 36 seconds is possible, but I can't figure out how to finish it.  It's very tricky:

Yeah, I think that might just work. I think a stack of 5 builder blocks are needed to make a lemming turn around. Of course, you only have four builders, meaning this method would make the placement of the third builder absolutely crucial.

Well, I unfortunately don't own a PS3 so I can't test anything out, but assuming Pooty is right about the stack of 5 builder blocks, and based further on limited screenshots of PS3 Lemmings as well as similar tricks in old-school PC Lemmings, I've attached a screenshot diagram of one possible method you can try and see if it works for you on PS3.

[Pooty]

Yep, that was exactly what I had envisaged. After many attempts, I got as close to that diagram as is possible in this game, and it didn't work.

The third builder is the trouble area. What you see here was the earliest moment I could possibly deploy it. Build one frame earlier, and it would start building from the next brick up. 

The crosshair shows how close I was to making the plan work.

[Edit] Oh yeah, forgot to mention that there is a slight dent in the terrain that I tried to take advantage of in an attempt to give my building an extra lift. Still not enough. I feel like crying right now!

[ccexplore]

In the way I envision it to work in my diagram, your second builder (B) starts building as soon as he steps off from the first builder (A)'s 1st block.  The timing needs to be such that B lays one block, in the meanwhile A lays his 2nd block, and then B tries to step up but can't due to A's 2nd block.  B turns around as a result, and walks up onto A's 2nd block.  Immediately have B start building.  The idea is that with this setup, A hasn't laid his 3rd block yet when B turns around and steps up onto A's bridge, which would avoid the problem you have where B starts building too high.  So I guess the question is why you can't get it to work that way.

Another thing to consider if you're having trouble executing certain parts due to inability to select the correct lemming to assign skill to (because there are multiple lemmings under the selection crosshair), you might be able to change which lemming gets selected based on how early that lemming came out of the entrance trapdoor.  For example, with a floater and appropriate RR, you can make the 2nd lemming out overtake the 1st lemming out, so that it's the 2nd lemming out that lays the first bridge.

Finally, I wasn't able to find a good screenshot of this level.  If there are other bumps or otherwise unevenness in the terrain, it may be possible to concoct a different setup taking advantages of such bumps.  Put a good screenshot and maybe I can come up with something.

[edit: from AlgoTomar's page of screenshots, it looks like the relevant terrain here where you can build is pretty much flat, so it doesn't look like there's much to help you out terrain-wise]

[AlgoTomar]

Put a good screenshot and maybe I can come up with something.

Some good screenshots here:  http://portforward.com/games/walkthroughs/Lemmings/Fun-Level-9.htm

You can click on the images to enlarge.

[ccexplore]

Wow, no updates on this?  So I guess my idea totally doesn't work then?

Oh well, best of luck to achieving/beating other leaderboard records I guess.

[Frevett]

I can't seem to make the second lemming bump his head on the second bridgepiece laid by the first, he just keeps on building through it. A way to framestep would be very helpful. It has to be something similar to your diagram though. 36 seconds (the top score) is pretty much exactly how long it takes the main body of lemmings to reach the exit.

I've pretty much given up on how to get near the top scores on the last two levels. Pretty sure M9 needs a completely different path, and I still can't save the blocker in 70 seconds on M10.

I've been looking at Fun 6. The method I have means that even if I bridge the 6 non-climbers up straight away, it still takes around two minutes to get them to the exit (ignoring that some of them catch up with the digger at the end and so fall through facing the wrong way). Piooner has it in just over 90 seconds. The only other alternative I can see to bridging them up is to use the diggers to remove the wall in the way, but it's too thick to remove with just two; and you need a third to get through the platform just above the exit.

[ccexplore]

I can't seem to make the second lemming bump his head on the second bridgepiece laid by the first, he just keeps on building through it. A way to framestep would be very helpful. It has to be something similar to your diagram though. 36 seconds (the top score) is pretty much exactly how long it takes the main body of lemmings to reach the exit.

I see, I'm kinda afraid something like that might happen.  I wonder though, maybe the reason it doesn't work is because the second bridgepiece is simply too low for the PS3's builder game mechanics to detect?  If so, I wonder if the following setup (see diagram) might work.  This is what's supposed to happen, once again, it may fail spectacularly with PS3 game mechanics:

1) the 1st lemming (A) needs to lay his 2nd bridgepiece just as the 2nd lemming (B) falls off from A's first bridgepiece (ie. B never steps up onto A's 2nd bridgepiece, but that bridgepiece needs to be laid as soon as possible nevertheless)

2) when B lands, immediately assign him builder.

3) hopefully the timing works out such that when B is about to step up, A has just laid his 3rd bridgepiece that B would bump his head on

4) now this part I am most uncertain about:  in PC Lemmings, if the builder stops building due to bumping his head onto a ceiling, the game always move the lemming up onto the step he just laid, before doing the turn-around.  I have no idea how PS3 reacts in this situation especially since I don't know if it treats the 3rd bridgepiece as a ceiling or a wall (or something else).

But if PS3 reacts similarly to the PC Lemmings ceiling case, it might just be possible for B to start building the yellow bridge in the position shown in the diagram.  You must assign B builder immediately after he stops building, not giving him a chance to walk (otherwise he'd get up onto A's 3rd bridgepiece).

5) Another uncertain part is whether B will be able to lay the second yellow bridgepiece in the diagram.  The hope is that A's 3rd bridgepiece (in red) is low enough that B will build through it (just like the failure you encountered with my first diagram), and A's 4th bridgepiece (not depicted) is far enough to the right that it is undetectable by B.

6) If the yellow bridge works then once again, one final bridgepiece (green) by a 3rd lemming will create the stack of 5.