Author Topic: Lix Community Level Set - First complete Beta!  (Read 46676 times)

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Offline geoo

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Lix Community Level Set - First complete Beta!
« on: July 02, 2014, 05:13:07 PM »
Finally I'm able to present a first complete beta of the lix community level set! 6 ratings of 40 levels each. No hints yet, but you can see them in the xls spreadsheet (see below). Especially me and Insane Steve still have to write hints for our levels.

Download of the level pack: https://github.com/geoo89/lixlfpack/zipball/gh-pages
Level list, alphabetic (html): http://geoo89.github.com/lixlfpack/
Level list, alphabetic (xls spreadsheet): https://github.com/geoo89/lixlfpack/blob/gh-pages/lixlfpack.xls?raw=true

Please make sure to use the latest version of lix (2015-09-02 or newer) to play these levels! You can get it here: http://www.lemmingsforums.com/index.php?topic=1021.msg21098#msg21098 And please refer to levels by their name rather than their rating and number, as the rating and number might still change.

I'm in the process of compiling a solution archive that contains at least one solution for each level. I will use that to verify that all levels are solvable, also for upcoming version. At this point I don't have a 100% guarantee that all levels are solvable, but don't have any reason to believe that the latest physics changes broke anything (I updated Trading and Cooperation for the new version). Once I've verified that all levels are solvable, I'll post that here.

For those who have not played the set before: Please record your solutions and post them here! Also tell us about levels that you thought were too hard or too easy for their position. There's also a folder 'outtakes' with levels that I moved out but that are still decent levels. You can have a look at these too and say if you think there's a level amongst the 240 official levels that could maybe be replaced with one of these because you e.g. feel it's better.



Proposed changes that will/might appear in some future version:
picard maneuver -> heels
Triangle Ineq: Enforce Akseli's variation? -- No
The last laugh: Enforce Akseli's variation?
Change Builder to Basher in 'Climb to Freedom'?
Slipping and Slipping Again: Replace Slipping Again with Top Gear or the original tseug version of Slipping? Fix Slipping.
Replace Three Days of the Condor with Lixes in Motion.
Sneak in The Mile High Club or some other of Ramon's levels
Absolute Zero or its Eye of the Needle? (Two other levels already use the Abs. Zero trick)
Follow the Yellow Brick Road – This was easier than Charge of the Lix Brigade imo (Akseli).
Backroute fixes:
Look at Well OK then. -- Leave as is.
Vicious 1: enforce use of a miner/digger at the very right?
Check levels where assigning a bomber within the first 5 seconds opens backroutes
Fix Just stop the bleeding

Changelog for the beta release:
2015-09-10: Nepster backroute fixes. Updates to levels using burners or both types of exploders. Moved levels around within and between ratings. Some other minor changes.
New: Daunting/repeatingpatterns.txt, Hopeless/parkinggarage.txt, Hopeless/lasranas.txt
Removed: Quirky/excavation.txt, Cunning/soaring.txt, Daunting/thebottomless.txt
2015-06-23: Backroute fixes: elixir, erbalunga, someliketorun, alieninvasion, backslash, buyonegetonefree1, buyonegetonefree2, cornerstone, littleminerpuzz3, narbaculardrop, ohnonotagain, themon0lith, trading, wereinthisonetog, bulldozer, lixesinarms, spingeometry, triangleineq
Time limit removed: changing, spingeometry
2015-04-25: Backroute fixes: Yuki, Muon, Madobe Nite, Hotel in Hell, Waltz, Seven Pillars
2014-08-02: Backroute fixes: bipolar (Akseli), devilsrighthand (Nepster), loveisover (Akseli), themon0lith (Akseli), wereinthisonetog (Akseli), lixesinarms (Nepster).
Frogs added to: recyclingplant, acompletelyridiculous.
New, more interesting version of thepit.
2014-07-15: Swapped acompletelyridiculous and thepit, swapped theitalianjob/walktheplank and danceswithlixes, swapped Minimalism 1 and Minimalism 2. Some other minor rearrangements.
Backroute fixes: anotherfuneral (sekti), breackout (sekti), ittakestime (Akseli), alieninvasion (Akseli), overthehump (Nepster), tributetobennyhill (sekti), chasm (Akseli), gethype (Akseli), lixesinarms (Nepster), thecrimsonroom (Akseli).
Dividing Three by Two: 100% requirement.
Minor changes: Walk the Plank, Lix Cannon, Excavation, Lix Potion Number Nine.
2014-07-06: You Only Get One Bash at It updated to v2 (don't know why I still had the old version here). 'Hole in the head gang' treatment for Just Stop the Bleeding.
2014-07-05: Minimalism 1: SI set to 12. Alien Invasion: Backroute fix.
2014-07-04-03: Every Which Way: backroute fix. Can't Reach It: eased execution. Fear of Heights: backroute fix.
2014-07-04-02: Removed time limit from Variety Day.
2014-07-04-01: Fixed Roundabout.
2014-07-03: Implemented the changes suggested in this post, see this post.


List of recent changes (apart from ordering) from the alpha to the beta release:

Levels I took out (first wave):
Lixology
Play Ball!
Confusing Fractals
Leap Of The Locust
Wrong Way
A fearful Symmetry
A Soulful Bounding Leap!
Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo
It's All Uphill From Here
A Lix on the Edge!
Eye of the Needle
Heavenly skies
Lixes in Motion
Snake
The Giant Mushroom
Diggin' The Air

Levels I took out (second wave):
Paragliding to the Pyramid
Top Gear
Go Ahead and Help Yourself
The Road Not Taken
Castles in the Sky

Note: Some of these levels I will recommend or request to be included in Project Capybara.

Level changes:
A lot of levels in the Simple rating have skillset changes and maybe other miner changes. Please check for yourself if you have any objections.
The Ring of Fnargl: Skillset changed and hatch moved up for ease of execution.
Migration: No time-limit, no blocker/bomber, walker instead as discussed in IRC.
Escape the Pit: Skillset and terrain change.


Some style usage stats:
construction47
marble44
sandstone42
abstract36
bricks24
earth19
winter18
underworld17
proxima15
goldmine14
shadow11
tapir11
carnival11
beach3
oriental3
occult1
nopales1
forest0
Authors:
Insane Steve53
Michael51
geoo37
mobius26
Nortaneous12
I.S./Michael6
I.S./geoo4
Simon4
ccx3
minimac3
mobius/geoo3
mobius/Michael3
namida3
Nepster3
Rubix3
tseug3
Ben Bryant2
M. Zurlinden2
mobius/Nort.2
Pieuw/mobius2
Akseli1
Amanda1
BulletRide1
ccx/geoo1
finlay1
Isu1
M.Z./mobius1
Michael/geoo1
mobius/Clam1
mobius/I.S.1
mobius/Nepster1
namida/Michael1
Pieuw1
Prob Lem1
weirdybeardy1
Levels with time limits:
allover240
brutefours300
buridan70
changing60
cryforme180
deathorglory120
divisionoflabor210
dontlookback25
dreamtheimpossible120
exitstageright60
feelthepressure71
finale180
imgonnamakeyoumine180
leapoffaith180
lix309
lixsterquadrille120
metalcitymayhem240
nomoreheroes60
ohnonotagain150
panicattack180
pathofwickedness180
roundtrip240
segmentationfault150
spingeometry60
stuffintheway120
thehotelinhell120
thelastlaugh120
themon0lith140
ticktoxic70
timetochange59
tinkertailorsoldier190
toccata180
toofartowalk135
tributetobennyhill3600
<del>varietyday</del><del>300</del>
« Last Edit: April 17, 2016, 05:20:10 PM by geoo »

Offline Akseli

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Re: Lix Community Level Set - First complete Beta!
« Reply #1 on: July 02, 2014, 07:01:21 PM »
DOWNLOADED IT.

This is fabulous. Don't even know what to say, maybe I'll just go and play it! What a cheer-up for my day.

Offline RubiX

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Re: Lix Community Level Set - First complete Beta!
« Reply #2 on: July 02, 2014, 09:54:56 PM »
 :thumbsup: Good work geoo

Offline Proxima

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Re: Lix Community Level Set - First complete Beta!
« Reply #3 on: July 02, 2014, 09:58:06 PM »
Let's all go down the strand: I might be remembering wrong, but I thought I read somewhere (can't find it anymore) that you suggested removing the diggers?

Yes, and also, there are a few more suggested changes that haven't been implemented yet:

The Borderland -- require 30/60
Death or Glory -- fixed spawn interval of 50 to remove backroute. (The backroute does work on the Lemmix original, but the intended solution is very nice so I would rather enforce it. Lemmix doesn't allow fixed RR, of course, but the intended solution can be carried out without changing the RR.)
Watch Ye Step -- change all factory traps to squisher traps to remove backroute. (Mobius originally disagreed with this but later changed his mind and supported it.)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Lix -- should be attributed to "mobius", not "mobius / Michael". I did find an unintended solution, which mobius then decided to make the main solution, but I didn't do any editing on this level.
Path of Wickedness -- remove the small block just above the hatch to remove backroutes.

Quote
Finale: I used the latest version that you posted, in the corresponding post you say you can save 38, but the requirement is only 36. Is that intended? See: http://www.lemmingsforums.com/index.php?topic=593.msg18902#msg18902 I might swap it with Empty Space or Chasm if the requirement stays at 36.

That's intended, and I don't think it's difficult enough for Hopeless regardless of the requirement.

Offline geoo

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Re: Lix Community Level Set - First complete Beta!
« Reply #4 on: July 02, 2014, 11:58:42 PM »
Thanks Proxima for these notes! I faintly remember these suggestions, but somehow I must have forgotten to note them down at the time. I made a quick update (same link) swapping 'Finale' with 'Empty Space' and implementing the other suggestions (except for the author names in 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Lix', you came up with that solution so I think you should get credit for it even if you didn't edit the level! It's the same with 'The Picard Maneuver' which basically features Steve's solution).

Offline chaos_defrost

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Re: Lix Community Level Set - First complete Beta!
« Reply #5 on: July 03, 2014, 06:03:15 PM »
Finally got my computer to run the newest release of Lix, so I can actually make the changes I need to here.  8)
"こんなげーむにまじになっちゃってどうするの"

~"Beat" Takeshi Kitano

Offline Prob Lem

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Re: Lix Community Level Set - First complete Beta!
« Reply #6 on: July 03, 2014, 07:55:09 PM »
I know full well that this contributes absolutely nothing, but: Squee! I have a level in this pack! :thumbsup:

I've got some bits to get in order with regard to my sewing, tonight, but I'll be grabbing the pack later and getting stuck in. :)

Offline NaOH

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Re: Lix Community Level Set - First complete Beta!
« Reply #7 on: July 03, 2014, 09:39:21 PM »
From IRC an hour ago:

 I have my friend sekti play through the set as well, and he got stuck at Quirky 13 too. I therefore had another look at it and couldn't find a simple solutions, they are all kinda tricky (I remember it being way easier for some reason). So I think it should be moved at least to Cunning

I found Quirky 13, "A Completely Ridiculous Level," to have fairly diverse solutions, none of which were particularly obvious. My solution (attached) is completely different from Nepster's solution, for example. Finding a solution wasn't especially satisfying though; it felt to me like I'd hacked one together rather than arrived at a "eureka!" moment.

Mod Edit: Restored attachments.
« Last Edit: December 28, 2014, 08:05:22 PM by Prob Lem »

Offline geoo

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Re: Lix Community Level Set - First complete Beta!
« Reply #8 on: July 04, 2014, 12:21:13 AM »
This (NaOH's) solution from the post above to 'A completely ridiculous level' doesn't use any fancy tricks except for the jumper at least, unlike the other ones I found recently.

Anyway, somehow the old version of Roundabout (currently Quirky 16) that has a little gap and is thus probably unsolvable snuck in, I don't know how, but I fixed that in the latest version.

Offline namida

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Re: Lix Community Level Set - First complete Beta!
« Reply #9 on: July 04, 2014, 12:59:31 AM »
I haven't played, but I know four of the levels are remakes of my LPDOS (or in one case, LPII) levels. I also noticed it mentioned somewhere that these levels have been given time limits.

I believe Labyrinth of Despair was somewhat modified, so if a time limit is used there as part of the challenge, that's fine. Panic Attack and Hellfire also use the time limit as secondary obstacles; not the main challenge of the level but they still add some sense of urgency to them. But in a game such as Lix that allows for levels without time limits, I think Variety Day is better off without one (you'll probably notice that the original (Lemmings) version gives over twice as long as is actually needed to complete the level).
My Lemmings projects
2D Lemmings: NeoLemmix (engine) | Lemmings Plus Series (level packs) | Doomsday Lemmings (level pack)
3D Lemmings: Loap (engine) | L3DEdit (level / graphics editor) | L3DUtils (replay / etc utility) | Lemmings Plus 3D (level pack)

Offline geoo

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Re: Lix Community Level Set - First complete Beta!
« Reply #10 on: July 04, 2014, 01:09:00 AM »
Proxima changed Labyrinth of Despair into a 3-of-each level (for an appropriate set of skills) which makes it one of the hardest levels in the entire pack.

At this point Variety Day and Panic Attack had a time limit, but I just removed the time limit from Variety Day.

Offline Akseli

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Re: Lix Community Level Set - First complete Beta!
« Reply #11 on: July 04, 2014, 03:41:18 PM »
The first impression is: This is harder right from the beginning than I expected! I hope that new players are really familiar with Lemmings and also that the upcoming Lix tutorials are going to be a thorough briefing for this game. Even the very first level most probably looks complex for a beginner with the huge landscape and the skillset. At the moment my view is that this levelset is targeted for experienced Lemmings/Lix players. For comparison, I remember RubiX's Epic Adventure to be an excellent set difficulty-wise for not that experienced players. I hope this comment won't discourage the authors if they aimed this pack to be playable for a wide audience, but at the moment it seems that even the Simple rating has Taxing-Mayhem difficulty levels. But I've been enjoying loads of this levelset definitely!

I've attached my solutions for levels from two first rankings. As always when recording solutions for a new levelset, I aim to solve the levels as naturally as possible, trying to avoid hacky/messy solutions. Replays tell easily more than words, but here's some notes:

Simple 10: Little Miner Puzzle (Part 1) - If my solution is correct, the first miner is hard to realize compared to the position of this level in this set.
20: The Borderland – This stood out for me! :thumbsup: Like I've mentioned before, aesthetics is important for me, and I found this level really rewarding to play, well done Proxima!
26: Think Fast! - Easy for its place.
33: Don't Leave Me Hanging! - BulletRide is listed as the (only) author, though the landscape and the skillset are different from the original Lemmix level, intentional?
38: Fear of Heights – Easy for its place, see replay. In Lemmix version some of the latest guys splatted, so the digger had to be placed at the right, so some of the first guys turned from the wall and the last guys managed to survive.

Quirky 6: 6 Gaps, 5 Builders – Tricky for its place. The rating name though describes this level well if my solution is correct. :P
10: Can't Reach it – Don't Need It - Miner assignment has to be accurate to avoid breaking the builder bridge, intentional?
13: A Completely Ridiculous Level - As discussed before, way too tricky for its place. My solution is pretty bizarre. :P
17: Decompression Method 1 – A nice level, resembles Lem ramp scam (ClamSpam03, level 9) imo. :P
18: Path to Mahimah: M. Zurlinden is listed as the (only) author, though the title and the skillset are different from the original MazuLems level, intentional?
19: 100 Ways to Die – A nice level, though easy for its place.
20: Little Miner Puzzle (Part 2) - This was relatively easy after part 1.
26: Another Lix in the Wall – The second level (after A Completely Ridiculous Level) to trick me at least for 10 minutes.
34: Follow the Yellow Brick Road – This was easier than Charge of the Lix Brigade imo.

Also I loved Minimalism-levels and Simon's levels, that guy said he can't design single player levels but those (Ferry Tale and Logging Your Progress) were flawless. More comments should come!

I'd be interested in seeing stats for author amounts also.

Offline Simon

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Re: Lix Community Level Set - First complete Beta!
« Reply #12 on: July 04, 2014, 04:16:29 PM »
Cunning, Every Which Way but Loose: The attached solution must build pixel-perfectly inside the small steel pit.

Thanks for the accolade, Akseli. :-)

-- Simon

Offline Proxima

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Re: Lix Community Level Set - First complete Beta!
« Reply #13 on: July 04, 2014, 06:25:04 PM »
20: The Borderland – This stood out for me! :thumbsup: Like I've mentioned before, aesthetics is important for me, and I found this level really rewarding to play, well done Proxima!

Thank you.  :'(  This level has a special place in my heart because of the story behind it, so I'm deeply touched that you liked it.

When I was a kid, one of my incessant hobbies was drawing levels for existing and invented computer games (though my invented ones were always closely inspired by real ones -- a flaw that pervades all my creative works). Naturally, that included Lemmings levels -- and years later, I rediscovered these and remade the best few in Cheapo. (It goes without saying that the vast majority were not worth preserving.) Three of them were even good enough to remake for this community set -- Lemming Caxton (now called The Two Towers), Somewhere Under the Rainbow (now called Changing of the Guards, not to be confused with Nortaneous' similarly titled level) and Behind Bars. A fourth, Too Close for Comfort, was rejected, but its terrain was used for Vignette.

I also drew a game series I called Suicide, inspired by Lemmings and another game whose name I've forgotten. The first game was pretty much the same as Lemmings but with a different set of skills, and only one critter to save. Later, I introduced "the Hordes", mindless critters who had to be saved, but you could still only give skills to your one "leader". I invented a world for the game to take place in, drew maps of "Horderland", and wrote an adventure gamebook  ;)

Much later -- towards the end of high school -- I drew the levels for the last game in this series. This was a much more thoughtful effort, with some good puzzles and attention to level aesthetics. I've still got the maps, even though there is no chance they will ever be turned into a playable game. The level The Borderland is simply a splicing together of the maps for the first difficulty rating (Pastel Port). The title is of course a pun on "Horderland", as well as the idea of two regions (the domains of the two hatches) meeting at a border.

Offline Proxima

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Re: Lix Community Level Set - First complete Beta!
« Reply #14 on: July 04, 2014, 07:16:29 PM »
I'd like to add that we discussed first levels for each set in the other topic, but I think you've also made excellent choices for the other "landmark" positions (20th, 21st, 39th and last).

There is an error in your list in the first post, geoo. Toccata's time limit is 180 (3:00), not 80. This is correct in the level itself.