NepsterLix

[kaywhyn]

August 28, 2026 stream is over and I managed to solve 10 more levels of the Planet rank, one of which was Altruism, the level that Simon skipped Replays attached

I also attempted Planet 13 - Choir of the Mad but was a no solve. I remember this level from Nepster's Return of the Tribes, the L2 level pack for Old Formats NL that Nepster never finished making, so it was just a matter of remembering the solution. There, it's remade in the L2 Medieval tileset. I wasn't able to remember the entire solution during the stream before I ended. I remember it involved some really clever use of the blocker, but what that is, I can't yet remember. The interesting thing is that I played through all the levels of the pack that Nepster made for Return of the Tribes last year. So, I apparently can remember solutions from 3-5 years ago but not from a year ago? It sure boggles the mind! At the same time, there's more, and that is I haven't spent anywhere near as much time on the Return of the Tribes levels as NepsterLems despite how the levels in the former are just as hard, if not harder, and it does feel a lot harder IMO.

Once I manage to solve Planet 13 offline I'll stream more of the pack. Still haven't figured it out yet, but I know the solution will come to me given time

This time, the ones that look like backroutes are Tomb Raider and Cubism. At least I'm certain I don't recall solving Tomb Raider from NepsterLems like the way I did the NepsterLix version. I remember not taking a shortcut at all for the level in the NepsterLems pack and taking the long way around pretty much the entire level.

Both Altruism and Cubism were new to me, as they're not in NepsterLems. The rest of the levels I've played are from NepsterLems, so it was more or less a matter of trying to remember the solution I used in the latter. I remembered the solution to Five do not Survive incorrectly for a few minutes before it came back to my memory. I might had also been wrong about using an RR timing based solution in the NepsterLems version of the level. Any levels where I did abuse the RR manipulation in NL I had to come up with a somewhat new solution, though luckily they didn't need too much of a tweak from the solution I used.

Regarding Altruism, yes, absolutely agree that it's too difficult for its position. It really reminds me of Scrap the Builders from NepsterLems, and IIRC that level is Sun 7 in the latter, which is the rank after Planet and hence the 4th rank. Indeed, Altruism greatly resembles the layout of Scrap the Builders, and the feedback given for the latter is that it really feels more of a Black Hole rank level, and I absolutely agree there! Especially as both Icho and namida struggled with it. I did as well, and that was the next level of the pack that caused me to quit the NepsterLems pack for a while back in 2020, after I was finally successful in getting past my previous roadblock, Planet 13 - 50% is not Enough. Ultimately, when I finally did return to the NL pack, I ended up using a really overcomplicated solution that just barely works thanks to the fast triggering needles trap of the L1 Pillar set. Also, Altruism feels way harder than the NepsterLems version of the level!

Enjoying the pack as usual and can't wait to play the rest! Great levels I remember them being, especially the new ones I haven't played because they're not in NepsterLems      

[kaywhyn]

Monday, August 31, 2026 stream is over, and I managed to solve Planet 13 offline, the remaining 7 levels of the Planet rank, and the first 8 levels of the Sun rank! Replays attached.

Regarding Planet 13, turns out I was a big dumb dumb, as I apparently can't tell the difference between terrain and what I erroneously thought was water at the bottom the entire time! Ok, the solution is slightly different to that in Nepster's Return of the Tribes, the latter which IMO has a far more clever use of the blocker in the level. Its use is somewhat clever in NepsterLix as well, just not as much Still, great level!

Planet 15 - No Matter What I try... is new to me. It looks hard but it wasn't too bad at all, especially as my solution should be a backroute given the skills I had leftover. Hence, it's not as hard as it should be.

The remaining Planet rank levels are all familiar to me from NepsterLems, though I used slightly different solutions to Cannonballs in the Air, Minor Obstacles, and The Marble Temple. While solving Minor Obstacles, I learned a nuisance of bombing in a miner tunnel in Lix, where it makes an unsurmountable wall. I believe SuperLemmini has this as well, so it's not new to me, but rather, I don't think I knew about this Lix mechanic until this stream. At the same time, because the bomber holes are different depending on whether you use the flinging bomber or non-flinging one, it might be surmountable with the flinging bomber (Edit: tested it, and yup, it is).

For the Sun rank, only Haunted Walls was new to me. Hard one, though I eventually solved it and it's probably a slight backroute, but it's an excellent level despite that!

I kind of dreaded playing Cliff Jumpers again in NepsterLix, as I remember the execution can be painful from NepsterLems. I checked my NL replay after I solved this level and turns out I more or less had the same solution, with the start done differently and done another thing differently to make execution a bit less painful and somewhat better skill management.

Lament of Innocence is a Sun rank level in Nepsterlix, whereas it's in the Black Hole rank (fifth and final rank) in NepsterLems, Black Hole 2 to be exact. I suppose its placement in NepsterLix is fine here, as IMO it honestly isn't too difficult of a level and not really much of a Black Hole level. On the other hand, I saw that Thin Layers is a Sun rank level in NepsterLix, whereas it's Black Hole 1 in NepsterLems. This is the level that was responsible for halting my progress in NepsterLems and hence prevented me from solving all of the pack for nearly 3 years! It is most definitely worthy of the Black Hole rank! From memory, Icho really had to convince Nepster to uprank Thin Layers to the Black Hole rank in NepsterLems. When this happened, Dunes in turn was downranked from Black Hole to Neutron Star, which I agree with, as Dunes is quite easy. I haven't played either Dunes or Thin Layers in NepsterLix yet, but I very likely will for Wednesday's stream (September 2, 2026). I'm simply pointing out the NepsterLems feedback on these two levels as best as I can recall them.

Can't wait to play more NepsterLix soon, and I continue to enjoy the pack very much!  

[kaywhyn]

Wednesday, September 2, 2026 stream is over, and I managed to solve the remaining 12 levels of the Sun rank, as well as the first 5 levels of the Black Hole rank! Replays attached.

This time, only Dawn in Lixtown is new to me, as that one isn't in NepsterLems. It is also a level that wraps and is very small as indicated by the vertical gray lines. Despite the small level size, it still looks quite daunting, especially with the 1-of-everything skillset except for diggers, where you don't have any, along with two entrances and two exits. Overall, the level wasn't as hard as I expected, though that's because my solution is probably a backroute due to the skills I had left. Even then, it's still worthy of the Sun rank finisher position, especially as it has wrap. The level was a pretty enjoyable one to puzzle and work out! I also love the various Lix sprites in the level!

The rest of the levels are familiar to me as they're all in NepsterLems as well. Except for Thin Layers, Mount Doom, and Fall and Never Live, which are in the Black Hole rank in NepsterLems, these levels are in the Neutron Star rank of NepsterLems, for which the Sun rank of NepsterLix is more or less the equivalent of (they're both the 4th rank out of 5 of their respective packs)

Some Sun Levels Feedback

A Ticket to Hell! - I remember my solution is slightly different in NepsterLems as I took advantage of a basher mechanic that's possible in NL but not in Lix

Spoiler

In NL, you can make a basher staircase by interrupting midstroke, but in Lix, she either removes none or all of the terrain at once, therefore making staircases with the basher is impossible in Lix.

Not only that, it took me a while to figure out the solution, as I couldn't remember the general idea for some time. Also, the NepsterLix level has a platformer, while NepsterLems only gives builders as it sticks to the classic 8 skills. Once I did figure it out, it was quite satisfying when it all fell into place!

Oddbox - My solution is more or less the same as my NepsterLems solution, though here you have a runner and so I suppose it can be slightly easier to execute in NepsterLix. I think I remember abusing something in NL and hence it feels more of a backroute there than in NepsterLix.

Dunes Much harder here than in NepsterLems, though in the end I used the exact same general solution as the one in NepsterLems. It's pretty much a matter of allocating the runner skill to the right Lix in order for the timing to all work out. Also, as mentioned in the spoiler for A Ticket in Hell!, the level in NepsterLix is harder due to a basher mechanic that isn't possible in Lix but is in NepsterLems. Even then, I would agree that the NepsterLix isn't worthy of the Black Hole rank despite being a bit harder than the NepsterLems version.

Thin Layers - As mentioned in the stream, this was the level that was responsible for preventing my solving all of NepsterLems for almost 3 years, all because of one critical spot that I was pretty much blind to the whole time See my video stream for the explanation, especially if you're not too bothered by spoilers Forgotten one part of the solution for a bit, but overall you can use the same solution here as in the NepsterLems version, except in the latter it's a bit easier to pull off since you can

Spoiler

adjust the RR during gameplay.

Also, this is Black Hole 1 in NepsterLems instead of a Sun rank level like in NepsterLix.

Mount Doom - Ok, there's a gap in the terrain that most definitely isn't there in the NepsterLems version. For some reason, I couldn't remember how to do the solution from there, and honestly I remember solving that level very quickly and was wondering, what the heck is this level doing in the Black Hole rank? It's quite easy for the final rank! I managed to figure out how I solved it in NepsterLems before I watched my video solution, so goodness knows why it didn't occur to me during the stream Also, I at first didn't recognize that it has a version in NepsterLems, but I quickly caught on in the first few minutes. It's remade in the Dirt tileset and is Black Hole 10 there.

Spoiler

For whatever reason, it didn't occur to me to have the left digger go a bit lower than the digger on the right instead of cancel him before or at the same level of the digger on the right so that you can bash everyone out to the right, which gives the builder enough time to bridge the gaps and then to finish mining to the exit in time.

On the Edge of Death This level has a 1 minute time limit in NepsterLems and as such the solution I used here in NepsterLix wouldn't work because it would time out long before I can even finish the level. Also a bit easier to pull off in NepsterLems due to the spoiler above for Thin Layers.

Fall and Never Live - This level is in the Black Hole rank in NepsterLems. I remember using a really heavy timing solution there. Since that's not possible here in NepsterLix, it's probably just slightly easier as a result. Even then, I still don't find it easy in any way. It's one of the final 5 levels of NepsterLems and definitely one of the hardest of the pack. The bashing probably can be made easier, but to get it to work some precision was needed with some earlier parts of the level.

Some Black Hole Levels Feedback

A Heart for Lix - This level is in Return of the Tribes, the L2 pack for NL that Nepster never finished. I don't exactly remember the solution I used there, but I think I remember I used some extreme brute force to cheese the level. I might had done the same here as well, though it doesn't look too hackish or as brute forced.

Gray Walls - This one has a time limit in NepsterLems, though maybe my solution would finish on time here so all is fine.

The Rule of the One - Way more backroutable in NepsterLems due to how I used a heavy timing solution. The solution I used here in NepsterLix should be the intended way, as I tried other alternatives but couldn't get them to work, including trying to imitate the general heavy timing solution I used in NepsterLems.

A Bowl of Pillars - This one is a Neutron Star rank level in NepsterLems. I believe I use the exact same solution.

No added Colors and Lix Definitely a backroute, though I also use a really heavy timing solution in NepsterLems for this level that of course isn't required at all.

80/96 NepsterLix levels solved! Meaning, 16 more levels to go for the main part of the pack and then a final Outtakes rank are all that's left of the pack!    

[kaywhyn]

Wednesday, September 9, 2026 stream is over, and I solved 12 more levels of the Black Hole rank. Replays attached.

The new levels that aren't in NepsterLems are A Day in Lixtown, Cross the Red Line, and Very Derailed Level. The first one is a repeat of Dawn in Lixtown, which is the Sun rank finisher. The former is much harder as a result but it has an excellent solution and is one of my favorites! I backrouted the original I believe.

Cross the Red Line should be a backroute, though I had another solution that would had worked except the climbers would climb a high wall and splat. I think it might had still been salvageable though with a minor tweak. I'll have to check. edit: Yup, it works, alternative replay included.

One Minute of Action is currently quite broken in NepsterLix, even without the 1 minute time limit like in NepsterLems. I do believe I backrouted the level more or less the exact same way like I did in NepsterLems.

Very Derailed Level is credited to Insane Steve/Nepster. Wow, really hard level, and in several of my attempts near the end I was fighting with a timing based solution that I couldn't pull off but that the level was actually solvable the entire time had I let it play out some more in the end I don't know if my solution is intended, especially with the way

Spoiler

the basher was able to remove the thin wall as well so that you kill two birds with one stone here

The remaining 9 levels are in NepsterLems as well. I had to use a different solution for 9/11 in NepsterLix, as once again staircases aren't possible like they are in NL.

A Sunny Day in April felt easier here in NepsterLix than in NepsterLems for some reason. For the latter, it's definitely fitting for the Black Hole rank, as it's one of the hardest levels of the rank/pack IMO.

Mining the Rainbow is Mining Company in NepsterLems, is Black Hole 9 there, and is the level that namida stopped at in his LP of NepsterLems from back in I believe 2017 or so. This means he got about halfway through the final rank and had 13 levels left for NepsterLems. He has not gone back to solve the rest of the pack since. Yea, I can absolutely understand why namida got stumped on this level in NepsterLems. I too struggled with it from when I first played it in 2023. It too is definitely fitting for the Black Hole rank, as it's one of the hardest levels but one of the best of the pack IMO! Here, I had trouble with the execution, which I don't remember having too much execution trouble with the level in NepsterLems.

HangLix is quite possibly the hardest level of the Black Hole rank, but only because it's very fiddly to get right no matter how you approach it. Like Icho, it's not one of my favorites of NepsterLems, though I largely have myself to blame for really overcomplicating the solution there. On the other hand, the NepsterLix version didn't seem as bad, but it's still very finnicky to do. It's remade in the L1 Pillar set in NL, meaning it has the slow rope trap just like the slow trap here in the Lix version, but they aren't as slow as you might think

Finally, Operation Overlord is credited to Crane/Nepster. Crane has a level called Deep Freeze, and someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Nepster's level is based on Crane's level. I don't remember having much trouble with the splat height on the right side in the NepsterLems version. This really irritated me here in NepsterLix, as I kept needing to readjust it plenty of times until they didn't splat anymore. In any case, it's just as hard here as in NepsterLems.

3 Black Hole levels left, 1 level in its own Final rank, and a full Outtakes rank of 11 levels are all that's left! I will probably stream the pack one last time on Friday and quite possibly finish up NepsterLix The end is near! Excellent job to Nepster with the pack despite all the backroutes!