Author Topic: [Lemmings 2] Quest From Kieran 2 Development Thread  (Read 54680 times)

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Offline kieranmillar

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[Lemmings 2] Quest From Kieran 2 Development Thread
« on: April 17, 2017, 07:34:07 AM »
This pack has been released, please download from the release thread: https://www.lemmingsforums.net/index.php?topic=3655.0

Welcome to my Lemmings 2 : The Tribes level pack, Quest From Kieran 2!

The gimmick of this pack is that each of the tribes has its own set of 8 thematically-appropriate skills, and their levels use only those skills. I hope this means each tribe not only looks different, but plays differently too!

Any feedback is greatly appreciated. As the author it can be hard to spot when levels are broken, or completely misjudge the perceived difficulty of a level so the ordering might be totally out of whack. Unfortunately there's no replay feature, but if you think you've broken a level a description of how you solved it should be all I need.

Note that this is a "save everyone" pack. Every level has 100% save requirement for gold, except for the Classic Tribe, where the number you are allowed to lose and still get gold is stated in the title for each of their levels.

Apologies that some levels might need some pixel perfect skill use. I've tried to go to lengths to avoid it where possible, but with Lemmings 2's 8x16 grid, there's only so much you can do with terrain placement.

An enormous thank you for GuyPerfect's lgl2 and geoo's L2suite. Two amazing tools that made all of this possible.

Where is Quest From Kieran 1?
It's in development, I started fiddling around with the Neolemmix editor but then had ideas for Lemmings 2 and I'm not one to squander a creative splurge, so it's on the backburner until the ideas stop coming for Lemmings 2.

Meet the Tribes!

Beach
Like, we're totally gonna get you that talisman piece from the clams that stole it dude, but, like, there's this totally sick bunch of waves coming and I'm, like, totally there man! Surf's up dude!


Level 7: Lifeguard to the Rescue

Cavelems
10,000 years ago lemmingkind first roamed the world and survived using primitive tools. Today those lemmings are... clearly dead, I mean come on man, it was 10,000 years ago! However their memory lives on with a bunch of ironic hipsters who forgo modern technology because it's way too mainstream. But the joke's on them, now they have to deliver the talisman and have to travel by foot. Suckers!


Level 8: Dino Might

Circus
Roll Up! Roll Up! Come and see the greatest show on Lemming Island! Watch as the incredible SuperLem takes on the trapeze, without a safety net... or a trapeze! Come see our amazing laser display! And watch with amazement as sixty of our finest clowns try to deliver the talisman piece, with hilarious consequences!


Level 4: Teeny-Weeny Houdini

Classic
Nobody understands these guys. Everyone else has moved on and developed new tricks, as well as a better social understanding that deaths are often unnecessary, yet this tribe continues to do the same old stuff with the same old tricks over and over again. Legend has it that they've conquered thousands and thousands of landscapes and yet they keep on going, and somehow despite the massive losses there are just so many of them that they never go extinct. Lets hope there's still some of them left by the time they deliver their talisman piece.


Level 5: Overflow

Egyptian
Egyptian lore says that one of the gods buried the talisman piece alongside them, but there are so many gods, I guess we'll just have to check every tomb! The Egyptians love their pots, that's why this tribe bought along a whole bunch of them as their only construction skills! Historians are keen to point out that the magic carpet is actually Arabian, and not Egyptian, but the Arabian tribe don't care, they were made extinct a thousand years ago after one of them got drunk and triggered the armageddon.


Level 3: The Climber's Curse

Highland
After correctly predicting the prophecy of the Darkness befalling Lem Island, the Highland Tribe felt a bit upset that they weren't getting quite the level of thanks they'd hoped for. So Jimmy McLemming held an independence referendum for the Highland Tribe to become their own sovereign group. Unfortunately it quickly occurred to them that they were doomed without the other talisman pieces and so the referendum failed. Dejected and defeated, Jimmy McLemming spent the rest of his days drowning his sorrows with cheap bottles of scotch whiskey, so nothing different to usual really.


Level 7: Scaling Lem Nevis

Medieval
The Medieval Tribe prides itself as defender of the realm. Using the swordsmanship, bowmanship and chivalry passed down from generation to generation, Lemming island is safe from all intruders! So who better to deliver the King's talisman piece safely to the ark than 60 of his finest knights? (Actually don't tell them, but the orbital laser satellites launched years ago by the Space Tribe are significantly more effective at defending the realm).


Level 5: Ye Olde Cavern

Outdoor
At last, a tribe that takes place outdoors, if you ignore Beach, Highland, Medieval, Polar, Shadow and Space! And probably Sports too? Is that inside a stadium or in some nightmarish green hellscape dimension? Anyway, don't let the Outdoor Tribe fool you, they love to talk about how they have conquered the great outdoors and live off the land but in reality they've never ventured further than their back garden.


Level 7: Rocky's Horror Show

Polar
Why would anybody live in the bitterly cold, frigid Northern mountain range of Lemming Island? Easy, it's because there is enormous amounts of oil. And in the process of extracting it all, this tribe has become the experts of excavation and building tall structures. Now you'd think that this meant that when it came time to deliver their talisman piece, they'd be over in a flash using some motorised technology, but no, they keep trying to stick to tradition and deliver it by ski-courier, which would be fine, if the terrible skier physics meant they didn't constantly get in accidents and need to be rescued...


Level 5: Living Life on the Edge

Shadow
The masters of stealth, nobody knows where the Shadow Tribe are at any given moment. Which is quite surprising really, given the bright yellow balloons and loud explosions that follow them wherever they go. Maybe it's because everyone else is asleep when they travel during the dead of night. I guess you'll just have to hope that they deliver the talisman piece in time.


Level 4: Flee the Nest

Space
Bad news. In order to fund their space adventures the Space tribe sold off their talisman piece to the weasels years ago. It looks like there's only one solution: buy it back blast off on a risky adventure to the nearest wormhole and pass through it to an alternate dimension where they still own the talisman piece. What could possibly go wrong?


Level 3: Blast Chamber

Sports
The Sports tribe actually already have the talisman piece to hand, but they've offered it up as first prize to a tournament, so now they have to go win it! Sure, you could argue that the current need for the talisman is more important and could just swap the prize out for something else, but seriously, that is not how sports work! Disclaimer: I have no idea how sports work.


Level 5: Uphill Obstacle Course

How to Install
Back up your current Lemmings 2 LEVELS folder, then extract the contents of the zip into there, overwriting the existing files.

How to run Lemmings 2 in DOSBox

A Quick Lemmings 2 Refresher
  • You have to manually save the game from the main menu. There's no autosave!
  • You want to run l2-fix.exe, not l2.exe
  • Useful keyboard shrotcuts:
    • ESC: Quick Restart
    • F1 - F8: Skills
    • P: Pause
    • Spacebar: Fan (Note, you have to unpause by pressing Space if you want the fan ready when unpausing)
    • Enter: Fast Forward

Bonus Downloads!
But wait... you'll find more attached to this post:
  • QFK2_LostTribe: Because 120 levels just wasn't enough, here's another 10 levels for the Egyptian Tribe that do not follow the standard skill theming as the rest of the pack. This was my opportunity to use some level ideas that simply could not work in the rest of the pack due to the strict skill limits I imposed. There is one level in this pack that does not require you to save everyone, which you'll know because like the Classic Tribe it states how many you can lose in the level title. Also, it's the level that has exploders in it. As this overwrites the Egyptian Tribe, you may wish to create a duplicate of your Lemmings 2 game so you can run this and the main pack simultaneously without having to constantly mess around with the files.
  • QFK2_Neoclassic: I have converted the Classic Tribe to Neolemmix in case you want to try the levels without suffering from Lemmings 2's bad UI. It uses the new formats, and to play you extract the folder inside the zip into the levels subfolder of Neolemmix.
  • QFK2_Neoclassic_music: Extract this into your Neolemmix music folder and NeoClassic will play the Classic Tribe's music in each level. Without this, it will play random music tracks from those that come with Neolemmix.
« Last Edit: March 17, 2018, 10:39:00 AM by kieranmillar »

Offline kieranmillar

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Re: [Lemmings 2] Quest From Kieran 2 {3/12 Tribes}
« Reply #1 on: April 17, 2017, 06:44:42 PM »
Oops.

Normally I always leave a level overnight and revisit it later for a fresh take on things. Helps me catch a lot of errors in my level design.

Sports 2 - Double Back on Yourself was the last level made for this release, and I completed it last night and did not give myself the usual time. Well today while thinking about it I had a brainwave, and it turns out the level is broken. And as I started to fix it, it turns out it was very broken. In all sorts of ways.

Now attached to the first post is a version 2 with this level (hopefully) fixed. No need to redownload if you already grabbed version 1, unless you really really want the fixed version.

Offline Simon

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Re: [Lemmings 2] Quest From Kieran 2 {3/12 Tribes}
« Reply #2 on: April 18, 2017, 12:05:52 AM »
Solved Beach 1-4 before going to bed now. Screenshots of solutions attached.

Love these designs, they feel superior to DMA's L2 levels. Concise, intelligent puzzles that freely take their necessary space, yet are smaller than the DMA levels. Execution problems are unavoidable in L2, but stem from the engine, not from the level design.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

-- Simon

Offline kieranmillar

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Re: [Lemmings 2] Quest From Kieran 2 {3/12 Tribes}
« Reply #3 on: April 18, 2017, 06:16:17 AM »
Thanks for the images, screenshots are an excellent idea! I'm glad you're enjoying it. :)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Offline Ron_Stard

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Re: [Lemmings 2] Quest From Kieran 2 {3/12 Tribes}
« Reply #4 on: April 19, 2017, 09:19:54 PM »
The intended solution for the first Egyptian level is brilliant! I am still figuring out how to solve the other first levels, but they look clever, too! Good job! :thumbsup:

Offline kieranmillar

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Re: [Lemmings 2] Quest From Kieran 2 {4/12 Tribes}
« Reply #5 on: April 22, 2017, 02:38:57 PM »
I had a few updates I wanted to push, but was holding off as I'd started the Space tribe before the first release and was close to finishing it off. Given that nobody has reported finishing what's currently available yet, I felt there was no harm in releasing a single tribe and letting people play it sooner. Download the new version and check out the new tribe blurb in the opening post!

v03 changelog:
  • New Tribe: Space tribe!
  • Fixed minor backroute in Sports 3 Cliffside Hangout
  • Beach 3 Diving Board - Starting platform not grass.
  • Beach 4 Hang Sixty - Water at end of level is now 2 small pools instead of one big one. Builders reduced from 3 to 2.

Offline exit

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Re: [Lemmings 2] Quest From Kieran 2 {4/12 Tribes}
« Reply #6 on: April 24, 2017, 05:52:37 PM »
I've finally had time to take a look at the levels, and I managed to complete the Beach tribe.

So far these levels are great! :thumbsup:

Detailed level feedback:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Offline kieranmillar

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Re: [Lemmings 2] Quest From Kieran 2 {4/12 Tribes}
« Reply #7 on: April 24, 2017, 06:45:42 PM »
Thank you so so much for the detailed screenshots of your solutions. You've found a whole bunch of backroutes, which is great, because now I get to fix them. You did a whole bunch of stuff there that never even crossed my mind, so well done. :8():

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Again, thank you so much for playing and breaking my levels. Expect an update soon with some fixes.

Offline kieranmillar

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Re: [Lemmings 2] Quest From Kieran 2 {4/12 Tribes}
« Reply #8 on: April 24, 2017, 07:08:05 PM »
New update in the opening post. I call this the Beer Update™!

v04 changelog:

  • Shuffled position of Beach 4 Hang Sixty to level 6. Level 5 Cross Shore Winds and level 6 Turn the Tide both moved one slot earlier as a result.
  • Beach 7 Lifeguard to the Rescue - Fixed major backroute with beer.
  • Beach 8 Gnarly 180 Flip - Fixed major backroute with beer.
  • Beach 9 Take the Plunge - Fixed major backroute with beer.
  • Beach 10 Toasted Clam Sand-wiches - Fixed major backroute with beer clams :8():.
  • Space 9 Space Station Skylem - Fixed multiple major backroutes. No beer this time!

Offline mobius

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Re: [Lemmings 2] Quest From Kieran 2 {4/12 Tribes}
« Reply #9 on: April 24, 2017, 08:46:37 PM »
New update in the opening post. I call this the Beer Update™!

v04 changelog:

  • Shuffled position of Beach 4 Hang Sixty to level 6. Level 5 Cross Shore Winds and level 6 Turn the Tide both moved one slot earlier as a result.
  • Beach 7 Lifeguard to the Rescue - Fixed major backroute with beer.
  • Beach 8 Gnarly 180 Flip - Fixed major backroute with beer.
  • Beach 9 Take the Plunge - Fixed major backroute with beer.
  • Beach 10 Toasted Clam Sand-wiches - Fixed major backroute with beer clams :8():.
  • Space 9 Space Station Skylem - Fixed multiple major backroutes. No beer this time!

is this in reference to a day a few days ago that was national beer day or something like that? I feel like this is a reference I know but forgot.
everything by me: https://www.lemmingsforums.net/index.php?topic=5982.msg96035#msg96035

"Not knowing how near the truth is, we seek it far away."
-Hakuin Ekaku

"I have seen a heap of trouble in my life, and most of it has never come to pass" - Mark Twain


Offline kieranmillar

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Re: [Lemmings 2] Quest From Kieran 2 {4/12 Tribes}
« Reply #10 on: April 24, 2017, 09:02:38 PM »
is this in reference to a day a few days ago that was national beer day or something like that? I feel like this is a reference I know but forgot.
No, it's a reference to the fact that fixing the backroutes involved swapping out some terrain objects with the flat-edged beer can terrain object.

Offline Nepster

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Re: [Lemmings 2] Quest From Kieran 2 {4/12 Tribes}
« Reply #11 on: April 24, 2017, 09:48:50 PM »
I played through the Beach tribe in V0.4 and saved 58/60. Lots of great levels :thumbsup:, even though fanning together with the general design problems of L2 makes for a very memorable experience :-\.

Offline kieranmillar

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Re: [Lemmings 2] Quest From Kieran 2 {4/12 Tribes}
« Reply #12 on: April 24, 2017, 10:25:08 PM »
Another huge thanks for the detailed feedback! Very helpful. Will have to think a bit harder about how to fix some of these issues.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Next update will take a bit longer, will have to think hard about some fixes. Thanks again for the screenshots and detailed feedback.

Offline exit

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Re: [Lemmings 2] Quest From Kieran 2 {4/12 Tribes}
« Reply #13 on: April 24, 2017, 10:26:25 PM »
I'm sad to say that I found some more backroutes, but I think I found an intended solution!

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
« Last Edit: April 24, 2017, 11:54:20 PM by exit »

Offline kieranmillar

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Re: [Lemmings 2] Quest From Kieran 2 {4/12 Tribes}
« Reply #14 on: April 24, 2017, 11:09:27 PM »
exit, can you provide a description of those solutions? It looks like you might have meant to attach screenshots, but would be nice to know what you did as I'll be updating many of those levels in the next update and would be nice to kill multiple backroutes at once (or you may have found intended solutions and would be nice to confirm).