Alright - it's been a long time, but it's finally here - the stable release of V12.6.0, with some exciting new features!
First, let's get the negative stuff out of the way.
Firstly, until further notice (ie: if either Nepster returns, or someone else takes over maintanence of them), the graphic set tool and pack toolkit will no longer be updated. Instead, these files will need to be modified by hand, or where suitable, with older versions of the tools. There are explanations of the file formats - which are quite simple and can be modified with a text editor such as Notepad - over in the NeoLemmix Tutorials boards; these guides have been written to account for V12.6.0 changes.
Secondly, no new custom pickup skill objects will be accepted in custom styles
for now. Existing ones may be updated - and they will need to be, to account for the shimmier. Nepster has updated
some of these, but not all, and even these will have the shimmier in the wrong position in the order. The reason for this is precisely
because of the situation where existing objects lack some skills or have them in the wrong order - in the near future, as in, ideally for V12.7.0, I intend to implement proper,
official support, in a way that averts this problem (by automatically adding the skill graphic, instead of relying on a pre-made graphic that includes it), but until that happens, no new ones will be accepted.
Now, let's get a neutral - but important - change out of the way:
Starting with the V12.6.0 release, sounds are no longer included with the main NeoLemmix download. Instead, sounds will be provided in the
styles download. This is because sounds are closely tied to styles; and it doesn't make sense to ship new sounds only when there's an NL update, and leave new styles waiting for them. For the same reason, if you're submitting custom styles that use custom sound effects, please include those with your submission. WAV is preferred if it doesn't give a file that's too big; otherwise OGG is the preferred format.
And with that out of the way, let's talk about the new features!
We've got a new skill, the "Shimmier". Those of you who are familiar with L2 will already have a fair idea of what this skill does.
Entrances and exits can now have a limited number of lemmings that are able to use them.
Objects can have multiple animations - no longer do you need two separate objects to make a locked exit that also has animating flames.
Object graphics can also be nine-sliced, giving them nice borders. You no longer need to have separate edge pieces for resizable objects.
Alpha blending is now officially supported for terrain.
And, a single level can now use up to 10 different skills, instead of only 8!
Also, terrain grouping, similar to Lix. However, we don't have editor support for this yet - but when a future editor update adds it, V12.6.0 is ready to handle it!New Major Features
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> Added a new skill, "Shimmier"
> Alpha blending of terrain is now officially supported (though editor support will be lacking for the forseeable future)
> Custom digit graphics can be used with custom pickup skill objects - this is mostly as a side effect of the same feature existing for lemming-limited entrances / exits which are new
> Entrances and exits can have a limited number of lemmings allowed to use them
> Objects can have multiple, semi-independent animations
> Resizable objects can be "nine-sliced", basically, when resizing, a certain border region is not tiled (see eg. default:updraft)
> Terrain grouping is supported
> Up to 10 different skills can be used in a level, instead of 8
New Minor Features
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> A username is stored to replay files, and replays that don't match it will not overwrite your records / progression
> Failed skill assignments from replays are queued instead of discarded (Reverted in V12.6.1)
> Last-played level is remembered between sessions
> Shortcuts that start NeoLemmix with a specific pack (or even level) can be created
Fixed bugs
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> Backgrounds are discarded when importing old-format levels (also requires changes to translation tables; all included translation tables are fixed)
> If some lemming sprites are missing in a custom spriteset, NeoLemmix falls back to default sprites instead of crashing
> Level select menu can no longer be opened while in-game; as fixing the bugs that occur from doing so would have required significant rewriting
> Multiple skill assignments can be made in one frame via editing replay files (V12.6.1)
> Some sound effects are only played on the left channel
> Various oddities with the permanent skill icons on preplaced lemmings at the start of levels have been fixed / improved
Style changes
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> Secondary animations added to all official styles, and all of namida's styles
> Sounds are now included with styles download
> Shimmiers now have skill shadows.
> Fixed bug: The initial direction of splitters in level data was ignored.
> Fixed bug: You can now have a "select Shimmier skill" hotkey.
> NeoLemmix is now compiled using Delphi 10.3 instead of XE6.
> Restored the open / save dialogs as they were in V12.6.1 and earlier.
> Replays can now be loaded on the preview screen.
> Fixed bug: Recolored objects (eg. one-way arrows in the default style) don't display correctly when flipped, inverted or rotated.
> Fixed bug: Can reach the main menu from testplay mode by pressing Esc on a pretext / posttext screen.
> Fixed bug: Recolored object animations that are colored to 0xFFFFFF are instead invisible.
> Added extra protections to avoid your settings / hotkeys / progress being lost if errors occur during loading.
> Support for placeholders in preview texts to indicate hotkeys.
> Fixes around windowed mode, and switching between fullscreen and windowed.
I'm not sure exactly what Git commit corresponds to the last release of the editor, so I can't provide an accurate changelog for V1.11 -> V1.12. However - most new V12.6.0 features are supported, moving background properties are now preserved (but not editable)
if I remember correctly, and the bug where you wouldn't get the "Do you want to save?" prompt if you haven't already saved the level at least once is fixed.
Fixed bug: Editor fails to load levels that contain nine-sliced resizable objects, if an instance smaller than the original size exists.
Fixed bug: Resizable objects can't be resized larger than the level's dimensions. (...I have no idea why this was the case in the first place. There are obvious practical uses - doubly so now that nine-slicing exists - and it's a completely arbitrary restriction.)
Fixed bug: The Bomber is referred to as the "Exploder" in some places.
Fixed bug: Error messages often occur when editing a pickup skill count or a lemming limit and then selecting a piece that doesn't support those values. Note that I am not 100% confident in this fix, but haven't been able to reproduce the issue so far anymore.
Fixed bug: Editor reverts to default directory in Open / Save dialogs after opening a level that isn't a current-formats NeoLemmix level.
Fixed bug: Many object types are artificially prevented from being flipped or rotated. For a few types, this restriction is still in place for technical reasons, but it's been lifted for most types.
Download:
https://www.neolemmix.com/download.php?id=323 (Permalink to V12.6.5)
Styles / Sounds:
https://www.neolemmix.com/download.php?id=326 (October 2019. Earlier V12.6.X styles:
August 2019 |
September 2019)
Editor:
https://www.neolemmix.com/download.php?id=319 (Permalink to V1.14)
The styles download is required in full if updating from V12.4.1 or earlier. If updating from V12.6.0, you only need a small update to styles posted later in this topic. If updating from V12.6.1 or later, the styles are unchanged.As usual - please report any bugs you find, with the new features or otherwise, in the Bugs & Suggestions board.
(For those of you wondering about neutral lemmings or antisplat pads, V12.7.0 will likely bring those. I can't say for sure on the Jumper, but I'm currently thinking V12.9.0 is the most likely timing for it.)