Author Topic: [NeoLemmix] WillLem's FestiveLems (25 Levels)  (Read 12529 times)

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Offline Apjjm

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Re: [NeoLemmix] WillLem's FestiveLems (24 Levels) ANOTHER UPDATE
« Reply #45 on: December 18, 2021, 12:11:09 AM »
Here are some replays & resolves of fixed levels - I liked the north pole level :thumbsup:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
« Last Edit: December 20, 2021, 12:36:11 AM by Apjjm »
My Level Packs: Quartet

Offline Simon

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Re: [NeoLemmix] WillLem's FestiveLems (24 Levels) ANOTHER UPDATE
« Reply #46 on: December 18, 2021, 04:35:35 AM »
Re-solves and daily solve.

Mary v2 (click to show/hide)

Icy (click to show/hide)

Didn't see any talisman solution (= floater-free) to Escher within 1 hour, and didn't try floaterful.

-- Simon
« Last Edit: December 21, 2021, 05:15:22 PM by Simon »

Offline Apjjm

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Re: [NeoLemmix] WillLem's FestiveLems (24 Levels) ANOTHER UPDATE
« Reply #47 on: December 21, 2021, 02:45:13 PM »
Will update this post with daily solves for the last 4

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
« Last Edit: December 24, 2021, 03:00:22 PM by Apjjm »
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Offline Simon

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Re: [NeoLemmix] WillLem's FestiveLems (24 Levels) ANOTHER UPDATE
« Reply #48 on: December 23, 2021, 04:34:15 PM »
I looted the chocolate from door #24 because I'll have no time tomorrow.

Attached replays (in this post and all earlier posts) complete the pack (including vanilla solution to Escher) and win all talismans except for the Escher talisman.

Escher: Surprisingly nontrivial. Even the vanilla solution needs a plan from the start. Finnicky terrain, maybe it's necessary. Apjjm won the talisman, I haven't. It's possible that the talisman is a really good puzzle, but I can't judge yet.

Running Home from Christmas: The rock trap at the right hatch blends too easily into the terrain; this rock trap needs an idling animation to stand out.



Review

For playing one level per day, I'll have to fit the play around my day job, and can't always pour maximum energy into a level at whim.

FestiveLems acommodates this: Many large and easy levels. Most levels are winnable by Gewurschtel, i.e., you do what comes to mind first, you fix the arising problems as they appear and at little extra cost, and you'll undo only the most recent things. Rarely you have to step back and re-think overall strategy.

For a holiday pack, I'm perfectly fine with this lower puzzle density and instead more Gewurschtel through nice, peaceful scenery. This is in the spirit of the 1993/1994 DMA holiday Lemmings. Thanks! North Pole probably shows clearest what the big idea is; most of the level is separated prom the puzzle, and the separate part solves itself as eye candy.

And custom music, you've created 8 tracks solely for these levels. That is really rare, and the music fits too with the 1993/1994 spirit. I don't know the lyrics to the original 12 Days of Christmas, I only know the lyrics to the Starcraft version. Still very fitting, and even more fitting, it plays in the longest level, Jingle all the Way.

I got exactly what I imagined. I nearly got what it said on the tin, except that it's not medium-hard; it's easier.

-- Simon
« Last Edit: December 23, 2021, 05:39:25 PM by Simon »

Offline WillLem

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Re: [NeoLemmix] WillLem's FestiveLems (24 Levels) ANOTHER UPDATE
« Reply #49 on: December 23, 2021, 08:46:01 PM »
@Simon - Well done on completing the pack and thanks for taking part! I'll send you the bonus level on Christmas Day, as promised :lemcat:

Some comments on your solves:

Simon's solutions (click to show/hide)

Meanwhile, Apjjm is catching up - only 1 more level to go!

Apjjm's solutions (click to show/hide)

Finally, @Silken - don't give up! You've done very well so far, and the remaining levels are within your grasp. I'll be on Discord later today so we can play through some of it together if you want.



Responses to general comments and generous review from Simon:

Running Home from Christmas: The rock trap at the right hatch blends too easily into the terrain; this rock trap needs an idling animation to stand out.

Hmmm. I might add one, but I've always been a fan of L1's hidden traps and this was an opportunity to pay homage to that (particularly since it's a Snow re-theming of Rendezvous, whicn has the hidden rock trap). If I get any further backlash over this, I'll consider adding a secondary animation.

Most levels are winnable by Gewurschtel, i.e., you do what comes to mind first, you fix the arising problems as they appear and at little extra cost, and you'll undo only the most recent things. Rarely you have to step back and re-think overall strategy.

For a holiday pack, I'm perfectly fine with this lower puzzle density and instead more Gewurschtel through nice, peaceful scenery. This is in the spirit of the 1993/1994 DMA holiday Lemmings. Thanks!

Gewurschtel - I like this term! :lemcat: This is defintely the kind of level which I enjoy playing myself, and so I aim to make these sorts of levels for others: immersive stuff which allows the player to get creative and indulge in a more "solve-as-you-go" style. Thanks for picking up on (and enjoying!) this aspect of my pack.

And custom music, you've created 8 tracks solely for these levels. That is really rare, and the music fits too with the 1993/1994 spirit.

Thanks for this; I really enjoyed making these music tracks, it's about time we had some more Lemmings xmas music beyond the 3 tracks featured in the 1993/1994 packs. To anyone reading this: please feel free to use these tracks in your xmas levels, and pop me a credit in the scroller if you do so! ;)

I got exactly what I imagined. I nearly got what it said on the tin, except that it's not medium-hard; it's easier.

Haha! In fairness, I'd guess your solving ability is way above even the forum average, so it's worth taking into account that medium-ability solvers may find some of these levels very hard. I have a feeling that a lot of the quieter and/or more casual forum users are likely to be people who would struggle with the harder levels; my boy struggled even to get throught the Santa rank without help and he's a smart kid; if he can't do them, I'd hesitate to label the pack as "easy".

We've had discussions about difficulty indications previously, and there doesn't seem to be a "catch-all" solution to it. Maybe one day there will be some kind of accepted forum standard, but until then it's down to authors to gauge it as best as they can.

Offline WillLem

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Re: [NeoLemmix] WillLem's FestiveLems (24 Levels) FINAL UPDATE!
« Reply #50 on: December 23, 2021, 09:20:27 PM »
Updated level

Please download the full pack to get the latest version. Thanks :)



Definitely, definitely, definitely the last update! I just really like this level and it's one of the rare occasions where I want it to be played exactly as intended :lemcat:

Satan 04 Mary Christmas - including new replay
(Place levels into NeoLemmix/levels/WillLem's FestiveLems/Satan)

If you already have the pack, simply replace this level. Or, you can always re-download the pack if you prefer.




Those who have already provided replays prior to the levels being fixed are assured that their solutions will still count for the purposes of the "Advent Challenge," and will still receive the bonus prize level on Christmas Day if all remaining levels are also successfully completed. Of course, if you wish to re-submit a replay for the new version, this will be very welcome.

Anybody submitting replays after this update is asked to please provide replays for the updated versions of the levels. Thanks :lemcat:
« Last Edit: March 29, 2022, 04:58:53 PM by WillLem »

Offline Apjjm

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Re: [NeoLemmix] WillLem's FestiveLems (24 Levels) FINAL UPDATE!
« Reply #51 on: December 24, 2021, 04:11:30 PM »
I have attached a full collection of replays that should be up to date and work for all the levels - the replay checker trips over a couple of the replays as a couple of the levels have a duplicate ID - so I just checked those ones manually.

This was a fun pack to approach as a one-a-day solve, and I felt the level of difficulty here was well judged for this too. I would agree the diffiulty tends to fall more medium side of the medium-hard scale for me, but having said that I think that is a good fit for the pack. I liked the open ended nature of a lot of the levels, and think this a good fit for the style of the pack.

Merry Christmas M.C. Escher was the hardest level of the pack for me - especially the talisman. I did look at the intended solution for this now you have said mine was ok and I definitely made my one more complicated than it needed to be! Aside from that one, my other favorites of the pack were Stage Presents, Rebel without a Claus, and The North pole.

Overall, I had fun playing through this pack this December & enjoyed the one-a-day idea :thumbsup:
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Offline WillLem

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Re: [NeoLemmix] WillLem's FestiveLems (24 Levels) FINAL UPDATE!
« Reply #52 on: December 25, 2021, 06:39:41 AM »
Thanks for your kind comments Apjjm, this was gratifying to read. I'm glad you've enjoyed the pack, and I'm sure you'll like the Bonus level - it's inspired in part by your own Lemmings Quartet levels!

As promised, I've now sent out the bonus level to those who have completed this pack in time for Christmas. It's not too late if any more of you happen to have a full set ;P

I'll likely be around tomorrow (Boxing Day) evening and I'd like to do Skills You Can't Live Without for this pack on Discord if anyone wants to join in :lemcat:

Offline Proxima

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Re: [NeoLemmix] WillLem's FestiveLems (24 Levels) FINAL UPDATE!
« Reply #53 on: December 27, 2021, 12:42:44 AM »
replays

Offline Simon

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Re: [NeoLemmix] WillLem's FestiveLems (24 Levels) FINAL UPDATE!
« Reply #54 on: January 02, 2022, 11:02:36 PM »
Escher, wins gold (click to show/hide)

25th level that WillLem sent me by PM:
A Christmas Carol (click to show/hide)

Mary Christmas version from 2021-12-23, I haven't attempted this yet.

-- Simon
« Last Edit: January 02, 2022, 11:10:13 PM by Simon »

Offline WillLem

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Re: [NeoLemmix] WillLem's FestiveLems (25 Levels) FINAL UPDATE!
« Reply #55 on: January 25, 2022, 03:11:40 PM »
This pack has now been updated to include all 25 levels, including the bonus Christmas Day level :lemcat: You can download it here.

Many thanks again Silken Healer, Simon and Apjjm for taking part in the "advent calendar" challenge :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
« Last Edit: March 29, 2022, 04:57:40 PM by WillLem »

Offline Silken Healer

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Re: [NeoLemmix] WillLem's FestiveLems (25 Levels)
« Reply #56 on: February 25, 2022, 02:03:41 PM »
I'm planning to one day, maybe when I'm better at lemmings, come back to this pack and get the maximum solved with all the talismans. Also beat the levels I couldn't complete.

Offline ericderkovits

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Re: [NeoLemmix] WillLem's FestiveLems (25 Levels)
« Reply #57 on: March 24, 2022, 12:38:55 AM »
Ok, I played and finished the pack. Also got all the Talismans. Some Satan rank levels were real tricky.

Also Like the Holiday music.

Online kaywhyn

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Re: [NeoLemmix] WillLem's FestiveLems (25 Levels)
« Reply #58 on: April 13, 2022, 09:50:01 AM »
Hi WillLem,

I have solved the entire pack, including the Bonus level. Replays attached. Also, the link to my LP of the pack: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbp2m4KlFpJvaAb1d2SpNluLRzPndX33G. Enjoy! :P

General Feedback

FestiveLems is a Christmas pack which consists of all levels except one from his other now obsolete Xmas 2019 pack. The rest are new and includes one bonus level, which was sent to those who participated in the Advent Challenge of one solve a day on Christmas Day after sending replays for the 24 main levels of the pack. A month later, WillLem included the bonus level in this pack, so FestiveLems is now 24 main levels + 1 bonus level.

Many of the levels in this pack are open-ended, some much more than others. This is especially true of the Santa levels, while most of the Satan levels tend to be far more limited in the amount of possible solutions, although many of the anything goes levels appear near the end of the rank. This is the type of design WillLem prefers over the one specific intended solution type that most level designers seem to use, myself included. So far, I've only made one open-ended level, and I'm hoping to go more towards in this direction, but it seems that I have a hard time making such levels, let alone interesting ones :laugh:

In my experiences, I would rate this pack Easy-Medium, but then again the fact that I tend to be seen as a high ability level solver of the game certainly skews the difficulty towards the lower end of the difficulty instead of further up. Even then, I can still see how less experienced players can have a much harder time with these levels than I did. Granted, there are still some hard nuts here, and I even struggled with a couple, but honestly I went through the pack far faster than I thought I would. At the same time, I generally don't bother with talisman solutions, as if there's going to be a talisman, then might as well make it the solution. That's just me, though. However, I am confused about some other users who say they don't care about them, yet I still see posts from them that they went for them, which seems to indicate they do in fact care about them. I seem to be missing a part of the story here ???

Finally, I already said it on Discord, but I'll say it again here: WillLem's music here is ace! He did a great job with these compositions of Christmas tunes, and you can certainly tell that I was enjoying the music a lot in my LP, as I ended up singing from time to time to them :D I certainly like music a lot myself, but my talents lie in singing and music theory, rather than making music or being able to play an instrument, which I don't have. I really would like to learn to play an instrument, the piano in particular, although I only took a basic piano course during summer school the summer before my 4th year of college.

Santa Rank Feedback

As mentioned, these levels are mostly any-way-you-want ones. Even then, these were interesting levels rather than the dull Tame level type from ONML. There's certainly plenty of room to safely experiment and get creative with solutions on these levels.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)


Satan Rank Feedback

Some of the levels here are a bit of a step up in difficulty, but the rank in general is harder than the Santa rank, save for the very open-ended ones that are near the end of the rank, which aren't that much harder. Even then, the variety in the challenges is great here!

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Bonus Rank Feedback

Only one level here, which was the level WillLem sent on Christmas Day to those players who sent in replays for all 24 main levels.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)


Overall, a nice pack that I enjoyed quite a lot. Thanks for the pack, as well as the awesome Christmas tunes, WillLem! :thumbsup:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPMqwuqZ206rBWJrUC6wkrA - My YouTube channel and you can also find my playlists of Lemmings level packs that I have LPed
kaywhyn's blog: https://www.lemmingsforums.net/index.php?topic=5363.0