Hi WillLem,
I have completed the first 3 ranks of the pack. Replays attached and some feedback
Also, link to my LP:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbp2m4KlFpJsbEYMykehGC7HH0QWMwCIh. Enjoy!
General FeedbackLemminas II is the sequel to WillLem's flagship pack Lemminas. It contains 50 levels across 5 ranks of 10 levels each, as well as some tilesets that haven't been seen previously. He intentionally aimed for an easier difficulty with this pack than Lemminas, although from what I understand it is more of a challenge if going for the talisman challenge solutions. Just me personally, but having at least one for every level is overkill, but of course since this is his pack he simply does as he sees fits while taking onboard the constructive feedback he receives in order to improve it and ensure that it's an enjoyable pack for anyone who decides to play the pack. So far, I'm definitely liking what I'm seeing, but I've especially started enjoying the pack since I got into the third rank of Slush World. Sure, I'm one of those players who prefers hard levels with specific intended solutions, but I nevertheless enjoy easy, open-ended levels too. There's pretty much something for everyone with this pack, even if the difficulty is nowhere near the very high end of some of the other level packs known notoriously for their difficulty.
A lot of very good artsy looking levels with the new tilesets which is certainly a plus!
Teal Kingdom FeedbackThe first rank of the pack, these supposedly contain the easiest levels. However, don't take this for granted, as some of these will still provide enough of a challenge to work your way through. In particular, some users before me have stated that the first level of the pack already starts off with a higher than usual difficulty. I agree with this to an extent, and I'm guessing it's mostly due to the middle area, though at the same time it is a bit of an overstatement IMO. Other than the first level, the rest of the rank wasn't too much of a challenge. The only level I found a bit irritating is Teal Kingdom 7 due to the special gimmick of how it's quite easy to misjudge the splat distances due to the sprite sizes being modified and smaller than usual. At the same time, I like how it's a combination of "Lemmings in a Situation" and "Mutiny on the Bounty" into one level.
Teal 10 was a bit annoying (lots of buttons to press)
100% agree with you there, Swerdis. Teal Kingdom 10 is a bit too long for my liking, though Armani has an amazing solution that gets this done in a little under 2 mins. I haven't seen it yet, but wow, nice job Armani!
@WillLem I'm wondering, did you get inspiration of this level from Mobilems? In mobius' level, it too pretty much uses all of the decoration of the ONML level, just without the buttons, like your level.
Favourite one: Probably Teal 8.
Same. I like how it's a 1-of-everything level and that it still has a surprising amount of different solutions. Nice job on saving two skills!
Honey Land FeedbackThe second rank of the pack, these levels are just a tad bit harder than the ones in the previous rank, but not a whole lot harder. A lot of these levels were nicely made. If just concerned about meeting the save requirement, then these levels aren't too bad. However, if you're like me where you try to go for a save all or go for a max save whenever possible, then some of these are significantly tougher. Some examples are Honey Land 3, Honey Land 7, and Honey Land 8. Again, they're easy if you're just concerned with meeting the absolute minimum target, but they're significantly harder if you go beyond that and go for a save all or maximum amount possible. Indeed, because I did the latter on these 3, they were the hardest levels of the rank for me.
Honey: This was my favourite rank. I like honey, I like yellow which is my favourite colour. But the levels have been pretty good, too though I think I backrouted some. My hardest one was Honey 6, but only because I wanted to solve it over the left side only. And it wasn't easy to climb up these honeycombs. The last one here is the one I like least since I think it plays a bit by itself, like if "on rails". It's always immediately clear what to do next.
Once again, I'm in agreement with you about Honey World 6, though where we differ is with the rank finisher. I still like Honey World 10, even if it's quite easy for one. I really like the concept of it being a 1 lemming level and how it's not as simple as really cheesing the level and that you still have to take the long way around to solve it.
@WillLemI mention this in my LP, but there is something you need to know for future reference regarding eligibility of entering levels in a contest.
Basically, what is prohibited is when you have publicly released a level in a level pack, you cannot later take a level from your pack and submit that as a contest entry. This would be in violation of global rule 1c, quoted here:
Section 1 - Rules concerning entering levels
c. A level is not eligible if it has had a prior public release, even if that was on a different engine. Small-scale private releases (such as asking one or two people to test your level) will be tolerated. It is allowed to include the level in a public release after the contest's playing phase has started.
This happened to slip by because none of us were aware that Honey World 9 was already in your Lemminas II pack. Know that you're not the only user which has done this, though I'm guessing you were simply not aware of this rule. From a few LDCs ago, the other user's case was noticed early enough in the playing phase and found to be in violation of 1c, and after being notified, it was allowed to remain in the collection but would simply not be in the running for the voting rounds. However, by a personal request of the user, it was withdrawn from the contest pack.
However, from the same rule, the other way around is fine, where you're allowed to submit a level for the contest and then later release it in a pack, either during the playing phase or after the contest has ended (I think waiting for the latter is the most common)
Slush World FeedbackThe third rank of the pack, even harder levels here, and pretty much where the rank starts getting challenging for me. Sure, there were still plenty of very fast solves, but solving times did slow down here in general. My favorites here were Slush World 2, Slush World 5 (hardest level of the rank IMO), and Slush World 10
Slush World 1 -
Skill Shadows Are For Wimps Lol pretty much like Fun 11 just with a smaller OWW. At least one of the many solutions you can use on that level if you chose that. Luckily rewinding negates it somewhat if one should choose to play without the shadows, but it's only annoying when going for the challenge solution, which I presume to be to save one more than the requirement. That being said, this was still a bit repetitive for my liking. You didn't do anything wrong, I personally am not a fan of levels where you have to repeatedly do the same thing, though 4 times is a minor personal nitpick
Slush World 2 -
Dangerzone II I would consider this one of my favorites, even if it's another remake of a Tame level. It was fun to figure out how to stop the climbers from getting into danger, and jumping away from the wall to make a turn around point when bombing was a nice touch
Slush World 3 -
Flow Control 3000 Seems a bit of a backroute here, especially as I don't use the builder skill. I really like the slushy machine trap appearance, though I fear that people can easily mistake it for solid rather than an object since it is big and in the way. Just something to consider if possibly redesigning it to make it less misleading and more clear that it's a trap
Slush World 4 -
BRIDE OF CHUCKY Nice any-way-you-want level. I of course didn't have to, but I made the miner go through those staircases and even through the stack
Slush World 5 -
PoPPaLiciOuS! The hardest level of the rank IMO but one of my favorites!
The start was the hardest to figure out, and the timing is a bit tight IMO, but the puzzle is excellent. In particular, keeping the crowd going once you release the crowd to avoid running out of time. Nicely done with this level.
Slush World 6 -
Lemminas im Kraftwerk Ah, there's that R2 of yours from LDC #22, except this level is greatly improved thanks to the laserers!
The level's still a bit too long for my liking, but it's definitely much faster to do than the original contest entry. Thanks for giving lasers!
Slush World 7 -
Get Down From There! Not sure if it's supposed to be that easy, though seems like the main challenge comes from the talisman solutions. I haven't seen what they are, though, let alone whether I got one or both. Still, thanks for the laugh
Slush World 8 -
The Shaft Nice puzzle with making splatforms on the way down, though nothing special outside of that.
Slush World 9 -
What Are You Waiting For? Another nice any-way-you-want level, though I'm guessing depending on what challenge you're going for, it can be too repetitive for my liking. Even then, you can completely eliminate the multi-tasking by simply delaying the others with walkers at the start while sending either one or two on ahead to do the route.
Slush World 10 -
Teenage Mutant Ninja Lemminas Nice rank finisher and one of my favorites, even if I was a bit of a dummy. I especially love the challenge of figuring out how to get the buttons, and I completely overlooked the shimmier to do so
Slush: That's probably the rank I had the most problems with. Slush 5 was a hard level and a real time-cruncher. The following one was difficult too, especially since there were no downward terrain-removing skills. This made it hard to reach some of the buttons. Slush 8 was another demanding one.
Agree about Slush World 5 being hard. For Slush World 6, you should see the original level (LDC #22 R2). There were no lasers at the time since it wasn't yet added to stable NL (along with the slider), and as a result it was far longer to play and complete. Feel fortunate that you didn't have to play that one instead of this one that's in the pack
Looking forward to the remaining two ranks!
