[BETA] Ultimate Lemmings - a new 2D Lemmings engine for Apple Silicon devices

[UltimateLemmings]

btw, re: RC1, is there any sort of upgrade path I should be following to retain my current stats/progress? or are those stored elsewhere, so replacing the app won't effect anything?

Progress wasn't saved through some of the betas as the engine was still being tuned, but from RC1 all progress will be saved. Progress is also saved in case of failure, crashes, quits etc. You should have full confidence in your progress being saved both for solo and hot seat sessions!

[UltimateLemmings]

Ultimate Lemmings — 1.1 RC3 is up, Monterey is back

1.6.0 released, see below

Good news if you're on macOS 12: RC1 briefly required macOS 13 and dropped Monterey. That's reverted. This build is back to macOS 12.3 or later, with its own dedicated notarized Monterey archive alongside the standard one on the release page. Grab the "-monterey" zip if you're on 12.x, otherwise the standard one is for you.

What's new since the RC1 you already have:

• Fixed a real bug in the CRT view where edge-scrolling stopped working right at the curved screen corners
• The stricter "steel" rule from RC1 turned out to break 57 previously-solved Classic and Oh No! routes — reverted it, all 352 official routes plus Oh Yes! conversions verify clean again on this build. The stricter rule comes back properly later, once there's a real way to re-check at that scale
• A couple of build-script bugs that could leave testers with a broken app, fixed

Still open from RC1, unrelated to any of the above:

• Toggling Mac-style Lemmings 2 artwork on then off doesn't always restore the exact original frame
• One controller button-combo (retry, rewind and step together) doesn't route right

Sorry, this should fix the awful cursor from RC1 and 2!

[spaceagemeats]

Looking into the bugs now, but when you say "classic control" do you mean you unchecked Modern keyboard control, clicked "used OG settings" in gameplay, or just clicked "old school" on first launch?

exactly. I clicked the "use OG settings" button and it does nothing. retains the modern controls (including the new circle effect when trying to select a Lemming.) weirder still, I thought maybe I just need to relaunch the game. well, when I did that, and went to settings, not only is the OG settings button off, but also the cursor vanishing on the settings screen. so that's not great.

as for what I clicked during "first launch," I choose "old school." however, that was with beta 32. when I launched RC1, I wasn't presented with any options. but perhaps it inherited my settings from the last version, and that's caused the issue?

edit: hmm, RC3 isn't even launching for me.

[UltimateLemmings]

Okay, some big news!

First of all apologies for the broken builds and bad cursors. The cursor is now back and better than ever! Colour changing four corner presicion reticule, with attached skill icon and lemmings counter. It prioritises the correct lemming going in the right direction, so far fewer punching the air or lost builders! This is an optional QoL, so you can turn it back to classic hard mode if you want.



Automated updates, so you won't have to come back here for new downloads! Though please come back and give feedback!



Level select with Cover Flow! Select any unlocked level, or unlock them all in settings!



Create and save playlists! From any level across any pack, even Lemmings 2 and Lemmings 3 - or the 6000+ fan made levels. Want a random pack? Create a shuffled ten level pack, or just go endless shuffle across any or ALL packs!

Every. Single. Soundtrack. Across. Every. Single. Port! (Plus fan-remixes). This has blown out the package to 1.7Gb, so the next version will have these as optional downloads on launch or in settings (ala Logic soundpacks).

What else is new in Ultimate Lemmings 1.5.0 since 1.1 RC2?

Level browser and playlists

• A new CoverFlow browser shows campaigns, fan packs and individual levels with screenshot previews. Browse with the mouse, trackpad, keyboard or controller.
• Create and edit personal playlists, play them in order or shuffle them, and resume a saved playlist run.
• Generate a Random 10 playlist from a chosen pack, or shuffle the installed fan-level library without repeats within a run.
• Reduced Motion replaces the animated carousel with a stable thumbnail list.

Controls and targeting

• Original, Modern and Custom gameplay presets make it easier to choose your preferred controls.
• New targeting options favour blockers when assigning a bomb, and builders when extending a bridge. These apply across Classic, Lemmings 2 and Lemmings 3, using Use tool in Lemmings 3.
• The four-corner cursor shows green for an eligible target, yellow for an ineligible target and grey over empty terrain. Choose no skill icon, 1× or 2×, and optionally show the nearby lemming count.
• Target highlighting uses a subtle halo and shimmer, with a static halo under Reduced Motion.
• New toolbar buttons rewind two seconds or step one tick backward or forward. Play stays paused afterwards. Controls are disabled where the ruleset does not support them.
• Open hints with H, I, F1 or the toolbar. Left and Right move between hint stages. Revealing a full solution still asks for confirmation.
• New levels and retries start after a cancellable 3–2–1 countdown. Saved runs and Hot Seat handovers stay paused until the player is ready.
• Fast-forward now raises the music pitch without changing its tempo. Lemming trails grow longer and softer at higher speeds across all three games.

Soundtrack

• The expanded DJ catalogue contains 495 versions of 210 tunes, including Amiga modules, other ports, composer recordings and fan remixes.
• A tune starts with its original Amiga version. Later levels using that tune can play alternate versions. Retries, saved runs and Hot Seat handovers keep the same version.
• Music stays consistent during a level, with transitions at changes such as the result screen.
• Retry has a vinyl-style stop and spin-up effect.
• The Mac sound set now uses the Amiga pop sample. The SNES recording of "As Long As You Try Your Best" plays to the end.
• Bundled recordings use 192 kbps AAC to keep the download below 2 GB. Amiga modules retain their native playback.

Menus, performance and fixes

• Dialogs support Tab, Shift-Tab, arrow keys and Return. Replay and original-movie controls have keyboard and accessibility actions. Hot Seat handovers also accept keyboard input.
• The normal mouse pointer stays visible over menus and controls. Disappearing cursors in Lemmings 2 and Lemmings 3 are fixed.
• Startup and title-menu navigation are faster. In a test with 516 saved runs, finding the newest run fell from 6.1 seconds to 0.26 seconds.
• Returning to a campaign avoids repeated setup, transition saves no longer block play, and HDR work starts only when needed.
• Fixes cover pause-key repeats, speed-button toggles, clicks behind bridge builders, liquid beneath bridges, missing rescue targets and Classic hints, and the black window on a fresh installation.
• Signed update checks now start with the app. From 1.5, available updates show release notes and let you choose when to install.

NeoLemmix preview

NeoLemmix work improves level rendering and adds a reader for current .nxrp replay files. Full replay and gameplay compatibility remains unfinished. Fencer, Laserer, skill pickups and several other mechanics are still unsupported. Lemmings 2 and Lemmings 3 also remain previews.

Turn off prioritise builder in settings as it doesn't work as expected in this build (blocks other lemmings from being selectable whilst being unselectable themselves). This is fixed in the upcoming 1.6.0 build (below)

Download Ultimate Lemmings 1.6.0

[Strato Incendus]

As someone who grew up mainly playing the MacOS version of Lemmings, thank you for all of your effort!    Yes, the graphics did indeed seem better on Mac. But I could never quite put my finger on what made the difference.

MacOS 13 (Ventura) is already the latest OS my current 2018 iMac supports, though, so I don't know how long I will be able to run this (assuming the hardware demands for even a remade Lemmings game aren't so high that an iMac from 2018 with fully upgraded 64 GB of RAM wouldn't be able to run it).

[UltimateLemmings]

As someone who grew up mainly playing the MacOS version of Lemmings, thank you for all of your effort!    Yes, the graphics did indeed seem better on Mac. But I could never quite put my finger on what made the difference.

MacOS 13 (Ventura) is already the latest OS my current 2018 iMac supports, though, so I don't know how long I will be able to run this (assuming the hardware demands for even a remade Lemmings game aren't so high that an iMac from 2018 with fully upgraded 64 GB of RAM wouldn't be able to run it).

Thank you fellow MacOS player. I thought I was the only one!

But yes, when I present this to other players the first thing they say is that this is how they remembered playing it in their mind (unless they have continued playing it into the present like most people here on these boards have of course). I will of course continue to support this for older machines and operating systems for as long as possible. So anybody with older setups please let me know how performance goes. I don't want to drag you down just because we can do fancy HDR flashes and explosions these days!

[spaceagemeats]

Looking forward to updating this afternoon! Again, thanks for continuing to do this!

[UltimateLemmings]

Ultimate Lemmings 1.6.0 is out.

If you already have 1.5

The update is already waiting for you. 1.5 shows the release notes and asks before it installs. You keep every soundtrack you already had. All 495 versions come with the update, so you do not download any of them again. Your saves, profiles, playlists and Hot Seat games carry across.

The DJ learned to count

• Mixes on the beat. Every one of the 495 music versions now has measured timing. Where the beat and bars are stable, the DJ mixes on them with gentle tempo matching instead of just fading. Where they are not, it uses a short fade rather than a trainwreck.
  
• The music knows how you are doing. It changes when you meet the rescue target. Lose the level for good and the tune plays on in funeral mood, right through the result screen.
  
• Pause like a turntable. Pause brakes the music like a hand on a record, with a little reverb tail, and play spins it back up. Turn on Keep the rhythm and pause drops to just the drums instead.
  
• Smack my pitch up! At higher game speeds the music rises in pitch without speeding up, up to 1.35× at 10×.
  

A much smaller download, if you are new

The fresh download is now 150 MB instead of almost 2 GB. It includes the 54 essential versions: the original modules and the Professor Mariarti theme. The other 441 versions are in 18 optional libraries, 1.81 GB altogether. Pick the ones you want on first launch, or later in Settings > Audio > Download soundtracks. You can keep playing while they download.

For modern QoL (optionally), we now have a reward system:

Level skips

Everyone has a level. You know the one.

Every third level you finish with three stars, without rewind or undo, earns you a skip. Fail a campaign level and Skip level appears next to Try again. The skipped level stays unbeaten: no stars, no medal. Go back and beat it later and you get the skip back.

It works in all three games. Finales cannot be skipped. In Hot Seat, the player who failed pays for the skip and the turn passes on, so nobody can skip their way into keeping the seat. Old school mode hides skips along with the other modern help.

Precision Zoom

• Press Z, or scroll up over the playfield, for 2× zoom right at the cursor. On a trackpad or Magic Mouse it follows your scrolling direction setting.
  
• Shift-Z is Superzoom: 2× zoom with the game at bullet time, for extra precision. These are rarer.
  
• Zooms are earned, not free. Career stars earn Zoom and three-star levels earn Superzoom. A little badge on the playfield shows how many you have left.
• Heads up: Z no longer rewinds. Comma and full stop step backward and forward.
  

Sessions, and a few quality-of-life bits

• Playlists on the home screen now opens all your saved playlists and the creation tools in one place.
  
• New solo and New Hot Seat save the session you are in before starting another, so you can keep several campaigns and shared games going at once.
  
• A kill count now shows you exactly how many lemmings you have left until fail.
• The home screen counts how many lemmings you have saved on this Mac. Settings > Play Insights shows your local play counts. This might be an optional shared telemetry in the future so we can get a global lemmings saved count.
  

Fixed

• Build targeting no longer sticks to a builder that cannot take another brick, so the lemmings behind it stay selectable.
• Nuking before the first lemming drops now ends the level straight away.
• After a clear, Return goes on to the next level instead of retrying.
• The selected-lemming glow is actually visible now, and the skill icon beside the cursor keeps its size at every zoom.
• The Mac and Amiga sound sets finally have a Yippee.

Where it stands

The Classic campaign and all 60 Oh Yes! conversions still have verified winning routes for every level: 352 in total, all re-checked against this release's engine. Lemmings 2 and Lemmings 3 are still playable previews that need wider comparison with the original games.

This is a universal app for Intel and Apple silicon, running macOS 12.3 or later.

Things I'd love you to try

Update from 1.5 and check that your soundtrack is all still there. Earn a skip and use it on your nemesis level. Zoom in on a horrible crowd. Try the new pause in a quiet moment. Download a soundtrack library you have never heard.

If something breaks, please tell me your Mac model, macOS version, game and level, and whether you were using a mouse, trackpad, keyboard or controller. Trackpad and Magic Mouse zoom reports are especially welcome, and so are reports from Intel Macs and older macOS versions.

Download Ultimate Lemmings 1.6.0

New players: UltimateLemmings-1.6-build51-slim.zip (150 MB)
Upgrading by hand: UltimateLemmings-1.6-build51.zip (1.9 GB, every soundtrack included)
Intel and Apple silicon • macOS 12.3 or later