Level Review Topic

[Minim]

Maybe another bad thing about it is the excessive time. It's somehow a nice challenge trying to do it in 2 minutes.

Present 5 - Darkness of the royal family


50 lemmings
45 to be saved (90%)
Release rate 50
Time: 3 minutes
10 builders, 5 of the rest.

Good: A nice challenging time limit, gaps in the terrain makes the level different compared to others. Adds steel to remove an obvious solution.
Bad: Not sure what make it bad about this level, but if there was, there's isn't much into this level.

[Proxima]

No, I think considering how easy the other early Present levels are, I don't think 4 is out of place, and doing it in two minutes is best left as a challenge rather than being required.

Genesis - Present 6 - No time for a detour


100 lemmings
Save 98%
Release rate 99
1 minute

1 of each skill

Good: Excellent puzzle idea that instantly makes it stand out from the crowd, and the "one of each skill" theme makes a welcome reappearance.
Bad: Should have required 100%, otherwise it's too easy.

[Pooty]

Genesis - Present 7 - Everyone Turn Left!

100 lemmings
99% to be saved
Release Rate 99
1 minute

1 blocker

Good: So, you take a quick glance at this level, and scoff "This is too easy". Then you try, you fail, and it makes you feel really silly. This level teaches you an important lesson about deploying blockers against a 99 release rate.

Bad: This level won't take long to beat. The level name has been used before, as early as Tricky 27.

[Minim]

Genesis - Present 8 - Libra (Part Two)


Number of lemmings: 50
100% to be saved
Time: 5 minutes
Release rate: 30

Skills: 3 bashers, 1 digger

Good: Slightly harder than the last one, the scenery shows the correct symbol for the title.
Bad: Far far easier than the original level, and also, it's easy compared to Level 6.

[Proxima]

Bad: Far far easier than the original level

Another problem with it is that the "original" level is Sunsoft 6 -- they forgot to change which one was called "Part 2" when they switched Present and Sunsoft!

Genesis - Present 9 - Fix the road, quick!


50 lemmings
Save 88% (44)
Release rate 50
5 minutes

15 builders, 1 digger

Good: Finally, a tricky level! A couple of possible routes that it's not easy to decide between, and a good bit of multitasking and precision required (especially in the 100% solution).
Bad: A huge step up in difficulty, and then the next five are all easy again

[Minim]

Genesis - Present 10 - Where are you heading?


Number of lemmings: 80
90% to be saved (72)
Time: 5 minutes
Release rate: 50

Skills: 20 bashers

Good: Don't know
Bad: Only bashers on crystal style, which is an absolute derivative action done in Fun 5 and Mayhem 4. No real challenge, because it's just boring timing, level works with saving 100% as well, getting 100% is a better challenge compared to losing a few.

[Clam]

^ That level is a repeat, so it doesn't get its own pic on the host site. You need to change the image URL from "pres10" to "tri12".

No such problems for the next level...

Genesis - Present 11 - Field athletics


Lemmings: 80
Save: 80 (100%)
RR: 1
Time: 4 minutes
Skills: 20 builders, 1 basher

Good: Some variety in solution methods - fall in the pit and build out, or build over without letting any lemmings fall, and a couple of ways to isolate the final builder (with or without using the basher). The map looks nice, with some good decorative terrain. Having a basher instead of a digger (as you get in "24 hour Lemathon" - which, by the way, is the next ONML level to be reviewed ) prevents an easy solution by digging a pit at the start.

Bad: Building out of the pit is a time-consuming task, as is waiting for 80 lemmings to exit (mostly in a RR99 line).

[Minim]

Genesis - Present 12 - Balance Beam


Lemmings: 50
100% to be saved
Time: 3 minutes
Release rate: 10
Skills: 3 builders, 1 basher, 1 digger

Good: A nice challenge on a short level, 3 minutes is perfectly ideal for this level.
Bad: A rather prominent looking backroute is added to the level, the one which saves 2 builders.

[Dullstar]

Maybe another bad thing about it is the excessive time. It's somehow a nice challenge trying to do it in 2 minutes.

Present 5 - Darkness of the royal family


50 lemmings
45 to be saved (90%)
Release rate 50
Time: 3 minutes
10 builders, 5 of the rest.

Good: A nice challenging time limit, gaps in the terrain makes the level different compared to others. Adds steel to remove an obvious solution.
Bad: Not sure what make it bad about this level, but if there was, there's isn't much into this level.

It needed more steel though.  I found a one skill solution.  I'll post a "Challenge Solutions" thread and give details about how to do it.  It will, however, be labeled as an "untested challenge".

[Minim]

It needed more steel though.  I found a one skill solution.  I'll post a "Challenge Solutions" thread and give details about how to do it.  It will, however, be labeled as an "untested challenge".

I won't make a controversy about steel, but still, it's just enough to remove an obvious solution.

[Pooty]

It needed more steel though.  I found a one skill solution.  I'll post a "Challenge Solutions" thread and give details about how to do it.  It will, however, be labeled as an "untested challenge".

If the idea is to bash underneath the steel, it doesn't work. There are gaps in the terrain that will prevent this. There's one just before the steel area that will send lemmings falling to their doom, and there's another two on the ramp next to the exit.

[Clam]

Genesis - Present 13 - Watch your step (Part two).


Lemmings: 50
Save: 50 (100%)
RR: 1
Time: 5 minutes
Skills: 10 builders, 2 basher

Good: Forces you to be efficient with the use of the bashers. Offers some routes that don't work, and help (if only a little) to hide the actual solution.

Bad: Some visually unappealing terrain, in particular the small steps over the water and the steel on the right. The drop before the exit is only just above the splat height, which means this is a retry waiting to happen.

[Minim]

Genesis - Present 14 - Like an overflowing wave


Lemmings: 50
Save: 100%
Time: 5 minutes
Release rate: 99
Skills: 5 builders, 5 bashers

Good: Good use of pillar cutting.
Bad: A lot to say here: Unappealing level design, especially the planks of wood which have no ends to it, release rate of 99 gives you immediate frustration and more of a chance of building the wrong way, too much walking to the exit which does not challenge the timer, pretty dark out in the open (Dark levels creep me out).

[Proxima]

C'mon, own up, who deleted a post somewhere in the first 17 pages of the thread, and was the motivation to make the link to Planet Lemmings harder to find?

Genesis - Present 15 - Evil whisper


50 lemmings
Save 100%
Release rate 1
5 minutes

2 builders, 1 basher, 3 miners, 1 digger

Good: Finally we get to the difficult puzzles we've been waiting for in this category! A number of obstacles to get past, and it looks impossible to get through them all and maintain crowd control with the given skills. A very satisfying level to solve (and the terrain looks gorgeous too, especially the arch on the left).
Bad: Direct. Drop. Backroute.

[Minim]

C'mon, own up, who deleted a post somewhere in the first 17 pages of the thread, and was the motivation to make the link to Planet Lemmings harder to find?

Not sure about that. Anyway, carrying on with the reviews

Genesis - Present 16 - A trap is a trap


Lemmings: 100
10% to be saved
Time: 3 minutes
Release rate: 80

Skills: 7 bombers, 7 blockers, 5 builders

Good: Impossible to build straight away, lots of exits and of course, lots of traps. Not a bad intended solution with the requirement of more than one worker...
Bad: ...but it's time consuming with blockers AND bombers, steel frame looks boring.