rt
31 Oct 2004 17:32:58
dat => lvl
Recently i was informed about the lemmings .dat levelpack decompression
algorithm by ccexplore, and i was wondering if anyone would find it useful if there was an application which could convert a .dat levelpack into a series of .lvl levels for use with the
Windows version of lemmings which uses .lvl files.  I got the impression
before that most players like the DOS version better.

Another option would be to load up a levelpack into CLONES to play, but the
differences in lemmings dimensions would render many maps unplayable.  At
the very least you could edit the .lvl levels in the CLONES mapeditor but
that would require you to play them in winlemm which might not be what you
want.

Please advise.

rt
http://www.tomkorp.com

DragonsLover
01 Nov 2004 00:43:00
Re: dat => lvl
You can save each level from a pack in .lvl files with LemEdit.
rt
01 Nov 2004 16:25:56
Re: dat => lvl
I am awear of that, however LemEdit requires DOS and you need to manually convert from .dat to .lvl.  

I was thinking of a windows application in which you drag 'n drop the .dat levelpack and the app will spit out the .lvl levels automatically.  No keyboard required :)

The question is: Is this useful or not?  Does anyone want to convert hundreds of .dat into thousand of .lvl quickly?  Or  is everyone happy playing custlemm and the like?  Basically this allows for an all-windows editor which can create either lvl or .dat levelpacks.
Adam160591
01 Nov 2004 19:59:40
Re: dat => lvl
I'd like to see a program like this
DragonsLover
01 Nov 2004 20:38:39
Re: dat => lvl
Of course, a program that could do this automatically could be appreciated. But, unfortunately, this program doesn't exist for now. Maybe a good programmor could try to make one! But for now, you don't have choice: You must save every level from a .dat file in .lvl using LemEdit. It's long, but there's no other solution. And if LemEdit doesn't work... that way, I really dunno how you could anymore!
Anatol
01 Nov 2004 21:30:08
Re: dat => lvl
I'd definitely like to see a program like this. Unfortunately, my programming skills are pretty limited, so I can't do it.
finlay
07 Nov 2004 11:55:43
Re: dat => lvl
That would be very useful, cos then the .lvl's can easily be converted to mac levels, that I use.
rt
08 Nov 2004 01:44:08
Re: dat => lvl
The program does exist!

As i said before, i was given the decompression code for .dat levelpacks.  I have added the code to CLONES which allows you to select a .dat pack and have all the .lvl levels extracted automatically.

It seems that at least a few people would find that useful, but perhaps it would be better if i made a seperate stand-alone drag-n-drop app like i mentioned.

My real question is 'why do need to convert many .dat levelpacks into .lvl format'?  Doesn't custlemm use .dat as well?  And i've heard that most people like DOS lemmings better than Windows lemmings so what would be the point of such an application?

rt
http://www.tomkorp.com

Of course, a program that could do this automatically could be appreciated. But, unfortunately, this program doesn't exist for now. Maybe a good programmor could try to make one! But for now, you don't have choice: You must save every level from a .dat file in .lvl using LemEdit. It's long, but there's no other solution. And if LemEdit doesn't work... that way, I really dunno how you could anymore!

Isu
25 Jun 2005 19:44:22
Re: dat => lvl
I can most definitely make use of such a program. I may be the only one to prefer Windows lemmings over DOS (Nothing, of course, can beat the Amiga version), but that doesn't bother me.

What you might be missing is the fact that winlemm has many more features than DOS. Fast-forward and Action Replay are just some of them.

The only downside at the moment is that some levels might not be passable on the windows version...
Mindless
26 Jun 2005 02:18:37
Re: dat => lvl
I will at some point make a program like this, but don't expect it any time soon, expect to wait months.  rt, on the other hand, could release it anytime he wants.
Mindless
09 Jul 2005 01:44:12
Re: dat => lvl
it may not be fool proof, but here it is...
http://it.travisbsd.org/lemmings/files/lemmingsdatdecompressor/lemmingsdatdecompressor_1_1_0.zip

Edit: new version released