Hi. I'm PhoenixOfGrunvale from the Lemmings speedrunning community. I need to reveal a glitch that happened on me in this game back when I was a kid, that has MAJOR implications for speedrunning. A glitch that has only ever happened once, and I have found no documentation for it anywhere on the internet. You're gonna think it sounds like some ridiculous, made-up thing when you read the thread, but you're gonna have to give me the benefit of the doubt.
https://twitter.com/StormTheArtist/status/1411017260366544898
Again, I know this sounds ridiculous, especially considering its absurd nature and the fact that I have no video proof of it happening (as I say in the thread, it happened in around 2007, when video recording wasn't as accessible as it is today). But I vividly remember it occurring to me, and now that I'm into speedrunning, I have more of an opportunity than ever before to figure out what caused this glitch so many years ago.
I don't care if it's a random hardware error that cannot be easily replicated on command, I just want to find an answer as to what could have possibly happened for this glitch to occur. And if it is a glitch a human can execute in some way, we may well have one of the biggest breakthroughs in all of speedrunning.
oh yeah, this can be done on PC but it's super hard to do consistently and I have no idea how it actually works on a mechanical level. The best way I can find to do it is to quit out at a very specific point in the flamar 1 time trial, which causes the glitch to happen on both trade world 1 and canis lunis 2. I have video of it here:
😲
...that's exactly how the glitch happened on me back in 2007. To be honest, I was wondering if what I described was too ridiculous to believe, even though I clearly remember it happening. Good to know that this is a glitch that is known about and I'm not just a crazy person!
Anyways, thank you for validating my discovery. This has been eluding me for years, and now that I know that this isn't just a hardware error, I wonder what other level end glitches await in this game. We're talking minutes of potential time save if multiple level end glitches are found.
Hello! Good news: we finally know how this glitch works and how to replicate it successfully without much trouble (and it's actually a lot more simplified than what was detailed previously).
I've compiled all the info into a guide. You can read it in the following link: https://www.speedrun.com/blosc/guide/42xtr
My internet is slow so I can't post a video right now, but in Trade World 2, if at the very start you go left and in between the pipes you will end the level in 2 seconds.
@MasterLeoBlue Yooo that's an amazing find man! Just tried doing it myself and can confirm it's working.
I had been toying with the idea of re-exploring every nook and cranny of every level to see if there were any new findings, and this gives me the small push I needed to proceed in that direction. Thanks!
I'll be adding this info to the guide, also creditting you for the discovery :)
New update: I've been fiddling a bit with the game and found a new spot on Planet Z Time Trial! However, it's soo finnicky I suspect there some unknown variable at play here other than the ones I mentioned in my guide. Here's two videos showing the new find (second take is much cleaner):
I'd be ecstatic to find a Time Trial skip on one of the earlier levels, but so far I haven't had any luck with any levels outside Trade World 1 and 2, Canis Lunis 2 and Planet Z.
This latest Planet Z skip seems promising though, since it's so finnicky to pull off that it kinda hints that there's something we're missing that might allow us to trigger even more of these skips in other levels. Only time will tell though.
I noticed after the glitch that in Karn the level tracking on top left is at the end when i didn't even move ( https://prnt.sc/231ch8m ). Maybe that is a starting point
Yeah, you can get that effect in several levels. As far as I know, you can also get that in Jo Ad 1 at the first turn and in Bathyos in a very specific position at the beginning of the level.
My current hypothesis is that any levels that present that kind of behavior actually don't have any "instant win skips" in them, seeing as how all the levels that have the skips apparently don't glitch the progress bar at all. This is obviously all speculation on my part though (and I'd love to be proven wrong tbh).
EDIT: @Steb has brought to my attention that the progression bar bug is actually present in my second video for the Planet Z skip (which I linked above), so that debunks my hypothesis. Yay!
As far as I know, there's no tool to see that kinda stuff, though for checkpoints/waypoints particularly I'd imagine that the arrow at the bottom-center of the screen always points towards the nearest one, so at least there's that.
Recorded a few extra attempts at Planet Z TT skip. Turns out that you don't need to jump to get it, and you don't even need to trigger the bomb either. In fact, you can even deplete your hoverboard fuel and walk right around the bomb (I usually go for the left)!
As a side note, in the unfortunate case you go for this skip and miss the timing, you can actually trigger it on a second spot further into the level, effectively giving you a second chance! This is the spot in question:
Basically, once you jump over the gap to the platform in front of buzz in the photo, you instantly win (though it's just as finnicky as the first spot). This spot also happens to have a bomb in it, which is getting hard to write off as a coincidence, but I'll let you guys decide for yourselves. :)
Anyways, due to medal restrictions for each level this particular skip is unusable on Any%, but at least it's great to have in mind for 100%!
