Unadvertised Lemming's skills in Lemmings 2: The Tribes, and other interesting
facts. Submitted by Warren Buss [71044,3477].

While the first two Lemming games (Lemmings & Oh No! More Lemmings) were fun
and interesting (addictive also comes to mind), the skills to work with were
limited to but 8 in number plus you had the ability to adjust the Lemming
release rate. With Lemmings 2: The Tribes come many, many more skills to use
which make the game even more interesting (and addicting). Some of these new
skills offer some subtleties that aren't always obvious to everyone who
plays the game.

I don't know about you, but after I replayed a given level many times, only
to learn that I could have avoided such and such trap or taken a different
approach to solving the level, it would've helped my composure if I had known
earlier about some of the subtleties. Of course, once you discover these the
hard way, you won't soon forget them.

If you don't want to know what these are because you feel it may reduce your
enjoyment, then I assume you aren't reading this. If anyone reading this knows
of some skill anomaly that I've neglected to reveal, then let me know and I'll
be happy to add it to the list.

WIND SKILLS

SURFERS: Surf boards don't float very long if left standing in the water.

TWISTERS: If possible, always guide Twisters horizontally and vertically, but
never off the ground. Don't try to force the movement. Control is more easily
achieved if you guide them slow and easy.

GROUND REMOVING SKILLS

BOMBERS: Just when you think you've figured out what happens to these guys
after an explosion, you get fooled. In most cases, they will walk in the
opposite direction after the bomb explodes. In some cases they will continue
on in the same direction they were walking before the explosion. Therefore
don't make a hard assumption on this; you have to try before you know for
sure.

CLUB BASHERS, SCOOPERS, MINERS: These skills require that the Lemming raise
a tool over his head. Watch out for metal objects above. If they get struck
the Lemming will lose the skill, perhaps prematurely.

BUILDING SKILLS

STACKERS: Do not assume which direction a Stacker will walk when finished.
He will normally continue in the same direction as when he started
unless blocked by something or has had his skill changed. Always watch for
which direction he is facing when he finishes or when you need to change his
skill and perhaps his original direction at the same time.

SAND POURERS: Sand Pourers will reverse direction after pouring a load of sand
if they're standing it in. If they dump a load to a spot below them so the
sand doesn't build up around their legs, they will continue on in the same
direction.

GLUE POURING: Glue being poured moves faster than a walking Lemming (as does
the material from the other 2 Pourer skills if the material is being poured
on a flat surface with no depressions in it).

ALL POURERS: All pouring skills require sufficient room overhead for the
Lemming to get the bucket above his head. If he is in an area with a low
ceiling you will waste a skill getting him to try to pour something.

PLATFORMERS: Unlike Builders who turn around if they are forced to stop
building because they hit their heads or are not able to complete
the laying of 12 bricks, Platformers will continue on in the same direction if
possible when they are stopped prematurely. Platformers can also lay bricks
under a ceiling as long as there is the smallest amount of space available
between the platform and ceiling.

SHOOTING SKILLS

ARCHERS & ROPERS: The Lemmings assigned these skills can shoot in any direction
including the one they're moving away from.

ARCHERS: Archers will not shoot if there are any Lemmings in the path of the
arrow.

Don't overlook the possibility of using this skill to turn the Lemmings
in the opposite direction. If the Archer has room above, and he can shoot an
arrow almost vertically and have it land on the side in which he is moving, it
will force him to reverse his direction.

You will find it useful to use arrows as a means of building short
platforms over gaps to prevent others from falling to an early demise.

Arrows can also be used to fashion a platform from which glue can be poured to
build or extend a bridge.

ROPERS: In some levels, ropes do not appear to stretch as far as they do in
other levels. The grappling hook at the end of the rope can bounce off a
surface if the angle of elevation is too severe.

If a Roper must be made to shoot ropes in a zigzag pattern, make sure that each
succeeding rope starts above the grappling hook of the previous one OR far
enough down the previous rope that the Lemmings who follow will not
get caught between the grappling hook and the next rope.

SPEARER: The Spear skill is used to build a short platform. It can probably be
extended using Archer skills.

BAZOOKA & MORTAR:
The use of these 2 skills will turn its user in the opposite direction AND the
concussive effect will toss Lemmings who may be behind the shooter in the
opposite direction too so they will walk away. Firing one of these weapons will
knock an Attractor off his feet if he is near enough and he will revert to a
Walker once again.

MOVEMENT SKILLS

RUNNERS: In addition to running and being able to Jump farther and throw higher,
the Runner will also jump unassisted at any point where there is an abrupt
dropoff. His ability to jump unassisted can be used to advantage on occasion.
You might find it useful if you need a Hopper and the skill isn't in the
inventory. He can also shimmy for a very short distance on his own.

If you use a Runner when you don't really need one, he can be difficult to
control. Rule of Thumb: Running skills are normally assigned to a leader (or
someone who will shortly become the leader).

MISC SKILLS

ROCK CLIMBERS: After completing a climb Rock Climbers will hesitate for a bit
allowing you time to change their skill if you want. Rock Climbers always move
in the opposite direction when finished. You can use the Rock Climbing skill to
enable a Jumper to get up on something that his Jump would not normally allow
him to get up on.

SHIMMIERS: Shimmier skills can be used in place of jumping skills when required
as long as there isn't anything above for the shimmier to attach to.

SUPERLEM: SuperLems, like Bombers, will usually go in the opposite direction
when their job is done, but not always. Again, you won't know until you try.

GENERAL INFORMATION

BLOWING CHAIN: It usually isn't necessary to move the chain wildly back and
forth with the fan. It IS feasible to control the movement to a limited extent,
but it requires a cool head (and LUCK). The idea is to get the chain moving a
bit to overcome its inertia, then if there's time you'll be able to nudge it in
the direction you want at the last instant. The Visitor's Guide seems to
suggest the only way to get a Lemming onto the chain is to make him jump there.
He will also cling to the chain if he has to fall from a height (he doesn't
have to jump from the height first). In short, he just needs to be in the air
when he contacts the chain.

THINGS THAT WON'T STOP LEMMINGS

Lemmings can walk past ropes, bridges, and platforms that have been built
in a direction opposite to the one the Lemming is currently moving in.

GAME ENDING:

It is possible to end every level with a Gold Medal without saving every
Lemming. The loss of a predetermined number of Lemmings is taken into account
by the game designers. Acquiring all gold medals on every level is required if
you want the game ending sequence to be run. One medal other than gold will
cause the final ending sequence to be skipped with an admonishment to go back
and see if you can't improve.

PRACTISE SESSIONS: You'll get plenty of practise in the real game, but the
practise sessions are probably worth your time, and maybe more so if armed with
the information above. Perusing the "Visitor's Guide" and The Manual are
essential to finding out information not available anywhere else.

TIGHT PLACES: You will no doubt discover what appears to be a program 'bug'
when in reality it is an undocmented feature of play. When Lemmings are
squeezed into a tight spot, they will uncontrollably rise vertically along a
wall and even through solid matter until they reach a non-vertical surface,
then they will proceed as if nothing had happened. Sometimes this "feature" can
be used to your advantage; other times it will force you to start the level
over again.

SOLID OBJECTS (sometimes):

There's no way to know in advance of the first time you encounter one, but you
will soon learn that what appears to be a solid object that might be used to
cause a Lemming to reverse his direction, won't always be solid. Obviously
they are put there to fool you and get you to search for another route the next
time. Along this same line, none of the Ground Removing or Shooting skills can
be used to penetrate metal. However, sometimes there are objects that appear
to me made of unpenetrable material but really aren't. Again you have to
experiment.

SOLUTIONS AND SOLUTIONS:

Yes, there are often several different solutions which will work for any given
level. Whatever works for you. Sometimes what seems like the only or most
obvious solution simply will not work. If when working out a solution, you are
trying to force the Lemmings to do things that seem extremely difficult - but if
you could only make them do them you'd be home free - you're most likely
going to need to find another way. Even if you could get by that one fiendishly
difficult spot, you'll eventually find something else that will prevent your
solution from being completed successfully.