Why can I get more lums than the level maximum in Rayman Origins?

Question

In Rayman Origins you primarily collect Lums.

At the end of each level there is a giant tube which gathers all the lums you've collected throughout the level.

As the tube fills you will hit checkpoints represented by fixed values that will earn you pink smiley faces. When you fill the entire tube you are awarded a medal.

In Rayman 2, I remember it taking me many, many hours to collect every single last lum - and there was an exact amount of lums that needed to be collected in each level.

A number of times now, I've collected up to a dozen more lums than what is required to fill the entire tube. This seems weird - is it supposed to happen? In my mind the tube being full represents you collecting every lum in the level.

Do these overflow lums count towards anything? Why are they there?

Answer 1

On Rayman 2, the yellow lums were a one-time collectible, meaning they disappeared once they were collected and always appeared in the same spot for every player.

The way lums are awarded this time is more like a score. They rely more on skill and speed, rather than just exploration. For example a certain collectible might increase the lum value for a few seconds, different players might manage to collect different amount of lums at the same time, so they cannot set a hard limit on lums, only a minimum score to accomplish.

I don't know if you get anything for overflowing the tube, as I have only played the demo level and never managed to fill it myself