Chemical Imbalance Demo

Community Forums/Showcase/Chemical Imbalance Demo

fetcher(Posted 2006) [#1]
http://www.savefile.com/files/5149679

Updated - Version 1.3!
- Completley changed the bonus system
- Updated Tutorial (Menu > Help)
- Rearranged Graphics

* Extract all files before running



Zip file is about 700 kb.

This is my first attempt at a puzzle game. It was created in Blitz3D although it is strictly 2D. The current version lacks music, and sound and is heavy on my programmer graphics.

The Demo ends after level 25. A help file is still in the works, but there is a tutorial in the game's menu screen.

Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, ideas, or technical issues. I'm hoping to use this to make improvements to the game.

Thanks.


Boiled Sweets(Posted 2006) [#2]
Memory Access Violation straight after hitting "Hit Enter To Begin".


fetcher(Posted 2006) [#3]
Are you extracting the zip files or just running the .exe?

I got the MAV when I tried to open the zip and run the exe without Extracting the files. When I did Extract All, the program worked fine.

Have you tried it both ways?


Geehawk(Posted 2006) [#4]
No problems running it here, but my brain can't get round it at all.
I went through the tutorial and so I think I know what I'm supposed to do, but I just could not even complete level 1.
It should start easier I think, to cater for people like me. An as you go hint/help system would be good too.

As far as the graphics go. Okay they are not super, but fit the game quite well IMO and to be honest once I was trying to play it I didn't really notice them.

Did have problems when swapping things in that there was no indication that you had selected anything to swap. Once I was clicking on atoms for ages thinking it had all locked up as nothing seemed to be happening. Then i clicked on one of my bonus/spare atoms and it went into the grid and everything seemed back to normal.

In summary could be fun, but too hard for me.


fetcher(Posted 2006) [#5]
Geehawk - Thanks I will take all of that into consideration. It is rather unintuitive at first.

Could you clarify what the problem was you had with swapping atoms?

What is suppose to happen is that the first atom you select should start rotating. Then when you select a second atom (assuming it is adjacent to the 1st one) the two should just move into eachother's positions. Was this the case?

Thanks again for taking the time to try it.


Geehawk(Posted 2006) [#6]
That was the case at first but at some point it stopped doing the rotating thing.

Maybe after I went through the tutorial??? Can't really recall other than it just was not doing it at some point.

I'll test again tomorrow, and report back.


Grey Alien(Posted 2006) [#7]
works here. Certainly is programmer graphics abound. Gameplay maybe a bit complex? I noticed when I got OK in a column, I could move stuff in and out of the column and OK didn't go away, this is weird.

Tutorial is a bit long winded, but I see why you've put all that text in there.

Really need to be able to click OK instead of pressing escape after vairous menu options like High Scores.

Your OK.wav sounds *just* like my pop noise from Easter Bonus but mixed with another sample to make the sliding noise ...


Geehawk(Posted 2006) [#8]
Hmmm. Is what Grey said about the columns keeping their OK status intentional or a bug ??? Certainly once you know thats the case it makes gameplay a whole lot easier.

On the rotate issue. It seems to me that after you have entered the menu the rotate seems to be scewed. Today its not stopping rotating completely, but after a trip to the menu and back the atoms just rotate 45 degrees anticlockwise and stop when selected. Different PC today mind, the one in my sig not the lappy I was using last night.

Also where it shows the difference it would be nice if it showed the actual difference eg a negative if there are too few. I wasted plenty of moves moving a smaller atom in only to find it incremented the difference the opposite way to what I was expecting.


fetcher(Posted 2006) [#9]
I'm working on a new build based on your suggestions.

1. The OK status is intentional, once a row is complete, it is complete for good, no matter what you do to it. In the new version, the area that displays the numbers will now simply be blacked out once completed.

2. I think the rotating issue has something to do with hokey method of calculating the animation speed based on the FPS. I've done away with it all together and have not been able to recreate the problem since.

3. There is a reason for the difference column to show an absolute difference rather than a positive or negative. In the later levels, some of the numbers in the goal column become unknown (?). I'm sure you would have discovered this had I made the game playable in the first place.

4. Alien, The ok.wav is one of the default Win XP sounds. Perhaps some new sounds will clarify wether moves are legal or illegal. Going back and playing Easter Bonus again, I see exactly what you mean.


Thanks for taking your valuable time to try out my broken game. I'll be sure to put up a link to the new version once I have it uploaded.


Grey Alien(Posted 2006) [#10]
one of the default Win XP sounds
That might mean you shouldn't use it due to copyright, it could be "free" but I doubt it.


fetcher(Posted 2006) [#11]
Absolutley! It's just in there as a place holder. Did you create all of your sounds or were they purchased?


Grey Alien(Posted 2006) [#12]
Purchased as part of MadTracker, plus some created/mixed from very old Amiga samples. Whether they were obtained legally by those people is another thing unfortunely. I made sure all my music was royalty free, and my fonts and my graphics, big time! Don't want any legal crap coming back to haunt me.


fetcher(Posted 2006) [#13]
I've posted an updated version. It still uses the placeholder sounds, but I've made changes based on your suggestions. New Link and screenshot are in the original post.

I left the FPS tracker in for the hell of it.


fetcher(Posted 2006) [#14]
Bumping to post version 1.3. Download link is still in the original post. The game now plays very differently. Check the in-game tutorial for updated instructions.


VP(Posted 2006) [#15]
Download link is broken.

email me the file and I will host it on a fast server.


fetcher(Posted 2006) [#16]
Are you sure? I tried it yesterday and today, on two different networks, and had no problems. What's the error you are getting?