Qublix Public Beta 1 Released (07-13-06)

[mairsil]

I am pleased to announce that the first public beta of the puzzle game "Qublix" has been completed and is available for download:

Qublix Public Beta 1 (07-13-06):
http://catnip.pouncingkitten.com/index.php?act=view&id=4

Qublix Readme (07-13-06):
http://catnip.pouncingkitten.com/index.php?act=view&id=5

What is Qublix? Qublix is a modern update of the classic sliding tile puzzle game (sometimes also called an "8" or "15" tile game). A Qublix puzzle is composed of six separate individual two dimensional sliding tile puzzles, one puzzle on each side of a cube. The outer edges of these individual puzzles share their blocks with the puzzles on the adjacent sides. In order to solve a Qublix puzzle, the player must solve the puzzle (i.e. construct an image) on each side. Sounds simple. However, since each of the side puzzles is dependent on the adjacent sides, moving a block on one side can affect the blocks on the other sides.

Beta 1 Features:
- Fully functioning game engine, including menu structure, sound effects and puzzle graphics.
- Partially customizable interface.
- 10 default puzzles of varying size and difficulty.
- Fully functioning puzzle editor, which can create and modify Qublix puzzle files, including the default puzzles.
- Self contained installation and uninstallation.
- Small memory footprint (<25 MB disk space, ~20 MB average memory usage)

Screenshots:
(Main Menu)


(Options)


(Default Puzzle 1, 2x2x2)


(Pause Screen)


(Default Puzzle 7, 5x5x5)*


(Default Puzzle 10, 16x16x16)



Open Beta Test:
This is an open beta test for the Qublix puzzle game. While every effort has been made to eliminate errors and bugs, be aware that this game is currently unfinished and may contain undiscovered errors.

Anyone is welcome to participate in the Qublix beta test. If you find any errors or incompatibilities, please respond to the original posting here:
http://forums.pouncingkitten.com/viewtopic.php?t=45
and describe the problem that you are having in as much detail as possible.

Also, in order to better track hardware compatibility, please describe your computer configuration (CPU speed/type, RAM amount, video card type), even if you are having no problems. Future plans include resolution and control (keyboard/joystick/mouse/trackball) configuration.

I am particularly interested in people here who try this on their MAME machines. The beta runs on DirectX at 800x600 and currently exclusively uses keyboard keys (arrows, WASD, tab, backspace and enter), so I can definitely see it running without too much trouble.

As always, any feedback (both good and bad) is wanted and welcome. If you would prefer to email your feedback, please send it to:
qublix@pouncingkitten.com



* Note, some puzzle images courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech.

[cdbrown]

This looks great - well done mate.  I'll be trying this out tonight after work.