Blockwar

[Matzon]

Hi all


Just wanted to post about our new multiplayer Blockwar game. 5 player competitive, with many specials to throw at each other (or yourself).


I made a video of the game in progress:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=_HBsotupnvI


You can play it on certusgames.com (http://certusgames.com/game.php?game=270). Creation of a player profile is needed.


Since this is a "casual games" site, the people playing there are of very varying skill!


Comments much appreciated.

[herc]

cool game! but some points:


* a grid would be nice - its hard to tell where the piece will land

* a ghost piece would be even better

* the sideways (left/right) movement is quite slow, same for the down movement

* maybe make sideways movement speed option: slow / fast


otherwise great work! i like the visualisation of the free places on the playing desks.

[Matzon]

Thanks for the comments.


We have talked about adding both a grid and a shadow piece, however this would probably only be available for "beginners". It's not been decided upon though.


As for movement speed and style, this can be configured when you create a table (fast/medium - smoth/blocky).

Since its still in beta, not all combinations of movement style and speed is possible yet.

[jujube]

seems like a fun game but i didn't see an explanation for the controls anywhere. i figured out these:


up-rotate

down-soft drop

left,right-sideways movement

space-hard drop


but i don't know how to use items.

[Matzon]

there is a rules (http://certusgames.com/rules.php?game=270) page associated to the game.


You throw specials on a user by pressing 1-5, depending on the seat. The number is written below the users board.

[jujube]

ah thanks

[Rosti LFC]

This game seems good, but the controls totally ruin it for me.


Only having one button to rotate I can cope with, but to assign it to "up", which is usually associated with hard-drop, and then to assign hard drop to spacebar means I constantly rotate when I mean to drop, and then get confused to hard-drop when I want to rotate.


In all other Tetris games I play on the PC, right hand = arrows = lateral movement, and left hand = rotate.


After a few days playing I could get used to it perhaps, but the question is if I can be bothered, and if it ruins my playing on other games.


Ability to change control keys would be greatly appreciated.

[jujube]

i would also like to be able to change the control keys. it's kind of hard switching between games and trying to play your best with unfamiliar keys. also is there any chance that fast-smooth sideways movement will be added in the future?


anyway it's a fun game. the interface is nice too. it's really easy to figure out what's going on the first time you're there.

[mat]

http://www.autohotkey.com (http://www.autohotkey.com/default.htm)

necessary software, people.

[caffeine]

what's with all the tetrinet knock off's lately?

[jujube]

heh, this is better than tetrinet IMO. though it would be nice to have a netplay game with guideline rules but fast like cultris.


and thanks mat.

[herc]

http://www.autohotkey.com (http://www.autohotkey.com/default.htm)
necessary software, people.


thanks for the tip - cool tool.

does it cause delays?

[mat]

no. it's gotta be the first piece of software i have ever used that actually works, and works like it should work, and works really really well.

[Rosti LFC]

heh, this is better than tetrinet IMO. though it would be nice to have a netplay game with guideline rules but fast like cultris.



Did you ever play Tetrifast? Exactly the same just without the 1 second delay before each piece.

[jujube]

heh, this is better than tetrinet IMO. though it would be nice to have a netplay game with guideline rules but fast like cultris.


Did you ever play Tetrifast? Exactly the same just without the 1 second delay before each piece.

blockwar is pretty and it's easy to get a game started. i haven't played much tetrifast http://www.tetrisconcept.net/forum/images/smilies/icon_lol.gif also blockwar has initial rotation, not sure if tetrifast has that.


1 second seems a little off though...

[jujube]

the "switch board" special is totally unfair http://www.tetrisconcept.net/forum/images/smilies/icon_lol.gif all you have to do is stack very poorly all the way near the top then switch boards with another player. combine that with a memoryless randomizer and they're done for, unless they have a "clear board" or "gravity" special ready to go. but then if you have a clear board or gravity you're not going to use it out of fear you will need it later for this reason, which means you can't use any items in the meantime. switch board is the only special that actually punishes a player for keeping their stack low, as it will become someone else's.


the minefield (which turns any special blocks on someone's board into mines, causing them to lose the game if they clear a line with a mine block in it) is also questionable, because it essentially punishes you for clearing lines. it isn't so bad if you're stack is low though. also you can use "clear specials" on yourself (if you have it) to remove the mines on your board.


would it be possible to not allow a player to send 2 or more items consecutively to the same person when there are more than 2 players playing? when playing against 3 or 4 people you can be attacked very brutally if they choose to target you. maybe there is already a rule like this in the game but i hadn't noticed.


and "milkshake" is funny.


ok i'm done complaining. i still like the game http://www.tetrisconcept.net/forum/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif once again nice job with the interface, and i like the fluidity of the piece movements. the memoryless randomizer works (if your stack is low) because you only have to make a double line clear to get an item to appear on your board.


hmm...has anyone thought of making a game where the randomness of the pieces is proportional to the height of your stack? higher stack = less random.

[Air Gear]

hmm...has anyone thought of making a game where the randomness of the pieces is proportional to the height of your stack? higher stack = less random.


First remark: I'd agree that Switch Board is totally unfair and that Minefield should be nerfed since an instant kill is too much. Having it as something like a block bomb or add line on oneself on the clear...sure, that'd be good, I'd say.


Now the main idea of this whole post: what you're talking about with the randomness could come close to the concept of the "reverse slippery slope" perfected in Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo. Games which have that tend to be very exciting; having a Tetris game based on it sounds like a very good idea. Nice one.

[4matsy]

hmm...has anyone thought of making a game where the randomness of the pieces is proportional to the height of your stack? higher stack = less random.

First remark: I'd agree that Switch Board is totally unfair and that Minefield should be nerfed since an instant kill is too much. Having it as something like a block bomb or add line on oneself on the clear...sure, that'd be good, I'd say.

Now the main idea of this whole post: what you're talking about with the randomness could come close to the concept of the "reverse slippery slope" perfected in Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo. Games which have that tend to be very exciting; having a Tetris game based on it sounds like a very good idea. Nice one.


Or the Mario Kart series, which gives you better items the farther behind you fall...


Perhaps nerfing the "switch board" item, like Tetrinet does? Tetrinet erases the top fourth or so of the field (6 rows, out of 22) when you do a switch, forcing you to stack a bit on the sides if you want the switch to be effective much...


I agree with Air Gear's suggestion about changing the insta-killer, too. Though I'd either go with the "add lines to self" idea, or restrict the block bomb to not scatter the blocks in at least the top 4-5 rows or so...Tetrinet's block bombs can be insta-kill anyway if one of the randomly-scattered blocks decides to appear right on top of where the next tetromino is supposed to enter. -_-

[DIGITAL]

I haven't tried the game out yet but I will a little later.


If you want some ideas for items, check out the "Items" section under "Vs." in the Heboris Unofficial Expansion page.


http://www.tetrisconcept.com/wiki/index ... _expansion (http://www.tetrisconcept.net/forum/../wiki/index.php?title=Heboris_Unofficial_expansion)

[DIGITAL]

Jujube finally pulled me into the game today. My impressions?


The interface is nice and usable. It's easy enough to join a game. The BGM and SFX are pretty good. Overall, I really like the presentation.


The gameplay is a bit shaky though. It seems that items are the only way to win unless your opponent tops himself out. The more doubles, triples, and tetrises you make, the more items you get. The problem you see, is that the items are VERY unbalanced. Some items are too weak and some break the game. The weak items hardly put a dent on the opponent's field. The gamebreaking items, however, can end a game soon after it is used. Player A can be throwing out 10 weak items at Player B and still lose if Player B uses 1 uber item. This essentially makes the game a race to see who gets the uber item first. The rest of the match, (which can last for over 10 minutes), is really just an exchange of scratches.


Here are my suggestions on what to do with some of the items.


*Add line - should add two lines of garbage rather than only one. Encourage offense, not defense.

*Clear line - leave it at one to discourage turtles

*Shot gun - might want to decrease the holes it makes. One per row perhaps?

*Clear board - this item is broken. It can drag a game on forever and does not have any major drawbacks.

*Switch board - another broken item. You're almost assured a win if you get this item. Just mess up your board to the point of no return and switch!

*Minefield - yet another broken item. Although not as broken as Switch board, this item can often cause a "slow death." Item blocks often spawn near the bottom of the field. If you time the item when your opponent has an item block midfield, you can effectively block his access to the majority of future items.


EDIT: Missed the Gravity item. This item is broken in that a player can just fill up his field randomly and activate the item to gain countless items. This player ends up getting a huge advantage in the uber arms race.


EDIT2: Ignore that last edit.

[Rosti LFC]

Clearing lines needs to send garbage like in Tetrinet. The games go on because gravity isn't particularly fast, and the only way to lose is to get battered by items, or to screw up big time, which many of the good players aren't likely to do.

[Eliten]

It's a lovely game you've developed, however, the animations makes the game too slow. I know I'm not the only one who can't perform at maximum speed because of the animations.


Some of the best blockwar players I know quit when this new version was released (at blip.se), they couldn't stand the slow animations.


My suggestion is that all animations are removed in fast blocky.



It's kind of hard to rotate the pieces when you're building high, if you get the red piece building high you're basically dead, in the old blockwar version you could rotate them when playing high without dying like a noob. I'd like to see a similar solution, I can't really describe how it worked, I hope you understand or look into it anyway.



The pattern special at certusgames is ugly and weak, make it cooler!



Btw, the table creation dialog could be prettier.

[tepples]

Translation into MVC-ese (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model-view-controller): Have the game model run without "animation", and changes to the state take effect immediately. Then have the view add animations.

[jujube]

hi Eliten, good to have you here http://www.tetrisconcept.net/forum/images/smilies/icon_cool.gif

[Matzon]

Thanks for all of you comments! They are appreciated. We will take them into consideration as we evolve blockwar further.


We are able to do a lot of the things that you request, however we need to strike a balance between the casual users and the "pro" users. I am not sure how that will work out exactly, but the option for creating configurable tables - even though the dialog isn't the most beautiful http://www.tetrisconcept.net/forum/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif - should allow us to create a configuration that really good players will like.

[cdsboy]

Thanks for all of you comments! They are appreciated. We will take them into consideration as we evolve blockwar further.

We are able to do a lot of the things that you request, however we need to strike a balance between the casual users and the "pro" users. I am not sure how that will work out exactly, but the option for creating configurable tables - even though the dialog isn't the most beautiful http://www.tetrisconcept.net/forum/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif - should allow us to create a configuration that really good players will like.


By no means have any of the requests here geared towards "pro" tetris players. They have all been balanced requests. Also i think the games are too long. It took me almost 10 minutes to get into a game. If i had not wanted to see for myself what we were talking about here i would have left because of the long wait. I fear you will lose alot of people because they do not share my love of the game and it is not worth a 10 minute wait to play.

[Rosti LFC]

Thanks for all of you comments! They are appreciated. We will take them into consideration as we evolve blockwar further.

We are able to do a lot of the things that you request, however we need to strike a balance between the casual users and the "pro" users. I am not sure how that will work out exactly, but the option for creating configurable tables - even though the dialog isn't the most beautiful http://www.tetrisconcept.net/forum/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif - should allow us to create a configuration that really good players will like.

Or do what TetriNET did, which was to make a second mode for people who wanted faster gameplay and less dependence on items.