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General discussion (archive)Release: Spacechem(93 posts)(93 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted April 24, 2012
The Chemistry-Based Spiritual Successor to The Incredible Machine.

SpaceChem, a brain-bending puzzler that challenges you to create convoluted chemicals in a nuclear furnace, is available on GOG.com right now for only $9.99, and we’re including the 63 Corvi DLC for free!

Spacechem is an indie puzzle game that depicts pseudo-scientific chemical reactions in a reactor. As an engineer, the player will conduct increasingly more difficult experiments that both challenge and entertain in a way unexpected by a puzzle-game and especially a chemistry-based puzzle game. Everyone knows that SpaceChem is only pseudo-science, but building the atomic reactor in the actually feels like you’re only a few steps away from getting a Ph. D. in helium-, hydrogen- and stuff-based reactions.

SpaceChem was named the best indie game of 2011 by [url=http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/39187/Gamasutras_Best_Of_2011_Top_10_Indie_Games.php" target="_blank]Gamasutra[/url] and that is for a reason: it’s a mind-twisting, smartly-crafted puzzler with an interesting background story that will either force you to spend countless hours finding the proper solution or spend those countless hours slapping the atoms and waldos in random order in hope of something finally clicking (like you did with TIM). This game challenges your abilities to apply logic in a creative manner to problem solve, using nested loops and what are actually simple programming concepts to create very complex molecules. The challenges provided by Zachtronic Industries (which include the game + more levels from 63 Corvi DLC) do not require a Nobel prize, but they’re only short of that, and guarantee a high amount of challenge.

In short, SpaceChem is a fantastic puzzle game, difficult and joyful, and is now available on GOG.com for only $9.99.
Posted April 24, 2012
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mclem: Just get the 'fast' reactor to wait. If you hit an output, that WALDO will only continue if there's space in the pipe - even if there's nothing to actually output. You can use that as a 'stall until ready' mechanism.
Did they update the game then? Because when I played it, you'd lose the level if that ever occurred.
Posted April 24, 2012
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deshadow52: Kinda wished I had a way to get Machinarium and Botanicula though, the Machinarium demo I recently played blew my mind.
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kalirion: What stops you from either getting them from GOG, or buying the current bundle from http://www.humblebundle.com/?
I don't have paypal or a credit card. all the games I bought here are all from visa and mastercard giftcards. you know use em and then throw them out. someday I hope to get those ones you can reload over and over and over again. someday.
Posted April 24, 2012
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deshadow52: I don't have paypal or a credit card. all the games I bought here are all from visa and mastercard giftcards. you know use em and then throw them out. someday I hope to get those ones you can reload over and over and over again. someday.
HIB also supports amazon payments and google checkouts - maybe you can load those with an echeck or something?
Posted April 24, 2012
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Wishbone: Did they update the game then? Because when I played it, you'd lose the level if that ever occurred.
That's a core mechanic, actually. If an output instruction can't be processed, the waldo stops there until the pipe frees up (and this can actually be used for syncing waldos, too). It basically works the same way as input instructions. You only fail if two atoms collide in the reactors.

Contrary to what mclem says, however, If there's nothing to output, the instruction is processed as "do nothing" and the waldo keeps moving.
Posted April 24, 2012
Nice to see that all of the content and DLC is included in the release...let's hope that every release will be like this on GOG
Posted April 24, 2012
I don't have this game, and it looks neat. But I'm gonna wishlist it for now.

I'm probably one of the rare people who has not bought a single humble indie bundle...
Posted April 24, 2012
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Fuzzyfireball: I don't have this game, and it looks neat. But I'm gonna wishlist it for now.

I'm probably one of the rare people who has not bought a single humble indie bundle...
I, too, am one of those people who doesn't buy into those humble bundles. I like my little yellow installer things more than I like money :D.
Posted April 24, 2012
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Fuzzyfireball: I don't have this game, and it looks neat. But I'm gonna wishlist it for now.

I'm probably one of the rare people who has not bought a single humble indie bundle...
Actually I haven't either. When I get done with university I'll probably end up buying many more games (unless I have a girlfriend. :)

And I don't mind only two releases a week, if it means GOG has more time to "get it right," ie doing well the with tweaking and fixes for the old games. I'm still disappointed that (according to someone) they don't do much other than get patches together and stuff people can do themselves, but I also don't want them to feel like they have to RUSH that and tweak the games in a sloppy manner. (As I mentioned elsewhere, the "underbelly" of this site - the game forums - occasionally have people complaining about GOG as a whole, and sometimes I think GOG should address what they are actually able to do for old releases.)
Posted April 24, 2012
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serpantino: snip
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kodeen: They've been releasing more than 2 games a week since the relaunch. They released 4 last week.
Mostly yes but they still shouldn't throw newer game releases in the Tuesday old game release slot or at least come up with some kind of organisation such as indie on Tuesday, Retail Wednesday, 2x Old Games on Thursday so those of us who don't want the new stuff know not to waste their time looking on a Tuesday.

I won't buy any indie/newer games on GOG simply because it's such a mess at the moment and if they've planned this for a while then why doesn't the new site launch feature better organisation based around these new releases? I don't want indie & modern retail mixed in willy nilly with my old games collection (because GOG has marketed itself as a collectors site) so I'll get them elsewhere.
Posted April 24, 2012
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kodeen: They've been releasing more than 2 games a week since the relaunch. They released 4 last week.
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serpantino: Mostly yes but they still shouldn't throw newer game releases in the Tuesday old game release slot or at least come up with some kind of organisation such as indie on Tuesday, Retail Wednesday, 2x Old Games on Thursday so those of us who don't want the new stuff know not to waste their time looking on a Tuesday.

I won't buy any indie/newer games on GOG simply because it's such a mess at the moment and if they've planned this for a while then why doesn't the new site launch feature better organisation based around these new releases? I don't want indie & modern retail mixed in willy nilly with my old games collection (because GOG has marketed itself as a collectors site) so I'll get them elsewhere.
Is it THAT HARD to check the site once or twice a week? :rolleyes:
Posted April 24, 2012
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deshadow52: well GOG I have to say I am disappointed with this release as it is a not an old game. Instead it is a newer game that everyone in the entire universe already owns.
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gameon: I guess i must be a spirit from another dimension or something then, because i dont own it yet.
The last time we did the "BUT EVERYONE ALREADY HAS THIS!" dance was when GOG gave away Fallout. Then a GOG staffperson explained that no, something like 10% of long-time GOG users had Fallout on their shelf. And now here we are again.
Posted April 24, 2012
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mclem: Just get the 'fast' reactor to wait. If you hit an output, that WALDO will only continue if there's space in the pipe - even if there's nothing to actually output. You can use that as a 'stall until ready' mechanism.
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Wishbone: Did they update the game then? Because when I played it, you'd lose the level if that ever occurred.
I've had the game since very shortly after the initial release, and I don't think they did any behavioural modifications that early on.

Think about exactly why you're losing the level; it's *not* simply because the pipe is clogged, it's because the clogged pipe means that an atom will stay present in a reactor longer than expected, ultimately likely resulting in a collision when the other WALDO wanders off and does its own thing.

Ultimately, making the assumption that an output will immediately output and designing your reactors to rely on that fact is a design flaw, albeit one that isn't obvious in the opening stages of the game. Since you're designing asynchronous code, that's something that ought to be accounted for and using an output as a stalling mechanism - as an example, there's a few other ways - safeguards against that behaviour.

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bazilisek: Contrary to what mclem says, however, If there's nothing to output, the instruction is processed as "do nothing" and the waldo keeps moving.
Ah, apologies, you're quite right; a slip of the mind there on my part. The key point is that an output can fundamentally act as a "Wait here until the output zone is clear" control.
Post edited April 24, 2012 by mclem
Posted April 24, 2012
Easily one of the best games of 2011!
Posted April 24, 2012
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GameRager: Is it THAT HARD to check the site once or twice a week? :rolleyes:
You're missing the point as usual and contributing nothing. I did explain things and it is disappointing to look and see something that you NEVER signed up to the site for in the first place, instead of an old game. It's disorganisation like this that leads to people getting bored of checking the site regularly and eventually just not using it anymore, especially if they have backed up their collection onto physical media.
Saying they're just having teething problems is daft too because they've had plenty of time to plan this and they could have delayed it until it was better organised; it's not like they're a new site coming into existence.
Posted April 24, 2012
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mclem: Think about exactly why you're losing the level; it's *not* simply because the pipe is clogged, it's because the clogged pipe means that an atom will stay present in a reactor longer than expected, ultimately likely resulting in a collision when the other WALDO wanders off and does its own thing.
You know, you're probably right. But that means that you have to have a sync point after every output point. Bummer.
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Community
General discussion (archive)Release: Spacechem(93 posts)(93 posts)
(93 posts)