Sunday, October 30, 2011

Xye 0.12.0


Yes, really. Head to the download area to get it.

Major gameplay changes:
- A new block has been added, purple.
- Purple arrows and dot blocks are as fast as red arrows.
- Purple pushers are twice as fast as yellow pushers and bounce differently.
- Purple timers are like a mix between the green and red ones, explode a time after Xye activates them.
- Purple surprise blocks teleport Xye to their location if pushed.
- Purple gems do not exist, instead purple gem blocks are activated once you get all the stars in the level.

Other features:
- The listbox control has been made closer to the familiar idea in usual GUI environments. For example, it supports the mouse wheel and can have a scroll bar if necessary.
- Xye's default color has been changed to a less saturated green tone.

Official levels:
- Added two new tutorials.
- Updated the order of some of the levels.
- New levels: Complexity, puzzle, Chekhov's brick, Robot bot trouble and Swing bridge.

Updates to other level files:
- Phipps.xye: Changed the color scheme for the levels from problem.kye.

New editor features:
- Slightly more compatibility with level features.
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Bug fixes:
- Fixed the bug that made .Kye levels in the editor load with black walls, background and earth.
- Fixed bugs related to not being able to play the level's solution / a replay file in the first attempt when there is a saved game for that level.
- Other minor features and bug fixes.


The bad news are that I removed the classic and xmas skins as they were based on the skins from the non-open source games. They will both be uploaded soon to the website as a separate download.

Saturday, October 22, 2011

New level: Enough with the magnets!


It is time for a new level. I think. This level is about magnets, albeit mostly anti-magnets. Note however, that I think it is of the hard variety.

nuffmagnets.zip

Saturday, October 15, 2011

New level: Pyramid treasure


Another level pack by Aoitenshi. This is the pyramid pack. It has a history and a txt file with some subtle hints about what to do in the levels. It includes 8 levels.

As with action replay, the levels tend to require quick reflexes. Get ready to avoid plenty of fire balls. But they also have some puzzles. Some levels are mazes that you have to finish under a time limit.

Xye levels - Pyramid treasure.zip

New level: Avoid the fire and the flood


It is new level time. This time we have a more arcade level in which you have to battle against the elements (after solving a small puzzle). If you press a switch, you risk getting shot by fire. If you do not, you risk becoming the victim of a flood. You will have to alternate the moves.

afirflood.zip

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Xye 0.11.2 Released


Xye 0.11.2 has been released. Find it in the download area.

Updates to the official levels:
- Firestrikers: It is no longer impossible to get the gems after the star.
- Added new levels, for example: "Turn around", "Savage stuff", "So typical", "4x4-4" and more.
- Added a new tutorial.
- In total we now have 26 tutorials and 60 official levels.
- Removed kyeclone.xye. Instead Phipps.xye was added, which includes 44 many great Kye levels.

New editor features:
- Can place ground hints.
- Undo button is no longer disabled when recording a solution.
- It is now possible to change wall, earth and floor colors in a level.

Bug fixes:
- Fix compatibility with OS/X line breaks in xsb level files.
- Fix the bug that made the editor load teleporters as doors in .kye files.
- Fixed a bug that was causing random editor crashes.
- Fixed a bug that could make the game hang if a level was modified and saved data was incompatible.
- Fixed a crash that could happen when trying to respawn Xye in a full level. If that situation happens, you will lose the game, however.


There were tweaks and fixes to the skins. A 30x30 of the clean skin was also added.

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The way the editor can customize the level's color theme is precarious right now, but still easier than editing the XML directly. You will be asked to enter the color number in the hexadecimal format that is used in many places like HTML. There are whole sites dedicated to hex color codes, like this one: http://www.color-hex.com/ . And many painting programs will show you the hex code of the color you are picking. The next versions will improve the interface.

Note that the next version is likely to come much later in the year, unlike these last three updates that were close together and I think it will focus on aspects related to the level browser and a better interface for saving games.

Monday, October 10, 2011

New level: Escape from blob prison


Time for a new level. This time it is your typical "deal with beasts" level. Featuring the blobs. We never have enough blobs, those pesky things. Prepare to face a blob brain.

Xye level - Blob prison.zip

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Featured levels: Action replay


It is time to start reuploading some levels that were initially in our (now gone) google page. Today we will talk about Eilang's ActionReplay level packs. We are talking about 24 levels in total distributed in 3 packages of 8 each.

Xye levels - ActionReplay.zip
If the name ActionReplay should is not a hint. Most of these levels include a solution movie, but knowing what to do is not going to be very useful as most of the levels are really about dexterity, like "Full Speed" pictured left which will make you really learn how to use the keyboard to gain full speed in an obstacle race.

That does not mean the level set is not without puzzles. Like the very original color puzzle we can see in Apostrophe (Pictured right).

It also contains more traditional (To the Kye 2.0 level of traditionalism) puzzles like "Stairs".

Finally, get ready to find some levels that are really about obscure aspects of Xye. Like Lucky, a level in which you will have to magically teleport 9 times. Do something wrong and you may even make the game crash. (Don't worry, I have already caught the crash bug and the next version a crash will no longer happen. You will lose the game though.)

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

New level: Defying gravity


It is time for a new level. This is a quick puzzly with some implementation complications, specially near the end. Star challenge included for those who are particularly used to Xye trickery.

Xye level - gravity.zip