Hello everyone! Just figured I'd post that Alchemist will be receiving an update in an attempt to bring it back to life!
I've been passionate about this game since I first programmed it and it is such a shame to see it offline after a long period of popularity. After a few devout players posted recently on the forums interest about the game coming back, it sparked the flame for me again to begin programming for Alchemist. I will probably be reprogramming from top to bottom the game and adding in new features and better balancing to make the game more fun and competitive for everyone. I also hope to have the game online 24/7 as it used to be in the old days! I hope this works out and I hope we can return to the bustling amazing fun-having community we once had!
Maybe I'll even throw in a contest, just for the sake of things once the Ranks get reset! ;)
Have an awesome day everyone, feel free to post below any ideas you have for the game! :)
ID:1434117
 Nov 30 2013, 11:01 am
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Thanks, Oasis.
By the way, how have you been? | |
You're welcome! I'm looking forward to seeing you back, Flash! :)
What do you think about the abilities, any suggestions? :P | |
Nice! Although, I think it'd be nice to have a toggle to turn the skills/abilities on and off (in case we want to have a pure skill match up).
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Oh yeah! I forgot about that! ;)
That's where the gap between beginning players and experts is bridged. When you're selecting abilities, you can choose "Expert Mode" which allows you to play without an ability. But the catch is you can still play against other players with abilities but matches only go on your record and affect your ranking if you both are using abilities or you're both on Expert Mode. Expert Mode will be available after reaching probably 6000 points or playing 10 games. :) | |
Added on to that, I was also thinking of making a Practice Mode where you can play "against" the computer, but it's really just a test of how long you can last with the computer hurling blocks at you. :)
And possibly a Sparring Mode which makes it so you can face other players with/without abilities and the matches don't go on either record. :) | |
Oh my.... All these features are about to give me a heart attack (positive response in case you are wondering).
It's good to hear that you are doing well, Oasis. :D | |
Yeah! It's going to be awesome!
I'm actually going to start reprogramming the game now! :) Do you have any suggestions? :) | |
Just came up with a new idea for an ability!
Match (1-3): All blocks drop as doubles for a brief period. | |
An Alchemist update!?
Count me in! | |
I'm pretty excited too!!!
I'll have a mock-up of the playing field done by tonight probably, it's looking pretty slick. :) | |
 Just a quick screenshot! I brightened up the colors a bit and made the edging a little more interesting! :) | |
If you're already touching a lot of the code base, I'd look into using the new Transform() and matrix functions to make the effects smoother.
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Yeah I was planning on using some Transform() effects when tiles get removed to make things look nice! :)
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Do you know how to use Transform() to make something rotate and fade simultaneously? That's the kind of effect I'd like to use for the tiles being removed.
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I haven't played the game much, but this is one of few games that actually drew my attention to make me login more than the one time a friend invited me; so I'm very glad to see it updating. Hopefully it'll breath more life into it, games like this deserve a bigger following than they usually get.
The ideas sound great, too, by the way. The only thing I can think of to suggest is maybe a special block type? One option is a ? block that doesn't show its color immediately after release, or that sets its color based off when you let it touch another block. Hm, or maybe a block that changes color based off its surrounding blocks. I don't know. It's a risky option I thought of on the spur of the moment. Abilities could manipulate whether the block appears, or how often, too. | |
I'm definitely looking forward to adding in some special blocks, because while the vanilla game is a lot of fun to test your skills, it could be quite fun to have some quirky things going on as well!
One of the big ones that I thought of right away was a larger block that acts differently than other blocks. Or different types of refugees that are harder to get rid of or destroy themselves in different ways. All those kinds of things just sound like fun! :) Plus the abilities will give a whole new side to the game that is optional and will hopefully draw in more new players than the vanilla game on its own did. | |
 Those tiles never looked so good. :P | |
Abilities:
#1 Delay (1-3) : Increases own Avalanche turns.
#2 Hurry (1-3) : Decrease opponents Avalanche turns.
#3 Spear (1-3) : Increases refugees sent fron low combos. (1-3)
#4 Power (1-3) : Increases refugees sent from high combos. (4+)
#5 Armor (1-3) : Reduces refugees received from low combos. (1-3)
#6 Aegis (1-3) : Reduces refugees received from high combos. (4+)
Let me know what you think and suggest other ideas too! :)