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[Frooxius]

I'm happy to announce that DeCalc is now available for limited time in the Groupees Indie Bundle!
http://groupees.com/bagb3

Hello!
I would like to share one small puzzle game I recently finished, developed in Unity - DeCalc. (here's previous devlog topic)

DeCalc is a puzzle game that makes math fun! It's like reversed calculator - you get a result and your job is to arrange the buttons so when pressed in given order, you get that result. There are several twists and rules that enrich the puzzles as well.

Key Features

• 50 handmade levels (and dozens more coming, as well as new features)
• Two Endless Modes with variable difficulty (Endless Casual and Arcade)
• HighScores And Achievements

Official website
Official Facebook page

Trailer




Download demo
Windows, Mac, Linux (x86), Linux (x64)

Where to get the full version


Screenshots


I'll be happy for your feedback as well as help to spread the game (if you like it and want to)! ^^'

[Dacke]

The links are formatted wrong in your post. They contain an extra http:// like this:

Code:

[URL=http://"http://data.solirax.org/decalc/lite/LiteLinux64.zip"]Linux (x64)[/URL]

[Frooxius]

Oops, thanks for notifying me, I have no idea how that happened. I apologize for that, it should be fixed now.

[Dacke]

It's a surprisingly fun game with nice execution.

A few issues/suggestions:

• The executable bit wasn't set in the Linux binary
• The enter-key (on the far right of a standard keyboard) didn't work (while the Return key did)
• The game would be much nicer to play with keyboard (especially numpad). If I press "+" it should move an unused + to the first empty slot.
• The menu structure is a bit too deep/complex. When selecting "casual" you could take me directly to "Level select". Just give me separate "Continue" and "Reset" buttons (to the right of the level select numpad)
• It would be nice if the menu-items on the screen were directly clickable (with an animation that shows the corresponding key being pressed by an unseen hand)
  

[Frooxius]

Thanks for the feedback!

• Sorry about the executable bit. Where did you install it from? I had trouble with executable bit poofing away when making Desura MCF package.
• Oops. Each Enter key has its own keycode and I only check for one of them. I'll add both in the next update
• Yes, that was suggested before and it's very good idea, but I'm not yet 100 % sure how to combine it with fields that are reused, fields that must be left empty, color locked fields or several non-number buttons. I'll try to make something that works the best in the next release though.
• I see. I'm afraid though that it could be a bit confusing to some players. But I'll think about restructuring the menu a bit!
• I can make them clickable, but I'm not sure if it's not weird, like pressing a piece of text on a calculator's simple display (I personally wouldn't expect display like this to be touch-table)

[Dacke]

1. I downloaded the zipped demo from your OP (Linux 64-bit).

3. If you add keyboard controls, maybe you could use the arrow-keys to select the active slot? Maybe have letter-hotkeys for non-number buttons?

4. I found the current menu confusing. Going directly to level select is commonplace in level-based games. Resetting could be hidden in some submenu.



5. It doesn't make complete sense, but that's true for most of the game
You can just add an animation that shows the actual button being pressed (you point at the screen, a "friend" pushes the actual button for you). It would make the menu system much more convenient to navigate.

[Frooxius]

1) Oh. I'll look into it and make sure the executable bit is there.
3) Yes, but letter-hotkeys for non-number buttons aren't obvious to the player, so I'm thinking of a way to make it most intuitive. Plus there are still the other problems.
4) Ah I see what you mean now! That gave me an idea - instead of typing out the level number, I'll just fill the board with buttons with level numbers on them (and buttons to get to next or previous page), with the locked levels being grayed out. Thanks!
5) Yes, but that's not what I mean. I know that games don't make much sense, but in a different way. The one I meant is that it might not occur to the players to press the options directly on such display at all (plus on touchscreens it's going to be too small)

[Dacke]

5. Obviously you would need support both ways of navigating the menu

[Frooxius]

Of course, I wasn't thinking of replacing it. But I just find it really weird thing to do (as in, that it doesn't fit the game).

[Dacke]

Maybe get some second opinion on it? I almost immediately got frustrated by the menu system, which is why I'm pushing so hard on it.

I found it incredibly tiresome to have to go:
Find correct text screen -> Store the correct number in short-term memory -> Find the right key

The problem would be mitigated if I could use the numpad, as I would be able to stare at the text and press the number at the same time (not consciously having to store anything in my memory).

Another option would be to have some kind of text on the buttons.

A third option would be to highlight/animate/emphasize the text on the screen when you mouse-over the buttons.

But in my humble opinion:
Easy to use UI > Internal stylistic consistency

[Frooxius]

Ah I see. I never found the menu tiresome like that, but that's probably because I designed it and I remember the options from memory so I don't have to look up the numbers, although I never even thought that people would actually consciously store numbers in memory so they can look them up on the keys and that it would actually make it not easy to use.

If that's the case, I'll make them clickable on the display then.

[Frooxius]

Hello again!
I've implemented some of the suggestions (clickable display menu items, better menu) and they're both in the lite and full version in the original downloads. I need some more time for other features to implement right.

Also I'm happy to announce that DeCalc is now available for limited time in the Groupees Indie Bundle!
http://groupees.com/bagb3