Chromatronix
If there's one thing I've learned about life, it's that lasers owe allegiance to no man. Sure, lasers might be useful for blasting extraterrestrial invaders, but chances are those same aliens are also armed with human-frying laser weaponry. Lasers are dangerous! Chromatronix, a puzzler from Lyngo Games, is a great example of this: you'll need to practice proper laser safety as you match colored beam-emitting Chromas to their proper Power Cells.
Make sure to wear gloves as you click and drag the unhappy little colored Chromas into place. Chromas can have nozzles on any of their four sides, and if a Chroma's nozzle is aimed at a Power Cell of the same color, a beam of the appropriate color connects the two. The goal of each level is to power all of the Power Cells along with connecting all of each Chroma's nozzles. Each level has a "par" number of moves that represents an ideal solution.
It almost goes without saying that this is going to be more complicated than it sounds. Chromas can only be dragged in the four cardinal directions and you can't drag a Chroma through a beam or any other solid obstacles. There are also a variety of gadgets in each level, including Chroma-warping teleporters and glass blocks that allow beams, but not Chromas, to pass through.
Analysis: Chromatronix was created by Heather Stancliffe, one of the co-founders of Nitrome, and it shows. The adorable graphics and accessible gameplay on display here are Nitrome staples. Chromas also can't be destroyed or killed, so players have as much time as they need to solve a level.
The difficulty of this game ramps up steadily, so while some of the later puzzles are head-scratchers players will be ready to take them on by the time they get there. New gizmos are introduced over time, but there's always a tutorial explaining their use. All in all things are very user-friendly which is vital for a puzzle game.
The only real complaint here is that the proceedings are all fairly slow. You can only move one Chroma at a time, so even if a solution is obvious it still might take some time to properly arrange the pieces. This can become a bit irritating, but it's not a game-ruiner by any means.
Chromatronix hits several of the most important marks for a Flash game. It's not overwhelmingly difficult, it's playable for small bursts at a time and it's just complex enough to keep one's brain working without becoming confusing. It's defintely worth a shot for anyone who likes puzzlers.
It was enjoyable, although I didn't think it ever got very difficult. I only had to redo one puzzle because my mouse slipped (really! it slipped!), and I never had that "what do I do now" feeling.
General tips:
Move green last.
Keep purple away from everything (corners are good).
If you have beams when you start the puzzle, you'll probably have to break them to move things around.
It seems to help a lot to keep the Chromas right up against the laser source (no beams showing).
I was thinking par was the ideal score too for awhile, but in later levels it's not too hard to score under par, so I guess it's something else.
I hate level 14. It is the obligatory "Portal" level...
Is Heather still part of Nitrome?
If Heather isn't part of Nitrome any more, then there isn't a Nitrome as you once knew it.
Let's hope she is!
It does seem strange that she would release a game by herself if she was still part of Nitrome, when that game would fit right in on Nitrome's site. Wonder what happened there.
Anyway, completed the game, with all levels at par or below. The difficulty curve was a bit uneven and the level design uninspired (specially towards the end, although 63 was the absolute worst), which was disappointing since the concept is pretty novel. It's not a *bad* game, but it could've been much better with better level design.
@argyblarg, if you're going to post unwanted advice, at least have the decency to use spoiler tags. Some of us like to figure things out for ourselves. (Although your hints are pretty obvious, and won't help for some levels.)
About whether Heather is still at Nitrome, I havent heard anything about her quiting Nitrome, but I have heard she is staying there.
Maybe lyngo games is just where she can put game ideas that dont make it at Nitrome, and are beat out by other ideas. It would make a good bit of sense this wouldnt be a 'top' game idea at Nitrome, since Nitrome doesnt really do puzzle games that much, only two I thought were really puzzle games (dog house and that other one with the skeleton).
[Heather is leaving Nitrome, and Lyngo games is her new game company. -Jay]
Game-breaker: Dragging the mouse out of the game screen when moving a piece and then clicking where you want the piece produces a bug in which the move is not counted nor properly tracked, resulting in weird situations where a piece could be powering a node but not count as properly placed. Moving the piece may result in glitchy moving, and when the piece is placed after moving it normally, it is treated as being moved once. This has the result of making a "4-move solution" possible on level 9 (par-8) and an "8-move solution" possible on level 11 (par-12, pictured in screenshot)
@Kitsune
Do you mean "re-placed?" Because if you click on a Chroma and drag it, but let it go at its starting position - the move is not counted. It helped me make par when I clicked on the wrong piece.
Help on level 73? The walkthrough link in the game only goes up to level 64.
I really enjoyed this. My only problem now is I haven't gotten all the awards! Still need 7, 10, 13, 16, 26 & 40!
@SkylerF: No, I mean I can move a piece without the move counter going up, thus allowing me to (for instance) get a 10-move solution on level 12 (par 30) or a 0-move solution on level 1.
The exact nature of the bug makes it difficult (if not impossible) to get 0-move solutions on the majority of the levels, due to the game not counting nozzles correctly if the positions of the chromas aren't pixel-perfect, and if you try to fix one after they're powering a cell, they will get slammed into a wall making the level unwinnable and forcing a restart.
FINALLY DONE, with all awards too. Pretty fun and a great thinking game. :)
@SkylerF:
Level 73:
Move three of the four pieces in C-shaped movements, being sure to leave room for the others to be moved as well.
After you reposition the first one, *two* Chromas will be active. The second Chroma you move will have to be the *other* of the pair, to break its beam so the third Chroma can be moved.
No need to move the last (fourth) Chroma, for a final score of 9 (par 11).
Update on 73:
Of course, now that I think about it, you really only have to move *two* Chromas, for a final score of 6 (par 11).
OtherBill
Thanks, I got it shortly after I posted.
For Par, I need levels 12, 17, 34, 38, 41, 42, 43, 58, 61, 65, 68, and 71. Just got 46 - I thought too hard the first time. I probably did the same on the other levels. Several awards missing, too. What is the last one, "King Chroma"? Get all awards?
This was a pretty fun game. The award names made me laugh.
Could I have some help making par on levels 17, 65, and 71, please?
I like the concept of the game, however nearly all of the levels were way to easy. There was not enough difficulty and many of the levels were just repetitive instead of harder. I like that most of the moving is relatively easy and without bugs, which made repeating things not so annoying. Good job and please next time give me something harder.
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