View Full Version : Puzzle Quest: Galactrix - Try it now
hunterx280
01-19-2009, 12:56 PM
Looks like Kotaku has a flash demo of Galactrix (http://kotaku.com/5134630/try-puzzle-quest-galactrix-online) via our old friends at EvAv. Good find, I played it and it's pretty fun and is a nice level of challenge.
What do you think?
BlackPete
01-19-2009, 01:33 PM
I played a beta version of this and have some mixed thoughts. On the one hand, it felt familiar with the "mana" system, skills, etc. with a sci-fic feel. On the other hand, the story really isn't very compelling and I just skipped all of it, and I'm still torn about the battlefield itself. Having to think about the DIRECTION you swap stuff in is pretty neat and it definitely does bump up the difficulty/challenge... yet it still feels like change for the sake of having change...
I'd have to play some more to be more comfortable with it.
NoName
01-19-2009, 01:45 PM
Ooo, I'll have to give this a go when I get home. I've been really looking forward to this.
hunterx280
01-19-2009, 01:54 PM
I played a beta version of this and have some mixed thoughts. On the one hand, it felt familiar with the "mana" system, skills, etc. with a sci-fic feel. On the other hand, the story really isn't very compelling and I just skipped all of it, and I'm still torn about the battlefield itself. Having to think about the DIRECTION you swap stuff in is pretty neat and it definitely does bump up the difficulty/challenge... yet it still feels like change for the sake of having change...
I'd have to play some more to be more comfortable with it.
I can't speak for the story but I agree with you on the rest of it. I'll probably wait to hear more from the community when it comes out and hopefully they will have a PC demo like they did last time.
BlackPete
01-19-2009, 03:02 PM
I just tried that flash demo and it seems strangely buggy... once I got a kind with an extra turn, and sometimes I'd clear out 5 or 6 pieces (in an X shape) and it'd register as a 4-of-a-kind with no free turn, and once I got a 4-of-a-kind, yet it registered as a 5-of-a-kind for some reason and awarded me with a free turn.
EDIT: OK yeah it's really buggy... just now I had 5 greys in a line, and yet it didn't register that AT ALL. Then on the CPU's turn, they blew up and awarded it the extra turn. :(
PathMaster
01-19-2009, 03:09 PM
Was odd to play it like that. It was okay. I did not look at anything regarding it even how to play.
Johan
01-19-2009, 05:19 PM
I don't like the way it looks. I just want more of the same from PQ. It was addictive and a blast as it was. Hope it turns out okay.
BlackPete
01-19-2009, 05:57 PM
I don't like the way it looks. I just want more of the same from PQ. It was addictive and a blast as it was. Hope it turns out okay.
That was my general sentiment about the battlefield being "change for change's sake." However, I'm willing to give it time to see if it grows on me...
The rest of the game I doubt I can talk about too much since it was a beta so lots of it may still change...
Gerbs
01-19-2009, 10:19 PM
Wow I will DL this for sure but I am awful, the computer beat me and I didn't even hit once.
Hotcod
01-20-2009, 09:06 AM
i don't know... it just doesn't feel as fun as puzzle quest so far. I also have my ass kicked in the most stupid of manners ever time. No matter what it's the AI who gets the lucky drops
Loved it. Can't wait to see it on XBLA.
Variable Gear
01-20-2009, 01:24 PM
Galactrix is unpredictable, moreso than its predecessor, and it's just as buggy as the original.
I think I'll pass.
BlackPete
01-20-2009, 02:56 PM
i don't know... it just doesn't feel as fun as puzzle quest so far. I also have my ass kicked in the most stupid of manners ever time. No matter what it's the AI who gets the lucky drops
You just described Puzzle Quest. ;)
i don't know... it just doesn't feel as fun as puzzle quest so far. I also have my ass kicked in the most stupid of manners ever time. No matter what it's the AI who gets the lucky drops
There is usually some amount of luck involved, but in Puzzle Quest you can choose your abilities and items so that you can endure the other side getting lucky. This demo makes you absolutely even with the enemy and thus swings the result too much based on luck.
Also, it's a bit like chess in that if you play it long enough, you'll start not only considering your current move but how that move will help or hurt your opponent. There are a whole lot of options going on, so I never think more than 2 moves ahead (same thing for chess - I'm a good amateur but not a great player), but even thinking this much ahead will allow you to beat even evenly balanced AI nearly every time.
BlackPete
01-20-2009, 05:16 PM
Also, it's a bit like chess in that if you play it long enough, you'll start not only considering your current move but how that move will help or hurt your opponent. There are a whole lot of options going on, so I never think more than 2 moves ahead (same thing for chess - I'm a good amateur but not a great player), but even thinking this much ahead will allow you to beat even evenly balanced AI nearly every time.
This is probably my biggest beef with the Galactrix battlefield: I quickly hit my limit in trying to think ahead because new pieces can come in from any direction depending on the swap direction, so most of the time I don't even bother.
On a Bejeweled battlefield, it's a lot easier to think ahead and plan the CPU's demise.
It's almost like taking a Rubik's cube, and make it 4x4 or even 4D to make it more challenging, yet it ends up being less fun for me.
Hotcod
01-20-2009, 06:13 PM
I did mange to win a game at last... but while i did get frustrated with bad luck running in puzzle quest you could make much better predictions about what moves to make than you can with this game. Like blackpete said the fact there are more swap directions and more directions for gems to come in based on that means that you simply can not think as far ahead as you can on the old grid. There are just to many ways the whole board can be moved on the draw on a single gem... in the old grid how the board may be changed by the new gem drops is far less dramatic.
While i get that this is meant to up the challenge the fact is that the number of moves you can reliably make plans on is much much much smaller than in the old grid. having more ways move a gem and bring new gems in ends up exponentially increasing the possible outcomes of a given sequence of moves at a MUCH grater rate than the old game did. I may be using exponential in the wrong way there but i hope i still get my point across.
What i'm trying to say is that with this new game you can not plan nearly as far ahead as the old one in any meaningful way. Which means in the new game luck is going to be an even bigger factor by default than it was and it was already hugely important. It simply dose not bode well for me...
BlackPete
01-20-2009, 06:47 PM
What i'm trying to say is that with this new game you can not plan nearly as far ahead as the old one in any meaningful way. Which means in the new game luck is going to be an even bigger factor by default than it was and it was already hugely important. It simply dose not bode well for me...
That right there sums it up in a nutshell: The complexity forces me to rely more on luck than skill. Not so fun.
This is probably my biggest beef with the Galactrix battlefield: I quickly hit my limit in trying to think ahead because new pieces can come in from any direction depending on the swap direction, so most of the time I don't even bother.
Good points. I never got to the thinking ahead stage in this demo (accept for the immediate results of one move), but you're right. There is definitely a lot going on with this. I'll probably overcome it in the final version by simply building a great ship and captain.
As was already mentioned in the PC forum, there's a much meatier non-flash demo available here (http://news.bigdownload.com/2009/01/22/download-puzzle-quest-galactrix-demo/).
What i'm trying to say is that with this new game you can not plan nearly as far ahead as the old one in any meaningful way. Which means in the new game luck is going to be an even bigger factor by default than it was and it was already hugely important. It simply dose not bode well for me...
Sure, but they made other changes to decrease the luck. Most notably they eliminated the random chance of an extra turn or a wildcard on every match.
The need to get 5 of a kind to gain an extra turn instead of just 4 also seems to help, since those seemed to happen due to luck more often than skill - especially getting many in a row.
Hotcod
01-23-2009, 10:20 AM
you can stem that all you like but how the board works cancels that out and then some from the look of it. I've not booted up the full demo just yet so it might be different but the fact is that the added complexity to what moves you can make make being able to predict more than a little ahead very very hard and frankly pointless so you end up making moves and hope you are lucky
you can stem that all you like but how the board works cancels that out and then some from the look of it. I've not booted up the full demo just yet so it might be different but the fact is that the added complexity to what moves you can make make being able to predict more than a little ahead very very hard and frankly pointless so you end up making moves and hope you are lucky
Just look at your moves for how they can possibly cause chains and whether or not they set up damage attacks for your opponent. Usually that is enough to beat AI. This will be even more true in the main game where you can probably set up your ship and captain's skills so that you can rip opponents apart.
I absolutely agree that the new board hurts strategic play, but it does look cool, and only thinking a little ahead can get you the win.
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