Ada Lovelace was the first person ever to publish a computer program (before the first computer was even built!), and Ada Lovelace Day celebrates her, and other women in tech. The ALD Sale is made up of games with a programming theme, including Hexahedra's cube factories. Grab yo
Ada Lovelace was the first person ever to publish a computer program (before the first computer was even built!), and Ada Lovelace Day celebrates her, and other women in tech.
The ALD Sale is made up of games with a programming theme, including Hexahedra's cube factories. Grab yourself a copy at 50% off and spend some time making beautifully efficient production lines!
Optimization is an important part of programming, so I hope to see people breaking records during the sale!
Hey folks, today's update doesn't bring any new features, but does get the game running on the latest version of Unity. In particular, this means that the game has been updated to avoid the vulnerability that Unity emailed all developers about on the 3rd October. See the Unity bl
Hey folks, today's update doesn't bring any new features, but does get the game running on the latest version of Unity. In particular, this means that the game has been updated to avoid the vulnerability that Unity emailed all developers about on the 3rd October. See the Unity blog post about this here.
To celebrate launching at last year's Cerebral Puzzle Showcase, Hexahedra is back with its biggest-ever, one-third discount. The showcase runs until Thursday 5th of June, so make sure you grab a discounted copy before then! Cerebral Puzzle Showcase Event Page
To celebrate launching at last year's Cerebral Puzzle Showcase, Hexahedra is back with its biggest-ever, one-third discount. The showcase runs until Thursday 5th of June, so make sure you grab a discounted copy before then!
Today I've launched a few minor tweaks for a smoother experience. Bugfix: Opening the Steam Overlay no longer triggers the Run One Step feature. This was being triggered because it's bound to Tab, but it now won't trigger if any modifiers (Shift etc) are pressed. Bugfix: The This
Today I've launched a few minor tweaks for a smoother experience.
Bugfix: Opening the Steam Overlay no longer triggers the Run One Step feature. This was being triggered because it's bound to Tab, but it now won't trigger if any modifiers (Shift etc) are pressed.
Bugfix: The This Is Fine achievement no longer gets awarded when it shouldn't.
I've removed the Replay Error button from the failure popup. It doesn't really add anything on top of the rewind system, and it was confusing some new players.
Coloured Panels can no longer be placed in the rear workstation slot. There's no reason to do so, since there's no way to bounce a laser off them in that position.
I've improved the way old solutions are loaded. Previously if a solution was invalid (if, say, you've got a Coloured Panel in the rear position), or if an invalid setup existed in the Undo/Redo history, then the game would reject it and load a fresh solution. With the new version, if the problem is only in the Undo/Redo history, not the current setup, the solution will be loaded without the history.
This update includes a few small fixes: It's no longer possible to place additional Sourcers and Shippers on Megalaser Mishap and bypass most of the level. Fixed a bug where having no saves for either of the last two levels would mean attempting to play either of them would alway
This update includes a few small fixes:
It's no longer possible to place additional Sourcers and Shippers on Megalaser Mishap and bypass most of the level.
Fixed a bug where having no saves for either of the last two levels would mean attempting to play either of them would always send you to Hexahedra Hijack, even if you wanted to play Hijacking Hexahedra.
Updated Unity version to fix an audio issue with some Linux distributions.
The changes to level 16, Through The Looking Glass, definitely helped with completion rates, but it still has a big drop-off in players who make it through the level. To help with this, I've reworked the Laser tutorials on both that level and the level before (Corporate Transpare
The changes to level 16, Through The Looking Glass, definitely helped with completion rates, but it still has a big drop-off in players who make it through the level.
To help with this, I've reworked the Laser tutorials on both that level and the level before (Corporate Transparency) to make things clearer, along with an extra comment from Dantar to remind players about the Recycler.
Other tweaks in this update:
The Workshop menu now points you to the Steam Workshop, with a clickable button, to subscribe to puzzles.
In the Esc menu, the "Main Menu" and "Quit To Desktop" buttons have been renamed to "Save & Leave Factory" and "Save & Quit To Desktop" to make it clearer that solutions are saved on exit, and to clear up confusion where players thought selecting "Main Menu" would take them right back to the top of the menu, rather than the Save Select screen."
The Cerebral Puzzle Showcase is here! It's running from 23rd-30th May, and is full of thinky games, of which Hexahedra is one! Get yourself over there and pick up Hexahedra before the launch discount runs out at the end of the event! Cerebral Puzzle Showcase Event Page
The Cerebral Puzzle Showcase is here! It's running from 23rd-30th May, and is full of thinky games, of which Hexahedra is one! Get yourself over there and pick up Hexahedra before the launch discount runs out at the end of the event!
Yesterday I realized that one of the video tutorials, covering adding payloads to cubes, was missing, so today's update fixes that along with a few other things: Rest In Panels now has a proper explanation of how the Payload Adder works. Some of the video tutorials were missing f
Yesterday I realized that one of the video tutorials, covering adding payloads to cubes, was missing, so today's update fixes that along with a few other things:
Rest In Panels now has a proper explanation of how the Payload Adder works.
Some of the video tutorials were missing from the list in the Help menu, they're now available (including the new Payload Adder one).
Personal Best data is now saved correctly for Steam Workshop puzzles. The Steam friends data and histograms were always correct, but the "Best" readout next to the histograms will now be correct as well. You'll need to rerun solutions to get your actual best scores saved.
It's no longer possible to get locked out of using the mouse wheel to zoom by closing the Undo History by clicking the X button or opening the Esc menu.
It's now possible save a puzzle in the Editor if it has a Panel Adder in it.
You'll no longer see tooltips from UI beneath the story playback screen when it's open.
The Flip Cube Net button on cube visualizations now has a tooltip.
Having looked at the first few days of data, there's one level which is stumping a lot of people, Through The Looking Glass. It asks you to make several leaps in understanding at the same time, which is a bit much, so I've simplified the level somewhat. Old solutions to the level
Having looked at the first few days of data, there's one level which is stumping a lot of people, Through The Looking Glass. It asks you to make several leaps in understanding at the same time, which is a bit much, so I've simplified the level somewhat.
Old solutions to the level won't work, because the cubes you're trying to build have changed, but well done if you solved the original version.
I'll put the original up on the Steam Workshop at some point.
While I'm here, a couple of other changes: - The New Record screen no longer tells you you've broken all three records, just the ones you've actually beaten! - An Unexpected Visit (the first Inspector level) no longer allows you to add your own Sourcers. I can't imagine people were doing much of that anyway, given how the level works, but if you do have any solutions with extra Sourcers in, trying to load them will act as though you've started a new solution. - The tutorial in Going Solo is now shorter.
A big thank you to those of you who've been reporting bugs via the in-game Bug Reporter, I've got a list of things to work on in the near future. Please keep reporting issues that you see!
Hey folks, it's been great to see people picking up the full game and having fun with it, I've spent most of the last two days watching Hexahedra streams on Twitch! Inevitably, once lots of you were playing it some bugs came to light that I'd missed, so this is just a quick updat
Hey folks, it's been great to see people picking up the full game and having fun with it, I've spent most of the last two days watching Hexahedra streams on Twitch!
Inevitably, once lots of you were playing it some bugs came to light that I'd missed, so this is just a quick update to deal with a couple of the more serious issues.
Stopping the factory at just the right (or rather, wrong) moment no longer leaves rogue panels inside Panel Storers. They were purely visual and won't have messed up any solutions, but they were confusing!
The Help menu in the factory now works again - the videos show up as expected, and you won't experience a performance drop if you repeatedly click the options.
Completing Interstellar Relocation (level 26) no longer shows the Demo Complete screen. But I still think you should be congratulated for shipping so many cubes, so well done if you saw that!
Also fixed a few small typos in the story and tutorials.
I also realized I didn't post any patch notes when the game went live, for those of you who've been playing the demo or the playtest for a while. Here's what changed, apart from the last few levels and narrative going in:
The Kickstarter backers and the top 10 Bug Hunters are now in the credits! Thanks for your help, folks!
The camera panning is a bit more generous on larger levels, so you can pan further to the side when zoomed out. The boundaries on where you can place command track windows also lines up better with the size of the factories when they get large.
Skipping through the narrative now won't leave some transitions in an odd state. Lots of other changes to the narrative system went in to make the later stages of the narrative possible. Some of the existing story sections have been tweaked a bit.
The story for the first Inspector level now flags up that they're optional, and they're now always visible on the level select menu.
The last couple of missing video tutorials are now in. I've since realized that they didn't make it into the Help menu, I'll sort that out.
Fixed a bug where attempting to rename the solution to an Exported level (i.e. one you've made yourself in the puzzle editor) wouldn't save.
Tooltips are now suppressed when you're dragging a device or command.
I changed some of the random seeds for later levels. If you rerun your solutions you may find the Steps metric has changed. I reset the stats for the later levels, so the histograms will show correct data for the new seeds.
More levels, plus a few small tweaks and tutorial improvements. Bugs fixed: 2 New Features Two more levels! A final Octavius level, and the first level taking place in the Hexahedra Inc factory (though the narrative for this isn't sorted yet). Other Changes Moved An Unexpected Vi
More levels, plus a few small tweaks and tutorial improvements.
Bugs fixed: 2
New Features
Two more levels! A final Octavius level, and the first level taking place in the Hexahedra Inc factory (though the narrative for this isn't sorted yet).
Other Changes
Moved An Unexpected Visit to after Colour Sorting.
Corporate Transparency now explains how the Recycler works.
A Sea View now requires you to ship 10 cubes, not 5, so that it's harder to complete without being properly on top of teleporter timings.
Megalaser Mishap now has narrative.
Bugfixes
The Demo Complete screen now appears again once you complete the final demo puzzle for the first time.
As well as the news about Hexahedra's launch date, yesterday I launched an update to both the demo and the Kickstarter beta. Here's what changed: Bugs fixed: 21 New Features More levels! Levels have been added or updated showcasing the Laser, Teleporter, Weigher, Drop Painter, an
As well as the news about Hexahedra's launch date, yesterday I launched an update to both the demo and the Kickstarter beta. Here's what changed:
Bugs fixed: 21
New Features
More levels! Levels have been added or updated showcasing the Laser, Teleporter, Weigher, Drop Painter, and Payload Adder. The GHSI Inspector and Octavius also have extra levels.
The last new level also includes a new device, the Megalaser! Unfortunately it's so powerful that it's at risk of destroying the factory, so you'll need to contain its enormous energy beams.
You can now see the state of the factory just before stopping. When the factory is stopped, press End to switch back to the state at the end of the last run. Press End again to go back to editing the factory.
Other Changes
The Puzzle Editor now has a tutorial. If you're using an existing profile, you'll need to press the "Repeat Tutorial" button in the top-left to get it to run.
Payloads now have proper icons in the UI.
The Laser and Panel Storer now indicate success or failure by showing red or green lights. The Laser now also uses those lights to indicate it's charging up.
Bugfixes
Drop Painters will now correctly paint cubes that are moving between workstations when the paint hits them.
Switch colourblind mode on or off now properly updates textures for cubes that are in the middle of being painted. Texture changes are also correctly applied to cube visualizations that haven't been turned on yet.
Changing a Weigher's threshold and saving now correctly wipes a solution's stats (since it might no longer solve the level).
Dragging a Weigher to another slot now preserves its threshold.
Keyboard shortcuts for zooming now correctly use the +/- keys on any keyboard layout, rather than the position of those keys on a US keyboard.
It's no longer possible to get the Puzzle Editor tools tab stuck in its collapsed state.
The Hide Tracks button on a workstation no longer goes missing if the tracks are in window mode and then reattached to the workstation while the factory is running.
Fixed a few lighting issues with the Heater and Laser. Things are prettier now!
The Teleport Buffer now picks up changes to the Show Cube Net By Default option without having to return to the main menu.
Renaming a custom puzzle now allows you to use the full 64 character title length.
The time has come! Octavius is deciding which hat to wear to the launch party! If you played the early versions of the game, or the demo, or you backed the game on Kickstarter, then thank you for being part of getting the game to this point and making it the best it can be. The S
The time has come! Octavius is deciding which hat to wear to the launch party!
If you played the early versions of the game, or the demo, or you backed the game on Kickstarter, then thank you for being part of getting the game to this point and making it the best it can be.
The Steam demo is still available (and will be once the game is launched), so if you've never given Hexahedra a go you can start building factories and shipping cubes right now. Any progress will transfer over to the full version of the game. If you haven't yet, follow and add Hexahedra to your wishlist so Steam can notify you once it's live!
If you're a Kickstarter backer, I'll be in touch with your Steam key closer to the launch date. And if you've got beta access, check out the new update, there are lots more levels for you to have a go at!
Kickstarter Beta Update 12 A mysterious stranger in the factory, global records tracking, and Steam Workshop integration. Bugs fixed: 37 (of which 1 was reported by a player, thank you!) New Features A mysterious stranger has appeared in Dantar's factory, even in the Demo. His pa
Kickstarter Beta Update 12
A mysterious stranger in the factory, global records tracking, and Steam Workshop integration.
Bugs fixed: 37 (of which 1 was reported by a player, thank you!)
New Features
A mysterious stranger has appeared in Dantar's factory, even in the Demo. His paperwork appears legitimate, but there's something very odd about him. Check out the new level to get a first look at what he's up to. There are some additional new levels in the Kickstarter Beta as well.
A new screen has been added to tell you if you've set a new record for a level! You'll be able to see which categories you've set the record for - eventually this will tie into Steam achievements, but not yet. Note that you won't see the new screen for tutorial levels (which are now marked with an icon).
The Steam Workshop integration is complete! It's disabled for now, and will only work in the full version of the game, but behind the scenes it's ready to go. You'll be able to upload a custom puzzle that you've exported and solved (you need to prove a level is solvable before uploading it). If you subscribe to a puzzle on Steam, it'll be automatically downloaded and appear in-game. You won't even need to restart Hexahedra!
Workshop levels are fully integrated into the stats system, with their own histograms and friends leaderboards. They're not eligible for the New Record screen or achievements, however.
Other Changes
The tutorial for Level 3 (A Lick Of Paint) now points users to the colourblindness support available in the Options menu. The Options menu text has been tweaked in a few places to be clearer.
The foundations of the achievements system have been laid, but there's more work to be done there.
The Repeat Story icon now has its own custom animated icon, and a few other icons have been updated.
Bugfixes
Merging a cube with a payload into another cube no longer causes the payload to disappear.
Burial payload names are now correct on the cube visualizations.
Rewinding now works properly in the case where a Decorator stamps a new decoration on top of an old one.
If you set a new record for a level, the histogram tooltip no longer shows the old record.
Finding Octavius now makes the corresponding level available immediately.
Completing an Octavius level no longer shows the "Demo Complete" dialogue when returning to the main menu.
When running the factory when editing a custom puzzle the handles used to resize the factory are now hidden.
When you first load a custom puzzle the device UI no longer shows Sourcers and Shippers available for sources/targets that don't exist.
Fixed an error where pressing Puzzle Editor keyboard shortcuts would cause errors when playing normal levels.
Completing a custom puzzle no longer shows a "Next Level" button on the stats screen.
Fixed an error when updating the probabilities of cubes in a Random source and then attempting to run the factory in a custom puzzle.
Fixed a case where attempting to edit the name of a custom puzzle could cause an error.
Solutions to exported puzzles can now be deleted, and stats for exported puzzles now work correctly.
Colourblindness support symbols no longer appear in a couple of places they shouldn't.
Modal popups no longer trigger "button press" sound effects in response to keyboard input if the buttons are disabled.
Steam Cloud saves are now live! You'll now be able to take your progress with you between computers. Bugs fixed: 5 New Features Steam Cloud saves are now working. They're still compatible between the demo and the Kickstarter beta, and will continue to work with the full version o
Steam Cloud saves are now live! You'll now be able to take your progress with you between computers.
Bugs fixed: 5
New Features
Steam Cloud saves are now working. They're still compatible between the demo and the Kickstarter beta, and will continue to work with the full version of the game.
The first time you start up the game after updating, your existing profiles will be associated with the Steam account you're logged in as.
Once the Cloud saves are set up, running the game with a different Steam account (or without being logged into Steam) will require you to create a separate profile.
Other Changes
The Time Wheel now only drops down when the factory is running once you've moved the mouse away from it. This means if you try to change speed just after starting the factory you're not trying to hit a moving target.
Fragile payloads are now visibly damaged at the right moment, and playback stops immediately rather than running to the end of the step.
Bugfixes
Fixed some transparency rendering issues with payloads teleporting in and falling through burning wooden panels.
Burial payload names can now be seen through glass panels, and also don't sometimes disappear depending on camera angle.
The first version of the in-game Puzzle Editor is here, available in the Kickstarter Beta! The Puzzle Editor allows you to create a puzzle from scratch - you specify the size of the factory, what source cubes the player has access to and what target cubes they need to make, which
The first version of the in-game Puzzle Editor is here, available in the Kickstarter Beta!
The Puzzle Editor allows you to create a puzzle from scratch - you specify the size of the factory, what source cubes the player has access to and what target cubes they need to make, which devices they're allowed to use, and any locked, initial setup that they have to work with.
This is very much an early-stage release. There's no tutorial yet, and it's not currently integrated with the Steam Workshop, but I'd love to see what you come up with and get your feedback on your experience with creating puzzles. What the editor does have is Undo system support, which makes playing around with puzzle design much easier.
The rest of the usual patch notes are below. The Demo version has also been updated with the bugfixes.
Bugs fixed: 12 (of which 1 was reported by a player, thank you!)
New Features
In-Game Puzzle Editor!
Other Changes
Using the Puzzle Editor will let you play around with the Payload Adder, which isn't quite 100% finished but mechanically is working fine.
Devices now have a minimum volume set, so that they can always be heard quietly, no matter how zoomed out you are.
Bugfixes
Big improvements to the way Laser lights are rendered, which fixes the problem of them not showing up in some cases, while also improving performance.
Tooltips in the main menu are now working again.
Fixed a couple of graphical issues with the Panel Storer and Payload Adder.
Fixed some minor issues with UI sound not playing, or playing when it shouldn't.
It's no longer possible to include characters in profile names that the game can't display.
Fixed some buttons on the main menu having slightly odd clickable areas.
Colourblind symbols no longer appear on the top of the device UI for non-colour-based devices if you turn the mode on from the Esc menu.
Fixed an issue with the Source tab cubes being visible when the tab is closed in some cases.
Pressing Enter at any point in a level no longer returns to the main menu.
To celebrate the Programmer's Sale I'm going to be doing some live game development on stream! I'll be working on the new Payload Adder device to support one of the Kickstarter backer rewards, getting their names into the game by adding their mortal remains to urns to be shipped
To celebrate the Programmer's Sale I'm going to be doing some live game development on stream! I'll be working on the new Payload Adder device to support one of the Kickstarter backer rewards, getting their names into the game by adding their mortal remains to urns to be shipped off in cubes.
Come along, chat, and watch uneasily as we throw people's ashes around with teleporters.
I'll be live from 6pm UTC, which is 2pm EDT and 7pm BST, Saturday 7th October (today!)
Demo Update 19 / Kickstarter Beta Update 9 Sound effects have arrived! Let the devices whirr, clank, rumble, and hiss as they assemble your multitudinous cubes! Bugs fixed: 12 New Features Sound! The factory devices create a wonderful variety of sounds as they go about their busi
Demo Update 19 / Kickstarter Beta Update 9
Sound effects have arrived! Let the devices whirr, clank, rumble, and hiss as they assemble your multitudinous cubes!
Bugs fixed: 12
New Features
Sound! The factory devices create a wonderful variety of sounds as they go about their business. The user interface also has lots of lovely chunky, mechanical sounds. There are two new sliders in the Options menu allowing you to adjust the factory and interface sounds separately.
The Kickstarter closed beta now contains three new levels. One is a new laser signalling level (it's a bit easier than the first one, it'll probably become a tutorial level) and two that introduce the Drop Painter, which fires blobs of paint and can paint the inside of cubes.
Other Changes
The cube panels are now thicker, which makes them easier to see side-on.
A few performance improvements to VFX and point lights, as well as saving profiles.
You might notice that Octavius has been promoted to Game Mascot. The old "H" icon for the game has been replaced by Octavius in his wizard hat!
There's been a lot of behind-the-scenes work to get the Payload Adder working - expect news soon!
Bugfixes
Fixed errors when dragging or dropping command tracks over a workstation with hidden tracks.
Cube collisions will now trigger more consistently, halting the factory at the correct time.
Fixed some broken normal maps (this was a fun bug, it doesn't happen in the Unity editor!)
Multiple panels on the same cube can now transition their colour at once (e.g. when burning multiple wooden panels).
The top level menu no longer looks a bit odd at 16:10 aspect ratio.
Help text boxes in menus are now better behaved and won't sometimes stick around.
Dantar is no longer peeking around the corner in one of the story sections.
The Programmer's Sale is running from the 3rd-10th October, and Hexahedra is part of it! It's a celebration of programming and engineering games, so Hexahedra will slot right in. Hexahedra's demo is already out, and I'm planning to launch an update to add sound effects during the
The Programmer's Sale is running from the 3rd-10th October, and Hexahedra is part of it! It's a celebration of programming and engineering games, so Hexahedra will slot right in.
Hexahedra's demo is already out, and I'm planning to launch an update to add sound effects during the sale, so you'll be able to hear devices clanking, rumbling, and hissing their way to creating your cubes.
Optimization is an important part of programming, so I hope to see people breaking records for Hexahedra's demo puzzles!
It's the final day of the Cerebral Puzzle Showcase, and I'm going to be doing some live puzzle development on stream! I'll be creating puzzles for advanced mechanics like laser signalling. Come along, help me build puzzles, and then help me solve them! I'll be live from 2pm BST (
It's the final day of the Cerebral Puzzle Showcase, and I'm going to be doing some live puzzle development on stream! I'll be creating puzzles for advanced mechanics like laser signalling.
Come along, help me build puzzles, and then help me solve them!
I'll be live from 2pm BST (GMT+1), Monday 7th August (today!)
