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Piczle Lines DX |OT| Puzzle-ing by numbers
- Thread starter jonno394
- Start date
Glad my effort promoting smaller indie titles on Gaming Side is already bearing fruit, someone has to do it because Nintendo don't
At its core it feels like a picross/sudoku style game. You have to look round for the obvious 2s and 3s, and sometimes the 4s can only be done one way.
Other numbers/lines you can't do until you've got many of the ones around then because there are too many ways to do them.
The story mode puzzles start off easy and are a nice introduction, but dive straight in to a 64*64 puzzle and I've no idea how you'll do lol!
Yup digital only.
Yup, I'll be honest touch is my preferred play style but the controllers are fine if you want to play on you tv.
Armitage Shanks
Member
Thanks, guys! We worked really hard on it and are proud and elated we managed to finish it and put it on Switch!
Great OT, too, thanks!!
As mentioned above, it's Picross-ESQUE, in that it uses number (and colour) hints on a grid to create an image. It's easier to fix mistakes though, and there is no time pressure or penalty, so it's kind of relaxing and brain taxing at the same time.
Touch screen is supported, but also tablet and TV mode with joy-con and pro-con inputs!
We're working on the free updates with more content, and sketching out Switch exclusive content too!
Great OT, too, thanks!!
As mentioned above, it's Picross-ESQUE, in that it uses number (and colour) hints on a grid to create an image. It's easier to fix mistakes though, and there is no time pressure or penalty, so it's kind of relaxing and brain taxing at the same time.
Touch screen is supported, but also tablet and TV mode with joy-con and pro-con inputs!
We're working on the free updates with more content, and sketching out Switch exclusive content too!
inpHilltr8r
Member
This was like the only game I played on my phone for several years.
Oh hi Armitage!
Oh hi Armitage!
Shrike Alvaron
Member
Huh, as a fan of Picross and other puzzle games such as Hexcells, this looks neat. Installing it to my phone and gonna try the free version first, but if I like it I'll probably pick it up on Switch!
Yup. This is definitely the kind of game I needed on my Switch for my commute.
Also, I gotta say, I didn't expect the love the art as much as I do. It's very vibrant and looks awesome on the Switch's screen. The item you de-pixalate getting a short cutscene after you solve the puzzle is also a super cool touch.
Also, I gotta say, I didn't expect the love the art as much as I do. It's very vibrant and looks awesome on the Switch's screen. The item you de-pixalate getting a short cutscene after you solve the puzzle is also a super cool touch.
Armitage Shanks
Member
Armitage Shanks
Member
Shh, between you and I.... what I really hope is that the game sells gangbusters on Switch so I can convince Nintendo to let me do puzzles based off NES sprites of their games. I did a few as a test and they. Would. Be. Awesome!
Obviously tho I'm a nobody and they would rather not. With significant sales they might rethink.
Shrike Alvaron
Member
Shh, between you and I.... what I really hope is that the game sells gangbusters on Switch so I can convince Nintendo to let me do puzzles based off NES sprites of their games. I did a few as a test and they. Would. Be. Awesome!
Obviously tho I'm a nobody and they would rather not. With significant sales they might rethink.
Would it be possible to add an in-game puzzle creator? Of course I understand that could cut into IAP sales for the mobile version, but it could be a Switch exclusive feature. Then people could create and share such puzzles without needing to go through Nintendo.
Armitage Shanks
Member
Imagine all the penises that would have to be edited out! 8(
It's something I've thought about a LOT. It's something that would work a lot better on mobile, actually. Use the camera, reduce the colours/stylize, save image, turn into puzzle. On Switch it would turn into a drawing application type thing, which is honestly a bit more than is feasible right now.
dragonlife
Member
I actually saw this two days ago when I was browsing the eShop, and was very intrigued! Seeing this OT cements my desire to buy it, but we'll see.
panama chief
Member
Played through three different versions of this on my iPad under the name of Pathpix. Had puzzles with grid sizes over 100x100. It was fun and these can be as challenging as a good picross. Any word on max puzzle size?
I'm doing a 128x128 right now (with a dinosaur). That's the largest I found.
BTW, doing such huge puzzles aren't practical with a control IMO.
Shrike Alvaron
Member
I've played about 12 puzzles on my phone and enjoy it, they seem a bit easy but hearing that he puzzles can get much, much larger does make things interesting if that increased size corresponds with increased difficulty as well. What I've found so far is that this game seems to be much more intuition-based than Picross, where there's rigid rule-based strategies to follow. I have picked up on some rules here so far, so perhaps with harder puzzles intuition won't carry as much. I'll probably finish chapter 1 of the story on phone and see about buying it on Switch sometime next month.
Armitage Shanks
Member
128x128 are the largest puzzles. There will be more of those coming with the future free updates. They take a WHILE to get done, trust me.
Armitage Shanks
Member
They do start off nice and easy, yes, but they do ramp up! Some of the later, larger puzzles can really stump you, as you're trying to figure out how to redraw lines to fit that last unfinished bit.
I found that you start seeing patterns after a while. And you form your own tactics on how to approach the puzzles. Not just "clear the smaller hints first" but working from the outside in, hugging the walls, trying to stay optimised as you work your way through.
I find it is similar with games like Picross. Basically the approach never changes, and you just find the hints you CAN complete which eventually leads to those you cannot yet. In Piczle Lines you end up stumped with that one 20-long line until you've filled in enough to sudden understand how it has to fit. This becomes a LOT harder when you have a cluster of long lines together, like several 15-15 lines in one area.
Sorry, I babble on.
But I am personally very addicted to logic puzzles of all kinds and am, for obvious reason, rather invested in this particular kind of puzzle. Completed the first 128x128 puzzle now. It was very large and took quite a while, but it wasn't that hard, since color changes and 1-4 blocks splits the puzzle into sub-puzzles.
The situation that was the most tricky for me was clusters with many 6 or 7 of the same color.
Do the later 128x128 puzzles get more difficult?
The situation that was the most tricky for me was clusters with many 6 or 7 of the same color.
Do the later 128x128 puzzles get more difficult?
Armitage Shanks
Member
Yes. And some to be added in future updates will make you tear your hair out.
What trophies glitched for you? I know there are issues with the tutorial and credits ones.
UberTag
Member
Those two along with the Starter Pack trophy and the Genius trophy for clearing a puzzle without deleting any lines failed to unlock for me.
Only had the consolation ribbon, chapter clear trophies and puzzle completion trophies unlock without issue.
Genius trophy unlocked fine for me :/
UberTag
Member
Yeah, I've seen it unlock fine for others. It unlocked for me as well after deleting my save file and starting over. Just doesn't seem to pop consistently.
Yes, I think this is the first game where I've turned off the music The approach to music in this game doesn't work for a console game. It might work as a phone game to have a 30 second loop, but for a console game the music needs to be more ambient and in longer loops.
Another thing that could enhance this game as a "console game" would be to have 2-player modes, for example small 2-player split screen battles.
Armitage Shanks
Member
We're working on a patch for the trophies. *Shouldn't* require starting from scratch though!
Noted on the music. It's the single most mentioned bugbear by all reviewers. Will see what can be done about it.
Occasionally we get ideas from people on extra features, and sometimes they mention battle or 2P modes, but honestly I can't imagine it for a game like this. Sure, it could work for some people but it'd be a bit like competitive, simultaneous crosswording. The game itself is more a relaxing brain teaser and I felt was important to keep the penalty for mistakes or taking your time non-existent.
I might experiment a little with new playmodes on the mobile version, we'll see. I do have a couple of ideas that might work, but it'a a bit of a gamble.
Noted on the music. It's the single most mentioned bugbear by all reviewers. Will see what can be done about it.
Occasionally we get ideas from people on extra features, and sometimes they mention battle or 2P modes, but honestly I can't imagine it for a game like this. Sure, it could work for some people but it'd be a bit like competitive, simultaneous crosswording. The game itself is more a relaxing brain teaser and I felt was important to keep the penalty for mistakes or taking your time non-existent.
I might experiment a little with new playmodes on the mobile version, we'll see. I do have a couple of ideas that might work, but it'a a bit of a gamble.
CaviarMeths
Member
Picked this up yesterday. Didn't see any reviews of it, but impressions were pretty positive and I've been wanting a new picross/sudoku style number puzzle game for a while now.
It's pretty fun. Seems like plenty of content for the price tag too.
It's pretty fun. Seems like plenty of content for the price tag too.
Geminosity
Member
Bought and played a bit of it today, as I've always enjoyed picross and the like.
I like the art, characters (score is cute) and gameplay but I have to agree that the music is somewhat grating. The title music isn't all that offensive, but the one that plays when you start story mode and continues to play throughout it (which may be a contributing factor?) eventually becomes maddening. I wish I could give better feedback than that but it's just got a few tones that you can't tune out.
One small suggestion though: would an option to auto-connect 2s be viable? While I enjoy puzzling the other values out, the 2 connectors don't seem to require any thought and just feel like busywork to me.
Other than that though, fun stuff :3
I like the art, characters (score is cute) and gameplay but I have to agree that the music is somewhat grating. The title music isn't all that offensive, but the one that plays when you start story mode and continues to play throughout it (which may be a contributing factor?) eventually becomes maddening. I wish I could give better feedback than that but it's just got a few tones that you can't tune out.
One small suggestion though: would an option to auto-connect 2s be viable? While I enjoy puzzling the other values out, the 2 connectors don't seem to require any thought and just feel like busywork to me.
Other than that though, fun stuff :3
nicoga3000
Saint Nic
Does this include larger/hard puzzles? I like the mobile one, but compared to the iPad Conceptis puzzles, most of these are pretty brainless. I want some hard stuff! 
One of the puzzles I did (#20 from the starter pack) was a HUGE 128x128 picture & took over a few hours for me to complete because I had to keep going back to figure out what the correct connections were.Does this include larger/hard puzzles? I like the mobile one, but compared to the iPad Conceptis puzzles, most of these are pretty brainless. I want some hard stuff!
I think what you'll want are the 64x64 & 128x128 ones, because a small mistake you made in one corner can cause a giant ripple effect later on causing you to retrace your steps in figuring out which line you need to readjust.
Today, I completed puzzle 20 (the last) of the 128x128 ones (it wasn't a picture of a dinosaur BTW). It was harder than puzzle 1 in the 128x128 section, but it still wasn't that hard.
I think one reason why it wasn't that hard was because there were many section with even numbers, and those sections simplified things. (Even numbers give hints on how to connect, while odd numbers don't.)
I think one reason why it wasn't that hard was because there were many section with even numbers, and those sections simplified things. (Even numbers give hints on how to connect, while odd numbers don't.)
I'm really loving this game. It's scratching that Picross itch, and it's a great Switch game.
If you want more detailed impressions, my review is here - http://4colorrebellion.com/post/164605422592/4cr-plays-piczle-lines-dx-switch (unscored)
If you want more detailed impressions, my review is here - http://4colorrebellion.com/post/164605422592/4cr-plays-piczle-lines-dx-switch (unscored)
I tried this out on my phone and uh... I kind of have to buy this on Switch now. Picross has me totally stumped without hints on the larger puzzles but I tried a 64 x 64 one in this game and found it extremely manageable. I also really like the idea of free DLC that keeps me coming back. BRAVO SHANKS
Only complaint I have is the music, which I see has been taken into account. I wonder if perhaps the composer could take the themes already present but remix them into a bit of a smoother groove that fits the game's slower paced atmosphere? I'm doing some music for a puzzle game right now with pretty short loops and I've found that around a minute of that type of jam is a good sweet spot for just enough length without being too repetitive.
EDIT: Bought it! And if I had to make one other tiny suggestion, I'd love the option to use the right stick solely for moving the puzzle camera around rather than as a second way to move the cursor.
Only complaint I have is the music, which I see has been taken into account. I wonder if perhaps the composer could take the themes already present but remix them into a bit of a smoother groove that fits the game's slower paced atmosphere? I'm doing some music for a puzzle game right now with pretty short loops and I've found that around a minute of that type of jam is a good sweet spot for just enough length without being too repetitive.
EDIT: Bought it! And if I had to make one other tiny suggestion, I'd love the option to use the right stick solely for moving the puzzle camera around rather than as a second way to move the cursor.
Armitage Shanks
Member
Gosh thanks guys!
I hear ya. And everybody else who mentioned it, which seems to be the vast majority of people. To be honest, I dropped the ball there big time. When I designed it as a mobile game the music was added to "have something there" knowing full well most serious players would turn it off anyway. One of those "listen to music / podcasts while playing on your commute experiences". And almost nobody mentions the music in the mobile reviews.
I really should have taken the time to revisit this when we made the Switch version, but it kinda slipped under the net.
*We're working on a few bug fixes now. This is on the list but might not get addressed any time soon. Sorry.
That decision was made so that you could play one-handed, in lazy sofa slouch pose. You don't find with the shoulder button it works as well?
When I went through controller input designs I just couldn't reconcile the two joystick input. What happens when you move both? Etc.
I might revisit this if I end up doing a Steam version.
* I have a jolly good excuse as for why getting this game to market was needlessly harder than it needed to be but that is a story for another day, and will require booze.
Armitage Shanks
Member
#20 in the dinosaur pack? It..kinda is a dinosaur tho.
Future updates will include a pack of 64x64s and 128x128s that WILL challenge you. Not just huge but full of long (and uneven) hints.
And white spaces. It gets a lot harder somehow when not every single square of the puzzle grid needs to be filled in to complete the puzzle.
Yeah, I can see why it'd be a low priority for the mobile version. A game can have a top tier 10/10 soundtrack but If I'm out and about while playing it on my phone I've probably turned the sound off entirely regardless. It's definitely a great podcast game though, and timely too since I haven't had any games to fill that niche on Switch since I beat Implosion.
I know that feel bro, pass the bottle D:
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