Tutorial This Game??

[Evee]

Where I find, Tutorial SpaceChem??
cant anybody help! :'D

[sounds like a wooosh]

You can find some examples and comments on Youtube for example.

This game is not easy though! Don't expect this to be a normal casual puzzle game!

Good luck to you & enjoy the game!

[cearn]

There is a tutorial in game, but unfortunately it's ... confusing.

The essence of the game is this: you have a set of input molecules, a set of requested output molecules and you need to use the inputs to create the outputs. Inputs spawn on the input zones on the left, and finished output molecules should be outputted on the output zones on the right.

To do this, you're given a 10x8 grid and a red and blue programmable Waldos, that travel along paths on the grid. You can place instructions on the paths, and when a waldo arrives at an instruction, it'll execute that instruction. Note that Instructions can also be red or blue, and a waldo only executes instructions of its own color.

For example, suppose a waldo reaches a "grab" instruction. If the waldo is over an molecule, it'll grab that molecule and drag it across the reactor. There is also a "drop" instruction, which will make the waldo drop the molecule it's carrying.

The game is esssentially an exercise in visual programming. Once you hit "run", you have given the control to the waldos and they just run their course. It's your job to make sure that that course actually completes the mission. At first, a reactor is empty. You have to create the paths and place the instructions yourself. Unlike many other puzzle games, there is no One True Solution to a mission: as long as you create the requested number of output molecules, you're good.


In the first tutorial mission, both the input and the output molecules are H2. That means you don't have to change the molecules themselves, but you still need to move then from the input to the output zone. The essential steps for that are:

1. Spawn an input molecule. With the in-α instruction, you can make a new molecule pop up in the α input zone. The molecule and its spawning position is given in the box next to the reactor. Note: the instruction will only be executed when a waldo reaches it, to you have to place it on the path somewhere.
   
2. Grab the input from the input zone. To get the H2 to the output, you need to make a waldo carry it there. To do that, place a grab instruction over one of the squares where the molecule will spawn (again, the waldo needs to be able to reach the instruction). There is a "grab/drop" instruction on the task bar. This can be used for both "grab" and "drop". Each instruction on the reactor has a context menu where you can tweak the instruction. That way you can change a "grab/drop" into a "grab" or a "drop". Do not forget the context menu!
   
3. Divert the path. To get the waldo to the output zone, you need to change its path. This is what the arrows are for. Place arrows in such a way that the path forms a loop from input to output zone.
   
4. Drop the molecule in the output zone. Once you have carried the molecule to he ψ-output zone, you need to drop it so that it can be outputted. This is a task for the drop command.
   
5. Output molecules. With a ψ you can flush any molecules that have been dropped onto the ψ-output zone. The molecule needs to fit inside the output zone entirely for an output to work. If done correctly, the molecule disappears from the reactor, and the target counter is incremented.

The above is what the in-game tutorial is trying to make you do, but at first it's not all that clear that that is the case.


There are some tutorial videos on youtube, of varying quality and difficulty. I like this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjYOYtd298o This is someone who is still the game, and gently shows you the basics. I know other, more advanced tutorials as well, but this one should be enough to get you started.

[Evee]

Originally posted by cearn:

There is a tutorial in game, but unfortunately it's ... confusing.

The essence of the game is this: you have a set of input molecules, a set of requested output molecules and you need to use the inputs to create the outputs. Inputs spawn on the input zones on the left, and finished output molecules should be outputted on the output zones on the right.

To do this, you're given a 10x8 grid and a red and blue programmable Waldos, that travel along paths on the grid. You can place instructions on the paths, and when a waldo arrives at an instruction, it'll execute that instruction. Note that Instructions can also be red or blue, and a waldo only executes instructions of its own color.

For example, suppose a waldo reaches a "grab" instruction. If the waldo is over an molecule, it'll grab that molecule and drag it across the reactor. There is also a "drop" instruction, which will make the waldo drop the molecule it's carrying.

The game is esssentially an exercise in visual programming. Once you hit "run", you have given the control to the waldos and they just run their course. It's your job to make sure that that course actually completes the mission. At first, a reactor is empty. You have to create the paths and place the instructions yourself. Unlike many other puzzle games, there is no One True Solution to a mission: as long as you create the requested number of output molecules, you're good.


In the first tutorial mission, both the input and the output molecules are H2. That means you don't have to change the molecules themselves, but you still need to move then from the input to the output zone. The essential steps for that are:

1. Spawn an input molecule. With the in-α instruction, you can make a new molecule pop up in the α input zone. The molecule and its spawning position is given in the box next to the reactor. Note: the instruction will only be executed when a waldo reaches it, to you have to place it on the path somewhere.
   
2. Grab the input from the input zone. To get the H2 to the output, you need to make a waldo carry it there. To do that, place a grab instruction over one of the squares where the molecule will spawn (again, the waldo needs to be able to reach the instruction). There is a "grab/drop" instruction on the task bar. This can be used for both "grab" and "drop". Each instruction on the reactor has a context menu where you can tweak the instruction. That way you can change a "grab/drop" into a "grab" or a "drop". Do not forget the context menu!
   
3. Divert the path. To get the waldo to the output zone, you need to change its path. This is what the arrows are for. Place arrows in such a way that the path forms a loop from input to output zone.
   
4. Drop the molecule in the output zone. Once you have carried the molecule to he ψ-output zone, you need to drop it so that it can be outputted. This is a task for the drop command.
   
5. Output molecules. With a ψ you can flush any molecules that have been dropped onto the ψ-output zone. The molecule needs to fit inside the output zone entirely for an output to work. If done correctly, the molecule disappears from the reactor, and the target counter is incremented.

The above is what the in-game tutorial is trying to make you do, but at first it's not all that clear that that is the case.


There are some tutorial videos on youtube, of varying quality and difficulty. I like this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjYOYtd298o. This is by someone who just got the game, and gently shows you the basics of the game. I know other, more advanced tutorials as well, but this one should be enough to get you started.

this game very very hard! hahaha... but this game is still good... :D
thanks made. i appreciate that.

[Poobah Gorg]

The video you posted is WAY more useful and informative than the one that the game provides.

My problem is that I can't do any of the stuff that's shown in it.

I have a line going from the start box off to the left. I can't place an input in the highlighted square like it says it wants me to. When I hit stop, the waldo goes back to the start. When I click play at single speed it heads to the left and stops at the end. I can't seem to place ANYTHING on the line by clicking to select and then clicking to place.

Aside from being a diffficult game to grasp, it's got a decidedly unintuitive UI. I've been playing computer games since a GOOD computer had 40 columns text with actual lower case and hooked up to an RGB monitor rather than your TV set. I wish the video you linked to (or better yet something in the game) actually bothered to explain the UI's functionality.

[cearn]

Originally posted by Poobah Gorg:

The video you posted is WAY more useful and informative than the one that the game provides.

My problem is that I can't do any of the stuff that's shown in it.

I have a line going from the start box off to the left. I can't place an input in the highlighted square like it says it wants me to. When I hit stop, the waldo goes back to the start. When I click play at single speed it heads to the left and stops at the end. I can't seem to place ANYTHING on the line by clicking to select and then clicking to place

I think you misinterpreted what you need to do. You place things on the grid by drag&drop, not clicking. You can also use the shortkeys (e.g., place cursor over a square and press "e" to place an "in").

Originally posted by Poobah Gorg:

Aside from being a diffficult game to grasp, it's got a decidedly unintuitive UI. I've been playing computer games since a GOOD computer had 40 columns text with actual lower case and hooked up to an RGB monitor rather than your TV set. I wish the video you linked to (or better yet something in the game) actually bothered to explain the UI's functionality.

I find the UI pretty intuitive ... drag&drop to place instructions, or use shortkeys. Right-click on an instruction for context menu, Ctrl+Z/Ctrl+Y for undo/redo, drag-select. These are all fairly standard UI concepts that are fairly obvious. But that's probably the problem here: "obvious" is a very dangerous term. The tutorial mentions "place", and "click to select and click to place" is just as obvious as drag&drop.

[丂刀ムズ乇刀 '89]

Its hard to understand, just try diferents ways and use your logic ;D

[UriLlan]

:DD