Booga's Space Xonix unofficial manual

This is an unofficial manual describing all game features and mechanics while adding a few tips.

#0. Disclaimer and Legend

Disclaimer :

• I'm just a player, I know nothing, but I suppose a lot.
  
• This is an unofficial manual, and my first..
  
• I don't know the real names of all game objects, so I invented all names.

Legend :

Space = Unfilled Area
Land  = Filled Area (any place which isn't space) 
LM    = Land Meter (this is the percent meter on the bottom right when playing)
Break = Turn land into space (relevant for stars and black holes)
***   = See bug note at bottom of this manual.

#1. Game structure introduction

The game consists of 180 levels - 90 levels on easy, and 90 levels on hard.
These are the same 90 levels twice!
The only difference is that in hard difficulty objects move with around double the speed they did on easy.

Progress is done by completing a level : Once you complete level X, you unlock level X+1.
The exception is level 1 on hard, which unlocks once you finish level 90 on easy.

Your highscore is the best score you did on that level, and your total score is the sum of all 180 level scores. Your highscore is also responsible for how many stars you get for that level.

#2. Main menu

In the following image, I've numbered the available actions of the main menu :


The actions are :

1. Exit Game.
   
2. Collected coins.
   
3. See next level page.
   
4. Total score.
   
5. Toggle Easy/Hard.
   
6. Steam Achievements page.
   
7. Global Score Leaderboard.
   
8. Settings (Sound, music, vibration, control).
   I do not know which control is better - keyboard or controller, but I'm sure mouse is very bad...
   I suggest using the 4 keyboard arrows to move ;)
   
9. The game's visual explanation of all bonuses and their coin cost.
   Also includes unlocking levels with coins.
   The bonuses will be explained in the bonuses section (#8).
   
10. The levels are the center-screen numbers.
    Press on a level number to start playing it! (unless it's locked :P )

#3. Game interface

In the following image, I've numbered the available items in the game interface :


The items are:

1. Collected coins.
   
2. Land Meter (LM). When this meter reaches 100% or more, the level is completed.
   
3. Time Counter - time remaining on the level.
   
4. Level number.
   
5. Pause the game (in order to pause, restart the level or go back to main menu).
   This can also be accessed by pressing escape. ***
   
6. Activate the "Slow Near" bonus for coins by pressing "1". This action costs 4 coins.
   
7. Activate the "Wall" bonus for coins by pressing "2". This action costs 2 coins.
   
8. Activate the "Shield" bonus for coins by pressing "3". This action costs 4 coins.
   
9. Activate the "Slow All" bonus for coins by pressing "4". This action costs 3 coins.
   
10. Activate the "Go Fast" bonus for coins by pressing "5". This action costs 2 coins.

Bonuses will be further explained in the bonuses section (#8)

#4. Level goal

To complete a level, get the Land Meter to at least 100% before the time counter turns to 0.
You will learn how to increase the Land Meter value in the next section (#5)

You should complete a level with one life. If you fail, you can always restart that level.
There are no "extra life" in the game, except if you choose to pay 9 coins for another life.
(See #7 about dying)

#5. Spaceship and Spaceship Movement

The game is all about your spaceship moving to create land from space,
in order to increase the Land Meter to 100% or more.

At the start of each level, the player is given a spaceship :



Moving the spaceship in land does not do anything except change your location.
Moving the spaceship into the space area will create a white-dotted line in space where you passed :


If you reach land again without the white-dotted line being touched, the dotted-line becomes land.
With this new land, the game checks if any portion of space became closed on all sides by land and no space objects are in it.
If that is true, that space will become land too,
and your Land Meter will increase by the amount of land created :


If your spaceship touches any Hazards, you die (i.e. your spaceship explodes).
If while in space, the white-dotted line is touched by any space objects, the touched white dots will turn from white to red :


A red dot will expand rapidly to "infect" adjucent white dots :


If the red dots expansion reaches to your spaceship before you reach land, you die.
If you do reach land and there were already red dots anywhere on your line, land will not form from that line, but you will still be alive :

#6. Level features - Hazards and a safe zone

The game has many hazards (touching them will cause you to instantly die),
and only one green zone that will make you invulnerable in it.

Generally, all of these can be classified into 5 categories :
Space objects, Land objects, Cloud, Lasers and Zones.
None of these can be destroyed, but their speed and area of movement can be limited by player actions.

Space objects move only through space. [Stars and black holes will also break land when they touch it. Lava Planets shots are indifferent to space or land.]
Land objects move only through land.
A cloud moves everywhere.
Lasers are timed obstacles - there are 2 types of laser guns that fire periodically, and are indifferent to space or land.
Zones are areas in a level with either green or red bright pixels, and are also indifferent to space or land.

Important : Touching space objects, land objects, clouds, laser shots and red zones will cause you to die, but only space objects can harm your white-dotted line.
Note : Space and land objects start in different random directions at each attempt on a level, and Lava planet firing mode is also randomly chosen.

Space objects :

* Space Planet :



The most regular type of planet. They are reflected when they hit land.
There are at least 6 colors for space planets I've noticed - Gray, Cyan, Blue, Dark Blue, Yellow-Green and Green.
I think some of them are a tiny bit faster than others, but I'm not sure, and even if so, the difference is negligable.

* Lava Planet :



A lava planet moves like a space planet, but it also fires lava shots periodically, making it quite dangerous.
The lava shots are fast and will pass space and land in a straight line until they exit the screen.

Lava planets have a few shooting algorithms I can't decypher and seem quite random.
They can even do double shots :



Their regular algorithm iteration is :
Don't shoot for about 8 seconds, then shoot 5 times in 4 seconds.
This will repeat itself during the game.
However, in around 20% of cases, it will decide to do some shots as double shots or not shoot at all in an iteration.


* Star :



A star moves like a space planet, reflected when hitting land, but it also breaks a chunk of that land, turning it into space.
You can stop stars from breaking land by activating the "Wall" bonus.


* Black Hole :



A black hole is one of the most serious threats -
A black hole does not move like a planet.
It moves only in space, but breaks land it encounters without changing course.
It does move in a straight line, but it changes direction quite randomly, and is blocked only by the edges of the screen.

A black hole consists of the core (black hole circle) and an aura around it.
The core is the part that breaks land where it moves.
A screenshot of a black hole breaking land :



Getting the spaceship anywhere in the aura radius will kill you.
Since the aura is huge and the core breaks land, it is hard to isolate and surround it with land.
Frustratingly, the aura limit is not exactly marked (like clouds), so learn from experience to estimate it's radius.

An important note is that you only need to surround the core of the black hole, not the aura,
so you can use the "Defend" bonus to move into the aura and close encircle the core for a better final move.
You can prevent black holes from breaking land by activating the "Wall" bonus.
If the black hole tries to move into land while the "Wall" bonus is active, it will stop moving until the bonus wears out.


* Pulsar :



A pulsar does not move like a planet - it moves towards you wherever you are, following you unless land blocks it.
It is also the only game object which alternates between being visible and invisible (thus the name "pulsar").
It is usually easy to trap it at the start, and forget about it for the rest of the level.
If you don't isolate it early on, you might collide into it later because of it's poor visibility.

Land objects :

* Land Planet :



Land planets are the only objects in the game that moves only on land.
They move in straight lines like a space planet, and reflect back to land when encountering space.
Like all other objects, touching it will kill you.

I've noticed they come in 3 colors : Purple, red and green.
Like Space Planets, I can't see any difference between the different colors.

Cloud :

* Cloud :



Cloud is the only object in the game that moves through land and space.
However, it does not change land or space.
Like a black hole, it moves in a straight line, but changes direction randomly, and is blocked only by the edges of the screen.

Like all other objects, touching it will kill you.
A cloud is big, and its' limit is not exactly marked (like black holes), so learn from experience to estimate it's size.
It is also in a pink color similar to land which makes it very hard to notice on land :



Note : I probably should have called it a nebula, but it looks like a cloud, and I can't imagine myself saying this is a nebula :P

Lasers :

Lasers are static guns that fire every few seconds.
You can move over them with no harm, and they are indifferent to space or land.
The only worry you have is not being in their line of fire when they fire.

Both lasers start lighting up to show you where they are about to shoot just before shooting, by lighting the path less brightly than the shot itself, giving you about a second to get out of the way.
The green laser image shows the green line before it fires. It is not as bright as when it fires.
The red laser image shows several red lasers firing.
The line of fire gets brighter until the shot is made.

TIP : When too many lasers are involved.. look for a green zone.

* Green Laser :



All green lasers on a level fire at the same time every 6 seconds.
Each green laser fires in a predetermined straight line, which can be seen from the gun location and orientation.
The shot goes in a straight line until it the screen ends. unless the fire line hits another green laser gun. If the shot hits a green laser gun, it ends there.

* Red Laser :



All red lasers on a level fire at the same time every 10 seconds.
Each red laser fires in a straight line from the gun towards a point where you have been about one second before the shot. The shot goes in a straight line until it exits the screen.
This means that staying idle can kill you, so keep on moving ;)

Zones :

Zones are areas in a level that are bright red or bright green.

* Green Zone :



A green zone provides invulnerablility to the spaceship, like a constant "Shield" bonus.
Nothing can damage you while you are in the green zone (except if the level timer reaches 0..)
This is the only level feature which is not a hazard.


* Red Zone :



A red zone means certain death if you touch it.
You can only overcome this by using the "Shield" bonus (or staying out of there).

#7. Dying ***

There are only 2 (bad) ways to continue from the same point after dying :

• When dying because the level timer reached 0,
  you can purchase a "Time" bonus by paying 5 coins.
  This will give you 20 more seconds on the time counter and return you to the game.
  
• When dying not because of the timer,
  you can purchase an extra life (continue from the place and time you died) by paying 9 coins.

Here's the game's explanation of extra life :

#8. Bonuses (aka Power-ups)

In the game, a bonus icon will appear periodically (every 10-15 seconds) in a random place.
You can never know which bonus of the 7 bonuses will appear.
You can use a bonus by touching it with your spaceship.
Once touched, its' effects will start (unless it's a coin).

Except coins and the "Time" bonus, all bonuses can also be activated on demand by spending coins (with the 1-5 keys on the keyboard).

The images in this section are taken from the game explanation screen (available from main menu), except the coin image.
The in-game bonus looks like the icon on the top of the images.

Bonus list:

1. Slow Near -



[Can activate on demand for 4 coins, press "1" to activate]
Active time : 20 seconds.
Effect : Slow down all moving objects in reverse proportion to their distance from the spaceship.
This means that objects that are close to you will slow much more than objects that are far away.
It is an extremely useful bonus for closing space planets in a tight cell.

Note : Slowed objects from this bonus will have a bluish aura around them. The aura is harmless.

2. Wall -



[Can activate on demand for 2 coins, press "2" to activate]
Active time : 20 seconds.
Effect : Causes land to be unbreakable.

Stars will reflect off land like space planets - not breaking any land .
Black holes will not break any land, and will stop moving if they are about to.
This is sometimes useful in levels that have black holes or stars.

3. Shield -



[Can activate on demand for 4 coins, press "3" to activate]
Active time : 6 seconds.
Effect : Makes your spaceship invulnerable for 6 seconds.

Useful in very few circumstances, mainly for cutting a black hole to end a level, or passing through red zones.

4. Slow All -



[Can activate on demand for 3 coins, press "4" to activate]
Active time : 20 seconds.
Effect : Slow down all moving objects.

This is very useful to slow everything down mildly.
Unlike "Slow Near", all objects are slowed uniformly.
While it may not be suited for closing planets tightly like "Slow Near",
it is useful for divide and conquer tactics - making long lines in space in relative safety.

5. Go Fast -



[Can activate on demand for 2 coins, press "5" to activate]
Active time : 20 seconds.
Effect : The Spaceship moves much faster.

This can be very useful on many levels, especially at the start of the level.
It is harmful when trying to do small moves.
Most of the time, it is worth using.

6. Coin -



Active time : N/A
Effect : Adds 1 coin to your collected coins.

This is just another coin for possible future use. If it is near and easy, go for it.
Collect if you want, if you really really want ;)

7. Time -



Active time : N/A
Effect : Adds 20 seconds to the level clock.

Take it whenever possible, especially if time is too short.
Note that 20 seconds also mean 100 points if you finish the level.
Also, you can purchase a "Time" bonus for 5 coins if your timer reaches 0.

#9. Coins

Coins are gained in 2 fashions :
1. Taking a coin bouns adds 1 coin to your collected coins.
2. Each level star adds 2 coins to your collected coins.

Collected coins can be spent to gain 3 different advantages :
1. For help in a level, you can activate on demand bonuses in the game for coins, as described on the bonus section (#8)
2. For help upon dying, you can use coins to continue playing by purchasing a life (9 coins) or time (5 coins), as described on the dying section (#7).
3. For unlocking a level you have not unlocked yet, you can unlock any level for (2*LevelNumber) coins, where LevelNumber is (level number) if on easy and (level number + 90) if on hard.

Here's the game's explanation about unlocking :



Word of advice :
I recommend using coins only for help in a level -
Activate specific in-game bonuses that may help you get through hard levels .
Use them rarely and only in places they are really needed, as you don't get too many coins.
But that's just my 2 coins ;)

Note : You can complete the game without ever using coins. I did that, and it was fun!

#10. Scores and stars

This is an arcade game, so score is what's it all about!
This section will cover score (upon completion of a level), highscore and stars (highest score on that level) and the total score.

score :
To get any score on a level you need to complete it by reaching the level goal (described at #4).
When completing, you will get a score which can be calculated by the following formula :
Score = 1000 + 5*RoundDown(TimeLeft) + 150*(LM-100)
Where TimeLeft is the time counter after completing the level in seconds,
and LM is the Land Meter value after completing the level.
Example :
You finish a level with 15.34 seconds on the time counter and 108% on the Land Meter.
Your score will be : Score = 1000 + 5*15 + 150*8 = 1000 + 75 + 1200 = 2275.


Highscore and stars :
Your highscore is the best score you did on that level. You can also call it your "level highscore".
To improve a highscore, you need to score better than your current highscore.
You can see your current highscore on a level when you click on a level number to play :



Your highscore is also responsible for getting stars :
( Highscore < 1750 ) does not give any stars.
( 1750<= Highscore < 2500 ) gives 1 star.
( 2500<= Highscore < 3250 ) gives 2 stars.
( 3250<= Highscore ) gives 3 stars.

Important: Each star adds 2 coins to your collected coins, so stars are the main source of coins in the game (unless you play endlessly for bonus coins).


Total score :
Your total score is the sum of your highscores on all 180 levels. You can call it the "player score".
It represents your overall best achievements in all the levels, and it is what ends up being written in the global leaderboards.
You can always see it in the main menu (#2).

#11. Game Levels

Game levels differ in game objects, but also in the time allotted for level completion and starting land.
Every 10 levels the game introduces and focuses mainly on a specific object in the game.
All previously introduced objects will still appear.

With very minor exceptions, levels can be divided as follows :

• Levels 1-9 : introduction (Space planets, Land planets and stars)
  
• Levels 10-19 : Pulsar levels
  
• Levels 20-29 : Lava planet levels
  
• Levels 30-39 : Green laser levels
  
• Levels 40-49 : Red laser levels
  
• Levels 50-59 : Black hole levels
  
• Levels 60-69 : Cloud levels
  
• Levels 70-79 : Green zone and red zone levels, including 2 maze-like levels (74 and 77)
  
• Levels 80-90 : Final levels, usually tough. A typical level will include either a huge amount of a specific hazard, or almost all types of hazards. Level 86 is a special speed/race level.

Here are the parameters of each level, as best I could determine.
The "Green Zone %" and "Red Zone %" are an estimation.
I've had issues with the Steam tables, so here are the (even better) screenshots from my xlsx file :

#12. Miscellaneous

3D space effect:
The game includes a 3D effect that is seen on space and land when changing the direction of the spaceship.
This is probably a relic of an idea to make this game a "Space" xonix by giving it 3D features.
You can mostly ignore this, since the effect is only 1-2 game dots wide, but I do recommend the devs to remove this feature altogether..
It is a bit confusing, and has no added value IMHO.

Steam reinstallation :
Uninstalling and installing the game mixes up the level scores and stars badly, and also changes the unlocked levels.
I tested that on a friend account and computer.. So be careful with reinstallation!
I can only hope that Steam's "backup game files" works ok. I backed up my files, but I dare not reinstall to check.

*** [Bug note] There is currently a bug that causes the game to press constantly on a direction after pausing or dying while pressing that direction (arrow key).
There is a workaround :
If you plan to pause, don't press any movement key, then pause.
If you plan on spending coins for extra time or extra life when you die, don't press any movement key when dying...

Happy xonixing!
Booga. Freak.

[♞]

No, this is official manual.

[basovav]

WoW. Its incredible manual.
About space effect - this is mobile game... and this effect was created for using with accelerometer control. On mobile its look very cool(check it on google play if you want - game is free now. i want make it free on steam, but its not possible).

Fixing bugs is not possible, all devs leave team and now make another games. No one want to spend time for fixing old and failed game. :(