Web site: www.blocktrix.org
Category: Games
Sub-Category: Puzzle
Platform: Linux, Windows
License: Freeware
Interface: GUI
Wikipedia:
First release: 1999
Blocktrix – a fun multi-player puzzle game based on TNet. It is a game where the players must arrange descending pieces such that their playing field never fills up. The game play is simple to figure out once you start playing. It supports up to 6 players in a single game.
Blocktrix was started in 1999, after a long absence of St0rmCat from the TNet world. Blocktrix was originally being created as a replacement to TNet113, and had a lot of help from team Plibble members in its testing. After several months of development however, there was a hard drive crash on the system where the source code was being stored, a similar situation that occurred to St0rmCat and his TNet113 source code.
Some of the contents of the hard drive were recovered, however, the recovery process had placed the source code for Blocktrix in various other text files. Pieces of the source code were recovered by hunting through all the recovered text files, however the source code was incomplete. The task of rewriting much of what had been lost was daunting, and as such the development of Blocktrix took a couple years hiatus. Finally when development resumed, the versioning scheme started over at 0.01.
It was at this point in time when it was decided that Blocktrix would also be backwards compatible with the TNet113 protocol, since it was now well documented. Development of Blocktrix also resumed at this time due to the fact that it was obvious that St0rmCat had no intention on revising the original TNet113 game, and instead had thrown his attention to TNet2, which had gone a completely different route to what many of the TNet scene had come to enjoy. The development of TNet2 was ambitious, however flawed.
A single master server, and no server software for the public resulted in stability issues that now, since TNet2’s abandonment of development, is impossible to fix. TNet2 had a new game model that, due to internet lag, players can experience interruption in the fluidity of game play. While Blocktrix is far from being perfect itself, it is still being maintained and developed, which is a key factor in improvement, while at the same time listening to, and addressing the concerns and suggestions of the public that play this game.
Features:
– Piece Delay Server setting
– Same pieces for every player Server setting
– Bot Mode (Algorithm that plays for you)
– Support for TNet1.13, TFast1.13, TSpec, and of course, Blocktrix protocols
– Optional TimeStamping of Partyline/Gameline messages
– Optional Automatic displaying of game fields when the game starts
– Optional Partyline/Gameline logging feature
– Optional Taskbar Notify on new Partyline messages
– Optional Game Statistics display at end of game
– Optional Minimize to System Tray feature
– Extended Key Sensitivity Setting
– Ability to Ignore partyline/gameline chat from specified nicknames
– Player Field Zoom-In for Small Fields (double click on player’s field)
– More configurable key settings
– Ability to save partyline/game window positions
– Two Piece preview in Blocktrix mode
– In-Game Speed (PPM) Meter
– Three new special attacks in Blocktrix Mode: Z (Zebra), P (Piece Change), L (Left Gravity)
– Ability to rotate the next preview piece (ie. So you can avoid dieing if your field is high)
– MP3/OGG/MOD/XM/IT/S3M/MIDI Music Support
– Sound Effects
– Multilingual GUI VIA Language Files
– Recording/Playback of Games
– Tcl/Tk Scripting support to react to certain game events, enhance client functionality, etc
