xorbs Come play the free, addictive, mechanical logic puzzle game xorbs and get ready for some mind gymnasticsin xor… Free Buy Now Watch Media DetailsCome play the free, addictive, mechanical logic puzzle game xorbs and get ready for some mind gymnasticsin xorbs you will battle to restore order and defeat the master evil xorb!xorbs (the little round creatures) come in 6 different colors and are trapped inside pods (the circle around the xorb) which also come in 6 different colors. if you put all the xorbs into a matching colored pod they are freed! your goal is to free them allso come and join xorbs, there are loads of characters to meet along the way. you can even create your own custom levels and share them with your friends Information Seller: Genre:Puzzle Release:Jun 15, 2016 Updated:Apr 18, 2017 Version: Size:0.0 TouchArcade Rating:Unrated User Rating: (3) Your Rating:unrated Compatibility:HD Universal YouTube: video How to create your own custom levels: video this is the first time I have done this, I would be hugely grateful of any feedback you can give me! thank you! keif New Member Jun 29, 2016 2 0 0 #2 keif, Jun 29, 2016 devilish fun really enjoying this game, cute and fun, fast the beginning and brain teasing up in higher levels. forsakenxe Well-Known Member Oct 23, 2014 709 0 16 #3 forsakenxe, Jun 29, 2016 Not really a genre I like but the brief amount of time I spent with it was enjoyable. Seems like a polished game Deanofitz New Member Jun 29, 2016 1 0 0 #4 Deanofitz, Jun 29, 2016 Really fun game! This game is really fun! I really like the mechanics of the game and characters are pretty cute... I think this is must to add to your game collection. y2kmp3 Well-Known Member Jun 25, 2010 1,784 3 38 #5 y2kmp3, Jun 30, 2016 Last edited: Jun 30, 2016 Cold Sharp, What are the IAPs? How are the move counts used to rate player performance? Do you know the minimum number of moves needed to solve each level? Are these level algorithmically generated or hand crafted? PS: Sorry. But two of the above posts looked like shill posts. That is too bad... New posters joining and then posting on the forum on the same day as the game's release... code sharp Member Jun 22, 2016 8 0 0 #6 code sharp, Jun 30, 2016 hi y2kmp3, thanks for your questions! re: IAPs you can buy gems which can be used to restore your lives when you run out (lives restore over time anywhere so this purchase is optional) or if you are stuck on a particular level you can use them to skip that level from the pause menu re: Are these level algorithmically generated all the levels are hand crafted and are designed to start off easy and slowly get more difficult and reveal more features and puzzle mechanics re: Do you know the minimum number of moves needed to solve each level it all starts to make more sense when you see the level editor (it's also available for users in the custom section of the game), here is the process 1. design & create a level 2. play that level and try and complete in the fewest number of moves 3. publish the level (publish is only possible once a level is completed) 4. the level is now ready to play for others and the minimum number of moves is set as the number of moves you just took this process creates levels online however it was the same process i used to generate in the game levels. re: How are the move counts used to rate player performance score the minimum number of moves you get three stars score half way between the minimum and 0 get 2 stars score 0 moves you get 1 star handy tip - if you tap the number of moves in game (top bar middle) it gives you a breakdown (only on levels with a finite number of moves) re: shill posts - i was super excited to see xorbs on touch arcade so I posted the link on facebook, i suspect it could be some of my friends trying to be supportive (i'll ask them to stop) if you have any more questions please don't hesitate to ask, i would be very happy to try and answer anything may i ask what are your thoughts on the game? forsakenxe Well-Known Member Oct 23, 2014 709 0 16 #7 forsakenxe, Jun 30, 2016 No offense, but before making such claims you could have checked my join date and post count (2014, ~500) first, to see that it's not true. Sorry for off topic. y2kmp3 Well-Known Member Jun 25, 2010 1,784 3 38 #8 y2kmp3, Jun 30, 2016 Forsakenxe, I was not referring to you. There were three posts after the OP. I said "two of the above posts" looked like shill posts which the OP later explained were his "friends" (keif, Deanofitz). Please read carefully what I said in that post. y2kmp3 Well-Known Member Jun 25, 2010 1,784 3 38 #9 y2kmp3, Jun 30, 2016 Last edited: Jun 30, 2016 Hi, Code Sharp, Thank you for your answers. They were very helpful. Apologize for misspelling your handle in my previous post. Given the procedure you described you used in making the levels, does it mean that this "minimum" move number for a level is merely the number of moves the creator of the level used to solve the level and not necessary the "true minimum" if another more efficient solution exists? For 3 stars, it appears that you do not need to match exactly (contrary to what I understood from your previous reply) the "minimum" move count but some threshold below that. Can you clarify? If this is the case, how can I even tell what is the "current minimum" move count? I quite like the available mechanics so far. There are a lot of mechanics to learn to use. Love the simple but very emotive character arts (for example, the characters react if you touch them). Awesome humorous character naming ("aristocrat - allows you to skip levels"). I spilled coffee on myself when I read that! Can you tell me the "maximum" move count that appears so far in the game? This may give me a good estimate on how difficult the game will be. PS: I am unsure what the utility of the timer is, as the score is not based on time. As well, it makes little sense since one can just memorize the moves, once the solution is discovered, to replay the level as quickly as possible to improve the completion time. Thus, the completion time is not a meaningful metric. code sharp Member Jun 22, 2016 8 0 0 #10 code sharp, Jun 30, 2016 Hi y2kmp3, Re: misspelling no problem at all Re: Given the procedure you described you used in making the levels, does it mean that this "minimum" move number for a level is merely the number of moves the creator of the level used to solve the level and not necessary the "true minimum" if another more efficient solution exists Yes that's right - in fact, it is quite possible that some of the in game levels could in theory be completed in fewer moves than the stated minimum. Maybe I should offer a bonus if that happens or something, what do you think? It would be awesome if I was able to brute force every combination for a level so I get the true minimum value, not sure how much work this would entail though Re: how can I even tell what is the "current minimum" move count? You can tap the number of moves in the top bar and a dialog opens (this is only for levels with finite moves) This dialog describes the number of stars you will be awarded given a certain threshold of moves remaining (i posted a screen shot of this in my last post) Re: For 3 stars, it appears that you do not need to match exactly (contrary to what I understood from your previous reply) the "minimum" move count but some threshold below that Could you give me an example? Re: I quite like the available mechanics so far This makes me very happy :-D What level are you up to? Re: Can you tell me the "maximum" move count that appears so far in the game? The maximum for a level is 72 - it's very late on in the game though. Most levels have fewer than 30 moves though. However whilst the move count is a decent measure of level difficulty you will see that some levels are quite tricky despite having a lowish move count Re: Thus, the completion time is not a meaningful metric I understand what you are saying and I do agree. I suppose this metric makes more sense if you connect to facebook in the game, when you do so you will be presented with a list of how your friends scored for a given level. I have seen that some users enjoy the competitive element of trying to beat there friends score both in number of moves and in completion time If there is anything else please don't hesitate to ask, I am very happy to try and answer questions keif New Member Jun 29, 2016 2 0 0 #11 keif, Jun 30, 2016 Not a shill, I've been playing the game for a couple of weeks as I saw it on early release. I am a friend of the developer but I stand by my comments. forsakenxe Well-Known Member Oct 23, 2014 709 0 16 #12 forsakenxe, Jun 30, 2016 Doh! Sorry, now I see it you meant the post above and below me, I see. Sorry for my criticism then Cheers! y2kmp3 Well-Known Member Jun 25, 2010 1,784 3 38 #13 y2kmp3, Jun 30, 2016 Code Sharp, Perhaps you can explain using an example, as I am still puzzled by the "minimum" move counts that the game is supposedly stating? For World 2 (Satsuma) Level 3, the stated number of available moves at the status bar on the top is 17 moves. To score 3 stars, it says the level needs to be completed with "3+ moves left". This, to me, means the player will score 3 stars if the player can complete the level in less than or equal to 14 moves. But this "14 moves" is not the minimum move counts but the upper move counts necessary to score 3 stars. The levels can be completed in just 7 moves, meaning that there will be 10 moves left. However, nowhere in the level is it hinted that 7 moves is the minimum number of moves needed to solve this level. Did I missing something here? code sharp Member Jun 22, 2016 8 0 0 #14 code sharp, Jun 30, 2016 Hi y2kmp3, Ahh I see what you mean, sorry for the confusion. You are right about world 2 (Satsuma) level 3, It is indeed possible to complete in just 7 moves which is not reflected in the minimum number of moves. The algorithm is a little bit generous (perhaps too much so?) Historically when I was building the game it did used to match exactly the minimum number of moves (eg for satsuma - 3 it would state 10+ moves for 3 stars) however I received feedback that this algorithm was a little bit too harsh and that players wanted to feel happy about getting three stars so I added a some buffer on to the minimum number of moves, the amount of buffer is based on a sliding scale algorithm if I remember correctly. I would be interested in what your thoughts are about this? my gut feeling is to make it match the minimum number exactly but I also don't want to discourage players. I should mention that xorbs is an ever evolving project and if the prevailing opinion is to change this then I would be happy implement this and put into our next release, it would be great to know what others think too y2kmp3 Well-Known Member Jun 25, 2010 1,784 3 38 #15 y2kmp3, Jun 30, 2016 Last edited: Jun 30, 2016 Thanks for the explanation, code sharp. This now makes sense. A possible fix is to explicitly state the range of moves left to score each star rating. For 3 stars, this will allow you to define the "minimum" move counts while still giving a buffer to the player to complete the level. For example, for world 2 level 3, you can state: 3 stars = 3 to 10 moves left 2 stars = 2 moves left 1 stars = 0 to 1 move left The range of move counts for each star rating can be tweaked individually for each level as you see fit to provide a larger or smaller buffer to the player (for example, currently, the buffer for 3 stars for most levels is too wide, whereas the buffers for 2 stars and 1 star are too narrow. This way, if the player can complete the level with even more moves left (in the above example, it would be 11 or more moves left), then you know that the player has truly found a more efficient solution and can reward the player accordingly (such as with an in-game achievement). There is a lot to like about your game's mechanics. I am still very early on in the game, but I can already visualize very complex and tricky levels by combining a lot of these mechanics in clever ways. I presume this is the direction your game is going with later levels. code sharp Member Jun 22, 2016 8 0 0 #16 code sharp, Jun 30, 2016 hi y2kmp3, I really like this solution and will look to implement something along those lines as soon as I can, thanks for all this great feedback! Now you got me thinking if a player scores the minimum number of moves perhaps they could be rewarded with a "perfect" badge, what do you think? I'm so pleased you like the game mechanics and yes you are totally right about the levels becoming ever more complex, tircky and clever Sorry to be slightly off topic but do you know how a thread gets rated by touch arcade? Is it something decided by the moderators? it was my hope that xorbs might get noticed for being a bit unusual - i would love for it to get rated but I'm not sure how, do you think it has a chance? y2kmp3 Well-Known Member Jun 25, 2010 1,784 3 38 #17 y2kmp3, Jun 30, 2016 Good to hear, Code Sharp. Badge idea is perfect (pun intended). I look forward to seeing the update and retrying the game. PS: I think enough number of forum members have to first vote before an average rating will show up for the thread. This prevents outliers on the voting scores. code sharp Member Jun 22, 2016 8 0 0 #18 code sharp, Jul 1, 2016 how to make custom levels i put together a short video that shows how to create and share custom levels in xorbs YouTube: video code sharp Member Jun 22, 2016 8 0 0 #19 code sharp, Jul 15, 2016 hi y2kmp3, I am pleased to say I have released an update for xorbs which contains functionality to reward a perfect trophy for if you achieve the minimum moves I also made the moves adhere to a range which will hopefully be a lot more clear as per your suggestion (i.e 3 to 10 moves left etc) there was a bunch of other features that were bundled into this feature too like customization, free prizes and infinite moves power-ups, i will take some screenshots and upload here tomorrow all feedback welcome code sharp Member Jun 22, 2016 8 0 0 #20 code sharp, Jul 18, 2016 customization it is now possible to dress up your xorbs (from pause menu in game) (You must log in or sign up to post here.) 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devilish fun really enjoying this game, cute and fun, fast the beginning and brain teasing up in higher levels.
Not really a genre I like but the brief amount of time I spent with it was enjoyable. Seems like a polished game
Really fun game! This game is really fun! I really like the mechanics of the game and characters are pretty cute... I think this is must to add to your game collection.
Cold Sharp, What are the IAPs? How are the move counts used to rate player performance? Do you know the minimum number of moves needed to solve each level? Are these level algorithmically generated or hand crafted? PS: Sorry. But two of the above posts looked like shill posts. That is too bad... New posters joining and then posting on the forum on the same day as the game's release...
hi y2kmp3, thanks for your questions! re: IAPs you can buy gems which can be used to restore your lives when you run out (lives restore over time anywhere so this purchase is optional) or if you are stuck on a particular level you can use them to skip that level from the pause menu re: Are these level algorithmically generated all the levels are hand crafted and are designed to start off easy and slowly get more difficult and reveal more features and puzzle mechanics re: Do you know the minimum number of moves needed to solve each level it all starts to make more sense when you see the level editor (it's also available for users in the custom section of the game), here is the process 1. design & create a level 2. play that level and try and complete in the fewest number of moves 3. publish the level (publish is only possible once a level is completed) 4. the level is now ready to play for others and the minimum number of moves is set as the number of moves you just took this process creates levels online however it was the same process i used to generate in the game levels. re: How are the move counts used to rate player performance score the minimum number of moves you get three stars score half way between the minimum and 0 get 2 stars score 0 moves you get 1 star handy tip - if you tap the number of moves in game (top bar middle) it gives you a breakdown (only on levels with a finite number of moves) re: shill posts - i was super excited to see xorbs on touch arcade so I posted the link on facebook, i suspect it could be some of my friends trying to be supportive (i'll ask them to stop) if you have any more questions please don't hesitate to ask, i would be very happy to try and answer anything may i ask what are your thoughts on the game?
No offense, but before making such claims you could have checked my join date and post count (2014, ~500) first, to see that it's not true. Sorry for off topic.
Forsakenxe, I was not referring to you. There were three posts after the OP. I said "two of the above posts" looked like shill posts which the OP later explained were his "friends" (keif, Deanofitz). Please read carefully what I said in that post.
Hi, Code Sharp, Thank you for your answers. They were very helpful. Apologize for misspelling your handle in my previous post. Given the procedure you described you used in making the levels, does it mean that this "minimum" move number for a level is merely the number of moves the creator of the level used to solve the level and not necessary the "true minimum" if another more efficient solution exists? For 3 stars, it appears that you do not need to match exactly (contrary to what I understood from your previous reply) the "minimum" move count but some threshold below that. Can you clarify? If this is the case, how can I even tell what is the "current minimum" move count? I quite like the available mechanics so far. There are a lot of mechanics to learn to use. Love the simple but very emotive character arts (for example, the characters react if you touch them). Awesome humorous character naming ("aristocrat - allows you to skip levels"). I spilled coffee on myself when I read that! Can you tell me the "maximum" move count that appears so far in the game? This may give me a good estimate on how difficult the game will be. PS: I am unsure what the utility of the timer is, as the score is not based on time. As well, it makes little sense since one can just memorize the moves, once the solution is discovered, to replay the level as quickly as possible to improve the completion time. Thus, the completion time is not a meaningful metric.
Hi y2kmp3, Re: misspelling no problem at all Re: Given the procedure you described you used in making the levels, does it mean that this "minimum" move number for a level is merely the number of moves the creator of the level used to solve the level and not necessary the "true minimum" if another more efficient solution exists Yes that's right - in fact, it is quite possible that some of the in game levels could in theory be completed in fewer moves than the stated minimum. Maybe I should offer a bonus if that happens or something, what do you think? It would be awesome if I was able to brute force every combination for a level so I get the true minimum value, not sure how much work this would entail though Re: how can I even tell what is the "current minimum" move count? You can tap the number of moves in the top bar and a dialog opens (this is only for levels with finite moves) This dialog describes the number of stars you will be awarded given a certain threshold of moves remaining (i posted a screen shot of this in my last post) Re: For 3 stars, it appears that you do not need to match exactly (contrary to what I understood from your previous reply) the "minimum" move count but some threshold below that Could you give me an example? Re: I quite like the available mechanics so far This makes me very happy :-D What level are you up to? Re: Can you tell me the "maximum" move count that appears so far in the game? The maximum for a level is 72 - it's very late on in the game though. Most levels have fewer than 30 moves though. However whilst the move count is a decent measure of level difficulty you will see that some levels are quite tricky despite having a lowish move count Re: Thus, the completion time is not a meaningful metric I understand what you are saying and I do agree. I suppose this metric makes more sense if you connect to facebook in the game, when you do so you will be presented with a list of how your friends scored for a given level. I have seen that some users enjoy the competitive element of trying to beat there friends score both in number of moves and in completion time If there is anything else please don't hesitate to ask, I am very happy to try and answer questions
Not a shill, I've been playing the game for a couple of weeks as I saw it on early release. I am a friend of the developer but I stand by my comments.
Doh! Sorry, now I see it you meant the post above and below me, I see. Sorry for my criticism then Cheers!
Code Sharp, Perhaps you can explain using an example, as I am still puzzled by the "minimum" move counts that the game is supposedly stating? For World 2 (Satsuma) Level 3, the stated number of available moves at the status bar on the top is 17 moves. To score 3 stars, it says the level needs to be completed with "3+ moves left". This, to me, means the player will score 3 stars if the player can complete the level in less than or equal to 14 moves. But this "14 moves" is not the minimum move counts but the upper move counts necessary to score 3 stars. The levels can be completed in just 7 moves, meaning that there will be 10 moves left. However, nowhere in the level is it hinted that 7 moves is the minimum number of moves needed to solve this level. Did I missing something here?
Hi y2kmp3, Ahh I see what you mean, sorry for the confusion. You are right about world 2 (Satsuma) level 3, It is indeed possible to complete in just 7 moves which is not reflected in the minimum number of moves. The algorithm is a little bit generous (perhaps too much so?) Historically when I was building the game it did used to match exactly the minimum number of moves (eg for satsuma - 3 it would state 10+ moves for 3 stars) however I received feedback that this algorithm was a little bit too harsh and that players wanted to feel happy about getting three stars so I added a some buffer on to the minimum number of moves, the amount of buffer is based on a sliding scale algorithm if I remember correctly. I would be interested in what your thoughts are about this? my gut feeling is to make it match the minimum number exactly but I also don't want to discourage players. I should mention that xorbs is an ever evolving project and if the prevailing opinion is to change this then I would be happy implement this and put into our next release, it would be great to know what others think too
Thanks for the explanation, code sharp. This now makes sense. A possible fix is to explicitly state the range of moves left to score each star rating. For 3 stars, this will allow you to define the "minimum" move counts while still giving a buffer to the player to complete the level. For example, for world 2 level 3, you can state: 3 stars = 3 to 10 moves left 2 stars = 2 moves left 1 stars = 0 to 1 move left The range of move counts for each star rating can be tweaked individually for each level as you see fit to provide a larger or smaller buffer to the player (for example, currently, the buffer for 3 stars for most levels is too wide, whereas the buffers for 2 stars and 1 star are too narrow. This way, if the player can complete the level with even more moves left (in the above example, it would be 11 or more moves left), then you know that the player has truly found a more efficient solution and can reward the player accordingly (such as with an in-game achievement). There is a lot to like about your game's mechanics. I am still very early on in the game, but I can already visualize very complex and tricky levels by combining a lot of these mechanics in clever ways. I presume this is the direction your game is going with later levels.
hi y2kmp3, I really like this solution and will look to implement something along those lines as soon as I can, thanks for all this great feedback! Now you got me thinking if a player scores the minimum number of moves perhaps they could be rewarded with a "perfect" badge, what do you think? I'm so pleased you like the game mechanics and yes you are totally right about the levels becoming ever more complex, tircky and clever Sorry to be slightly off topic but do you know how a thread gets rated by touch arcade? Is it something decided by the moderators? it was my hope that xorbs might get noticed for being a bit unusual - i would love for it to get rated but I'm not sure how, do you think it has a chance?
Good to hear, Code Sharp. Badge idea is perfect (pun intended). I look forward to seeing the update and retrying the game. PS: I think enough number of forum members have to first vote before an average rating will show up for the thread. This prevents outliers on the voting scores.
how to make custom levels i put together a short video that shows how to create and share custom levels in xorbs YouTube: video
hi y2kmp3, I am pleased to say I have released an update for xorbs which contains functionality to reward a perfect trophy for if you achieve the minimum moves I also made the moves adhere to a range which will hopefully be a lot more clear as per your suggestion (i.e 3 to 10 moves left etc) there was a bunch of other features that were bundled into this feature too like customization, free prizes and infinite moves power-ups, i will take some screenshots and upload here tomorrow all feedback welcome
