HEXA Manual

Jul 30th, 2024   •   hexa

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Synopsis

Board the helm of Starship HEXA, and conquer the universe the only way you know how: shapes.

You’re the commander of Starship HEXA, the head of a space fleet dead-set on taking over the universe. You’re well on your way to assuming control of everything that is and shall be, but your attack methods are a bit…unorthodox. We can’t dwell on it for too long, though, so get out there and match those hexagons!

HEXA is a unique, quick to pick up, and super fun logic puzzle game based on everybody’s favorite polygon. Try for a high score in Arcade Mode, take on the dynamic Daily Run; or conquer dozens of unique challenges in Mission Mode! See if you can’t conquer the HEXAPLEX, wrangle those Power-ups, and maybe even become ruler of the universe along the way.

Give it a try… it’s HEXA-good!

Gameplay Basics

Controls

The d-pad and A and B buttons are required to play this game. These buttons are used to navigate menus, and are mandatory in main gameplay.

You can also optionally use the crank to perform the turning action usually done by the A and B buttons. This can be toggled in-game, in the Options menu. (The crank can also be used to navigate menus.)

Playing the game

When you start a new game, you’ll be faced with the HEXAPLEX — a grid of 19 triangles (black, gray, or white), all interlaced with one another. Your goal is simple: create HEXAs!

Use the D-pad to navigate your Cursor along the HEXAPLEX, and the A and B buttons (or the crank) to rotate the currently-selected hexagon clockwise or counter-clockwise — this is called a Swap.

A full hexagon of similarly-colored triangles is called a HEXA. These are the main way to earn points — create a HEXA match, and BOOM!! You gain points, and the triangles involved are randomized and replaced.

As far as basic gameplay is concerned…that’s all you gotta know to get started! But, depending on the mode you’re playing, there are a few more things you need to learn…

Modes

Arcade Mode

Arcade Mode is the basic gameplay mode in HEXA.

In this mode, you start out with 45 seconds on the clock. As you match HEXAs, you’ll earn points, as well as more time on the timer! Your goal is to match as many HEXAs, and thus, earn as many points, as you can before time runs out. White tiles earn you 100 points, gray tiles earn you 150 points, and black tiles earn you 200 points.

There’s another element to this mode to keep you on your toes: randomly-generated Power-ups! These do various different things when matched:

• Bombs — If matched into a HEXA, the whole board gets “blown up” and replaced with a new, randomized set of tiles.
• 2x Tiles — When matched into a HEXA, you’ll earn double points for that match! Plus, a bigger timer boost.
• Wild Tiles — These tiles can be used in place of any other color when creating a HEXA. No penalty nor reward.

Power-ups will not stack up with themselves. For example, if you have multiple 2x Tiles in a match, you’ll still only receive one bonus. However, Power-ups will stack with eachother — if a match contains a 2x Tile and a Bomb, you’ll get double points and reshuffle the entire board.

You can also score HEXA Combos — if you match a HEXA, and the resulting grid contains another HEXA, BOOM!! You’ll get double the points for that match! This stacks exponentially up until you reach a board state without an immediate HEXA. These are mostly luck-based, but it’s possible to create them intentionally if you really know what you’re doing.

As you earn more HEXAs, the timer boost will gradually become less and less effective. See how long you can keep it rolling!

The game will end when the timer reaches zero. If you wanna end it early, open the Slide menu and just select “end game”. The game will end from the current point, and any high scores will be saved.

Chill Mode

Chill Mode is a more relaxed experience, meant for casual play.

In this mode, there’s no score-keeping, Power-ups, or timers. The goal is just to chill out, and have a good time creating HEXA matches at your own pace!

To end the game, open the Slide menu and select “i’m done!” to wrap up.

Daily Run

Daily Run plays a lot like Arcade Mode, but with one big catch: you only get one shot per day!

In this mode, the board is seeded — every day, you play with the same starting layout as everyone else. From here, it plays just like Arcade Mode!

When you end the game, you won’t be able to play again until tomorrow. The Daily Run refreshes automatically at 00:00 midnight GMT, after which you’ll be able to play another game with a new layout.

💡 There’s also a handy timer on the Title screen to let you know when the next run will appear!

Mission Mode

In Mission Mode, 50 new challenges await you! These can be grouped into four distinct modes:

• Picture: In this mode, there are no HEXAs! Perform Swaps from a random state to try and create the picture in as little Swaps as possible.
• Time Attack: This plays like Arcade Mode, except…you get no time bonus for HEXAs! See how much of a score you can nab in the time allotted!
• Logic: From a determined starting layout, try and clear the condition using as little Swaps as possible! No time limit or pressure.
• Speedrun: Plays like Logic — complete the clear condition — but instead of Swaps, do it as fast as possible!

A new mission will unlock as soon as you clear the latest. If you’re ever feeling stuck, open the Slide menu to get another look at your objective.

💡 In Picture puzzles, the Slide menu will also show the picture you’re trying to re-create!

On-line Capability

About on-line play

This game connects to Playdate’s on-line leaderboard API, to enable sending and receiving of high scores among players across the globe. To use on-line functionality in this game, make sure your Playdate has an active Wireless connection.

Submitting your scores

The Arcade Mode and Daily Run both support global on-line leaderboards. You’re not the only one competing for the universe — go for the top spot!

To submit a new score to a global leaderboard, simply complete a game. When you reach the end results screen, your score will be submitted to the proper leaderboard automatically.

⚠️ Be careful — if you close out of the game without properly ending your run, your score won’t be saved or submitted!

My score didn’t send! What do?

If you obtained a new high score, but it didn’t get sent up to the appropriate leaderboard, there are a few things you can try:

1. Give it a little time, and see if it sends up automatically.

2. Try playing another round — it doesn’t need to be yet another new high score, but this might kick the OS’ caching into high gear.

3. Try checking the scoreboards in-game (see below), which will attempt to send a “fake score” and bump the cache.

Viewing global scores

You can view global scores using two primary methods:

1. Visit the HEXA game page in your Web browser, at play.date/games/hexa. From here, you can view all available scores in the Scoreboards section. You can see top 10 scores in every available board.

2. Enter the ‘High Scores’ menu within the game, accessible from the Title screen. When in this screen, you can use the A button to toggle between the Arcade Mode and Daily Run leaderboards. From here, you can see the top scores for the currently-highlighted board, as well as your own score and ranking (if available).

The Daily Run leaderboard refreshes automatically at 00:00 midnight GMT, clearing all scores from the past day. When viewing scores in-game, there’s also a handy timer to tell you when the boards will be cleared.

Strategies

Here are a couple tips to hopefully help you conquer the HEXAPLEX!

• Know your difference between clockwise and counter-clockwise.
• It’s easier to fill a gap of two than it is to fill a gap of one.
• Plan for the tiles that reward higher points!
• Make use of power-ups when possible, and especially when beneficial.
• The crank can perform Swaps faster, but is harder to dial in precisely.
• Use bombs at opportune times to reshuffle a poor layout!
• When in doubt, just take a moment to study the board. You’ve got more time than you think!

Credits

• Programmed by Rae

• Graphics stuff drawn by Rae

• Music by Watson at MusMus; Terms
• SFX made with JSFXR
• Tanuk library by Toad and Schyzo; MIT
• Full Circle and Mikodacs Clock fonts provided by Panic; CC BY 4.0
• Righteous font made by Astigmatic; OFL
• Some formatting code used from the lua-users wiki.

• Drew-Lo helped me figure out the algorithm for logarithmic timer bonuses, as well.

• Thank you to Voxy, Toad, scizzorz, superfunc, mag, hunty, Scenic Route, DRD, IGDA Twin Cities, and everyone at Panic!

Additional Notes

This game started life on the 4th of July, 2024. It came together pretty much over the weekend — initially being sent to the Catalog on July 7th, and approved on the 10th. The game was originally scheduled for release on August 13th, 2024, before suddenly having the opportunity to jump back and instead release on July 30th. This means that the game went from “start of development” to “literally out for people to buy” in just under a months’ time. New record!!

Special thanks to the folks in the Catalog dev chat for being there to witness my tomfoolery throughout development, and everybody who helped out and cheered me on as this game barreled through the finish line. And thanks to you, for reading, playing, and (hopefully) enjoying!

Buy HEXA in Catalog