Solver and Generator for Boulder Dash/Supaplex style "caves"
In C#, using Dot Net Core 2.1. Coded in VSCode.
The Solver is an implementation of Iterative Deepening A*
The Generator is random for now, based on a pattern file. This might be changed to a wave collapse function once I have enough working caves to based it on.
While the caves generated are compatible with Boulder Dash's mechanics, they are not compatible with the game itself. Boulder Dash uses a deterministic random generator for it's cave, but not for gameplay. Two examples comes to mind:
-
Boulder pushing/grabbing: In Boulder Dash there is a 1 in 8 chance of actually pushing a rock when the player move. This cause the character to "skid" randomly when trying to push a rock, which can't be done in puzzle form, not without some burdensome graphical cues and rules.
-
Amoeba grow randomly. While I didn't implement them in the puzzle yet, they will likely be completely different than in the base game once I do because of this property.
Implemented so far:
- Empty space (!)
- Dirt
- Rocks
- Diamonds
- Brick Walls
- Steel Walls
- Explosions
- Butterflies
- Fireflies
Magic walls are next, as they work well in a puzzle. Custom, non-BD related blocks are also planned.
Usage:
| Switch | Description |
|---|---|
| -patterns | Room patterns file |
| -playback | Hash of a cave in the database to display |
| -playspeed | Playback speed |
| -seed | Seed that controls the generationof the cave's seeds |
| -minmove | Minimum moves to accept |
| -maxmove | Maximum moves to accept |
| -cpu | Number of Threads to start |
| -maxtime | Maximum time spent looking for a solution, in seconds |
| -maxempty | Maximum number of folds spent without the player moving |
| -idle | Number of folds to skip at the cave's opening |
Remarks:
- I do not recommand generating caves larger than 15x15.
- The outer steel walls are implied during solving. The caves will be created in the whole space specified.
- The -MaxTime switch is in seconds. The maxtime is for one fold of each cave, and reset during generation when a fold is sucessful
See GenDashDB.xml for example of the output.