Quatrix 1.0 Released

After nearly a year of work, Quatrix is finally ready for its official release. This version, 1.0, is the final version of the game, and is complete. In comparing this version to the beta, which was released almost half a year ago, there are several apparent changes. The style of the game has been updated slightly, and aesthetic changes have occurred throughout the game. Also, several features not present in the beta can be found, perhaps the largest addition being the media player. This media player is still currently in beta form, and many of its features are not polished yet. Code wise, the media player needs a lot of work to make it effecient. It will continue to be improved and a final version will be present with the Snakez 1.0 release. Other new features include savable high scores, customizable colors, several different brick styles, and customizable controls. Also, a game play feature has been added. The multiplier bonus, which multiplies your score, comes into effect after you delete rows multiple times in a row. These bonuses expire after 30 seconds, but if you are good enough, you can reach a bonus of 9 or higher, greatly increasing your score.

Code wise, this version is much more efficient than the beta. Also, there are several libraries included that run the different components of the game. As all of these are open source, you are free to use and modify them to suit your needs, within the boundaries granted by the General Public License. There are five libraries included: GameMenus, ZHUD, ZMediaLibrary, ZStorage, and ZHandler. ZHandler is the basic input handler, allowing for interchangeable controls and touch pad support. GameMenus is the game state and menu handler. ZHUD is a game component that allows for text based HUD (Heads Up Display) in a game. ZStorage is the basic storage component. Finally, ZMediaLibrary is the beta of the media library component. Most of these components are fairly solid and complete, but a few (GameMenus and ZMediaLibrary) are still works in progress.

Finally, here is a run down of what Extron Productions is working on. Now that Quatrix 1.0 is out, there will be continued support for the game, in the form of small releases of future versions of Quatrix that will contain better versions. These will not be the large projects that this version was, but more of small fixes and patches for the game, possibly including new color schemes. Snakez 1.0 is the next big release, and should be out in three to four months. Quatrix Multiplayer is also in the works. Finally, the top down shooter mentioned in previous posts is still in the works, and a release date has not been set. These will probably be the last games that will be for the classic Zune, as we will start programming for the Zune HD, so look out for games for that.

The download can be found at
http://code.google.com/p/quatrix/downloads/list

This download, like always, contains both the .ccgame, for those who just want the game, and the .zip file, which contains all code and libraries of Quatrix, for those who want to use the code.