Forum thread for feedback and suggestions...

This is a turn-based minigame. Its purpose is to drop balls (represented by falling blocks) from the top of the game board and make them reach the bottom by gravity taking advantage of the elements composing the board itself to move them further. Elements can be used also to damage or block the opponents. The way the elements of the board are used and the amount of shots sent on goal will determine the player score.
Being the game board reasonably huge, the game can be played also in Creative Mode, flying around it. Items will be still consumed when used. At the same way it is suggested to use it on a superflat terrain or an open area to prevent the world structures to interfer with the board.
Dropped Bonus will fall right in front of the board so it's better to have a flat terrain to easily see and catch them.

This is a basic game setup and rules, customizable anyway:
- to avoid issues, no other blocks than the mod ones must be placed in the board area;
- each player will choose a color. He will use then only items of the same color.
- each player starts with the same amount of Player Tokens (16 per craft by default);
- players will play their turn always in the same order until no more tokens are owned;
- each player must use in any case all his Player Tokens unless no more shots are possible;
- the victory can be decided by who collects more Reward Coins or by Scoreboard points;
- if a player scores (sends a ball on goal), he can benefit of another shot until his turn expires;
- before a player throws the shot, he can place 1 strategy tile on the board (allowed amount can be arranged);

The Board

open in a new window for full size

The game board is a huge wall with the elements of the game attached to it. Its size is configurable. For the correct working of the mod no blocks should be broken that are not done by the board itself and no other blocks should be placed inside the board area unless allowed tiles. In the config is also possible to place a wooden platform with stairs to climb up to the droppers.

BLOCKS

GAME SPAWNER

This is the main block of the mod. It is crafted surrounding a Vanilla Dropper with sand blocks. It allows to spawn the game board. For convenience, the board will face always the same direction. The side indicated by a red cross is where the player must stand when activating it with bare hand. On the other side the board will appear. When the board is fully created this block will break, indicating the game can start. Each time a board is spawned, the elements composing it will be randomly shuffled in a new order. Once clicked, do not click it again to prevent generation issues.

PANEL BLOCKS

These blocks are only for decorative purposes. They simply compose the background of the game board.

DROPPERS (Active/Unactive/Tilted)

A row of Droppers is located on top of the board. Each Dropper will release a falling block when activated with a Player Token. The color of this block will be the same of the token to indicate the player color. Once the block is dropped, the Dropper will lock out, changing color. To use it again, a player must unlock it using an Unlocker Key. If there is no space under the Dropper to release a block, the Dropper will tilt when trying to use it. When there will be a chance to free some space below, the Unlocker Key will open again the Dropper as usual.

BALL / FALLING BLOCK / SHOT

The Falling Block will be the ball in the game board. It will fall down by gravity when dropped and will be moved around by the board elements. They come in 16 colors to indicate the players.

RECEIVERS

A row of Receivers is located at the bottom of the board. When hit by a falling block they will drop a Reward Token confirming the shot has gone on goal.

FLIPPERS (Random/Left/Right)

Flippers are tiles which allow to move horizontally the falling block, shifting by one tile its position in the direction they indicate. The Random Flipper, when hit the first time, will choose a random direction, turning then into a regular Flipper. Each time a Flipper moves a block, it will revert its direction, pointing in the opposite side..

BRICKS

Brick tiles are solid blocks that will simply stop the falling blocks. Once a falling block has been stopped it will settle into another Brick tile.

VORTEXES

A vortex allows to teleport the ball in another part of the board when it falls on top of it. The destination is another vortex and it is randomly choosen. There is a limited interval in which to find an escaping vortex. If no escape is found inside this interval, the ball will be lost in space. Once the ball escapes a vortex, it will continue to fall down, hence the top and the bottom of vortexes must be kept free for at least 1 block for the vortex to be usable.

TRAPS

Traps are malicious tiles that will instantly destroy the block falling on top of it.

BONUS TILES

Bonus tiles are random blocks that will drop bonuses when a block falls on top of it. The ball will cross the tile without breaking it, meaning it can be hit any time. For this reason the top and the bottom of this block must be kept free for at least 1 block to avoid to "suffocate" and lose the ball. See dropped bonuses for more info. The dropped item is random but the amount of drops is configurable.

WATER TILES

Water tiles are liquid tiles that will absorb and solidify the falling block. The solidified block has a chance to be either a simple Brick Tile or a malicious Slime Tile.

SLIME TILES

Slime tiles are malicious and contagious tiles. They are randomly generated by Water Tiles when hit by a falling block. Once a Slime Tile is formed it will instantly infect any block touching it on any side turning them into Slime tiles. If a Slime Tile reaches the row where balls are dropped (the row right below the Dropper), balls released by neighbour Droppers will be instantly catched and turned into Slime Tiles.

TNT

These are malicious blocks that will eplode when hit by a ball. The ball will be lost however. Their explosion will generate an expanding Waste Tile.

WASTE TILES

Waste Tiles are malicious and expanding blocks generated by TNT explosions. Any ball hitting them will instantly turn into a Waste tile itself. Once formed, they will slowly expand to neighbour spots eventually eating every block present in the tile. Expansion could happen every turn with a configurable chance. A Waste Tile can be removed using a Cleaner which drops from Bonus Tiles.

ITEMS

PLAYER TOKENS

The Player Tokens are the items allowing to activate the Droppers. Activation happens by right clicking a Dropper while holding a token. Each player is identified by a color. When the ball is dropped the token will be consumed. Extra tokens may randomly drop if a falling block hits a Bonus Tile. A crafting allows 16 tokens, still any amount can be used as long as each player starts with the same amount of tokens.

REWARD COINS

Reward Coins drop when a ball hits the Receivers. They are the first indicator that the shot has been sent on goal. Basically, who collects more coins will win the game.

DROPPED SKULLS

Skulls drop when a ball is lost in space, suffocated by a barred tile or destroyed by a trap. Yet not really used apart for collection.

DROPPED BONUSES

UNLOCKER KEYS

Unlocker keys randomly drop when a ball hits a Bonus Tile. They allow the player using them to unlock locked Droppers to be used again. Once the Dropper is unlocked the key will be consumed.

STRATEGY TILES
Flipper Items. These can place Random Flipper Tiles

Vortex Items. These can place Vortex Tiles

Bonus Items. These can place Bonus Tiles

Brick Items. These can place Brick Tiles

Trap Items. These can place Trap Tiles

Cleaner Items. These can remove Waste Tiles

Strategy Tiles are items randomly dropped when hitting a Bonus Tile. They can be used on the board to place additional tiles to take advantage of them on next shots or to damage an opponent. The tile is placed by right-clicking on the board panels while holding the item. Once the tile is applied the item will be consumed.

SCOREBOARD

SCORE BOOK

Score books are craftable mixing a piece of parer with a sand block. Each action of the game like block ticking will allow player to earn points. Most of the times the points are added to the player score but in some cases, when malicious blocks are ticked, points will be substracted. This above is an example of scoreboard achievable by opening the Scoreboard book. In it are also indicated (from left to right) the amount of shots a players has done, the number of balls killed or lost, the number of balls sent on goal. the number of vortexes successfully crossed and the amount of ticked flippers.

The Config

Inside the Config file is possible to decide the size of the board, the amount of elements composing it and some rate values. Also, it is possible to tweak the score assigned for each valid action.

M-Ballz