Posted July 07, 2020 by Celia
I finally got a chance to add something that I always thought might help out players of Interstellar Connection: hints!
When working on Interstellar Connection for Ludum Dare #46, we decided on the attribute-matching mechanic early on, and Rose spent a while designing a look that would be sleek and eye-catching while providing enough visual distinctiveness for the puzzle. I'm really happy with the final look, but I understand it's not always easy to parse through the relays looking for a match. Just like in any matching puzzle, you might get stuck and need a hint.
A hint highlights the relay you should pick next. In the default setting, a hint will trigger after fourteen seconds of inactivity. That seemed long enough that the hints won't distract you when you're focusing, but will show up to help when you're actually stuck - but as always, I appreciate feedback on this.
Adding hints also seemed like a great opportunity to make a story-focused mode where the puzzles are less of an obstacle. I didn't want to offer the option to skip the puzzles - this is a puzzle game, and I think the story works best when broken up by puzzles. Instead, you can turn on immediate hints that guide you through the puzzle. Hopefully, the puzzles still feel engaging without being as demanding.
You can change the hint timing or turn hints off at any time in the settings menu. Here's how it looks in the normal view and on mobile:
I hope that having hints makes Interstellar Connection more fun to play, and that the immediate hint option is a helpful alternative! Please let us know what you think.