Soko-ban (remake w/ level editor + level packs)

[arj0n]

Soko-ban

This is a remake of the well-known classic puzzle game where you move boxes around in a warehouse, trying to get them to storage locations.
Based on the DOS version.

• easy to use level editor included, create, export, play and share your own levels
• seventeen extra level collection packs included, giving a total of 1576 levels

status: final test phase, soon to be released.
will be available for: Windows & Linux (freeware)

intro:
[imgzoom]https://dam1976.home.xs4all.nl/AGS/sokoban/Promo/1_Promo_Outside_640.png[/imgzoom]
the lobby:
[imgzoom]https://dam1976.home.xs4all.nl/AGS/sokoban/Promo/2_Promo_Lobby_640.png[/imgzoom]
start playing level1 (of the original soko-ban level-pack)
[imgzoom]https://dam1976.home.xs4all.nl/AGS/sokoban/Promo/3_Promo_LVL1_640.png[/imgzoom]
the level editor:
[imgzoom]https://dam1976.home.xs4all.nl/AGS/sokoban/Promo/4_Promo_LVL-editorv2_640.png[/imgzoom]

[FormosaFalanster]

Oooh I had this game as a kid, I loved it! It was especially fun for me because my father worked in a warehouse when I was a child 

[arj0n]

Oooh I had this game as a kid, I loved it! It was especially fun for me because my father worked in a warehouse when I was a child 

Yep, had it too as kid and played is so many times. But I found the level editor to be quite hard to use.
And as I had some extra time because I'm waiting for audio from voice actors for my Mortville project,
I decided to make a Soko-ban remake with a level editor that is easy to use. Soon to be released

[CaptainD]

Retro vibes
They're multiplying...
And I'm pushing
some blocks
Onto targets
Level's supplying
It's electrifying!

Which is all to say, this looks great... 

[arj0n]

Thanx, Cap! Very poetic   

[heltenjon]

Oh no! There goes my spare time! 

[arj0n]

sowwy 

[CaptainD]

Thanx, Cap! Very poetic   

Actually it's a take on the lyrics of a song from Grease "You're The One That I Want" 

[Frodo]

I LOVE Sokoban.   
Really looking forward to this.   

[Cassiebsg]

Oh, rats! It's still in production! 

Looking forward to release day! 
Good luck and get this done soon. Let me know if you need a tester. 

[arj0n]

Thanx Frodo & Cassiebsg 

@Cassiebsg: pm-ed

[cat]

Natsukashii! Looking forward to that 

[arj0n]

Natsukashii! Looking forward to that 

Sweet memories indeed 

[lorenzo]

Nice! Sokoban was a great game. I always thought that the lift to select the levels was the cleverest thing.

A mouse-controlled level editor sounds like a great addition!

The screenshot of the level seems to be missing the "three-dimensional" effect that the boxes and walls in the original game had, though.

[arj0n]

Nice! Sokoban was a great game. I always thought that the lift to select the levels was the cleverest thing.

Well, once in the elevator, selecting a level isn't done anymore by typing the number and then Accept, this time a level-list is shown.

A mouse-controlled level editor sounds like a great addition!

That's the whole reason I made this remake, because I didn't like the way the level editor works in the original (I used to play the dos) version

The screenshot of the level seems to be missing the "three-dimensional" effect that the boxes and walls in the original game had, though.

I didn't used the "three-dimensional" effect indeed, I couldn't easily implement that, so I choose to go with this "straight top-down view" version...

[lorenzo]

Well, once in the elevator, selecting a level isn't done anymore by typing the number and then Accept, this time a level-list is shown.

It's probably much quicker to use as well.

I didn't used the "three-dimensional" effect indeed, I couldn't easily implement that, so I choose to go with this "straight top-down view" version...

Makes sense! It's not a big deal, really. The new "flat" version looks nice.

[Sinitrena]

I loved Soko-Ban. It was my very first video game (well, after Pong, but definitely the first on a computer) This remake gives me feels!

Should I post the link to the online version I found a couple yeaes ago, that has countless additional levels? Oh, here it is, in case someone is interested: https://www.janko.at/Spiele/Sokoban/index.htm

[FormosaFalanster]

Apparently someone else tried to make an AGS sokoban at some point but it doesn't seem to be completed: https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/2380-boxes/

[arj0n]

I loved Soko-Ban. It was my very first video game (well, after Pong, but definitely the first on a computer) This remake gives me feels!

Should I post the link to the online version I found a couple yeaes ago, that has countless additional levels? Oh, here it is, in case someone is interested: https://www.janko.at/Spiele/Sokoban/index.htm

Thank you!

Apparently someone else tried to make an AGS sokoban at some point but it doesn't seem to be completed: https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/2380-boxes/

Yep, that's a Russian prototype, seems to be an alpha-demo with lots of features missing...

[selmiak]

looks very interesting. I remember I played one of these puzzly games ages ago.

• seventeen extra level collection packs included, giving a total of 1576 levels

Are they all recreations of original levels or did you design so many levels yourself or are they somehow randomly generated?

[arj0n]

looks very interesting. I remember I played one of these puzzly games ages ago.

• seventeen extra level collection packs included, giving a total of 1576 levels

Are they all recreations of original levels or did you design so many levels yourself or are they somehow randomly generated?

None of the 3 options above 
These level packs contains new levels (not based on the original 50 levels) and are created by various authors (not me).
Sometimes a pack contains remodeled levels which are redesigned/improved by one or more different authors (again not me).
All these packs (and many, many more) can be found online. I tried to made a 'the best of' selection ending up with these 17 packs.

[selmiak]

so these levels were not made for your AGS version of sokoban but for sokoban in general... how do you import these? Is there a way to transcribe sokoban levels in like csv format so that everyone can import those?

[Nowhere Girl]

I have been playing the original Sokoban a lot recently. I also know some other levels, for example from Janko.at website... but I'm not a fan of the kind of levels with a small rectangle with tricky placement of crates. That's just not very interesting. The levels I like most are those most closely in style of the original Sokoban, such as here:
https://www.janko.at/Spiele/Sokoban/ThinkingRabbitExtra.htm
I also very much enjoyed a few single crate levels:
https://www.janko.at/Spiele/Sokoban/MarquesSoloban.htm

[Nowhere Girl]

It's me again because I've ben playing a lot of Sokoban recently. I guess I'd be happy to have all the levels in one place, so I wanted to ask about a few things:
1. Will the game have the (very convenient) undo feature?
2. What will be the playing field size? This is really the problem I'm having with "having all the levels in one place": after I learned how to use the level editor in original Sokoban, I realised that I won't be able to copy all levels I'd like into the original game because it's only only 16 units high and 19 units wide - and level "Extra 2" is 17 units high, several levels from the "Extra" pack (which I like so much because it's the most in style of original Sokoban levels - as I said, I'm not into "tiny room with tricky crates"-type levels because yes, they can be tricky - but they lack the complexity of large levels...) are 20 units wide... so much for copying them.

[arj0n]

Sorry for the late reply, been quite busy with RL stuff the last months

so these levels were not made for your AGS version of sokoban but for sokoban in general... how do you import these? Is there a way to transcribe sokoban levels in like csv format so that everyone can import those?

The levels are indeed in a specific txt format.

It's me again because I've ben playing a lot of Sokoban recently. I guess I'd be happy to have all the levels in one place, so I wanted to ask about a few things:
1. Will the game have the (very convenient) undo feature?
2. What will be the playing field size? This is really the problem I'm having with "having all the levels in one place": after I learned how to use the level editor in original Sokoban, I realised that I won't be able to copy all levels I'd like into the original game because it's only only 16 units high and 19 units wide - and level "Extra 2" is 17 units high, several levels from the "Extra" pack (which I like so much because it's the most in style of original Sokoban levels - as I said, I'm not into "tiny room with tricky crates"-type levels because yes, they can be tricky - but they lack the complexity of large levels...) are 20 units wide... so much for copying them.

1) yes, the undo-feature is present in this ags version.
2) this Sokoban version is based on the DOS version and has therefor the following restrictions:

• the game uses the classic 320x240 resolution,
• the restrictions of the playfield is 19 units (width) by 16 units (height)
• one unit is 16 pixels width by 12 pixels high. 

So I removed all the levels from the included collections that didn't meet the DOS-restrictions (having more than 19 units in width and/or more than 16 units in height)
Also, when the player tries to import a level in this ags version, the game first checks if these restrictions are met, otherwise it will cancel the import process.