SHENZHEN I/O is the new simulator/puzzle game by Zachtronics, the creators of other excellent games like Spacechem, Infinifactory and TIS-100. After being on Early Access for some time, it's now available on Steam since November, 17th. But most importantly, even when only two weeks have passed since the official release, the game already has 'overwhelmingly positive' reviews by Steam users, just like its predecessors; out of a total 785 reviews so far, only 14 are negative against 771 positives, something truly remarkable.
Unfortunately, I won't be able to share with you some personal impressions about the game because two reasons:
- It doesn't have a demo.
- Seriously, if you aren't a programmer, these games are impossible to learn. I'm talking about almost every game released by Zachtronics; they're extremely cryptic. I recently bought on Humble Bundle and tried their other game, TIS-100, and I couldn't even program the most basic line; and I'm glad that I saved some paper by not printing the attached manual, because I read it and I didn't understand one simple sentence. SHENZHEN I/O has a more complex manual, so I don't even need to play it to have the certainty that I won't get anything from it.
It isn't about lack of motivation or interest since I love to solve puzzles, and the premise of learning a bit about programming really attracted me. Also I don't think it's because I lack patience either, or the necessary skills to learn the commands, because with a bit of research I was able to overcome some technical problems by using the Linux Terminal.
This isn't a rant against Zachtronics, but I have to say it's truly a shame. I really wanted to play their games, but that isn't possible because of the insanely steep learning curve, it's like quantum physics if you don't have the base qualifications. I don't seem to be the only one with this problem, given that the Most Helpful negative review (with 750 people out of 1005 finding it useful) addresses the same concerns. Maybe the inclusion of a tutorial for complete novices, or extremely simplistic puzzles, would've made things easier?
Anyway, good luck and enjoy the game for me. I might try my luck with Infinifactory sometime. Obviously feel free to contribute with comments if you have more knowledge than me regarding these kind of games...
Official site: SHENZHEN I/O
Steam Store page: SHENZHEN I/O
About the game (Official)
-Build circuits using a variety of components from different manufacturers, like microcontrollers, memory, logic gates, and LCD screens.
-Write code in a compact and powerful assembly language where every instruction can be conditionally executed.
-Read the included manual, which includes over 30 pages of original datasheets, reference guides, and technical diagrams.
-Get to know the colorful cast of characters at your new employer, 深圳龙腾科技有限公司 (Shenzhen Longteng Electronics Co., Ltd.), located in the electronics capital of the world.
-Get creative! Design and test your own games and devices in the sandbox.
-Engineering is hard! Take a break and play a brand-new twist on solitaire. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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Unfortunately, I won't be able to share with you some personal impressions about the game because two reasons:
- It doesn't have a demo.
- Seriously, if you aren't a programmer, these games are impossible to learn. I'm talking about almost every game released by Zachtronics; they're extremely cryptic. I recently bought on Humble Bundle and tried their other game, TIS-100, and I couldn't even program the most basic line; and I'm glad that I saved some paper by not printing the attached manual, because I read it and I didn't understand one simple sentence. SHENZHEN I/O has a more complex manual, so I don't even need to play it to have the certainty that I won't get anything from it.
It isn't about lack of motivation or interest since I love to solve puzzles, and the premise of learning a bit about programming really attracted me. Also I don't think it's because I lack patience either, or the necessary skills to learn the commands, because with a bit of research I was able to overcome some technical problems by using the Linux Terminal.
Anyway, good luck and enjoy the game for me. I might try my luck with Infinifactory sometime. Obviously feel free to contribute with comments if you have more knowledge than me regarding these kind of games...
Official site: SHENZHEN I/O
Steam Store page: SHENZHEN I/O
About the game (Official)
-Write code in a compact and powerful assembly language where every instruction can be conditionally executed.
-Read the included manual, which includes over 30 pages of original datasheets, reference guides, and technical diagrams.
-Get to know the colorful cast of characters at your new employer, 深圳龙腾科技有限公司 (Shenzhen Longteng Electronics Co., Ltd.), located in the electronics capital of the world.
-Get creative! Design and test your own games and devices in the sandbox.
-Engineering is hard! Take a break and play a brand-new twist on solitaire. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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The comments on this article are closed.
I simply love the Zachtronics games, in particular TIS-100 and Shenzon I/O.
Excited to see what they will come up next. :)
I'm a bit disappointed they didn't provide a key to Liam or answered at all.
To those already playing Shenzen I/O:
My Notebook gets *very* hot (running on the intel IGP),
that's not the case on Windows 10 (same machine).
Do you experience something similar?
The graphics don't look very demanding...
Excited to see what they will come up next. :)
I'm a bit disappointed they didn't provide a key to Liam or answered at all.
To those already playing Shenzen I/O:
My Notebook gets *very* hot (running on the intel IGP),
that's not the case on Windows 10 (same machine).
Do you experience something similar?
The graphics don't look very demanding...
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I wasn't expecting so many answers. I read them all and I will keep them in mind, thank you. As for Human Resource Machine, I already have it in my wishlist. :)
Quoting: Guest"Overwhelmingly positive" means nothing, and this is another proof.The cathegory doesn't necessarily mean they're instant classics, but it's very useful to discover some excellent games, for sure.
Quoting: RussianNeuroMancerConsider Pony Island as tutorial.I beat that game in only two hours, but still I couldn't program a single line in TIS-100. :(
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Quoting: subMy Notebook gets *very* hot (running on the intel IGP),
that's not the case on Windows 10 (same machine).
Do you experience something similar?
The graphics don't look very demanding...
I did not yet try Shenzen, but I had that with "J.U.L.I.A.: Among the Stars". That's not demanding either - it just ran at several thausand(!) FPS...
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Crazy Penguin Dec 7, 2016
Quoting: SangreDeReptilQuoting: RussianNeuroMancerConsider Pony Island as tutorial.I beat that game in only two hours, but still I couldn't program a single line in TIS-100. :(
Maybe you think to complicated. What you have to do is pick up a value at the Input-"Gates" marked with IN.x, process it in the nodes and return the result through the Output-"Gates" marked with OUT.x. Every node has several ports which can be used for input/output (Arrows!) for communitcation with another node. (Manual: 1st Chapter!)
Maybe think about it as rooms (nodes) with doors (ports) and you give a character (value) instructions (commands) what to do in this room. Hello HMR xD
The first program in TIS-100 is extremly simple. Look at your instructions:
1) Read a value from IN.X and write the value to out OUT.X
2) Read a value from IN.A and write the value to out OUT.A
Task 1) is solved already. It moves the value from IN.X to OUT.X straight downwards with the MOV UP, DOWN command. Which means Read the value from input port UP and pass it on to the next node through output port DOWN. Run it step by step and see what happens.
Now you have to do the same for the Task 2). Which is almost the same, except that you have to move the value (character) around the broken node (room). So you can't go down in the first node, but you can go to the left node. Now the first command is: MOV UP, LEFT. which gets the value from IN.A and pass it on through the output port on the left side to the next node. which moves it on with MOV RIGHT, DOWN and so on till you get the value (char) through the Output-"Gate" OUT.A. Easy! :)
That is all what you have to do. You will get and learn more commands with the time. Everything is well explained with examples in the Manual. Read it again! The game looks more complicated as it is. Focus on what you have and what you have to do. Play around with the commands and learn from it :)
Shenzhen takes it up a notch by breaking down down the "fix" grid of nodes and adds a few more items to the game. Thats all! You will find all you need in the manual!
Another game of this kind and which I can recommend is Hack'n'Slash. But be warned! The first half is pretty easy, but the 2nd half raises the difficulty a lot :D
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Quoting: GuestWell as far as I’m concerned, I know more "overwhelmingly positive" games that I find terrible than ones that I like.
In genres you like?
I'd be curious to hear some some examples...
It might be my memory, but I don't remember having been disappointed by such a well rated game.
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Luke_Nukem Dec 7, 2016
The thing I liked most about TIS-100 is being able to "compete" against friends to get the best instruction count/times. Really makes you think.
Both games are a niche market to be honest. You won't learn programming, but you may learn enough to understand assembly language a little more. Having an understanding of digital logic gives you a head start in Shenzen I/O, and that game is highly entertaining.
Seriously, be prepared to think, and think hard. You won't be solving these games puzzles in 5 minutes then moving on to the next.
Both games are a niche market to be honest. You won't learn programming, but you may learn enough to understand assembly language a little more. Having an understanding of digital logic gives you a head start in Shenzen I/O, and that game is highly entertaining.
Seriously, be prepared to think, and think hard. You won't be solving these games puzzles in 5 minutes then moving on to the next.
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voyager2102 Dec 8, 2016
Quoting: GuestThese games are too hard for programmers too. The developer thought it would be a good idea to not explain things decently and throw a difficulty wall at the face of players.I'm sorry to say, but I don't think any programmer who thinks those games are too hard should continue to call him/herself a programmer. I used TIS-100 to teach my 8 year old daughter basic programming skills and that's probably the most complex of the lot. The manual is IMHO also excellent and totally authentic if you ever read old tech manuals - and none of the concepts used there should be news to somebody that programs for a living or even for fun.
"Overwhelmingly positive" means nothing, and this is another proof.
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voyager2102 Dec 8, 2016
Quoting: GuestWhat does that proof? You are not mainstream ;) Or at least you are not in the target group for that game. Those that were found it to be a great game. The system fails you, but that is probably not because the system is bad since it seems to satisfy the needs of the majority (speculating) - it is most likely because you don't fit into said system ;)Quoting: SangreDeReptilWell as far as I’m concerned, I know more "overwhelmingly positive" games that I find terrible than ones that I like.Quoting: Guest"Overwhelmingly positive" means nothing, and this is another proof.The cathegory doesn't necessarily mean they're instant classics, but it's very useful to discover some excellent games, for sure.
As a linux user you should be experienced in this situation ;)
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Quoting: voyager2102What does that proof? You are not mainstream ;) Or at least you are not in the target group for that game. Those that were found it to be a great game. The system fails you, but that is probably not because the system is bad since it seems to satisfy the needs of the majority (speculating) - it is most likely because you don't fit into said system ;)
Continuing this thought, if those disappointed by such a game write a review, it helps others - and will make the game leave the overwhelming area if there are enough of them.
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I've not tried Shenzen, but Infinifactory is fun, challenging and accessible to those of us who might only dabble in writing simple shell scripts occasionally. I'm not a programmer, but I have the urge to test my ability to think through these logic puzzles for the case that I might have some rewarding AH-HA! "IF" has a very physical feel to it and it's just fun to watch things get built as parts move on conveyors, are welded, and otherwise manipulated on a contraption that the player builds. I will likely buy Shenzen after I have at least solved some more puzzles in IF and TIS-100 as well or if Shenzen is thrown into some irresistible puzzle bundle. I'm really happy that Zachtronics makes some great games for putting the Linux geekminds to the test in a fun way.
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