Boulder Dig

Boulder Dig mod Copyright (c) 2024 Neuromancer

Amoba content is a slightly tweaked version of the mod mykota by xevin, Stepan Krapivin xevinbox@gmail.com.

The intent of this mod to introduce some of the fun of the 1984 game Boulder Dash.
For starters, it adds the ability to tunnel through dirt simply by walking through it. Adds boulders that will fall on you if you are not careful when tunneling. It also makes dirt layers deeper by default (30 nodes rather than 3).

Goal: you are trying to find as many purple gems as possible. For each level after you collect a certain number of gems you get a different number of points for each one you touch. For now, the score & high score are just logged in the chat. For the most fun, I think playing the game the way the original was played (walking in to dirt to dig it rather than punching it is best.) But if you find you're stuck, or you find it more fun to dig using your hands, then feel free.

There are 2 modes, one you can just find the boulders and gems scattered throughout the regularly generated world. The other option is to play in more densely packed levels that are more similar to the original 2D game. To do that:

1. Create a new MinetestGame world with the following settings: Mapgen= flat, and uncheck all flags.
2. type "/level 1"
3. place the running man block that was added to your inventory and left click it.
4. You will be teleported to the starting point in the level
5. Hold a torch in your hand so it's lit as you burrow into the level.
6. Continue to subsequent levels by collecting enough gems and finding & touching the animated exit node or typing "/level 2" etc. (I will continue to add levels. Let me know if you want to help out.)

Note: To make finding it easier, the exit node will always be on the bottom level and near to the edge of the level. If it is red, you need to find more gems until it turns green before you can activate it by touching it.

Note: Levels are generated using a variety of methods. If you want to tweak or create your own levels using the ascii art technique check this out https://forum.minetest.net/viewtopic.php?t=30682. If instead you want to use the random level generator, study the init.lua. One of the more important lines is: {"build_level", 30, 30, 30, .1, .05,8,.7,8,.7,8,.7},

To understand what this does, the names of these parameters are: run_command_name = "build_level", x_size, y_size, z_size, boulder_chance, gem_chance, cobble_every_x, cobble_chance_x, cobble_every_y, cobble_chance_y, cobble_every_z, cobble_chance_z

The 3D element of minetest makes it very different from the game Boulder Dash but it does include most of the elements of Boulder Dash.

Future enhancements include: 1. Adding a setting to specify how often the boulders spawn (scarcity) 2. Hud to display gem count & score.

Boulder Dash: The original game.

Boulder Dash gameplay can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiEVfa1OK_o&t=530s&pp=ygUMYm91bGRlciBkYXNo

The plan is to have all of these "boulder_dig" mods function as stand alone mods so that they can combined in other ways with other mods to work with and create other games.

From [Wikipedia] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boulder_Dash_(video_game) :

Boulder Dash takes place in a series of caves, each of which is laid out as rectangular grid of blocks. The player guides the player character, Rockford, with a joystick or arrow keys. In each cave, Rockford has to collect as many diamonds as are needed and avoid dangers, such as falling rocks. When enough diamonds have been collected, the exit door opens, and going through this exit door completes the cave.

You can play it here: https://boulder-dash.com/online-free-game/

Boulder Dash has a vibrant communty. You can connect with it here: https://www.boulder-dash.nl/

Have fun!