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If you're interested, you can read the story of TETRHEX.

TETRHEX is a Tetris-like or Columns-like game being played on a board with hexagonal cells. It was initially shareware, but since 2015-05-03, I have redistributed it under the GNU General Public License version 3 or later. Contrary to most games, the user can adapt the game according to his own preferences, either by modifying existing rules or creating his own rules (so that you don't have one game, but in fact several games), or by adding routines written by himself or anyone else.

The current version of TETRHEX runs on the Atari Falcon 030 with any kind of color screen (VGA or RGB), and maybe on other Atari computers (or clones), having:

• a 680x0 processor with x ≥ 2,
• a graphic mode 256 colors ≥ 640 × 480 Falcon compatible (interlaced planes),
• a TOS/GEM compatible operating system.

It is possible to use an emulator, but you will probably need the original Falcon TOS image (EmuTOS is known to have problems).

You can read the main features of the current version of TETRHEX (1.41), the existing rules and modules, and what the future versions could have contained.

The latest version: tetrhex.zip. This is now the complete version, distributed with the source.

You can also read the history and get the original demo version tetrdemo.zip (which should now be useless since you can get the complete version).

Main Features

• You can modify existing rule files and create your own rules in a TETRHEX-specific language. 3 rules are provided with TETRHEX: Tetrhex, Hexcolumns and Tet'light.
• Special pieces, that make the game more interesting.
• TETRHEX uses GEM functions, except for some displays. Therefore it is compatible with many system programs (in the AUTO folder): NVDI, SpeedoGDOS, Screen Blaster card, Outside, MiNT/MultiTOS, etc.
• TETRHEX can display outline fonts if SpeedoGDOS or NVDI 3 is active. You can choose the fonts. TETRHEX automatically selects the most suitable font height, according to the font and the text to display.
• Many options; configuration on 2 levels as Unix-like options: permanent (in a file) and at the start.
• You can play on the whole screen or in a GEM window (AES 4.1 is supported: the window can be iconified).
• List of languages to use in order of preference, particularly useful because of the help in rule files. By default, the language of the system is preferably used.
• The board is hexagonal and has a variable size (4 different sizes).
• TETRHEX can save up to 255 scores for each rule and each size of the hexagonal board.
• You can give a group of relocatable routines (grouped in message files, also called modules) enabling TETRHEX to communicate with the outside. Possible applications (some routines don't exist yet): playing with the Joypad (instead of the keyboard) or even playing using your voice (thanks to the DSP), having .MOD modules played in background at given moments, putting images at the background, making the computer play, rule file debuggers, etc.
• Possible display of the date and/or the time (I've added this option because I need it!).

Existing Rules

Note: the source of each rule is provided with the registered version, as well as the compiler. Thus it is very easy to modify the rules.

Tetrhex

Kind of hexagonal Tetris. The pieces are composed of 4 hexagons. You have to fill lines (centred V-shaped), but you can also destroy all the hexagons with pieces containing bombs when you have enough bomb points, which is very useful when there are few lines left. This allows to take risks and increases the strategic interest of the game.

Tet'light

Easier version of Tetrhex, but less interesting.

Hexcolumns

Kind of hexagonal Columns, with 5 kinds of special hexagons.

Existing Modules

The modules are provided only with the registered version.

Note: the partially commented assembly sources are provided; they are in the Assemble format (but it is easy to port them for another assembler).

MSG_TEST

Test module; useless except if you want to write your own modules (it can be used as an example).

MINI_DBG

Rule file mini-debugger.

IMAGE

Display Sun Raster 24-bit images at the background.

JOYPAD

Play with a joypad. Thanks to Redwood, who have lent me a joypad for a few days so that I could test and debug this module.

The Future...

Here's what could be written for the version 1 (unfortunately, I don't have enough free time to add new features to this version):

• Module(s) allowing to record one's games and to watch them later. Useful to show the others some tricks, and to see one's errors again.
• Module allowing to save a game and to resume it later (in this case, the score won't be saved).
• Small vocal recogition using the DSP.

Last updated: 2003-06-18, with small update on 2015-05-03.