Super X Chess releases today on Steam

The game seems to turn the long standing classic game into something different. Your thoughts?

https://store.steampowered.com/app/814990/Super_X_Chess/

Hi! Yes, I'm the designer and developer. Yes, it was made using Visual Studio + Unity 3D + C# + Blender + Photoshop. I agree about the 3d scene having less clarity than 2d to think chess in general. At the same time I'm very happy with my 3d scene and the ability to think chess in it, I've used few tricks in it to achieve that.

When I came up with this variant, I actually went to search if somebody has thought about it before me and at the time the only similar variant I found out had the un-merge mechanic from a site which lists chessvariants. https://www.chessvariants.com/  For some reason I never thought about that seriously. I just feel like the merging mechanic has to have heavy drawbacks too and one of those drawbacks is that you can't cancel it and those drawbacks are what makes the decision making interesting! And I actually discovered later on that there was chess game called chessplus, which had the same basic idea. https://chessplus.com/ But I didn't like their other rules. For example this sounds too wild and unbalanced to me: Gain extra queens quickly by moving a ‘merged’ piece containing a pawn to the far end of the board, with 3 extra queens included for a knockout finish. And I didn't like the unmerge idea either, chessplus had that.

Yes, I've been afraid of getting offended. But I'm also stubborn and confident with my own views!   Also I come from Finland and it's kind of the baseline of our culture that people can tell more what they think than in I guess any other cultures and sometimes that also causes hurt feelings, but Finnish people also know how to be silent vey well.

Haha, I don't have any better description of the rules than reading the steam page's "rules" and then after that watching the second video (which is the in-game tutorial). Actually that's something I should probably do, to make all the rules in written form. Thanks for making me understand this!

Knight + Knight = Knight that can jump to any square 2 squares away from it.

Rook + Rook = Rook that can also capture pieces that share a file or rank, if it can move to a square adjacent.

But what about Bishop + Bishop? Assuming there's underpromotion, this piece combination would be possible even if it's at a very late stage in the game.

I like it, and I'll definitely pick it up when I get the chance!

Glad to hear! Yes, underpromotion is possible and yes, Bishop + Bishop can occur, but it's very theoretical possibility. I sure hope that the game won't crash.

So, if that's your 2 cents, I start to wonder what is your 50 cents? xD

Yeah, I read quickly through it all now. Generally it feels like your exited about similar variant types and that's close to your dream chess variant. I definitely want to start to do new game and it probably won't be about chess the next one, because I got some other cool ideas. Also modifying any logics aftrewards when you've got it all working is such a pain in the butt, that I don't feel like it unless it's something I see as a holy grail of perfection. And actually I already got this feeling in my own head that I managed to find a perfect chess variant. If that is illusionary feeling (as those kind of feelings often are), it would be very sad to break it. So thinking this is in that sense is a bit dangerous, but on the other hand I've always thought that it's more important to have sad truth than live in happy lies. But right now my mental energies are drained out and I don't feel like changing a thing on anything fundamental on it. Still appreciating your output and excitement. I get you more detailed thoughts on the things what you actually said later, it could take some days.

The game has now actually better graphics thanks to my friend! I gotta do new marketing material now.

In the end, I want to think that through all the 'evil' and 'bad' experiences, you can master whatever happens in your life. You can become master of your own negativity, you can become master of coping with rejection. You have to believe in that and when things go wrong, take everything as a learning experience. I'm very certain that I'll acheive great things in my life or die trying. That is the attitude for healthy and happy life. Take that attitude with you if you don't have it already.

I'll start to go through what you said now. The game has 3 play modes and in one of those the starting position is fischer-random and on another it's the normal starting position. Third mode is just normal chess. My general feel is that fischer-random doesn't make it too chaotic, or then I just enjoy the chaos.

When it comes to ideas concerning giving pieces chance to merge, but not pawns, what you pointed out there about pawn structures and pieces being able to go through with merge-unmerge mechanics, yes I think that also produces interesting variant, very complex variant and flexible variant. That could be a way to go.  I generally tend to like elegant and simple rules , occams razor, don't add unnecessary complexity, and I feel like not being able to merge with pawns but being able to merge with pieces at least ruins the elegant feel for simple rules. I like simple rules that are easy to learn. Or perhaps it's just that I like simple logic.

The example of unmerge mechanic you gave certainly tells me that splitting can generate interesting play. Again, it's just a version of the game which generates more complexity. More options. But at the same time it makes things a little bit less simple. I feel it's not necessary, because I value the tradeoffs and possible negative consequences in addition to the positive ones highly when it comes to merging. That is what creates the beautiful feel in my mind to the game, that it has balance. One of those tradeoffs is then that you can't unmerge the pieces anymore.

So overall I feel like I value more logic, simplicity and especially balance through tradeoffs above the added complexity, flexibility and interesting plays that emerge from what you suggest.

I was impressed when you at first figured out that I'm the developer and the tools how the game was made. Then you've told me about some issues in your life. Showed me what's your 2 cents of ideas. It all points out to me that you are creative, sensitive and divergent thinker. And the chess game you've suggested to me would appeal to this kind of person very well too, it's kind of extension of what you are, your dream chess.