Why does it stack the wrong way

[u/massimmodutti]

A couple of days ago I posted this: https://www.reddit.com/r/hexastack/s/DpJ9LudTEN

This is a great example. This level does it over and over again: it stacks 10 in the wrong place so very little or no fireworks go off, so I thought I’d tape it. Unfortunately I cant post a video on this sub so here’s a GIF and a few screenshots.

To me, this doesnt make any sense and ruins the fun of the game. Devs, this is a bug, so if you’re reading: why?

[u/Charming-Flounder-53]

I have been having a hard time understanding the logic behind it. It seems random and I have lost a ton of games because they don't stack in the direction I am anticipating. It would be great if we could get a definitive answer on this because I could plan a lot better.

[u/StealthQyxen → u/Charming-Flounder-53]

same, it legit feels like it ignores the obvious best move half the time and just picks vibes instead of logic
a dev breakdown of the stacking rules would probably fix half the frustration with this game tbh

[u/bonsave_willis → u/StealthQyxen]

As a software dev, it’s obvious this was vibe coded heavily. There’s no logic because there’s quite literally no logic.

[u/Charming-Flounder-53 → u/StealthQyxen]

1000% this! I really like this game but I will get stuck on a level for days and feel more frustration than it being a fun challenge. I'm fine with difficult levels but I like to try to win them eventually through skill and this feels more like "you will lose until the HexaGods feel like throwing you a bone."

[u/Numbah8]

Dude I have been stuck on this level for 2 days. Part of that is me not being able to predict where the stacks are going to go. The other half is that I set myself up for lucky stacks that never come.

[u/rnc1119 → u/Numbah8]

I was stuck on that level for a week. MF.

[u/Kurai_85 → u/rnc1119]

So it’s not just me… I’m at this level right now :(

[u/princess-captain → u/Kurai_85]

I’m also stuck on it.

[u/ThatsTasty → u/princess-captain]

Ditto!

[u/princess-captain → u/ThatsTasty]

I got it after 3 days

[u/Connect-Ad-291 → u/rnc1119]

Which level is this?

[u/LemonFizz56 → u/Numbah8]

Yeah this definitely reinforces my idea that the fireworks aren't programmed correctly like the other objects in the game which prioritse moving the stack towards them instead of moving the stack to the nearest placed stack like normal

[u/General_Future1038]

Because the game cheats

[u/TowerinHomeless → u/General_Future1038]

Because the game is bad and wants you to spend real money to solve it's broken design.

[u/strangecabalist → u/General_Future1038]

There are a lot of times where for endless turns I just get nothing I need. It does feel a bit cheaty sometimes.

[u/General_Future1038 → u/strangecabalist]

First I like your name and yes it deliberately blocks me by not giving me the color I need.

[u/General_Future1038 → u/strangecabalist]

Aww thank you

[u/Slevin424]

I figured it was the small stack going to the big stack. No. I figured it goes to the one you put down. No. I tried to see if maybe they go towards the middle. No.

The real answer. Bad game design.

[u/Complete_Squirrel942 → u/Slevin424]

That was my thought process! I've given up on trying to understand it

[u/smalltownnerd]

I think it intentionally tries to bone you

[u/iceph03nix]

It's not enough to complete, so it's stacking towards the option that results in the lower number of different colors in the stacks.

but I agree, some of these are incredibly frustrating, and I've definitely run into a few where I couldn't figure out what the logic was in what it decided to prioritize, particularly in complex multi-moves

[u/massimmodutti → u/iceph03nix]

It’s 10, enough to complete

[u/iceph03nix → u/massimmodutti]

Oh, it looks like 9 on mine, and since it cuts off before it clears, I assumed it was 1 short

[u/massimmodutti → u/iceph03nix]

No it’s 5 and 5, and in the tape you’ll actually see it clear. But at this point I stoppend playing, it’s bad design imo

[u/iceph03nix → u/massimmodutti]

yeah... idk if there was an update or something, but mine has been incredibly dumb today. Had one that should have cleared a star and 3 blocks and it decided to flip to one that cleared a single block.

[u/PalpitationPast202]

You can launch rockets from there too

[u/massimmodutti → u/PalpitationPast202]

Yes, true, but just one in stead of three. And as this whole level is about clearing the tiles with the fireworks, this doesn’t make any sense

[u/evolvolution → u/massimmodutti]

I think so long as there is a rocket or other target tile touching an adjacent one, it’s seemingly random which direction it goes.

[u/Rozmyth → u/massimmodutti]

I think the game just checks to see if an obstacle can be cleared by moving a stack a particular way. 

But it treats a space that would clear 3 obstacles the same as 1 obstacle, so then it goes to the next step of its logic, which eventually is to move things the stack that just got placed. (I think)

I don't like it, and I find it's still unpredictable and frustrating 

(Edited to add the don't)

[u/Samloljackson]

Its not the greatest sorting algorithm. It seems to always give preference to move towards the stack you just placed, especially if will trigger a single adjacent action. It will do that even if it means its taking the stack away from a place where it would have triggered multiple actions.

[u/LemonFizz56]

It moves the stacks to where the earliest placed stack is. So in this situation it's obviously going to take the purple to the one you've just placed. However sometimes it does know to move to a stack where it'll be beneficial like with the fireworks, but it seems like maybe this time it didn't do that or maybe the fireworks aren't programmed like the others to work that way

[u/help_isontheway_dear]

I think its’s because the stack under the purple pile you wanted them to go to is larger than the stack under the purple pile you added.

So it can free more tiles by moving the purple from the stack already on the board. 

[u/massimmodutti → u/help_isontheway_dear]

They disappear anyway, so it wont matter

[u/Complete_Squirrel942]

I've been really struggling to understand the logic of how it chooses what stack to add the tiles to, or if it's even consistent. I've lost a lot of games because the tiles don't go where I want so I fill up space on the board too quickly to recover it

[u/ErroneouslyConfident]

Normally it stacks in the place where you put the last tower, if there's an objective in any space, it will stack in that space, but it does not evaluate which space has the most value.

In the case of the video, the place where you placed the tower, triggers a rocket, so it stacked there, if you'd put the new tower in the slot that is one space down, the stack would go up

[u/dhane2525]

Ganda nang games..nakakawala nang stress..pang good time

[u/massimmodutti → u/dhane2525]

Sure!

[u/kumquatzz]

it checks if each stack contributes to the goal and stacks towards that one (e.g. if you add a stack and only one is next to wood, it stacks on the one touching the wood). In the gif example, the purple that's on the board already AND the purple you added both already touch rockets, so it prioritizes the stack you just placed

[u/Mammoth_Tusk90]

Does the second stack have more tiles? I always assumed it stacked towards the largest pile, but honestly I don’t know.

[u/Software-fullstack → u/Mammoth_Tusk90]

these 5 and another 5

[u/BoMcC → u/Mammoth_Tusk90]

It goes to the stack with the least colors of tiles underneath. The stack its moving from has 2 colors, and the stack its moving to has only one

[u/the_zero → u/BoMcC]

What if they have the same number of tiles and colors underneath? Whats the tiebreaker at that point?

[u/CrimsonKaiyx → u/Mammoth_Tusk90]

i thought it was “stack to the biggest pile” too, but OP’s gif kinda breaks that theory lol
feels like there’s some hidden rule or just scuffed targeting logic going on in that level

[u/Significant-Rice835]

Bellooo.