A Little More On Syncing

Chord is a puzzle game, but it's not just about solving spatial puzzles.  It's also about solving temporal puzzles.  Syncing beats is probably the most important mechanic in the game, so I think it's about time I demonstrate how that will work better.

For today, let's consider this simple drum loop by Black Grass:

Remember, this loop is going to be unlocked by a puzzle similar to the ones I described in my previous post.  But how?  First, we need to define a tempo for the loop, and then find all the beat points that we want to look for.  Last time I said that the time it takes for a pulse to travel along a piece is determined by the tempo.  In the image below, the tempo is defined by the black lines.  For the purpose of simplicity, let's say that all the emitters on this puzzle emit quarter note pulses.  That is, in the amount of time that it takes to play from one black line to the next, a pulse will traverse exactly one piece.

I've also added in the beat points we're looking to play.  They're highlighted in green and line up with most of the major beats in the loop.  This is important, because it gives the player the idea that the pulses contain the music that's being played.  Visually, these beat points are represented in Chord by a slight pulsing of the receiver.

Now let's imagine that you've completed a path from an emitter to the receiver on this puzzle.  This path is very simple, and pulses traveling along it reach the receiver on every other beat.  Drawn out like the previous diagrams, the result looks like this:

 

Notice how most of the beats line up, but not all of them.  Some pulses arrive in sync with the beat points, some arrive out of sync with any beat points, and some beat points get completely missed altogether.  When a beat point gets completely missed (like the 3rd and 4th green point), nothing happens.  No music gets played, and the only visual feedback is the usual pulsing of the receiver.  When a pulse hits the receiver out of sync with the beat (like the 3rd red point), a warning sound plays instead of any music, and the receiver flashes red.  When a pulse lines up perfectly with a beat point, however, music starts to play.  The music plays either until the next beat point, or until the next pulse reaches the receiver.  

The above example would produce a loop like this.  It may help to imagine a seek bar going across the above image in time with the loop.

Now let's say you've played around with the path a little more and have created a rhythm of pulses that arrive at the receiver on every quarter note.  Drawn out, that would look something like this:

  

Notice how more pulses are missing their marks.  This puzzle configuration is obviously further away from the correct configuration than the previous one.  As a result, the audio output will be more choppy and difficult to listen to.  Here's an example of the audio this layout would produce.

Now let's say you've figured out the exact right solution to the puzzle.  Maybe you've added a speed doubler piece to get that pesky eighth note.  Maybe you've added some beat-sinks to catch unwanted stray pulses.  In any case, all the pulses should arrive at the receiver lined up with beat points, and no beat points should be left unmatched by a pulse.  Essentially, the solution to this puzzle would look like this from a temporal perspective:

  

Now that the pulses are all in line with the beat points, there shouldn't be any breaks in the music, and no warning sounds.  The completed audio sounds like this, a complete drum loop.

I hope that helps you understand how the syncing mechanic works in Chord.  If you have any questions, leave a comment!