Four-dimensional game
Use the arrow keys to move. Click to change the map.- Try the 4D demo (3D views) — works in WebGL-enabled browsers
- 4D demo (2D maps) — works in all browsers (menu button in lower-right corner explains key shortcuts)
Differences between the 3D views (WebGL) and 2D views
The WebGL version displays in shaded/textured 3D. It also has a stereoscopic perspective: in effect, a stereoscopic 4D game. (An easy way to cross your eyes is to focus at your fingertip halfway between your eyes and the screen, then move your finger until the map appears to be floating in 3D on your fingertip.)
The WebGL version lacks several features:
- you can only change the map in the big view
- it does not show views into the unseen dimensions. To see into the unseen dimension, replace one of the seen dimensions (called "open" in the menu). The 2D-maps demo will show maps including the unseen dimension along the bottom of the screen.
Learning the demo
Concentrate on learning three dimensions at first. The top two maps show two views of your current three-dimensional space: the side view and the top view. The floor is brown, the walls are reddish, and the cut-away of the rock is grey.- Objects farther away appear pale. Pits (in the top view) appear white, and passageways leading away from the screen (in the side view) appear white.
- Use the arrow keys (or numeric keypad) to move horizontally. Don't use the mouse until you know what you're doing (the mouse is only used to modify the map). If you get stuck, or change the map accidentally, use the [menu] button to: [overwrite map code] > [load the default map].
- Use '1' and '3' on the numeric keypad (or the smaller turn buttons) to turn left or right. This is especially useful for re-orienting the side view to see different slices of the map.
- The 't' key will teleport you to a position. Teleport to "0,0,0,0,t0" (without the quotes) to return to the starting position.
- Try to find: the stairway that leads to the ledge above the starting room (if you figure out how to jump [check the menu] you can get to the top of the column from the ledge); the little ring-shaped sunked room; the sunken room with ladders (use '*' and '.' to navigate ladders); the pyramid-shaped room; and farther away, the bridge across the chasm (be careful not to fall into the chasm: there is no way to get out of it if you limit yourself to three dimensions)
screenshot of the non-3D (2D-maps) version
Exploring in four dimensions
Once you are used to navigating in 3 dimensions, you're ready to go into 4 dimension.- The bottom two sets of views show alternate 3D slices of the 4D world. By glancing at them as you walk around in your starting 3 dimensions, you can see some odd spaces and rooms that branch off of your starting dimensions.
- By using the large rotation buttons, or the '7' and '9' or 'shift-7' and 'shift-9' keys, you can replace the top view with some other perspective. You'll still see only 3 dimensions at a time in your main views (the larger side and top views at the top of the screen), but you can choose which 3 out of the 4 dimension you currently see.
- Be aware that turning through 4D space may cause 3D objects to appear to be reversed. This is similar to flipping over a 2D surface (such as a thin paper with magic marker writing) in a 3D world and seeing the words in reverse from the opposite side. Once you're aware of it, it's easy to get used to.
- Thus, one of the horizontal dimensions is called the "unseen dimension." When you start at "0,0,0,0,t0" the unseen dimension is red. If you change your orientation to "0,0,0,0,t21" the unseen dimension is now blue.
- Pressing '-' or '+' will step you through the unseen dimension. This can help you imagine the 4D space as being a sequence of 3D spaces. When you're learning to think in 4D, this can sometimes be less confusing that rotating your view into the unseen dimension.
- Try discovering the room with columns, paintings, and the long red carpet that's just 3 steps in the negative red direction from the origin (teleport example: "0,0,0,-3,t22").
- Try discovering the large cavern that looks like a flattened chasm in the green dimension. It's located at the green=-39 slice of the world.
- Try finding the spiral staircase near the starting room that ends with a long fall back towards the starting room.
- Try finding the second passage that leads from the starting room to the pyramid room. From this passage, try finding the 5x5x5x5 room with the slope. Hint: the carpet trick will get you here every time.
