We’re giving away free, permanent site licenses of SpaceChem to schools for the next two months, for use in problem solving, programming, chemistry, and engineering courses. If you or any educators you know are interested, please email zach@zachtronicsindustries.com to sign up!

Visit http://www.spacechemthegame.com/education for more information about the program and how SpaceChem works in the classroom.

The SpaceChem sandbox mode is now live on Steam! (along with Japanese and Italian translations) To celebrate, we want you to build the most awesome sandbox pipeline imaginable, and are giving away free physical copies of SpaceChem as a prize.

What should you build? I have no idea. I suspect that some people will be building molecular computers, but that certainly doesn’t mean that’s the only thing we’re looking for. Whatever it is, it should push the limits of the fake-science of reaction engineering and should accomplish something that most SpaceChem players would be able to understand.

Since there’s no official way to export a specific solution to a puzzle (don’t worry – the irony isn’t lost on me) you’ll need to send in your save file, along with a description of what you built and what it accomplishes, for your entry. I’ll capture nice videos of the winners and post them when the contest is over, although I won’t stop you from recording a video yourself and saving me the work.

Questions go in the comments. TL/DR below:

TASK: Build the most awesome SpaceChem sandbox pipeline
SUBMIT: Email your save file and an explanation of your pipeline to zach@zachtronicsindustries.com
RULES: One entry per person; explanations must be in English and under 500 words long
DEADLINE: January 1st, 2012
REWARD: A free physical copy of SpaceChem!

EDIT: Here are the save file locations for SpaceChem:

Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Local Settings\Application Data\Zachtronics Industries\SpaceChem
Windows Vista / 7: C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Zachtronics Industries\SpaceChem
Linux / Mac: ~/.local/share/Zachtronics Industries/SpaceChem

We’re dropping the price of SpaceChem from $15 to $10, with comparative drops for other currencies in markets that don’t use USD. The price of SpaceChem Mobile will remain at $6.

In other news, the update to v1012 (which includes sandbox mode and Japanese and Italian translations) will show up on Steam in the next few days and, after stabilization, will be deployed to other distribution channels (including the Zachtronics Industries store).

Here’s my proposal for the SpaceChem sandbox mode, designed to facilitate design and demonstration of complex and/or obscure reactions:

• placement of up to ten (10!) Sandbox Reactors, which contain 8 bonders + 1 sensor + 1 fuser + 1 splitter,
• placement of unlimited storage tanks,
• use of the four standard defense controls,
• one random input, identical to the random input for custom production puzzles,
• one fixed input, identical to the fixed input for custom production puzzles,
• one programmed input, allowing for the specification of a sequence of molecules that is either generated once or repeats indefinitely,
• one recycler,
• a large, unobstructed background, and
• two output displays, which accept any molecule and display the last accepted molecule on a screen visible on the pipeline.

I received an email from a gentleman seeking to build a computer inside of a custom SpaceChem pipeline assignment. Some of the features he requested were:

• the ability to place more reactors,
• the ability to use the “defense controls”, and
• the ability to place storage tanks.

… then you should go review it in the App Store! It would mean a lot to us, and will really help to get the word out!

Until next Wednesday (10/19) we’re offering free shipping on physical copies of SpaceChem (meaning they cost $15 instead of $20). We don’t have a ton of copies left, so if you want one you should go order one right now!

Shipping for SpaceChem shirts (available from Spreadshirt) will be FREE on October 29th and 30th if you use the coupon code “WITCHINGHOUR”. I’ll try to repost this again on the 29th, but if you’re really serious about not paying the $4.50 shipping cost you should put this on your calendar!

If you’re interested in purchasing the Humble Frozen Synapse Bundle (which also contains SpaceChem, TRAUMA, and a handful of Frozenbyte games) you’ve only got one more day to make your purchase!

The good news is that this update should fix most of the save-corruption bugs that some people have been experiencing. The bad news is that, if your save file is corrupted, you’ll have to uninstall and reinstall the game (thus deleting your save file) in order to get the game running again. The next update (1.0.11d, currently in review) contains more fixes and a feature that will allow us to help people who have lost their save file recover some of their progress.