Wall-X guides

In Wall-X you can't throw the ball straight at the target: you draw its path first, then pull the ball back and let go. These guides explain how each tool and obstacle really behaves, what works where, and how to clear stages with less ink.

If you're new, First steps is the easiest place to start. Stuck on a particular stage? Open the page for the obstacle in it; each one covers the rule, the common mistakes and approaches that work. The numbers come straight from the game's physics engine: the play area is 10 metres wide, the ball is 28 centimetres across, and every shot is replayed on the server with the same rules.

Tools

The four things you can draw. Each stage shows which of them are available.

• RampThe easiest way to lift the ball. Balancing angle, length and power.
• SpringChanges direction by bouncing. The angle is everything.
• BoosterSpeeds the ball up in the direction you draw. Direction and length work together.
• WindAn invisible strip that pushes the ball in flight. Steering without touching.

Obstacles

What stands in the ball's way. Levels 1 and 2 introduce a new one every five stages; later Levels mix them all.

• SpikesTouch them and the ball pops and the stage restarts. Your margin is a few centimetres.
• PitsA ball that falls in is lost. Jump it, or cross it at speed.
• PipesTakes a slow ball from the floor and drops it from the ceiling. Speed is everything.
• GatesSlides up and down in front of the hole. When you shoot matters as much as what you draw.
• Wall behind the ballThe target is behind you. Send the ball forward, then bring it back.
• TrianglesTheir slope carries the ball upward. Used well, a free ramp.
• No-draw zonesYou can't draw in the hatched area. The solution has to live outside it.
• Rubber blocksBounces the ball without losing speed. Think of it as a spring you can't move.
• Magnetic floorsSlows a touching ball by 18 m/s every second. Cross fast or don't touch it.
• Sticky floorsThe ball sticks and the shot ends. Your drawings stay, though.
• PistonsExtends from the floor or ceiling and pulls back. You get past by choosing your moment.
• Ceiling targetThe hole is in the ceiling, not the wall. You have to send the ball up through it.
• Black holesPulls in a passing ball and swallows one that gets too close. A slingshot at the right distance.

Themes

Some stages take place in space, the desert, the polar ice or the forest. Themes change how the ball behaves, not just how the stage looks.

• SpaceSix planets, six different gravities. Meteors and black holes.
• DesertDunes slow the ball, cacti pop it. The floor isn't flat any more.
• PolarIce floor, igloos, ice holes and snowstorms. The ball just won't stop.
• ForestTrees block the way, mushrooms bounce, mud swallows.

Strategy

Stars, how Levels unlock, the physics engine in detail and a walkthrough of the first stages.

• Stars and ink3 stars for at most 45% of the ink. Techniques for saving ink.
• The Wall-X physics engineThe game in numbers: dimensions, speeds, materials and how shots are verified on the server.
• Levels and progress10 Levels, 500 stages. Levels unlock with stars; here's how many you need.
• First stepsFor beginners: the first 15 stages and the habits that matter.