Messages

76

Other Announcements / Re: I Have To Be The Worst Roguelike Player

« on: February 28, 2012, 04:57:21 PM »

I think I just bounce around too much. I don't tend to stick with a game too long.

And I'd guess this is likely the culprit behind your problems. Any game that doesn't show its entirety to you from the beginning is going to require some amount of experience before you understand "how to play". (Even games that do this will, although in theory they don't.) One of the more interesting nuances in roguelikes is content depth: that is, features that surprise the player long after they've learned the basics. For some of the more challenging roguelikes, there are really only two ways to get particularly skilled:

1. Read up on the game's literature (spoilers, manual, practical discussions)
2. Get a "feel" for the game by playing it a whole lot, in addition to writing down everything you probably won't remember but seems important

This is technically true of any game: I think it's emphasized in roguelikes because of the concept of permadeath, instilling a sense of "I can do better than that" as you go. Mix in the PCG and, what do you know, you'll have to adapt to every game's uniqueness. It's extremely different from twitch gameplay that comes from FPSs or action platformers, but it's also different from many-steps-ahead gameplay that comes from RTSs or TBSs: one might call it a hybrid of the two, making decisions on the fly while still keeping in mind that you'll have to be prepared for the end-game. It's the kind of things that only comes from intimate game knowledge, and it takes a lot of time and effort to get to that point.

Not that I've beaten any of the major roguelikes, either, but I've only played NetHack and ADOM so far, both of which I got decently far without significant spoilers.

77

Other Announcements / Re: Let's Play... a Bunch of Roguelikes!

« on: February 28, 2012, 03:04:17 PM »

DoomRL 0.9.9.6 is almost out and I was allowed to make a teaser recording, so here it is. There will probably been a thread in the Announcements forum soon, too.

78

Off-topic (Locked) / Re: Hi! I'm new here! A couple questions...

« on: February 23, 2012, 09:24:21 PM »

Now, after about 6 days of working on my Roguelike project, "Slaughterhouse," I feel I am ready to test it on the world. I tried putting my download link up on FaceBook, but I haven't gotten any bites yet, so I figured I'd see if people here are interested.

So, my question is... in what area do I put the download link? Or how else do I make my game available?

Please ignore my original post concerning where to post my completed game. I had made the download available through Mediafire, and that download does not appear to be working. Apparently you need Mediafire Pro to download a folder of files, and I won't ask anyone to do that.

I think Mediafire is an acceptable case if you just zip or otherwise compress the directory beforehand. (It doesn't have to be a "real" compression, just something that combines everything into a single package.) That aside, I tend to use 4shared for people will less-than-fortunate connections and Dropbox for everything else.

If I have any questions about how to do things in my Roguelikes (which I most certainly have plenty of questions), in what area of the forums do I ask said questions?

Questions about developing roguelikes go in the Development forum. This is more relating to general development questions: if you want advice on your roguelike specifically, I'd instead post in the Early Development Feedback forum. That's also a good place to post a link to your game when you manage to get that working.

Also, welcome to the temple!

79

Other Announcements / Let's Play Hack, Slash, Loot

« on: February 21, 2012, 04:02:06 PM »

Movin' on to Hack, Slash, Loot. As far as roguelikes go it feels very straightforward -- definitely in the category of a dungeon diver with its gimmick resting primarily in the interface -- so I might not spend too much time playing it, but the full version might surprise me with its 32 classes. I'm also pretty sure that the quest I'm on currently isn't indicative of typical gameplay (that is, almost entirely walking around and opening chests) so I think it'll have more than enough replayability. (Hope you guys don't mind if I post-update this thread for each new game: just trying to pique interest whenever I start something up.)

Also, I really don't mind playtesting a prototype/alpha game and recording the results. If some devs are sensitive about what they want visible to the public, I am more than willing to accomodate by unlisting or even privitizing it for selective viewing only. (Just make sure you let me know.)

80

Traditional Roguelikes (Turn Based) / Dwarf Fortress 0.34.02 (bugfix version)

« on: February 20, 2012, 06:09:33 PM »

Version number 0.34.02
Released February 18 2012
download link

New stuff
   (*) Generated some default interaction effects for arena use
   (*) SDL version: Can repeat commands/macros - default Ctrl+u <number> <command> (Baughn)
   (*) SDL version: Can toggle TrueType - default F12 (Baughn)

Major bug fixes
   (*) Save corruption/crash from old forts and some other sites corrected
   (*) Fixed conversation crash
   (*) Fixed werewolf crash after aborted world generation
   (*) Stopped books and other artifacts from duplicating in player inventory
   (*) Stopped companions from getting hungry/thirsty during travel
   (*) Correct ambush frequency in adv mode
   (*) Made it possible to remove designation jobs again

Other bug fixes/tweaks
   (*) SDL version: various technical fixes (Baughn)
   (*) Dwarves will stop walking toward cancelled jobs
   (*) Made wagons appear again (Quietust)
   (*) Stopped mouse designation from messing with keyboard designation
   (*) Stopped lye making from using full water buckets (Quietust)
   (*) Made magma/fire safe building materials work properly (Quietust)
   (*) Stopped worshippers of certain beings from mentioning it
   (*) Cleaned up stone menu (Quietust)
   (*) Doors/floodgates display properly after being placed (Quietust)
   (*) Stopped glazed items from having cabochon shapes in the glaze
   (*) Sped up conversation initialization
   (*) Made forge jobs use bar amounts properly (Quietust)
   (*) Made automated fisher/kitchen/etc. settings display properly (Quietust)
   (*) Stopped weird job cancellation numbers for bars/cloth/thread
   (*) Various manual/other grammar tweaks
   (*) Various broken creature tweaks, notably the giant mosquito epidemic should end

I figure even if we're not merging releases, this one is a direct bugfix of the OP so it's served best as part of the 0.34 release.

81

Temple of the Roguelike / Re: Announcement standard?

« on: February 20, 2012, 05:47:54 PM »

So based on comments I think this would be a good starting point:

Game title
Game description (KISS)
Release # (when possible), version #
Release date
Website or download link
Changelog/patchlog (when possible, optional)

Release numbers are unfortunately harder to track after a game's already been updated many times before tracking has begun, but I agree that it's a little more useful to a beginner in terms of determining game maturity.

If we want to go the "all release of a single game in a single thread" route, things should probably be moved around: OP can contain title, desc, and main website, while each release post would give a release/version # and date (and a download link if it's changed since the OP). I would also suggest that the thread's title be updated with a marker (e.g., "(Jan 01 2013)") so that people know when the last release was. (Not really sure how possible that is unless everyone is given editing access to Announcements, not that I see a problem with that besides potential trollspam.) Alternatively we could set up a stickied list of all announcement threads: since each game would only occupy a single thread, all that would be necessary is the game's name and its thread link. (It would only have to be updated when a new game is announced, too, since it's not a lot of trouble to search the list and go to a particular game's thread for updates.)

And, if single-thread is desired, there's the matter of merging the existing separate threads...mostly just a ton of work for the mods I guess. It might not be entirely necessary but it would be a lot cleaner in that forum (currently I see about 30 pages of announcement threads: merging could reduce it to five or so).

82

Temple of the Roguelike / Announcement standard?

« on: February 17, 2012, 07:14:48 PM »

It's great to see new version as they're released, but the organization of them is a little haphazard. In and of themselves this isn't a problem (just check the topics of games you're invested/interested in) but if, for instance, we wanted to improve the frequency of the Roguelike Roundup newspost, having a standard for content in each thread would simplify and expediate collecting all of this information together. Using the roundup as an example, the following information could be included in each announcement:

Game title
Game version / Note that it is a new game
Date of release
Most relevant address (newspost for latest release, main website, etc)

The above example isn't necessarily how to do it: there's almost certainly other significant information to track. That's the main reason for the thread, so that we can actually build a good standard (if one is necessary at all). Right now getter77's the dominant source of these announcements in the first place, so in this context I'm basically asking him if this is reasonable to include. But hey, one day the forum need other people to keep things going, and at that point it would be good to have something to point to so that the announcements can be tracked easily.

But to reiterate, this is only even worth doing if it's decided that things like the roundup are important to keep maintained. There might even be a method for automatically collecting information from forum posts, simplifying the process further.

83

Other Announcements / Let's Play CastlevaniaRL: Serenade of Chaos

« on: February 13, 2012, 08:52:55 PM »

I've been told my inflection is pretty mute. I come from Midwest suburbia (so yeah, United States) and the only time I've been corrected regarding pronunciation is the difference between words like "marry" and "merry". TBH I wouldn't be surprised if my accent comes across as a little headstrong: I try to speak with some degree of confidence and matter-of-factness, but only because I'd otherwise be mumbling the whole time (far earlier videos are evidence of this).

Started up CastlevaniaRL: Serenade of Chaos today. Right now I don't really have time to double up on playthroughs, but if anyone has suggestions for quickies that would only take a video or two to explore sufficiently, those are far more likely to be recorded. Got a huge backlog already.

Also, if you guys have any advice on, say, introducing the games, or talking about their mechanics, or developer quips, I'd like to try mixing in as much of that as possible. Most of the talking I do involves either direct words on the screen or explaining what I'm doing as I do it, but I bet a more interesting approach is to compare and contrast from other roguelikes, or give my opinions on how certain things are handled. If it's a good thing then lemme know!

84

Traditional Roguelikes (Turn Based) / Re: Random Realms released

« on: February 13, 2012, 08:36:57 PM »

Does anyone have problems actually running the game? I'm trying to use a Win7 PC and no matter the compatibility settings I always get a crash before the game starts. (I'll be able to name the exact error when I get back to my gaming computer, I believe it has something to do with a missing file.)

85

Traditional Roguelikes (Turn-based) / Re: Running in Aliensrl

« on: February 10, 2012, 06:57:36 PM »

But with so much open doors and such fast aliens, that is rather hard, especially in lowlight areas.

You can close doors with the 'act' command. (I think it's the spacebar by default?) This alone helps a ton by avoiding unhealthy situations.

In a game like AliensRL, managing your ammo is crucial. You're not guaranteed to get a lot of it wherever you go, and certain towers have more of a given type than others. With this in mind, who you decide to fight is of utmost importance (since you want to get enough points in the weapon skills to actually make good use of them): the biggest bang for your buck are hunters, since they're only slightly more durable than juevenilles. You can usually find a lot of them lurking in the hallways, where they're far easier to kill without getting attacked. Drones and workers (and, when you find them, overseers) aren't worth the trouble due to their really high armor and HP. I find that, if you're low on ammo, you want to descend a little to somewhere you haven't been and search around. You can build up a hefty surplus when things die a lot faster (as a result of improving your skills).

Weapon-wise, I find that sticking with the starting pistol and leveling your sidearm skill to at LEAST advanced ensures you a good killing weapon at a distance. The other two sidearms are much harder to find and only one is actually worth finding, but comes with the trouble of having pretty rare ammo. Pretty much all of the primary weapons are good (for when you find them): combat shotguns have the unfortunate side effect of hitting enemies you don't want to hit (like workers), making a bad situation even worse; SMG is a great way to kill fast but eats through your pistol ammo faster; the other ones are almost always superior. Heavy weapons are...well, really strong, but difficult to manage: they don't matter until end-game and you won't need one to win. Really, if you get in a tough situation, that's the time to throw some grenades.

The rest is just technique, which is summed up quite nicely by Jo's link.

EDIT: I actually have a couple of (successful) video playthroughs recorded on my channel: one by a Scout and one by a Medic. The latter completely surprised me, as I managed it on the first attempt (well, first recorded attempt). Check my LP thread for the link.

86

Other Announcements / Re: Let's Play... a Bunch of Roguelikes!

« on: February 10, 2012, 06:40:06 PM »

The full list of roguelikes I've already played can be found at the side on the Featured Tab. I don't know if there's a limit to that sidebar, though, so I'll also keep that list here (MOVED TO ORIGINAL POST).

I'm also open to the possibility of livestreaming for a game, but I don't know where to start. If anyone has ideas on good streaming sites, what to play, how to play it, etc, reply and we'll try to work something out.

87

Other Announcements / Let's Play... a Bunch of Roguelikes!

« on: February 09, 2012, 08:58:36 PM »

About eight months ago I started a little video series about playing through DoomRL "special" levels (ie, the guaranteed ones). After that I started recording entire runs of the game, at which point my scope snowballed into roguelikes in general. I invite any and all members of the roguelike community to check out my channel and let me know how I'm doing:

Channel, the Roguelike

(For those of you unfamiliar with the new YouTube layout, the Featured tab has all of the more recent updates, while the Videos tab is the best place to look through all videos and playlists; go to Feed -> Comments to leave general messages.)

This is what I've played so far, in alphabetical order:
7DRL Challenge 2012 (playlist)
7DRL Challenge 2013 (playlist)
2012 Annual Roguelike Release Party (playlist)
AliensRL
Alan's Psychedelic Journey
Ancient Domains of Mystery (ADOM)
Angband
Berserk!
Brogue
Cardinal Quest
CastlevaniaRL: Serenade of Chaos
Cataclysm
Caves of Qud
ChessRogue
Delver
Detribus
Diablo
DiabloRL
DoomRL
Dungeonmans
Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup
Dungeon Dash
Dungeon Dashers
Dungeons of Dredmor
Earl Spork
Elona
Epilogue
Frozen Depths
Hack, Slash, Loot
Get Out!!
Golden Age: Endless Dungeon
Hydra Slayer
Infra Arcana
Iter Vehemens ad Necem (IVAN)
MageGuild
Meritous
Notrium
Omega
POWDER
PrincessRL
Random Realms
Red Rogue
Rings of Valor
Rogue
Rogue Planets
Rogue Survivor
Rook
Shoot First
Spelunky
Tales of Maj'eyal
Teleglitch
The Wizard's Lair
Triangle Wizard
UnReal World
ZAPM
Check the Playlists tab for the videos!

If there are any other relevant links besides the game's "main" page (e.g., game's forum, a topic on here, its RogueBasin page, news articles), just tell me what makes sense and I'll be more than happy to include them here as well. Otherwise, if you have any ideas for games I should play (or repeat, if you want me to take another swing at something I've already done) then reply here, or on my channel, or in any of my videos, or PM me, or email me (theuberhunter@gmail.com) and I will do my best to get to it.