Messages

46

Traditional Roguelikes (Turn Based) / Re: Brogue-AUDIO (1.7.4 update) -- NEW: Linux binary

« on: July 19, 2016, 06:33:25 PM »

bumping this as well. how do you enable Tiles ?

Oryx tiles version with audio support was a separate build on its own. I've taken it offline as there were bugs that I couldn't be bothered fixing. I think regular Brogue ACSII visuals actually look better than the tiles. I recommend giving it some time getting used to and it will grow on you.

47

Traditional Roguelikes (Turn Based) / Re: Advanced Super Turbo Rogue Plus

« on: July 18, 2016, 08:45:44 AM »

Version 02 is out, first post updated with the download link. It's pretty much complete and fully playable.

48

Traditional Roguelikes (Turn Based) / Re: Advanced Super Turbo Rogue Plus

« on: July 18, 2016, 08:13:49 AM »

I fix all the bugs I can find.  I'm also trying to improve Windows support and modernize the build system.  Code rewrites are done to make compilers complain less.  Readability and elegance are hopeless causes for a codebase created when K&R C, 1st Edition was hot off the presses.

Good on you. Did you know the code has implemented some animations which can not be seen due to fast updates? 30 years ago with slow terminals those animations were probably ok, but today to be seen they need a little sleep between screen updates. Let me know if you want to enable them and I'll point where they are in the source code.

By the way, I found a free server: alwaysdata.com. The resources available for free accounts are minimal and the difference in speed between that and $20 per month one is quite noticeable, but still it's not bad. Check it out:

ssh rodney@185.31.40.85
password: yendor


Although it doesn't really bother me, I think I have solved security issue with this script in bash_profile:

Code: [Select]

trap "" SIGINT
trap "" SIGTSTP
while [ $? -ne 9 ]; do
./rogue5
done
logout

Basically it logs you directly into the game and at the end it loops back and starts the game all over, until either  client closes connection or saves the game, in which case the game exits with code 9 and the script logs out.

49

Traditional Roguelikes (Turn Based) / Re: Advanced Super Turbo Rogue Plus

« on: July 16, 2016, 05:47:12 PM »

The RRP did release version 5.4.5, sometime in 2008 I think.  I have not changed any version numbers.

I've made some source updates in the last few months.  See this list for details.

5.4.5 is not with all the other versions on their sourceforge account, for some reason. So I guess you took Rogue restoration (preservation) upon yourself. Do you have any plans what to do with it beside hosting SSH? Fixing bugs, or some other kind of code re-writes to make it more readable and elegant perhaps?

50

Traditional Roguelikes (Turn Based) / Re: Advanced Super Turbo Rogue Plus

« on: July 16, 2016, 01:50:05 PM »

Elwin, have you noticed the Rogue restoration project web-site is down? Their last version was 5.4.2, the version I got from your site says 5.4.5. Is this your work? Also, have you been updating source code recently?

51

Classic Roguelikes / Re: Rogue - let's beat it

« on: July 16, 2016, 12:27:56 AM »

What should I play next? Are any of the other Rogues on your site good?  They look a lot more complicated.

LazyCat - where do I play Brogue?

You should play Brogue, definitively. In my opinion it is by far the best, by far! Others don't even compare if you ask me, and it is the most similar to original Rogue. It's really kind of a sequel, Rogue 2. It's streamlined and well balanced, everything has a purpose and usually multiple ways in which to be used. Simple elements that combine in versatile ways, so often times what seems to be inescapable situation can actually be overcome by inventive and out of the box kind of thinking. For example, traps and other hazards that most times should be avoided can under circumstances be used to you advantage. People who play it for years still are coming up with new trick and things to do they have not thought of before. Read the forum to find out more, but perhaps it's better you don't and go discover things on your own.

https://sites.google.com/site/broguegame/

Here is my mod that adds music and sound effects:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/brogueaudio/


If you want to change the settings I'd highly recommend AliensRL.
http://alien.chaosforge.org/downloads

These are only two I play and I've tried many. It's not just how good they are, but also how much all the others suck. Heh! Of course that's just my opinion and I hope it does not offend anyone.  But since you like Rogue, I think it's possible we have somewhat similar taste and that you will like these two as well.

52

Classic Roguelikes / Re: Rogue - let's beat it

« on: July 16, 2016, 12:03:02 AM »

I also hate to make anything easier because then you've just cheapened the victory - yours would not match up to previous victors. So any improvements I can think of would likely be gameplay mechanics-related without altering the difficulty level

I agree with you there.  Especially now that we know it can be done.

Let's say the whole dungeon is generated at the beginning and the game knows in advance all the items that will be in there. So now we have dungeon A where you get 2hand-sword on the first floor, and dungeon B where there is not one at all.

Dungeon A is easier than B, but does that make your victory in dungeon A cheap?

Now, make the dungeon B compensates with few extra enchant scrolls. Yes, you could say that kind of mechanics would overall make the game easier, but I think that's a wrong way to look at it, and it would really make it just more balanced.

53

Classic Roguelikes / Re: Rogue - let's beat it

« on: July 15, 2016, 11:37:00 PM »

I think something wrong must have happened to you.

Ah yes, I was drinking it too far in advance, and it expires very quickly in maybe 10 turns or so.

54

Classic Roguelikes / Re: Rogue - let's beat it

« on: July 15, 2016, 10:10:09 PM »

No, I have never enchanted an arrow.

But it's not an arrow, it's arrows, you enchant them all. I doubt it, but it might actually be worth it under some circumstance. In any case, making enchanted arrows a viable tactical option is kind of improvement I think the game would benefit from. Let me know if you think of something that would expand tactical/strategy aspect of the game, or would otherwise make it more interesting.

55

Classic Roguelikes / Re: Rogue - let's beat it

« on: July 15, 2016, 09:50:47 PM »

Yes, the potion of haste self works wonders. It just doesn't last very long. What I don't understand is when I use a scroll of monster confusion, confuse a monster, but then he is not at all confused and continues to chase me. I've seen this Trolls mostly.

How do you know it works? When I am myself hasted I see monsters moving one tile when I move one tile, and when I hit them, they hit me in the same turn. On the other hand, when monsters are hasted with the wand of haste they move two tiles when I move one, and they hit me two times in one turn.

56

Classic Roguelikes / Re: Rogue - let's beat it

« on: July 15, 2016, 07:28:33 PM »

So after I wrote that response...

Congratulations! I've done it only once, and that was with save scumming. So now that you've beaten it, do you think you will still continue playing? I guess not as much as before, but if you are looking for more of the same challenge let me recommend Brogue to you.

57

Classic Roguelikes / Re: Rogue - let's beat it

« on: July 15, 2016, 07:22:24 PM »

Like a lot of roguelike players, I am captivated by the concept of random. I love the difficulty level and how whenever someone actually beats Rogue it is likely the biggest accomplishment in their gaming career.  I also have this ideal of maximizing every run I make, even if that run has no chance at victory. I rarely live up to this, but when I feel I have done the best I can do with the hand I was dealt, I find it satisfying despite technically being a loss.

Maximizing every run. That's interesting aspect of replayability. I haven't really thought of it like that before. It's a very good point, and I see now that's why hi-score table is important part of the game.

But, don't you think it's unfair, that something is wrong with the game balance, when you really don't have even a theoretical chance to beat the game without 2hand-sword? I think if there is no good weapons in the dungeon the game should compensate by providing more enchant weapon scrolls. I think that's what "game-balance" ultimately needs to provide, to decrease the impact of random factors and make separate runs have similar chance for victory.
 
By the way, have you ever tried enchanting arrows?

I also like how fast you can play a game, especially in version 5, without taking away from the skill of the game.

Then you will like Rogue+ with mouse support. I think with it the same game can be played in half the time than regular keyboard version even with its shortcuts. I'll upload new, now mostly complete, version later today.

I hesitate to say what I do not like or what changes I would make because I know so many people have already identified and changed these things in creating their own roguelikes, and I know more intelligent answers would come out of brainstorming with other gamers.

Having played it that much I think it is you who have the best perspective and can give the most valuable opinion about it. For example, don't you think the blindness effect takes too long? It's a good concept for a difficulty factor, but it's also annoying, and I think its long duration takes away from enjoyment, more than it contributes to the difficulty as a game mechanics.

By the way, have you noticed if the potion of haste actually works?

My biggest disadvantage is just plain not understanding the mechanics of the game. I have never played D&D or anything similar. I have been to the vade-mecum and honestly do not understand how stuff works.

The game is made opaque like that on purpose. You can see how vague potions/scrolls effects are. You really are not supposed to know how everything works, but rather get a feel for it. Learn bit by bit, and try to do better in every next run. Still, showing exactly how much HP monsters loose when you hit them is a good idea, and I don't think it would take away anything from the game.

58

Classic Roguelikes / Re: Rogue - let's beat it

« on: July 14, 2016, 11:36:30 PM »

I got to experience level 11 for the first time since May 15.  That run I died on Floor 18 to a Medusa. I was very fortunate this run to only run into the one Medusa and to find stairs somewhat easily after Floor 16.

Playing it for more than a year in a row, huh? Every week, every day? I like your passion, and I'd  like to hear from you what is it you like about the game, what do you not like, and what changes do you think would make it even better game.

59

Traditional Roguelikes (Turn Based) / Re: Advanced Super Turbo Rogue Plus

« on: July 14, 2016, 03:28:53 AM »

It runs as its own service.  There's a Makefile that installs everything, and then you can start it with systemctl.  It uses NodeJS, and it also needs a dgamelaunch installation.

I was struggling to compile dgamelaunch whole afternoon and at the end managed only to compile an older version. But then when I saw how long and complicated instructions to set it up look I finally gave up. I'll leave sever side of things for some other time and get back to making the game first.

Speaking of which, is there anything you would like to change about the game? I don't want to be adding anything new, unless it's really really cool, and that it combines with existing mechanics and adds to the gameplay. Changes I have in mind are more along the lines of making already existing elements more elegant. For example, Mac version doesn't have different 'identify' scrolls for different items, just one type of identify scroll which can identify any kind of item. Also, the difficulty. I don't like that it depends on luck so much, I think there should be at least a theoretical chance, however small, to beat the game every time. Any ideas?

60

Traditional Roguelikes (Turn Based) / Re: Advanced Super Turbo Rogue Plus

« on: July 13, 2016, 03:09:07 AM »

What kind of service do I need to be running in order to host the browser interface?

You are welcome to put this up on your server if you like. I will not be using my server as soon as $20 get used up, which seems it will be in a less than month. Good host, great user interface, everything is easy to set up, the game runs fast, but it's expensive and IP gets dynamically allocated every time the server re-starts. What is your provider, how much does it cost? Do you pay extra to have static IP?

Anyhow, I was thinking about tournaments. It should not be too hard to make some kind of script to automatically run tournaments every weekend, for example, or every day even. But for it to be more interesting everyone should be playing in the same dungeon, with same items, by having random numbers generated from the same seed, like Brogue does it. How does that sound?

By the way, I appreciate your help. Thanks.