Messages

76

Programming / Re: whats a good number to test map generation?

« on: March 19, 2009, 05:01:14 PM »

If you are messing with me: Ok, got it yeah... guess it isnt the smartest question ever

If you are not I must ask: Anything special about that number that I am not getting?

77

Programming / whats a good number to test map generation?

« on: March 19, 2009, 04:27:09 PM »

I finally got something like a dungeon map generator to work, but i dont really trust it.

So i just ordered it to make 1000 maps, and it did, which made me a little more confident, but i wonder if 1000 is good enough.

So i wonder if i should ask the devs here what they consider a good number to test the reliability of a map generator.
Oh, i guess i just did

78

Programming / Re: Prospector

« on: March 16, 2009, 03:11:14 PM »

... guess i am going to find a nasty game breaking bug in about 5 minutes .... ah well, here is the current state of my little game:

http://code.google.com/p/rlprospector/

and here is the download:
http://rlprospector.googlecode.com/files/prospector0.1.2.zip

79

Programming / Re: Prospector

« on: March 07, 2009, 10:39:33 AM »

yap, those 4 black spaces in the lower left hand corner...  had me puzzled for quite a while. (much like those darn bleep spawning outsider their bleep) thx. but they should be gone now.

As for the asphyxication: gravity affects your oxygen rate now. On 2g+ planets it gets pretty harsh.
At least running out of oxygen kills you now: In the last version it didnt. the buffer overflow did.

Small caverns: they are very hard to find. as you might have noticed a cave entry isnt a feature you are going to recognize from orbit. But the few i tested and left alive i didnt leave without a 10k cr bounty. Just ask yourself: (I'll put this white on white for spoilery reasons)

what would kirk do if he had nothing but a phaser and faced a wall out of lose rock? (or soft rock, or rock....)

for cave exploration i recommend laser guns or disintegrators, and a science officer of at least level 4.

80

Programming / Re: Prospector

« on: March 06, 2009, 09:25:57 PM »

http://rlprospector.googlecode.com/files/prospector0.1.1.zip

Here is a version where the bug you mentioned has been squished (what have i been thinking when i wrote that?) and where you can die above, on, *and* below ground!

As for *peep* he doesnt respaw anymore. Unfortunately my monsters are terribly dumb, cant really make them give out rewards ... yet, or stay dead. guess i gotta rewrite that part in the near future.

also scanning has recieved a slight nerf, and a few display oddities are slightly less odd.

In the caves you might notice that the *beep* have a tendency to spawn outside their *beep*. They shouldnt do that, and to be honest i have no idea why they do that. Its not the end of the world that they do but i shall be looking into it.

Also let me say: Thank you curseman & ido for your feedback! Very helpful and boosting my motivation!

Next big stop: if you attack enough merchants the stations get hostile and the pirates friendly! ... and smarter monsters.

81

Programming / Re: Prospector

« on: March 05, 2009, 11:10:12 PM »

The way this works atm is that your science officer makes a roll for every tile. If he makes the roll it gets revealed (if it wasnt before) and so on.

So: to get those last few tiles the chances actually do get smaller (needs to make roll on the correct tile) Also to get the good stuff you need to land anyway. Humm... interesting observation... maybe it *does* deserve a slight nerfing indeed... thx

And just because i am so happy this works, and i want to show off a little:

A small step for roguelikes, but a big step for prospector:

Dungeons!
Still need to work out a few bugs, but with the next release you can asphyxicate in airless caverns too!

82

Programming / Re: Alphabit Rogue

« on: March 05, 2009, 10:45:37 AM »

I would love to help out with the testing!

83

Programming / Re: Prospector

« on: March 04, 2009, 03:08:53 PM »

No i am not that guy. there is a similiar idea around? interesting! Cant really say where the idea jumped at me from, it just was kinda there suddenly.
Though i guess most of the game elements are true and tried. (I would say elite & starcontrol might claim this is the result of a drunken night one of their more distant relatives had and really wouldnt wanna talk about

84

Programming / Re: Prospector

« on: March 04, 2009, 10:50:55 AM »

Of course sir!
*strolls off to make some screenshots*
*strolls back*

Your job is to explore an uncharted region of space. you get paid for mapping planets, and data on lifeforms and resources. You can also trade goods between space stations. There is a handfull of upgrades for your ship and equipment for your awayteam, around 120 planets in 30 solar systems.
10 of the planets are unique, ranging from "candystore where everything is free" to "land and enjoy being dinner".

Screenshots:
Explore strange new worlds:
http://i39.tinypic.com/27yqz9z.jpg
Fight new lifeforms:
http://i41.tinypic.com/67pf9i.jpg
Fight the environment:
http://i44.tinypic.com/3130y74.jpg
Fight pirates
http://i39.tinypic.com/6qbr82.jpg

And get rich while doing it!
As curseman put it so nicely: its still far from being incomplete, but i am working on that

85

Programming / Re: Prospector

« on: March 04, 2009, 08:37:40 AM »

Well, congratulations!
tststs... adapting body armor and a teleportation device and you let that get dusty while hauling cargo?
And thank you very much for the feedback!

Trading is the way of least resistance? You found profitable traderoutes? hmm.... interesting. I thought the pirates were enough to prevent the first, and the merchants were messing enough with supply to prevent the second. Not to mention that a fully loaded heavy cruiser with 4 extra cargo pods hauls 20% of max possible inventory of a station and should mess up his own prices pretty quick.

Or have you been trading mainly between station and colony? I was wondering if i should let the merchants fly there too after it has been discovered. If *that* was the trade route mentioned i know now i should.

86

Programming / Re: Prospector

« on: March 04, 2009, 03:56:13 AM »

Glad you like it curseman!

But i must say that i am a bit suprised about your hard to figure out comment. Hmm... only thing i can think of is that "administrators office" might get a clearer "Get money here" label, or that the extra cargo pods in the weapons menu are a bit well hidden. Hmm... the landing party "HP" display?
I mean, it tells you what keys to press (most of the time), so i guess it can't be that

... could you be a bit more specific? I can work on that then.

87

Programming / Prospector

« on: March 03, 2009, 11:20:21 PM »

lacks content? yes
lacks polish? yes
interesting? well... to me it is!

But i think its save to say that it has made quite some progress over the past weeks, so if you want to give it a(nother) try:

http://rlprospector.googlecode.com/files/prospector0.1.0.zip

Feedback and bugreports are of course most welcome!

88

Programming / Re: Roguelike Game Engines or Developer Wanted.

« on: March 02, 2009, 10:49:17 PM »

What i meant is that random map generation is one of the bigger hurdles in developing a roguelike.

I must confess that i never spent much time looking at the differences between 1st and 2nd (and never allowed that fancy skills and kits stuff anyway) but ...

One example: the 6 attributes. we obviously need 6 variables, from 3 to 18 to store them, right? no. there is strength 18/01 to 18/00. The other 5 dont have that, so we need 5 variables +1. Ok, next boni and mali. Each stat has its own table, so we need 6 tables again to store them. Lets move on to spells: Sleep. IIRC it puts 2d8 creatures to sleep, max 4+1 and starts with lowest. So we need to code a routine that sets aside the monsters that can be affected. The only other spell that works similiar off the top of my head would be death. yet it works only similiar, not the same. so we need a new routine for that one. And one for the power words. with fairie fire again an almost but not quite the same method is used to determine targets. Dragon Breath works different than any other firebreath, or a potion of firebreath. Thieves can hide in shadows, halflings can hide in shadows, but each works differently etc.etc.

At the table its nothing to write home about, but in a CRPG each method would need its own routine, for an almost indistinguishable effect.

Actually if you look at the AD&D CRPGs they in fact often improvised a little with the spell effects.

As rule system for a CRPG or roguelike its just not an ideal choice because there are too many rules and too little system. Its not impossible or stupid to try, its just .. a bit on the tedious side to implement  faithfully.

89

Programming / Re: Roguelike Game Engines or Developer Wanted.

« on: March 02, 2009, 07:04:26 PM »

as you confess you are neither a roguelike afficionado nor a programmer.
Let me therefore tell you that the retro look of the roguelike is decieving!

Graphics are easy: in a roguelike its print x, in a graphical game its put x. thats the only difference in the code there.

Random levels are not: It basically means that you need to program something that can compete wit a human level designer. And there are people out there who can make a living out of designing levels.

frankly there is *a lot* under hood in your average roguelike, and except for the basic stuff (there are librarys for that) it doesnt lend itself well to generalization.

2nd straight AD&D.
Dont get me wrong, i love 2nd ed and wouldnt touch 3rd ed with an 11 foot pole. But there are 2 reasons why it doesnt lend itself well for a computer game in general, and a roguelike in particular.

1) Exceptions, exceptions, exceptions to each and every rule.
2) its party oriented. single L1 wizard going adventuring? In a roguelike? (Go to dungeon, cast magic missile, run away, get out, rest 24 hours, repeat)

If you are mainly interested in AD & D check out this site and forgotten realms unlimited adventures:
http://frua.rosedragon.org/modulelist/classic.php

90

Traditional Roguelikes (Turn Based) / Prospector Alpha

« on: February 18, 2009, 03:24:56 PM »

Hi guys! I present you: Prospector.

A marginally roguelike game with a space exploration theme.
Grab your scoutship and get rich.

Alpha version, its playable, winable (in theory) but you might still encounter a bug or 2, and balance could be an issue.

Feedback is of course welcome.

Screenshots:
http://sites.google.com/site/prospectorctor/_/rsrc/1234969397245/Home/capture_18022009_154510.jpg

http://sites.google.com/site/prospectorctor/_/rsrc/1234969415339/Home/capture_18022009_154544.jpg

http://sites.google.com/site/prospectorctor/_/rsrc/1234969428844/Home/capture_18022009_154648.jpg

And zipfile with .exe and FB sources here

Enjoy, and tell me what you think!