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Messages - Ferret

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31
Early Dev / Re: Demon: A monster collection roguelike
« on: November 18, 2015, 06:12:31 PM »
Hey. :) Figured it's time for an update over here. :D

Released the 11/9 build last week. :) You can grab the builds from here: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B-sx_4eW-B5hWnhNZlRPclZLeUU&usp=drive_web

This was actually a pretty important build that added a rudimentary encounter management system to Demon, the main purpose of which is to largely eliminate the dreaded (and often overwhelming) "two encounters at once" issue. It is still expected/acceptable that a second group will sometimes join a fight already in progress, but players should find they almost never run into two groups that have pre-merged anymore (and even these rare occurrences should be weeded out, with a bit more polish.)

So what is this encounter management anyway? Basically, enemy groups are forced to spawn a certain distance from all other enemy groups already spawend, and when each enemy group is deciding how to "wander" the map, it prioritizes avoidance of other enemy groups (reflecting a certain distrust between the various groups roaming each floor.) The exception is when an enemy group is in combat... in-combat groups are ignored by the system, this allows for a 2nd group to wander up to a fight already in progress if it runs too long. :)

This also allowed me to trim the size of the levels greatly since a big factor in their original size was a hacky attempt to prevent this issue simply by giving demons more room to roam. The new levels are roughly 60-75% smaller than the old ones despite containing the same amount of content.

Here's a side by side of an example new map on the left, and an older map on the right.



Much smaller and neaer looking over on the left. :D An unexpected but pleasant side-effect of encounter management is that the chances of running into enemies even in previously explored territory is much higher than before.


Since the 11/9 release, I've been working on the remaining capture polish I wanted to do before switching over to content. This has been aimed at two capture types in particular: "Defeat X enemies in Y turns" and "Protect the target for Y turns".

For "Defeat X enemies in Y turns", two important changes. Most of these types of demons can now follow you to other levels, eliminating the frustrating scenario of encountering them when there are no longer enough enemies present on the level to be able to meet the conditions. Also, when one of these capture attempts is in progress, the nearest enemy will be indicated on the map (both the full view and the mini map), moving the challenge away from "correctly guess where there are remaining enemies" to "properly balance the need to go fight the required enemies within the time limit with the need to rest and recover between those fgihts", which is where it belongs.

Here's a screenshot of the "nearest enemy" detection in effect on the full and mini maps both:



For "Protect target for Y turns", I've finally finished implementing the full mechanic... which involves spawning additional enemies specifically for the purpose of attacking the target. The new enemies can, depending on what's appropriate for the enemy type in question, spawn at the edge of LoS, or simply warp in somewhere in sight. This makes this capture type much more challenging and interesting, rather than just being an odd variant of the "wait X turns" capture type. Here's a screenshot of an Asrai being harassed by a large group of peasants:




Once I finish the capture polish discussed here, I'll finally be moving onto what I hope will be a major, lengthy content push. The Tower's been at 17 floors for way, way longer than I ever wanted. It's true that a lot of depth and important systems have been added/improved during this period... but, it's still long past time to expand the amount of content available. :)  We'll see how long I can plow away at it before the weight of bug reports/feature requests gets too heavy to ignore. :D

32
Early Dev / Re: Demon: A monster collection roguelike ARRP 2015 Edition
« on: November 03, 2015, 10:25:01 PM »
11/3 build is released. :D You can grab them here: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B-sx_4eW-B5hWnhNZlRPclZLeUU&usp=drive_web

The two major features of 11/3 are:
* New character sprites by Geminimax (http://geminimax.deviantart.com/)
* Revamped negotiation: 150% more types of interactions, full mouse support, and better feedback on how the talks are going.

Screenshots of the new sprite art and negotiation UI improvements are in the post right above this one, but here's a few examples of some of the new negotiation interactions. :)









I plan to do a little more polish on capture mechanics (and maybe AI), then finally switch gears to level generation and content development. :) The Tower's been "stuck" at 17 floors for awhile now, but the time has been well spent: a lot of new features have been added, and those 17 floors have a lot more content variety than they did back when the were added. :)

I hope everyone enjoys the new build, and good luck in the Tower. :)

33
Early Dev / Re: Demon: A monster collection roguelike ARRP 2015 Edition
« on: October 22, 2015, 04:15:51 PM »
About two months ago, geminimax, one of Demon's fans, volunteered to do a character sprite set for Demon. :D They're nearly complete, and will be going out in a build soon. :) But, until then, here's some screenshots showing off the new art. :D

Also, if you want to see more of geminimax's work, you can check out his DeviantArt page here: http://geminimax.deviantart.com/

On with the screenshots. :)










34
Early Dev / Re: Demon: A monster collection roguelike ARRP 2015 Edition
« on: October 17, 2015, 04:05:05 PM »
Stopping by with a small update. :)

I've begun a polish pass on capture mechanics, starting with negotiation. :D The negotiation one is probably going to be the biggest of these, including both a UI component and new negotiation content. The UI component is complete, and here's a couple of screenshots. :D

First, a screenshot showing the new mouse support adding to the negotiation window. Negotiation was left out of the original mouse support pass due to reasons best described as "FerretDev isn't a great UI programmer." :P But, it has it now: the blue highlight indicates the option the mouse is hovering over. :)



This screenshot shows some of the smaller improvements: an approval display to give you some idea how you're doing, and one of the messages I added to give better feedback about how a demon is responding to your choices. Don't worry, the new feedback messages are in addition to, not replacing, the actual dialogue. :)



Next up for negotiation is adding in the new demand types I've been working on. I'll post more about those soon. :D

Also, one other awesome announcement: Demon passed 2500 reported games played this morning. :D I started tracking this mid May, and hit 1000 back around the start of September, so I'm pretty happy with the trajectory. :) High volume of repeat players in the mix too (or so I assume, I only track players by summoner names, and those aren't forced to be unique.. but I suspect in at least most cases that they are.) which is a good sign.

Onward to 5000. :)

35
Early Dev / Re: Demon: A monster collection roguelike ARRP 2015 Edition
« on: October 08, 2015, 02:13:00 PM »
These days, saves are generally compatible between versions, unless something in the following groups occurs:
1) The layout or mechanics of the dungeon changes significantly. (For example, 10/6 did this by changing how stairs work.)
2) A significant game system change occurs. (This is getting rarer as things get further along.)
3) A demon or ability's name is changed. (This almost never happens, and is usually the only type of content change that usually causes incompatibility.)

I'm in a funny place on save compatibility. On the one hand, I like to maintain it. On the other, I'm in alpha and I also suspect that the number of in-progress games at any given time is very, very low. So, when I can maintain compatibility cheaply, I do so. But if it starts to get in the way, I am still willing to break it, particularly for major updates. Ideally, as Demon progresses, save compatibility will continue to get more and more reliable, but even now it does at least pretty good on that score.

36
Early Dev / Re: Demon: A monster collection roguelike ARRP 2015 Edition
« on: October 08, 2015, 01:28:09 PM »
Pushed a new build with a fix for a rare hang condition. :) As always, builds are available here: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B-sx_4eW-B5hWnhNZlRPclZLeUU&usp=drive_web

37
Early Dev / Re: Demon: A monster collection roguelike ARRP 2015 Edition
« on: October 07, 2015, 07:35:06 PM »
Ouh, man, I'm not sure if I remember correctly. First - I'm skeptical about EVERY Unity-based roguelike. After 7DRL 2015 I think that Unity is often used in not 'proper' way. I know, this is 7DRL, so seven days... but - such an impression. As I recall your roguelike had some aestethics problems - primarily pixeled, eye-tiring font. This + my prejudices + less content (earlier than now) -> I has no desire to check Demon thoroughly.

I'm not familiar enough with the other Unity roguelikes as a group to be aware of any problems they had collectively, so I can't speak to that. I can't argue I had a fair bit less content back when I started though. :) Even now, while there's plenty more, but still nowhere near complete on that front.

As far as the font goes: is it any better in the current versions? It is actually the same font file I've always used, but depending on how far back you started looking, I've fixed some rendering/resolution issues that may have improved the font's appearance, particularly on some types of laptops (though I still have troubles with some of the more esoteric resolutions in full screen mode.)

38
Early Dev / Re: Demon: A monster collection roguelike ARRP 2015 Edition
« on: October 07, 2015, 03:34:38 PM »
I was very skeptical about Demon, and first few releases comfirmed my worries. However, I decided to check it several versions ago and... Hey, it's very cool game! Idea is interesting (but this was know from the beginning) and implementation is good.

Hey. :) I'm glad you like it better now. :D But, I'm curious, what were you skeptical about before?

I'm not sure if I like map generation in Demon. Floors are big and design sometimes is a bit odd - is easy to get lost. But since you added minimap it bothers me less. So, it's OK ;)

I agree that it feels like there's a lot of empty space in the dungeon levels. Do you have plans to add more tile types and/or room types? If not, then maybe shrinking down the size of each level might be something to consider.

Yeah, the one downside of adding the mini map is that it has revealed/underlined the fact I haven't spent much time working on dungeon generation yet. :P I wasn't worried about it initially because it's a fairly solved problem in the roguelike space compared to some of the unique, trickier parts of Demon (party mechanics, AI, etc.) I wanted to focus on those unknowns, since they were core to Demon, before I spent time treading well-trodden ground, algorithm-wise.

But, the number of comments about it (both here and other places) is starting to rise noticeably, which I'm taking to mean I've knocked out enough larger problems that I probably need to get serious about it soon. :) I've already commented to doing a capture mechanics pass next, but level generation will very likely be the thing I address immediately following that.

39
Early Dev / Re: Demon: A monster collection roguelike ARRP 2015 Edition
« on: October 06, 2015, 09:44:18 PM »
10/6 builds are released. :) Go grab 'em here: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B-sx_4eW-B5hWnhNZlRPclZLeUU&usp=drive_web

The changes were pretty well outlined in the post above: an options menu that allows some gameplay and interface tweaks, changes to how stairs and side dungeons work, more information in-game about modifiers and what they do, and various other UI tweaks and upgrades. :)

Have fun, and good luck in the Tower. :D

40
Early Dev / Re: Demon: A monster collection roguelike ARRP 2015 Edition
« on: October 03, 2015, 09:30:47 PM »
Hey there. :) I've been busy working on the next build, which is getting pretty close to being ready to release.

Pretty much everything in this build is based on suggestions and feedback from players, with an emphasis on increased customization of the gameplay experience and more information about what's going on.

The major elements of this build are:

* Changing how stairs/portals work in the Tower. The only portals between floors of the Tower are "up" portals: you can no longer go back down to lower floors. Portals to branches close after they are entered: you cannot return to a branch once you leave it. The appearances of some portals have changed to visually reflect this:




* An options menu that allows you to customize various elements of the gameplay and UI.




* When using the Silver or Gold Matrix to give modifiers to a demon, you can now get basic information about the modifiers by mousing over them. You can also right-click them to see a list of the possible bonus abilities.





I should be posting again soon with an announcement of the build release. :) See you then!

41
Early Dev / Re: Demon: A monster collection roguelike
« on: September 20, 2015, 08:29:14 PM »
The ARRP 2015 build of Demon is out! Go grab it here: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B-sx_4eW-B5hWnhNZlRPclZLeUU&usp=drive_web

Highlights of the 9/20/2015 Alpha:
  • Changes to several melee mechanics to make them more useful: charge moves now have their own cooldown instead of sharing Breath, "support attacks" that heal or buff allies when you hit enemies can now help the user, and "whisper" moves that slap control effects on melee opponents are now free actions.
  • Extensive review of all melee-oriented demons, summoners, and heroes to make sure they had good ability sets, both in terms of being good opponents, but also in terms of providing good access to abilities for melee characters.
  • Over a dozen new abilities added, many of which are available on relics as starting abilities.
  • Some polish on relics in general: a few new primary and secondary choices have been added, and the stat bonuses granted by these choices have been adjusted a bit as well to better match the needs of the abilities granted.
  • Tooltips for Strength, Vitality, Agility, etc. now give a bit more information about how your current value in these stats is helping you. The tooltips will also show previews of the effects of changes to these stats, such as when allocating bonus points earned when the main character levels up.
  • 'p' is now an alternate key for using portals to accommodate Spanish keyboard layouts. (Portal Search has been moved to Shift + 'p'.)

Enjoy. :D And please make sure to check out the other ARRP games too: http://www.roguebasin.com/index.php?title=2015_ARRP

42
Early Dev / Re: Demon: A monster collection roguelike
« on: September 10, 2015, 11:49:57 PM »
9/10 build is released. :) You can grab the newest builds here: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B-sx_4eW-B5hWnhNZlRPclZLeUU&usp=drive_web

The main feature of the 9/10 build is automapping: you now get both a small automap in the lower-right corner of the main interface...



...and a zoomed in version you can peek at by pressing Tab or m.



Some other small balance and interface tweaks were also added, but the automapping is the main course here. :) Hopefully this will help out with recruiting demons who require you to hunt down and defeat other demons. :) Good luck!

43
Early Dev / Re: Demon: A monster collection roguelike
« on: September 08, 2015, 03:42:14 AM »
Thanks. :D I really hope I can find room for a mini map on the main UI too, but... it's pretty tight there already. I could do a toggleable one if I end up having to cover important map space, but I worry that will become a UI tax when players are forced to turn it on and off whenever they need to see whatever it's obstructing for a moment.

44
Early Dev / Re: Demon: A monster collection roguelike
« on: September 07, 2015, 09:43:07 PM »
First on the list for the new and awesome full time development schedule: automapping!



Now if I could just find room in the main UI for a mini map too...

45
Early Dev / Re: Demon: A monster collection roguelike
« on: August 31, 2015, 05:00:37 PM »
Releases will probably be at about the same rate, but with more or bigger things in them. :) I can't wait to dive into full time mode. :D

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