I was hoping to hold out a few more days before releasing the next patch, but an error was brought to my attention today that I'm 99% certain was the result of my accidentally releasing a debug version of the game last week (which is ironic, since I don't even know how to use the debugger... must have clicked it on by accident). If that was indeed the culprit, this new release should solve the problem (as well as slightly improving game performance) and, in any event, there are a few new bits of content, some improved AI and a whole slew of miscellaneous bug fixes, so... what the hell.
If you're new to the game, you can download it here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ryrvkr4fz783ndz/Caverns%20of%20Xaskazien%202%20Ver.%200.67.91.zip?dl=0If you've got at least Ver. 0.66.12 installed, the following small file will patch everything up for you - just unzip it in your main game directory, answer "yes to all" when prompted, and feel free to delete the zip afterwards:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/r94jh3e89ys9976/COX%20Update%200.66.12%20to%200.67.91.zip?dl=0If you encountered the game stopping "side-by-side" error (or if your game is mysteriously crashing on start), download this NEW executable, pasting it over the original that you downloaded and tell me if that solves the problem. I've had reports that it does. You can get it here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/effqdfki46ta1jd/Caverns%20of%20Xaskazien%202.exe?dl=0 If for some reason that DOESN'T solve the problem, please tell me, then download the Microsoft Service Pack 1 and install it. That should do the trick. You can get that here:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=5582The next update will obviously include the repaired .exe by default, so this shouldn't be an issue going forward.
I also want to say thank you to everyone who has taken the time to check out the game - there's a great deal more incentive to continue the work when you know you're not the world's only player. And if you do encounter any bugs or have any questions, please do ask. I want to improve things, and I can't if I'm unaware of problems or points of confusion.
Ok, now that that's all out of the way, here's the sales pitch for the new comers, some screenshots to entice, and the update log below.
Game Features:- A rich, graphical game, with loads of animation and dynamic, coloured per pixel lighting.
- An exclusive orchestral soundtrack created for the game by professional film scorer, Dave Coleman.
- A full sound environment with close to 1000 unique sound effects, volume keyed to the source’s distance from your character.
- An intuitive keyboard and mouse interface.
- An easy to understand UI that ensures all information any player could want on any topic is only a mouse hover away.
- 300 visually distinct monsters, each with a dozen+ variants (including named boss types), and robust AI that differs by monster intelligence level. Summoning and Charm methods allow you to raise your own monstrous army to fight for you, too.
- Merchants and NPCs to deal with, as well, each of which can run afoul of the monsters, just like you.
- More than a hundred unique booby traps for the unwary, most of which may be set by players to ensnare monsters, too.
- 125 base weapons and 75 base armour pieces, each with thousands of possible enchantment combinations and legendary variants.
- Hundreds of unique magic items, mundane items, potions, scrolls, staves, wands, rods, food items, etc.
- Nearly a hundred unique spells.
- Play as either sex in any combination of 38 Classes and 13 Races, and customize your character as you see fit through the upgrading of both Attributes and Skills.
- Procedurally generated dungeons utilizing multiple methods of generation to create caves, structured areas, labyrinths and even forests, supplemented by occasional pre-generated dungeons called Legendary Lands.
- Hundreds of unique environmental features to interact with and use to your tactical advantage (or detriment).
- Both random and scheduled special Events to mix up gameplay.
- A comprehensive user's manual in the docs folder.
- All for the low, low price of free
A few scrambled screenshots grabbed 30 seconds before making this post:Gandrex Vurr is a swell orcish name, yeah?
The Caverns are cozy...
Surrendered?! (I actually just didn't want to upload with a playable level 24 character on the loose...)
Updates to Ver. 0.67.91 since last update (Ver. 0.67.17)Major Improvements:- New Map Tile variants: Rotting Adventurer’s Corpse, Bridge Over Ice, Rope Bridge Over Ice, Drawbridge Over Ice.
- Improved monster A.I. by making them consider the relative dangers of moving into a square vs. staying where they are, rather than only considering the danger of moving into the new square.
Minor Improvements:- Standardized still more Intermediate and Basic Text Prompt outputs.
- Updated queries of Create Mundane Item and Create Armaments spells to mention that the spell will fail if cast in a square with 25 discarded Objects.
- Made Garbage Heaps additionally act like Stench Clouds because it was weird that you had to dodge Stench Clouds to get to them, but once there, apparently everything smelled rosy.
- Adjusted scoring system slightly to ensure players aren’t rewarded for simply diving as fast as they can (an especially cheap tactic for characters beginning with the Descend spell).
- With Text Prompts set to Basic, the game now tells you how long you’ll be asleep if you fall asleep because of Sleeping Gas.
- Changed the Undertow result of Pools from causing drowning damage equal to the number of Inventory slots you have filled to instead pull you down to the next Dungeon Level. This was done to lower incentive to boringly drop everything you’re carrying before jumping in a Pool.
- With Text Prompts set to Basic the Situation Panel now textually identifies the type of riddle you’re trying to answer.
- With Text Prompts set to Basic, the Situation Panel now outputs how many Experience Points you’ve lost when you look at a Gruesome Image, not just that you’ve lost some.
- With Text Prompts set to Basic, the Situation Panel now identifies the depth of Quicksand you’re in, rather than just that you’re in Quicksand.
- Added some flavour by having the game identify what nation/city a given Coat of Arms belongs to when you successfully recognize one.
- With Text Prompts set to Basic, the game now tells you if you’ve destroyed a Target Dummy.
- Added green swirling graphic beneath unusual monster variants, to differentiate them from the more common missile variants (which have a yellow swirling graphic).
Bug Fixes:- Fixed error not re-rendering lighting after an Imp teleports you.
- Fixed errors not increasing spell durations of Hold Monster, Sleep, Frost Breath, Frost Blast or Freeze for Tree Man Unique Ability.
- Fixed errors not fizzling Scrolls or Staff charges when you try to cast Create Cooking Fire in a non-Empty Space.
- Fixed errors not fizzling Scrolls or Wands/Rods when you try to cast Create Mundane Item or Create Armaments, but your Inventory is too full to accept the created Object, and there are already too many things in your square to drop another.
- Fixed gibberish text output if you eat a diseased mushroom from a Mushroom Patch.
- Fixed typo where you could eat “Hallucinoigenic Mushrooms.”
- Fixed error that could mess up the effects of an Acidic Pool in the unlikely circumstance that you had more than 40 Inventory slots full.
- Fixed error preventing Mist Spawners (which count as Mist, themselves) from blocking LOS.
- Fixed error still displaying the markers for monster variants, even when you’re blind.
- Fixed error not playing burning noise when a monster steps in Acidic Vapour.
- Fixed error that could trigger Slide Traps or Spike Bottomed Slide Traps on Dungeon Level 30, which would then drag you to Dungeon Level 31, with little hope of ever climbing up to find Xaskazien again.
- Fixed error in query of Whiskey telling you what will happen if you drink the Beer.
- Fixed errors in both Beer and Whiskey where, with Text Prompts set to Basic, it would textually output the amount of damage you took from drinking twice.
- Fixed error causing Whiskey to raise your Strength rather than Dexterity.
- Fixed multiple errors confusing the variables keeping track of how badly a monster is poisoned with whether or not the player had done the poisoning - this had multiple and complicated (if infrequently observed) consequences.
- Fixed error making aquatic monsters hesitant to enter Waterfalls, even though they won’t be hurt by them.
- Fixed error making flying monsters hesitant to pass over Whirlpools, even though they won’t be hurt by them.
- Fixed erroneous Situation Panel text output on Dragon Pentacles and Mutant Labs.
- Fixed text spacing error in the returned name of Spellfilching Magicians.
- Fixed errors that could display Waterfalls, Rapids, Ice and Frozen Cascades in the wrong orientation if they were adjacent to a Bridge or Rope Bridge.
- Fixed typo in text output of White Spirit Eve event.
- Fixed error messing up the forecast of the next holiday on White Spirit Eve.
- Fixed error outputting wrong graphic when you are stung by bees at a Bee Hive.
- Fixed text spacing error in query of Chimera hero variants.
- Fixed error displaying wrong graphic when you recharge a Wand, Staff or Rod with an Energy Crystal.
- Fixed text spacing error in text output telling you your weapon had broken.
- Fixed error not saving the data that a monster had been frozen by the player. This meant that if you froze a monster, quit the game, then reloaded the game and waited for the monster to freeze to death, you wouldn’t get the experience reward.
- In certain Fountain results, fixed ancient remnants of very early Situation Panel text outputs that used to write “(Key)” at the end of text prompts to remind you to press a key.
- Fixed errors that could sometimes output the wrong graphic when casting Mage Helm, Mage Shield or Mage Armour.
- Fixed error (I think) rarely posting a phantom potion shape over the image of an item that is being melted.
- Fixed error not printing Northroad Bandit’s special ability when you query it.
- Fixed error sometimes not putting monster’s image into Situation Panel if you accidentally summon or disturb a monster.
- Fixed error displaying wrong graphic when outputting a message that you are no longer spreading a given disease.
- Fixed error allowing Mirror of Destruction to destroy the outer, supposedly indestructible walls of the map.
- Fixed error displaying wrong graphic if you resist contracting White Rot from a monster during combat.
- Fixed pluralization error in text output when an Absorb Life Energy spell drains a single Health point from a monster, killing it in the process. (“...drains 1 points of Health...”).
- Fixed serious error that could freeze the game if you tried to enter a Gwyllion Peel.
