[ARRP] Mutant Aliens! update 4

[Quendus]

Updated for ARRP 2012!

In this game, your ship gets a bit confused about some radio transmissions, lands you on an unexplored planet, opens the doors, and refuses to shut them. Your only option, of course, is to pick up all your radio, guns, explosives, and miscellaneous devices, and go destroy the transmitter. Hopefully your ship will let you close the doors and get to your intended destination once you've accomplished that.

Of course, this being an unexplored planet, it's full of alien monsters that want to claw out your spleen and eat it. Hence all the firearms.

Direct download: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/6433222/mutantaliens_update4_arrp.zip (win/linux/mac)
Source code: https://github.com/essarrdee/mutantaliens (linux/mac)
Roguebasin: http://roguebasin.roguelikedevelopment.org/index.php/Mutant_Aliens!
7drl announcement: http://7drl.org/2012/03/17/mutant-aliens-7drl-winner/
ARRP announcement: http://kleinroguelikes.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/arrp-encircled-and-mutant-aliens-update.html
Video: 1 2 3 4
Let's Play: by Game_Hunter
Reviews: English, by cratuki, Polish, by Irinka

There are *lots* of big changes for ARRP, and there will probably be another updatesince I was concentrating on Encircled ad didn't make half the changes I wanted to.

Screenshot of ARRP version:


Changes for ARRP update:
* Draw bright colours for visible things
* Stop drawing things that are in LoS but out of visual range
* Don't generate aliens with identical representations
* Completely prevent player from being "trapped" (escape was still easy with explosives) when the ship crashes into a building (previous fix only prevented most such cases)
* Fix autotargetting so that it doesn't get confused when the previous target is alive and out of sight
* Allow player to close the door (but not fly away) when the transmitter is destroyed and an alien is in the ship
* Notify player when hit by an explosion
* Don't allow explosions at the corners of the map to break the program
* Choose transmitter location more carefully
* Notify when an explosion happens
* Monsters no longer spawn in player's visual range :3
* Ask for device time and delay before targetting throws
* Put transparent windows in buildings, make doors opaque, randomly turn some doors into floors
* Overhaul terrain destruction - different terrain types take different damage amounts
* Cannon shots can destroy walls and windows (walls unreliably)
* Add critical hits (shoot a monster several times to figure out where it's vulnerable)
* Hologram, sound, scent, and brain devices all give LOS to the player, so they now function as spy cameras as well as distractions
* Overhaul message display to allow partial messages in the message log.
* Include monster health/stamina descriptions, sense descriptions (don't need to be discovered) and finer stat descriptions from Mutant Aristocrats!
* Alter sound levels to allow movement to actually be heard
* Make monsters screech 75% less often
* Make monsters' decision about whether to run slightly more sensible
* Draw running monsters with capitals, draw near-death monsters in red

Here's me almost winning on difficulty level 6:

Here's me winning on difficulty level 7 (I think I just got lucky)


Full details in the README file, but Features:
* Randomised monster stats
* Monster memory system to automatically record the player's observations
* Player-chosen difficulty settings. Level 0-5 are reliably winnable (6-7 are with some difficulty/luck), levels 8 and 9 are murderous
* Running mode (press R) and stamina for both players and aliens - As stamina decreases, the running speed decreases to the walking speed.
* Standardised, reliable equipment for the player (f to fire):
** Pistol (X to select, low damage)
** Assault rifle (Y to select, medium damage)
** Plasma cannon (Z to select, high splash damage, don't get caught in the blast)
** 6 different devices (t to throw them) which can be set on a timer (0 to 9 seconds):
*** (a) Low explosives
*** (b) High explosives
*** (c) Hologram generators, to distract aliens with good vision
*** (d) Noise generators, to distract/scare/deafen aliens with good hearing (and oneself)
*** (e) Scent generators, to distract aliens with a sense of smell
*** (f) Brain slices, to distract psychic aliens. Yeah.
* No health regeneration, no health pickups, no ammunition pickups - you need to escape quickly or run out of resources
* Radio receiver to guide the player to the objective (r to check signal)
* Tab to autotarget when firing or throwing
* Game style that varies with the alien species generated - lots of huge aliens means a game of running away and trying not to get surrounded, lots of small aliens means a shooting gallery, lots of medium-sized aliens could mean anything, and an even mix could mean big trouble.

Bug reports here, or by email (quendus at google's email domain), or on either of the two RGRDs.

[getter77]

Sounds spiffily frantic---congrats on the release.   

[Quendus]

Thanks
I put some videos of the gameplay on youtube, the links're in the OP. I'm in the habit of playing RLs slowlyish and carefullyish, so maybe the first two might not look particularly frantic. The third one, though, I'm playing in easy mode and deliberately trying to go fast.

[Quendus]

Updated for ARRP! Details in OP.

[getter77]

Congrats on making the party and well done to that fine amount of gains for the project----bodes pretty well for the future if there was so much more still that wasn't quite gotten to in time.