Infra Arcana, a horror/Lovecraft roguelike (now at v22.1.0!).

[NON]

Is there a technical reason that there's no Mac build, or is it just something you can't be bothered with?

Lol. He'll likely answer you but it is almost certainly a technical issue. Cross platform to mac is hard in most cases.

The reason that I've not provided a build for it just that I don't have access to a Mac. But - it's very likely that you can easily build your own. Check out this info from Github:

Some people have successfully built IA on OSX by using the Linux Makefile as it is. Although building on OSX is not “officially supported”, the goal is to keep the project as portable as possible. It should require little extra effort (or no extra effort at all) to build IA on OSX. So go ahead and try Please tell of your problems or success at the IA webpage, or email me (Martin) - see contact.txt in the game folder (or assets/contact.txt in the IA repository).

https://github.com/InfraArcana/ia#osx

You can download the source and Makefile here:
http://infraarcana.wikispaces.com/Downloads

Direct link:
https://github.com/InfraArcana/ia/archive/v16.0.zip

[NON]

I've uploaded some videos of me playing IA:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7avZ-o4h0k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c52Qvx_wF08

(No sound)

[Rickton]

Is there a technical reason that there's no Mac build, or is it just something you can't be bothered with?

It works pretty well in WINE.

[Chex Warrior]

Woo, always glad to see this game get updated -congrats NON on another release.

However I'd like to express one small complaint: Any reason why you decided to go with only 3 presets for character creation? I rather enjoyed creating my own doomed character each time -anyhow it won't stop me from playing just my two cents!

[NON]

However I'd like to express one small complaint: Any reason why you decided to go with only 3 presets for character creation? I rather enjoyed creating my own doomed character each time -anyhow it won't stop me from playing just my two cents!

Well most people (including myself) really enjoy picking traits as the game is progressing. I will likely add more backgrounds though (Doctor/Psychic/Scientist are some candidates). I'm also considering having some optional background traits Fallout 2-style. These would be optional (you don't have to pick one), and each one would have both positive and negative consequences. This could be something like "Small frame", which makes you harder to hit with ranged weapons, but your melee attacks do -1 damage.

[Legend]

A few comments/questions/requests...

I think that zombies are not being being destroyed by tnt when out of view.

Also, a key binding for the lantern would be really nice. Either that or one that reuses the previously used item such as the lantern, tnt, cocktails, etc. Maybe simply "E"?  I use the lantern quite often and am frequently turning it off and on to conserve battery life. Having to navigate the menu so often get's a little annoying.

I'm seeing a bit of redundancy in the inventory menu and the use items menu.  Seems inventory is only good for seeing my non equipped items and dropping them.  It would be nice if I could also use items from that same menu.

For Potions, maybe a quick pop-up that asks the player whether they wish to drink or throw it in order to make throwing them less cumbersome?

A sound for lighting/sizzle for the tnt/cocktail would be a nice touch. And a splat/squish/gib sound for destroying corpses by bashing.

Sorry if it was discussed before, but is there any way to restore sanity?

Maybe a small amount of anti venom in the medical bag?  Poison almost always gets me down very close to death and I've had to quaff several vitality potions to try and wait it out.

Could multiple medical bags be combined (supplies from one transfered over to the other) so you only have to carry one bag?

Is it currently possible to set sounds for all enemies/actions or just the ones you actually have sounds for currently?  I wanted to try and set sounds for rats, spiders, other enemies etc.  A config file to do so and .wav support would be nice for sound effects to make for easier customizing.  I wanted to try and add some sounds from Blood for my personal use.

The corpse bashing is still confusing me. If there is a 1/3 chance of destroying a zombie corpse by bashing it, wouldn't that mean that it would take 3 tries at most to destroy it. I know it has taken more than 3 times before for a single corpse.

A shield item that could provide a small amount of protection and assist in bashing?

I miss the old title screen.

Where's my spiked mace?  

Also, for some reason, when I run the game, my display shifts to the right slightly so a few lines on the side get cut off.  Not sure if this is due to the game or my monitor. I tried fiddling with the monitor but no luck. The only rl/program  I have the issue with. Running in fullscreen 16x24 dos ascii mode btw. Monitor is 1280x768 resolution.

[NON]

I think that zombies are not being being destroyed by tnt when out of view.

I'll look into it.

Also, a key binding for the lantern would be really nice. Either that or one that reuses the previously used item such as the lantern, tnt, cocktails, etc. Maybe simply "E"?

Something like that would be nice. Although I'm not sure about 'E' immediately using the last used item. I'd never dare use it in case I accidentally light a dynamite, or quaff some harmful potion (or waste a good one). It would need a confirmation query then "Turn on Electric Lantern? y/n", or "Drink Potion of Vitality? y/n". This could be somewhat faster than pressing 'e' and navigating to the lantern in the menu though. Another option as you suggested is that 'E' is only used for toggling the lantern. It's probably the most commonly used item, so it would make sense in that way. If you have multiple lanterns I suppose it would toggle the first one in the list.

I'm seeing a bit of redundancy in the inventory menu and the use items menu.  Seems inventory is only good for seeing my non equipped items and dropping them.  It would be nice if I could also use items from that same menu.

That could work. Hm, I wonder if the 'e' menu could even be removed completely then? In that case, 'e' could be used to toggle the lantern. I'm not sure about removing it though. I think it's nice to have a filtered list of only things you can activate somehow, especially in a tough situation. Then I always press 'e' and see very clearly what my options are.
I'm also thinking that if the 'e' menu is kept, and if I implement item usage through the 'i' menu, it would seem a bit weird. The only purpose of the 'e' menu would be to filter the list. It would be more redundant than the current system.

UI design is really damn hard...

For Potions, maybe a quick pop-up that asks the player whether they wish to drink or throw it in order to make throwing them less cumbersome?

I intend to implement throwing any single item without equiping it in the throwing slot somehow. All item types should them be throwable as well, so you could for example throw a Sledgehammer or Iron Suit. Perhaps you could press 't' while browsing items in the 'w', 'e' or 'i'?
(I will still keep the missiles slot for regularly thrown stuff like throwing knives of course).

A sound for lighting/sizzle for the tnt/cocktail would be a nice touch. And a splat/squish/gib sound for destroying corpses by bashing.

That would be good. I've written it down.

Sorry if it was discussed before, but is there any way to restore sanity?

You can only restore shock not insanity. Maybe (probably) in the future.

Maybe a small amount of anti venom in the medical bag?  Poison almost always gets me down very close to death and I've had to quaff several vitality potions to try and wait it out.

Quaff several vitality potions? For one poisoning? The vitality potion should heal the poison, and restore your HP completely. So you should only need to drink one.

There are already antidote potions, so it would be strange and redundant to also include it in the medical bag. But perhaps there could be something that slows the poison, or shortens the duration? Some sort of syringe?

Could multiple medical bags be combined (supplies from one transfered over to the other) so you only have to carry one bag?

Good idea. I should make it so that when you pick up one bag, it will just increase the supplies in the currently carried one. Although I will some day (not too far) implement item descruction, such as scrolls burning up when you're on fire, or potions shattering from cold, or items being dropped (and disappearing) when you're swimming or climbing. It would be infuriating if you have gathered a huge medical bag with like 120 supplies, and it gets destroyed/lost. I suppose a solution could be that instead of the whole thing being destroyed/lost, you lose X number of supplies.

Is it currently possible to set sounds for all enemies/actions or just the ones you actually have sounds for currently?  I wanted to try and set sounds for rats, spiders, other enemies etc.  A config file to do so and .wav support would be nice for sound effects to make for easier customizing.  I wanted to try and add some sounds from Blood for my personal use.

At the moment you can only replace the sounds already in place. Although maybe this could be externalized to make it more customizable. See my comments in this thread:
http://infraarcana.wikispaces.com/share/view/67239996

The corpse bashing is still confusing me. If there is a 1/3 chance of destroying a zombie corpse by bashing it, wouldn't that mean that it would take 3 tries at most to destroy it. I know it has taken more than 3 times before for a single corpse.

That's not how probability works. If you toss a coin, is it 100% guaranteed to land on heads within two tries? I have sometimes tossed a coin and it lands on heads 10 times in a row. It's the same thing in IA - for 1/3 chance, it will ocassionally happen that it takes even 20 tries. Normally it will take around three tries though.

A shield item that could provide a small amount of protection and assist in bashing?

A shield doesn't seem to fit with the time period.

Where's my spiked mace?  

Well I decided that it doesn't really fit in the game (see above comment) - at least for now. However, I do have some vague plans to introduce old medieval-era stuff, which could have been lying around in the dungeon for hundreds of years. Although the question would arise why this stuff is not rusted after lying on the floor of a damp dungeon for a thousand years? A sword can't possibly be usable in this condition, after all this time? It would have to be magic weapons.

Also, for some reason, when I run the game, my display shifts to the right slightly so a few lines on the side get cut off.  Not sure if this is due to the game or my monitor. I tried fiddling with the monitor but no luck. The only rl/program  I have the issue with. Running in fullscreen 16x24 dos ascii mode btw. Monitor is 1280x768 resolution.

Well, as you know, we discussed it here (I'm just linking for others to see):
http://infraarcana.wikispaces.com/share/view/67239996

[NON]

I was thinking about a new wound system. Started a new thread for it here:
http://forums.roguetemple.com/index.php?topic=4092.0

[Legend]

Well I decided that it doesn't really fit in the game (see above comment) - at least for now. However, I do have some vague plans to introduce old medieval-era stuff, which could have been lying around in the dungeon for hundreds of years. Although the question would arise why this stuff is not rusted after lying on the floor of a damp dungeon for a thousand years? A sword can't possibly be usable in this condition, after all this time? It would have to be magic weapons.

I could still see it being plausible. Without having to be magic items. I assume that the cult has been around for centuries in one form or another so they would acquire and preserve the tools and treasures that they have obtained over the years. This would explain the lack of/minimal amount of rust. I can see the shield being useful and plausible as something that was most likely kept around. In-game it could add to bashing doors/knocking back enemies with a slight amount of protection, but also making two handed firearms less accurate. The player would have to wield it in their prepared weapon slot to make use of it.

The Spiked mace for knockback of enemies and bashing corpses/automatically bashing corpses on the first hit.  Just make them more rare to balance it out. I also think it fits the theme, brutal and gruesome nature of the game. And it is a bit more eerie and unsettling item than say a sword.

Quote from: Legend
Also, a key binding for the lantern would be really nice. Either that or one that reuses the previously used item such as the lantern, tnt, cocktails, etc. Maybe simply "E"?
Something like that would be nice. Although I'm not sure about 'E' immediately using the last used item. I'd never dare use it in case I accidentally light a dynamite, or quaff some harmful potion (or waste a good one). It would need a confirmation query then "Turn on Electric Lantern? y/n", or "Drink Potion of Vitality? y/n". This could be somewhat faster than pressing 'e' and navigating to the lantern in the menu though. Another option as you suggested is that 'E' is only used for toggling the lantern. It's probably the most commonly used item, so it would make sense in that way. If you have multiple lanterns I suppose it would toggle the first one in the list.

Quote from: Legend
I'm seeing a bit of redundancy in the inventory menu and the use items menu.  Seems inventory is only good for seeing my non equipped items and dropping them.  It would be nice if I could also use items from that same menu.
That could work. Hm, I wonder if the 'e' menu could even be removed completely then? In that case, 'e' could be used to toggle the lantern. I'm not sure about removing it though. I think it's nice to have a filtered list of only things you can activate somehow, especially in a tough situation. Then I always press 'e' and see very clearly what my options are.
I'm also thinking that if the 'e' menu is kept, and if I implement item usage through the 'i' menu, it would seem a bit weird. The only purpose of the 'e' menu would be to filter the list. It would be more redundant than the current system.

I agree about how it is kinda nice to see the filtered inventory list. Perhaps combining them into a single screen and adding hot keys in the inventory screen to filter?  Or by simply dividing the inventory screen into sections for thown items, scrolls, potions, weapons/armor, etc?

Ultimately, I don't think the "e" menu needs to be removed. The redundancy of the "e" menu and the inventory isn't really a big deal. However, it would be nice if the inventory menu could also be used to use items instead of just viewing them and dropping. It could even be a solution for the potions. If the player wants to drink a potion, they select it from the Inventory menu. If they intend to throw the potion, they could use it from the "e" menu like cocktails and tnt.

Some sort of quick key for the lantern would definitely be great. No matter what key it is assigned to.  I think I agree with you on not having a "last used" item button. It could very well end up causing many (possibly fatal) player mistakes.

As for the clustered traps I mentioned earlier, I agree that they definitely are a more fun/interesting/varied way of handling them.  I think it is one of the best ways I have seen traps implemented in any rl. Although, and the reason I brought it up in the first place, the only exception is when they are in corridors.  While I can see it being plausible that several traps  are setup down a straight line in a hallway, it is just annoying in this particular circumstance from a gameplay perspective. They are practically unavoidable and can often cause death. It would be nice if the clustered traps could be the same as they are now but with the exception of if it is a corridor, that only a single trap would be generated. Or maybe two at the max.

I have encountered as many as 4 in a hallway which I walked into each one cause they were not detected. The thought/practice of having to search each step in a hallway for multiple traps is simply not fun. Out in the open is different because I can either search, go back the way I came, or take my chance in a different direction.  In a hallway you are often left with absolutely having to press on in the same direction you started in order to get to the next section of the level. Even at end/beginning  of a corridor  of the rooms leading into/out of it is reasonable.  Just not right in the middle along the hallway.

[NON]

Next version will be more about adding new content (in terms of items and environment), so it's a better time to add some weapon like that. There will probably be some magic/ritual daggers and stuff like that too.

The Spiked mace for knockback of enemies and bashing corpses/automatically bashing corpses on the first hit.  Just make them more rare to balance it out. I also think it fits the theme, brutal and gruesome nature of the game. And it is a bit more eerie and unsettling item than say a sword.

Sounds like cool properties for that weapon.

While I can see it being plausible that several traps  are setup down a straight line in a hallway, it is just annoying in this particular circumstance from a gameplay perspective. They are practically unavoidable and can often cause death.

Have you tried 'd'isarming them?

It would be nice if the clustered traps could be the same as they are now but with the exception of if it is a corridor, that only a single trap would be generated. Or maybe two at the max.

I can agree with this. And it should be easy to just add a check to see if the original trap is created in a choke point, then don't spawn any extra traps around it.

[awake]

Not really clamoring for more D&D-style content myself, but you can't go wrong with ritual daggers. Did you know that the first chainsaws were invented in the mid-20s?

[awake]

Is there a technical reason that there's no Mac build, or is it just something you can't be bothered with?

It works pretty well in WINE.

Playing in WINE, I have found that the "Ressurect" menu option works pretty literally: it lets me continue with my last dead character. I guess something is not being deleted properly? If I forget that I died last session I save scum on accident.

[melville]

Playing in WINE, I have found that the "Ressurect" menu option works pretty literally: it lets me continue with my last dead character. I guess something is not being deleted properly? If I forget that I died last session I save scum on accident.

I can't reproduce that on Linux. Something weird is going on - not sure if it could be WINE related. Additional information about when/how it did happen (if you remember) probably would help NON.

I wouldn't be surprised by existence of such issue, when it comes to version 15.0. There were numerous issues related to saving in that version. Since then it did get decent amount of testing and NON created test coverage for that code. Finding issue related to saving seems less likely now, still it is possible that something slipped by.

Personally I don't use saving, since IA a short/fast game anyway.

[awake]

I have a Mac partition and a Windows partition. I encountered the issue using wine to play the copy of the game that I had in the Windows partition. I downloaded a second copy to the Mac partition and I don't encounter the same issue using it.

Can't get the make file to build it either, somesuch thing about not finding some SDL file that appears to actually be there.

How far deep does the dungeon go, anyhow? I hit level 19 (with tremendous luck), it was looking pretty end game-y before I died horribly. If that's only the halfway mark I should probably abandon hope.

[NON]

How far deep does the dungeon go, anyhow? I hit level 19 (with tremendous luck), it was looking pretty end game-y before I died horribly. If that's only the halfway mark I should probably abandon hope.

100 levels

(30 levels )