Diggr: new release, v11.11.06

[itkachev]

Hello to all.

Right on schedule, a new release of Diggr is live today.

Changes:

• An all-new crafting system, for creating special super-powerful artifacts.
• A new game mechanic for unlocking player superpowers.
• A new, secret dungeon branch. The new branch provides a faster track to winning the game. (Or at least landing a higher score.)
• Usability and UI fixes.
• Bugs squashed!

Download the game from the official site: http://code.google.com/p/diggr-roguelike

Try it out and let me know how you like it. (IMO, these changes open up a couple interesting new strategies and make for a much more intense gameplay experience.)

[getter77]

Wow, 3 significant systems/inclusions this time around on top of the usual enhancements and fixes---bravo.   

[Chex Warrior]

Awesome! I'll play this as soon as I can, hopefully the music works!

[jocke the beast]

Downloaded the game. Ran it. 10 seconds in the game it froze. But not just froze: the sound was in a quick loop or something and I had to unplugg my computer in order to shut it down (Windows Vista).
 

[Kyzrati]

Win7-64 here, sound works fine. But this game doesn't seem balanced for actual gameplay yet.

Played five games. In all but one I couldn't see anything but the adjacent cells (dark), yet the only weapon I found in every case was an RPG, which I couldn't use up close of course. So I never killed a single enemy--was always killed by the first thing I met (different each time). In the one game I *could* see further away, I didn't find any weapon whatsoever, and died all the same.

And I think it's been mentioned about this game before, but I would second the idea that lack of an automap feature is a significant drawback.

[itkachev]

Win7-64 here, sound works fine. But this game doesn't seem balanced for actual gameplay yet.

Played five games. In all but one I couldn't see anything but the adjacent cells (dark), yet the only weapon I found in every case was an RPG, which I couldn't use up close of course.
So I never killed a single enemy--was always killed by the first thing I met (different each time). In the one game I *could* see further away, I didn't find any weapon whatsoever, and died all the same.

And I think it's been mentioned about this game before, but I would second the idea that lack of an automap feature is a significant drawback.

Apply the magic lamp you start with.

Also, you're provided with a pickaxe at the start of every game. It's primarily meant as a digging tool, but also makes a good enough weapon, at least good enough for the first few enemies.

The lack of an automap isn't a drawback, it's a feature, and one that works pretty well, IMO. The dungeon itself is meant to be an enemy of sorts; one needs to play a few times to get to know it better and form strategies.


Also, as a general strategy -- turn counting (when fighting monsters) pays off and is the best and easiest starting strategy.

It's a more complex game than the average casual roguelike.

[itkachev]

Downloaded the game. Ran it. 10 seconds in the game it froze. But not just froze: the sound was in a quick loop or something and I had to unplugg my computer in order to shut it down (Windows Vista).
 

I'm very sorry to hear about that.

Looks like a driver issue, unfortunately.

[itkachev]

Awesome! I'll play this as soon as I can, hopefully the music works!

Hm, I think I know why the music doesn't work for you. It's a slight race condition -- the first game is without music, but after you die and press 'space' to try again, the music should work.

I will fix this issue, sorry.

[Kyzrati]

Win7-64 here, sound works fine. But this game doesn't seem balanced for actual gameplay yet.

Played five games. In all but one I couldn't see anything but the adjacent cells (dark), yet the only weapon I found in every case was an RPG, which I couldn't use up close of course.
So I never killed a single enemy--was always killed by the first thing I met (different each time). In the one game I *could* see further away, I didn't find any weapon whatsoever, and died all the same.

And I think it's been mentioned about this game before, but I would second the idea that lack of an automap feature is a significant drawback.

Apply the magic lamp you start with.

Also, you're provided with a pickaxe at the start of every game. It's primarily meant as a digging tool, but also makes a good enough weapon, at least good enough for the first few enemies.

The lack of an automap isn't a drawback, it's a feature, and one that works pretty well, IMO. The dungeon itself is meant to be an enemy of sorts; one needs to play a few times to get to know it better and form strategies.


Also, as a general strategy -- turn counting (when fighting monsters) pays off and is the best and easiest starting strategy.

It's a more complex game than the average casual roguelike.

Sheesh... I was wondering why I didn't see this "pickaxe" which I read about in the readme. I just started it up again and realized that your items start on the *ground*. Why the heck don't they start equipped and in your inventory? I'll try the game again later, I guess.

I know you intend for the lack of automap to be a feature, but there isn't really much of a point "getting to know" something that is randomly generated, and will mean nothing once you leave for the next level. Fog of war / exploration is certainly a part of strategy, but is memorization really the kind of strategy you're looking for? It's like you're trying to be different just to be different, which is a fine goal, but won't necessarily produce a good game. Unless, again, your goal is to include memorization as an actual part of the strategy, which can be a big turnoff for a majority of prospective players, I believe.

[itkachev]

Sheesh... I was wondering why I didn't see this "pickaxe" which I read about in the readme. I just started it up again and realized that your items start on the *ground*. Why the heck don't they start equipped and in your inventory? I'll try the game again later, I guess.

These are randomly-generated items you start with. Picking out the right starting combination is an important strategy and a first step.

The typical baseline roguelike strategy is "collect all items until you win the game". Diggr, however, works differently, and stuffing the player's inteventory with random items would be a great disservice.

I know you intend for the lack of automap to be a feature, but there isn't really much of a point "getting to know" something that is randomly generated, and will mean nothing once you leave for the next level. Fog of war / exploration is certainly a part of strategy, but is memorization really the kind of strategy you're looking for?

Um, no. I meant that the dungeon generation algorithm is the same for all levels, so figuring out how it works means you can anticipate where the monsters, loot and exits should be situated. This is an advantage to the player once you figure it out.

It's like you're trying to be different just to be different, which is a fine goal, but won't necessarily produce a good game. Unless, again, your goal is to include memorization as an actual part of the strategy, which can be a big turnoff for a majority of prospective players, I believe.

I guess by 'automap' you mean showing previously viewed tiles in some sort of grayed-out fashion? If so, then why would you really want such a feature?
There's an item in the game which does something very similar, but, frankly, it's a pretty useless item.
Your best starting strategy is to figure out where the exit lies and get to it while grabbing all useful loot on the way, and to do this you need to know the layout of the unexplored map areas. (There's a 'magic mapper' which does exactly that.)

But remembering already visited tiles is very much useless, unless you have some complex non-newbie-friendly strategy going.

All in all, it's a different game that breaks away from the usual roguelike twich reflexes and mechanics. Keep an open mind and have fun.